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the-anxious-youth · 8 months

Text

Bubbles II

Pairing: Buggy x gn!Reader

Summary: Now that Buggy has agreed to help you find Nami, the two of you get closer, and shenanigans ensue.

Warnings: none, general flirting but nothing too spicy, the reader is written as gender neutral but Buggy does call them pretty, some talks of insecurity but it's more comfort than hurt

Word Count: 4.7K

Author's Note: Here's the highly anticipated part two of my Buggy fic! He's quickly become one of my comfort characters so writing about him has been fun. Also, I made some major changes to the plot in regards to rescuing Nami because I felt I couldn't do it justice since I haven't seen episode 7 yet and didn't want to mess up such an emotional scene. Thank you for being so patient and I hope you enjoy! (Up next is a Shanks fic, so keep on the lookout for that) banners by cafekitsune

Part 1

Luffy’s eyes brightened when he saw you, a cheerful aura surrounding your captain. His smile triggers your own, and you walk up to him, holding Buggy in your hands. Luffy looks down at the clown’s head, and his smile grows even wider.

“Did you give him a makeover? It looks great, Y/N!” says the enthusiastic man, always in a good mood. You chuckle and nod in response, thanking him softly. Out of everyone in the crew, Luffy had always been the most supportive and you’re glad his reaction was the polar opposite of Zoro’s.

“Good news, I got him to tell me how to get to Arlong Park so we can rescue Nami!” Your tone is cheerful, and your Captain’s face reflects how you feel.

“Really? That’s awesome! How’d you do it?” Luffy leans against the side of the boat, visibly impressed by the way you’d been able to tame the beast, considering that a few hours ago, they all thought they’d have to torture it out of him. Looking down at Buggy, you smile softly, debating on whether or not you should tell the whole story. Before you can answer, Buggy lets out a laugh and responds for you.

“Guess I just have a soft spot for them,” he says, sending a wink in your direction. By now his flirtatious confidence is fully restored. Luffy watches the two of you making eyes at each other for a few seconds, before breaking the silence.

“Well, I’m glad you worked it out.” Luffy notices how your eyes sparkle when looking at Buggy, but he decides not to comment on it, instead moving to pull out a map. Spreading it across a table, he gestures for you to come closer.

“So this is where we are right now, approximately.” Your captain points to a spot on the map, and you recognize it as part of the East Blue. You gently place the clown’s head on the table, allowing him to look at the map. “And this is where we think Nami is,” utters Luffy, pointing his finger to an area adjacent to where he said you all are.

“You’re heading in the wrong direction, pal.” Buggy chuckles as he says this, not surprised that your crew wasn’t good with directions. After all, Nami was the navigator, the impact of her absence being very visible. Not waiting to hear what Luffy has to say, the clown continues.

“Arlong Park is on the other side of the East Blue, next to Cocoyasi Village, which is along the coastline.” Since he doesn’t have hands, he tilts his head to gesture towards the location of your desired destination. Your captain nods with a smile.

“I think I know where that is. See, was that so hard?” Luffy says teasingly, looking down at Buggy with a cheeky smile. The clown just glares in return, his smile not reappearing until you gently pick him up in your hands.

“Need me to go tell the others or do you want to do it?” You ask softly. Luffy smiles at you before responding.

“I’ve got it. I am the Captain after all.” He says cockily, though you know he means no harm. You chuckle and nod, finding his happy mood contagious.

“Yes, you are.” He pats you on the shoulder before heading off to inform the rest of the crew of the new developments. You look down at Buggy, his amorous grin causing the heat to rise to your face.

“Now what, sweetness?” He says, his tone smooth. Cocking your head at him, you hum while thinking.

“How about some food? I’m getting pretty hungry and I bet you are too.” You smile at him softly, to which he admires your face.

“You have no idea,” the clown mutters, excited at the prospect of food. Carrying him in your arms, you head to the kitchen, which incidentally is where the rest of the crew seems to be chatting.

As you walk into the room, everyone turns to look at you. Luffy smiles at you gently, Zoro’s face is humorless, and it seems like he’s still irritated about earlier, Sanji’s eyebrows furrow, confused to see you so happy with the clown, and Usopp wears a look of amusement as if he’s just along for the ride. For a moment, everything is quiet, before you decide to walk over to the pantry to find something to eat. Snapping out of his daze, Sanji walks over to you, the others resuming their discussion.

“What can I get for you, dear?” says the cook, gazing at you with a suave smile.

“Just a snack please, enough for two.” Your tone is soft, and you don't miss the look of surprise on Sanji’s face when he understands what you are referring to. You don’t notice it, but Buggy’s face is smug, enjoying watching the other man squirm. Sanji is silent for a moment, his face turning concerned.

“You do know he’s a bad guy, right? Remember what he did to that town?” asks the chef, leaning closer to you, to which Buggy scoffs.

“Lighten up, blondie, you weren’t even there.” Spits out the clown. His tone reads annoyance, not wanting the chef to impact your view of him. Sanji glares down at the head, crossing his arms.

“Yes, I remember. I just figure you get further with people using kindness.” Sanji’s eyes soften at your words, internally reminding himself that this is just who you are. He sighs, before meeting your gaze.

“Just be careful, okay? I don’t want you getting taken advantage of,” he says softly, and you smile at his words in an attempt to comfort him.

“I’ll be fine, I promise.” Chuckling softly at the blonde man’s concern, he nods his head, doing his best to smile back at you. He opens one of the cupboards and pulls out some snacks, handing them to you carefully.

“Let me know if you need help, alright?” Sanji’s eyes still hold some worry, but his easy-going smile is back on his face. You nod in response, thanking him for the food before heading to the top deck, wanting to get some fresh air.

Unbeknownst to you, the rest of the crew watched your interaction with Sanji, teasing him as soon as you were out of earshot.

“Is someone a little jealous?” teases Usopp, to which Sanji shakes his head, brushing him off.

Back on the deck, you take a seat on a blanket, putting Buggy’s head down next to you. He looks up at you with a sense of wonder, admiring your features.

“So what sounds good, apples? Crackers?” You gesture to the pile of snacks in front of you, a soft smile on your face.

“Just give me whatever you don’t want,” says the clown, his smile widening at the surprised look on your face.

“I thought you were this tough guy who only cares about himself?” Your voice is gentle, with a hint of curiosity. He chuckles at your words, shaking his head softly.

“Don’t believe everything you hear, doll.” His eyes twinkle as he speaks. “Who knows, maybe I just like you.” Feeling the heat rise to your face, you look down bashfully, not sure how to respond.

“Apples it is then.” Reaching over to grab one of the apples, you pull out the knife Sanji gave you and start cutting it into smaller pieces, slipping one into your mouth every so often. The clown just watches you, taking the opportunity to admire you while he can. Secretly, he plans to charm you so that you’ll leave with him once this is all over.

After cutting the apple into enough pieces, you move to give one to Buggy, when an idea comes into your mind.

“Here comes the choo choo train!” You say teasingly, waving the apple slice around like you would for a toddler. His eyes narrow at you, and you can tell he’d be crossing his arms if they were with him.

“Very funny,” he says unamusedly, though there is still a hint of a smile on his face. Chuckling at his response, you finally give him the apple slice, and he watches you while he chews.

“I didn’t pick these apples out so if they’re bad it’s not my fault.” You smirk at him cheekily, and he just shakes his head before swallowing.

“It’s fine,” he says, still smiling at you. “Trust me, I’ve eaten much worse.” Taking an apple slice for yourself, you pop it into your mouth, taking a look at the view around you.

“The sea sure is pretty,” you comment, admiring the fluffy clouds above you.

“Not as pretty as you.” Buggy’s statement makes you turn your head toward him. Searching his eyes for insincerity, your eyebrows furrow as you find none. By now you’re sure you’re blushing, and you look down at the apple to hide the apparent flush on your face.

“You’re quite the flirt, aren’t you?” Anxiety fills your chest, wondering whether his words were truthful or just a way to lower your guard. You fiddle with your fingers, sparing glances in his direction. Almost as if he can hear your thoughts, the clown speaks up, his tone softer than before.

“I’m being serious, you’re gorgeous, babe.” His eyes scan your face, hoping you’ll believe him, the corner of his mouth upturned into a soft smile. You just shake your head softly, his cheeky smile prompting your own. Gaining some confidence, you respond in a pert tone.

“Yeah, well you’re quite the looker yourself. I bet the girls go crazy for you.” Buggy’s cocky demeanor falters for a second, used to giving compliments rather than receiving them. He laughs nervously, thankful for the makeup on his face for hiding the blush on his cheeks.

“Depends on how you define crazy,” he says, tilting his head slightly. Even though you can’t visibly see the flush on his cheeks, his demeanor tells you enough. Chuckling to yourself, you reach for an apple slice, observing the clown as you chew.

“I guess we’re both not used to compliments.” Timbre hushed, you watch as he nods, silently agreeing with your statement. The two of you exchange friendly conversation, slowly opening up to one another. Before you know it, the sun is setting on the horizon as the day comes to a close, and all the snacks you got from Sanji are gone.

“If your captain correctly follows my directions, we should arrive at Arlong Park within a day.” Buggy’s tone is kind, something unusual for him, though there’s still a hint of playfulness. Nodding in response, you move to pick him up, being careful as always. He always gets a weird look on his face when you treat him with such fragility, and you assume it’s because being treated in such a way is unfamiliar territory for him.

Walking down the stairs, you head towards your room, smiling at your crew members as you pass them. Stopping by the kitchen to get some fresh water, you run into Sanji, who seems to be writing something down in a notebook. Probably his meal plan for tomorrow, you think to yourself. The chef turns to you as you enter, surprised to see you still with the clown.

“Aren’t you getting sick of watching him? Why don’t you let one of us take a turn, you’ve been on clown watch all day.” He says with a concerned smile.

“That’s okay, I don’t mind.” Sanji looks at you as you speak, his eyes scanning over your face as if it were a puzzle to be deciphered. His eyebrows furrow, revealing his confusion. To him, watching a pretty person choose to hang out with a homicidal maniac was like watching a scientist write poetry, it made absolutely no sense. He narrows his eyes for a moment, debating on what to say.

“Well, if you’re happy I guess.” His tone indicates that he wants to say more, but is restraining so as to not upset you.

“I’ll just get some water and I’ll be out of your way,” you say mellowly, the awkward tension becoming uncomfortable. At your comment, Sanji sends a flirty smirk in your direction.

“You’re never in my way, darling.” Feeling the blush rise to your cheeks, you nod quickly and head to grab the water. You couldn’t see it, but if looks could kill, the glare Buggy was giving the chef would have knocked him dead. After finding the water, you make a beeline for your room, not wanting to deal with more problematic interactions. As Sanji watches you leave, he wonders to himself how the clown has caught your interest, clearly not understanding the appeal.

Shutting the door to your cabin, you let out a sigh, gingerly placing Buggy on your bed, and moving to sit next to him. He notices the change in your mood, already missing the smile on your face.

“Everything okay, dollface?” His tone is the gentlest it’s been in years. The last time he could recall speaking in such a manner was with Shanks, and that was quite a long time ago. Nodding slowly, you start to fidget with your fingers, signaling your uneasiness.

“There’s just something about the way he looked at me like I was doing something wrong. It just reminds me how I don’t fit in with the rest of the crew.” You bring your hand up to start picking at your lips, the anxiety in your gut triggering the habit that appears whenever you get nervous. The action does not go unnoticed by the clown, and he tries to think of a way to calm you down.

“Hey, don’t do that. You’ll get scars,” Buggy says gently, wishing he had his body with him so he could grab your hand and pull it away from your face. Pausing your movements to look at him, you notice how concerned he seems, which ignites a strange feeling in your chest, comfort perhaps. You chuckle softly before replying, watching how his eyes never leave your face.

“It’s a little too late for that, I’m afraid.” He doesn’t match your laughter, aware of your attempt at deflection. A deep pit of sorrow seeps its way through his chest, which feels strange considering it’s not currently attached to him. It’s at this moment when he realizes how much he cares for you and decides that when you find Nami and the rest of his body, you’re coming with him. He’d be damned if he let anyone make you feel anything other than happiness. For a few minutes, you just watch each other, deciding what to say. In the end, Buggy is the one to break the silence.

“I know what it’s like to not fit in, but trust me when I say you’re a treasure, and anyone who doesn’t see that is an idiot. This crew is lucky to have you, they should be making you happy, not sad.” He smiles at you, his usual teasing nature completely gone in exchange for raw sincerity.

“Look, I know we haven’t known each other long, but I meant it when I said I had a spot for you on my crew. You’d be treated like royalty, which is exactly what you deserve.” Unlike the first time he said it, you actually consider what it would be like to join him, the thought bringing a small smile to your face.

“There’s that gorgeous smile. You’re too pretty to be sad, angel.” His words may be flirty, but he means each of them wholeheartedly. You chuckle and blush breaking into a full smile.

“How are you so sure your crew will like me?” You ask softly, tilting your head at him.

“They’d be stupid not to like you. And even if they don’t, their Captain does which means they don’t really have much of a choice.” He smirks up at you, enjoying the little giggle you let out. “At the end of the day, they’re below me and you’d be beside me, so at the very least they’d respect you. Knowing my crew though, I can pretty much guarantee they’ll like you.”

You listen to him speak with a smile, and for the first time in a long time, you feel like someone actually understands you, even if that someone is technically your crew’s rival. He grins as you nod, observing you with an almost wondrous look.

“We have to find Nami first though, okay?” You declare, pointing your finger at him playfully. Buggy laughs and nods, swearing that neither of you will leave before the redhead is found. A yawn slips out as you chuckle, the fatigue from the day reappearing like a weight on your shoulders.

“It’s late, we should get some sleep. Besides, tomorrow’s the day we rescue your friend and I’d rather you didn’t fall asleep on me.” He says with a smirk, and you nod, giggling softly to yourself. Pulling back the blanket, you move to lie down, placing Buggy’s head on its side on a pillow in front of you.

“Good night, Bugs.” The clown smiles at the nickname, gazing at you fondly as you snuggle up with the blanket.

“Good night, darling.” He says softly, watching you close your eyes. He takes the opportunity to study your features, afraid that if he looks away he’ll forget them. After a while he hears your breathing even out, signaling your unconscious state. Only then he closes his eyes, hoping to dream of you.

—---

The next morning goes by quickly, everyone preparing for the rescue they’re about to attempt. Buggy’s directions were correct, and Arlong Park was visible just on the horizon. The energy is full of excitement and anticipation, with everyone looking forward to seeing Nami again. Right now, you’re sitting on the deck surrounded by the rest of the crew as they discuss the game plan.

“You know the layout of Arlong Park, don’t you, clown?” Zoro’s tone is harsh, and Buggy has to physically resist rolling his eyes. He’s placed on your lap, something that keeps catching the eyes of Sanji, perhaps with a hint of jealousy. The only person who isn’t actively glaring daggers at him is Luffy, though that doesn’t say much considering the pirate is always happy.

“Yes, but I won’t be much help as a head, so we need to find my body first. Then we can go after your navigator.” If it wasn’t for your gentle touch on the sides of his neck, he would’ve gone off by now, annoyed at being treated like a prisoner.

“I can help with that,” you pipe up, and everyone nods in agreement. The group discusses some more, everyone being assigned various roles to assist in the operation going smoothly. After that, you all gear up, your goal being to reattach Buggy’s head to his body before you can help the others. Soon, the boat is docked a little away from your destination, not wanting to signal Arlong’s men of your arrival.

Trekking through the foliage, you finally make it to the gates and split into groups, deciding that it’ll be easier to cover more ground that way. Your group consists of yourself, Buggy, and Sanji, as the chef didn’t trust the clown being alone with you. The blue-haired pirate directs you towards a hidden entrance along the side of the park, one in which you hopefully wouldn’t be spotted. Following his directions, you come across a small clearing in the trees, Sanji following right behind you.

“Where do you think your body is being kept?” You ask quietly, hoping your voice doesn’t tell Arlong or his men of your locations.

“Probably somewhere amongst the carnival games. Since he’s taken it I’ve noticed they’ve been throwing something at it, probably darts based on the sensation. Arlong likes to mess with people anyway, so it would make sense.” Nodding, you head towards that area, allowing Buggy to tell you where to go since he’s the only one who’s been here before. Not long after, you stumble upon what you’re looking for, Buggy’s body pinned up against some balloons. Breaking out into a large smile, you look down at Buggy, and he grins back up at you.

“Wow, you were actually right,” Sanji comments, his words full of surprise and bitterness, his distaste for the clown painfully obvious.

“You say that like it’s a miracle.” The clown says in rebuttal, sharing the disdain for the chef. Suddenly, Buggy’s head flies out of your hands as the various parts of his body reattach themselves. Once he’s back to being a whole person, he hops down from the wall, running towards you with joy written on his face.

“It feels better than I even remembered!” Says the clown, running his hands up and down his arms. He turns to you with a grin.

“Now let’s go find your friend.” You nod at him, his happiness triggering your own.

While searching for Nami, you run into the rest of your crew, who seem to be in a bit of a hurry.

“What’s the matter? Did you find her? Is she okay?” Right as Usopp is about to answer, a familiar voice rings into the air.

“Miss me that much?” You turn your head in the direction of the sound, and a huge smile breaks out on your face as you see Nami running towards you. She smirks at your expression before continuing. “We need to get out of here before the rest of the Arlong pirates find us, we can catch up later.” You nod quickly, picking up your pace, and start running behind the others, Buggy at your side.

Once you all are far enough away from Arlong Park, the crew stops to properly greet Nami, yourself included. You can tell she’s not much of a hugger, so you make sure your embrace is short. As you all talk amongst yourselves, Buggy stands a few feet away, not wanting to interrupt the moment. After everyone had a chance to talk to the red-haired girl, she finally notices the clown standing awkwardly a few steps away and furrows her eyebrows in confusion.

“What the hell is he doing here?” She asks shortly, starting to walk in his direction. You quickly move to stand in front of her, preventing the two from fighting.

“It’s okay, he’s okay,” you say quickly, and are met with a confused look from the girl. “He actually helped us find you. I mean, we had no idea where we were going until he showed up, considering you are our navigator.” She scoffs at the idea of Buggy willingly helping someone who isn’t part of his crew.

“Oh yeah? How’d you get him to do that? Torture him or something?” Nami looks at Buggy suspiciously, not believing that he actually did something nice for once. You shake your head, chuckling nervously, not sure how to explain the whole ‘I gave him a bath and we kinda connected’ thing. Lucky for you, Buggy speaks up.

“Your crew member here is very convincing.” He takes a step forward, gesturing to you with a cheeky smile. She just watches the two of you for a moment, finally connecting the dots between Buggy’s friendly attitude and your flustered demeanor.

“Huh. Well, that’s something I didn’t expect to see today,” says the redhead, her timbre nonchalant.

“What didn’t you expect to see, Nami?” Sanji quickly asks. Now that she’s back, Sanji is taking every opportunity he can find to speak with Nami.

