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mypoisonedvine · 4 years

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Ties That Bind, Debts That Burden | Curtis Everett x reader

for @stargazingfangirl18 and @navybrat817‘s august challenge! my prompt was the gif!

summary: you didn’t expect the man who bought you to be so kind. you didn’t expect to fall for him, either.

warnings: death of a parent character, kidnapping, implied noncon/mentions of noncon, sexism, sexual slavery (mentioned), dub con (but not in the way you’re expecting), implied age gap (everyone is over 18!! as always!!), semi-public sex, breeding kink, loss of virginity, pain kink (slightly)

word count: a bit over 4k (and I wrote it all in one day... hey that rhymes!)

[this is another one of those things where the fic itself is dark due to the subject matter, but the character in question is not ‘dark’ in the traditional sense. so, curtis is a good dude, it’s everyone else that sucks; this is a dark fic tonally, but not sexually per se]

Life in the tail section was ruthless. It was all about survival, and survival was about being stronger than others. You weren’t strong. What you did have was your father, and he had kept you safe all your life, even before the two of you had lived in this terrible place. He was a sort of leader; people looked up to him, and as a result, they obeyed his wishes to stay away from you. Even so, you could sense that a lot of the men in the train were just waiting for their chance to take you. Women who didn’t have significant skills to offer, women like you, were seen as a commodity with only one purpose. Less like wives and more like slaves, they were traded, sold, and bartered for like clothes or rations. It made you feel sick, but most of all it made you terrified for what would happen when your father couldn’t protect you anymore. He was strong, but old, and so tired. You hated to see how hard he had to work so late into his life, just so that you wouldn’t have to suffer.

When he died, it almost didn’t feel real. Even though it was sort of expected with the way his health had been declining for months, it was nothing you ever could’ve imagined. A world without your father meant a world you were truly alone in… and only now did you confront the real cruelty of life in the tail section.

You woke up to being dragged by your hair; you screamed and kicked, but there was little you could do as you were thrown down onto the floor. Your worthless fighting was muted as rags were used to bind your wrists and ankles, and a gag silenced you. You looked up to see you were surrounded by men, with one-- you were pretty sure his name was Jamie, you’d seen him around before-- standing up and hovering over you.

“Her father is finally dead!” he announced to the crowd with a dirty smile that was missing a few teeth. “I got my hands on her first, but I’m willing to sell her to any reasonable bidders.”

“Five rations,” one voice quickly jutted in.

“Five-- what the fuck are you talking about, man? Everyone’s been drooling over this little tart for years and you offer me five rations?! Get a grip,” Jamie spat.

“Twenty,” another called out.

“Getting warmer,” Jamie laughed. “Come on, boys, she’s never known a man before. This is truly a priceless opportunity.”

“Thirty!”

“Thirty-three!”

“Best I can do is thirty-five.”

“This is preposterous,” Jamie scoffed. “She’s a virgin, and look how cute she is when she cries! If nobody’s gonna make me a suitable offer,” he growled, suddenly grabbing you by your neck and putting his face right against yours, “maybe I’ll keep you for myself, hm?”

You sobbed and tried to squirm away but it was beyond useless, your bound limbs overpowered easily as he held you down and licked a stripe up the side of your face, just to hear you scream behind your gag.

“I’ll take her,” a deep voice boomed suddenly. “A hundred rations.”

“A-- what?” Jamie stammered.

You tried to look around at who it was but you couldn’t see very well in the dark.

“It’s more than enough,” the man continued. “Hand her over.”

“Curtis,” Jamie greeted awkwardly, and your eyes went wide with recognition, “I… didn’t take you for the bartering type.”

That was an understatement. You knew Curtis, like some of the more chivalrous men of the back car, was a long-standing boycotter of this sort of activity. He didn’t even seem interested in the women who wanted to sleep with him, let alone those who were being sold against their will. Seemed like his patience had worn out, and he was finally giving in to his biological needs, no matter who would suffer cruelty along the way. Just your luck that it would be you for sale when he gave up on his morals.

“I didn’t take you for the type to stall when he’s offered a great deal,” Curtis replied coldly. “Now give me the girl and take your payment.”

Something must have changed hands, but you were too busy staring at the corrugated steel floor and hoping it was all a dream that would end any moment.

You lurched back as Jamie picked you up again, tossing you to Curtis who caught you awkwardly.

“Have fun with her,” Jamie encouraged, “make sure it’s loud enough so we can all hear; a little consolation prize for the rest of us.”

Curtis said nothing as he turned and dragged you to his bunk, ignoring your muffled pleas. When he set you down, he kneeled beside you and put a hand on each shoulder to brace you.

“I’m going to take off this gag, and your ties,” he offered, “but you need to stop crying, okay? Everything will be alright. I won’t hurt you.”

You weren’t sure you believed that, but you tried to steady your breathing. Maybe if you did what he said, he would be gentle with you…

You nodded slowly, and he untied the gag. Your sore mouth appreciated the reprieve as you wiggled your mouth around to stretch your lips. You had sort of assumed that whoever bought you would leave the restraints on, so that you wouldn’t fight back. But Curtis was so strong and healthy, he didn’t even need to bind you: your body tensed up again at that realization.

“Shh, shh, calm down,” he requested as he worked on the knot around your feet, “you don’t need to be afraid of me.”

Finally your limbs were freed, though that freedom was wasted on exhaustedly falling to the cold steel floor.

“Use this rag to clean off a little,” he instructed, handing you a cloth that had been soaked in water, “and go back to sleep for the night.”

“You… you’re not going to…?” you murmured, confused.

“I don’t believe in enslavement,” he shook his head. “Your father was a good man; he did a lot for me, even when I had nothing to offer him in return. He told me to pay him back by keeping you safe after he was gone.”

You hadn’t realized your father knew Curtis so well. You’d seen him around, sure, but he was more a stranger than anything.

“Thank you…” you whispered, your voice hoarse and ragged.

“You need to rest,” he whispered back. “You can sleep in my bed-- someone’s already claimed yours, I’m sure. I’ll be on the floor beside you if you need me.”

Your cheeks burned with guilt. “Curtis, don’t do that. You spent so much on me... I don’t want to be any more of a burden.”

“Don’t worry about that now,” he soothed, “we can talk in the morning. Get your sleep.”

After washing yourself hastily with the rag (focusing most on wherever Jamie had touched you), you slipped into the sheets on his mattress, finding him different from the ones you were used to, but comfortable in spite of the unfamiliarity.

Curtis settled in on the floor, and in the near-darkness you could just make out the silhouette of his face as he closed his eyes and relaxed against a roll of tattered clothes as an improvised pillow. You’d always thought he was handsome, and the impression you’d gotten was that he was patient, and honorable, but kept to himself. You could remember just a few nights ago when you never could’ve imagined this being your new life. Although you did wonder if Curtis was simply waiting for the morning to claim you, in the meantime you decided to take him at his word and just be thankful that someone seemingly kind had bought you instead of Jamie or his fellow bidders.

Two weeks later...

If anything, it was odd how little Curtis had asked of you. He didn’t even really talk to you. Even your father expected you to help him with anything you could; sometimes it was just keeping him company, listening to him. But Curtis all but avoided you. All that said, his presence was rarely needed to keep you safe. People respected your father, but they feared Curtis. He wasn’t violent-- well, he wasn’t violent typically. Nearly a week ago he had gone to fisticuffs for you after a man had tried to grope you. The weird thing was that you hadn’t even realized Curtis was nearby: one moment you were alone and being pulled into a stranger’s oppressive form as he purred in your ear, the next Curtis had appeared and shoved him off of you. That seemed to get the point across that Curtis’ things were not to be touched.

Feeling guilty, you decided to do whatever chores you could think of while he was away from his ‘room’ (which was, of course, not a room at all but a bed draped with a canopy of tattered fabric in order to create some privacy). You waited for his return with a little smile on your face, sure he would be grateful for your service and maybe would start to warm up to you more.

“Hi, Curtis,” you greeted with a peppy grin when you saw him approaching, jumping up from where you had been sitting.

“You washed my clothes,” he noticed instantly.

Your smile fell when you realized that he wasn’t happy. “Did I do something wrong?” you asked sheepishly.

“You are not my slave; I cannot make that more clear,” he frowned. “Never do a chore on my behalf again.”

“Please, Curtis. You’ve done so much for me, just let me prove my usefulness.”

“You want to be useful? Stay out of harm’s way.”

“Oh, I see,” you sneered, “you don’t want me to do your chores because I am your chore. Is that all you see me as? A debt you are repaying to my father?”

He seemed confused by that question. “What else could I see you as?”

“A partner!” you protested. “A woman!”

He grabbed you suddenly, pulling you into him by your wrists. “Stop talking like that. I won’t hear any more of it. Just stay quiet and take care of yourself.”

He dropped you as you began to cry, crumpling into a ball on the floor.

“Don’t cry,” he frowned. “Why could you be crying, when all I told you was that you don’t have to do anything?”

“I suppose I should be thankful that you’re not sadistic,” you explained with a shaky, weak voice, “but you’re still plenty cruel to me, I hope you know that. You ignore me completely-- and no one else will talk to me, because they’re afraid to upset you. I’ve never been so alone.”

He sighed and sat down beside you on the floor. “I never meant to…” he trailed off. “I bought you to save you from them. Not because I had any purpose for you.”

“I have no purpose,” you stated plainly, moving from sad to stoic. “Don’t you hear how sad that sounds? Can you blame me for being upset when you’re telling me straight to my face that I’m useless?”

He seemed to at least see where you were coming from with that, looking to the side with an oddly guilty look in his eyes.

Suddenly, he reached to pull up his shirt and you gasped when you saw a cut along his side.

“I fell,” he explained, “and scraped against something.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” you comforted to the best of your ability, “I hope it’s not giving you too much trouble.”

“It’s not, but I’m worried it’ll get infected.”

You thought for a moment. “I could… help you clean it?”

“Sure,” he nodded, “that would be nice. Thank you.”

“It’s nothing,” you shrugged as you grabbed a rag to dampen. “I’ll be right back.”

You cleaned his wound in silence, carefully washing away the dried blood, even when he sucked in breaths through his teeth as you touched the sensitive places. The task at hand distracted you from your previous outburst; this was exactly proof of why you needed things to do, you’d go crazy otherwise.

“I don’t think it’ll need stitches,” you informed him as you put the rag away and rolled his shirt back down. “We’ll just clean it again tomorrow and I bet that’ll be enough.”

“Good,” he nodded.

The day was winding down to a close already, and you looked around to see a lot of the people nearby starting to prepare for bed, if they weren’t already on their mattresses with their eyes and ears covered to block out the distractions of those still awake.

“I think you should take the bed tonight, since you’re injured,” you offered. Up until now, you’d been alternating nights on the floor; it was the only compromise you two could come to.

“I couldn’t ask you to sleep on the ground two nights in a row,” he shook his head.

“You’re not asking me to. I’m telling you that I will.”

“I won’t take the bed.”

You crossed your arms and grinned stubbornly. “Then we’ll both be on the floor.”

“Fine,” he sighed with defeat, “I’ll take the bed, but only if you share it with me. I can never sleep well when all I can think about is how cold and uncomfortable you must be.”

You were surprised to hear that, because you had always felt the same way on the nights you were in the bed. Seemed both of you were getting worse sleep than you let on.

“F-fine,” you stammered, realizing how little space the two of you would have to work with on the mattress, “we’ll share it then.”

“Might help with the cold anyway,” he shrugged as he stood up, removing his outermost layer of clothes before slipping behind the curtain that surrounded the bed. You swallowed, as if you hadn’t realized until now that you were going to be in bed with him so soon.

You removed your jacket as well; even though you normally liked to sleep in something less bulky than the dress you were wearing now, you figured he would protest if you were in any state of undress while sharing a bed with him.

As you pulled the curtain aside, you found him already on the farther side of the bed, facing away from you. He was so far off the edge that he surely would’ve fallen if there wasn’t a wall on the other side.

“Curtis, you’re twice my size and you’ve left nearly two-thirds of the bed for me,” you chuckled, slipping into the covers with him and noticing how much space was still left between you. “Relax, won’t you?”

“Alright,” he relented, laying back a little as his shoulder brushed against yours.

“Goodnight, Curtis,” you mumbled as you settled in and got as comfortable as could be reasonably expected, letting your eyes fall shut. Sure, it took awhile, but with a forced relaxation you were able to drift to sleep and stay that way for quite some time.

At some point, you awoke to the softest noise beside you. At first you thought it was just your dream, but then you heard it again-- Curtis was breathing strangely, and you jumped up when you heard a strained noise of pain.

“Curtis!” you hissed into the dark. “Are you hurt? Is everything alright?”

“What?” he stammered, jolting away from you.

“You were--” you started to explain, but then you realized he was palming at his trousers; specifically, he was stuffing his cock back into them. “Oh.”

“I’m sorry,” he sighed, “I didn’t-- sometimes you just-- I never meant to--”

“Are you feeling… frustrated?” you asked him softly, moving a little closer to where he was pressing himself back against the wall.

“It’s fine,” he assured you, “I’m fine.”

“Let me help you,” you pleaded. “I wanted to help you so much, but there was nothing I could do. Let me do this, please. I want you to feel good…”

“Your father, I promised him--” he began, but you interrupted.

“Don’t talk about my father,” you requested. “You kept your promise. I’m safe. Let me thank you for all you’ve done.”

Your hand reached out and made contact with his heaving chest through the thin layer of his shirt, beginning to trail down over his stomach and finally to the hard outline inside his trousers.

“W-wait,” he stuttered quietly, even though you felt him quietly sigh with relief as you palmed at his erection.

“I don’t want to wait anymore,” you whispered-- so quiet even you could barely hear it-- as you leaned in and your nose brushed against his cheek. “I wanted you for so long, Curtis, did you not know? Wanted to touch you… wanted to make love with you…”

He let out a long-held breath as you reached into his trousers and wrapped your arm around his length. It was so hot in your palm; it warmed you in the most intoxicating way.

“R-really?” he murmured.

“Of course I did,” you answered, moving your hand and slowly stroking him. God, the poor man must’ve been so pent-up: he was bucking into your touch already, his cock so hard that you wondered if it was hurting him. “Every woman on the train lusts for you. To have you so close and not be able to do anything about it, it was torture.”

“Nothing compared to what it was like,” he groaned softly, “to want to have you for so long and feel horrible for it.”

You began to pump his cock faster, seeking more of those beautiful noises he was making. The way his length flexed against your palm made arousal tingle all throughout your body.

His hand slipped to the back of your neck, his fingertips brushing up against your hairline and making you shiver. He whispered your name and you felt like putty in his hands, so distracted by your own need that the pace of your strokes faltered briefly.

The two of you stayed like that for a few moments longer-- foreheads pressed together, shivering and shaking and panting in each other’s arms-- before a rush of adrenaline gave you the confidence to speak.

“I want it inside me,” you whispered against his ear. “Please, Curtis, I want you inside me.”

You swung your leg over to straddle him, pushing yourself up off of his chest. He whispered your name with shock as you lifted your tattered dress and pulled it over your shoulders.

“Touch me,” you begged. “Didn’t you want to? I wondered if you did. I wondered how your hands would feel…” you trailed off as you grabbed his wrists and guided his hands to your waist. They were strong and rough, and so hot against your skin that you thought you might just burn up right there. He moved them on his own then, sliding them up to your breasts which he gently grasped. You sighed a little and melted into his touch.

His thumbs teased your nipples, which were already hard and alert. You tried your best to suppress your moans, aware that many other passengers were sleeping nearby. Secretly, the idea that they would hear Curtis pleasuring you was almost titillating. You hoped it would make them all jealous.

“You’re so soft,” he whispered, “and… smooth…”

“Did you long for me?” you asked, your curiosity getting the better of you.

“Yes,” he finally admitted, “yes, I wanted you. I want you now.”

You reached down and grasped his cock again, guiding it to your wet, swollen opening. He made a noise that sounded something like a whimper and a groan as the head of his cock moved through your folds.

As you sunk down, you tried to ignore the burn of his cock stretching you open, though a pained whimper escaped your lips.

Curtis’ hands gripped your hips tight enough to bruise as you slowly took more and more of him into you. His head fell back with a groan, lost in the way your walls gripped him tighter than he thought possible. In that moment, he wanted more than anything to hold you close and never let go.

You shivered as your hips met his, feeling full in a way you could’ve never imagined. It still stung as he forged a new path inside you, moulded you to his shape, but you didn’t mind because it was him.

You were so weak that you struggled to lift yourself on top of him, but he gently guided you to lessen your load. Your body adjusted to him rather slowly, and every time you rocked your hips made you hiss with discomfort along with the sparks of pleasure burning through your gut. Even when it hurt, you wanted more; if nothing else, the noises of his restrained ecstasy spurred you on.

Leaning down, you laid yourself on his chest so that you could hear him better, and him you. His arms wrapped around you and you felt small; normally, feeling small meant feeling weak, vulnerable, scared… but in his arms, it was wonderful. You felt vulnerable, yes, but protected.

Your name tumbled from his lips like a whispered chant as you moved on top of him, and you whispered his name back. The way his cock rubbed against your insides felt so good that you couldn’t even remember that it hurt before, but then again, you couldn’t remember anything from before right now and you didn’t want to.

Your moans got louder and louder, though they were still relatively quiet, but either way they were like music to his ears, sweet and soft and all for him-- just like you.

“S-stop,” he groaned, “you have to stop.”

“Why?” you gasped, feeling a little guilty for not instantly obeying, and yet too lost in pleasure to stop moving your hips.

“If you don’t stop, I’ll come,” he explained breathlessly, “and you could get pregnant.”

You bit your lip, feeling your face warm with an emotion you were sure you hadn’t experienced before. “What if that’s what I want?”

“Fuck,” he sighed.

“What if I want you to come inside me? What if I want to have your baby?” you continued.

You managed to suppress your yelp as he grabbed you and flipped you both over until you were on your back and he was hovering over you.

“Is that what you want?” he asked with a low growl.

“Yes,” you gasped, “Curtis, it’s all I ever wanted.”

“Fuck,” he moaned, pulling back and thrusting into you again. He lifted your legs to rest on his shoulders, nearly folding you in half as he fucked into you so deep that you could scream. You didn’t, but you wanted to. “Gonna fill you up so good… you’re gonna be so full,” he promised, “you’re gonna be mine.”

“I already am,” you promised, “I always was.”

He leaned down to dominate your lips with a searing kiss, fucking you deep and slow but with an increasing ferocity. Each thrust was harder than the last until the most prominent sound was the slapping of skin, your arousal so prominent that it was beginning to leak and drip down your thighs and ass.

“Tell me who you belong to,” he growled, right against your ear.

“You,” you moaned, “I belong to you, Curtis.”

“Fuck yeah you do.”

You gripped his arms tight as you felt your walls spasming with your orgasm-- it was unlike anything you’d felt before, even though you’d touched yourself plenty of times up until now. Already you knew you were going to be addicted to this feeling. Poor Curtis; you were going to be begging him to fuck you day and night if this was how good it felt.

The tightening of your body around him, and the way you bit down on your lip to keep from screaming with pleasure… it was all too much for him to hold back any more, and with a stuttered groan he spilled himself into you.

You wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him into another kiss. He relaxed on top of you as he reciprocated, both of you basking in the glow of the moment.

“Don’t pull out yet,” you pleaded as the kiss ended, “just hold me a little longer, won’t you?”

“Of course,” he smiled softly, placing one small, delicate kiss to the tip of your nose.

“Did you really want me for so long, like you said?” you pressed, remembering what he’d said and fearing it was just a sweet nothing in the heat of the moment.

“You have no idea how long,” he sighed. “I dreamed of this; of you being mine.”

“Was it everything you imagined?”

“And more,” he assured with a soft laugh. “Best hundred rations I ever spent.”

#how did this turn out so fluffy??? lmao #curtis everett x reader #curtis everett smut #chris evans x reader #chris evans smut #ehhh that's enough tags right?#shamelesshoesforchris

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strawberrysoup · 4 years

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Down with the Ship || Chapter 1

You never could’ve expected a celebration to go so, so wrong. The land was foreign, too warm compared to the Cold Lands, and filled with horrible people. Horrible people that planned to sell you to the highest bidder — who, as you’d come to learn, was the ruler of the stupid seaside city. She was a beautiful empress, the high priestess and war general her consorts and evidently, your new masters. Human beings shouldn’t be given as gifts, much less called ‘pets’, and you found the ship that was your life sinking so much faster than you ever could’ve expected.

rating: M | 18+ chapters: at least 7, not sure chapter: 1/? relationship: dark!carol danvers x dark!natasha romanoff x dark!valkyrie x reader warnings: noncon&dubdon, pet play, degradation&humiliation, kidnapping, slavery, detailed warnings to be included per chapter; read more and CTRL+F to search ‘content warnings’ to skip to the more detailed tags at the bottom of the chapter.

note: hey guys, this story was inspired by @scarlettwlw who helped me come up with the idea! if you enjoy this story, please consider donating to my ko-fi or buying me a birthday present from my wishlist!

The night sky through the bars of your cage was beautiful, bright stars and a glowing moon casting a vibrant glow over the plaza, a gaudy waste if you’d ever seen one. There were stones laid in the ground to aid the turn of wheels, as if the dips and grooves didn’t cause wagons to stutter and bounce hopelessly. At least dirt roads could be cared for with regular maintenance to prevent damage, like the welts crisscrossing your entire back side down to the soles of your feet where the bars of the cage had dug more and more painfully into your flesh the longer you were forced to rest your weight on them.

It might’ve been the cage’s fault you hated the stone road—the bumps made it impossible for your bare feet to find purchase on the bars and you fell, constantly, if you tried to stand while the horses hauled you and two others earlier in the day. One memorable event had seen to your feet slipping through the bars, your left leg bashing against a rock so hard you felt something crack. Screaming had been a mistake though. The man steering the horses had nearly caved your face in for causing damages. The damages that could’ve been prevented with carefully pressed dirt roads. You never would’ve caused damages if you hadn’t been in the stupid fucking cage to begin with.

You couldn’t remember exactly what had happened. Your village had been celebrating the winter solstice beneath the auroras. It marked your 18th winter, in fact, which meant you’d been drinking vodka like water most of the day. There was music and dancing and the food had smelled wonderful, but then the scent of smoke had grown more intrusive than the bonfire should’ve caused.

The screaming came after that. There had been blood and fire and so much screaming but you could barely remember what happened—your head still pounded with the after effects of the alcohol and extreme dehydration, but you had no idea how long it had been since that night. You’d been attacked and woke up in the bowels of a ship, vomiting profusely from both the vodka and the blow to the head you’d taken. The fucking cage had come an indeterminate amount of time later, when the boat finally docked.

It wasn’t nearly as cold as it should’ve been. There was no snow and the brisk night air made you shiver but certainly wasn’t unbearable like it would’ve been at home. Your clothes and the furs you’d cherished most of your life had been taken from you, the black pelt your father gifted you in your 13th winter devastatingly gone leaving you naked in the cage. The weather reinforced how far from home you were, the unrecognizable language further emphasizing the distance—you we’re good with different dialects, you made a point of being able to speak to those who lived outside your village, but you’d never heard a language like the ones the slavers spoke.

That’s what they were, of course. Aside from kidnapping and beating you they had treated you like furniture (and not even a precious piece at that). Not once had they spoken to you, with the exception of the one who’d screamed at you while decimating your face with his fists. The other prisoners had been spared similar fates thanks to the fact their cages had wooden slats across the bottom to provide stability—well, except the woman. She’d screamed at the slaver beating you until he’d deviated his attention to her, leaving you bleeding on the ground while yanking her from her cage. Luckily he'd expended most of his energy nearly killing you and didn’t spend much time on her, mostly just screaming and pulling her long black hair.

You didn’t know her name or where they’d stolen her from, but you’d carefully waved a small thank you to her once you were both returned to your cages. The look on her face betrayed how badly the man hurt you and she’d reached through the bars towards you with tears in her big, dark eyes. Now she was asleep in her cage, leaning against the bars closest to you while you held her hand. She’d attempted to give you some of the slats from the bottom of her cage but you’d refused—she was older than you by at least forty years and you worried; you were young and fully able-bodied, you would be sold regardless of your physical state. You didn’t know what would happen to her if the bars caused even half the damage they’d caused you, she already moved so stiffly. You couldn’t say for sure, but you assumed the life of an unmarketable slave was short.