“Y/N hooking up with the clown. They didn’t seem like the type but I guess we all have secrets.” She looks at you with a smirk, a deep blush blossoming on your face. The rest of the crew looks surprised, especially Usopp, now that your little fancy has been blatantly stated.

“Wait, you have a thing for the clown captain? How am I only finding out about this now?” Usopp asks with a smile on his face.

“You really haven’t noticed? Even though I can’t possibly fathom why, they’ve been spending every second together the past few days. I mean, they’re always blushing around him, and that’s a sign of only one thing.” You’re surprised that Zoro seems so calm now, especially considering the way he reacted in the beginning. There’s no smile on his face, but he doesn’t appear to be upset. “You really need to be more observant of your surroundings, Usopp.” The swordsman shakes his head, baffled at his crew member’s ignorance.

It’s Sanji who turns to you next, a mix of emotions on his face. “So you two are really a thing?” he asks hesitantly, not sure if he really wants to hear the answer. By now you’re sure your face is deeply flushed, not used to being put in the spotlight.

“Let’s just say I’m pretty fond of your crew member,” Buggy looks at you cheekily, enjoying the blush on your visage. Sanji stays silent for a moment before nodding, leaning closer to say something to you.

“Just be careful, darling, okay?” His voice is gentle, and he backs away as soon as he sees the glare the clown is giving him. Suddenly Nami walks up to Buggy with a tough look on her face.

“If you hurt them, I’ll make sure you’re just a head, permanently.” He immediately puts his hands up in surrender, knowing that she fully means the threat.

“I wouldn’t dream of it, they’re too precious.” The look on the clown’s face shows his fear of her, a sight that almost makes Nami’s lip quirk.

“Good.” She turns back to you, the smile returning to her face.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think I’ll actually miss you.” You knew this was the closest Nami got to being sappy, and you moved to give her one last hug.

“I’ll miss you too, Nami. Keep the boys in check for me, will you?” The navigator chuckles at your question, letting you go from the hug.

“Oh I will, you don’t need to worry about that.” Despite not knowing you for long, Nami secretly always liked you, finding you the most enjoyable to be around, unbeknownst to you.

Turning to the rest of your crew, you can tell they’ve already figured out your decision. You walk up to Luffy first, who’s beaming at you like a little boy.

“We’ll miss you too but I can tell this is what you want.” Your lips tug upwards at his statement, appreciating the way he values your wants and desires. “You know you’re always welcome on the straw hat crew, right?” His question makes you smile, and you nod in response. Stepping closer, you give him a tight hug which he happily reciprocates. ‘Always so touchy’ you think to yourself fondly. After pulling away, you say goodbye to the rest of the crew members, even getting a small “good luck kid” from Zoro.

“Until we meet again.” You say to all of them, nodding as a sign of respect. They wave at you as you walk away, following Buggy to go find his crew. As you’re walking, he stops abruptly and turns to you.

“Oh! I forgot something.” Raising your eyebrows, you start to open your mouth to ask him what he meant, when suddenly he carefully grabs the back of your neck, pulling your lips against his. Your eyes widen for a second out of surprise, but you quickly close them and kiss him back, moving your hand to his bicep. He grins at you after you pull away, taking pleasure in the shy look on your face.

“Cat got your tongue?” The blue-haired man says softly, referring to the conversation you had the day you first met. You giggle and shake your head, hiding your face in his chest. He laughs and wraps his arms around you.

“You’re too cute, you know that? Now come on, I’ve got some people to introduce you to.” You look up at him as you pull away, smiling as he grabs your hand to lead you to his crew.

©️the-anxious-youth, 2023

Please do not replicate/repost :)

#my writing #buggy #buggy fanfic #buggy fanfiction #buggy x reader #buggy the clown x reader #one piece x reader #one piece

642 notes · View notes

thelargefrye · 4 months

Note

Hi! ~ What do you think how ateez reacts watching EXILE HER kissing/bed scene in her first ever acting project 🤭😂

ATEEZ REACTS TO YOUR KISSING SCENE IN A DRAMA ... reaction ( 18+ )

pairing : idol!ateez x idol!f!reader

genre : bullet-point style, reaction, exile her au, idol au, comedy, fluff, kind of spicy (but nothing really happens, just implied)

word count : 2k

warnings : some language, mentions of making-out / intimate scenes / fake blood (these are all alluded to in the drama)

note : tried to keep the members all at the same length lol. also, i made this her second acting project which i will make a post about at a later date, so just a heads up lol

honorary tag : @sanjoongie

context on drama: it trended on different platforms for being a number of reasons but one of them is because of the intimate scenes that are in it between you and your co-star, park jihoon. this is ateez's reactions when they watch it and see all those different scenes.

HONGJOONG

hongjoong was caught off-guard immediately with the first scene in the FIRST episode

man was SHOOK with how you and your co-star were making out, camera zooming in on you both as you kiss and then panning as jihoon's hands trailed down your body

he was getting flashbacks to when you make-out and he does the exact same things

so of course he ended up imagining himself in the scene with you

what it would be like to shoot something like this with you

by the end of the scene he was completely jealous of your co-star because he wanted to do something like this with you

like the image of you kissing would be burned into his eyelids and he HATED IT

def didn't help how excited you were to watch your drama with him and others

mainly because you knew these scenes were here and when he turned to look at you at some point during the episode

he found you already staring at him, like you were watching his reactions

and he immediately regrets agreeing to watch it with you because he knows you were enjoying watching him suffer like this

so he tried to hide his jealousy at times but he couldn't help but get absorbed into the story of your character

so then by the end of it, he found himself more intrigued than jealous

but we all know he was still jealous at least on the inside

SEONGHWA

when you told seonghwa that this drama would be more mature he thought it meant something in the sense of gore and action

which it had that but he was completely caught off guard with some of more intense scenes

and not to mention the ones where you and your co-star were a little too intimate for him not to feel at least a little jealous

but seonghwa had to remind himself that it was all fake and that you were cuddled up next to him in his bed

he had promised to watch it with you when him and the others finished their tour and as hard as it was to avoid the drama

he managed to do it, completely avoiding any and everything about it

even when the other members watched it, he would ignore them when they talked about

and honestly, the really intimate scenes didn't get to him as much as the softer moments did

when you would caress and hold jihoon close to you or when you would kiss him

and especially during the "high school flashbacks" would get him the most he would feel both jealous AND emotional because of how heartbreaking they were

at one point you would look over to seonghwa tearing up at some of the softer moments

"its just so heartbreaking" he would say when you ask him what was wrong before fulling crying and having you instantly comfort him

YUNHO

he was immediately interested when he seen your drama trending on different social media

what also caught his eye was clips about one scene floating around on tiktok and twitter

a lot of people calling it "the bathroom scene" which only got him more curious

so when he was doing nothing but laying in bed one night after a concert, he remembered how everyone had been going crazy over the scene

and curiosity got the better of him and he watched just that scene

which... probably wasn't greatest idea but it was whatever he told himself

he would watch this 'infamous' scene now and then the rest of it later with one of the others or even with you

so he watched the scene and immediately felt a swing of different emotions

from how turned on he was because of how you looked extremely hot covered in blood and angry

to feeling uneasy when he watched you caress your co-star like how you would him or one of the others

to jealous when it then lead to you and your co-star making out and jihoon basically grinding against you and how you made those sounds that were only reserved for him and your other lovers

and then finally he came to regret the whole thing having let his curiosity get the better of him

and so when he finally sat down and watched it with mingi, he felt all those emotions come at him once more

YEOSANG

if yeosang felt jealous then he was really good at hiding it

he remembers you telling him and others about how this drama was on the more... mature side

which he didn't mind, he knew that it was something you were excited about and it was an opportunity for you career

so why wouldn't he be supportive of it?

annnnnnnnnnnnd then the drama came out and it was the internet exploded

he was seeing how fans were reacting to it and it only made him curious about it

even atiny were asking him about it and what he thought when he would go live

"have i watched y/nnie's drama? not yet but i've seen people talk about it. is it good?" he would ask and watch the comments flood with mix things

the usual yes and no comments: "watch it! its really good!!" "some scenes are hard to watch ngl..."

and then there were the ones that caught his eye: "you'll get jealous if you watch it."

"why would i be jealous?"

and then they would say: "y/n and jihoon are too sexy in some of it."

which obviously made him more curious about it and so he decided to watch it

and as he watched he couldn't help but feel something as he watched you and co-star kiss repeatedly, each one getting more and more heated than the last one

and then he finished it.

so... if kang yeosang was jealous then he was really really good at hiding it

SAN

san was excited for you when you told him and others about your new drama

so he was prepared to watch it when it came out because he wanted to be a supportive boyfriend

he remembers asking atiny about the drama during a live right after it was released

and like yeosang the comments came in and were mixed with all sorts of things

a lot of atiny telling him it was good but some scenes were very mature and some just outright telling him not to watch because of those mature things

and then he ended up watching it anyways with wooyoung one night while on tour

and he was definitely jealous about jihoon, your co-star

was shocked at how intimate the two of you would be in some scenes

he remembers actually gasping at one scene because your whole back was on display to the camera and while he knew you were actually fully naked – it still took him by surprise

also like seonghwa some of the softer scenes would hit hard and reminded him and you two when he would hold you or when you would hold him

after he finished it, he went on live the next day and brought it up

"i finished y/n's drama last night," he began remembering all the scenes that stood out to him the most

he tried his best to contain his jealousy, not wanting to show it camera

"i liked it a lot, definitely not something i would have imagined y/n in," he adds trying to remain calm as the image of your naked back flashed into his mind "but i think she did a really good job in it"

MINGI

this man was SCANDALIZED

he was so shocked throughout the entire thing as him and yunho watched

yunho even threatened to turn it off at one point if he kept gasping at every scene

"i can't help it! its just so interesting!" he would say, defending himself

and then the bathroom scene happened and he was FLOORED like he was so shocked by the whole thing

mingi was so invested into the story that he didn't even have time to think about being jealous

however when him and yunho were taking a break between episodes that's when he noticed yunho was getting jealous

and of course mingi used that to tease yunho because the rapper knew how much the dancer was whipped for you

and then after they finished the drama mingi was so heartbroken because it was over

he ended up watching it again by himself at a few months later

and it was during the re-watch that he was noticing things happening in the story and how like a lot of the others, your intimate moments reminded him of you two

but again, mingi wouldn't be jealous because he knew that you loved him and the others

and even with fans shipping you and your co-star, mingi knew that he didn't have to worry about your feelings

anyways, mingi best boy

WOOYOUNG

despite how he acts most of the time

wooyoung doesn’t get easily jealous

at least in a serious way

he’s confident in his relationship and knows that he has nothing to ever worry about

especially when it comes to you or the others acting in a drama that involves romance

so when he heard about the intimate scenes in your newest drama, wooyoung was immediately interested in it

and so when him and some of the others watched it together one night... to say he wasn't surprised would be a lie

but to say he wasn't turned on by some of the scenes would also be a lie

he thought you looked hot, plain and simple

and watching you show a bunch of different emotions on camera, well... it kind of turned him on

some of the scenes were definitely more intense than what he was expecting

but then when it got intimate or slightly romantic between you and jihoon then that's when it made his stomach do all sort of flips

like hongjoong he found himself imagining him in your co-star's place and thinking back to all the times you two would be intimate

it honestly kind of made him miss you more than he already did and he would end up calling you so he could see you outside of your drama

after he finished, he would go and brag about how his "best friend was a famous actress" and talking about how he loved the drama

he also kind of just... rubbing it in that he was close to you while others weren't

you know, just wooyoung things

even telling atiny to watch it (if they were old enough)

JONGHO

jongho had heard all about the drama like yunho had

so he was aware of some of the scenes the drama had to offer

but unlike yunho, he didn't watch those specific clips before the whole and instead experienced them all together

and jongho wasn't jealous per say, but he was shocked at some of the scenes

he was honestly glad he decided to watch the drama by himself because he found himself flustered at most if not all the intimate scenes that were shown

just like hongjoong and wooyoung, jongho would also imagine himself in those scenes with you

but not because he was jealous of your co-star

BUT because watching those scenes made him miss you while him and the others were on tour

HOWEVER

seeing how popularly it was and how loved you and jihoon were becoming to the internet

it wasn't the scenes in the drama that would necessarily make him jealous but the interview you and your co-star would do

seeing fans go crazy over the two of you like you were an actual couple... it made him feel weird inside

so you best believe that when he sees you again, you're gonna have the giant teddy bear cuddling up with you

and of course you wouldn't question his sudden need for cuddles and affection, only giving it to him

tag list : @frankenstein852 @watamotee33 @kawennote09 @mixling-blog @marahleiwhen @kpopnightingale @harry-the-pottypus @pyeonghongrie @sanniesbum @marvelahsobx @khjcoo @mysticfire0435 @exfolitae @dementedaly @simeonswhore @moonm1st @nvmbheart @spooo00oky @frgogh @sookacc @seongwin @burnsmepls @ad0rechuu @tunaasan @northerngalxy @silverpixiedust23 @cheesekimchi @confusedmoonchild777 @mjyungi @innieontop @iweirdthingsblog @s0obinluvr @worcesheshestershiresauce @moonlightgrleric @wineyoungie @jeongwangjessmina @lemineso

network : @cultofdionysusnet @cromernet

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lovelybrooke · 1 year

Text

Family sacrifice (Platonic Yandere Sully family x reader).

This was inspired by @avatar4life idea's.

Also, some scenes might not be exactly one to one.

Time with the Metkayina flew by.

It seemed like just yesterday you were flying on Jakes Ikran to the unfamiliar land. It took a while to finally feel welcomed, but once you did you learned to consider the clan your new home.

Everything was great, until Kiri seizures started getting worse and reports of the RDA raiding nearby villages began to pop up. You were worried, about what it meant for your family, but Jake insisted everything would be fine as long as you followed his orders.

"There's nothing to worry about, we'll protect you if anything happens."

We'll, he said. Your family.

Even after being with the Sullys for so long, you never felt like you truly belonged. It wasn't just the superficial reasons, it was their resilience, their fortitude. They seem like a family, and you an outsider.

And in a way, you were. You were human, a sky person, a demon. You couldn't climb like the Na'vi of the Omaticaya clan or dive like the Metkayina. You would never be able to bond with an Ilu or an Ikran, and a year ago you were okay with that, but know your heart is filled with sadness knowing you'll never truly connect with the people you call your family.

...

As the attacks on the clan got worse, your image within Metkayina lessened. They blamed you and your family for the attacks on the Tulkuns, ignoring Jake's attempt at reasoning with them. The worst of all was Ronal, who placed all the blame on you for the sky people's appearance. While you family was quick to defend you, you couldn't help but feel like they had a point. A lone human among a group of Na'vi was reason to cause suspicion.

It became all you would think about, the danger you brought your family and friends just by existing. Your mind was constantly racing with thoughts of what to do, on how to help, but when the RDA did finally come, Jake demanded you stay far away from the battle in the Marui. You wanted to help, but Jake was stern and wouldn't change his mind. It didn't help that Neytiri also agreed with him.

So, you took matters into your own hands. You weren't going to let your family be taken from you.

...

"...N)?"

Where were you?

"(Y/N)?!"

Why does your chest hurt.

"(Y/N)!"

Where is everyone. Why is it so cold.

"(Y/N)! Please Wake up!" You couldn't discern who it was, you could barely open your eyes. But you could feel someone's hands stroking your hair. It took all your strength to get your eyes open, but even when you did, dirt and mud covered your oxygen pack, so you could barely see, but you were able to make out parts of Neteyam's face.

"(Y/n), keep your eyes open. Please stay awake a while longer! Dad will be here soon." He sounded in pain, sobs breaking through his words.

You opened your mouth to respond, but the only sound that came out was a pained gasp, your hands instantly shooting to your abdomen to try and stop the pain. You let out short, labored breaths, as Neteyam presses his large hands onto the wound, letting out quick apologizes as you bawl loudly.

The pain was overwhelming, you could barely understand your surroundings. It was hot, a mixture of both the pain in your stomach and the flames that were all around you, standing tall like walls. You couldn't remember how you got here, any time you tried to remember, your head would pulse and sends shocks that caused you to scream out. You had to fight the urge to move your hands away to end the pain, knowing you needed to stop the bleeding.

The pain only grew worse as Neteyam grew more frustrated, blood shooting out of you like a fountain. He would press harder, causing you to cry and beg him to stop. When he would, more blood would pour, and he could see your starting to lose consciousness. He didn't know what to do other than scream for his brother, his mother, his father, anyone to help him.

"Neteyam wha-" The words were caught in Jakes mouth the moment he saw you, quickly getting off his Ikran and moving up to you, his hands on your wound.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I know it hurts, I'm sorry." He apologized as you cry out, begging him to stop. Neteyam calls out to his brother and sister, who both rushes over when they realize the seriousness of the situation. Lo'ak run to console his mother, who is sobbing the moment she arrives.

"No! No, Yawntutsyip! Please no!" She breaks out of Lo'ak's grasp, falling down next to you. Her sobs become louder as she watches you slowly close your eyes, begging Jake to do something. He doesn't respond as you succumb to sleep.

...

Ronal wishes to die before her children, so she never has to deal with the pain of losing a child.

Ronal watches Neytiri sob as your body is laid on a stretcher and led into the sky people's machinery. The same sky people who helped Kiri during her accident.

She watches with an unfamiliar emotion she cannot name as jake and Neytiri watch their child be taken away from them.

And she watches as Jake comforts his eldest son, who is racked with grief over what could be the loss of his sibling. She sighs, before leaving to deal with the wounds of her people.

Jake later explained to her that you were not dead, barely, that your body was shutting down slowly, and that the humans in the forest would be able to help you. Jake explained to her with a sorrowful confliction that your chances of survival was low, and they wouldn't know when they would see you again.

Ronal only knew you through the bits and pieces her children told her, and when she cared to listen, she was told about your kindness, about your empathy and humanity. She could feel the love in each of their words, and she could feel it now.

"If your child does pass, they are welcomed a proper burial." She speaks, and Jake barely responds, he didn't want to think about giving you away to Eywa just yet.

Ronal wishes to die before her children, because she could not survive the pain of losing them, and she doesn't know how Jake manages to. Whenever she things of you, she no longer things of your demon heritage. She things of your soft face that was blocked by your oxygen mask. She things of your childlike wonder towards the world around you and the love you have for your family. But worst of all, she thinks of your limp body being cradled by Jakesully's arm, and she can't help but cry.

...

It's been a month since you left, and Neteyam doesn't feel normal.

It's like he's constantly on edge, his ears pinned back against his head and his tail flickering in annoyance. He tries his best to preform rudimentary tasks, taking care of Tuk, patrolling around the village, diving, anything that could take his mind off of you.

Even though it's been a month, Neteyam remembered the day like it was yesterday. You demanded to come with him, to help your siblings. He was stupid, he agreed, you took a bullet with him, and it put you in danger.

He remembers seeing you gasping for air, struggling to breathe through the confines of your oxygen mask. When he closes his eyes, he sees you cry out as he presses you wound down to stop the breathing. He can hear himself call out for help, begging for his father and you lose consciousness. When his eyes open and he looks down at his hands, he swears they were still stained with blood.