The other prisoner was a man, several years older than yourself. He’d kept quiet through the entire journey, a blank look in his eyes. You wondered how long he'd been under the thumb of the slavers, to be so dejected and nigh on soulless. You hadn’t so much as made eye contact with him, even as you both sat awake through the night. The stars shifted above you, the moon taking its path across the sky until the sun began to rise behind you. Hours passed like days, stretching infinitely until people began shuffling around the plaza. The slavers you recognized returned, yawning and speaking in soft voices to each other. They barely paid the three of you any attention until the sun was fully up—then they went to the man’s cage.

He complied with whatever they were saying, dutifully and with his eyes cast down. They dumped a bucket of water over his head and threw handfuls of dense white powder all over him, the grains sticking to his wet skin. He wasn’t given clothes, much to your disdain considering it meant you’d also not be given clothing, but they wrapped some sort of belt around his waist before shackling his hands to it. The other woman was next, also doused with water and powder and shackled. Instead of shuffling her immediately back into the cage like they had the man, dark paint was smeared over her tan shoulders and they forced her to the ground outside of the cage before attaching her belt to the bars.

The slavers walked towards your cage with irritated expressions, the younger man gesturing angrily about your person while they conversed. The damage to your body, you leg and face especially, was evidently extensive. Everything hurt, but your leg was the worst. You assumed something was broken, at the very least deeply, deeply bruised and you could barely rest any weight on it—not that you’d tried in hours.

When the cage door was yanked open you tried not to startle, but a cry escaped your lips when the younger man dug a hand into your hair and yanked you out onto the stone ground of the plaza. Your ankle radiated pain up towards your shin and you collapsed, forced to crawl forward when he didn’t stop pulling on your hair.

They were still muttering angrily when frigid water spilled over you, leaving you shivering on the stone. Another bucket followed and you found yourself being tossed around while they thoroughly drenched your skin. The powder caked onto your flesh like a layer of clay, itchy and tight as it quickly began to dry. It had a strong odor you didn’t recognize, overwhelming and unpleasant and you found yourself sputtering and spitting where a small amount had gotten past your lips.

A yelp escaped you when a hand immediately gripped your hair again, shaking you roughly and shouting. It stopped when the older slaver yelled at the younger one, slapping him away and gesturing at you angrily. They continued to argue while you laid on the ground, feeling like your lungs wouldn’t inflate. The woman shackled to her cage behind you shouted angrily at the pair, beckoning you towards her urgently.

Your body didn’t hesitate even when your head did, crawling slowly across the stone. She grabbed you the second you were within reach, tugging you into her chest and shuffling to the side to try and block you from their sight. Her shackles rattled quietly, one hand running gently through your hair while the other gently roamed over the welts across your back. You could hear her speaking, another dialect you didn’t recognize, quietly with her lips almost pressed to the top of your head.

It sounded like a prayer and you wondered if the goosebumps that ran across your skin was a result of being touched gently for the first time in so long or if whoever she invoked was now watching you. There was no telling how her Gods worked, maybe they were willing to look over someone who didn’t worship them. The Gods of your village were rarely so kind, especially in the absence of a sacrifice.

It was easy to tell when the slaver's attention returned to you; she immediately began spitting what you were very, very sure was a curse. The slavers hesitated, evidently able to understand what she was saying—or at least what she was implying with her furious words. It didn’t stop the younger man for long, he stomped over and grabbed a fist full of your hair once again and used it to throw you several feet away. The woman continued to spit a furious string of words, to which the slaver seemed to grow increasingly angry about. He turned towards her, arm raising swiftly.

“Don’t you touch her!” Your voice was hoarse, you’d barely spoken since being kidnapped but the man’s head snapped in your direction immediately. “I’m right here you son of a bitch, me! Don’t touch her, beat me, asshole!”

They didn’t understand your language, you’d learned that early on when they mocked your words with gibberish, but he certainly understood your tone if the vibrant red of his cheeks was anything to go by. His hand fell to the whip rolled up at his waist while he stomped towards you, lips curled in a snarl as he let the end fall to the ground with a startling crack. A wash of fear went down your back; you’d never been whipped in your life. You had a particularly high pain tolerance, but what was a broken arm to a whipping?

The other woman was shouting at him again and you steeled yourself—you’d either live or you wouldn’t, but you could at least keep his disgusting hands off of her until she could be sold. She looked as kind as she acted, beautiful and sharp, and next to the slavers her skin tone and eyes were exotic. Someone would purchase her to clean or cook, as long as she was able bodied. Even if your wounds were left to fester until you passed from fever, you would survive the initial whipping and still be fit for the auction block almost immediately. She didn’t have that luxury.

Your eyes widened when he raised his arm and you scrambled to cover your head, tucking your chin against your sternum and drawing your knees in; you desperately wanted to avoid learning what sort of pain a lash to the face would illicit while he seemed so keen on teaching you. She was still screaming and the older slaver was yelling and the crack of the whip was potentially the loudest thing you’d ever heard.

When it landed a line of fire erupted on your skin, stretching from that first point of contact on the crest of your shoulder down to your hip. If you hadn’t moved that line would’ve been in the dead center of your face and with the force used, bleeding profusely. The only reason you didn’t scream was because you bit down on your lip so hard you were unable to, purposefully falling to maintain your curled position down on the stones while you writhed—you wouldn’t give him the chance to aim for your face again.

The second strike ran diagonally from the same shoulder, across your back, and to the opposite hip. The third was directly on your spine and your body spasmed violently in response, a scream finally torn from your throat when you physically couldn’t keep your mouth shut any longer. There would’ve been more, you were sure, had the voice of another woman interrupted the man. He spoke in return with stuttered, nervous reverence and while you didn’t move from your curled position you believed his face likely reflected his tone with fear.

You couldn’t understand anything that was being said. The woman was shouting, one word more and more desperately and you assumed it must’ve been something she assigned to you in her head. Your brain fogged and you found yourself having to fight your muscles from going limp every time you exhaled. You wondered what she was calling you, what she referred you to as in her language. Your mother had always called you her baby, your father called you sweetheart.

Pulling yourself up wasn’t a matter of wanting to or not; it came down to the fact you were unable. Otherwise you would’ve dragged yourself across the stone once again to find a place in the older woman’s arms, to keep her from drawing attention to herself with her shouting, but you didn’t have the energy, the will, or the ability. There was no way your arms would hold your weight, your left ankle was entirely out of commission and the right was just as useless considering the circumstances.

You would’ve laid there until you died had it not been for a pair of soft hands taking hold of your upper arms. A wail died in your throat, lips clamping shut—you had to keep it together, if it was the very last thing you did. It was bad enough for these people to see you bleed, you wouldn’t let them hear you cry. Your father was one of the greatest warriors in the Cold Lands, you wouldn’t disrespect him by showing such weakness to the enemy.

A woman’s voice spoke close to your ear, a crooning coo that set your teeth on edge even more than the pain. She propped you up on your hip, laying your upper body carefully against her side where she sat on the stone and resting your weak head against her shoulder. Your eyes caught dark red hair, falling in loose waves to a pale, pointed chin. Before you could examine her more closely, your attention was drawn to the sound of a loud smack.

There was another woman, this one blonde and wearing what looked like miles of folded pale gold silk, had evidently just backhanded the younger slaver so hard the man lost balance and hit the ground. You marveled, just a tiny bit, at the sight. Her hair fell in windswept blonde waves to her exposed collar bones and she looked like she’d just been wrecked in the bedroom. Absently you wondered if the woman whose hand was cupping your ribcage had anything to do with that.

The blonde proceeded to speak to the older slaver for several long minutes, gesturing lazily every once in a while with jewel laden fingers. You’d been able to realize that the redhead holding you was also incredibly richly dressed, even in comparison to the well-dressed merchants making their way into the plaza to set up for the day. The slavers also deferred to the blonde; she was evidently someone of incredibly high stature—especially considering the redhead, who you assumed was her wife or consort, was practically dripping with gold.

Your attention shot to the woman holding you when she spoke, shrinking back when she pressed her cheek to the top of your head. It sounded like she was pouting, using a cutesy tone that made the blonde smile affectionately and respond with a long-suffering sigh before turning back to the slaver.

It was obvious that there was a transaction occurring and based on the fingers walking their way down your rib cage towards your legs, you could only assume you were the merchandise in question. It was easy to tell when the sale was complete, the blonde looking pleased and the old slaver looking nothing short of relieved.

“Oh, fuck this,” you murmured quietly to yourself, eyes squeezing shut as frustrated tears tried to well.

Hearing your own language spoken back to you after so long was so shocking you almost didn’t process the redhead’s words. “Don’t be like that, pet. It’s our girl’s birthday and she’s always wanted a cute little kitten.”

content warnings: human trafficking/slavery, public humiliation

#carol danvers x reader #natasha romanoff x reader #valkyrie x reader #dark!carol danvers x reader #dark!natasha romanoff x reader #dark!valkyrie x reader #dark!fic #alternate universe #will reblog w tag list soon

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laurfilijames · 3 years

Text

Wild Horses- Part 2 (Prequel to Slow Burn)

Pairing: Modern AU Fili x Female OC Prim

Words: 3682

Summary: Fili and Prim enjoy a night out with Kili and Tauriel playing pool and singing karaoke. Prim attempts to make Fili see how much she’s grown to care for and want him since they met a year ago, but something is holding Fili back.

Warnings: Rated M. Alcohol consumption, swearing. Mentions of intercourse. Discussions of masturbation. Unwanted advances. A punch and bloody nose/hand. Mentions of war/military/deployment. Slight dom/sub suggestion.

A/N: This was so enjoyable to write, I had so much fun building the dynamic between them and adding to that slow burn. But be warned, angst is ahead in the coming chapters!

The song that Prim sings is linked below if anyone wants to listen to really get a feel for the chapter. (The original song is by the Divinyls but I like this cover better).

Thank you again to @guardianofrivendell for editing, listening to my struggles and always giving wonderful advice and endless support!

—————

“It’s your round this time!” Prim whined.

“No, no, I got the last one remember? It’s definitely your round,” Fíli argued.

She did remember, she was just hoping he wouldn’t.

“Fine. I’ll make you a bet, whoever loses this game has to get the drinks,” Prim wagered.

“Deal!” Fíli moved around the pool table to line up his next shot. Before he did, he looked up at Prim and smirked, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “But the loser also has to go up there and sing a song.”

“You bastard! You’re only betting that much because you know I’ll lose and you won’t have to sing.”

He grinned at her, amused at upping the stakes.

“Exactly,” he said, sinking his shot as he did.

Prim was awful at pool, leaving her questioning exactly why she would make a bet with him, knowing it would result in her buying the drinks and now apparently also singing a song in front of the entire bar.

She focused as she lined up her shot, praying she was successful in landing the ball in the intended pocket but faltered when she felt Fíli’s body cover hers from behind just as she attempted her hit, missing her shot completely and losing the game.

“See, you should’ve aimed more over there-,” Fíli teased, laughing as she whipped around and smacked him hard on the chest.

“I would’ve got that in if it wasn’t for you!”

He looked at her doubtfully, and although she was pissed at him for making her lose the game, she enjoyed the proximity of his body to hers. His hand remained on her waist in an almost claiming way, probably making them look like lovers to people who didn’t know them.

Prim reluctantly stepped out of his grasp and gave him the most devilish look she could as she walked over to the stage where the karaoke machine was set up. There were large speakers surrounding it and a single microphone standing in the middle, waiting for its next performer.

Prim couldn’t help but grin despite the embarrassment she felt, watching Fíli clap and hoot loudly at her as he leaned against the pool table, Kili and Tauriel following suit from the table where they sat.

She knew exactly which song she was going to sing, something that would hopefully turn Fíli on while also letting him know how she felt about him.

After spending so much time getting to know each other over the last year, Prim knew without a doubt that he was the only one she could ever want. Their relationship so far was effortless, friends who could make each other laugh and were able to share anything with each other, the good and the bad, all traced with whispers of an eagerness for more.

She adored his family and they welcomed her without hesitation as a part of their own. Prim especially admired the relationship between the two brothers, as well as the one they shared with Thorin.

It made her wish she could say the same about her own family, but this found family was all she needed.

And Fíli… Fíli was incredible. He still treated her as sweetly and with as much care as he had the day they met.

He evened her out. His calm manner balanced her fiery ways. Nobody else’s personality had ever complimented hers more and he made her feel instantly happy just by being in the same room.

So it didn’t come as a surprise to Prim when the inevitable happened: she fell in love with him.

But it was almost as if an unsaid agreement to take things slow stood between them, both of them knowing at some point they would be more than just friends, but Prim was growing increasingly impatient. She had often tried to hint that she wanted more, that she was ready to take it to the next level, but Fíli wasn’t budging. Maybe Prim wasn’t as conspicuous as she thought she was.

It was about time she started to make things a little more clear for him.

The music started up after she selected the song and she readied herself before the mic, willing courage from her three glasses of wine to grace her.

“I love myself

I want you to love me,”

The crowd erupted in cheers, realizing what she had selected.

“When I feel down

I want you above me

I search myself

I want you to find me

I forget myself

I want you to remind me,”

The look on Fíli’s face was priceless, full of surprise and curiosity and maybe even a hint of lust as he pushed his tongue in his bottom lip, so Prim continued, her eyes locked on his as she began to run her hands down her sides and over her breasts,

“I don’t want anybody else

When I think about you

I touch myself

Oh, I don’t want anybody else

Oh no, oh no, oh no,”

Encouragement from the crowd kept her going, but not as much as the expression on Fíli’s face did. Prim continued her seductive dance as she sang, carding her hands through her hair and down her neck to her chest, still managing to sing despite the huge grin on her face,

“I close my eyes

And see you before me

Think I would die

If you were to ignore me

A fool could see

Just how much I adore you

I’d get down on my knees

I’d do anything for you,”

When the song ended, Prim bowed to the standing ovation given to her by the entire bar. She hopped off the stage and walked back over to Fíli who was shaking his head in disbelief.

“Wow,” was all he managed to say, his eyebrows raised high on his forehead.

“I don’t think after that performance I should still shout the drinks,” she suggested.

“Um, no, that wasn’t the deal,” he corrected her, standing close enough she could see his pulse thumping in his neck. He stared at her like he was trying to figure out what she was up to, and also like he could kiss her. His eyes lingered on her lips as though he was about to consume them and Prim thought how she would sell her soul to have him do it.

Did he still not know how badly she wanted him?

With the adrenaline from her performance still coursing through her body, Prim was about to confess her feelings to Fíli. She wanted to tell him that the song was indeed dedicated to him, and that the lyrics applied to her when she thought about him, but was interrupted by Kili and Tauriel coming over to congratulate her.

“Prim you never cease to amaze me!” Kili said, gripping his hands on her shoulders from behind.

“I think you have every man in here worked up!” Tauriel added.

As appreciative as she was for their compliments, the only opinion she really cared about was Fíli’s.

“Yeah, you are incredible,” Fíli praised her, still regarding her peculiarly.

Her stomach flipped. He thought she was incredible, not just her karaoke skills.

“Oh, I had some inspiration,” Prim admitted, staring into Fíli’s eyes and willing him to figure out just how much she longed for him, but not able to say it with Kili and Tauriel standing beside them.

“Well, the drinks are on me!” she declared, walking over to the bar to complete her end of the bargain. Kili followed her, wanting to order food, or so he said. Kili had a tendency to get involved in things that weren’t necessarily his business, and whatever was happening between Fíli and Prim was no exception.

“I can’t help but feel like there were some underlying messages in your performance,” he inquired without looking at her.

“It was just a song, Kili,” she denied.

“Yeah, one about masturbating to thoughts of my brother!”

She looked at him fiercely. Was it so obvious to everyone but Fíli?

“See, you can’t even deny it!” he laughed.

“I’m not trying to deny anything,” she told him while peeling the label off of an empty beer bottle, beginning to get annoyed by his interrogation.

“Well, I bet he thinks of you whenever he touches himself,” Kili said point-blank, popping a chip in his mouth.

“Kili!” Prim said with alarm, smacking his shoulder. Although part of her did hope it was true.

Once Kili stopped laughing, Prim sighed and continued her thoughts out loud.

“It’s just so frustrating! I feel like I do everything but literally throw myself at him and nothing happens.” She placed money on the bar as the bartender handed her their drinks, “I just really care about him,” she admitted.

“I know you do. He knows you do- knows you love him even. He’s going to kill me for telling you but he does feel the same, he told me himself,” Kili explained.

Prim shot her head up to look at him, “You better not be joking right now, Kili,” being fully aware of the pranks he was capable of.

“I’m not, I swear!” he raised his hands in defence, and threw a quick look over his shoulder towards his brother before he continued, “He fancies you, he always has. That’s why he’s still single, and you are too, I reckon. You’re both just too stupid to do anything about it,”

“Oh, thanks for that,” Prim glared at him and took a chip from his plate, making Kili slide it closer to him protectively so she couldn’t steal any more of them.

“I’m not saying you’re stupid, Prim, but one of you needs to admit it or someone else is going to come along and ruin it. You see how women look at him,” he pointed out, and Prim’s heart sank at the thought.

Of course she saw how other women looked at him, and she couldn’t blame them. He was perfect.

Prim didn’t want anyone else and she hoped what Kili had said about Fíli’s feelings towards her were true. She grabbed the drinks and walked back to the table, her head reeling from the information.

Fíli beamed at her as she approached, his dimples revealing themselves beneath his facial hair, making her melt for him once again and forget the threat of anyone coming between them.

Fíli could hardly believe the act he’d just witnessed. He had run his hand over his face a few times to try and disguise his flush, beads of sweat appearing on his temples as he watched Prim’s risqué dance on stage, making him throb for her all over again.

He wondered if she truly felt what she’d sung in those lyrics, that she wanted him and only him, that she imagined him when she pleasured herself.

The thought alone drove him mad.

Her eyes had been locked on him the entire time she was up there, there was no disputing that.

Fíli enjoyed making her feel as frenzied and desperate as she made him, but it was getting increasingly difficult to keep resisting her. She knew how to play him as well.

And even though he really didn’t want to resist her anymore and simply give in to the yearning want, he knew he couldn’t. He shouldn’t.

Thorin and Kili were leading a special ops mission and although Fíli as a trainer was now exempt from having to deploy, he refused to sit at home while his uncle and brother went head first into danger.

He was going too.

Fíli had been deployed countless times since he was in his early twenties. He had seen battle and horrific things that people could never even begin to fathom. The thought of going to war again filled him with dread, but he needed to protect his family.

If he pursued things with Prim, he wouldn’t be able to stand being with her for such a short period of time and making her anxiously wait for him to get back. It would break both of them. It wouldn’t be fair to her, so they would just have to wait until this mission was over before they could give each other everything of themselves.

He watched her now as she leaned against the bar, talking and laughing with Tauriel, finding himself automatically mimicking every upturn of her mouth.

But her expression quickly changed when a man came up to her who was obviously a fan and hoping her words were directed at him. Prim politely shrugged him off, turning back to face Tauriel.

Fíli remained in his chair, carefully watching the interaction. He wouldn’t step in unless he needed to, and he prayed the idiot wouldn’t do anything stupid.

“That song was about me, wasn’t it doll,” the man slurred, stepping closer to her.

Prim laughed and said over her shoulder, “Don’t you wish,” and Fíli could tell the man was starting to get on her nerves.

It was difficult for Fíli to hear all that was being said, but the man seemed persistent in getting her attention. Prim said the odd thing to get him to leave her alone but tried her best to remain focused on Tauriel and ignore the pleas from the drunk.

Kili sat beside him and could see the fury rising up through his body. He patted Fíli on the back, “Easy brother,” he said, trying to assure him that she would be fine, knowing what damage Fíli could do to the other man if provoked.

It wasn’t until the man grabbed her ass and she flew around to punch him that Fíli stood from where he was seated and quickly made his way over. He knew Prim could hold her own, and judging by the way the guy was holding his bloody nose, she had done the job. Regardless, he needed to give this asshole a piece of his mind.

Fíli took hold of the man’s collar and held him upright after being folded over from Prim’s punch, his feet now barely touching the ground.

“Touch her or go near her again and you’ll regret ever laying eyes on her, mate,” Fíli spat in his face, his rage ready to erupt at any second.

The man nodded in a terrified manner, and scrambled away as soon as Fíli released him from his grip.

Fíli brushed his hair back out of his face and turned to Prim, who was shaking her hand out and looking slightly unsettled.

“Are you alright?” he asked, his anger now turned to worry, never wanting any harm to come to her.

“Yes, I’m fine. He’s just a prick.” She didn’t meet his eyes, her gaze cast down to observe the damage to her hand. Her knuckles were red and split from colliding with the man’s face and blood was beginning to creep up slowly.

Fíli took her hand in his and brushed his thumb lightly over her wounds before bringing his lips to kiss them gently.

The way she looked at him made his heart clench, almost like she was surprised at his affection towards her. He wanted to tell her he would do anything for her, would give her the world, and that it made him feel terrible that he allowed that guy to touch her like he did. But he couldn’t.

“I’m sorry, I should’ve stepped in sooner,” his voice full of regret at how he handled the situation.

“You have nothing to be sorry for, Fi, you’re my hero,” she said with a mischievous look in her eye, her fire back and immediately replacing his anger and regret with desire for her.

“I can usually handle my own, but I don’t mind you protecting me,” she said playfully.

Her eyes were filled with lust as she looked up at him through her eyelashes, and he was reminded once again of what he wanted to do to her.

Before he acted on pressing his lips against hers, Fíli called to the bartender for some ice for her hand, as well as a shot of whisky for them both.

They all managed to enjoy the rest of the night, no one harassing Prim other than with lustful glances from multiple men, but she didn’t seem to notice. She was having too much fun and a good buzz was keeping the pain in her hand at bay.

She stuck close to Fíli, often touching him playfully on his arm or chest, and even occasionally on his thigh. Her hand landed there now, causing him to stop talking mid-sentence to look at her delicate fingers resting on his jeans.

Fuck, she was going to be the death of him.

His jaw hurt from clenching his teeth so much, a habit to keep his increasing thirst for her at bay.

The bar announced the last call, and they all were quite drunk aside from Fíli. He typically managed to stay sober whenever they went out, wanting to ensure they all got home safely and didn’t have to pay and wait for cabs to take them all to different places.

With Kili and Tauriel dropped off at Tauriel’s place, Fíli was now on his way to take Prim to her own apartment. She was definitely drunk, but not sloppy, in more of her usual flirtatious state that had tried to lure him into her bed on more than one occasion. Tonight was no exception.

She laughed as she fumbled with her keys in the door, dropping them onto the mat. Fíli stooped to pick them up and when he straightened himself Prim was leaning playfully against her door frame.

“You want me and it’s killing you,” she boldly stated, revealing a part of him that he wasn’t ready to divulge to her yet.

He shook his head and chuckled while he unlocked the door, not wanting to have this conversation with her now.

She waltzed in ahead of him, her body language full of confidence from the drinks she had consumed.

“Do you want a nightcap?” Prim asked, trying her best to get him to stay.

“No, thanks. I’m going to head out so you can get some sleep.” He had to fight to get the words out, wanting so badly to stay.

Prim squinted her eyes at him, annoyed at being rejected.

“Are you ever going to give me what I want, Fíli?” she asked, her voice laced with bitterness.

He couldn’t help but grin, desperately wanting to tell her just how badly he wanted her. How he wanted the same things as her. How easy it would be for him to roughly pull her pants down and slide into her, fucking her until she screamed his name over and over.

Especially when she acted like this.

He took a step toward her so he was hovering slightly above her body, and he saw the fearlessness in her eyes change to a softness, like she would submit to him in a second if given the chance.

“The problem is, Prim,” he muttered, his eyes narrowing as he stared into her, “If I kiss you now, I won’t be able to stop.”

She faltered for only a moment before lifting her chin up in an act to reinstate her poise.

“Then don’t stop,” she challenged him.

It took every fibre in his being to pull away from her, not wanting to do anything while she was under the influence of alcohol.

“No,” he shook his head and laughed when she threw her head back and growled in frustration.

“Why?” she snapped, her distaste at being rejected clear.

He never wanted to make her feel this way. She had to know she was his greatest desire, his biggest temptation.

Fíli remained in place, not daring to go close to her again.

“Because I want you to be fully aware when I do the things that I have planned for you.”

He watched her shift, his words sinking in and probably helping to sober her up. It was a promise of things to come. A hint at his intentions to explore her body.

“Are you good?” Fíli asked in a normal tone, needing to change the subject and wanting to make sure she was okay before he left.

“I’ll be good when you’re putting your hands all over me,” she countered, her voice raspy and still persistent in trying to get her way with him.

He chuckled at her determination, making his way to the door despite her wishes. She was relentless.

“Goodnight, Prim,” he called over his shoulder, not able to look at her knowing if he did she would draw him back inside.

He sat in his truck for a moment before driving away, his thoughts solely on how much he wished to tell her he wanted to be with her.

Fíli toyed with the idea of establishing the relationship with Prim anyway, being selfish for once in his life and indulging in her for whatever amount of time he could before he left, but quickly decided against it.

He loved Prim. And he only wanted to love her in the way she deserved, and loving her and then leaving her was not it.

He smiled at how easy it was for her to tempt him into almost doing things that were so out of his character. But once he was back home he would give in to anything and everything she offered, because fuck did he want to.

Fíli knew without a doubt that they would end up together someday, so what was waiting a couple of more months in the grand scheme of things? As far as he was concerned they had all the time in the world.

But right now all Fíli could think about was how Prim was probably getting into bed and fantasizing about him while she extinguished her fire, her hands exploring her own body in search of a high that one day would include him. He palmed at the growing tension in his pants, knowing that he was going home to do exactly the same.

—————

#fili imagine #fili durin #fili the hobbit #fili #fili x oc #wild horses #series #slow burn #fili fanfic #fili smut #smut #oc #modern fili #modern au

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wlw-lovestruck-fiction · 3 years

Note

Can I request a Viv Tang fic or hc?

It's angst, where The Poppy leaves MC to take the blame on one of their heists, promising that they would break her out, but never did. Yet despite that she never sold them out.

Then Nadia was the one who broke her out, manipulating her and plotting lies in her head to make her join Flashpoint.

The Poppy did do their everything to break MC out but everytime Nadia intercepts them. So when they finally tracked down where MC and Nadia is, on the location of their latest operation, they tried to reason to her. But MC's loyalty was too deep for Nadia maybe because Nadia also made MC think that she loves her or something.

And maybe the last words could be:

"Next time I won't hesitate to tell them to pull the trigger, maybe I'll be the one to pull the trigger myself."

Make it as angsty as possible please and thank you in advance!

Warning: Mentions of murder.

...

Prison life was hell. Try as she might, MC couldn’t endure it as well as she thought she could. There was an enemy in every shadow, in every corner. There was no one to lean against, no support.

The days dragged on and on, virtually endless, no help in sight.

MC remembered the warmth of the Poppy, their joyous celebrations, the life in their eyes as they planned a heist that would ultimately unveil in failure. No one had known then that it would go wrong, and MC couldn’t help but wonder if they would have cared. If they would have changed anything in the plan.

There wasn’t a moment in this damn place where people didn’t shove it in her face—no doubt it was on purpose, why the heck would they want to drag a failure like you around? —and scoffed at her when they saw her, not believing for a second that this scared little kid could belong to such a famous group.

Two weeks in, MC had abandoned any hope that she would be rescued. She was stuck for fifteen years in this place. Investigators would come in periodically, their eyes stone cold as they probed her for answers, but MC kept her mouth shut and looked away. They would get physical sometimes, intent on getting answers, but MC say nothing.

The memory of a place she truly belonged in was still fresh in her mind. She had always been an emotional person… it was no surprise she had no desire to sell them out. At least not yet. Give her a couple of months, and maybe she’d be bitter enough to do it.

Three weeks in, a blast had knocked the whole prison into chaos. The sheer relief that flooded her was only slightly evaporated by the spark of anger and indignation in her chest, but she still hurried out, thirsty for freedom.

She expected to see Vivienne’s impish smirk, hand extended in her direction, no remorse in her eyes, but was surprised by golden hair and a tight, crisp suit that had once been white, now marred by dirt and smoke and blood.

“Oh good, I was wondering how much target practice I would have before you showed up,” the woman said, her grin as sharp as a knife’s edge even though she was standing so casually, as if they weren’t standing at the edge of a broken prison wall but in a café.

MC froze, caught off guard. Someone—another inmate—ran behind her, intent on reaching freedom, and the woman whipped a gun in his direction so fast he didn’t even have time to react. His body joined the pile of bodies by the side, momentum making it flop like a sad, broken doll. The woman hums to herself as she reloads the gun.

“Hurry up, MC, I don’t have all day.”

“Wha—? But you just shot—”

She shrugs, nonchalant. “Yeah, well, since they are no use to me… I might as well practice my aim, no?”

“…I—”

“Hurry up and come here, MC,” the woman says, impatience making her voice firmer and deadlier. Her arm snaps up, the sound of a gunshot making the air vibrate, and MC covers her ears and flinches. Someone lets out a pained gurgle and the thump right behind her makes MC shiver. A swift glance reveals it’s a guard. “The cavalry has arrived—next shot is at your feet if you don’t move. Right. Now.”

MC has never run so fast in her entire life. The woman’s grin returns, pleased, and after one last shot, she guides MC out into a waiting helicopter. They are out of the prison without much trouble. Still a bit anxious, MC takes one of the seats, stiffly. In contrast, the woman lets herself drop in the seat in front of her and all but beams at her.

“Sorry about that—I like to make things dramatic. Name’s Nadia.”

“That was… a tad more dramatic than I would have liked…”

“You’ll get used to it in no time,” she replies, waving her hand as if it’s no big deal. She smirks and lets the gun drop on MC’s lap, who goes very still, staring at the device in horror. “Safety’s on, chill. I’d never do anything to you, MC.”

“You literally threatened me like three seconds ago.”

“Because we were going to get caught otherwise! I wouldn’t have acted on it, promise.”

MC chances a look at her eyes—there’s a dangerous amusement dancing in them, like the light blue of a river that doesn’t seem to have a very strong current until you are swept off into a certain death. There are no second chances with this woman, no false appearances. MC doesn’t realize how reliving this raw honesty is until it washes over her, and she wonders if right now she’s at the edge of the river. One wrong move…

“Thank you for getting me out of there.”

“No big deal. I heard what happened with the Poppy—figures they aren’t as noble as they make everyone believe.”

Those words cut into MC like a frosty knife.

“I… I thought they sent you to break me out…”

Nadia scoffs. “Me, working with stuck-ups like them? Now that’s a good laugh.”

“Why did you bail me out, then?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” She leans forward. “The Poppy threw away some very valuable talent. As any proper thief would do, I claimed it for myself.”

“…threw away, huh?”

“They were quite satisfied with themselves, too. Imagine the fit they’ll have when they know you’re with Flashpoint now.”

It’s hard to believe her words. The image of a joyous Poppy is still fresh in MC’s mind, but Nadia’s words tint it a dull reddish-brown, just like a faded photograph. She thinks about Vivienne’s words, about her promise to break her out, and frowns.

“You speak as though I’ve already joined your little group.”

“There’s no other option, MC. I’m not letting a talent like you slip away… plus, don’t you want to get back at them? Show them what a horrible mistake they did?”

“…”

“Or just let them seethe silently in rage, sure. Can’t say I love your approach, but eh.”

Her fingers curl around the grip of the gun. “What happens if I don’t want to work for you?”

Nadia looks at her with keen interest, still with a lazy smirk. “Then you’d be volunteering for target practice.”

“I thought you say you wouldn’t hurt me.”

“I don’t hurt my coworkers, no, but if you cross me—whoever you are—then you seal your fate.”

MC hums, looking at the firearm in her lap, moving her thumb over the safety. After a small pause, in which she glances over at the pilot, she moves her hand away.

“Fine. I’ll join.”

“Great!”

Flashpoint, true to its name, prefers more flashy heists.

MC wasn’t too comfortable with their modus operandi at first, but got used to it soon enough.

Nadia was a strict leader. Every conversation with her was intense and dangerous, especially when she was in a bad mood, but she was thorough.

She didn’t mince her words. She was as honest as could be, and after months caught in Vivienne’s game, Nadia was a breath of fresh air. MC couldn’t be really blamed for falling in love with her, right? In the end, Nadia was the only one willing to support her.

That’s why it had been such a surprise when, in the middle of their latest heist, the Poppy had intervened.

They had been as organized as always—Flashpoint was completely caught off guard, the communication lost. MC could deal with not knowing what happened to the rest, so long as she had Nadia with her.

Nadia had been strangely amused when the Poppy crashed their heist, not worried at all, gripping her knife without a care in the world. That was reassuring… at least during this forced encounter, MC would have her by her side.

And it was comforting to see that Nadia hadn’t taken out her gun yet.

Vivienne is the one who speaks, voice as demanding as firewood smoke, and MC goes deadly still when the seductress goes straight to the point instead of dancing around the subject as she usually does. “Nadia prevented us from breaking you out.”

Her words ring hollow. Now that MC has been out of her influence long enough, it’s easy to ignore her words. They are fake, anyway. They must be.

Nadia scoffs, wolfish grin still in place. “Blaming me now, huh? That’s low. I thought you would have come up with a better excuse.”

Remy instantly starts to explain the foiled attempts, and their most recent efforts to find Flashpoint now that MC was with them, but MC can’t look at him without remembering her time in prison—dark, dark, not an ally in sight, contempt in every corner—and it’s enough to make her bristle.

How dare they? How dare they spill these lies after leaving her to rot in jail? After lying to her for months, making her believe she was one of them?

The fact that they had left her to take the fall was insulting. If it had been Nadia, she would have stayed with her. They would have gone down together, guns blazing. Nadia was the type of person that gave everything or nothing at all.

Vivienne tries to speak again, a desperation in her eyes MC had never seen before, but the sight is oddly satisfying.

Nadia catches it, because of course she does, her smirk softening as she reaches for her gun and aims casually. “Better beg for your lives now.”

And Nadia’s also a very dramatic person, that’s for sure. MC almost wants to laugh at their faces, eyes trained on the gun, expression tainted with disbelief, but MC sees no point in killing them. Not like this, at least.

“What? You still don’t want to get back at them?” But even then, even with how much she’s itching to pull the trigger, Nadia lowers the weapon and scowls. “Fine.”

“Don’t come back to me with this bullshit. Next time I won’t hesitate to tell Nadia to pull the trigger. Maybe I’ll even pull the trigger myself.”

Vivienne sets her jaw and stands still, and MC gives her a small, triumphant smile before she follows Nadia out of the museum.

#Anonymous #answered #lovestruck #lovestruck fanfiction #qot #queen of thieves #qot nadia #lovestruck nadia #queen of thieves nadia #nadia pshenichnikova #nadia x mc #angst

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markosmate · 4 years

Text

baby blues

pairing: paul x reader

summary: reader meets the boys for the first time, and they only truly take a liking to her because of how sharply paul’s interest spikes when he first lays eyes on her.

warnings: none

au: first lost boys fic kinda scared ngl :(

as much as you wanted to call santa carla your home, nowhere has ever felt like home to you. you wanted nothing more than to find somewhere - or someone - who could make you finally want to stay. yet for some reason you had always had an overwhelming urge to keep moving and always travel, hopefully one day finding the place that had been screaming your name for years.

you weren’t going to lie, santa carla had a homey feel to it - as homey as a murder capital could get - and you were hoping this would be the place. it’s been a year since you left home in new york on your motorcycle, traveling across the united states and stopping momentarily in every place you passed through. however, nowhere truly called to you and in the end, you just kept moving. driving into santa carla was a show on its own. as soon as you made it into town, you were welcomed by a beautiful boardwalk with an amazing variety of rides, shops, and food joints. sure, some of the people walking around didn’t look the friendliest - but who would willingly put themselves out there in a place where the vulnerable are never heard from again.

it was already dark out by the time you arrived, so you wasted no time and almost immediately parked your bike in the boardwalk parking lot among the other cars and walking back in the direction of the boardwalk. tonight would most likely be yet another night spent alone in a dirty hotel room, and even if you decided to stay the only thing your savings would let you afford for now would be a small shaky apartment somewhere deeper in town.

you’d need to find somewhere soon before you ran out of money, a job would help with that if you could ever find a place that you could stay in long enough to actually get hired somewhere.

refusing to dwell on how desperate you are to find a home, you grinned as you practically pranced around the long strip of games and small shops. weaving your way in and out of people you eventually made your way into the closest - and least occupied store - a video shop. a man was standing at the main counter with a large white dog laying at his feet. "hello young lady!" he greeted with a large grin tugging at his lips. "you look in need of a shopping spree. how can we help? we’ve got the best selection of videos and tapes in all of santa carla!" you grinned at his eagerness to sell some of his items and you were always a sucker for appeasing to older folk's wishes.

"just looking for some cassette tapes, got any?" you smiled admiring the large selection of patches adoring the inside of the glass counter top.

"quite a few. they’re over towards the back wall if you wish to browse."

"awesome, thank you." you smiled at him before walking around the entire center of the shop towards the back wall where, indeed, there was shelves of different cassettes.

you skimmed through the rows of them trying to find anything that would suit your taste before ultimately giving up after realizing it wasn’t in your best interest to be spending money in such a care-free way. you made your way back around the shelf and began walking towards the exit at the front of the store when four boys on motorcycles pulled up to the entrance. they all shut off their vehicles and stepped off of them rather quickly, following the platinum blond into the shop in a line. the dog laying on the floor lifted its head and its lips pulled back in a snarl as they made their way further into the building. the man at the front - who you presumed was max - hardened his glare as he watched the four young men waltz through the place.

his attention soon shifted from them however as a couple came in and began asking him questions about what kind of tapes he had in the horror section. your eyes wandered over each boy, taking in their appearances and clothing choices.

the blond at the front looked to be the most layered up. dressed in all black, he carried himself in confidence and had a dark sort of aura surrounding himself. the smallest at the end of the group was leaned over the counter, grinning at the girl working alongside the older man. she shook her head at him with a dismissive grin before turning to continue organizing the jewelry decorating the short stands atop the counter. his colorful jacket was hard to miss and long blond curls fell down his back. the next to follow the platinum was a much more serious looking dude with longer dark hair and dark eyes. he had no shirt on underneath his leather jacket, showcasing a pair of abs that would have made you blush in any other circumstance. however, you were much more focused on the twisted sister fella who was running his fingers along the vinyls lining a shelf. "yo marks, they got a metallica one!"

"no way man, metallica's not on vinyl." curly turned from his position at the counter to cock a hip at the blonde.

"yes huh, come 'ere!" you were too invested in watching the blondes argue over if it was worth it to steal the vinyl to notice the platinum walking over to stand beside you.

"see anything you like?" you jumped and let out a small yelp as you turned quickly to look at him. he was a good foot taller than you and his face was mere inches from your own. you’d be lying if you said he was less intimidating up close than he was farther away.

"h-huh?" you squeaked out stepping a few feet back so you both weren’t so close to each other.

"the cassette collection. have you seen anything you've liked?" he smirked as he placed an unlit cigarette between his lips. you were too nervous to realize that they hadn't even pulled up until after you’d walked away from the cassette shelves.

"oh, no. uh, nothing that sparked my interest." you confirmed giving him a shy smile as you tried to turn and make your way out of the store. you didn’t make it far before you ran straight into someone's chest and fell backwards. whoever it was caught you by your bicep and helped steady you. you looked up to lock eyes with twisted sister and you could practically feel your face turning bright red as he shot you a pretty smile.

"watch out babe, you could run into the wrong people here." he spoke smoothly with a humorous tint to his words.

the curly-headed one laughed at his words. "you’re new around here, huh? we'd remember a pretty face like your own."

you ignored the flirtatious undertones of his comment and just nodded in confirmation. "yeah, just stopping in. i’m y/n." you introduced yourself shyly, not really sure if they wanted an introduction or if they were just messing around with you before taking off into the crowds of the boardwalk. platinum smirked at your words before gesturing for you to follow him out the store. you found yourself listening to his request before you could even really ponder why he needed you outside the store in order to introduce himself.

once you stood with them at the bikes they each stopped to lean against their respective vehicle. you found yourself leaning against the railing as you watched their every move carefully - trying to decipher if they posed a threat or not. "what are your names?"

"david. that’s paul, marko, and dwayne." platinum introduced shortly as he finally lit up the cigarette between his lips. you waved at them and shot each one a smile.

"why don’t you come hang out with us for awhile babe?" marko grinned at you, ignoring paul who slugged his shoulder after.

"oh, uh that’s quite alright. i should probably get going." you lied through your teeth knowing that you’d have to spend at least an hour driving around town for miles to find a hotel willing to rent you out a room at this hour.

"we insist." david grinned with a sinister kind of look in his eyes. "you can ride with paul and we'll go hang out back at our spot overlooking the point."

"oh that’s alright, really." you tried to persuade them. "my bike's in the parking lot, i really should be heading back to my hotel."

"hotel? oh come on babe, if you’re staying in a hotel that means you really have nowhere you need to be. just come hang out for awhile, we promise we don’t bite." paul teased leaning forward over his handlebars a bit. "as for your bike, they don’t tow vehicles left over night. you can come back and get it tomorrow. please?" he pouted at you and you felt yourself slowly weakening at the look in his eyes.

"alright, alright fine! but no alcohol, i’m not getting drunk around a bunch of punks i just met." you gave up and threw your hands in the air.

david nodded and mounted his bike after putting out his cigarette. dwayne copied his actions and they all started their rides. paul smiled brightly at you and held out his hand to help you climb on behind him. "hold on sweets." and just like that, they took off down the walk. after weaving through the crowds for a few seconds they rode down a short flight of stairs causing you to squeak and cling to the blond in front of you a little tighter.

"don’t worry, i have years of experience!" he called over his shoulder to you whilst laughing to himself.

"tell me why i don’t believe that!" you shouted back as they sped down the beach. after a couple of seconds you began to relax a little more as you felt the wind blowing your hair in multiple directions.

you grinned as you lifted your head from his back to feel more of the wind, and let out a small laugh as you loosened your grip the tiniest bit on his waist. he smiled back at you before he joined the others in hooting and hollering in joy. soon you were speeding through the supports of the docks and before you knew it, the boys were swerving left and right down a dense path through the woods.

not even minutes later the boys slowed their bikes to a stop near the bluff. paul stood from his bike before turning to offer you a hand off. they led you down a staircase on the side of the cliffs which ultimately led into a cave.

"woah..." you awed as you spun in circles, taking everything in.

"amazing, isn’t it?" david grinned at your response as he took a seat on an old wheelchair. "this place used to be the hottest resort in santa carla, too bad they built it on a fault. when the big one hit san francisco in '06, this place took a header right into the crack."

"and now it’s ours." marko interrupted his story by dancing around atop the old fountain. "you like?"

you nodded with a small giggle. "it’s amazing! obviously a little dusty," you remarked sliding a finger across a table to collect the layer of dust settled on it. "but beautiful nonetheless."

"you just moved here?" david asked. "looking for a place to stay?"

"oh, no i didn’t move here." you explained quickly. "i’ve just been driving around the states since last july. trying to find somewhere to call home and nowhere's called my name yet."

"except this place." dwayne remarked for the first time that night. "this place is giving you an odd feeling."

"yeah..." you mumbled, furrowing your eyebrows at him. "how'd you tell? that desperate?"

he shook his head with a small smile. "instincts i guess."

"you should stay here." paul suddenly spoke. "with us. with me."

you locked eyes with him and quite literally felt the rest of the world melt away. you’d never seen eyes that color blue, and in that moment you wished it was the only color you could have the pleasure of seeing for the rest of your life. as quickly as you were sucked into the trance, you quickly snapped yourself out of it. "you guys stay here?"

"hell yeah doll. no parents, no rules, just party all day, everyday." he jumped down from the fountain and wrapped both arms around your shoulders from behind. "just look around. you could stay here, young and wild forever." he chuckled at the last comment, and the way he said it almost made it seem like he was making some kind of joke to the others that only you weren’t in on.

"at least think about it sweets." he grinned and kissed your temple as your vision slowly started fading in and out. you watched as the other three stood and began making their way towards you.

"sleep, y/n." david lulled quietly. "there’s plenty time to make a decision when you wake."

you could’ve sworn you had just blinked, but when you opened your eyes again you were laying in a cheap motel room with a feeling sort of like a hangover that you had no explanation for.

#the lost boys #the lost boys 1987 #alex winter #brooke mccarter #kiefer sutherland #billy wirth #dwayne x reader #marko x reader #david x reader #paul x reader #the lost boys x reader #the lost boys imagine #paul imagine #paulovebug #vampires #vampire x reader #the lost boys headcannon

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kiss-my-freckle · 3 years

Photo

Damon Salvatore: Lost Girls

"None of this adds up. The only thing that's really clear is that you're not just a liar, but you're a liar with secrets. So you can tell me the truth, or I can figure this out on my own."

Elena had more respect for Liam than Stefan had for her. She has no choice but add these things up on her own. Continuing on that note because it's either a continuity error or just plain idiocy. "When you were honest with me about what you were. How did you know that you could trust me with such a huge secret?" Stefan didn't reveal his truth to Elena because he was in love with her. He revealed his truth to her because he had no choice. She already knew. "You know." She was at his door because she wanted to hear him say it out loud. "That's easy. I was in love with you. I wanted you to know everything." Do not try to sell me the idea that Stefan fell in love with her by the 5th episode of the series because he stalked her far longer than he actually spent time with her. And he didn't want her to know everything. Do not hand me a pile of shit, then try to pass it off as a bouquet 6 seasons later.

Elena adds it up, and Beauty of the Dark was a wonderfully chosen soundtrack for the scene. "Dear diary, I'm not a believer. People are born, they grow old, and then they die. That's the world we live in. There's no magic, no mysticism, no immortality. There's nothing that defies rational thought. People are supposed to be who they say they are. And not lie or hide their true selves. It's not possible. I'm not a believer, I can't be. But, how can I deny what's right in front of me? Someone who never grows old... Never gets hurt... Someone who changes in ways that can't be explained... Girls bitten... Bodies drained of blood... "

Damon is written opposite Stefan. He buried his humanity because he's not human, he's a vampire. Like Stefan, he has his own secrets, but they're kept out of respect rather than the need to hide who he is. Stefan hides the cut on his hand because he's hiding the truth of himself. Damon hides the dream he handed to Rose because it's not his to share, it’s hers. Stefan plays pretend, Damon chooses not to. As you view how Elena adds up Stefan's secrets, expect her to do the same with Damon's humanity. A little piece here, a little piece there. It'll be the reason she tells him to stop acting like he doesn't care. Because she knows he does. Damon denying he cares, like Stefan denying the cut on his hand.

Now that he's escaped, Damon proves actions have consequences. What he does to Vicki, I consider just as much Stefan's fault. He starved him for nearly a week, so he should expect Damon to hit a campsite. He took Damon's daylight ring, so he should expect him to turn Vicki out of boredom and loneliness. Rather than spend the night standing outside of Elena's window, Stefan should've recovered Damon's daylight ring and handed it to him before the sun came up. His priorities suck. If Stefan truly wanted to protect everyone from Damon, he should've been the one guarding him rather than heading back to high school as if all was good in the world. "No, what have you done? You're the one that locked me in the basement and starved me, so whatever I've done, whoever I've sucked dry is on you, buddy." Cold hard truth. At least Damon is now willing to cover his tracks. "I already want you dead. Don't give me another reason to make it happen." This follows through with Lexi.

I love the focus to their childhood photographs when Elena leaves the house. Vampires killing mockingbirds. She's now catching up to Caroline, asking questions about garlic and holy water. These parallels help one to understand why Caroline takes longer to accept Damon. Consider the abusive partner. It may not happen often, but people are capable of change. Imagine one of those few, and what they'd be like with their future partners compared with their past partners. That's the difference you get with Caroline and Elena. Stefan's 145-year mistake with Damon, was believing a vampire could change a vampire, much less the vampire who forced him to become a vampire. That's why Stefan needs to pair Damon with Elena. Allow him to spend time with her. If he loved his brother more than he obsessed over Elena, he'd do right by allowing him the chance to be in her world, to feel what he feels. Until he feels it, Damon will continue believing he has to feed on it to feel alive.