...

It was night when Ronal catches Jake about to leave on his Ikran. The moon illuminated the water which was calm in contrast to Jake's frantic movement. He was strapping a few supplies on it back carefully, shushing it whenever it screeches out in an attempt to not wake his family. It's like he was in a trance, moving so quickly he barely notices Ronal until he is almost finished.

"Ronal." He greets, stopping only for a second to acknowledge her. She nods and motions to his Ikran, who is preening at its wings.

"What are you doing?" She whispers softy, watching at Jake boards the animal. His body is rigid, it had been so since you had been sent away with the Sky people. Jake's face, however, was covered in a despondent expression, unquestionably due to the stress he's gone through in the past few months.

"I'm going to visit my child." His words were laced with woe, causing Ronal to soften only slightly, her shoulders relaxing, and her gaze becoming less harsh.

She gestures to his Marui, "Does your family know?" Jake nods, clearly disinterested in the conversation. She could only image the thoughts racing through his head.

Ronal lets out a breath, grasping her over her pregnant stomach. She gazes at Jake with a look of remorse. "I pray to Eywa they recover." Jake again nods before flying away towards the forest.

...

You looked so peaceful like this. Your face was no longer covered by your oxygen mask, your skin smooth and serene. You were breathing just enough to see your chest rise and fall, it being accompanied with the beeping of your heart monitor, the only thing notifying Jake that you were in fact, still alive.

Norm explained to Jake that you were in a coma. The bullet entered just below your lungs, near your abdomen. While it wasn't fatal, there was no grantee you would wake up. Every month, Jake would fly to the research base to check up on you, hoping and praying you would wake up.

As he entered the research base, he was flooded with memories of his first few moments with you. Talking to you about Earth, watching your eyes light up in fascination. Listening to you talk about what crazy thing Lo'ak did that week. He missed that with you, and he knew his family did to.

He moved throughout the base quickly, none of the scientist daring to interrupt him. He can feel the stares of humans on him as he enters into the patient room, letting out a breath at the sight of you the same as before. You were hooked up to wires and tubes, machines all around you. It was overwhelming, the bright lights and beeping, he hated it.

Either way, he sat down on a chair next to you, moving it as close as possible before bringing his hand up to stroke your cheek. He frowns slightly at how cold you were, moving your blanket up to cover you better.

"Hello, (Y/N)." He talks quietly, his voice filled with remorse. He pauses a bit, thinking what to say.

"Neteyam misses you." He choked on his words before continuing, "And he misses you." You don't respond.

Jake takes a deep breath to control his tears. "Tuk is getting better at her diving. She's excited to show you." Jake wished to hear your voice. Hear you laugh, hear you cry, anything.

"Neytiri prays every night that you'll return to her." He mentions while smoothing out your hair. He doesn't get the whole point talking to you, but Norm says it keeps your brain stimulated, and Norms way smarter than him so he listens.

"When you get out of here, we'll have a big celebration, food and everything." He smiles at the idea. You coming home to welcoming arms, your family. The idea of seeing your bright smile, of you hugging him, of him getting to final apologize, it fills him with hope.

But for now, it's just a distant dream of what could be all because of what that bastard Quaritch and the RDA did to you. If it wasn't for them, you wouldn’t be restricted to this bed, living off of machines and tubes.

Jake’s family is is fortress, and he promises they won’t let anything happen to you again. He’ll kill every last human before he he let’s them touch you again. He swears it.

#yandere x reader #soft yandere #platonic yandere #yandere avatar #avatar way of water x reader #avatar #sully!reader #yandere sully family #sully family x reader #sully family

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kelcemenow · 11 months

Text

Call Her Daddy.

Pairing Travis Kelce x Reader

Words 829

Warnings Sexual references, fluff and strong language...obviously.

I hope I've done this one right! I've never heard of the podcast, nor have I listened to it but I did a some research and just went for it! "Hello first of all I’m a huge fan of your work, I have an idea in mind hope you like it. Y/n and travis have been dating for a bit just there close friends know about the relationship and Alex copper a close friend of the reader invites them on her podcast call her daddy where they talk about there relationship/sex life"

"Okay, next question. What is your favourite sexual position?"

You hummed in thought, "I love being on top." You smiled at Alex who nodded in agreement, "There's something about being on top that gives me a sense of power, isn't there? It's a bit dominating."

"Would you say that you like being in the more dominant role in the bedroom?" Alex questioned.

"Sometimes." You giggled, "But on the flipside, I really like being thrown around, you know? Like...lifted up, thrown onto the bed, pushed up against the wall, carried around...that's what I want."

Alex fanned her face with her hand, "Phew, you're speaking the truth here Y/N. So, I promised an exclusive scoop earlier to everybody and I think it's about time that we get to that. Y/N is not my only guest on this episode, we have someone joining us, don't we?"

You laughed, "Yeah, I've been seeing some rumours flying around regarding my dating life and I gotta be honest, a lot of people are getting it all wrong!"

"Gotta love those rumours!"

"So, when Alex asked me to come on Call Her Daddy, I thought it was the perfect time to set the record straight. Plus, I'm going on tour soon and he'll be at quite a few shows so everyone will figure it out eventually anyway."

"So, our guest is someone that you're dating?"

You smiled and adjusted your headphones, "Yeah, we've been dating for a while now and so far, it's only family and close friends that have known about it but we agreed that it's probably time to let everyone else know."

Alex leaned into her microphone, "Just for full transparency, I knew!"

"Yeah you were one of the first people that I told, I couldn't keep that secret from you!"

"Id' have gotten it out of you eventually, I'm good at that!" Alex cleared her throat, "Right, let's not keep everyone waiting for much longer. Daddy Gang, our extra special guest on today's episode is none other than...Travis Kelce!"

You both gave Travis a round of applause as he placed headphones over his ears and smiled into the microphone, "Alright now!"

You grinned and placed your hand on his leg, giving it a gentle squeeze.

Alex took a sip from her water, "Okay, now Travis, you're not new to the podcast scene, we all know that."

Travis snickered, "Nah, I feel at home like this! But I gotta say, New Heights is completely different. You know, me and Jason don't talk about what I think we're going to be talking about here!"

"Yeah, that would be weird!" You laughed.

"Right, let's get straight to it. What's the sexiest thing about Y/N?"

"Oh wow, no messing around here, baby!" He rubbed his beard, "The sexiest thing about my girl?"

"You can only pick one!" Alex lifted an eyebrow.

"That's not easy. Honestly, I think she's the sexiest woman in the world. She could be folding laundry and I'm still mesmerised by her! But the sexist thing about her is definitely how ambitious she is. She has worked her fucking ass off to get what she has got and what makes it even better, is that she did it all herself. I love watching her perform, because I can see what it means to her and how much she has sacrificed to be able to do it. It's amazing, man."

Your lips curled into a huge smile, a wave of happiness washing over you.

"Aww guys, you're going to make me cry! And that's not the vibe I was going for! We want the juicy details!"

Travis mumbled, "Oh...umm...her ass?"

You and Alex both laughed loudly.

"Is that's what you wanted?" Travis looked to Alex who was clutching at her stomach.

"I liked your first answer, baby." You placed your arm gently around his shoulders and traced circles on the back of his neck with your finger.

"I'm sure a lot of people will want to know how you two manage to date with your busy schedules."

You clasped your hands together, "It's difficult, it really is. But we make sure that we keep some time aside for each other. Even if it is just sitting down to have breakfast together or an hour long phone call."

"Technology helps. We like Facetime, we use that one a lot." Travis agreed.

Alex grinned a mischievous smile, "Do the Facetime calls ever get a bit heated...a bit explicit?"

You glanced at Travis with a knowing look, "If I said no-"

"She's be lying." He said loudly.

Your mouth flew open in shock and Alex clapped her hands together, "I knew it!"

"Oh, come on" We're all adults here, we know how those calls can end up sometimes. If Travis calls me shirtless, chances are I'm gonna get a bit...distracted. I Facetimed him from the shower last week." Your cheeks were beginning to deepen in colour, "My God, how do you get this information out of people?!"

______________________________________________________________

I hope that was okay! As always, your comments and messages are always appreciated! You're all too kind! I'll be working through some more requests this week (whenever I have some spare time) and if you want to be added to my Taglist, just let me know!

Taglist @rd14 @dandelionwrites8 @keiva1000 @fantasywritersstuff @caelipartem @anacarangel @she-lives-in-her-dreams @kkrenae @kristencochefski1125 @countrygirl120983 @killatravtramp @charmed2000 @nouis-bum @cixrosie @delicateearthquakellama @wordsaresimple-imnot @amylouwho9 @queenisa17 @talicat713 @luvvtrent @purecinnamonextract @savaneafricaine @caelipartem @beyxgrande @caitdaniels @ezgirl1108 @vir-tual @lightsoutstyles

#travis kelce x reader #travis kelce imagine #kelce x reader #nfl imagine #original story #travis kelce fic #travis kelce #nfl fluff #travis kelce fluff #kelcemenow requests

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neoplatinum · 3 months

Text

speed racer | nicha 'minnie' yontararak

summary: after the loss of your mentor, you reconnect with an old friend. also to discuss growing up around each other.

pairing: minnie x street racer!reader

themes: childhood friends to lovers, angst, sad minnie :(, small character 'death', mentions of yuqi

wc: 1.6k

eyes on the road, hand's on the wheels and keep your head leveled. that's what your mentor said to you when he offered to let you drive his road racer when you were thirteen. now at the age of twenty something and the loss of your mentor, you try to keep his teaching in your mind when you race. the only attachment you have left is his modded mk4 supra and a pack of half used cigarettes and lighter from his last days.

no one heard from him since, everyone agreed that he has passed away, but you knew better. that man was resilient and able to get himself even out of the worst situations, so you were confused when his family showed up asking where he had been.

his last words to you were, "drive." but there was nothing left for you here. in a past hobby that led to more injuries than a cash prize, you were determined to leave the street racing scene.

sometimes you race though, whenever minnie calls you to. one of the closest friends you had growing up. growing up around each other whenever her father gave you racing lessons or even just spending dinner together. both of you had grown up orbiting around each other but never collided until her father disappeared.

the funeral procession took place weeks ago, but you couldn't find the strength to attend. instead you opt to take his favorite supra out for a long long ride, reminiscing of his drifting techniques and his shifts. deciding it was the proper way to honor his disappearance, you take his supra out for every weekend.

tonight you find minnie's car out on an overlook as she stares out into the scenery of the distant city. her eyes glossy and arms crossed.

"hey." you start when you step out of her old man's car. she still hasn't registered that there's someone next to her. "minnie?" you call out to her.

"oh hi," she starts wiping away the tears that are rushing down her face, rubbing with her palms and wiping them off on her jeans. you offer a tissue and stand next to her.

"how are you doing?" you start.

"well how well can anyone really be doing when their father's missing and everyone thinks he is dead." she explains in a shaky voice and holding her own arms for comfort. you go into the trunk and hand her a jacket to wrap around.

"here." you offer, to which she smiles seeing the jacket. an old jacket that was once her father's. large and old and worn, with small holes and cutes along the sleeves. she can tell that you've been wearing it frequently.

"this jacket...you know he loved you right?" she starts, watching you stare into the city with a heavy heart. "he always talked about how much you reminded him of his young self."

"i know that old geezer loved me, i truly do." you begin. shuffling your feet and kicking pebbles to avoid looking at minnie.

"sometimes i thought he loved you more than his own daughter," minnie explains slowly, you look at her confused "i used to resent how much time he spent with you instead of his own daughter. how he could devote hours to a kid that isn't his when he has his own."

you nod, its obvious what circling around each other since you were young has put you two into. she resented you for the attention you were given. on the other hand you resented her for being the kid that he went home to and spent time with, leaving you to sleep outside and away from their family.

"glad to know we both felt the same." you grin and she drops her jaw.

"what?" she exclaims.

"i resented you too minnie, you were the kid he actually went home to, i was left to sleep alone in the shed while you were his family. i always just felt like a stray, never part of the family." you turn more serious and face her as you talk.

she stops to think about your words and feelings, to understand your point of view and why you feel the way that you do.

"he really is something else." she laughs a bit and turns back to face the city. "i miss him."

"me too minnie."

she looks at your features, ones that are familiar and ones that are new. not seeing each other for so long has definitely been jarring.

"i see you still take his car out for spins." she glances at her father's black supra. she circles the car before settling into the passenger seat.

you get into the driver's seat and watch her marvel at the car that was once her fathers.

"stupid dad, him and his cars." she lets out tears when she sees the photo of him and minnie in the glove box, a treasured photo that she never knew he kept. you smile at the photo and lean over.

"lets go on a ride, i'll follow you." you smile at her. she nods and settles back into her own purple car. turning the engine into a loud roar before setting off into the night, you following behind closely as you both share the same feelings of driving.

you both reach a local convenience store by the end of the night. as you both eat cup noddles by the window, minnie turns to you.

"how are you and yuqi doing?" she asks, immediately you cringe at the question. rather unfortunate memories resurface when you think of song yuqi.

you answer honestly, "she dumped me." digging into your bowl of noodles and slurping loudly. minnie nods to process the answer; you can see her curiosity overflowing.

"what happened?" she continues in a more gentle tone. her eyes following your eyeline.

you sit and ponder the breakup as well as the aftermath. a hard topic to go back to, considering yuqi and minnie were close friends until you started dating yuqi.

you cough a bit, "she says that im in love with someone else." the air becomes stiff, yuqi hasn't spoken to minnie in a long time so she's suprised by the answer.

"are you? in love with someone else?" she asks and hands you a napkin. in between bites you try and think about the question because it has you stumped for weeks.

"not that i can think of." it's hard to come to terms with your own feelings for other people. instead, most of the girlfriends you've had all approached you first.

"then you're dumb." minnie bites out.

"do you know something that i don't know?" you counter.

she nods and points at you. "when we used to hook up, way before yuqi, you called it quits because you liked me." she explains.

"no i didn't." you roll your eyes, you hooked up with minnie because it was safe; it wasn't complicated like feelings were. you both understood each other's boundaries, never crossing past them. "that wasn't why i called it quits."

"then why did you call it quits?" minnie prods at your brain.

"it was probably because you said you liked someone." you mutter back, eating more of the ramen you had.

"nope, didn't like anyone at the time." she smiles as she says it, "you were just scared that you were falling for me." she grins in that familiar manner; when she knows something you don't know.

"i didn't like you then minnie." you conclude, a little exhausted from all this interrogating. "did you know that yuqi was uncomfortable with us hanging out?"

she nods, "yeah, it's why we drifted apart. she thought i wanted to steal you."

"as if." you scoff at the idea.

"she wasn't wrong though, i did want to steal you from her." she goes on. the shock is written all over your face.

minnie nods and explains that she used to like you too, but her dad forbade you two from ever dating. "he hated the idea of us dating. said i should find someone who isn't like him: not dangerous, you know."

"i agree, you should find someone better."

"see, that's why you're just like him, always thinking i deserve better, when all i want is you." she continues, and you let her. she explains how she always wanted you around, and when you called it quits, it broke her heart.

you're confused, but she explains that she's always liked your resilience and that yuqi dating you is what made their friendship distant; she couldn't bear to see you two together.

"yuqi is nothing like me, she's loud, she's brash and she gets what she wants. i've waited for years to even ask you how you truly feel about me. all along i've liked you." she says.

you nod, a little shocked by all this, minnie never mentioned that she liked you all these years, even when you told her you wanted to get to know yuqi better.

minnie is a woman that feels hard, feels all her emotions and lets others take her spot, even if she deserves it. and you feel awful, knowing that her feelings were never properly reciprocated. also that younger you was too caught up in your own suffering that you had strung minnie along.

"i'm sorry for dumping this all on you all of a sudden." her shoulders drop.

"it's okay, i needed to hear this. to finally understand us." you explain back. it's strange, seeing minnie after all this time, so familiar yet she's changed, grown into herself more. trying to better grasp the opportunities that she has. meanwhile you're staying afloat lost in yourself, confused where to go next.

"hey, if i beat you down that mountain, you owe me a date." she grins, shaking her car keys.

"and if i beat you?" you ask back.

"then i owe you a date." she says back.

you laugh out, "fair deal. let's drive."

a/n: don't know how i feel about the ending but i wanted to do a street racer story for a minute. wanted to incorporate more about street racing but i got tired. stay safe and stay healthy everyone!

#minnie #nicha yontararak #gidle #minnie x reader #gidle imagines #kpop imagines #gidle minnie #gidle x reader #minnie x you #song yuqi #nicha yontararak x you #nicha yontararak x reader #kim minnie #neoplatinum

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justwritedreams · 4 months

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Welcome to the Kingdom | Jeno

Chapter Eleven: We’re not ordinary bride and groom

Prince Jeno x Princess Reader, enemies to lovers au!, royalty au!

Word count: 3073 Genre: slow burn, suggestive Author: maari Warnings: There's a VERY suggestive scene like, jeno gets hard but nothing really happens because you know how I like cliffhangers. Note: I really needed to post this chapter even though it was short! Please remind me if I forgot anyone on the taglist I'm doing this constantly, sorry! Summary: What not ordinary bride and groom do in the night before their wedding?

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⪢ NCT Masterlist

Taglist: @floweronacloud, @cookydream, @travelleratheart101, @ilvaussie, @tyongf-sunflower99, @mings-cafe, @n0hyuck, @waltermitty97, @jihoonismydad, @madaboutjunmyeon, @actually-vl , @neomooniez, @pvppyhao, @ikayyyyyy (can’t tag you honey 😞), @everloving-avenue, @moonchele,

Y/N stared at herself in the mirror with a mix of emotions. The semi-angelic figure reflected in the mirror didn't even look like her and she wasn't even ready, but that didn't stop the mother from sniffling in the corner of the room.

"You’re so beautiful!" The princess smiled and turned to face her mother. “Zuhair did a great job.”

“You said the same about the reception dress.”

“But it’s the truth.” her mother approached her, placing a few strands of her daughter's hair tied behind her ear so she could admire the front of the dress. “Although I liked the ceremony dress a little more.”

Y/N smiled, sharing the same opinion.

If she wasn't forced to wear two dresses to the wedding, she would wear the same one from the ceremony to the wedding reception.

After long visits from Zuhair Murad and endless hours of conversation, finally the princess's wedding dresses were there with her with all the adjustments made and ready to be worn the next day. Exactly the way she wanted.

She couldn't contain the hint of anxiety that had been settling in her stomach since the beginning of the week, although she managed to hide her facial expression, she couldn't say the same about her sweaty hands.

She is getting married tomorrow.

That alone was reason to be nervous.

But the whole context of the wedding and what it meant for her future made her even more anxious. Marriage was the symbol of her coming of age, getting closer and closer to the crown destined for her.

And well, her alliance with Jeno made her a little nervous too. All other attempts to bring the two kingdoms closer together had already failed, she didn’t want the marriage to trigger any retaliation.

She wanted it to work, for everyone's good.

“Now, you're going to take off that dress and go to the jacuzzi on the terrace.” the mother said, turning her daughter around to undo the buttons on her dress. “While I’ll take your dresses to my closet.”