Stefan defends Damon's actions as a vampire because that's what vampires do. None of this is okay, but they're not okay. They're dead. 'He saw that I was happy with you, and he wanted to ruin it." Because Damon promised him an eternity of misery. Trust he has every reason to hate Stefan. He outwardly admits he didn't care that he had gotten something Damon wanted. He didn't even care that it hurt him. Yet another difference. Damon actually feels guilty for wanting Elena. Stefan didn't care. "That's the thing about Damon. He doesn't get mad. He just gets even." Damon gets mad. Trashing Stefan's room is the extent of him getting even. He's not turning Vicki to get even with him. What he gets from Vicki is every bit what Stefan gets from taking Elena with him on his little field trip. The beauty of not being alone. Damon and Vicki dancing is the best thing ever. View the parallels in these like-minded relationships, and you see where they're going. Elena is a lot like Stefan. Vicki is a lot like Damon. Now insert Vicki's dialogue to Jeremy, and you see Delena throughout the entire series. "I really hope you're not one of those guys who, now that we're together, tries to change everything about me." Elena is gonna change Damon. The purpose of them hitting Denver. 1x11 plays opposite 1x6 that way. Delena having fun, but sitting at a bar rather than dancing it up at his house.

"What Damon wants, Damon usually gets." The very reason Stefan felt threatened. "Believe it or not, Stefan, some girls don't need my persuasion." And the purpose of Damon saying what he did. "You won. You got the bad guy. Now nothing could come between you and Elena. Except the truth." It'll be the reason Alaric hands him the cure and tells him to get his girl. Because Damon usually gets what he wants. It's not about whether or not he gets Elena. It's about how he gets her. His character development matters. "Turns out she wasn't ours to steal." Because she's a lost girl. Elena will follow the same concept. She's much like Katherine and her vervain necklace that way. Damon didn't steal her, he found her. That's why this episode is called Lost Girls. They're lost, not stolen. Klaus lost Katherine. Stefan lost Elena. "I lost you the minute I left town with him." The necklace and its two ships. "I wanted to protect you from Damon's influence. But I also wanted to protect you from me." Because you can't protect a girl from falling in love. Vicki piques Damon's interest when he finds out she's sleeping with Elena's brother. "Actually, you know what? You should go. In fact, if i were you, I would stop by your boyfriend Jeremy's house. Bye. Tell Elena I said hi. And IF you see Stefan, tell him to call me." Follow her dialogue, and you see Damon. "And when I think of my future, i just come up blank." For 145 years, he's been waiting to get in that tomb. Nothing but blank between then and now.

Aside from his dancing scene with Vicki, his scene at Elena's house is one of my favorites of the episode. She's judging him for turning Vicki after she just got done judging Stefan for choosing to transition. "The same choice you made?" What I love about her scene with Damon, is her belief that he made the same choice Stefan did. She bites back. "Did you thank Katherine?" This is the first time she attracts Damon. He's feeling her Petrova fire, and he likes it. That's why he eyes her body. He doesn't plan to kill her, but he's gonna use her to get the tomb open, and leverage her should Stefan try to stop him from getting his girl. When it comes to Elena, what he's willing to do isn't necessarily what he wants to do. He's willing to hurt her if he has to because he waited 145 yeas for this. "Tip for later, be careful who you invite in the house." A nice slam after walking in her house without permission. Because Stefan did the same thing. He was the first vampire she invited in the house, and when she ran from him, he forced her to face him when he appeared in her bedroom. Never mind waiting for an invitation.

Stefan wanted Vicki to die. This shows in his reaction to her completing the transition. "You mean we'll come up with a lie." By entering her life and romancing her the way he has been, Stefan forced Elena into her own shadow of existence. She's now having to live as he does, lying to everyone she cares about, having no one to talk to about the darkness she now knows exists. And this is being added to the pain she alredy feels having lost both her parents.

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usuccc · 4 years

Note

Please talk more about that au, villain Alfred is a guilty pleasure 🙏🏻

*sweats* You and me both! Oh man, where to begin. First of all, thanks for the interest! It means a lot. I can’t be concise, so I’m gonna put this under a huge ‘Keep Reading’ for whoever is interested. Like for real there is a whole ass essay below that cut. I left some stuff out cause it’s already a ridiculous length, but I got the gist of it.

Leave it to me to take a silly gag au and go completely off the rails with it. It’s honestly hilarious gg me.

This au takes place in some fake big city with dark synthwave-y aesthetics where the skies are constantly gray in the daytime from smog and pollution. Over the last ~20-30 years, Jones Enterprises has risen up as the most influential and powerful company in the United States, with their headquarters in (fake big city’s name). They have hands in many industries, spanning the manufacturing, retail, and technology spheres. Over the past 5 years, especially, they’ve seen massive, nearly unbelievable growth, and unfortunate events or sell-outs have conveniently fallen upon their competitors, allowing them to create monopolies in several industries. They also have the government in an iron grip and no one is willing to stand up to them for fear of the consequences. Most people mysteriously feel compelled not to confront them anyway, especially those who live closest to their headquarters.

Francis was an employee for Jones Enterprises’ main headquarters. He saw how overworked and underpaid his colleagues were. Bogged down by overwork in his first year, he eventually tried to get away with slacking as much as he could. After witnessing one of his close coworkers have a heart attack and almost die from the stress of working there, he changed gears and started speaking out on behalf of his colleagues. Some of his motivation came from feeling partially responsible for what happened, and he wanted to evoke positive change across the company instead. He tried time and time again to organize strikes after his attempts to organize a union were completely shattered. The turnout was very little in the beginning, and soon fizzled out to just him. He stubbornly pressed forward on his own anyway and was fired for it. Finding other work turned out to be impossible, his firing acting as an unemployment death sentence. It was not uncommon for employees fired from Jones Enterprises to be shunned from ever finding a decent job again, and Francis’s situation was even worse given the bad publicity he received from his strike attempts.

Ready to resort to desperate measures, Francis started seriously considering moving back in with his parents in France and figuring out a new plan. Jones Enterprises had gained significant influence in Europe too, so there wasn’t a guarantee he wouldn’t experience similar problems there.

Before he could buy a plane ticket, he was visited by Kiku Honda, a stranger with an unassuming appearance. Long story short, Kiku had come to the US with the alias as a simple tourist. His family was presently responsible for safekeeping a secret and powerful magical artifact with mysterious origins.

The artifact was one of two powerful stones, both of which were in existence since the beginning of mankind. These stones were antitheses of each other, representing and contributing to major moral conflicts throughout history. They were both drawn to chosen human hosts who were destined to face each other. The pink stone, which Kiku was in possession of, gained and gave magical power through love, equality, and hope/healing. It formed a positive, nurturing, non-invasive connection with its host, and gave them the power to protect and inspire hope in others. The other (purple) stone gained and gave magical power through greed, subjugation, and fear. It gave great wrath and influence to its host, whose powers would grow exponentially over time as the two stayed connected. This stone would physically embed itself in its host’s heart, eating away at their mind slowly to bring out the absolute worst in them and shave away at their morals and inhibitions, until they were nothing but a heartless monster. Tendrils would spread out from the stone throughout the host’s body, growing in size and number the longer they were connected.

Kiku had long suspected that the unnatural growth of Jones Enterprises was connected to the purple stone. He had gradually implanted connections in Jones Enterprises and had been monitoring the situation for clues of a potential host. The senior leadership of the company was very hard to crack, however, and the CEO had significantly limited his public appearances in recent years, but Kiku would not let it rest. Any of the higher ups in the company could be a candidate for suspicion. While investigating, he heard of and even saw some of Francis’s brazen attempts to challenge the seemingly invincible company. He was impressed with Francis’s ability to stand up to an insurmountable foe, especially given the influence of the mysterious compelling force that kept most others in the city silent. He wanted to get information from Francis about his experience at Jones Enterprises and to offer him an opportunity to rebuild his life for his bravery. The stone, which Kiku always kept on his person, ended up choosing and bonding with Francis to both of their surprise, and boom Magical Strike was born.

-----

Now onto Alfred and Arthur. Alfred is the son of the founder and CEO of Jones Enterprises and his ex-wife. His parents divorced when he was still a baby, and his father did not remarry. Alfred’s mom remarried right away and had another son, Matthew.

In his home life, Alfred often felt neglected and overlooked compared to Matthew, whom his mom and stepdad preferred and doted on. His birth father ignored him in favor of growing his company as well. This caused Alfred to act out at school and extracurricular activities, always overshadowing Matthew whenever possible and rubbing it in his face. He often got in trouble at home later for it. When Alfred got a little older, he frequently snuck out after these fights and went somewhere to be alone. One night, he walked down to the neighborhood park and saw another boy alone by the swings where he usually liked to go to mope. This boy was a few years older than him and muttering angrily to himself. Feeling a sort of weird camaraderie for this other pissed off dude, coupled with the fact he’d never seen him before and was curious, Alfred took the plunge and went over to talk to him. Alfred and Arthur’s first meeting was a little rocky, but the two quickly found themselves warming up to each other. Many coincidences found them meeting in the same park after a bad day, and the two eventually bonded and made a thing of it. Alfred found that with Arthur he could open up and be more authentic than he let himself be with his other friends.

By the time he hit high school, Alfred emotionally detached himself from his mom/stepdad, and tried to be a little nicer to Matthew, although their relationship was never close. He and Arthur still met often outside of school, and Alfred tried to reach out to him at school too, but Arthur limited those interactions due to his unfavorable status as an irritable loner. Alfred continued to seek out other people’s attention, forming a ton of superficial friendships with his classmates. He became obsessed with being number one at everything he did and getting everyone to like him to patch up his residual feelings of loneliness and inadequacy, and also to hopefully impress Arthur, whom he secretly had a crush on. Excelling in his sports clubs, and even skipping a grade in his academics, Alfred felt like things would be okay if they kept going the way they were.

Then Arthur abruptly confided halfway into Alfred’s freshman year that he was moving back to England that year after he graduated for family reasons. Alfred didn’t take the news well, and when the time came for Arthur to leave, it hit Alfred hard. They promised they’d keep in touch via phone and online, but that did little to comfort him and his other shallow friendships often made him feel worse. The feelings of loneliness and inadequacy returned tenfold. It was around this time that Alfred was contacted for the first time by his birth father in years, asking to meet and catch up. Alfred readily accepted, not taking a moment to think it through in his low emotional state.

Alfred’s dad was getting into some weird shit since the divorce. He’d been putting obsessive efforts into expanding his company, making strategic partnerships, attending all kinds of rich, bougie events for networking purposes, and exploiting his workers to maximize profits. Despite his efforts, his returns were decreasing and the existence of some key new competitors put him in a tough spot for future growth. When conventional methods didn’t appear to be making any progress, Alfred’s father started hanging around some wealthy, sketchy social circles. It’s through a series of events with these groups that he learned of and obtained the purple stone. After seeing it reject and devour an unfit host before his eyes, he decided he was in desperate need of its supposed power, but he couldn’t risk using it on himself in the case he was judged to be unfit. He had to use it on someone inconsequential if things went wrong, but at the same time malleable, so he could ensure they used the power to further his goals.

Alfred’s dad put on an act when Alfred arrived, making it seem like he wanted to bring Alfred back into his life, raise him up like he should have been doing all those years. Alfred soaked it up like a sponge, and his dad appeared to follow through on his promises, engaging with him and frequently making secret visits so they could spend quality time together. After a whole year of building Alfred’s trust, his dad was able to convince him to put the stone to his heart, assuring him that only he could do it and he trusted Alfred to make their company and the lives of so many people who depended on it great. The stone embedded itself in Alfred’s chest, causing him to pass out from the pain. When he woke up, still in one piece, his dad was able to calm him down and convince him to keep it a secret, even from the people he was closest to.

-----

Some other tidbits of info:

Arthur and Alfred did keep up communication after he left for England, and he considers Alfred his closest friend. Life got in the way plenty of times, though, and they couldn’t always keep up the most consistent communication. Still, they did what they could and were able to meet in person a few times even. Arthur obtained a degree in England and worked his first job there. But after that, he moved back to the states and got a job at Jones Enterprises, thrilled to surprise Alfred about it. They have a heartwarming reunion. Alfred, himself, graduated high school early, got accepted into an Ivy League college on a scholarship, received his degree in finance and business management due to his piece of shit dad’s wishes, and was being directed by his dad to start using his powers of influence on their competitors. At first, he justified to himself that the outcome would be good and that the competitors he was going after were bad people—which some of them definitely were—but over time, he found himself doing things he never would have before (to unhappy employees for example), caring less and less about the people that were impacted.

-----

So yeah, the main events take place about 10 years after Alfred becomes the host for the purple stone, having plenty of time to grow his power and lose himself to the stone’s influence in secret. When Francis makes his debut as Magical Strike, Alfred starts infusing some of Jones Enterprise’s key weapons tech with his magic and sending people after Francis, who is still learning his abilities. Then, in the latter half of this arc, Arthur becomes the main antagonist against Francis, having just scratched the surface of what’s really going on with Alfred and thinking (in denial) this will somehow help him. At the beginning of the second arc, there would be growing tension between Alfred and Arthur when Arthur can’t explain or keep excusing Alfred’s actions anymore. Alfred would lose control and almost hurt Arthur, whom he had taken the most care to hide his darker side from, which would cause Arthur to join forces with Francis, desperate to find a way to get the purple stone out of Alfred and save him somehow. Alfred mcfuckin loses it when he finds out.

#hi i'm al and i have a kink for mind control and betrayal followed by healing bye #my token chaotic evil alfred but it ain't his fault #there is so much angst in this au #but there's a positive leaning ending dw #francis: why do i hear boss music #like legit arthur's betrayal scene is imprinted in my head frame for frame #i wanna draw it but it would have to be a comic why do all my thoughts come in comic form why #magical strike au #al's aus

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sphinxsmuses-archived · 3 years

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ooc: Alt. Verses/AUs!

Fire Emblem Three Houses Ai: Ai Malificia is a Golden Deer student. A little shy but friendly and kind to all, Ai mainly focuses on magic, studying Reason and Faith. She can be seen in the library or the courtyard but especially the greenhouse with all the flowers. Ai loves flowers, especially pink roses. She also has a twin sister who has run away from home that she hasn’t heard from in a long time. The two were dotted on by their overprotective parents as both had Crests.

They feared what could happen to the two and though Ai didn’t mind, her sister had enough and decided to run away. Ai was sad for days until she heard about the Monastery. It took some convincing for her parents to let her attend as a student but finally they let her go. Now on her own, Ai strives to do her best and learn to be a healer in order to help others.

Goddess Ai: Ai is kind-hearted, gentle, soft-spoken, nature goddess who loves flowers as well as relaxing activities like painting or reading with tea. She is quite naive about the world though, only knowing little from books and hasn’t been outside much due to worrying that there is danger out there. Ai is sweet and could possibly never harm anyone no matter the danger she may end up in.

Fire Emblem Three Houses Diana:

Diana’s mother is a noble knight of Faerghus, retired now after having a child, her father a Monk who used to be an adventurer. Diana would hear stories from both about serving the kingdom and seeing the world. Though adventuring around the world seemed fun, she decided to strive towards a path of being like her mother. At first she trained under her when young, then when old enough was accepted into the Academy under the Blue Lions house.

Knowing Dimitri is the heir to the throne, Diana tends to sway to training her hardest to impress him since she is aiming to be a knight of his someday once she graduates. Her hardworking and studious nature has some students frowning upon her, thinking her an overachiever, while others admire her.

Tsareena Gijinka Iyumi (A Pokemon Gijinka version of Iyumi where she is a Tsareena. Prissy and can seem stuck up but is actually willing to help others. If you’re charming and caring, her personality flips and she becomes a lot more friendly and adoring.)

Genshin Impact Iyumi: Iyumi is a Electro Fatui mage on the prowl for someone cute she can call hers. To most she acts vicious and snobby, ready to electrocute them should they get on her nerves. But should she find the someone she wants, she becomes more adoring and flirty, chasing after them until she can have them. Which can turn into an aggressive chase should the other not want her.

Iyumi is a talented Fatui mage from Snezhnaya, obeying the Tsaritsa though sometimes goes off on her own in search of someone to play with and be her lover should they catch her interest. However her aggressive behavior and the fact that she is a Fatui has scared multiple people off, making her a bit hot tempered and grumpy towards others.

One Piece Xia: Xia started off on an island of rich folk and snobs. She was given everything she could have asked for except one thing. Freedom. Her parents were terrified of the outside world, even of some of their own neighbors thinking they would try something drastic to get their fortune. She was kept inside for the most part, couldn’t make friends, could barely even set foot outside. It drove her crazy. She could take care of herself! Nothing would harm her. She tried every way she could to break free of the cage she was in. And then, she finally saw her chance when a pirate crew came to her shores.

The crew fell for her charms and looks and made her captain, blinded by their lust for her. Though she had never been a pirate or captain, she led them on one mission, to simply go place to place and have the fun she could never have when she was held like a captive bird back home. Knowing how easily her small crew succumbed to her wishes made her decide to branch out and use it more against others. Obtained the Inu Inu no Mii: Fox Model fruit on her travels.

One Piece Kyana: Kyatana or Kyana as she prefers to be called lived in a humble town. Days were peaceful, all thanks to the Marines. Or so she was told by her parents. She listened to stories of famous Marines and saw them as heroes, desiring strongly to be one. She read as many books about them as she could, trained herself to at least wield a sword, and anxiously waited for herself to be old enough to join. Along the way to getting recruited however, she had some hiccups. As a child, she found a strange fruit that bullies were hiding and she decided to take it for herself, thinking they didn’t deserve it. She ended up being chased and in the middle of it all, swallowed the fruit as fast as possible. At first nothing happened. Then a burst of flame came from her. Her parents weren’t the type to give up though and made things work out, even if they weren’t sure what to think about their daughter’s new abilities. But they knew everything had been an accident. They encouraged her to train her new abilities and keep aiming to join the Marines. That was nine years ago and now much older, Kyana was ready to be recruited, feeling like she had control over her flames. Has the fire fruit.

Demon Iyumi: A demon AU for Iyumi where she is a demon princess wanting to find her king and become a queen! Though her stuck up, snobbish attitude tends to scare away others. However, if she has interest in you, her personality switches and she’ll be nice and adoring towards you, possibly even flirty. Though watch out, when she sets her eyes on someone she wants, she’ll do anything to get them. Also has a Disgaea verse where she is a wannabe Overlord!

Goddess of Darkness Iyumi and Goddess of Light Miyuki: Twin goddesses with not only polar powers but polar personalities. Iyumi is a snob and a bit of a brat, seeing herself as above all others (especially mortals) though secretly wants to find someone to love (and dominate over) and has a secret soft side as well. Miyuki is sweet and kind and has a very sympathetic heart, willing to help any mortals she comes across that are in trouble. Though she is also quite gullible and naive. The two bicker at times but try to work with each other.

Angel Miyuki: Miyuki or Miyu is a young angel of heaven. She watches over humans with great curiosity but also a sense of duty to protect them. She is quite interested in the mortal world and wishes to visit it one day. Though she is no warrior, she wishes to use her healing abilities to help anyone in need. Miyu cares a lot for all living things and sympathizes easily with others’ struggles, even demons and fallen angels. The innocent angel only wishes to help whoever in need in whatever way she can. Face claim: Nasse from Platinum End

Fairy Miyuki/Miyu: Miyu is a friendly fairy that lives in the forest. Since people who come there sometimes get lost, if she finds anyone with such a case, she tries to help them in any way she can to find their way out and be happy. She feels sorry for them and also as someone who was born in the forest, finds it her duty to help those who don’t know the area well. Miyu is however naive and desires to help everyone even if they might have hidden intentions, and is rather innocent in nature. She could never hurt anyone even if they were to try and hurt her.

Fate Series Emilia: Emilia is from a family that has some mages, but none of them have participated in the Holy Grail Wars. When she was born, they decided she would be the first to participate once she was sixteen. It sent her family into a feud, some saying that she was much too young to join the Holy Wars, others saying she would be old enough to handle it.

Her family is counting on her to summon a strong Servant like Saber and carry their wish on her shoulders, a wish to make their family famous with a name that will go down in history. But Emilia decided on another wish. Realizing how deadly the Holy War was, she decided on the wish to never have it happen again so no one else would be forced to participate like herself.

Pokemon Sword/Shield Diana: Diana is a trainer from the Galar region, aiming to become champion and quite strong already. Because of her knight themed team, she’s been called Lady Paladin by random trainers. Her team consists of Aegislash, Sirfetch’d, Escavalier, Bisharp, Gallade, and Ninetails.

She is friendly but serious in battle and can seem stuck up. But she loves her Pokemon and is loyal to them and her friends, willing to throw herself in a fight to protect someone.

Final Fantasy 15 Diana: Diana grew up wanting to become a knight like her mother, her father a black mage she met on her travels. She was granted her wish when she showed great prowess in sword fighting and magic and was determined to do anything to protect her country. When trouble was heard brewing from the kingdom of Insomnia, Diana decided to start her journey as a knight early despite not being officially recognized as one and is traveling with her family friend turned her guardian, a moogle named Vico. Now she helps whoever is suffering under the empire and hopes to meet the prince one day to help him as well.

Club Singer/Information Broker Xia: Set in a time of gangsters like Al Capone, Xia is a infamous club singer, beautiful and willing to sell information she gathers from the patrons there for good amounts of money. She may be willing to pull other favors as well if there is something interesting for her to gain.

Villain Kyana: Kyana is a villain, her parents both villains but are rather comical about it. She is as well, coming up with catch phrases, monologues, and nicknames for the heroes who go against her. She never murders or kidnaps anyone, rather steals jewels or other cliche villain things.

#ooc #alt verses #aus for my muses

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gambithq · 3 years

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CATELIA, THE RINGED ISLE

An island just off the eastern coast of Haelion, Catelia lies just south of the Haelion desert only a short boat ride from the coast. The city is famous for its colorful buildings and its sprawling canals, in place of roads, connecting each of the island’s three rings to one another. The outer ring of Catelia, called merdociara, or “the Merchant’s circle,” is home to shops and stalls selling famously delicious food and sturdy, well-crafted supplies; the second ring of Catelia, called arziciara, or “the Artist’s circle,” is the source of some of Haelion’s most beautiful museums and talented artist’s collectives; the third ring of Catelia, called politiciara, or “the Noble’s circle,” is home to Catelia’s substantial noble class and their intricately decorated estates.

Of course, Catelia is as dangerous as it is beautiful: infamous for the warring political factions of its powerful noble families, the city is constantly caught in an elaborate war of intrigue far beyond the comprehension of most of its citizens, who end up becoming collateral damage in the wake of a near-constant string of shifting allegiances and coups d’état. After all, the thing Catelia is most famous for aside from its gorgeous canals is its highly competent and highly mercenary Assassin’s Guild. Catelian assassins are highly regarded and well respected, bringing honor to their families even as they forsake their names and renounce all family ties upon entering the guild to train. It is commonly said that the canals of Catelia run red with blood in the night—and nothing you’ve seen or heard thus far disproves that.

But Catelia isn’t just a convenient stop along the coast to resupply after a stint in the harsh desert. It is also home to a prime target for ferreting out both information and valuable items to steal. And the Gambit happens to be arriving in town just in time for one of the Catelian nobles’ largest parties—and easiest marks—of the year.

THE VERDICCI FAMILY’S ANNUAL MASKED BALL

The Verdicci family is one of the lower noble families in Catelia—high enough to have plenty of power but low enough that no one is vying to overtake them any time soon, a comfortable middle spot that allows them to live in the lap of luxury without too much fear for their heads. The matriarch of the family, Eliara Verdicci, loves any excuse she can find to flaunt her wealth and relatively safe status, inviting nobles from across the politiciara and neighboring cities to attend her annual masquerade ball.

With the extensive guest list and general easy chaos of such a large event, all the Gambit will need to charm their way in are appropriate costumes: the fanciest clothing possible and, of course, a mask. Once inside, they’ll have access not only to every noble in the city to pick pockets and uncover secrets, but also to Eliara’s secure art collection, rare books library, and a vault of valuable jewels and artifacts.