Y/N frowned.

“Why for yours and not mine?”

The queen undid the buttons and helped her daughter carefully take off her dress.

“And we run the risk of Jeno coming into your room and seeing the dresses?” the queen raised her eyebrow, taking the dress to the bed where the bag was to store it.

The princess laughed.

“You don’t need to insinuate anything, you know this marriage is just a political alliance.” she recalled, defensively.

“I didn’t insinuate anything.” the queen turned to face her daughter who felt her jaw give way. “I just wanted to say there are some traditions I want to keep.”

Y/N swallowed hard and scratched the back of her head, while trying to defend herself from something her mother hadn't even said, she gave more signs than she should have.

"Why?"

The queen smiled.

“You’ll know right away.” she assured and the princess agreed.

The mother went to the door, where she called the maids to take the two dresses that were lying on the princess's bed.

“Remember to sleep well, you need to be relaxed.”

Y/N nodded.

She had been hearing this for a long time as she was preparing for the wedding, from the makeup artist, to the hairdresser, even Nana.

It was one of the reasons she chose to stay at the castle the night before the wedding, firstly because she couldn't take the risk after all they had caught the henchmen from the last attack on the kingdom but still hadn't been able to find the mastermind, and secondly she needed a little of peace and quiet on the last single night of her life.

Jeno, incredible as it seemed, understood the situation and still decided to do the same, denying all bachelor party invitations from his brothers and friends in his kingdom.

The princess found it strange, she imagined he was going to do something with the new maids who had already been selected, but so far she hadn't seen or heard anything.

She didn't know if she really believed what he said that he would only kiss her and no one else.

That was also why the queen was there at that time in the princess's room, she was so busy with the selections and other royal matters, she was only in the first conversation with Zuhair, who barely had time to see her daughter in her wedding dresses.

Y/N took the opportunity, in addition to relieving the anxiety of putting on her dresses one last time before preparing for the wedding, to get her mother's opinion.

"Goodnight my love." the queen spoke right after the maids picked up the dresses and Y/N smiled.

"Good night, mom."

The princess saw her mother close the door with a soft noise and took a deep breath, feeling her heart accelerate and turned to face her image in the mirror once again.

She was wearing a transparent white nightgown, lace details on the short sleeve, the nightgown didn't even reach halfway up the princess's thighs but she liked the light fabric, it gave her an air of freedom that she was looking for that night. Her hair was tied up in a high, messy bun.

But what she saw went beyond her appearance, she saw more than pure anxiety for the next day, she also saw hope and determination. She was no longer that teenager obsessed with becoming the perfect princess, she was about to take another step that brought her closer and closer to becoming the queen, to being the ruler that was born to be.

It seemed that only now had she realized that she had become a real adult and would have to act like one.

She took a deep breath and took a step towards the closet, ready to change her clothes and go to the jacuzzi as her mother had suggested, when she heard a firm knock on the door and snorted, throwing her head back lazily.

Believing that it was just one of the maids, she didn't even bother wearing her robe, after all, all the maids had already seen her in those outfits due to the dress fittings. She had nothing to be ashamed of.

However, when she opened the door, in addition to feeling her entire face burn with embarrassment, her jaw also dropped.

Because it wasn't one of the maids, but Jeno.

Dressed in a black shirt and gray sweatpants, with his hand behind his neck, showing his biceps.

“Wow, if I had known I would get this reception, I would have come sooner.” he smiled mischievously, analyzing the princess from head to toe.

Y/N rolled her eyes and hid behind the door, covering her exposed cleavage with the arm that wasn't holding the door. She felt completely naked in front of Jeno, as his dark eyes analyzed her as if she were… an ice cream in the middle of the desert.

"What do you want?" she asked, trying hard to keep her voice from sounding so weak.

“I came to check on you.” He shrugged, putting his hands in the pocket of his sweatshirt and the princess's eyes followed the movement, stopping at his hip, which seemed a little more... Wait a minute, Jeno wasn't wearing any underwear? “Y/N?”

"Huh?" She raised her eyes back to his face, which was smiling sideways. "What did you say?"

"Are you okay?" she raised her eyebrow at the question. “Last night as a single. Do you have plans?”

She laughed, half embarrassed and disbelieving at the same time for having seen what she shouldn't have.

“Actually, yes I do, and you’re slowing me down.” She made to close the door in his face but Jeno placed his hand on the wood before that happened.

“Are you going to get away, princess?” he teased.

She smiled evilly.

"And if I do?"

He acted disinterested.

“I could come along.”

She laughed quietly.

“Have you ever seen the bride and groom attend the same bachelor party?” she questioned and he shook his head.

“It’s just that we’re not ordinary bride and groom.” he remembered and she stared at Jeno to try to understand what he meant between the lines.

“Do you want me to invite you?” she asked, shocked. “Do you want to spend your last single night with me?”

Jeno took his hand off the door and leaned his shoulder in place, looking unassuming.

“Would it be that bad?”

Y/N crossed her arms, her figure still behind the door and she considered the request.

Bad? No. She just didn't know what to expect from Jeno.

But a part of her even liked the idea, Jeno hadn't thought of that for free, he was up to something.

And she was starting to do the same thing.

“Okay, Jeno.” She smiled slightly, to hide the naughty idea that crossed her mind. “Do you know how to get to the castle terrace?”

He shook his head.

“Your castle is a little bigger than mine, I haven’t memorized the map yet.”

God, she didn't believe she would do that.

“Okay, then follow me.” she said, feeling her heart speed up the moment she came out from behind the door to get her robe next to the bed because Jeno's eyes observed her in a far from discreet way.

She felt his gaze burn on her bare thighs and especially on her ass covered in fabric so transparent that it was obvious he would look, and that was exactly what she wanted.

Y/N put on the robe but didn't tie it and turned around, seeing Jeno's lips pressed together as he stared at her intensely. The princess didn't say anything and left the room, closing the door behind her, with Jeno beside her.

They walked to the terrace in silence, Jeno seemed tense and Y/N glanced at his face from time to time, she led him to the furthest part of the terrace, entering an area completely different from the rest of the castle.

Y/N walked to the jacuzzi and tested the water temperature with the palm of her hand while Jeno stood a little further back observing the room. It was more rustic, divided by windows that were covered by medium trees and wood, further to the side it was possible to see a corner sofa very close to the large smooth window with a space for a fire pit right in the center, also full of green, with flowers and a tree that passed the ceiling. The yellow lighting made the room much more cozy.

"Wow!" was all he said. “I didn’t know you had this here.”

“It was my idea but it was my mother who carried it out. It reminds me a lot of a chalet we have in the north of the kingdom.”

Jeno looked surprised and the princess laughed softly.

“I didn’t know you had a way with these things.”

She shrugged.

“I like rustic things.” she admitted and saw Jeno looking at her curiously.

"Oh, really?" he seemed very interested. "What kind?"

She smiled and took her hands to slowly take off her robe, making Jeno pay attention to her.

“You’ll have plenty of time to find out.” she replied, letting the robe fall to the floor and she shivered as Jeno's eyes looked her up and down again.

Only this time she let him admire her for a long time. Jeno became serious, his eyes clearly screamed desire and the princess couldn't deny that she liked that, the way he looked at her made her feel powerful and confident, enough to enter the jacuzzi the way she was, fully aware that the transparent nightgown would be even more transparent, because that's actually what she wanted.

When she sat down, she let out a low moan and looked at Jeno with an expression of false innocence.

“Aren’t you going in?” she asked quietly and Jeno laughed, unbeliever.

That would be a night of surprises then.

He just nodded and in one quick movement pulled off the black shirt he was wearing, Y/N's little smile quickly faded and she swallowed hard as she stared at his bare torso.

The other opportunities she had, Jeno was dressed, there was always something that prevented her from fully seeing his torso, but not this time. She could see every bit of exposed skin and it looked like Jeno had really been working out a lot because he looked so much stronger.

And she even tried to look away when Jeno grabbed the hem of the sweatpants he was wearing, but her curiosity got the better of her and she just watched him, exactly as he had done to her. He was wearing black underwear, different from what she had imagined, so she noticed that the bulge on his hip was slightly awake.

Oh God…

She felt the danger in the air but also the excitement and it wasn't something she wanted to stop, because that little game of seduction was too good for both sides.

Jeno entered the jacuzzi, facing the princess, and sat down as he murmured softly when the hot water came into contact with his skin. He stretched his arms to rest on the edge and smiled mischievously at her who blinked a few times before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

She was wet. And it wasn't even because of the jacuzzi.

What had she done?

In fact, she didn't even know why she had done it. She just followed her instincts, but she was waking up a monster that she didn't even know if she could handle.

The image of Jeno dressed only in his underwear would hardly leave her mind.

Y/N couldn't even stay lost in her own paranoia for long and felt the water in the jacuzzi moving beyond what it should have, when she opened her eyes she saw that Jeno was moving to stand in front of her with his arms on either side of her.

She lost her voice and just stared into his dark eyes closely.

“I know what you're doing.” he whispered and brought his face closer until he was millimeters away from touching her. “It was creative, I confess.” the princess's eyes fell when she felt his breathing so close to hers. “But I won’t kiss you.”

Y/N opened her eyes in shock.

"What?" the voice sounded slightly disappointed and Jeno smirked.

“Am I going to have to remind you of what I told you a while ago?” he asked and she opened her mouth to respond but no sound came out as Jeno moved his face to put his lips on her neck, Y/N tried to grab anything inside the jacuzzi that would make her legs regain strength.

Okay, she wasn't expecting that.

Much less that his lips were so warm against her skin. Her heart was beating so fast she didn't know if he could hear it.

“Jeno…” her voice was so weak that she didn’t even blame Jeno for laughing.

"Do you remember?" Jeno's voice vibrated against Y/N's skin and she rolled her eyes before closing them completely. “When you kissed my brother, what did I tell you?”

He didn't make Y/N's life easier and leaned his body as close as he could while he remained kneeling in front of her, involuntarily Y/N opened her legs so that he was between them. “I haven’t even touched you yet and you’re already giving in.” He gave Y/N a light bite on the neck that she couldn't control and brought her hands to his back. “Y/N, answer me!”

"What?" she tried to bring back the strength in her voice but it was impossible, not when Jeno started to bring his hips closer to hers.

“Do you remember, yes or no?” he moved his mouth to her ear, where he blew softly, sending goosebumps through her body.

Remembering? Yes she remembered, the problem was that she couldn't speak because of the heat she was feeling rising more and more and stopping in her belly.

"Yes." she swallowed the urge to moan when she felt him next to her body.

God, Jeno was torturing her and he was just leaning against her, he wasn't even rubbing his body against hers but he was standing exactly where she wanted him.

“Then speak.” he ordered and she dug her nails into his back.

“I’m going to have to beg.” she replied, quietly.

Jeno turned his face away, a sideways smile on his face as he watched the princess's desperate expression up close.

“See, you just need a stimulus to remember.” he teased.

“If you think I’m going to-” Jeno moved his hips against hers and the moan came out a little choked.

The temperature of the water felt much warmer and Y/N felt how hard he was, she had to close her eyes tightly to keep from giving in any more than she already had. She was losing her mind!

“You will, not today, but you will.” he promised and she opened her eyes, raising her eyebrow.

“What makes you so sure?”

Jeno took a hand to the princess's face and lifted it, making her look into his eyes.

She saw nothing but desire, pure and carnal.

“The fact that you tried to seduce me.” he caress her cheek gently. “Trust me, it worked, you look really hot and you don’t know how difficult it is for me to control myself now seeing your body like that.” she had an idea thanks to his hips pressed against hers. “But I won’t kiss you until you give in completely.”

Y/N swallowed hard. She wanted to but something stopped her, maybe her pride.

And then, all that heat and fire that surrounded the two quickly ended when Jeno stood up. Y/N bit her lip at the image of him standing in front of her, wet and hard. She knew he noticed the way she looked at him but he simply walked away, leaving the jacuzzi.

Y/N's uneven breathing seemed more evident now that she had her personal space back, but her eyes searched for Jeno.

And he was there, waiting for her with a confident smile.

“Don’t worry, this time it wasn’t a dream.”

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manikas-whims · 1 year

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Reasons I despise Shadow and Bone

• Inej Ghafa in the books was an SA survivor and a girl who despite all that she went through, held hope close to her chest. Book Inej was so scared of the menagerie, she couldn't walk past it without the fear of being recaptured. She finally moved on from this fear when she choked Heleen at the Ice Court, stole her diamond choker and ran, calling her silks feathers. And finally believing that she was free after facing her fear, her abuser head on. So seeing the show Inej casually walk into the menagerie as well as merely shrugging upon hearing of Heleen's death this season, was not just extremely ooc but disrespectful and had zero depth.

• Kaz Brekker's disability was basically neglected this entire season and his cane treated like an accessory. Not only that they butchered the entire Kaz-Nikolai meeting in CK. Kaz would've immediately recognized Nikolai, like that was such a downgrade. Not to mention Nikolai threatening Kaz (and Jesper). Kaz wouldn't be threatened. Instead he'd make negotiations with Nikolai on his terms. Oh and most importantly, his entire backstory was rushed and played off like it was nothing serious. That intensity of two innocent small-town boys being tricked by an adult with agency and power, I couldn't feel it as much as I felt reading the books.

• Jesper Fahey's backstory is very emotional and beautiful. The memories with his mother and his coversations later on with his father, all lead up to him slowly accepting his grisha side more and embracing it. Embracing being a zowa. The show speed-ran through it and well, it lost its depth.

More importantly none of the backstory material makes much sense and lacks so much depth because there was nothing that lead to that development. The books, whatever transpires in SoC is what leads to and triggers their individual character developments. So any backstories stuffed in the show made no sense.

• Nina Zenik's bisexuality is completely erased by the show. Its like netflix is allergic to sapphics 😭

• Now Kanej! We got so much Kanej content we should be happy right? I agree. The scenes did give me a momentary high because those are some of my favorite parts of the books and its a blessing to be able to see them adapted on screen. Except, none of those scenes made sense, especially since season 1 barely hinted about some chemistry between the two and then season suddenly escalated all that slow burn into significant moments badly stashed into the show plot. I mean ofc we got the chapel scene and all but.. The whole wound patching-up scene was a pivotal moment in their relationship and it was completely downplayed in the show. And then there was also Kaz getting mad at Inej freeing some children from slavers? Like ofcourse even book Kaz would be slightly miffed but he wouldn't outright reprimand Inej and tell her she's off the team due to it, but thats what show Kaz did. And then after everything that happens, the sudden drop of “how will you have me” and the “without armor” dialogue completely did dirty to that moment. Like ofc she says “gloves on, fully clothed, head turned away so our lips never meet”. But in the books, Inej utters those words because of all the secrecy and lack of effort for pursuing a proper relationship between them. The “no armor” Inej says is addressed towards wanting him to be more open about himself (since Kaz knows basically everything about her, from her full name to how she was captured and ended up in Ketterdam) but Inej knows nothing about him, not even if Kaz Brekker is his real name. But the show made the “no armor” dialogue so bad. Its made Inej look so shallow as if she is merely speaking in terms of her physical wants.

Ohh and I did mention this in another post but everybody fucking knowing about Kaz's backstory? Everyone but Inej? The only person he actually tells in the books. Him even telling the fraction of stuff he tells Inej spoke volumes about their bond and how he trusted her enough to reveal this truth about himself. Show Kaz's past is revealed to Nina and Jesper casually walking in and listening??? WTF was that? And no Inej in thaf moment. Call it nitpicking but it was WRONG.

• Wesper has been reduced to the token gay couple of the show. Their sweet first encounter has been completely eradicated and they're turned into this typical trope of people who had a one night stand and accidentally met again. Their romance is so sexualised in the show, as many tend to do with queer ships (which is extremely disgusting imo). More importantly, we'll most likely never see the “no, not just girls” in that possible spin-off 🙂

• Ketterdam: the show has given no proper insight on Ketterdam. I bet most of the show only people don't understand much about the city and the gangs. I wonder if many even know whats a Dime Lion. And Pekka randomly having the stadwatch in cahoots with him was so shitty writing?

And these are just a few that i can remember right now. Also i don't want this post to get too long.

–» If you're one of those sheep fans, don't comment shit like “creators already told us its different from the books, so you shouldn't be mad” 🤪 cause I'll definitely delete your comment.

If you are one of those, scroll past this post. Cause what do y'all even mean? People can't freely discuss or criticize a piece of media now? STFU!

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some-pers0n · 2 months

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Hey guys I rewrote the Arctic death scene again for like the fourth time. Wanna read it?

Two of the three moons were full that day, with the third, Oracle, but a sliver of light among a sea of stars. Their pale glow trickled down onto the stage where Darkstalker stood. While the shimmer of moonlight against his scales was notable, nothing could compare to the innate aura of fear and disgust radiating from the kneeling dragon before him.

Arctic hung his head. His talons were unmoving, bound by invisible shackles. His breath was laboured and anxious.

Darkstalker grinned at the sight of his father cowering. It was enthralling beyond any sense of the word. To see him quivering like prey finally captured and waiting for the agony of death to come.

"How are you feeling, father?" he asked, a coy smirk still on his face.

Arctic's mouth tightened.

"Let's try that again." Darkstalker cleared his throat. "Tell me, father, how do you feel?" His voice was stern, commanding.

"Annoyed." The words spilled out of Arctic's mouth. "Bothered by how you have to make a big show."

"Oh, terribly sorry about that. Shame, really. You don't want to be forced into a position you never asked for? My, what a tragedy. I'm certain Foeslayer could relate to that had she been here."

"Darkstalker," Clearsight began, "I don't think you should bother him–"

"I don't see why I can't." He glanced back at her. "I was only asking how he was. Is that too much for a son to ask?"

"You're torturing him..."

"Torture?" He echoed. "That seems much. I'm trying to make one last conversation with him before the performance begins."

"You don't have to do this."

"But I must. You saw him! You saw what he did to Whiteout!" He gestured to his sister. "She would've been handed off to some low-life IceWing and erased of any personality. And for what? So he could see Foeslayer again? She hates him. Everyone hates him." His snout curled. "He's better off dead; I'm simply kind enough to let others join in on the fun of killing him."

Whiteout flinched. She moved closer to Clearsight, murmuring words that Darkstalker couldn't hear. Her mind was a swirling storm of muted grey-green with streaks of silver and ebony.

He sighed. "I understand that it seems barbaric, but I promise that this is necessary."

"Is it? Is it really?" Clearsight's voice was sharp.

His eyebrows furrowed. "Of course. You'll see soon enough, my beloved." He raised his talons to brush her snout, but she stepped away. Her eyes were wide. Her thoughts raced. She was afraid. Afraid of him.

Fine. She could be difficult. There will come a time when she realizes the error in her ways. How she was blinded by her belief that Arctic was still deserving of redemption and forgiveness. She never could truly understand the pain that dragon had put his family through. What Arctic had put him through.

He scoffed and turned back around. By the time he had his little conversation, a crowd had formed. The passing NightWing citizens stopped and stared. They were waiting for a performance to begin.