There are several possible leads that Gambit members attending the masquerade may follow up on:

1. LOOSE LIPS. Between the Catelian nobles and wealthy diplomats from nearby cities, a number of important people will be in attendance—people with a wealth of far-reaching information, and possibly the promise of further jobs, further marks, and perhaps some desperately longed for secrets. A charming face and a keen ear will find no trouble circulating the party to gather information; you hardly even have to know the right questions to ask. ( REWARD: valuable secrets ) OVID & ZHENYA

2. DEEP POCKETS. By around a third of the way through the party, most of the distinguished guests should be too intoxicated to be keeping close track of their possessions. Never has a pocket been easier to pick, nor so full. If you have some extra time, try the coat room—you never know what you might find in there. ( REWARD: up to 270 tal or valuable items of equivalent value ) OPEN

3. ANCIENT TOMES. The Verdicci family library is the pet project of Elaria’s wife Marialena, who inherited the project from Elaria’s mother, through a line tracing back generations. The lofty, ceilinged room is full to the brim of incredibly rare tomes kept safely behind charmed glass, and the value of these targets are two-fold: there are books in here that people would pay a fortune for, but there is also information most would consider lost to time, trapped away here where no one else can read them. ( REWARD: up to 350 tal in rare books or information from said books ) DARCASSIAN & ZHENYA

4. DARK SECRETS. Among the books in the library, one in particular stands out: a very recent acquisition, the book is rumored to be cloaked in shadow and—if you believe the tales—to have come from another world altogether, its cover made from strange material no one has seen before, its pages of flesh, or impossibly thin vellum, or blood-red parchment, depending on who you ask. The Nightmare Tome, whispers call it, and they say it belonged to the Lord of Nightmares, taken mortal form. ( REWARD: The Nightmare Tome and information ) ESKAREL & HEPHIREUS & LUCKY

5. DEALER’S CHOICE. Eliara is a renowned collector and dealer of fine art, and hosts a significant collection of her own in a private museum on the top floor of the mansion. The museum is open for browsing during the party, so in order to secret away a piece or two, you’ll either need to be particularly stealth—or you’ll need a way to blend in. ( REWARD: up to 350 tal in rare art ) OPEN

6. HIDDEN VAULT. Somewhere deep in the basement of the mansion lies the hidden entrance to a magically secure vault which is said to house the Verdicci fortune, all in jewels and rare artifacts. If you can find the vault’s location and get in without setting off the spelled lock keeping it sealed, no one should be around to notice you taking whatever you please. ( REWARD: up to 350 tal in jewels and non-magical artifacts ) CASSIAN & TATSUO

7. INTERFERENCE. While the rest of the Gambit does what they can to extract every bit of value from the ball, at least two people will need to serve as their eyes and ears, running interference to keep them from being discovered. Circulate the party, make sure no one suspects your friends, and have a lovely time enjoying the food, drink, and entertainment on offer while you’re at it. ( REWARD: a cut of the spoils, up to 130 tal ) CALLIOPE & GWYN

OUT OF CHARACTER

Thanks to news of the Masquerade gathered by Ovid from a Catelian noble in Fahyrst, Catelia is as good a place as any to restock on food and supplies after the brief trek south through the edge of the Haelion desert. A ferry will take the Gambit from the coast to the island, where they will spend about four days before continuing south along the coast. A shop inventory of items available for purchase in the city can be found below the cut – please message the main if you would like to purchase anything while in town.

In addition to the Masquerade-specific missions listed above, further missions in and around Catelia can be found below the cut. To claim a mission, please post the title of the mission and the two characters claiming the mission in the #mission-claims channel on discord. Catelia missions should, to the best of your ability, wrap up around the 13th of June.

MISSIONS

1. PROTECTION RACKET. Marzara Morducci, a nobleman in one of the highest houses of Catelia, is seeking two bodyguards to escort his teenage son to their countryside villa a short ways from the coast on the mainland; Morducci has received credible threats on his family’s life from Catelian assassins, not to mention the usual monsters and bandits found on the road between the coast and the villa, and he is willing to pay through the nose to ensure his brat of a son arrives safely. ( REWARD: 120 tal ) OPEN

2. A TRAINEE’S TRICK. Melodiae Myrdo, a young trainee at the assassin’s guild, has a problem: as a part of her training, she needs to convincingly fake her own death well enough to fool the guild’s examiners. Unsure of how to proceed, she asks for your help planning and executing the task, which should be as bloody and spectacular as possible. ( REWARD: 75 tal ) ADRIK & ANTNAR

3. THE MASKED MENACE. A number of merchants in the merdociara have reported their most valuable items being stolen in the night, each describing the same strange, masked figure who seems to be able to disappear at will. This rash of thefts has caused merchants to be unusually wary of outsiders, but if their items were to be returned to them and the thief apprehended they would be more than happy to pay whoever helped them for their troubles. ( REWARD: 85 tal ) ANTNAR & BEL

4. A RARE INGREDIENT. Savabella El, a renowned artist known for the vivid colors of their paint and the almost hypnotizing effects their paintings have, is looking for new components to mix into paints to imbue their canvases with magic. They have heard rumor that there are trees, somewhere in the politiciara, that bear fruit whose seeds create a pigment so bright it could blind if not used properly—and they would like you to find some and bring it to them. ( REWARD: 70 tal ) OPEN

5. A ROCKY VOYAGE. Renowned treasure hunter Sar Veden has traveled to Catelia in pursuit of a treasure rumored to lie somewhere deep in the water beyond the island. The waters beyond Catelia are perilous and rocky for several miles beyond the shore, so Veden is hiring a small team who can help him safely navigate beyond the rocks and recover the lost treasure. ( REWARD: a share of the lost treasure ) OPEN

6. A FERRY INFESTATION. The ferry that connects Catelia to the mainland is the only passage onto or off of the island, due to the narrow strait which ordinary boats cannot navigate. Unfortunately, the ferry is currently out of commission due to an infestation of vicious, bipedal frog-like monsters that have taken up residence belowdecks, spitting poison at anyone who dares approach. The ferry’s captain, Luca Attara, is hiring adventurers willing to attempt to shoo them out or exterminate them, to get traffic flowing on and off the island again. ( REWARD: 80 tal ) EZEK & GAVRIL

7. SIREN SIGHTINGS. Several citizens in both the merdociara and the arziciara have claimed to see what they believe to be a siren swimming through the canal between the two rings at night, and the city authorities believe this siren to be responsible for a series of missing persons cases the city has experienced over the past several weeks. For either bringing in the siren responsible or bringing in proof that the siren did not cause these disappearances, there is a steep reward fee being offered. ( REWARD: 95 tal ) BEL & VASHKA

8. A NOBLE ERRAND. A noblewoman named Giacoma Cal is preparing her estate for hosting a diplomatic guest from out of town, and needs someone to fetch a large cask of a very particular fine wine from one of the merchants in the merdociara. She swears the man owes it to her on credit, but he has sent four different servants back to her with refusals, claiming he owes her nothing. Maybe it’s time for a different approach to retrieving the wine for her. ( REWARD: 80 tal ) OPEN

9. A PUZZLING FRESCO. There is a strange fresco in one of the open-air marketplaces in the arziciara, displaying a pattern of interlocking circles, an orange fruit, a blue bird, a diamond of blood red, and a symbol that is said to be the symbol of the no-longer worshipped god of ancient Catelia, Marsei. Legend has it that the fresco is some sort of puzzle, that it opens the way to an ancient temple beneath the stones of the marketplace, and that great treasure lies within... and possibly something much more dangerous. ( REWARD: an impossibly rare artifact ) LUCKY & TATSUO

10. NIGHTMARE PLAGUE. All around the city, strange nightmares have been plaguing the citizens of Catelia in every district and of every class. Shadowy figures seem to appear on their walls as they wake, and disappear as soon as the lights are lit. Those affected report feeling watched—no matter where they go. Desperate for answers, a local doctor has asked for help collecting stories, and hopefully finding a remedy. ( REWARD: 70 tal ) BEL & GWYN & HEPHIREUS

SHOP INVENTORY

if you would like to purchase any gear or supplies from the shops in Catelia, message the main. the following items are available (estimated prices listed):

a masquerade mask ( 5-10 tal )

a custom perfume ( 35 tal )

a rare, old book ( 20 tal )

a fine bespoke outfit ( 25 tal )

a piece of fine jewelry ( 60 tal )

a fine-quality blade ( 95 tal )

an ornate, custom weapon ( 110 tal )

#loc #catelia

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ellana-ravenwood · 5 years

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“I’m in, I’m all in” - Jason Todd x Single!Mom reader part 5/5

And here we are, the end of this series. I really enjoyed writing it haha. Well, obviously since this was supposed to be a ONE SHOT and turned into a...Five part series haha. Anyway, I really hope you like this last part, and thanks to y’all for all the reactions to this series, it was really motivating and encouraging <3.

FINISHED SERIES : PART 1, PART 2, PART 3, PART 4 NEWLY ADDED EPILOGUE : PART 1/3

My masterlist blog : @ella-ravenwood-archives

________________________________________________

A few weeks before Viggo’s kidnapping :

Jess’ can’t catch his breath, as they take his head out of the dirty rain water they were drowning him in. He coughs some filthy liquid, but just as he barely catches his breath they dip him in once more.

And again. And again. And again.

Each time, he almost drowns, but not completely. It’s pure torture.

“This’ll teach you to not pay your debt.”

He hears one of the thug who keeps plunging his head into the water say. And here we go again, face first into the shallow puddle.

How humiliating it is as well, to be drowned in that way, in a dirty puddle, behind an old warehouse...Oh ? This time, the thugs don’t hold his head under water as long as the others, and Jess is able to catch his breath faster.

His mind is racing as he begs :

“Wait wait wait !”

He didn’t actually want to do that but...This was his last chance of survival. His last chance to get out of the mess he put himself in. So what if others have to suffer because of him ?

Now sure, he never wanted to ever involve you in his life again, not after he left without a word, but right now..The situation was hopeless, without you.

And so, Jess heard himself say :

“Wait wait wait ! I-I have an old buddy of mine who recently got in contact with me ! He wanted some- cough - some information about my ex fiancee !”

The two thugs who were waterboarding him look at their boss, a sinister smirk on their faces. Said boss, Antonio Falcone of the Falcone family, arguably the most powerful mafia in Gotham (if it wasn’t for those damn Maronis), shakes his head, exasperated at the poor attempt of this guy to save his life.

He owed them hundred of thousands of dollars, and couldn’t pay them. If it was just a couple thousands, they would have broken his legs and made him do odd jobs for them to make it up to them once he healed...But that Jess ?

He owed them more than most of the people that borrowed money from them REUNITED ! It was outrageous. And somehow, that sleazy motherfucker always got away with getting more and more money, while never paying it back.

But it had been going on for long enough.

Antonio wouldn’t let that go. Couldn’t. Especially not since he was in a good line to get up in ranks. At least, according to his uncle, Carmine Falcone, the Don of the family !

Having a guy owing them that much money in his district was bad publicity. He couldn’t let that go. He gestured for his thugs to waterboard him some more before finally ending it, but that annoying little man kept on going :

“He’s a paparazzo you see ? He takes picture of...Well you know what paparazzi are ! Well he took picture of that woman, who was hanging out with the Waynes, you see ?”

The Waynes ? As in “Bruce Wayne” ? Richest family in Gotham ? Antonio Falcone stopped the thugs from drowning that poor excuse of a man and said :

“What about them ?”

“Well my buddy wanted to know if- cough- if the woman was her. My ex. My ex fiancee. And it was, it was ! He had pictures of her kissing one of the eldest Wayne boys, that Jason guy, the one whom everyone thought died ! And she has a son ! I mean...”

A light came on in Jess’ minds. Yes. Of course. Why didn’t he think of that before ? Yes. They would be his salvation !

“Yeah ! It was her ! And my son ! And they were close to the Waynes ! I have pictures, I can prove it to you ! I’m sure we can...I’m sure we can come up with some sort of a plan so I can get your money, and even more, thanks to them ! I have hundreds of pictures taken of them being the entire day together, and clearly being close ! We know Bruce Wayne already paid ransom before, even if Batman had to get into it and ruined things but...I’m sure we can be smarter ! I’m sure we can have a plan ! A man like you, mister Falcone, surely is smart enough to get away with it ! As long as nobody gets hurt and we plan things smoothly, it should be fine, right ? We-I mean you, could go away from this much richer than you were before !”

Jess surely had a good self-preservation instinct, as he instantly switched to flattery and...Well, it always worked very well on “Mister Falcone”.

Antonio Falcone looked upon that miserable man with disdain, but with also some kind of new found respect. A man willing to sell his own kid to save his life ? Well, it was someone he could relate to haha. After all, he didn’t hesitate to kill his own father to climb up in ranks...

And Jess said his ex-fiancee and his son were hanging out with the Waynes huh ? Well. Well well well.

As much as he disliked that that asshole would get away with owing them that much money once again, Antonio had to admit that they needed Jess to come up with a plan that would keep everything “bat free” and smooth...

Oh, this could actually turn an embarrassing situation into a way of shining in front of the boss !

************

A few hours before Red Hood tries to save Viggo :

And this is how a plan came to life. A nasty plan, made by cowards. A plan to steal a child from his family, just so they could have money.

But for what it was worth, Viggo was never supposed to be hurt. Plus the Waynes ? What would a couple of millions do to their bank accounts ? They were all filthy rich !

Jess tried to rationalize his bad decisions after bad decisions, tried to shift the blame on others, as he always did. Besides in the end, he was still alive. And that’s really all that mattered to him right now. So what if they bribed a couple of judges and lawyer, and go the kid’s custody thanks to that ?

Only there was a little problem in their perfectly laid out plan...That goddamn child being way too curious and hearing things he shouldn’t have !

“COME BACK HERE YOU LITTLE BRAT !!”

Never before Viggo had been that afraid, as he heard “his father”’s steps grow closer and closer. He rushed as fast as he could down the stairs, almost falling over and breaking his neck. He jumped over the last two steps, and ran to the bathroom he saw when he first came in the house.

He snatched the home phone on his way. He figured that trying to escape through the front door was stupid, as he saw Jess closing it earlier. Plus where was he gonna run to anyway ? In Gotham’s street ? At this hour, no one would take notice of him and Jess would catch up too fast...

But barricading himself in the bathroom with the phone ? He had a chance to warn someone ! To say what was happening, and get some help !

Jess was right on his heels as Viggo closed the bathroom door.

“Open up right now, Viggo ! This isn’t what you think !”

Jess said, banging loudly on the door. Viggo scoffed and answered :

“Oh yeah ? Well what is it then ?!”

Silence. Two more bangs, grunts and bad words, and then...total silence.

Viggo didn’t wait for an answer or anything, as he typed his mom’s number on the home phone. He also figured that there was no point in calling 911.

First, in Gotham, they were always very slow. And second, what was gonna happen once they arrived ? Jess would tell them about winning custody not long ago, about being his dad, and the cops wouldn’t believe anything he would say. Because custody battles ? They were always pretty nasty so...

If anything could be said about Viggo (Y/L/N), it was that he wasn’t stupid.

Jess was quiet outside of the room, which was pretty worrying. He gave up way too fast trying to open the door...But Viggo’s mind, no matter how smart that little boy was, wasn’t thinking about that right now.

No, instead, he was praying for you to just pick up and quick ! Tears were slowly gathering in his eyes, as he was slowly realizing that he might be in really big troubles, and he just wanted to see you...

Your phone rung a few times before it went to your voice mail. Viggo’s heart stopped. No. No already ?!

It was late, you were at work. You didn’t answer your phone when at work. At least not when it was an unknown number. If it was your best friend, or whoever babysat your son, you’d answer immediately, but a random number you never saw before, such as Jess’ home phone ? Nope...

Especially when working at the bar, like tonight. You might have not even heard your phone ringing !

He left a message, hurriedly talking about what he heard Jess say on the phone, talking about the Falcone and all. And then hung up. He tried to call a few times, but he knew there was not much hope...

Now, Viggo really wanted to cry. He felt so helpless, and it had been such a tough day ! Making his luggage to follow a dad he never even met before, only to realize that this was all a scam of some sort...

It was a lot, for a little eight years old boy !

But that said little eight year old wasn’t one to give up easily, and so he started to call the next person he first thought of.

Jason.

He knew Jason’s number by heart, and typed it on the phone, sure that the man would rush to his aid no matter what he said ! There was NO WAY Jason wouldn’t come to help. Even if he wasn’t with his mom anymore, Viggo was convinced that he’d rush to his aid anyway !

And if Jason didn’t pick up, cause it was late ? He could always call the Manor ! Or Bruce ! The man gave him his number last time, when they ate ice cream and all, before his mom came back. He said : “call whenever you want, whenever you need” ! Yes, Yes Viggo would just...

A loud bang, a gunshot, made him jump in the air, scared and...What ?

The door handle fell on the floor, fuming slowly. Smoke filled the small bathroom quickly, as the door opened on two large men holding guns and...

“Are you kidding us, Jess ? Really ?”

“What ? The little fucker is fast ok ? I couldn’t grab him before he locked himself in there. I tried to bust the door open but I couldn’t.”

The two men shook their head, exasperated. One grabs Viggo, but the little one wasn't ready to get caught without a fight. He kicked him as hard as he could in-between his legs. The man let him go, and fell to his knees, holding his crotch and whining something along the line of “motherfucker”.

Viggo tried to escape again, and he almost succeeded as Jess was just staring at him dumbly but...The second stranger grabbed him. He laughed and said :

“Haha that kid has more courage than you’ll ever have Jess ! And he’s definitely smarter than you. Are you sure he’s yours ?”

Jess just glared back but didn’t say anything. Now the man was pointing at the phone that escaped Viggo’s hand when he got surprised, understanding that the kid tried to call someone.

“Did you manage to get anyone on the line ?”

He asked, as he roughly lifted Viggo by his shirt. Your boy tried to struggle more, but the man was too strong and with his free hand stopped him from squirming. Keeping a face full of pride, and trying to look very unimpressed, Viggo said :

“Yeah I did. And they’ll be here to kick your ass very soon !”

Of course, that was a lie. But they didn't know that, did they ?

The man took the phone from the floor and lifted it to his ear. The answering machine from Wayne Manor was just ending on a “Wayne are not here, please leave a message if you must”. The man hung up, whistled, and said :

“Ah, well damn, he’s really related to the Waynes too somehow ! Damn Jess, who would’ve thought you’d be the one leading us to a treasure like that huh ?”

“I told you didn’t I ? There literally were hundreds of pictures of her kissing that Jason Todd guy, and of my boy here playing with the two youngest Waynes !”

“I’m not your boy !”

Viggo yelled, angry, twisting his head to look at Jess, daggers shooting out of his eyes while still being stuck in that man’s arms. Said man laughed again and said :

“Well kid, if it’s any consolation, you’re definitely nothing like that coward. You, have got spirit. He, sold you to save his own life haha. How’d that make you feel ?”

Why ? Why was that man twisting the knife further into Viggo’s heart ? The little boy already understood that his own father was doing something very fishy, but knowing that he was selling him to those guys ? That was...well, actually, that didn’t feel as bad as Viggo thought it would.

It was in fact some sort of relief ? To know that that Jess was nothing of a father ! To know that he didn’t actually want to be part of his life, and that he didn’t have to forget...Oh, but THAT did hurt. The pang in his chest as he realized he wished Jason was there, that HE was the dad he always wanted.

But hey, maybe that it was clear that Jess was an asshole, Jason would come back, realizing that he still had his place in the picture ?

It was funny, that Viggo’s mind wandered to the one he wanted so bad to be his dad, as he was carried away by two scary strangers, and thrown in a car.

“So what am I doing now ?”

Jess asked, and one of the thug turned to him and said :

“You call her tomorrow and then...Nothing. If this all deal goes well you’ll never hear from us again. If it goes sideways however...”

Leaving the threats flying in the air, he climbed into the front seat with a dangerous smirk, and Jess gulped. The other man, the one whose balls’ Viggo kicked, rubbed his crotch a bit and was about to climb in the car too, in front of the wheel, when Jess stopped him :

“Hey, you’re not gonna hurt the kid right ?”

“Why, you got attached to him or something ?”

“No, I never wanted kids. But he...He didn't do anything ok ?”

“No he didn’t, and yet he’s paying for his father’s sins. How unfair life is right ?”

“But you’re not gonna hurt him right ? It’s not part of the plan.”

“Him kicking me in the nuts wasn’t part of the plan either. And him knowing our plan, wasn’t part of the plan. Oh, and us being here that early to pick the kid up ? Definitely not part of the plan. All that because you couldn’t find a quiet place to call Antonio. You fucking idiot. So now, who knows what will happen right ?”

There’s a silence, and Jess suddenly feels sick. Sure, so far he didn’t really think of anything else but saving his own skin, and he worked so hard to try and get close to you again...but then you destroyed all his attempts and they had to retort to going to court and now...Now slowly, Jess realized what he had done.

But it was too late now. Anyway, was it really that big of a secret, that he was a piece of shit ? After all, he left his pregnant fiancee fending on her own just because he couldn’t face her and say it was too much for him ! Still, one last time Jess says :

“Nothing will go according to plan, if you hurt the kid.”

The man doesn’t answer, as he just smiles and climb into the front seat. And slowly, they drive away. Jess’ eyes caught Viggo’s terrified gaze as he was taken away, and a sudden pang of regret took over his heart...

Up until he realized that he still was able to feel his heart beating thanks to that kid. And to his ex, you, who happened to be linked to the Waynes. Plus, that guy was just trying to scare him, of course they weren’t going to hurt the kid ! They needed him in one piece, if they wanted the money !

And with a sigh, Jess went back into his house. He just had to wait until the next day to call you and say they had your son and all that, and this all nightmare would finally be over. FiNALLY.

************

The present :

Jason’s heart drops. His blood freeze. His mind goes blank.

Viggo wasn’t breathing. And his skin was so cold.

No. No no no no no. Please god no. Everything but this.

Not Viggo. Not his precious little boy. No…

But no matter what Jason was doing, his CPR didn’t seem to work. And the kid was growing colder and colder.

“No ! No ! Come on Viggo ! Come on boy, please ! Please don’t leave me !”

The boy was unresponding. His lips were blue.

“Don’t go please don’t go ! You can’t go ! You can’t leave your mom ! You can’t leave me ! Please, please !”

But Viggo wasn’t breathing. Wasn’t moving. And his skin was know frighteningly cold. His eyes weren’t opening…and he wasn’t breathing.

“Come on, come on breathe. Breathe…Come on, son, BREATHE !!”

A minute went by, and Jason knew the situation was dire. How many more minutes until the boy would have permanent brain damage ? And...What if he didn’t wake up ?

No. No no no. This wasn’t possible. Viggo couldn’t die ! His little boy couldn’t die !!

Jason, tears in his eyes, kept on giving him CPR, with the desperation of a man who would do anything to save his child.

“Come on, come one Viggo, come back to me ! Come on, you’re a fighter right ! Come on, come back ! Please ! Please son, come back !”

Another minute went by. And Viggo was still not breathing, growing colder and colder and...

Three little coughs.

Jason’s breath caught.

************

A few hours before Jason tries to desperately revive Viggo :

Coming home to an empty house was odd. This was the first time you were alone in your apartment, without Viggo welcoming you back cheerfully (the little fucker never listened to his babysitter about his “bed time”, and would always wake up to come and jump in your arms). The first time in eight years.

You didn’t like it. You didn’t like it at all.

You felt as tears came back to your eyes, at how unfair this all situation was.

You knew that this trial to get Viggo’s custody was bogus. That somehow, Jess had rigged it. You had no idea why, but you knew there was no way any sane judge would give custody of a child to a father who wasn’t there for the first eight years of his life.

Even more so since everything went so fast, every paperworks was signed in a matter of a few days ! And they took him away from you and...

The tears spilled over. This was starting to be too much. And you caught yourself wishing Jason was here...You knew that he would know exactly what to do, in that situation. You knew he would never let it happened in the first place !

But Jason wasn’t here. Jason broke up with you. Because it was “too much” for him and...Yup, you were definitely crying again.

It was fine though, this time, Viggo wasn’t there to witness it...The thought of your son not being peacefully asleep in his bedroom made you cry even more.

You went to his room, and laid in his empty bed. Holding his pillow tight in your arms, you cried and cried, smelling his odor as it was already starting to disappear...When would you be able to see Viggo again ?

Jess didn’t seem to want you to see him much. Actually, you were pretty sure he was planning on making you regret those weeks of him trying to come back into your life, and you pushing him away.

And so you cried. Without anyone to comfort you, not even your little precious son...That’s when your phone rung.

Uh ? A text. You just received a text. You quickly looked at it and “a new voice message is waiting on your voice mail”. Oh right. Probably from that unknown number that called a few times before, when you were at work.

You never answered those calls, especially not at work, but messages ? Sure, you listened to them. You never know, some could be good news.

“Mom !”

Your heart skipped a beat. That was Viggo’s voice ! And he seemed scared ! You had no idea how you knew, but you could feel how your son felt even through the phone !

“Mom ! Jess didn’t want me still mom ! He’s with them Falcone people ! The ones in the paper ! And I don’t know why but he wants to take me to them and he wants to call you after mom ! Mom come please !”

This send a rush of adrenaline to your brain, and you jumped on your feet, grabbing your bag before running out of your apartment.

You didn’t go far though, realizing you had no idea where Jess lived. Motherfucker didn’t even give you an address. For “his own safety” they dared to tell you...But you had his number !

Without thinking twice, you called him. It rung three time before he picked up :

“Hello ?”

“What the fuck is happening Jess ?!”

“Ah, (Y/N). Well, hello to you too. I’m doing great, what about you ? Why are you calling so late anyway ?”

Of course he recognized you instantly. Just like you recognized his unpleasant sniveling little voice ! How did you even date that guy again ?! You barked :

“What do you mean ? I just received a panicked message from Viggo telling me some pretty concerning things ?! What is happening ? Where are you ? I’m coming over.”

“Calm down please (Y/N). I’ll have you know all our conversations are recorded, in case I need further evidence for the court that you’re unfit to be a mothe...”

“Shut the fuck up and answer me.”

“Answer you what ? Nothing is happening ok ? Viggo missed you and called you, if he sounds a little distressed it’s no big deal. He’s just a kid who misses his mom alright ?”

Oh. It was clear Jess had actually no idea what your son could have possibly said to you in his message, or he wouldn’t be so chilled about it all. You continue :

“You say those conversations are recorded right ?”

“Yup.”

You wished he was right in front of you right now, so you could bash his stupid face in. You hated the way he just said “yup”, so proud and satisfied of himself. So you delivered your fatal blow quickly :

“Oh ? And what would they think when I’ll tell them Viggo said you had something to do with the Falcones ?”

There’s a silence at the other end of the line, and you’re pretty sure you heard his breath catch as you said your last words. Finally, he says :

“Ok well, I guess I won’t play more games then.”

************

The present :

Three little coughs.

Jason’s breath caught...to finally let a long relieved sigh when Viggo started to vomit some water, and breathe again.

“Yes, yes that’s good my boy, that’s good, let it all out. Let it all out...”

Jason said, helping Viggo to sit up, patting his back soothingly as the little boy coughed the rest of the water that were stuck in his lungs.

Jason never felt so relieved. So light. So...He was going to be ok. The boy was going to be ok. Right ? He turned his face to him, and was suddenly worried again as Viggo’s eyes seem to have trouble focusing on his face.

And the kid was still so cold.

Without thinking about it twice, Jason took his jacket off, thanking his father for creating all their costumes waterproofed ! Even though Jason jumped into the freezing water too, his clothes were still dry and he therefor wasn’t as cold as the poor kid.

Jason wrapped Viggo’s small body in his heavy leather jacket. He helped him put his legs where the arms were suppose to go, so as to create some kind of pants for him, and wrapped his upper body with the rest of his jacket.

Jason was a tall man, and Viggo ? A rather short eight year old. The Red Hood’s jacket fitted around him perfectly, big enough to wrap all around him.

The boy took a few deep breath, but was still not speaking. And his teeth were clacking against each others...

Jason took him in his arms, and held him close, rubbing his back and legs in an attempt to warm him.

“Come on Viggo, you’re ok son, you’re ok. Right ? You’re ok. You’re breathing. You just need to warm up, you’ll be fine. Right ? You’re ok, you’re ok.”

Jason heard himself chant, more trying to convince himself than anything else. And Viggo was still not talking...but his teeth and shaking were slowly disappearing.

Until finally, he calmed down and snuck closer to Jason, snuggling his little face in the man’s warm chest.

“Viggo ? Are you ok ?”

“The Jason...”

Fuck. He recognized him. Well, duh, of course he did, Jason had to take his helmet off to give him CPR, and didn’t put it back on. Obviously he was going to recognize him ! Well. Too fucking bad. It was too late now to do anything about it anyway.

So what if he knew his secret identity ? Jason trusted that kid enough to know he’ll never tell anyone else. Viggo pulled away from Jason slightly, and, still wrap tightly in the leather jacket, he managed to free an arm and reached up to lay a small cold hand on the man’s tears riddled cheek.

“This explains a lot.”

For a second, Jason lost himself to the touch of his little boy. Yes. “His”. He didn’t even want to hide how he felt about that kid anymore. In his heart, Viggo had been his son for a long time. And finally being able to be near him again made Jason feel lightheaded.

He had dreamt for so long, to be able to talk, play with and hug that little one. Just like when he was still dating you. Putting him in bed, and telling him bedtime stories, as you looked upon the both of them fondly.

Jason had craved, without even realizing it, to see that kid again. And so here, as he laid his small hand on his cheek, wiping away his tears...Jason couldn’t help but feel a little helpless. A little overwhelmed.

He was suppose to be the one reassuring the kid right now, after that traumatic experience. And yet, here was Viggo, wrapped like a little bundle of hay in his leather jacket, comforting him by his mere touch.

For a few seconds, his words didn’t register quite well in Jason’s head until...What ? Uh ? What does “this” explain ? But before Jason could ask, Viggo continues :

“That’s why you left right ? Because you’re Red Hood. You didn’t want us to get involved in all that right ?”

Viggo said, showing the three unconscious men around him. And there’s hope in his eyes, and for a moment, Jason thinks about breaking that kid’s heart forever...but he can’t.

He was planing on just saving him and then bringing him home to his mom, but stay cold and distant with him. Stay away. Make him hate him. Not leaving any hope that Jason cared...But here he was, crying his eyes out as he cradled that small boy in his arms, paternal instinct seeping out of his every pore.

And so he couldn’t. He couldn’t stay away from that boy, he knew now. Just like he knew since the beginning that he couldn’t stay away from you forever.

Seeing this hopeful little boy. He just can’t break Viggo’s heart, not after what just happened to him. And damn, why did that kid had to be so insightful and smart ? So observant, too ? Suddenly, he was reminded of all the time you told him that sometimes, having an intelligent kid wasn’t that great.

Because Viggo always seemed to understand what he wasn’t suppose to understand. Always seem to know when things were up, and figured things out way too fast (for real, the easter egg chase wasn’t even fun as he quickly figured out wherever the “easter Bunny” could have put eggs...).

And so Jason looks at Viggo, and he can’t. He just can’t. He can't decide to leave for good. Even more so because even as he thought he was safe if he left his life, he got hurt tonight and...

“You know, we’d be safer if you were with us right ? See, you left us and for the first time in my life I almost died. You should stick around...”

Jason couldn’t do that to him. He couldn’t do that to that cute little one...He couldn’t resolve himself to definitely break his heart and shove him out of his life. Because he loved that kid. To death. And when he got hurt he got so angry, so sick with worries, so helpless, so...so...

Jason couldn’t do that to him. But he also couldn’t do that to himself. He couldn’t stay away like that. He couldn't...Maybe it was selfish, but he didn’t want to not be part of your life, of Viggo’s life. He...He wanted to...he...

Viggo, thoughtfully, was still wiping away Jason’s tears. Not missing one. Focused on his task, as he continued :

”If we’re with you, you can protect us. It’s easier. Cause you’re already there. And you’re Red Hood. So you will always protect us. I’m guessing your family are the rest of the people ? Batman and all ? If we stick around with you, and with them, we’ll be safe for sure. Right ? So you should really come back. And stay with us. Stay with me.”

Jason’s breath caught, and he felt tears welling up in his eyes again. But this time, they were happy ones. Because here, in front of that brave, smart little boy, he never felt so joyful before in his life.

Here, as he finally decided what the actual right thing to do was.

“Smart cookie...”

He says, and then he grabs Viggo by the shoulder before hugging him tight against his heart. Not letting go. Not ever planing on letting go again.

“Don’t leave me alone again, Jason...”

“I won’t, I promise.”

Viggo wraps his little arms around Jason’s neck, and hold him with all his force. Hugging him like he never hugged anyone before, refusing to let go.

Jason doesn’t mind, of course. On the contrary. He gives the embrace back, and stands up, holding the kid against him. Viggo clings to him for dear life, and Jason has absolutely no intention of letting go.

Not this time.

Not ever.

“I’ll never leave you alone again.”

This time, Viggo knows that Jason won’t ever go back on his words. Because there’s so much strength, so much certainty in his few words...Yes. Viggo knows. He knows he finally found what he had been looking for for so long.

And so the little boy lays his head against Jason, and says, right before falling asleep after all those emotions he went through :

“Thank you, dad.”

************

An hour before Red hood saves Viggo :

Jess owed money to the Falcone family. And they took your kid in hope to ask for a ransom to Bruce Wayne.

When you explained you weren't with Jason anymore, Jess panicked and got angry...But then he remembered that Bruce Wayne had paid for the release of total strangers before. Of people he didn’t even know, helping out just because he could. So paying for his son’s ex girlfriend ? He’ll do it.

You tried to tell him this was a ridiculous plan, and to give Viggo back to you before anything could happen but...that’s when he shattered your heart as he explained that your son was already in the Falcones’ hands.

Your mind went blank. You’re pretty sure you insulted and threatened him some more, until you realized there was no point in doing so, right now, you unfortunately had to work with him.

You obviously agreed to not call the police. Not that they’d help much anyway. Plus them knowing would most likely involve the “Bats”, and neither you nor Jess wanted that.

Because no matter how much you admired those night vigilante, and how much you were sure they were needed in Gotham, you were too worried for your son’s safety to want them involved !

And so the obvious next step was...To go to Wayne Manor, and beg for their help. Deep down, you were pretty sure you wouldn’t have to beg that much anyway, knowing how Bruce had been a few days before, when Viggo skipped school to bring back his birthday present to the Manor.

They had ice cream. They played together. They talked. They...They bonded. You knew Bruce really liked Viggo. And really liked you. You knew he would help. But it’s still very nervous that you drove to there.

************

A few minutes before Red Hood saves Viggo :

It was rather late, when you arrived at the Manor and rung the bell. To your surprise, Alfred didn’t answer the door. Bruce did (it was rather late at night, and Gotham had been quiet. He came home early that day, taking advantage of the quietness to take care of Wayne Inc business).

“Wait wait, (Y/N) calm down, calm down. I don’t understand anything you say. Please breathe, and start over.”

He listened to you, a serious face on. Asking you questions sometimes, to have more details. He listened to your entire story, and he felt his blood boil.

That Jess...How dare he ?! Bruce felt an intense urge to hurt him. To make him regret, to make him suffer, for what he did to you and Viggo. It kind of surprised him, to realize how strongly he felt about this entire issue.

It made him realize, in that moment, that you and your son were already holding a special place in his heart. That all he was waiting for up until now, was for his son to wake up and get back together with you !

It made him realize, as some of his worst side surface, thinking of all the ways he could make Jess suffer, that you two were already family to him. And the would do anything to protect you. So when he listened to you, hearing that Jess gave Viggo to the Falcones’ to pay off his debt, int he hope that your tie to the Wayne family would be enough...His blood boiled.

He, of course, did not hesitate one second to accompany you to the address Jess gave you, “taking his checkbook” with him...Though he had no intention of letting that sleazy ball off the hook that easily.

************

The present :

It was infuriating, to see Jess smile as he opened the door to see you and Bruce Wayne himself.

The little shit was so sure he’d won...it drove you crazy, that he actually did. Because you were here, with Bruce Wayne himself. So of course he won. Bruce was going to give him money to get Viggo back, and Jess would get away with it (again).

The man was actually pretty proud of himself. He handled the situation perfectly, he thought. He came a long way, since having his head shoved in a puddle of water huh ?

Ugh. But he was so obviously proud of himself, it made you furious. And if you weren’t so worried about your son’s safety, you would have already punched him and told Bruce it was time to go.

However, Viggo’s life was on the line. You could feel your son being in genuine danger. And so you did not do anything when he said :

“Please, come on in.”

You followed him in the living room, noticing that your boy’s luggage hadn’t even been unpacked...Your poor baby must have been so scared. Must still be so scared right now, surrounded with strangers !

You hoped to everything you held holly that he was ok. That you’d be able to take him in your arms soon. That things would go back to normal.

And your heart bled at the mere thought of your son all alone, with strangers, and scared. You wanted to hold him against you, you wanted to-wanted to...Bruce’s gaze was fixed on you, and his jaw visibly clenched as he saw tears starting to well up in your eyes.

It was fairly easy to know what was running through your brain right now. He had been in somewhat similar situations than yours before, with his own children. Each and everyone of them had been in danger at some point, and everything had relied on his shoulder to save them.

More than once, he failed to...Jason suffered the consequences of him not being fast enough...The anger this entire situation provoked in Bruce came rushing back, and he turned to Jess, glaring at him.

All of a sudden, the man lost his color, as the famous Bruce Wayne gave him a threatening look. Yo. What was up with that guy ? He always seemed so charming on Tv ? Now sure the situation wasn’t really one to be happy about, of course, but everything would go well if Bruce signed that check. Like chill, it was fine, the situation was handled perfectly well !

You were about to say something, but Bruce didn’t let you. Because there, right now, faced with Jess’ infuriating satisfied smile, Bruce took a decision. And so he says :

“(Y/N) wait for me outside. This is a business transaction between Mister...I do not know your last name. Mister Jess here, and I.”

You look at him, surprise, and starts to say a “But-” but he cuts you off instantly :

“I insist, please.”

You don’t know what made you listen to him, but you can’t find the energy inside you not to. Usually, you would have argued. Say that there was no way, and that you were gonna stay. But...

Bruce had a tone of voice that was hard to resist to.

Plus, you realized that you were completely and utterly trusting him, and if he said you should wait outside, there must be a reason. So without arguing further, you gave him a knowing look and exited the house, going back to the car.

Bruce turns to Jess, and smiles. A dangerous, scary smile. A “Batman” smile. Jess takes an unsure step back, and says :

“So um...are you writing that check or what ? The soonest we’re done with it, the soonest we can get Viggo back.”

That was the straw that broke the camel. The moment Jess should have shut up. Too bad for him now. In a swift move, not letting Jess the time to even know what was happening, Bruce caught him by the collar of his shirt and brought him up to his face.

Bruce was much taller than Jess, and quickly, Jess’ feet left the ground.

“Oh what the fuck man ? What are you-”

“How dare you ? Your own son ?! How dare you use him like that ?!”

“Put me down man ok ? I’m sorry but I didn’t have a choice, I-”

Bruce did not want to hear it. He knew what was going to happen, if he let go. Jess was going to find himself excuses. He was going to justify his disgusting actions. And he was going to stall, and not tell him where Viggo truly was.

And Bruce didn’t want to hear any of it. He was about to cut to the chase. No beating around the bush on that one. “Beating”, what an interesting word...

Bruce threw Jess against his fridge, and the man fell on his ass, the wind knocked out of his lungs. Maybe a few cracked ribs. Definitely lots of bruises.

But Bruce wasn’t finished yet, oh no. He took hold of the man’s collar again, and dragged him to the kitchen’s table, where he smashed his back on said table and head butted him. Hard. Pretty sure he broke his nose.

Jess yelled in pain and fear, and tried to squirm his way out of Bruce’s grasp, but he clearly had no idea who he was facing.

“Where is Viggo ?”

Bruce asked, holding Jess against the table with even more force.

“I don’t know ok ! They took him and I-”

Bruce rolled his eyes and straightened Jess back up, before punching him in the face. Not using his full force, of course. After all, he needed the man conscious for his interrogation...

“Enough bullshit, where is he ?”

“I don’t-”

“Tell me you don’t know one more time, lie to me one more time, and I’ll break your knee cap.”

Bruce says, setting Jess on the floor in front of him and taking hold of one of his leg. Bruce laid a foot on Jess’ chest, making sure the man couldn’t move, and slowly twisted his knee.

“Outch outch outch please, please stop !”

“Tell me where the boy is.”

“Stop ! Please stop !”

But Bruce had no intention to stop. He was sure (gut feelings) that Jess knew where Viggo was, and he wasn’t about to let that asshole get away with all this.

Punching him felt incredibly satisfying. And right now ? Crushing his ribs cage under his foot so he wouldn’t move, and slowly twisting his leg as to give him as much pain as possible ? Well, Bruce didn’t know he could feel such pleasure hurting others.

But when someone touched his family, he tended to lose control...

“Alright fine fine !! Ok ok stop ! I know where he is ! I know where he is ! I’ll tell you everything ok ? I’ll tell you everything !”

But Bruce doesn’t quite let go of the leg yet, instead, he raises an eyebrow and says :

“Start talking.”

And Jess indeed started to talk. He gave all the informations Bruce needed, and there, laid on the floor of his kitchen, looking miserable and pitiable, face bloodied and bruised...Bruce couldn’t help himself.

As soon as he got the informations, he made a quick snapping motion and broke Jess’ leg. And he would have done more, if it wasn’t for you waiting, impatiently in his car.

He was worried that you’d worry too much. He wanted this to be over quick, but he also wanted to give Jess something to think about.

Jess’ scream resonated inside the house, and he grabbed at his limped leg screaming :

“WHAT THE FUCK YOU FUCKING PSYCHO !!??”

But Bruce only looked at him with hatred in his eyes, scoffing once more and saying :

“I’m the psycho ? Maybe. But I never sold my own children to the mafia. I never ran away from taking care of my kids once. Sure I have many flaws, I might have liked a bit too much snapping your leg like a twig, but at least I’m not a piece of shit like you who doesn’t even care in the least about his own son.”

Ah. So that was it. More than Jess attacking his family, it was the fact that he dared to give away his son that easily, that infuriated Bruce. Now he realized it. And of course, to Bruce, his children were everything.

So seeing a man as despicable as Jess, never even wanting to meet his son up until he owed money, and used him...It drove him mad.

“What does it matter to you anyway ? I never even wanted kids ! She forced it on me you know !”

Jess whined, and he immediately realized once again, he should have shut up. Because now Bruce, who was about to leave, was kneeling down next to him and grabbing him by the collar again :

“She forced it on you ? Please, tell me the story. I heard her side, I’m sure you have a lot to say about yours.”

Never in his life would Jess have think that the charming and smiling Bruce Wayne he saw on TV could be that scary, but there he was, staring at him with dead eyes and talking in that creepy voice...

“I mean I...She didn’t quite force it it’s just...Ok maybe when she got pregnant I said we should keep it, and maybe I acted like I was excited but it’s because of the...pressure, you know ? Of the...um...I...”

“Say you’re sorry.”

“You just broke my leg and you want me to-outch outch outch SORRY !”

Bruce was pushing down on Jess’ broken legs, pressing exactly where the bones broke, and got what he wanted out of him. With a last look full of disgust, Bruce stood back up and started to leave, saying :

“You don’t deserve to have a child like Viggo. Or a girl like (Y/N) in your life. I suggest you never enter in contact with them again, or I’ll come back. Better yet, my son, Jason, who’s dating (Y/N) ? He’ll come back. And believe me when I say he’s much less patient than I am.”

Bruce was about to leave but Jess desperately threw himself in his legs and grabbed at the bottom of his pants. Whining, in pain, he managed to say :

“Wait man, you can’t-You can’t just leave like that ! If they know I told you anything, they’re going to kill me ! You hear, kill me !”

Bruce looked down upon Jess with great disdain, and scoffed.

“And how is that my problem ?”

He said, before leaving the room.

Now, of course, his “no killing” rule applied to “not letting someone kill another person”. If he could avoid any death, Bruce would do it, and most likely, he’ll set up a surveillance of some sort to make sure Jess wouldn’t get killed.

Well, to be honest, Bruce was actually planing on getting Jess behind bars. It would be somewhat easier to make sure he wouldn’t die that way, plus he deserved to spend the rest of his life in prison. He was pretty sure that the charge of kidnapping, and in a way attempted murder would be enough to let him rot in prison for a long time. Plus if he had ties with the Falcones...

Yes. Bruce obviously wouldn’t let Jess die, no matter how scummy he was. But hey, Jess himself didn’t know that, did he ? He had no idea that Bruce Wayne was the famous Batman.

And you know what ? It was utterly satisfying, to see a bloodied Jess weeping on his floor, scared to death, so sure he was going to die...Very satisfying indeed.

************

When Bruce came back in the car, the first thing you noticed was his bruised knuckles. But you didn’t say anything.

You listened to him filling you in, listening to him saying that they were holding your son in an old warehouse and that was the rendezvous point, and didn’t mention the bloodied hands.

You could only imagine Jess’ state, by the look of Bruce’s damaged knuckles. And so you just smiled lowly, knowing that at least for this once, justice was somewhat served...

************

Bruce goes in the warehouse alone, leaving you in the car. He convinced you that it was better if he went alone, as they would expect him anyway more than you...But the truth was, he didn’t want to put your life in danger.

He wasn’t about to come in from the front door, if Falcone’s guys were involved, they were most certainly armed and dangerous. He couldn’t risk an entrance obvious like that, Viggo’s life could be in jeopardy.

Bruce noticed a window open on the first floor, and made his way up there quick, lifting himself up thanks to his arms’ strength and agility. He raised his turtle neck all the way to his eyes, so they wouldn’t recognize his face, and slip into the warehouse...

To discover that someone came here before.

Viggo was nowhere to be seen, and three men were laying on the floor, definitely not in a great shape.

Bruce let himself fall on the ground, and went to check the men.

They were definitely Falcone’s. He recognized their guns, no other used this specific build. The two men had been roughed up pretty bad, and were unconscious. Not much infos to get out of them.

But a bit further, was a third man. He was soaked from head to toe, and barely breathing. A batarang was stuck in his shoulder.

Bruce knelt down and made sure the man was actually still alive. He was, but he was definitely weak. Bruce quickly made an anonymous call to the closest hospital and to the police, and gave them the address to the warehouse.

But the men didn’t interest Bruce further. No. What interested him was those water marks, there, near the unconscious-batarang-to-the-shoulder-man. It was shape like someone kneeling next to a small person.

Or rather. A child. Viggo.

Bruce felt his heart beating faster, what happened ? Was he too late ? Did the worst happen ?

Next to the water marks, he found a little piece of fabric...Brown leather...

“Jason...”

Bruce said out loud, recognizing from where this piece of fabric came from. His son’s leather Red Hood jacket. Ah. So he got here first. But how did he know ?

Suddenly however, Bruce felt more at ease.

Because of Jason managed to get here and Viggo wasn’t around anymore, it surely meant that...He saved him, right ? The fact that there was water everywhere was a bit alarming, but Jason would never give up on that little boy...Just like Bruce would never give up on his son.

He stood up, and went straight to the exit of the warehouse and to his car, where you were waiting.

“What happened ? Where is Viggo ?!”

You asked, full of panic. But strangely, Bruce’s words calmed you down (even though he was freaking out internally as well, he hid it well) :

“He’s with Jason.”

“What ?”

“I’ll explain on the way, ok ? And please...bear with me.”

************

Viggo couldn’t believe it. Wow. WOW ! So THIS was the Batcave huh ?

That was crazy. There were so many things, Viggo just didn’t know where to look ! Was that a dinosaur ? AN ACTUAL FUCKING DINOSAUR ?! And what was up with that giant coins anyway ?

Jason had brought him here a few minutes ago, and sat him up on the infirmary table. And though at first Viggo felt very sleepy (he slept most of the way, curled up against Jason even as Jay was driving back to the bat cave), being there, in the middle of this amazing place (the infirmary was where there was most lights, in the center of the cave) woke him up instantly !

But when it seemed like Jason was leaving, Viggo had clutched to his sleeve, scared to be alone again, but Jason reassured him that he was just going to fetch some clothes for him.

At the same time, Jason took advantage of this to fill his brothers in on what was happening. The night had indeed been calm for them, and they were all already home.

Their father had gone earlier, without telling them where, which was surprising but...he could tell him everything later. He knew that he wouldn’t be mad that he brought Viggo back to the cave.

Once everyone knew what was up, they surrounded Viggo and gave him words of support and encouragement, making him feel like he was...part of the family.

Like they really were his super cool and dedicated uncles and aunt.

Damian especially, tried to cheer the little boy up, knowing how traumatic this kind of experience could be. Cassandra was the only one that didn’t say much, but she clutched his hand and Viggo felt instantly better just with this.

A few minutes later, Jason came back with some of his old clothes (that every single kid after him wore, including Cassandra) and gave them to Viggo. They were still a bit too big for the boy, but it was good enough.