"My fellow NightWings," Darkstalker called out to the crowd. "Today, I bring forth a traitor to not only our own tribe, but his very own kingdom. Gather round, as I would not dare to look away. No, these next few moments will dictate the choices made thousands of years from now. Like a rock tossed into a river, the fate of this IceWing will ripple throughout history."

That got the attention of more dragons. Soon enough, the flow of shoppers stalled as more and more gathered around the stage.

"Isn't this exciting, Arctic?" he whispered. "Turns out there's more than a handful of dragons who care about you enough to watch you. More than I thought."

Arctic stayed silent.

"Be that way then." He hissed. He raised his head back to the crowd. "Lovely night, isn't it? Each and every one of you are a beautiful piece of this marvellous city. Come now, don't you agree? Look to your left, your right, up, down, all around! These are your peers. Friends, perhaps to some of you. A NightWing like yourself."

He paused. "Now, tell me, who is not a friend of a NightWing? A dragon that, despite potentially looking friendly and innocent, will do nothing to tear down both you and the kingdom we graciously live under."

He snickered. "One dragon I could say is this one right here." Darkstalker swept his tail at the talons of Arctic, knocking him down. "You might have seen him before. Arctic of the IceWings. the runaway prince. The reason why our tribe is locked in a vicious war against the IceWings. Because of his impulsive, rash, and selfish deeds, our NightWings are sent to battle—families broken because of him.

"We have tolerated his presence enough. Some of you might think he was reformed. I can't blame you. It's difficult to understand what happens behind closed doors. Though, tonight, he had betrayed the NightWings." He gestured to Arctic. "Why don't you tell us, IceWing?"

"Tell you what, exactly?"

"You know what you did."

"I did nothing! I was going home. I was not betraying my tribe– this isn't even my tribe!"

"Answer me!" Darkstalker roared. "Answer. Confess. What were you doing earlier this evening?"

Arctic's mouth contorted. "I was taking my daughter to Queen Diamond. A peace treaty. I would hand over my daughter's hand in marriage and reintroduce animus magic back into the tribe...and in return, I would be a prince again. I would live in the castle. I would eat, drink, and sleep like a normal dragon. I would find out if my love was still alive."

"She was never your love. You hated her and she hated you." Darkstalker snarled. "Besides, that was not all, wasn't it?"

His lips struggled to keep close, but the words poured out of him. "I planned to draw and hand over a detailed map of the Night Kingdom. It would be in exchange for Foeslayer's life had she survived. I would have given everything to see her okay again."

Mumbles from the crowd reached Darkstalker. Gasps and concerns, both about the performance and the confession. How could a dragon do such a thing? Why wasn't the IceWing flying away despite being unchained? What was going to happen next?

"I assure you, NightWings, that the traitor did not reach Queen Diamond before I had stopped him. They do not yet know our location. However, we are not fully safe until this stain on our glorious kingdom is dealt with." He spat.

"How could a dragon do such a thing?" he started. "He admitted that all as if it were nothing. As if the livelihoods of you, your friends and family, and this very kingdom were little more than a statistic. He even brainwashed one of our own, his very daughter, to comply with such a plan!" He shook his head. "This traitor is the worst dragon to ever live. Do you agree?"

A mixed response. Some argued and debated on the nature of his choice. Foolish. They couldn't understand the intricacies. Others questioned the nature of Darkstalker carrying this out. Should it be Queen Vigilance? Where is she?

But most agreed. Between nodded heads and shouts for death, they stood alongside Darkstalker. The NightWings had given this IceWing, one of the dragons whom they had been at war with for years, a home in their very own kingdom, and how does he repay? He lies. He backstabs. He cheats. He betrays.

Darkstalker couldn't help but bask in the feeling of grandeur. A crowd of dragons all repeated back the thoughts he had all these years. Arctic was unforgivable. He was a coward. He was a traitor. There was no excuse for him to live.

These NightWings were all on his side. Was this truly what it was like to be king? To be worshipped and hailed? To bring justice and peace? It was an intoxicating feeling that surged through his veins.

He held up his talons. "Silence, NightWings!" he commanded. With that, the audience quieted themselves. "Thank you. Now, I believe it is time we dealt with this dragon."

He turned to Arctic. His face was a dark grimace.

"Oh, come now. Have a little more of a cheery smile. It's your big day." He chuckled. "Now, admit that I am the greatest animus of all time."

"You are–"

"No, no. Not a whisper. Admit to the world!" Darkstalker raised his wing to the crowd. "Speak, IceWing. Say that I am the greatest animus of all time."

"You are the greatest animus of all time," he choked out.

"Now tell them that there is no dragon more powerful than me. No army that can best me. No queen that can kill me. Nothing."

Arctic winced as he spoke. "There is no dragon more powerful than you. No army that can best you. No queen that can kill you."

The crowd became more worried in tone. Hushed words of skepticism and worry. This was an animus on stage, ordering around and playing with the IceWing. Darkstalker couldn't care. He was having fun. Let their fear fuel his power.

"Now..." Darkstalker lowered himself to Arctic. "Say that you wish you were a better father."

A shocked snort burst from Arctic's mouth, one that grew into a bemused and mocking laugh. He looked dead into Darkstalker's eyes. "If I had been a better father, I would've strangled you the moment you hatched."

The night was still. The crowd was dead silent. Even the breeze of the ocean had been snuffed out. An unbearable quiet as Darkstalker stared into Arctic. Into his very soul.

Arctic ruined it. He couldn't stand to watch his father sit there any longer, smug and having had the last laugh. No. Darkstalker needed to win.

"Rip out your tongue." His words were frosted over with hatred and malice.

Arctic's eyes widened as his talons moved involuntarily. He could see them shake and twitch. He could sense the panic and restraint, and yet nothing could stop him from grabbing his tongue and, with one firm tug, ripping it out.

Horror emanated from the crowd. They too were afraid. They feared him. No longer did they feel the same murderous zeal and fervour as him, but rather disgust and terror.

It was like bringing wood to a burning house.

Darkstalker leaned closer to his father. His eyes were transfixed on the blue mass of flesh flopped gracelessly on the stage, cyan blood dripping down his mouth. "Had your fun?"

His silence was not out of defiance. Arctic could not form a sentence.

"Good. Now, tear out your heart. Show the world who you truly are on the inside. Pour your life onto the stage. For all to see."

#sp-writing #wof #darkstalker wof #arctic wof #wings of fire #wof fanfic #Took longer than I'd like to have written but eh who cares it's still 1.7k words #Better than writing no words again

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thesamoanqueen · 1 year

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Let me down

Raiting: 16+

Warnings: Soft SMUT; Fluff; Angst(maybe?!).

A/N: I had to give him another win on the WM night... because like he said "Sometimes bad guys win"

They really hated him now. He'd felt their eyes on his back like eighty thousand snipers as he walked up the ramp for the third time at the biggest event in the business with titles still on his shoulders. He had come out there knowing he was tearing their hope away, aware that he was the real sniper. When he had thought of that story, his story and had talked first with Paul and then with Michael, they had all agreed that it would be as close to reality as possible. Life isn't fair, that was reality and that was his story. Good guys don't always do well, no matter how much effort you put in or how hard you work, sometimes things don't go as you hoped. It had been like this for him for many years. For them and their hero that night, it was like this. You make sacrifices, you use shortcuts, and do everything you can to keep what you have when someone or something threatens it. He had watched them from the top of his mountain, all of them, a few seconds, before taking the exit to come to terms with something else.

- Good job. Well done. - Michael Hayes was the first to pull him into an hug, like always.

Within seconds, chaos erupted around him. Everyone had something to say, Hunter had already taken off his headphones to reach the room where the press conference would take place, they only had a few minutes. He had to settle down as best he could, tape a short promo and join them. He heard Paul behind him give a quick indication to Solo, but Roman already had his eyes elsewhere.

He wanted to see her, he needed to see her, if only for a second before going out there again, because for him it wasn't over yet and what awaited him was what really worried him. But Y/N anticipated him as soon as he set foot out the gorilla, placing a towel on his shoulders and Roman instinctively pulled her against him, feeling her give in to the tension to cling to him.

- God… - she breathed into the hollow of his neck and Roman tightened his grip, almost until it hurt, without even wondering why that muttering.

If only he could, he would have cut off the rest of the world in that instant, but Paul's voice calling back softly, with a little guilt, reminded him that he still couldn't. They had so much to talk about, him, so much to apologize for, but first he had to close the night.

- Wait me, kay? – he muttered against her hair and Y/N immediately broke away from him to adjust the shirt she had under her jacket, one of his merchandise.

At least he hadn't soiled her with all that sweat.

- A doctor!

- We shoot the video and then, to the conference.

- Three minutes, cmon everyone!

She looked at him once more as she backed away down the hallway amidst the chaos that still reigned behind scenes and he saw her nod slowly, before turning away, disappearing who knows where without saying anything.

He had joined her after changing into something more cozy, body struggling for the last effort and mind suddenly blank. He'd thought for weeks about what to say, how to do it, but right now, sitting next to her in his suite, all he could think about was how she'd left after the match. It would have been easy to make excuses, justify everything with his busy schedule, distract himself with lockeroom rumors, try to pick up where they left off last time, but it wouldn't be honest, it wouldn't be fair and Roman didn't want anymore to go down that road. They had to talk and they had to do it once and for all, because there was too much now between them, for too long and the situation had taken a wrong turn without him wanting it. Y/N had proved it to him without putting on a scene.

He wasn't sure how she felt about their relationship. There had been moments in almost a year, when he had sworn he had seen everything from her and others, when he had heard her throw the emptiness of a fuck in his face. They had always been comfortable together, with an almost surreal simplicity, the attraction and physical bond, extras that both of them have accepted without holding back. But you don't build something stable just out of that, and Roman had always been careful not to be fooled or to take things lightly. Y/N had never been a game for him and he hadn't spared himself once in treating her as she deserved, yet here they were.

- How's your back? - Y/N asked softly and for first, dragging him out of his thoughts and Roman only realized at that moment that he had a hand gripping the band around his back and that it had probably been there for too long.

- One week and I won't think about it anymore – he tried to reassure her, but her caramel colored leg dangled a bit in air, before she wrinkled her nose and he knew she wasn't sure at all.

- It was a bad blow. He could have done better, even on the ramp. Too fast, it wasn't necessary.

She had a good eye and both blows hadn't been the best for his back actually, he couldn't hide it, but it wasn't bad enough to put on that face of hers and he knew her well enough to anticipated that moment. And it was for that moment that he had blown everything maybe.

- You've been watching me all the match – he noted, with a small smile and Y/N rolled her shoulders.

- There wasn't much else I could do.

It was definitely that, the reason. And she was throwing it in his face after waiting more patiently than necessary, without scenes or accusations, after being there for him anyway. He deserved it, honestly he deserved more than this for treating her like that.

- I'm sorry I didn't tell you anything.

It wasn't a lie, he was really sorry. The habit of telling her everything and involving her, had been the fastest vice that Roman had acquired in his whole life, even going against his own reserved nature. By now she was the first and often the only person he thought of when something happened to him, at work or not, but on that occasion he had had to make a choice. One that he would have wanted to avoid with all his heart and that he had in any case imposed himself out of a sense of responsibility, towards the company and above all, towards her.

He looked at her as she leaned back on the sofa saying nothing, her eyes fixed on his hands, but not on him and he nodded slowly, while beyond the windows the lights of Los Angeles continued to put on a show.

- There's a lot to work on and after tonight a lot will probably change. We have agreements, my family and I and I will make sure they stick to them, I'm in a position to do that. The story takes priority, we've been working on it for a long time now and tonight was important. To show everyone that we are giving something out there. It was a delicate situation… – he remembered seriously, frowning at the thought of what he had found in his hands together with the most important main event of the year.

He was still the face of the company, his job was not just to play the role of the champion or pose for advertising campaigns. The management relied on him, so that the external impression was solid and successful since often, in the last period, they had sabotaged themselves. In that circumstance it had been something that no one had ever faced, the beginning of a new era and Roman had tried to do everything possible in his role to make things go better.

Beside him, Y/N nodded before he could even finish speaking, her expression as serious as his.

- I get it. – she knew the background and even if she didn't have to deal with that story firsthand, he was sure that she understood its importance, but it was not the only reason behind his behavior and it was what he had to make her understand.

- I know… but I also know that you have my back and I didn't want you to end up in the middle. – he admitted with a heavy breath and Y/N's gaze was immediately on him, on her face an expression that Roman never wanted to see - I don't mean it that way. - he tried to calm her down.

- Then explain to me in which sense you mean it, because it seems exactly the wrong one. - she retorted, her tone even too calm and detached and Roman took another breath, looking at her without hesitation.

Not only had he kept the outcome of the match a secret, he had been careful to keep her away from everything in recent months, recommending Paul and the twins the same. He had cut her off. It hadn't been a way to get rid of her or to push away the distractions that might have ruined his focus, but the opposite. Keeping her close was all he wanted now, Roman needed her like the air he breathed and the run to WM wasn't an exception just because there were more meetings to keep him busy. He never wanted to deprive himself of having her beside him, but he had made that choice for her more than for anyone else.

- I didn't want to cause you thoughts for months. It's the heaviest time of the year, you've had your meetings too, I wanted to see you continue on your path, reach your goals without feeling obligations for me and the boys, I wanted to keep you away from problems. You would have tried to be supportive, you would have gone out of your way, we both know that and I couldn't allow it. - he explained, his brow furrowed - and I'm not saying that because I don't think you're capable of doing it. I know you can, that you would not have seen it as an obligation. I know you can handle the tension, I never thought otherwise.

Y/N was the strongest woman he had ever known, in some ways even stronger than his mama. Life had not been kind to her and yet she was able to become the beautiful woman near him. Roman knew what she was capable of, but he had had to do it. He had felt the visceral need to shield her from what would only weigh her down, the responsibility to protect her from the worst that would spring out during those moments and give her priority over his needs. In his mind Y/N was on top of everything, she was his priority and he had acted upon it.

Her dark eyes surveyed him without hesitation, for a moment giving the impression of softening, but it was an instant and Y/N sent it away, hands folded together, shoulder lifting a lit.

- But you thought that not telling me anything would help? I had no idea what was going through your mind, Roman, it didn't make me feel better or keep me focused – she pointed out to him and Roman took her disappointment hands down.

Silently, he watched as she stared a hole in the darkened tv screen on the opposite wall, trying to calm her mood and swallowing whatever reached her lips, to take another moment.

- I was sure that something was happening to you… everyone was talking, they were freaking out out there and behind it was even worse during the shows… I know how heavy it is usually, I see you and that atmosphere was building up a bit too much, I didn't like it and yeah, maybe I wouldnt have the right approach and you did right, but i wanted to be there for you. I know it's not my place, it's not up to me, you don't have to talk to me about everything or drag me around, but I wanted to be there for you, it was important because I was sure it was important to you – she finally said, abruptly and without warning, looking straight back at him.

He knew that shadow in her eyes and the slant in her tone. For almost a year he had done nothing but fight to obtain them, for a few seconds or for whole nights, they had become his personal challenge, his obsession. It was one of those moments when Y/N seemed to want everything from him, good and bad, but it was the first time she'd admitted it and the fact that she almost seemed to regret it, that she wasn't even angry, because of his wrong choice, makes Roman snap.

- You were there, whenever I needed you and you're here now. - he said, voice hoarse and his face serious, trying to control himself to go through with it, to show her otherwise.

Roman had gone from listening to her stories about bad dates into some arenas to waiting for her to return to the hotel. From not bearing not knowing where she was to blocking her by any means with him somewhere. He had had the wrong attitudes, he had become possessive and had been on more than one occasion on the verge of exploding when he had had to deal with reality between them. And he had certainly made bad choices, remaining silent, taking advantage of moments and letting others go, but he wasn't going to do it tonight. Her place had always been beside him, for Roman it had been since before she had that meltdown at the gym and he wouldn't leave her in any doubt about it. Not even seeing that expression disappear from her face again and change into a nod that would put off that story.

- C'mere - he pulled at, searching and finding her hand to bring her closer to him.

He wouldn't let go without putting that point inside her head, not even if it was the last thing he did before seeing life give him a bad lesson too. He would or he wouldn't have gone down, there was no other plans. There was no plan B with Y/N, she was the only plan.

Y/N didn't resist, she never did it with him, but one heavy breath lifted her chest as Roman forced her to sit on his lap. A few months ago that would have been enough to put pieces back together and now Roman suspected she was not sure about what to do. She was holding back, he felt it even though she didn't move her hand away from his and he moved instinctively, running his other along her tight to comfort her and draw circles on her soft caramel skin.

-No – he stopped her and Y/N's eyes moved from his fingers running over her, to him.

- What?

- I know what's going on, stop it. – he said, even more serious than before and Y/N quickly went from being confused to sighing, a slightly bitter smile on her full lips.

- Im just- she tried, but Roman pulled her closer to him, hand this time digging a lit into her skin, head bobbing for a second.

- I fucked up, but your place is here. We told each other stories, we pretended nothing happened and we stayed on our own enough… - he complained hoarsely - but there’s no red flag and there won't be any, stop thinking about it. If you don't want to continue, because you really don't want to, say so. I’ll let you go. But if that's not the reason… we'll find a way. Us, this time, ya hear me?

He had never thought of getting to that point with her like this. He'd hoped to do it differently, to do it the way Y/N deserved to happen, regardless of how it might have ended up, but the damage was already done and they hadn't raised him to hide from the odds. Life had taught him otherwise.

-Roman – she called him back, almost in a warning and he wrinkled his nose, nodding.

- You said you wanted to be with me. You are with me and I want you to stay there, but you have to be sure because we not going to continue down that road – he repeated, looking at her from below his position, not wanting to give up on that condition.

Hiding and flirting was fun, exciting, but they weren't kids. They couldn't do it indefinitely and it had lasted long enough to push them in a bad mood anyway.

- Ya serious? – Y/N asked confused, seeing that he didn't give up, voice less firm for a moment, almost as if she hadn't expected it.

- Im positive.

Y/N didn't move, didn't even try to take her eyes off him, her body still tense and Roman hugged her a little tighter. She was trying to put the pieces together, he knows that…

- I can take your no. Say it if thats your choice now.- he said her, suspecting it was the problem behind her sudden silence and though that wasn't true at all, Roman again felt he had to cover her back, this time even giving her permission to give him the shot of the century.

- No.

And the shot came. Quick and unexpected even having called it, prompting Roman to nod his head, but his fingers refused to let go and unexpectedly found Y/N's.

That one was some bad, bad, heavy shit-

- No, it's not my choice.

He heard her clear up and brought his eyes back to her in time to see her duck. The contact with her lips caused him as always a discharge throughout his body and his arms snapped quickly, dragging her against his chest with no desire to hold back. Felt her breasts pressing against him, her endless legs keeping her on top of him and her nails slowly scratching his face, creeping into his beard. A growl, almost dangerous came out of his throat, vibrating through Y/N which had finally softened and Roman squeezed again, unable to control himself after being apart for so long and now having her all to himself. But Y/N taked back control, escaping his kisses that threatened to devour her, to place a hand on his chest, an expression suddenly threatening.