A red hoodie (of course), some sweatpants they all wore during training (they were in remarkable condition really), and socks. He couldn’t find shoes that would fit him, so he just brought some slippers that were too big but with which he could still walk.

However, right now, Jason forbid the boy to walk, as he still had to get over the shock of almost drowning...Well to be honest, Jason had to get over the shock of almost losing his boy. Because Viggo ?

He kept gawking at everything in the cave, and asking hundreds of questions to everyone, and seemed completely fine. Jason however needed to-

“MOM !”

Viggo jumped from the table he was sitting on, and started running towards the entrance of the cave. The entrance coming from the house.

Confused, Jason turned back and...his heart clenched.

There you were. With his father ?

The hell just happened ? Wait, doesn’t matter, because you were there. And Jason found himself, despite how awful those past few days had been, smiling like an idiot just by seeing you.

But...Were you going to forgive him for leaving you like he did ?

Viggo was almost to you now. On the way, he lost both his slippers but it didn’t matter. You closed up the rest of the way, running to him, and grabbed him in your arms, clutching him against your heart as he returned your embrace.

You took a good look at him, looking at his face, arms, legs, making sure he wasn’t hurt. But the only thing he seemed to have was a few bad bruise on his face, and a swollen eye. Other than that, he seemed perfectly healthy.

The batfamily gave you and your son time to hug each other, kiss each other and whisper promises that you’ll never leave each others again. And then, slowly, you turned to Jason.

The man was pretty sure that he heard Viggo say “be nice” to you as you walked towards him.

Jason saw Viggo go to Bruce, but he barely register how cute it was that Bruce just instantly picked up the kid as if it was normal, as if he had always been his grandkid, and mentioned something about...ice cream ?

Because you were in front of him now, and he couldn’t read your face at all. Were you happy ? Relieved ? Mad ? Sad ? Furious ?

It seems like you’re about to reach for him, but then, at the last second, your hand bunch up in a fist and you punch him in the guts instead. With all your might.

In the background, you’re pretty sure you heard Damian exclaiming : “Haha yeah ! Serves him right !” and his siblings half-heartedly telling him to not say such things, even if they kinda agreed.

Ok. So you were definitely mad. Jason was straightening back up and ready to apologize profusely to you, when you grabbed him by the back of his neck and crashed your mouth against his.

Savagely. Fiercely. Whole heartedly.

Passed the first few seconds of surprise, Jason kissed you back.

With all his heart too, passionately, fervently.

The world around you dissolved slowly, as there was just you and Jason now. Just his lips moving against yours. Just his tongue licking your mouth open, and then tangling with yours ardently.

You don’t even hear your son asking Bruce to take him away to get some ice cream because this was getting gross, and everyone slowly leaving to go upstairs, in the Manor to leave you two alone to...Figure things out.

The kiss dragged for long minutes, his arms were now tightly wrapped around your waist, as yours were around his neck.

Days of heartbreak, of regrets, of sadness and frustration...vanished in the force of this beautiful kiss.

When finally you separated from each other, you whispered :

“Don’t ever decide something for me like that again, Jason...”

Ah. Of course, just like your son, you figured out why he left. Jason figured that his father probably told you about this all...”Batman/vigilante” thing while driving you here. Eh, he’ll ask him about details later, right now, it wasn’t important, as he answers :

“I thought you’d be safer without me. That you deserved better.”

“I decide what I deserve.”

The way you sound so sure of yourself, so adamant...it makes him feel lightheaded once again. Just like when Viggo touched his cheek, wiping his tears again.

It makes him feel so utterly happy, that he doesn’t know how to react. And he finds himself kissing you again, his lips reluctant to let go of yours. His arms definitely not letting go of you.

“I decide what I deserve.”...Yes, yes you do. How foolish was he, to think he could ever stay away from you anyway ? When you were so strong and...Everything he ever wanted ?

He pulls away from the kiss, and says :

“I have to tell you, (Y/N)-”

“If you’re about to tell me how dangerous it is for me to stay with you, or some bullshit like that, I’ll punch you again. I’ll have you know that as soon as you left us, that’s when we started to be in danger...”

The exact same words your son used. Well, like mother like son. After all, your boy had to inherit all his greatness from someone. And it was certainly not from Jess. ...Jess, whatever happened to him ?

Jason figured that if you were with his dad, it probably meant you went to see Jess and retraced Viggo’s whereabouts and...It didn’t matter for now. He’ll ask his dad later. And he’ll pay a little visit to Jess later, too.

“No, I wasn’t about to say that.”

“Oh. Sorry. Ok, well go on then.”

“Ok - deep breath - I...I want you to know. That this. You and I. I’m in. I’m all in. I’ve always been all in, but I was also an idiot. But now ? Tonight has been eye opening. And from now on, I’ll be there. I won’t leave, unless you want me to. Ever. I’ll never even think, of leaving. I love you. I love you so much. And I know now that I...I can’t live without you. And without Viggo. You two, are my life. I realized that when dumbass me broke up with you, it felt like dying...And I would know how that feels like, believe me. I...I just love you. And you’ll never be “too much” for me, never. In fact, every seconds with you aren’t enough. I love you.”

Wow. You were...certainly not expecting such a love confession. You found yourself speechless, while you wished you could tell him so much. But right now, the shock and joy you felt stopped you from saying anything.

And so you kissed him again, whispering a “I love you” against his lips. And he smiled in the kiss, dragging you with him to the elevator leading up to Wayne Manor.

That night, maybe you were unable to tell him how much you truly loved him, but you definitely showed it to him, rolling around with him in his sheets all night long...

All the while, Bruce and his other kids were having ice cream with Viggo, living their best life binge watching fails video on YouTube. Bruce figured he should give you and Jason some private time...Plus, he really didn’t mind at all spending time with that little boy.

On the contrary...

************

Two years later :

“Dada !”

The little girl exclaims excitedly, moving her arms and legs around and grabbing at the man’s face lovingly. She repeats the word a few times, almost singing it, and then giggles happily.

“No Laura, granddada ! I’m GRAND-dada, not dada !”

Bruce says for the hundred times, as Jason’s daughter is sitting on his lap, facing him and now apparently very interested in his eyebrows.

She stands clumsily on his lap, and reaches up, giggling to herself, and Bruce can’t help but give her a fond look full of love, letting her pulling his eyebrows even if it’s painful. Ah, he’d let that little girl do anything really. The joy of being a grandfather. You could spoil rotten the kids, without fear of any consequences !

Except maybe for a few mis-plucked eyebrows...

“Don’t bother dad, Except for her mom whom she calls “mama” and for Viggo that she calls “ ‘igo”, she calls everyone she likes “Dada.””

Jason says sadly, plopping down in the couch next to his dad.

You, Jason, Viggo and little Laura were visiting the mansion today, to the rest of the family’s greatest pleasure. Dick came by too, just to see everyone, and it quickly became a very pleasant family day.

“How is it fair that she calls her and only her mama ? But then as soon as she kind of like someone she calls them “dada” ? I swear Roy is annoying the hell out of me with that, and he’s telling her that he is indeed, her dada !”

Jason continues, a bit of frustration in his voice. Bruce laughs, unable to stop himself at how sweet it is to see his son get upset at such a trivial thing. Happy, too, that his son can get upset at such a trivial, normal thing, and that his worries aren’t always related to his...”night life”.

“But isn’t it good, dad, that she calls everyone she likes “dada” ? It means that she decided that your name fitted the best the people she loves, because you know, you’re someone she loves very much !”

Jason turns to his son’s voice, and Viggo smiles at him brightly.

Sometimes, like right now, Jason couldn’t quite believe that this was real life. That he really had a family now, and that they were just so...so...So perfect.

You’re walking behind Viggo, and you smile mischievously as you see how upset Jason is that your daughter calls basically everyone nice to her “dada”, and go to him. He grabs you by the waist and drag you on top of his lap, to then kiss you.

Viggo immediately looks away, and goes to his grandfather to hide both his sister’s AND Bruce’s eyes, that sweet little man. He then says :

“Ew, I try to cheer you up and you answer with a sneak kiss attack on mom. So gross !”

Once again, Bruce chuckles. He never laughed so much than in the presence of his grandchildren...But both Viggo and tiny little Laura were extremely funny and sweet, he couldn’t help but smile and laugh when with them !

Damian was coming in now, with a plate full of cookies (made specifically by Alfred so that a one year old little girl could eat them without any danger), and set it on the coffee table in front of the couch, before going to seat in-between his father and Jason, making the latter growl because it meant that he had to shift you in his lap and damn, the little sucker couldn’t sit elsewhere ?

But Damian wanted to sit next to his beloved niece. He had a cookie in his hand, and with a fond smile that appeared on his face only when in the presence of his niece and nephew (like father, like son), Damian gave the cookie to Laura.

The little girl reached for it cheerfully, and patted Damian on the head as a “thank you” (and if it was anyone else but her, Damian would have been furious), and raised the cookie up in the air. She pointed at it and, with a voice full joy and excitement said :

“DADA !”

Everyone in the room burst into laughter, as Jason’s smile was replaced with a vexed frown when he realized his daughter was calling a damn cookie “dada”...

The End (?).

________________________________________________

AND BAM ! The end. I hope you liked it ? Don’t hesitate to leave a feedback and/or reblog ! It’s always very appreciated and encouraging <3 ! Also, I’m thinking of making a little “epilogue” to this story, just fluffiness and cuteness with Jason’s new little family. I mean, I’m convinced he’d be a great dad, so...kinda wanna write more about him with Viggo, and his little girl :). Anyway. Tell me what ya think about that too, and thanks for reading ! This was a blast to write.

Oh and I hope that all Jess story isn't confusing. I didn’t want to go into details about his backstory, so I hope it’s clear enough that he just basically owes money to the wrong people, and bam. That he had been living in Gotham all those years, just avoiding to see reader or Viggo. And that he did some stupid shit...Which prompted him to use reader and his own son ! And bam. Piece of shit alright. I just hope it’s not confusing and was clear enough, as I tried to make it understandable without going into boring details cause the story definitely isn’t about that asshole.

#Jason Todd x Reader #Jason Todd imagine #Red Hood x Reader #Red Hood imagine #Batfam #Batfamily #Batfam x Reader #Batfam imagine #Red Hod #Jason Todd #Jason Todd fanfic #JASON TODD IS GREAT OK ?!#Batfamily x Reader #Batfamily imagine #Fav robin #Jason Todd deserves more love #Jason Todd x Single!mom

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sil-has-ocs · 3 years

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Silver 2.0

Hello and welcome to my first post! This is the story of the very first OC I have ever made. If this character feels like it has been created by an 11-year-old... that’s because that is precisely what happened. I made Silver 8 years ago and believe it or not, this is the updated, less cringy version of her and her story so... I hope you enjoy it!

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

Silver was part of a secret scientific project that had the goal of creating some kind of super-army.

The objective was to mix human DNA with animal DNA in order to create hybrid soldier-creatures that would be much more powerful than any regular human being.

The team of scientists led by dr. Robbins conducted extensive research and numerous experiments, but any attempt revealed itself to be futile. Many times dr. Robbins found himself extremely close to the solution, but something of the utmost importance was always missing.

As years went by, Robbins became more and more obsessed with his project, so much that he was willing to try anything and everything to make it work. The more he worked, the less time he dedicated to the other aspects of his life, to the point where he started pushing other people away and becoming more standoffish, rough and antisocial.

After the billionth failed experiment, dr. Robbins made a desperate, not to say foolish, decision. He had already started succumbing to insanity, when he decided to sell his soul to a demon during a ritual in order to reach some satisfying results in his research.

The conditions of the pact were very simple. In exchange for his soul, dr. Robbins would obtain that fundamental ingredient that would've otherwise been impossible to find or use.

The demon he summoned instilled demonic essence into the body of the last test subject that remained... and that is how Legio was finally born. He was the very first hybrid and component of what would eventually become an unstoppable army.

In the following years dr. Robbins was able to create three more hybrids thanks to the demon's help. The four subjects were quite different from what the doctor had imagined. They looked like any regular human being... except for the pointy ears that sat atop their heads and the big, bushy wolf tails they sported. These were most certainly characteristics that belonged to the animal DNA that had been used to create them. Finally the doctor's wish was fulfilled... but he wasn't satisfied yet.

For years he raised the four creatures in his lab, and after gathering more scientists for his team, he started conducting experiments on the hybrids. Terrible and violent experiments that would be able to kill a normal human being, but that were meant to put the creatures' abilities to the test.

After Legio came Silver, and then Morgan and Daisy. The four of them started treating each other like siblings, showing each other support in order to face the horrible tortures that they were constantly forced to endure. Legio showed the doctors that he had a great ability to adapt. In a short amount of time he became a very capable and versatile fighter. Morgan and Daisy weren't quite as capable as him. The former had a very difficult and stubborn personality, while the latter was hardly ever able to give the dr. the results that he wanted. Her docile nature always got in the way of her fighting abilities and because of this, unfortunately, Daisy was subjected to the harsher experiments, in the hopes that a big enough push would make her unleash her power.

As for Silver... her abilities were unmatched, although she wasn't as precise and disciplined as Legio. It was soon clear that she had taken on the role of leader in the group... but dr. Robbins could never imagine that this would make her a threat... to him and his life project.

It all happened on a day like any other. The scientists were conducting a series of experiments on Daisy. But on that particular day they took it too far and they almost ended up drowning her in a tub of freezing water. When they threw her back into her cell, she was a trembling, soaking wet mess. She could hardly speak and her eyes were widened. That sight alone was enough to make Silver lose her mind.

In that moment all she could see around her were tired faces and tortured bodies. That's when whatever was hiding inside of Silver went wild. All the years spent in a cage, all the torture and abuse... it all led up to that point, when all her rage and hate could finally be unleashed.

It didn't take long... in twenty minutes the laboratory had become a theatre for a horrifying massacre. Whatever was in Silver's path was completely destroyed and whoever tried to stop her was brutally killed. Finally the four siblings could escape from that terrible place.

They ran for what felt like days... and then they kept travelling to get as far away as possible from their past, until they found an abandoned house in the middle of a huge forest, where they decided to stay. At last, they could stop, and try to rebuild their life...

If it wasn't for the fact that someone was still looking for them...

#writing #my writing #Silver #Legio #Morgan #Daisy #OC #my OC

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sormikbigbang · 4 years

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Masterpost

We’ve come to the end of the SorMik Big Bang 2019! Before we move on to the master post for 2019, we would like to express our sincerest thanks to all of you. It has been a wild ride and us mods couldn’t thank our participants enough for being such lovely people to work with. There’ll also be a feedback form the participants can fill in! The link will be distributed through email and shared in our discord server. We would like to know how you think about us and how you would like us to improve through our feedback form!

If you missed your chance this year, don’t worry, we’ll be back again in 2020! Do stay tuned for some exciting information on where this event will be going next year!

Without further ado, here’s the master post for all entries of SorMik Big Bang 2019!

Masterpost

(Announcement: Not all artists/writers have posted their works yet, so this masterpost will be updated gradually as they post until everyone has posted.)

As Soft as Feathers by Kagaminekupcake | Art by Melly Mel (still yet to be posted) & KimmySnacks

Ranting: Teen And Up Audiences

Summary: Two kingdoms lay near one another, and with the queens sharing a friendship, they thought it only natural to continue the friendly relations through their successors. Prince Sorey and Prince Mikleo grew up, therefore, spending their summers together and sharing memories over the pages of dusty novels. However, upon Sorey’s near coronation, Selene informs Mikleo that she plans to betroth him to a princess of another land. Mikleo argues heatedly with her before storming out of the castle, but he was never seen afterwards. All Sorey could find in the rain was his circlet- a prized possession he knew Mikleo would never leave behind. Maybe the swan he discovers in the forest in the following days can give him a clue as to where Mikleo has gone…

Fanfic still yet to be posted by Dola625 | Art by mallowkey

Ranting: General Audiences

Summary: Luvdisc love fortune has set its sight upon a pair of childhood friends who need just an extra push with tons of water, a sunset and of course Mikleo and newly smitten Luvdisc.

La Fragilité Des Grues en Papier by Naminette | Art by Kinsdura

Ranting: Mature

Summary: Was it possible that his mother's tales were true? A sacred mountain where the Kamis' sanctuary lay. Away from the human world they lived in. Wings adorn their back, divine beings that were one with nature. This is were Mikleo place was, where he would be safe and happy. Until years after a plague broke into the village in the valley and a young human had no choice left but to seek the gods' help without knowing how it would change Mikleo's world.

Everything you left behind by Strikedawn | Art by Retto

Ranting: Teen And Up Audiences

Summary: After his uncle's death, Mikleo is forced to run away from his office for the weekend and tend to Camlann, Michael's old manor and his own childhood home. The house has seen better times-- Mikleo definitely won't be able to sell it like this.

(Does he even want to?)

But his uncle's metaphorical ghost isn't the only thing within those walls. There is Lailah and Zaveid, who have made of Camlann their house as much as Michael did. There is Sorey, with his lovely smile, his pure intentions, and his love for the decrepit house. They are everywhere in the house, making it theirs, making Mikleo feel... things. Mikleo definitely won't be able to sell the house like this.

(But then again--does he even want to?)

Demons, Mysteries, and Feathery Celestialness by Sage | Art by Oliver Niko & Vonderer

Ranting: Teen And Up Audiences

Summary: Sorey is a cop. When his current case turns out to involve elements both demonic and angelic, he suddenly finds himself both in over his head and with a new partner. Neither he nor the angel Mikleo are particularly happy to be saddled with each other. Can they work through their differences to solve the case?

Moon Phases by Melly Mel | Art by Raine

Ranting: General Audiences

Summary: "The Sun has long fallen in love with the Moon and has done everything in his reach to conquer its heart, but the timid and stubborn Moon has always rejected it, afraid of these feelings. Time will teach that one cannot simply ignore such a strong and true love for so much time."

A story that tells how Sorey, the sun prince, falls ill for love after so many years trying to conquer the love of Mikleo, the moon prince, who’s not willing to believe him and misunderstand everything.

Fountain of Youth, the Elixir of Eternal Life by MegumitheGreat | Art by ZYO

Ranting: Explicit

Summary: At Lailah's request, Sorey and Mikleo take a break from their adventure and go through Pendago Shrinechurch's library. Coming across a legend titled "Shelanoir's Forest", they find themselves trapped within its pages and living the roles of the characters inside.

Resonance and Resistance by Eachainn | Art by Illium

Ranting: Mature

Summary: After eight years apart, Mikleo is more than ready to pick of the threads of the hopes and dreams that they had left drop when Sorey had left for Pendrago. But things are rarely that easy, especially when the Shepherds are involved. After all, it is a truth universally acknowledged that a Shepherd in possession of a good resonance must be in want of a seraph.

A Sormik Regency Era AU

Chasing Dreams by RoyalDelirium | Art by Mewnia

Ranting: General Audiences

Summary: And this is where their tale begins, they did not really know what would await them out there, but they had dreams to chase and questions to answer. As long as they were together nothing could escape their grasp.

The Best Tour by Spectrum-sanctuary | Art by ArdentKnight & Unko (still yet to be posted)

Ranting: Teen And Up Audiences

Summary: In the archaic city of Ladylake where there are more canals than brick pathways, boats called gondolas are the major mode of transportation and location of work. The most renowned of these occupations are those who guide tourists around the romantic and historic marvels of the city while rowing the gondolas, the gondoliers.

Seventeen-year-old Mikleo is among them, renowned for not only being young but also graceful and skilled with the oar. When he meets the newly-arrived student Sorey in the city, his usual life among the waves and ruins transforms into a tale of adventure and excitement... and perhaps even love.

The Gang Crashes a Party While in Drag by Pengiesama | Art by Nami & Minstrels

Ranting: Teen And Up Audiences

Summary: Sorey and the crew investigate reports of a black market trafficking ring, and zero in on a particularly nasty noble at the center of it all. Luckily, said noble is opening his chateau to host a masquerade – the perfect opportunity to get close. Unluckily, the Shepherd’s fame has spread wide, and Sorey needs a disguise to make sure he’s incognito.

This is achieved by the obvious solution, and that's to disguise him in a dress and pass him off as Rose's sister. What could possibly go wrong?

Sir Sorey and the River Dragon by Treya-barton | Art by Kishi

Ranting: Teen And Up Audiences

Summary: Sir Sorey is a curious, gentle knight from the kingdom of Ladylake ruled by a fair and beautiful Queen. One day she is approached by a village with news that they are being plagued by a dragon that is blocking their access to a river they use for trade. Sir Sorey is sent on a quest to investigate this dragon in order to resolve the villager's dilemma.

The Benefits of Being Impulsive by FortunesRevolver | Art by Aimi

Ranting: General Audiences

Summary: It had all started out of sheer spite -- Sorey’s own bizarre desperate need to prove to his grandfather that he wasn’t that impulsive. Really, if he really wanted impulsive, Sorey could be impulsive. Or, maybe, somewhere deep down, he’d just wanted to talk to the really, really pretty boy sitting by the pool with stunningly white hair who just happened to be holding a copy of his favorite book series ever.

Art by MegumitheGreat (Their writer wasn’t able to get to finish due to personal reasons, but still asked MegumitheGreat to post their art anyway because it’s so cool!)

Trust, Betrayal and Beyond by Sabi | Art by Mikleohno

Ranting: Teen And Up Audiences

Summary: A long time ago, the country was separated into two factions: the Lotus faction and the Lily faction. Both factions had opposing ideals, which resulted in a war that lasted for decades. The war finally ended when the Lotus faction killed the Lily faction’s leader, thus bringing peace back to the land. Our story takes place a century later, focusing on Mikleo, the prince of the kingdom, who is doing everything he can to repair this country, as well as his new servant, Sorey, whose background is shrouded in mystery.

Eyes on the Horizon by Oliver Niko | Art by Siciel

Ranting: Mature

Summary: Mikleo is a nobleman kept captive for the magic he possesses. Sorey is a pirate, his crew determined to grant freedom to those with said magical capabilities.

The two are brought together not by this alone, but also by their similarities; the goal to do whatever it takes to protect Rolance's people from its corrupt emperor, and find the truth behind their missing mothers along the way.

The Color of Twilight by Luneath | Art by Succu (still yet to be posted)

Ranting: Teen And Up Audiences

Summary: “Ever since that day, Sorey has been looking for something. Desperately, yearningly, painfully. It's like chasing after a dream that’s hiding underneath his eyelids, almost there but not really. Just within reach, but could never be grasped fully. It’s like running after a figure — a blurred one, tinted blue, who owns half of his soul; his heart and his life. But he can’t remember. He knows, but never for sure. He just feels his heartstrings being tugged, but never to where or by whom. The more he tries to make sense of everything, the more he realizes it would hurt more to never find whatever’s — whoever’s gone. The only thing that gives him hope is the writing on his palm, tattooed in elusive curves that makes him feel warm and safe and nostalgic and a little like breaking. What’s written there, the meaning and the purpose — he doesn’t understand it at first. Not until some time. But even then, he swears he’s going to find whatever it is. And when he does, he’s never letting it go ever again."

[A Kimi no Na Wa (Your Name) AU featuring time travel, fluffy angst, switching bodies and switching lives, plus true loves and true names.]

Fanfic still yet to be posted by Miranda | Art by Okke (still yet to be posted) & Narain Yuna

Ranting: Explicit

Summary: Clergyman!Sorey x Non-Believer!

Mikleo The heavy wooden doors opened and closed with an echo throughout the chapel, all but empty save for the decorative lanterns with the names of the twelve apostles lining the pillars leading up to the alter, the hand-carved plaques in the right-wing hallway depicting the Stations of the Cross of the same number donated by the generous family, and the overwhelming but whole-fully welcomed presence of Him which he felt.

Sorey loved getting to do this-- well, he loved pretty much every aspect of his stay here as part of his training, but this was probably one of his top favorites: waking up to the early morning sun and say his morning prayers, picking some berries from his little garden as part of his breakfast before freshening up, and coming down to the church before Gramps arrived to start the day. He wasn't sure what made him want to say another morning prayer in the chapel when there was no need whatsoever. Perhaps it was simply just seminary habits or wanting the chapel to feel less... big? Lonely?

Or dusty?

He chuckled at the thought and shaking his head, and joyfully continued to walk towards the alter. Thinking back to his childhood, it use to be a dark green stone like the rest of the flooring. In it's place now was a white marble with gray veins scattering sparingly here and there. Gramps wasn't sure who thought it was a good idea, and Sorey didn't really pay it much attention.