- If you try to put me against a wall again, I'll do worse than say no to you. - she warned him, still letting him swing her by her hips and even if those words would have required more, Roman still let out a grin.

Mood was now mounting out of control and his hands couldn't stay still, reclaiming everything that was now finally his.

- I thought you liked when I do it - he joked, making her raise an eyebrow.

- Ya know what? … no. - she pushed him, regaining the mood that she seemed to have lost before.

- Stop saying it. - It was strange to hear her say that, he wasn't used to it.

- No.

- Babygirl.

- Nope – she snapped with her lips and Roman grabbed her, determined to make up for lost time and maybe even wipe that smirk off her face, to replace it with another kind of expression.

But, even if he was used to much heavier weights than her, the fatigue of that night and the blows he had taken on the back unbalanced him and Y/N quickly put her feet on the floor, grabbing him by the shoulder despite him having managed to keep the position and hadn't thought to let her go.

- It's better if we give your back a break...

Y/N was right as always, he couldn't risk making the situation worse, especially when the following day had to show up for the first post WM show and give the impression of having a match. But he wouldn't be a good guy for anything in the world that night, the idea didn't even cross his mind.

- We will find a way – he proposed, pulling her against himself anyway to wrap his arms around her hips and Y/N turned spitefully, looking at him from her shoulder, while he planted a kiss on her neck and another one, sucking her soft spot.

- Only one? – she moaned, pulling him towards the bedroom with her and Roman cackled dangerously.

- You don't know what you accepted woman.

He had certainly done a lot wrong in a short time with Y/N and the lesson had come for him too that night. But sometimes the bad guys were given another chance to be right.

Tag squad: @sunnyfleur23 @racerchix21 @alyanarossi @wickedsunfire @romanreignsdefencesquad @romanstheory @thiccc-rider-mcintyre @keybladeofsteel @iovereigns @msbigredmachine @nayys-world @gobbersworld @utika151209 @cumxxslutt @civildawn @romanmydaddy @triscillal @papireigns-05 @helensanders92 @ichdrachenfrau @darqchilddaydreamz @meggylynnloves @unfriendly--blvck--hottie @nicolewoo @wrestlezaynia @reignsx @reigns-central-blog @kianaleani @daguenoire @extra-11 @thedonsfactory @snowpanda18 @brattyfics @wanna-be-dominated @kitanasposts @namjoonspinkytoenail @tribalchiefdaily @2baddies2furious @vebner37 @raeluvshammett @depressedneedingrevenge @cyberdejos2 @thewarlordsworld @jeonmahi1864 @jxtina-86 @harmshake

#roman reigns fanfiction #roman reigns smut #roman reigns x y/n #roman reigns x oc #roman reigns x reader #roman reigns fanfic #roman reigns x female reader #roman reigns x you #wwe fanfiction #wwe fic #roman reigns oneshot #roman reigns one shot

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novelmonger · 4 months

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Continuing to watch through the Writer/Director commentary of LotR (with Peter Jackson, Philippa Boyens, and Fran Walsh) and jotting down any new-to-me information I come across. Here's what I gleaned from TTT:

When they got the New Line logo to put on the movies, it was very old and scratched, so PJ gave it to Weta to touch it up. They joked about how they should bill New Line for it XD

Originally, the studio wanted TTT to start off with a prologue too, with Cate Blanchett narrating what sounds like it was basically going to be a "Previously on..." spiel, even though they didn't like the idea of the prologue in the first one. Thankfully, these three ignored the studio's advice both times XD

The Uruk who says "Manflesh" is also the guy in Sauron's armor in the prologue!

In the scene where the Rohirrim find Theodred, it's not actually raining! They used rain towers for the close-ups, but any wide shots just have CG rain. I would never have guessed!

Andy Serkis did the voices for the Uruk-Hai who says the "maggoty bread" line, and the orc who says, "Yeah, why can't we have some meat?" (The actor in the suit for the latter is, of course, Jed Brophy, who went on to play Nori in the Hobbit movies.)

Somehow it never registered for me that Orlando Bloom has brown eyes, and so he had to wear blue contacts when he played Legolas ^^' But sometimes he wasn't able to wear the contacts (or forgot), so there are some scenes where they had to fix it in post.

PJ called the Treebeard from the animated Bakshi movie "a walking carrot" XD He also said that Treebeard is his favorite character!

The scene with Smeagol killing Deagol was originally going to be a flashback right after Frodo says his name, and then the Nazgul shriek would pull the audience out of the flashback. They decided not to do that for pacing reasons and because we haven't spent much time with Gollum yet, so that's why they put it at the beginning of RotK instead.

Bernard Hill had his son with him on the shoot and would play with him in his downtime on the Edoras set. Puts things into perspective when you hear that he was the one who came up with the line "No parent should have to bury their child."

They were originally looking at Bernard Hill for Gandalf! (I feel like I've probably heard this before, but anyway.)

They filmed a flashback to Aragorn and Arwen's first meeting?! Viggo shaved to make himself look younger, and it was a scene of the two of them "frolicking about the forest." It was originally going to be put in the Lothlorien sequence, but they cut it out in favor of that scene between Aragorn and Boromir, because they decided it was more important to earn Boromir's death scene than to remind the audience of the romance. I agree with that decision, but it would be cool to see that footage! (I say as someone who prefers to skip the TTT Aragorn/Arwen scene entirely XD)

Originally, the warg battle was going to happen at Edoras itself. It was going to be at night, everything was going to be on fire, and ultimately that was going to be the reason everyone evacuated and went to Helm's Deep. Also, a warg was going to be set on fire and end up dragging Aragorn through the streets, and that was going to be how Aragorn would be left for dead. Ultimately, the reason they did it the way they did was because the studio wasn't sure Weta could do a flaming warg (something all three of them laughed about, considering everything Weta did manage to do with flying colors), and because it would have been a nightmare to light the Edoras set at night, because that location was so remote and so windy. Which is why every scene in Edoras takes place in the daytime!

In the scene where Faramir talks about his dream where he saw Boromir in the boat, you can see a sort of pinkish color in the water around Boromir's body. That's because the dye from his shirt (surcoat? idk) was leaking out into the water! XD

When Andy Serkis did ADR for the Forbidden Pool scene, he couldn't manage to sing the song off-key, so they had to use the audio from the motion capture footage XD

They shot some additional footage of Aragorn unconscious on Brego's back, riding past an orc encampment, that they never ended up using.

Theoden was originally going to give a speech to the soldiers in the armory, but Bernard Hill's performance was so inspiring that it defused most of the tension they were trying to build up before the battle, so they took it out. Would love to see that footage!

So the boy Aragorn encourages before the battle ("There is always hope.") was Philippa Boyens' son, who was 13 when they filmed the scene. But by the time they went to do ADR, his voice had broken, so they had to get a different child actor to say his lines.

Aww, the extra who was missing an eye said he always felt self-conscious about his missing eye, so he always wore an eyepatch. But then after they gave him a close-up and the guy saw the movie, he said he felt much better about his appearance! :')

Treebeard's line "I always like going south; it feels like going downhill" was ad-libbed!

When Saruman turns and reacts to all the water pouring in and washing his machinery away, that shot was actually a reaction shot to Wormtongue on top of the tower from the RotK movie that they repurposed for this scene instead, since they hadn't shot any reactions to the flood.

At least at the time of the recording of this audio commentary, the final shot of Gollum, where he's arguing with himself and ultimately decides to lead Frodo and Sam to Shelob, was the longest CG shot in any movie. (I tried to google what the current record is, but couldn't find anything, so if anyone knows, I'd love to hear about it!)

Fran Walsh: "All cinema storytelling, to a degree, is shallow. That's the nature of the medium. You've got two or three hours to present a world and a dense story with a hundred themes and a ton of backstory, in this instance, and 22 characters...so you can only really have the veneer of depth. You really can't have anything that comes close to the depth of the books, or the experience of the books. So I think what we attempted to do was to use the language of the books where we could and to certainly invoke them, the iconic images, where we could, but to keep the storytelling very much...to modernize it, if you like, in terms of cinema language. So we didn't, for example, use the style of storytelling that was in the books between these different after-the-fact storytelling, of Sam and Frodo and then a chunk of the Aragorn story. We completely undercut it. That was a far more immediate and engaging way to connect it to the audience. You can't really hope to satisfy people who adore this book, with the movie. You can only ever give them the sense of what might have been. That's all a film can do. I think, in that sense, films...I mean, they're entertainments. They're just not going to give you the pleasure that a book can give you."

#lord of the rings #lotr #the two towers #peter jackson #philippa boyens #fran walsh #i feel like i learned more with this one than the fotr one which was cool!

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oreharuuu · 1 year

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Summary: Living in a small town with a famous priest for a father accidentally made you the target obsession for eight demons.

Pairing: yandere!demon!ateez x reader

Warnings: religious setting, yandere themes, obsessive behavior, stalking, invasion of privacy, forced love, noncon mind erasing

A/N: so sorry this took so long for @sollattes T-T I keep rewriting and adding new things because I can't see it working well. A warning, this story contains a lil bit of a religious theme but it's not that focused on, so please read with caution. But hope y'all like it!

Taglist: @starillusion13 @cqndiedcherries @wooyoungjpg @miriamxsworld

‌Honestly, if they're basically the same as the demons in my series "éta ritual", then it'll be such an easy thing for them to do to manipulate readers mind to love them if they want too.

‌But that's too boring! We want more exciting things. And you know what will be more exciting? If reader's father is a priest, the starting catalyst for reader meeting demon!ateez.

‌Let's start from the beginning.

‌You're religious, but you're not the type to force your own beliefs onto others. Yes, you go to Catholic School, but you stayed away from the crazies that to you are a bit too extreme on religion.

‌Your father works as a priest, especially the ones who exorcise possessed people. Your father never showed you his line of work, deeming it too disturbing for you as sometimes it gets too extreme.

‌But you're curious. You want to know what exactly he does to help these people. You never fully believed the presence of evil entities since you never really acknowledged it. But when you heard praises from other people about your father's work and basically how famous he is, you're curious as to see how bad exorcism could possibly be.

‌So you pushed your father until he agreed, taking you to a case outside of your city. A young girl, believed to be enticed by a demon to do horrible things. The reason is still unknown, and your father is called to investigate.

‌You perceive the whole thing with doubt, eyeing the girl with hard eyes as your father continues to ask her questions about why she did the acts she did. You grimaced when she lets out a piercing shriek, flailing around to escape the hold she's trapped in.

‌You eyed the camera recording all of this, feeling how wrong it is to record someone in a vulnerable state; sitting down besides it as you eyed the scene from the screen, only to be shocked when you noticed eight black figures standing behind the girl.

‌You stayed calm, trying to hide a flinch when one of them made eye contact with you through the camera, smirking as he tilted his head slightly. His mouth moved as if he's talking, but none of the other figures are noticing. That's when you noticed what words he's mouthing. "You can see us, can you?"

‌The girls lets out a final, pained shriek before collapsing, everyone in the room exhaling in relief as they hoisted the girl to her room. Your father proceeds to talk to her parents, glancing at you every now and then to make sure you're okay.

‌Your eyes moved back towards the screen, humming in confusion when you noticed none of the figures are there.

‌After this encounter, you start to experience weird things happening. Items moving from its original spot, the TV turning on at random times, the feeling of being watched; anything that makes you even more paranoid when your father only met your claims with a confused look. But you stayed calm, ignoring the weird things that are happening more and more before it just...disappeared.

‌Then, as if things couldn't get any weirder, eight boys transferred to your school in the middle of nowhere. Eight boys that made your school and town go wild with gossip. Sure, you're interested in them but you're practically a nobody. And people are hogging them at every time since they're curious about the boys.

‌Small towns like yours experiencing something shocking like these are suspicious enough. No one wants to move to this boring old town just because they want a change of scenery, that's why you decided to avoid them. You're already suspicious when one of them smiled at you brightly, even though you've never met him before.

‌Of course, avoiding them didn't happen when one of the boys asked you where the library is on lunch. Begrudgingly, you lead the way to the library since you noticed the boy only got more confused when you told him the directions. He thanked you and introduced himself as Seonghwa, the eldest of the bunch.

‌After that, it feels like God is laughing upon you as your meeting with the boys only grew more frequently. They're nice and all but you like to kept to yourself, only socializing to your close friends. Seems like all of them wants to be your close friends.

‌Wooyoung and Jongho were the two boys that you always met with, since you three are partnered up for a group project. Wooyoung was loud while Jongho was calm, a bit of an odd pair but they worked nonetheless with you. One thing that's weird though, is how tense and awkward they are when meeting your father, noticing how straight and tense their posture is, giving a smile to your father that didn't even reach their eyes.

‌You really do want to be close with them, but there's this gnawing feeling deep inside you that makes you suspicious of them. They're faces are somewhat familiar to you, yet you can't place your finger as to why.

‌Not only that, they're oddly...obsessive and possessive towards you. You had minimal interactions (except for Wooyoung and Jongho,even then you only talked with them when you need to work on the project) with them yet your friends are always confused as to why they're always boasting about your relationship with them. This only irks you more when people begin to ask what your relationship is with them, even your father had to ask!

‌This prompts you to ask them what's going on, only for them to act innocent and dodging your question with easy smiles. It only irks you more when more people ask you, because of this you could just imagine the dumb satisfied smirk on their faces.

‌The reason why they're so obsessed with you can't be summarized short. Truthfully, Yunho only told his brothers about you because you're the only one who noticed them. Smart girl for using the camera to see them.

‌They've decided to move on to another victim, seeing as the girl's energy is already drained enough from them pestering her and because of the exorcism. That's why they chose you to be exact. A bit of a fun choice since they realized that your father is the priest, only fueling their hunger for you.

‌At first, they followed you because they want to absorb your energy through your fear. Resulting in them trying to scare you or make you run to your father to tattle on them. But surprisingly enough, you stayed calm, eyeing everything with doubt and suspicion that it almost frustrates them.

‌That's what makes them obsessed. In the end, they're craving for your attention. Anything to make your attention solely on them.

‌They'll go to any lengths, even pretending to be new students from your school just to be one step closer to you.

‌Wooyoung couldn't even handle his excitement when you actually stare at him from a distance. You're staring at him! You're actually paying attention to him! Hongjoong has to physically hold Wooyoung back before he follows you around everywhere only on day one.

‌You think they'll stop seeing you after school? Yeah, they'll still follow you home and just observe you at home. A few of the boys respected your privacy while others...not so much.

‌They'll try very hard to make you fall in love with them. Pesky boys that also likes you? Gone, they moved in the middle of the school year. Jealous friends who lies to you? Suddenly they're gone from school, no one knows where they are. Anything or anyone they consider as a threat or a nuisance, they'll gladly remove it in seconds.

‌If you do begin a relationship with them, they'll be ecstatic! At the beginning of the relationship, I think they'll try to be authentic and act normally without using their powers. They really do love you, that's why they want to experience things with you without them using their powers. They'll eventually use it if they have too but you'll never know.

‌Seonghwa will be with you everywhere, carrying your bags or books as you move classes. Hongjoong will show you his favorite songs, the both of you listening to songs together in the library as you worked through your assignments. Yunho and Mingi will always be there in your classes, whether it's one of them or both of them; you bet they'll always be the one sitting besides you, exchanging notes every now and then when the lecture is boring. Yeosang and Jongho are both the only ones who are helpful with helping you learn materials, you'll invite them to your house or a nearby library to learn from them. Wooyoung sometimes cooks you lunch, asking for your opinion about certain foods that you don't even know the name of. And San just likes to hangout with you to feed the cats outside of school, basically claiming that you and him are their parents as you make small cardboard houses for them.

‌Look, you're relationship is cute and all but remember; you're living in a small town filled with religious people and you're father is a priest. They can't accept your relationship with the boys, so you kept it hidden. The public scrutiny you'll receive your whole life will always make you anxious whenever you're with the boys. You can't help it, words will spread like wildfire when something as weird as being in a poly relationship with the new students are known to everyone.

‌They'll notice it for sure, subtly using their powers to ease your anxiety a little bit to forget about your worries for a while. You're with them now, you don't have to worry about being scared because of some lowlife humans that are beneath you.

‌There's two possible outcomes that could happen, the good and bad one. It really depends on how you see it.

‌The good one is that after graduating, you decide to just move out of the small town because you're in love with them, you can't help yourself to break up with them. So you told them about your worries, and they'll happily agree to move out of the town if it means they'll be more open with you. They're already planning on bringing you along by force after graduating, but with you wanting to move by yourself was already helping them by a mile.

‌You'll keep it a secret from your father, just saying that you want a change of scenery when you're in university. He'll agree, of course, since he didn't find anything suspicious because your reasoning is wanting to continue your education. Even though it's somewhat true, you're actually a bit relived and happy to move out and continue on with your life with your boys.

‌The bad one somewhat happens because of your religious beliefs. The guilt eating your mind as you think back and forth if this relationship is the right choice for you to do. It feels wrong to be in this relationship, and you're afraid of what people will assume because of this relationship. That's why you want to break up with them.

‌But this will only be the catalyst for the boys to actually lose their minds. They already worked so hard to show their love and devotion to you, and this is how you treat them in the end? They'll be livid, but they'll accept the break up nonetheless calmly. But that doesn't mean they're giving up.

‌They, in the end, will force you to come with them, wiping your tears away as they force you out of the house. They'll coo and comfort you, saying how much they love you and how much they expect you to love them back. You're their soulmate, you can't just leave them behind.

‌They'll use their powers to basically force you into submission, maybe even erasing your memories to insert new ones that they created just so you could love them back. You'll forget everything about your old life, and you'll follow them everywhere because of how easy it is to control you.

#ateez #ateez imagines #ateez x reader #yandere ateez #poly ateez x reader #yandere #request💌

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xxgoblin-dumplingxx · 6 months

Note

Hi, just wanted to let you know that I am obsessed with werewolf Bruce just like I am with literally every other character you write??? Your work has a power over me that I can’t fight (not that I want to lmao)

I really hope this is one of the good days (since healing is never linear) 💛 please take whatever time you need and do whatever you need to do to prioritize yourself rn

"Let us see you home," Cass said, taking your arm. "It's too late to call a cab."

"Oh no I couldn't, I have-"

"Don't be silly," Steph said, taking your other arm. "Jason would you go and get wraps and-"

"I think Dick has already gone to get them," he said easily. He'd tried to stop Steph from running over you a few times but, in this case, he agreed. A sweet-faced young miss should not be seeing herself home.

"Wonderful," she said. "I'll just go make our excuses before they have time to bring out more of that dreadful cake."

Stephanie made her way through the crush easily, dragging Cass with her to make her way to the host and hostess, ready to smile and dimple and plead exhaustion after a lovely evening of dancing.

"I really can make my own way home," you tell Jason, not looking at him. "It isn't necessary."

"We'll humor Stephanie," he said, smiling just a little. "Besides, if word got back to our father that we didn't accompany you home after we monopolized your time all evening, he'd be furious."

"I don't- I- I had a lovely time," you assure him, feeling too warm suddenly. You aren't looking at him but you can feel him looking at you.

Before Jason could respond, he's saved by a sudden surge in the crowd. Some rowdy boys home from college. Pulling some sort of escapade, if the giggles and shrieks and raucous laughter were any indication. But when it sent a gentleman,a rather portly man a full head shorter than you toppling into you, spilling his drink down the bosom of your dress- as his face pressed into your chest- it was all he could do you pull you out of the way. Letting him hit the floor as you fumbled with your handkerchief, dabbing uselessly at the port that was staining the rose-pink fabric.

"Here," he said quickly, taking his jacket off and wrapping it around your shoulders. "Good grief," he said to the man on the floor,"what's the matter with you?" Please don't cry, he thought, when he heard you sniffle. He hated it when women cried.

"Sorry, my boy-"

"I'm not the one you should apologize to," he said gruffly. "Ladies don't come to parties to be-"

"Mr. Todd," you say quietly, "I don't think anyone saw."

"That's not the point," he hissed.

"Please- I- I'd like to go home. I- just. Before the stain has time to set."

"Alright," he said, taking your arm gently, and ushering you through the crowd. It wasn't often he was grateful for his size- he felt like a brute compared to his brothers. Or even the other men who were well- smaller. But. In this case, it was an advantage. Even in your gown, so long as he kept you by the wall and moved quickly, everyone was too busy looking at him to notice you.

"I'm sorry, you must think I'm very foolish," you murmur, accepting the clean handkerchief he offered.

"No," he protested. "It's not often-"

"Jason!" Steph said demanded Arriving with Cass and Dick, "What have you done to my new friend?"

"Nothing!" he protested, "I-"

"He rescued me from what could have been a very ugly scene if anyone had seen Genevieve's uncle fall into my well- and he spilled his drink on me."

"Ugh," Steph huffed, "People who can't hold their liquor should not be allowed to drink in public."

"And on that note," Dick said, noting Stephanie's latest pronouncement had attracted attention, "I think it's time to see the ladies home before father starts sending out telegrams."

#jason todd #jason todd x reader #ask answered #minors dni #reader insert #gaslamp!au

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differenteagletragedy · 5 months

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this is my first time doing an ask kfjhg but i love your fics and h/cs so much!! they're so cute and well written and make me smile :)) anyway, i think it would be cool to see a pov from baxter for the swap au? maybe during/after the almost-kiss scene or the confession scene would be so adorablee!! only an idea, though! ^^

Here is Baxter's confession for reference! And here it is from his point of view :)

Baxter had a good life.

He'd landed his dream job straight out of college, mixing his knack for leadership and practical knowledge of formal events (not to mention his love of romance) to be a wedding planner. He had a beautiful home. He had friends and family -- found family, anyway, with your parents and sister that had essentially counted him as a fourth family member for most of his life.

Still, he wanted more. He wanted you.

He had for years. You were his first crush, his only crush, and that crush had steadily over time developed into something much, much deeper. He couldn't see himself with anyone else but you, and he'd never even wanted to try.

There had been a handful of moments that had made Baxter think you might feel the same way. There was that phase during adolescence when his usual affections, all the hugs and hand-holding and linked arms, had stopped being accepted so easily and started bringing out blushes that made his little heart swell with pride. And prom night was something he thought of a bit more frequently than your average 23-year-old -- it was a night full of dancing and stolen looks that finished off with him holding you close against him, hand cupping your cheek and going in for a kiss that was stopped prematurely when your mom had interrupted.

"I believe it is time for a confession, no?" Xavier had told him over drinks one evening. "Time to put it out in the open instead of wasting time on baseless fears that your feelings won't shared."

Baseless as they may be, Baxter was still scared -- terrified even -- of telling you how he felt. What if he'd been reading the signals wrong? What if your lingering hugs were just habit, the goosebumps he felt when he slipped your bare arm through his because of something other than just being close to him?

If he lost you ...

Xavier wasn't the first person who called him out on this, far from it. Even when you were 13, Cove had bluntly asked him why he wasn't dating you, it was obvious to him, he'd said, that you both liked each other.

After you started hanging out with Miranda in high school, then when Terry started coming around too, they'd teased the both of you about it. Even now, when the four of you went out whenever you found your way back in the area, Terry cackled when he called your hangouts "double dates."

Almost as far back as he could remember, Liz had teased him, asking him when he'd become an official member of the family. It seemed like everyone who knew you both were just waiting on you to finally get together, but even despite all that encouragement, it was something he felt like he just couldn't risk.

Then, the night of your mothers' anniversary party, something changed.

He couldn't pinpoint what it was exactly. Maybe it was having you right next to him again after a good few years of only seeing each other every few months. Maybe it was the night before, when you stayed with him at his apartment and let him cook dinner for you, a preview of the domestic bliss he longed for with you. Or maybe he'd just had enough of being scared.

After a lovely party full of family, friends and dancing, Baxter quickly came up with a plan of action

"I have a proposition," he told you. "Do you think after we leave here, you might indulge me just a little?"

"In what way?" you asked.

"It's a surprise," was all he'd give away.

You agreed, and when the party was over, he walked you to his car and drove you back home to Sunset Bird.

Ever since he was very small, even before he moved within walking distance of a beach, he'd been terrified of the ocean. It was so big and so dark, and growing up in his home, he already had the feeling that the world would someday, one way or another, swallow him up and destroy him. He wasn't going to throw himself right into the abyss of the sea with that weighing over his head.

So, Baxter thought on the drive, if he could get over that, if he could hold your hand and wade into that frightening water, then maybe he could do the same thing metaphorically.

He parked outside your parents' house, and you hadn't figured it out. Even when he walked you to the shore and started removing his clothes, you still didn't quite get it. But that was all right -- he'd been waiting over a decade for this moment, it could stretch out a bit.

"I want to go swimming," he told you after he'd stripped down to his underwear. "With you. Out there. That's the surprise."

He saw your eyes widen, and he smiled. When you started taking your clothes off too, his smile remained in place, though it was a bit darker this time. He'd seen you in your swimsuit countless times over the years, but being out here like this, in your underwear in the dim moonlight, it was different.

Trying to focus on the task at hand, he walked down to the water. He'd gone up to his knees plenty of times, but now he kept going. He did need to take your hand to steady his nerves, but he was too close to stop now.

Once the water got up to his chest, he let out a laugh, in disbelief that he managed to get this far. You encouraged him, just like you always did, but he had more to prove, so he let go of you and started swimming in earnest.

After a moment, he realized it: he was fine. He was facing his fear, and he was surviving. It was the most freeing feeling in the world, and he smiled so wide his cheeks ached, splashing around out there around you. He felt invincible.

Holding onto the feeling, he made his way closer to the shore so he could stand solidly again. When you were close enough, he moved his hands through the water, found your hips and grabbed on, pulling you close. Before he could think about it too much, he brought his lips to meet yours.

There was a moment of hesitation, or maybe surprise, but soon you wrapped yourself around him and kissed him back. He smiled against you, not breaking the kiss, and tried to press you even closer to him. When he needed a breath, he'd pull back just enough to move his kisses to your cheek, your neck, your shoulders that glistened under the moon ...

It was heaven.

When he needed a real break, he couldn't bring himself to let you go, instead choosing to rest his forehead against yours. His smile was still firmly in place.

"What was that for?" you asked quietly.

"For being you," he said easily. "For being my favorite person. For being patient with me even though I should have done that years ago."

He melted when you started playing with his hair, and he saw that you weren't pulling away either. You were there, not wanting to let go of him either. You wanted him the same way he wanted you. If he'd ever felt this blissful, he certainly couldn't remember it.

"Baxter?" you said, breaking the silence.

"Yes?"

"Ask me the question again."

He did pull back at that to examine your expression. "The question" was one you both knew all too well, it was one he'd asked over and over since he'd moved to Prism Vista City. He wanted you to live with him, always telling you that he'd gotten a place with a guest room specifically for you. But the way you posed that question now gave him pause. Despite how well the evening was going, he couldn't help but think that surely there was a limit to this kind of exquisite happiness.

But he was never one to turn you down, so he asked.

"Will you move in with me?"

He watched you grin at him, and then you took your turn to make the first move. You were kissing again, slower this time, more deliberate. There was almost a lifetime of wanting that he was trying to express, and with the way you held him, it seemed like you'd been wanting him for quite a while too.

"That's a yes," you told him when you pulled away. "Just in case it wasn't obvious."

Instead of beginning to discuss the move, the logistics, the timeline, any of that, even instead of going back to kissing you, he took a moment to take one more leap.

"I am so deeply, desperately in love with you," he said. "Is that all right?"

"That's perfect," you told him.

And you were right. It was.

#our life beginnings and always #our life #olba #baxter ward #our life baxter #olba baxter #baxter x mc #baxter x reader #baxter x you #baxter ward x you #baxter ward x reader #baxter ward x mc #our life swap au #i have a new computer and the keyboard is stressing me out so if there are typos i'm sorry i did my best

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euovennia · 1 year

Text

widow | CH. II

pairing: soap x fem!reader

a/n: i decided to change up the bar scene at the end of the game because this is my story and i'll do as i please. regardless, the boys are finally here, woo!!! there'll be more interactions between them all next chapter (that's probably gonna be the majority of it tbh) but please enjoy this semi-awkward meeting for now <3

friendly reminder that this work is written with a fem!reader in mind, but with no specified features

PROLOGUE, CH. I, CH. III, CH. IV

Four Years Later

It had been just a few short hours after Ghost had saved Soap from what would have otherwise been a certain death by the hands of Hassan Zyani. The past few weeks were nothing short of grueling but as Ghost, Soap, and Gaz all made their way through the bustling streets of Chicago to meet Price and Laswell at a local dive bar, they couldn’t help but want to give themselves a little pat on the back for a job well done. As well as it could have gone at least, there was still the issue of Grave’s death and Shepherd's betrayal on Los Vaqueros and the 141. Perhaps that would be their next mission.

Finally approaching the dingy bar, the three men began filing inside the bar as they each made a beeline over to Price and Laswell who seemed to be having a rather serious conversation if the looks on their faces were anything to go by. Upon seeing the team approach however, Price simply gave them a small nod before taking a swig of this drink. The boys take their seats before each ordering a drink of their choice. With everyone now settled in, Laswell decides to speak.

“You boys did your job and you did it well. Congratulations,” She raises her glass and the four men follow in succession, a sense of pride and accomplishment lingering in the air. The group sits in silence for a few moments before Gaz breaks it.

“So what now?”

“We find Shepherd,” Price announces firmly.

Laswell sighs, “That’s not what we agreed on.”

Price looks at her out of the corner of his eye, “We never agreed on anything, Laswell.”

“We’ve got bigger issues than just finding Shepherd.”

“I reckon that’s the reason you’ve got other teams then,” He lamely states as he takes another sip of his drink.

“Trust me, this is something you’ll want to be involved in,” She says before reaching inside her jacket pocket and pulling out a photo. She plants it face down on the bar counter before sliding it over to Price.

He stares at the photo for a few seconds before taking the photo in his hands and flipping it over. He sucks in a sharp breath upon seeing the familiar dark-haired man. Lips pressed into a thin line, he passes the photo over to Gaz. He studies the photo for a few moments before his eyes flicker up to Price's tense frame. Not wanting to ask quite yet, he hands it over to Soap who tilts his head in confusion upon holding it in his hands. Finally, he gives it to Ghost who merely diverts his attention back over to Laswell and Price after staring down the photo for a few seconds.

This time it’s Soap who speaks up, “Who’s that?”

Price lets out a sigh as his grip on the glass in front of him gets tighter.

“Ivan Volkov.”

“What's he done,” Gaz questions.

“We’ll get into that later. Right now, I need you four to head back to the safe house.”

Ghost speaks up, “What are you gonna do?”

“I have a contact completing a mission out in France at the moment to get the last bit of info we need to go after Volkov. I’ll be awaiting their call.”

“What if they don't get it?” Soap chimes in.

Price finishes off the rest of his drink.

“I’ve got a feeling that won’t be an issue.”

Paris, France

A woman watches as the man lifelessly falls back onto the ground, a bullet firmly nestled into his forehead as a steady stream of blood begins to ooze out of the wound.

“Hah…And they said I couldn't be a sniper,” A familiar German accent rings out through her comms.

A small smile comes across her face as she focuses her attention back on the laptop screen in front of her.

“You did well, König. Perfect shot as always my dear friend,”

“Just living out my dreams,” He pauses for a moment, “Do you think I would've made a good sniper?”

“You are a good sniper.”

“But they said I was too tall and couldn't sit still,”

“Doesn’t change the fact you have yet to miss a shot while you’re with me,” She responds as she attaches a small black hard drive into the side of the computer, leaning back and watching as various files upload to the drive.

“Why do you have Laswell request me for these missions?”

“So you can live out your dream.”

She pays no mind to the small ‘thank you’ that flows through her comms.

After all the files have been copied onto the drive, she quickly detaches it and stores it in the small tactical sling bag she’d brought with her.

“I’ve got the intel, I’ll meet you down at the entrance.”

“Copy that.”

The woman promptly pushes herself up from the raggedy desk chair and makes her way over to the grey metal door before pushing it open and walking out the small office. She steps over the lifeless bodies of the various guards she’d taken out prior to making her way into the office. She had quickly come to find that it was quite easy to get through the dead man’s so-called security detail but she knew she couldn’t take all the credit. König was rather handy with that sniper of his after all.

Finally approaching the exit door, she pushed her way through it to reveal the sight of König mindlessly kicking pebbles around with his feet.

“Having fun?”

“Just wanted to make sure you got out safe.”

“Well I’m here,” She motions over to the car sitting a few feet away from them, “Go start it up. I’ll be there in a moment, I have to make a quick call.”

He simply nods before walking away. The woman pulls out a small burner phone from the side pocket of her bag and flips it open before typing in a number she knew all too well by now. She waits patiently for a few moments before she hears Laswell’s voice ring out through the phone.

“Shadow?”

“Target has been eliminated and I have the hard drive. K and I are gonna start making our way back to the safe house then we’ll be on our way to transport at dawn.”

“Actually there’s been a change of plans.”

The woman tilts her head, “What kind of changes?”

“You’ll still make your way to the safe house but you won’t be spending the night there. Instead, I want you to go four klicks north. You should end up in an open field. A short plane will come down and get you.”

“I take it we’re not going back to Germany?”

”Affirmative. You’ll be flown into Chicago and dropped at base. From there, you’ll be escorted directly to me.”

“What about König?”

“I’m going to reach out to KorTac and let them know he’s ready for transport once you two arrive at base. He should be reunited with them late tomorrow afternoon.”

“Alright. See you then I suppose.” “See you.”

The woman flips the phone closed before walking over to the car and sliding in the driver’s seat upon seeing the passenger side occupied by König.

“Didn’t feel like driving?”

He shakes his head.

“The seat doesn’t extend back far enough…It hurts my knees.”

She gives him a small nod as she begins driving.

“You should have more leg room in the plane.”

“Plane?”

“Yeah. We’re heading to Chicago.”

“Scheiße.”

“I like this one.”

“Yeah? What do you like about it?”

König goes quiet for a moment before speaking once more.

“It’s not too loud and it’s not too quiet. It’s simple.”

The woman mulls over his words for a short while before nodding her head.

“Yeah…It is rather simple isn’t it? Just a man playing the piano.”

“Just a man playing the piano,” König parrots back.

They sit in silence for a few moments before he speaks up once more.

“What song is this again? I know you told me, but I think I blacked out for a bit.”

“Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 by Frédéric Chopin.”

“What do you know about him?”

“He was a Polish composer born in 1810 known primarily for his solo piano pieces. He published his first composition at the age of seven and began performing when he was eight. Even so, he didn’t make his official debut until 1829. People were enthralled by him and so his fame only grew with time. He eventually passed away at the age of thirty-nine on October 30, 1849. His official cause of death isn’t known, but some theorize it was pulmonary tuberculosis.”

König lets out a hum of acknowledgement.

“How do you always know so much about these people?”

Her mind drifts off for a few moments, memories of ballet shoes and leotards flashing in and out of her mind before she eventually shakes her head and lets out a small sigh.

“I like to read about them when I can’t sleep.”

A lie, but he doesn’t know that.

“Hmm…Maybe I should give it a shot.”

She opens her mouth to respond, but is cut off by the co-pilot shouting over to them through the opening of the cockpit door.

“We’ve touched down, we’ll be parked shortly!”

She and König spare each other a glance before he’s taking out the earbud she lent him as she quickly wraps the cord over her 7th gen. iPod Nano. Despite the black music player being rather dated, she had found an odd comfort in downloading songs off the internet and storing them onto the small device. It was simple and she’d come to like simple.

True to their word, the plane eventually comes to a complete stop as the pair slung their tactical backpacks on their shoulder with König sporting a hefty duffel hand in his right hand that was filled with various weapons he’d brought with him for the mission. They both stand up from their seats with König having to duck his head due to his massive frame as she goes over and slides the plane door open before beginning her descent down the stairs of the plane with König following right behind her.

Her eyes scan over the layout before eventually landing on Price who was currently walking toward the pair who were now standing still on the tarmac. He eventually comes to a stop in front of the pair as he gives a nod of acknowledgement to König who returns an awkward wave.

Bless him.

Price then turns to Shadow as he offers her a small smile.

“Good to see you again, kid.”

“Likewise, but what exactly are you doing here?”

She watches with increased interest as his smile appears to falter just slightly before speaking, “We’ll get to that in a bit. You’ve still got the phone on you?”

She nods as she places a hand over the small bag, “In here.”

He gives her an approving nod before turning to König, “KorTac won’t be here until late this evening. Something about inclement weather. You can do as you please until then.”

König gives him a firm nod before leaning down to Shadow as he gives her arm a small squeeze, “See you next mission then.”

She returns the small gesture before he stands up straight once more and stalks off toward what she assumes is a quiet place for him to sit back and decompress, she knows missions take a lot out of him.

She turns her attention back to Price who is now holding out two granola bars to her.

“It’s not much, but I figure you haven’t eaten in a good while.”

She takes the small snack from him.

“Thanks.”

“Come on, Laswell’s got some water in her office. You wash those down there,” He states as he begins walking forward with her following beside him.

She rips open the first bar and begins munching on it before speaking, “Am I gonna get any context on what’s happening here or do I have to go in blind?”

Price purses his lips, “I think this is something you should work out with Laswell.”

“Is she finally kicking me to the curb?”

“What? No. Where’d you even get that idea from?”

She takes another bite of her granola bar, “Sooner or later she’ll realize she doesn’t need me anymore and toss me to the side. It happens all the time.”

Price gives her shoulder a firm nudge with his arm as he speaks, “You know I don’t like when you talk about yourself like that.”

She shrugs, “Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean it’s not true.”

The older man releases an exasperated sigh, “You’re a lot darker than I originally thought.”

If only you knew.

She takes one last bite of her first granola bar before tearing open the packaging of the second one as they both approach a door. Price leans forward and pulls the door open and allows her to walk in before taking the lead once more as they weave through the hallways of the building. They eventually come to a stop outside an unmarked door and Price looks down at her.