As he approached the alter and began to kneel, pulling out his mini prayer booklet from his pocket, the front double doors opened and closed yet again. Hm, strange, Sorey thought for a moment. Normally Gramps doesn't come in this early since traffic from...

When he turned around to greet the wise old man who practically raised him from birth, Sorey was taken aback to see a young man with long dyed hair, faded black skinny jeans, and a somewhat revealing white and blue sweater with a v-neck that fell to show the side of his collar bone. Wait, was it dirty...?

It could've been the way he seemed to hold himself together-- just barely and could hardly seem like he wasn't shaking. It could've been the way his eyes, a deep blue from this distance, almost pleaded for mercy and safety. It could've just as easily been the way the light hit his unblemished face, his aquamarine tresses...

Sorey knew, deep down, that he would never forget this moment. Someone or something must have whispered something to his heart or to his soul that day, to never let this memory go.

Fanfic still yet to be posted by Mogseltof | Art by Lynxlantern & Ammerynth (still yet to be posted)

Ranting: Mature

Summary: Since he was young, Sorey’s been friends with the curious, withdrawn sailor everyone in his seaside town avoids. Now he’s an adult, struggling to find material for his research, but his withdrawn friend has recently been made captain of his ship, and Sorey is offered the opportunity he’s been looking for -- the chance to get out of his town and see the places he’s actually researching. But Sorey has another reason to want to be out on the sea; they say there are mermaids in the waves, and Sorey has to know if his memories ring true, or if he imagined the boy in the river so many years ago. However, the voices of the dead sing loudly from the deep, and the captain is hiding something that may get them all in trouble.

We hope you enjoy the masterpieces made by our talented participants! See you again next year!

#Sormik #sormikbigbang2019 #toz #tales of zestiria #masterpost #sorey #mikleo #fanfic #fanart #mod post

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bloodandpaintchips · 3 years

Text

A Second Draft

Tagging→ Andrea Sheldon, Gunnar Leidolf Time Frame→ November 4, 2020 Location→ Sangren, Colorado General Notes→ The blue tape had to come down eventually.

The bed in Andrea’s new room at Johnny’s was like a giant pillow. She’d only left once, to look at the moon and to find someone to feed on (a nondescript patron at Ted’s who she merely compelled to forget that 10 minutes so he could keep drinking). Now she was back in this really soft bed and alone with her thoughts. And now that she was back in town, those thoughts were drifting to Gunnar a lot. It was a sore spot, as she couldn’t think of him without thinking about August and the things August took from her. She got to feel the things she felt with Gunnar after the fact, and she’d so often find herself closing her eyes and trying to place herself in the murky memories. She had to get out of this bed. That buzz from having just fed was right under her skin and she knew just laying around missing him, miles away from where she remembered he stayed, was a little ridiculous. She was in her van in moments, driving to her father’s house and hoping he’d been long asleep. Her features changed momentarily and she could feel it. She had a lot of emotions to regulate, especially looking at her old house, but she was here with a purpose -- in and out.

Climbing the side of the house near her bedroom was incredibly easy and she briefly thought about how she’d probably be getting used to random discoveries of what she was capable of for a long time. The window was open, considering Frank probably just avoided the room, even when he was waiting for her to come back. Slipping inside, Andrea scanned the area and quickly gathered her work boxes, one full of graphite and brushes and markers, the other full of bulky acrylic paint tubes. All right where she left them. She was back outside in moments, tossing the boxes in the passenger seat before getting in, starting the engine and taking off to Gunnar’s. Not wanting to waste time when his place came into view, she got out, grabbed the boxes and locked the van before making her way up to his door. A few seconds were spent wondering how he’d even react or how she’d explain showing up years later to make good on an art promise, but she shook her head finally and knocked.

Gunnar had spent the better part of the hour hauling in a brand new television. And he wasn't sure if that was responsible or a little bit sad. A rare day off and when he'd left the auto shop he'd decided shopping was a good idea. Granted, he needed the new TV but the normalcy of it all was odd. And oddly comforting. The large flat screen was set up, cable installed, and he was settled on the couch with some mindless comedy when he heard the knock.

Strange, that. He sniffed the air, finding no trace of something unfamiliar or unwanted (no cloying honeyed smoke), and shuffled to the door. Whoever, whatever it was, it wasn't like he couldn't handle it. More than likely some poor sod selling something that knocking on any other door would've gotten him a bite for his troubles. He wasn't, however, expecting to see her. The arched brow was the only indicator of surprise, eyes unreadable as they studied the pretty features of the girl who had disappeared in a cloud of mystery and remained as such for so long, Gunnar wasn't sure what to believe about the why and when, if ever she was going to return. But there she stood. Different, but not. Changed, yes. And so he stepped aside and gave her a short nod. "Come in."

When he opened the door, even though she had no clue what to expect, she smiled a little. True, she missed him and seeing his face again just reminded her how much. He looked exactly the same, only his hair was short. Still thick, though. Eyes still very blue. At his invitation, she walked in and set the boxes down in the nearest convenient spot before facing him completely. “So um,” she started, kicking her foot toward where she set the boxes. “I came to work on that.” She turned her head to look around the space, eyebrows raising when her gaze landed on the gridded blue tape -- still there. Fixing her eyes back on him, her smile returned despite her efforts to keep it subdued. “Fuck.” With that, she bounded toward him, practically jumping up to wrap her arms around him in a hug that she hoped would transfer all her feelings. “I’m sorry. I missed you,” she said into his shirt.

He watched her enter his space, eyes shifting briefly to the box and then to the wall. It would be a lie to say he hadn't thought about the blue tape still outlining the long-abandoned art project. Hard to, considering it took up the entire length of it. He'd long stopped tossing the odd and errant glance at the thing and eventually it faded into the background, usually only coming up whenever a visitor, rare that that was, had inquired. And he'd never actually give a response, simply shrugged. But there she was, the prodigal artist returned. No worse for wear, barring the change in diet.

And the strength. Jesus. That was wholly unfamiliar. Odd to place to the very human, very delicate Andy of old. This one, still pretty, but with a considerably stronger grip. He returned the hug, instinct not to put his full strength behind it. Difficult to break, the old habit. Andy, less so. He didn't understand the apology at all, and his lips lifted into a brief smile that he pressed into her hair. "Only a little late," came his reply, the dry humor of it all hidden in his hug. "Missed you too."

Laughing at his words, she held onto him a little longer before pulling away and running a hand through her hair. “I would’ve been on time, but some stuff happened,” she replied, smirking and giving a small shrug. “I probably should have called. Or something. I don’t really know what’s polite. But I brought all my crap with me to paint. I also figured I should tell you what happened. Well not should, but I want to tell you. If you’re still willing to have me talk your ear off and put creepy stuff on your wall.” She found herself taking him in, possibly trying to fill in those memories again. “I like your hair.”

"Figured as much," he replied, letting his smile linger as she pulled away. "Don't worry about it. What's done is done. Still glad to see you." Calling probably would've been the right thing to do. But Gunnar could understand the urgency that came with getting the hell away. Andy had ties, though. And she hadn't struck him as the type to disappear into the night. But all things considered, he got it. "Don't mind either. The talking or the art." Her compliment made him laugh, a short gruff sound and he raked a hand through the shorn blond locks. "Thanks. Got tired of combing it. Needed a change. See you did too." He nodded towards her own hair. "Suits, though. You want something to drink? Beer? Tea? Do tea now. Big changes."

She picked up her boxes and walked over to the wall, setting them down and looking it over to get a feel of just how big the space was. “Good.” She thought about all of the things she wanted to tell him, where she would start, and how to say it all. The idea to paint the wall was honestly a way for her to figure all that out without just taking up space in his loft. Working with her hands also just opened her up in a way she’d never been able to explain. “Beer is cool. Thanks,” she replied, getting her graphite sticks out and a small piece of tarp to set them on the floor. “So I’m just gonna go with my gut on this and hope you don’t regret still letting me do this. I used to have a plan but those are kind of leading me to shitty places lately, so I’m gonna go with the flow.” She smiled, turning to look at him. “I think I’m in the right place for it.”

Gunnar left her to sort out her supplies and headed to the kitchen to retrieve their beers. "Don't think I would've kept the tape up if I changed my mind," he told her once he returned, handing off one of the chilled bottles. "Been some time, but I still remember you're a dab hand with paint and art. Sure that hasn't changed." The 'right place' part was interesting, and Gunnar was sure she wasn't just talking about the wall. He wondered what other places she encountered and what had finally brought her back to this one. "Not much you could do that I wouldn't like."

Taking the bottle, she brought it to her lips and downed most of it before setting it on the floor near her supplies. “Guess I was thirsty,” she said, smiling briefly before grabbing a piece of graphite and picking a corner of the grid to start mindlessly outlining a figure. Her hands worked quickly, weirdly keeping time with her brain in a way that she wasn’t used to. She filled in shadows until finally, she spoke again, not tearing her gaze away from what she was doing. “Do you remember the last time we saw each other?” She had things she wanted to say but she wasn’t sure if she could look him in the eyes about it yet. So she kept sketching.

"Looks like." His own bottle rested comfortably on his denim covered knee once he settled back on the couch. Gunnar sipped his beer and chuckled. Knocking back beers; another newly acquired quirk. The television was on, saving them from a long gap of silence while she worked and posed a question that Gunnar had wondered himself, plenty of times. Still, he didn't answer right away. Curious about the way her fingers moved easily, as if no time had passed. Or the way she asked without actually looking at him. "Been some time, pet" he answered honestly. "You wanting to know something specific?" He paused, taking another sip from his bottle. "Think it was when we were out on my bike. Took us for a ride."

She was already finishing up on a figure outline, moving on to another as she gave him time to answer. When he did, she stopped, setting the graphite down and turning to him. “Yeah, it was when you took us for a ride,” she replied. The memory was a happy one, but it didn’t make her smile. “I remember too. And after you brought me home, I got roughed up real nice, fed on, and then compelled by August to believe it was him. Again.” She tucked some hair behind her ear and sat against the wall, facing where he was across the area on the couch. “Actually, every time I was with you, barring the first time, was...in my mind, with August. I guess he was grooming me or something. He’d been changing my thoughts repetitively for months and I had no clue, until he took the trust I had in you and tried to use it to take my virginity. Well he didn’t try. He did. And this happened,” she said, quickly gesturing at her face as it turned, only for a moment. “The wedding’s off though,” she joked, the smile not reaching her eyes. She didn’t look at Gunnar yet, unsure of how her word vomit would land and trying to subdue the flecks of anger she already felt describing it all.

Gunnar let her talk, expression unchanging as the words hung in the air. The truth of the matter that had left them both confused (and much anger on his part) finally revealed. The haze of those happenings had bothered the hell out of him. Knowing something was amiss with the dandy that seemed intensely occupied with Andy. And now he knew why. Her bouts of forgetfulness. The bruises. Christ, her face. He knew that, of course. Sussed it out from Johnny, what August had done to the girl. And part of that rage lingered in him. Angry with himself, for not noticing who and what the asshole was, put the pieces together in time. It'd been too late for Andy then. She was different now. He tried to suss out where her emotions lie, difficult in the almost clinical way she spoke of August twisting her mind and taking and tainting the memories. Nothing to that smile, or the gallows humor. But then he sensed it, fleeting spark of anger. Familiar in feeling, but foreign coming from Andy. But understandable. A justified rage, metered but not mindless. Nothing less than what she owed to herself, and the unfortunate situation she was put into, against her will. He pushed the beer bottle to the coffee table, and regarded her, unsure of what to say.

When she finally looked up, grabbing a piece of graphite to twirl in her hand, she kept going. “I know this is a lot. There’s like, no way to make it not a lot, if that made sense. But yeah.” Sometimes she liked being able to cry, but as liquid began to burn at her lids, this wasn’t one of those times. She didn’t even know what kind of tears they were — angry, remorseful, etc, she just wiped them away quickly. “He’s dead now, I killed him pretty much immediately. Before I even registered that I could kill anything. But all I felt was red, for months. Like I couldn’t even control it or my actions, and when I was finally able to, I was still fucking lost. I was afraid of what I would do but most of all I just felt shame?” She met his eyes, hers a bit bloodshot. “And once my mind was clear enough to really assess what happened...why every time I was with him it felt like a copy of something, why I was telling myself I was in love with him but I kept trying to leave with you somehow, I felt...stupid kinda. Like it was my fault. I know logically it wasn’t but I couldn’t even be here. I made up some great journey in my head to find my mom but it was all me trying to run from the reality of what happened. I think I still am a little, but I needed to come home. I left a lot here.”

No one could fault her for taking off. Gunnar surely didn't. Mostly. He knew what it was like, having that kind of rage inside, first glimpse of it, and the impulsive need to get the hell away from everything. Gunnar watched her, the tears she brushed away, and he felt nothing but grim satisfaction at August's end by her hand. Learning the full truth, the dandy deserved far worse. His fingers twitched against his denim-covered knees but he didn't furl them into fists. It wasn't needed. Andy didn't need his anger. Words, words were better. Even though they were never really easy for him, he liked trying for her. "Know you wouldn't leave if you didn't have a reason. Same for coming back. S'not your fault. Even if you know it, doesn't hurt to hear it. Did what you had to do. What you thought you had to do. Just glad you remembered you had things worth coming back to."

She let a tear fall and smiled, genuinely this time as she listened to him grumble out those things she really needed to hear from him. Andy knew he wasn’t much for words; he expressed himself in other ways, but he tried for her and it was evident. It made her feel happy to be back and regretful at the same time. “I did think I had to do it. I thought I had to do a lot. I’m always thinking. Vampirism didn’t get rid of that, unfortunately.” She put the piece of graphite in her hand back on the tarp and pushed herself off of the floor to go sit next to him on the couch. “I’ll probably finish the wall in a week. It’s gonna be all the faceless things I always saw in my head. Easy to duplicate, the eyes and hands and just, curtains of darkness. I’ve committed it to memory. But right now I wanna sit here,” she told him, tugging at a band on her wrist. She was quiet for a few moments, gathering her thoughts again. “I’m sorry. I know that might sound silly to you but I don’t know how else to express the things I feel, one foot away from you. I just have these memories of you that feel like they’re fifteen years away because they were so fucked with and maybe I’m just sorry in general. I feel like it’s all a bunch of sorry. But I won’t bore you with all of my regrets and sorries. I just wanted to say it one more time I guess. Now I have to move forward and I’m...not great at that,” she said, turning to look at him and smiling again.

"Might be a good thing, that Andy overthinking. Balance out the impulse control." His lips lifted in a light grin. "No rush on the wall. I'm around mostly, and I'll give you the spare key. Pop in whenever." Gunnar shifted slightly when she sat beside him, glad the distance was reduced. She'd been far away long enough. Carrying, from what he gathered, a pretty heavy weight. August. Her road trip. Something about her mother. What happened with them didn't need to be another one of her burdens. "S'not silly. Can't say I think you need to atone for anything, least with me. Sometimes moving forward, might be better." He exhaled and reached out, stilling the fingers that were still tugging at the band on her wrist. "Can't undo what he did, taking those memories. It's proper fucked up. Still us, though. Some changes. Give it some time. You work on your wall. We'll be alright."

Her fingers stopped moving under his and she blew out a breath, sinking into the couch a little more and feeling a relief she didn’t even know she was searching for. “I feel like I forgot what it feels like to relax,” she said quietly, letting herself slump over and rest her head on his shoulder. “Everything happened so fast, and then I was just feeding and running and searching in an endless loop. Always so much energy directed in different places...now I’m talking about making art again, something I haven’t even thought about since I left. And I’m here, and your place smells the same and you smell the same. I was almost getting used to the upheaval, but I’m remembering what content feels like again,” she explained, laughing a little. “It’s nice to not be freaking out about something for a bit.”

"Not much to freak out about here," he told her, surprised that it was true, for the most part. Things in Sangren were always strange, but familiar in its weirdness. Human Andy was always so cautious. This new Andy lacked the body heat but was no less warm in actions. Head on his shoulder. Rambling. Not the same, but similar in the ways that mattered. In the Andy ways he'd missed. "Pretty new for you, pet. Feeding, and the like." His smile was brief at the sound of her laughter. "'Spect you'll fall into the rhythm again. Different now, you being all super strength. Can't make you tremble anymore if we ever spar again."

She nodded against his shoulder, silently agreeing. She had become her own greatest fear, so while Sangren felt so familiar, it also felt like a completely new place for her to get to know. But having a place to stay in Johnny’s home where she felt so safe, and sitting here with Gunnar and feeling the warmth and activity under his skin -- it wasn’t overwhelming. “Feeding...yeah. I’m still not totally used to it but it’s interesting being able to just…” she started to focus on his arm, running her fingers down his veins and turning into his neck a little more. “Smell and feel everything? And hear everything.” She paused, taking in what he said and laughing a little. “Super strength or not, that’s still very much a possibility. The trembling was attributed to a few things there.”

He hadn't meant it the way it sounded, but hearing Andy admit to the trembling being more than just their afternoon spar made him laugh. "Guess that's true enough. Gave you plenty to tremble about." It was strange to think about her feeding. Not in a bad way, just a wholly different picture of the girl he'd last seen. The timid one who wouldn't have been as bold, tucking her face into his neck or initiating touches. "Do I have to worry about you sizing me up for a meal or for a fight?" he asked, the question dripping with amusement as he dipped his head, letting his faint grin brush the top of her head in a brief touch. "Takes getting used to, I'll bet. Senses in HD. Blood is a rush. That I know. Guess you're less about the spilling than the savoring, though."

Andrea thought about how much that would have made her blush before, but it just made her smile. “As for nervous trembles, you’d probably still get those. A little. Despite this practically new body, I haven’t…” She stopped, biting her lip and trying to find the right words. “Sparred like I probably could. I haven’t even felt the hunt since those first couple months when I couldn’t control it, and that was like just seeing a dissociative red for an extended period of time. I don’t know my strength yet, which anyone could tell from my now-crinkled steering wheel.” Honestly, she was afraid to know it -- the scope of what she could do. It was like she didn’t know her own hands anymore, the only thing making her think that wasn’t true being the way she just eased into working on the wall again. It told her maybe she was different but not entirely, and maybe she could know herself fully again. Maybe more than she did before all this. “You don’t have to worry about me trying to eat you. I may like your scent more than usual and maybe I can hear the blood flow in and out of your heart, but I don’t wanna eat you. Maybe taste but only with consent,” she joked, shaking her head. “But you’re right. Feels like an understatement actually. Trying to balance living life still, but through this whole new lens.” She didn’t comment on the last part, knowing her feeding method was so inefficient and probably wouldn’t last her. But she didn’t want to talk about that.

"Yeah? What makes you nervous lately?" He listened as she recalled her experience, seeing red and feeling that out of control strength and something like understanding tugged at Gunnar, because he got it. Knew the thrill, the taste and feel of it, and the slippery sensation of fear that went with it. "Like to tell that you get used to it, but you don't. Adapt, though. That happens. Evolve with the change. Takes some time. Test your limits. I could help with that. If you're ever feeling like you need a show of strength. Work out that energy." That...well perhaps that was meant a few ways. Gunnar smiled at her little joke, letting his fingers slide through her slender ones. "You smell different. Not bad. New, is all. Few days of playing in paint, remind me of that Andy scent." His fingers brushed her knuckles, eyes holding a thinking look as he considered his words. "Dunno if tasting's a good idea, pet," he rumbled. "Never had a vamp at my neck. No telling what my blood'll do. Wouldn't want this mess in here to harm you."

“I’m not sure how to explain it, but mostly I make me nervous. It’s weird knowing you’re capable of a lot, but not what exactly.” She appreciated his honesty, and the fact that it was from a reliable source -- they weren’t the same, but there was a bit of overlap and it made her happy to at least be talking to someone who knew what it was like to have to subdue something all consuming; to know that not being able to regulate emotions could lead to carnage. He’d felt that for so long, and she felt like she was joining a fucked up club. For a moment she remembered the fear in her father’s eyes when he saw her change and sighed. “It’s time for me to adapt to a few new things.”

She leaned up a little to meet his eyes, searching them for a moment before smiling a little. “That could be fun, having my limits tested. I constantly have more energy than I know what to do with. You should definitely help me out.” She cleared her throat, getting distracted at the feel of his hand, rubbing the back of it with her thumb. “Just wait till I’m covered in paint. It’ll happen very soon considering how many layers of it I’m gonna need for what I have in mind.” She glanced over at the wall, smiling and feeling a little spark at the thought of creating something big again, still bigger than anything she’d done. His little warning made her swipe the skin of his neck with her nose again, lingering there for a few seconds before pulling away slightly, smirk in place. “Just say no to Gunnar blood. Got it. Wouldn’t wanna lose myself.”

"S'good, you having that bit of nerves," Gunnar said with a short nod. "Means you're not far gone. Can always come back to yourself. Seen plenty of types lost to the wildness. Nearly been there myself." He shrugged. The sigh that followed was curious, but Gunnar wasn't one to pry. Andy would talk on her own time. He liked the easy flow of their talks. Missed it over the years. And he wasn't surprised that she'd readily agreed to his offer. He could sense her strength, the raw power rolling off her in waves. That kind of energy always called to his own, even if it wasn't exactly the same. "Whenever you want us, then. I'm around." Andy's excitement about the wall and diving back into her art was infectious. It'd been so long since nothing but that blue grid, a strange reminder to that time that seemed forever ago. It felt full circle to have her back like this. Sitting with him and talking art...the blood chatter, that was new.

There was more boldness, the brush of her nose against the line of his neck, keen sense of smell making his skin twitch. She was definitely full of power, and that was a curious, new thing. "Aye. Wouldn't say no to a nibble or two. But drawing blood, no telling what's to be made of that. Always been curious about it. Not curious enough to risk you, though."

“Can always come back to myself,” she mumbled, repeating him. “I think I’ve wanted to hear that for a while, Gunnar.” She sat with that for a moment, thinking about how for someone who usually didn’t chat too much, sometimes he said exactly what she needed to hear in the most succinct way. She pursed her lips at his words, listening and nodding in agreement. “Nibbles good. Bites bad. Best to leave the unknown where it is.” Some of his words stuck out to her and she inhaled a little, circling back to something he said. “Anytime I want? You promise?” She finally let her free hand wander, running her fingers through his hair, liking the smell of that too. “Cause sometimes people regret stuff like that.”

"Glad I could help." It was sincere and he backed it with a brief smile. It was good she'd agreed about the blood. There was enough already to sort with her memories of their previous encounters. Not to mention the bloodlust. He wasn't entirely sure where she was with control, and the last thing anyone needed was a test. The raseri didn't burn as hotly now and he hadn't dulled it with drugs in some time. But he was always aware. Always cautious. He did lean into the caress of her fingers. That was nice and familiar. He was amused by her playfulness, the suggestive of it all. "Promise. Haven't regretted anything we've done so far. No need to start. Especially since you remember now."

Andrea had been testing her limits, afraid to cross boundaries although she knew by merely coming to see him, the heightened aspect of it all mixed with her attraction would be intense. And he looked at her like he wanted her, and she could smell his breath, and his hair was soft on her fingers. She felt it all so acutely. His response only established some things, especially his mention of her memories. She wanted one that was clear, hers and never muddled with. Yes, she got them back but it was through a fog. She couldn’t remember how he felt. So she leaned up, tilting his head gently by his hair before brushing her lips against his. The contact made her want more immediately so she kissed him, releasing his hand so she could lean against his form and touch his face. “I’m sorry, I just,” she whispered once she was able to pull herself away, lips a little puffy from her excitement. “You just...I should probably be good and work on the wall.”

Gunnar accepted the kiss with a small grunt, more surprise than instinct. It was brief, and then Andy was pulling away, with apologies and an energy that was very much like her former self, so much that Gunnar could've smiled. Instead he reached for her, long fingers skimming her jaw, lifting her face to his so he could give her another kiss. Lips slanting over her own, soft and cool and he savored the feel of her mouth, dropping feather light presses before shifting back. "No thinking Andy," he told her, paralleling the impulsive words he'd given her on one of those muddled nights long ago. Daring her delicate human self to give in to those base instincts. He dropped his hands, letting his arm flop across the back of the couch as he regarded her. "Go be good now. Work on your wall. Don't wanna stand in the way of art. I'll be over here."

#p #para: a second draft #ch: gunnar leidolf #gunnardown

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