“Do me a favor and try to hear Laswell out before you make any decisions, okay?”

She narrows her eyes at his words before he pushes the door open and walks inside. Taking a bite of her bar, she follows behind him before coming to a stop by his side as her chewing comes to a halt as she sees Laswell sitting at a circle shaped desk with multiple manila folders sat in front of her. She gulps down her bite of granola as she looks up at Price with a questioning gaze to which he merely gives her a pat on the shoulder before taking a seat beside Laswell. Her eyes dart over to Laswell who simply gestures to the empty seat sitting directly in front of them. Sucking in a small breath, she reluctantly walks over and pulls out the chair before sitting down in it.

She swallows, “What’s this all about?”

Laswell is the one to speak, “The drive. You have it with you, right?”

Upon seeing her outstretched hand, the woman unzips the main compartment of her small bag and grabs the drive before sliding it across the table over to Laswell who picks it up.

“Excellent. Once I get my team to look through this, we should be ready to go ahead.”

“Go ahead on what exactly?”

Laswell looks up at her, “The past four years of your life have been solely dedicated to finding any bit of information you could get me on Volkov and his current whereabouts,” She holds up the drive in her hand, “This will offer us the last piece of the puzzle. We can finally go after him and take him out.”

The woman points a finger at Price.

“Then what’s he here for?”

“His team is going to help you.”

The woman’s hand falls onto the table as her gaze hardens.

“No.”

Laswell sighs, “You don’t have a choice. If I decide I want Price’s team on this mission with you then they’re going on the mission with you, no exceptions.”

“But there’s no need for them to be here. Every piece of information you have on the Red Room is because of me. I don’t like working with teams and you know that.”

“Then what about all the times you’ve worked with König?”

“König is a single person, not a group of four. There’s a difference. Teams only offer more opportunities to fail.” “But they can also offer more opportunities to succeed. Why are you against them anyway? You haven’t even seen them.”

“I don’t want to see them.”

“Well I’m sorry to say this, but I don’t care. Either you work with this team or I pull you from this mission entirely.”

Shadow scoffs, “You can’t do that.” “I have every right to do so and you know it.”

The pair fall into a loud silence before Laswell lets out a soft sigh.

“I know you can do this by yourself, there’s not a single doubt in my mind about that…But I don’t want you to do this by yourself.”

Shadow looks up at her.

“Why not?”

“Because out of every mission you’ve gone on, this is the most dangerous. Ivan Volkov is a dangerous man and the last thing I need is you out there on the field trying to take him out by yourself. I–”

She pauses as she spares a glance to Price out the corner of her eye.

“–We care too much about you to let you do that to yourself.”

Shadow has to refrain from rolling her eyes. “Then send König out there with me, I don’t care! Just don’t stick me with a random team who I know nothing about.”

Laswell shakes her head, “Various members of KorTac will be sent out on missions of their own within the next few days, König is one of them.”

“So that’s it then? Either you stick me in a group with a bunch of random people or I don’t get to go after Volkov at all?”

Laswell nods.

Shadow lets out a humorless laugh, “No offense Las, but you’re a real piece of work.”

Her lips tick up in a small smile, “You’re starting to sound like my wife.”

Shadow goes quiet for a minute before sighing, “You’re not gonna let up on this, are you?”

“Not this time.”

The younger woman seems to bounce a few ideas around her head for a bit before giving a reluctant nod.

“Fine, but if they suck I’m shooting them first chance I get.”

Price offers her a smile, “I’ll hand you the gun.”

“Good. Now that we’re all in agreement, you’re free to go for now. I’ll have my team look through the hard drive to extract any useful information we come across. We’ll meet here again tomorrow at fifteen-hundred hours to go over everything. Does that sound alright?”

“None of this sounds alright, but I’ll be a good little soldier and say yes.”

“Mercenary,” Price corrects.

This time she doesn’t hold back her eye roll.

“Same difference.”

After the short meeting she had with Price and Laswell, Shadow had managed to snag an empty shower long enough for her to scrub away all the dirt and bits of blood that had dried and hardened to her skin. She’d changed out of her kevlar bodysuit and instead opted for some simple leggings and a hoodie with a plain tank top tucked underneath. She didn’t bother switching out her black boots for anything else, they were clean and comfortable enough for her so she didn’t see the need to. Once completely clean and changed, she mindlessly wandered around base for a just over an hour before eventually finding König tucked away in an old conference room as he let old reruns of ‘Modern Family’ play out on a small tv screen just a few feet away from chair he sat in. Not quite wanting to leave him alone, she decided to keep him company.

Seeing as they originally touched down just after twelve pm, that had been more than a few hours ago, considering the sky was now gradually turning into a mix of yellows, oranges, and reds. Not that it felt like it had been that long. She enjoyed spending time with König, whether it be on missions or sitting in an old dusty conference room having hushed conversations where he freely talked her ear off. She didn’t mind though. Despite his sometimes manic and hyper demeanor on the field, she’d come to find he had great difficulty trying to connect with others on a more casual and friendly level, but she and König had spent so much down time together on their missions together that the bond they had formed rather quickly. She was grateful for it.

As much as she enjoyed the time she spent with König, there eventually came a time where one of them would have to depart from the other and this time, it was him. After having received word that his transportation back to KorTac would be landing in ten minutes, he decided it was best to start heading back to the tarmac.

He’d given her a firm hug that was made only slightly awkward due to his massive frame, but she enjoyed it all the same.

“I’ll see you around, Shadow.”

“Until next time, K.”

With König now departed from base, she had taken it upon herself to wander around aimlessly before eventually settling down on a table outside near a building that she could only assume was a training area if the workout gear people wore while filing in and out was anything to go by. She quietly watched everyone from a distance as the soft notes of Debussy’s ‘Claire de Lune’ spilled through the small speakers of her earbuds.

She sat with her legs crossed on the chair and hands clasped in her lap as she watched one soldier narrowly avoid running into a metal pole after being so caught up in whatever app is currently lighting up their phone screen. Her eyes began to drift over to the entrance, but stopped when her ears picked up on the quiet string of footsteps that were growing closer and closer. She whipped her head around, body tense and glare ready, but quickly fell back into her previous semi-relaxed state as she saw Price approaching her with a sandwich and a bottle of water in his hands. She untucked her right leg from its crossed position and used it to push out the spare chair that sat a few feet from hers. She let her leg dangle off the chair she occupied as Price took a seat in the chair and slid the sandwich and water over to her.

“Didn’t see you in the mess hall for dinner, thought you might be hungry.” She gives him a nod of appreciation and removes her earbud before reaching forward, unwrapping the sandwich, and taking a bite. They sit in a comfortable silence as she finishes off the rest of her sandwich and washes it down with the water. She balls up the wrapper and shoves it in the pocket of her hoodie to throw away later. Price looks at her.

“Where have you been all day?”

“Holed up in an old conference room with König. We just watched some TV and talked before he had to go. He left a couple hours ago.”

Price nods as he continues, “How’d you two meet?”

“I met him three years ago when I was doing a mission of my own for Laswell. Apparently he’d been stationed in the same area. I almost shot him until I saw the KorTac emblem on his uniform. He just took that as an opportunity to start throwing punches and yell at me in German,” She responds, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips as she replays the memory.

“Bloody hell,” He runs a hand over the side of his face in an exasperated motion, “How’d you get yourself outta that?”

“I started yelling back at him in German.”

Price huffs out a laugh, “Sounds about right. I assume you two get on well now though, right?”

She nods, “Yeah, he’s a good guy. Real talented with a sniper too believe it or not.”

“I have a hard time believing a bloke as big as him takes the time to steady up on a sniper rather than ram into everything like a bull.”

She shrugs, “Hasn’t missed a shot so far.”

Price nods as if absorbing the information. He remains quiet for a few moments before speaking up again.

“So…If you can warm up to a man twice your size, surely you can warm up to the idea of working with my team, right?”

She lets out a huff as she looks over to Price.

“No offense, but I want nothing to do with your team.”

“Oh come on, kid. They’re not that bad! A bit on the cheeky side some of them, but they mean well,” He defended.

“Anyone who can work with you long enough to look past that god awful thing on your head shouldn’t be trusted.”

Price’s hands go to touch the edges of his boonie hat.

“It’s a good hat!”

“It’s a disgrace is what it is.”

He huffs out a breath of air as he returns his hands to rest on the table in front of them.

“Unnecessary disrespect to my hat aside, I mean it when I say they’re good people. I’ve fought alongside them and I can firmly say I’d trust any one of those muppets with my life. You’ve just gotta give ‘em a chance.”

She sighs as she fiddles with the crumpled up wrapper in the pocket of her hoodie, “Must’ve put a spell on you if you’re willing to stick your neck out like this for them,” She mumbles.

“No spells, just quality work done by quality men.”

She doesn’t respond.

Price’s lips falter into a frown before he decides to make one last effort.

“Look, I know you’ve gotten used to workin’ alone these past few years save for König and I understand that, but you’ve gotta see where Laswell and I are coming from here. You’ve made yourself one of our most useful assets, not just as an employee, but as a person.” He stops to think about his next words for a few moments before continuing.

“Look, ever since you told us about that emblem you managed to snag off one of those Red Room assassins, the three of us have spent a lot of time together. I’m not sure when it happened, but somewhere along the way Laswell and I–” He let out a sigh, trying not to fumble his next words. “–We started to care about you. Probably more than we should’ve,” He pauses, “We just want you to be safe, and we feel the only way to do that this time around is to pair you up with a team. My team. It’s not a punishment or us doubting your abilities, we just wanna keep an eye on you. That’s all it is.”

The woman remains quiet for a while before looking up at Price, a small smile tugging at the edge of her lips.

“I knew you two liked me more than you let on.”

Price rolls his eyes as he leans forward and gives her shoulder a nudge before settling back into a more serious expression.

“Just tell me you’ll at least try to work with them, even if you end up hating all of us by the end of it.”

She lets out a sigh, “I’ll try.”

He smiles at her, “Good, because I’m not sure what I would’ve told Laswell if you said no.”

They share a small laugh and Price stays with her for a while longer before eventually leaving to get some rest, but not before making her promise him that she would also leave to get some rest soon. She refrains herself from rolling her eyes and offers the most disarming smile she could muster before agreeing. While he was able to detect the steady wave of slight annoyance radiating off her, he decided not to pry any further. She was an adult after all and so, he left as he wandered back in the direction of his room.

She watched as the silhouette of the man who had practically saved her from the life she lived before got smaller and smaller the more he walked into the darkness of the night. She tried telling herself it was just to make sure no one snuck up on him despite being within the relatively safe confines of the base, but she knew better. The pit of guilt that had been festering inside of her ever since she did nothing to stop the steam of lies that fell from her lips four years ago seemed to make itself stronger than ever. It was eating her alive.

Shadow takes in a deep breath as she slowly makes her way toward the two before stopping beside Laswell. She stares at the buckle sat in Laswell’s hand before bringing up her right hand and placing her own object on the bed.

Laswell’s chest tightens as she places the metal buckle in her hand beside the one Shadow just brought.

“They’re the same,” Price remarks.

Laswell looks at Shadow, “How do you have that?”

Shadow keeps her eyes concentrated on the tri-colored hourglass emblem that had been burned into her mind for her entire life. A deep pit growing in her stomach, she looks up at the attentive pair.

“It’s the Red Room symbol.”

Price and Laswell spared each other a hesitant glance before turning back to the woman who seemed to be in some sort of trance as her eyes remained glued to the buckle she’d placed on the bed just a few moments ago.

Laswell decided to speak.

“How do you know it’s their symbol?”

Despite feeling herself tense up at the question, Shadow knew she brought this on herself. The moment she set the emblem on the bed, she practically backed herself into a corner and there was nothing she could do about it.

Well, there were a couple things she could do about it.

On one hand she could come clean about her past and potentially get the chance to aid Laswell in her mission to put an end to the Red Room, but there was also the chance she’d get killed, maybe something even worse than death. Neither Price or Laswell knew the full extent of all the things she’d done in her life and she wasn’t too keen on them finding out, much less telling them herself. Who knows what they could do with such information?

On the other hand, she could just try and leg it out of there in hopes of avoiding any further questions. She didn’t completely hate the idea, but she knew it wasn’t worth the trouble that’d come along with doing such a thing.

Having eliminated both of those ideas in the few moments she took to think about them, she knew she had to think of something quick. Nothing that could get her deemed as an immediate threat and imprisoned, but nothing that would raise too many alarms.

She almost cursed herself for revealing the emblem that had been burned into every aspect of her life.

Almost.

She looked up at Laswell, a small sigh falling from her lips as she quickly tried to sort out the story in her head.

“I’m not who you think I am.”

Laswell tilted her head.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I’m not part of the Red Room.”

Laswell narrowed her eyes as she pointed to the emblem.

“Then why do you have that and how do you know it belongs to them?”

She took a few seconds to sort out the last few bits of her fabricated story before beginning to speak.

“I kill people for a living–”

“We know,” Price bluntly states, seemingly not bothered by his rude interruption.

The woman fights back the urge to jab her fist into his injured side and instead opts for a pointed look in his direction before continuing.

“–But I don’t work for the Red Room.”

Laswell’s look of suspicion morphs into one of confusion.

“What? But I was so sure–”

This time it’s Shadow interrupting.

“Just because I don’t work for them doesn’t mean I don’t know of them.”

Laswell’s gaze hardens, “Elaborate.”

“Look, the whole purpose of the Red Room is to produce assassins who can execute any and all targets without getting themselves caught. While the targets can be virtually anyone, it goes without saying that a lot of them are political figures.”Price speaks, “What’s that got to do with anything?”

“Different people have different political agendas. What may benefit one person may be detrimental to the next. So while one person may hire an assassin to get rid of someone, another person may hire another assassin to ensure the safety of the original target by going after anyone set to kill them. Kind of like a bodyguard.”

“Is this your way of telling us you were employed as one of these bodyguards?”

“Not exactly. I never took work based on politics, I took it based on the paycheck. Whatever the highest bidder wanted, they’d get.”

“And how does this tie in with the Red Room?”

Shadow points over to the emblem, “I managed to snag that off one of Volkov’s girls while trying to protect my target. I hadn’t seen it before so instead of killing her, I knocked her out and took her back with me. I managed to get a few details I think you may be interested in before I eventually had to get rid of her.”

Laswell straightened out her posture as she looked at Shadow with great interest, “What details?”

Time to strike.

“Details you won’t get until you can promise me a few things.”

Laswell scoffs, “You do realize you just admitted you’re an assassin, right? You’re in no position to be making demands of any kind.”

“Normally you’d be correct, but seeing as how you won’t be able to connect me to any crime as little as shoplifting I think your hands are a bit tied at the moment.”

“And how can you be so sure of that?”

Shadow’s gaze settled back on the hourglass shaped emblem that represented all the pain and suffering she’d inflicted on the world.

She hated it.

She hated herself.

She looked back at Laswell, willing herself to be more brave than she felt.

“A part of me always knew there’d be a time where I wanted to get out. I didn’t want anything to hold me back when I got the chance, so I always made sure things were perfect, that no one could ever prove anything.”

Laswell nods before speaking once more, “And why is it you think I can give you an out?”

“You want the Red Room gone and at this point I think I’m your best bet. You lay off me and I’ll help you take it out.”

Shadow watched with bated breath as Laswell and Price exchanged each other looks of apprehension and hesitation. She could only hope she played her part well enough.

After more than a few moments of them staring each other down, Laswell turned back to Shadow with a particular glint in her eye she hadn’t quite seen before.

“Tell me what you have in mind.”

The woman was ripped away from her thoughts by the loud laughter of a man. She whipped her head to the direction it originated from and was met with the backs of two men hunched over what she assumed was a phone. Letting out a small sigh, she grabbed her iPod and water bottle before deciding to stalk off in the direction of the barracks in hopes of finding an empty room she could claim for the night.

The woman tapped her fingers on the glossy surface of the desk she sat at with Price and Laswell the day before as the lively notes of ‘The Blue Danube’ composed by Johann Strauss plays through her earbuds. She’s gotten to the conference room fifteen minutes early and seeing as she now had nothing better to do than wait, she pulled out her trusty iPod and tapped shuffle on her classical playlist. Despite classical being most of what she listened to, she did have a few other playlists containing various other genres such as pop, jazz, hip hop, and rock. She was simply raised listening to classical so that’s what she often favored despite more than a few pieces having been tainted due to the unpleasant memories she’d come to associate them with. Even so, she still managed to enjoy every song she listened to.

As the last few notes of the composition died out in the left earbud currently lodged in her ear, her eyes shot up to the sound of the creaky door to conference room opened to reveal a tall man clad in an all black outfit paired with a skull print balaclava with black warpaint swiped around his eyes. He paused as he caught sight of the woman already sitting at the rounded table while she simply stared him down with a blank expression. He gave a quick glance to the room number printed on the door and upon confirming he was in the right place, he slowly stepped in and closed the door behind him before taking a seat across from the woman. Once settled down he returned her blank stare with one of his own, almost willing her to say something.

But she didn’t.

She simply looked back down at the small black music player in her hand as she scrolled through her list of songs. After a few more moments of silence, she looked up to see the man idly tapping away on his phone.

The two of them settled into a rather tense silence filled with unanswered questions, one that was only broken by the sound of the door creaking open yet again to reveal another tall man who sported a grey cap that had a Union Flag patch sewn into the front of it. Her eyes roamed over his lean frame that was clad in a long sleeved grey shirt paired with khaki cargo pants and black shoes. It faintly reminded her of an old photo Price had shown her of himself. She watched as he grabbed a seat that was one over from the man who arrived just a few minutes prior. After all three of them exchanged silent glances, they directed their attention to their own devices.

Just a few minutes had passed before the door opened once again, this time revealing Price who had a small stack of manila folders in his hands whereas Laswell carried a laptop. Upon seeing their superiors enter the conference room, the three strangers quickly tucked their electronics into their pockets as Price spoke.

“Glad to see you lot are getting on well with each other,” He remarked, sarcasm practically dripping from his voice.

The three of them avoided making eye contact with each other causing him to shake his head in mild amusement as he handed them each a folder of their own. Upon getting to the empty chair, he spoke.

“Where’s Soap?”

Soap?

Suddenly, the door practically bursts open and a prominent Scottish accent breaks through the room.

“Sorry I’m late, got caught up at the mess hall!”

The woman’s gaze turned to face the direction of the door once more as her eyes landed on a muscular man with a mohawk.

“Settle down Soap. Just take a seat,” Price spoke as he tossed a folder to where the unoccupied seat was. Her eyes followed the man as he quickly walked over to the empty chair and nabbed himself the seat. His eyes settled on the folder in his hands before looking up and facing the woman. Expecting him to redirect his gaze like the other two, she maintained eye contact but was surprised when he offered her a wide smile. She tried to reign in the look of confusion she was sure was apparent on her face before breaking eye contact and opting to stare down at the folder, effectively missing the way the man’s face fell at her actions. Her attention, however, was quickly redirected once Laswell began to speak.

“Task Force 141, meet Shadow. Shadow, meet Task Force 141.”

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