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cjsinkythoughts · 3 years

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The Shield

Paring: Bucky Barnes x Avenger!Reader

Word Count: 5595

Warnings: !FATWS SPOILERS!, Cursing, John Walker, Emotions, Character Death, Mentions of Blood, I know people had a hard time with that last scene so please take caution because it is in this part! GIF at end is the ending scene, so be careful when you get towards the bottom! I feel like I’m forgetting some, so just know this one’s a bit more than the others.

A/N: Here it is, folks! The Part we’ve all been waiting for! It’s the longest one I’ve written so far but so much happened and I couldn’t find a better spot to end it than where the episode ended. Thank you all for being patient with me today. I know I didn’t get this out as quickly as I would’ve the past few weeks, but you guys are so awesome! Seriously! I love that you understand I do have a life and work comes first! Thank you, thank you!

This Part is a doozy, guys, and…I’m sorry? But not really. I’m SUPER excited to see where this is gonna go, especially considering Episode 5 is supposed to be the real tear jerker. I can’t believe there’s only two more episodes! I’ve grown so attached to these characters just in the past month! I’m so glad I’m able to share some of my thoughts and feelings with you guys, too! You’re honestly the best!

I’ll be doing more One Shots this week, so look for those on the Masterlist. I’m still taking requests for them, so if there’s anything you want explored about the reader and her relationships that you don’t think will be explored in this Series, just ask and I’ll try to add it to the One Shot list.

As always, this isn’t beta’d so please excuse any mistakes! Thank you for reading, be kind to yourself and others, enjoy this part and stay tuned!

FATWS Masterlist

cjsinkythoughts Masterlist

(I couldn’t decide on which GIF to use because there are so many good ones! Thank you Tumblr Creators!)

!SPOILERS UNDER CUT!

“Doll…hey. Doll. C’mon, sweetheart. We gotta get moving.”

You cracked your eyes open begrudgingly, squinting up to see Bucky’s amused grin, head tilted and eyes soft. “Huh?”

He chuckled as you rubbed your eyes, confusion lifting an eyebrow. “The funeral. Zemo said we’ve gotta go if we’re gonna make it in time.”

“Wait, but…huh?”

Sniggering again at your reaction, he held up your phone. “You passed out in the middle of a chapter, sleepyhead.” He teased lightly, grabbing your hand and gently pulling you to sit upright. “It’s almost been an hour.”

You huffed tiredly, stretching and placing your feet on the floor, taking back the phone he held out to you. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“You haven’t been sleeping well.” He stated, like it should’ve been obvious. “How’s your arm feeling?”

“Better than earlier. It’s just sore. That’s all.”

He studied your features for any hint of a lie. Not finding one, he nodded, holding out his hand. “Okay. But tell me if it starts bothering you.”

You placed your hand in his, marveling for a split second at how big his hands were compared to yours - something you noticed every time but still it never ceased to astound you. He tugged you up, and you looked up to meet his worried eyes, remembering his question.

“I will, Buck. Promise.”

He nodded, tilting his head towards the door. “C’mon, cuddle bug. We don’t wanna miss this.”

A groan passed your lips, but you nodded and followed Bucky out into the main room, where Sam chuckled at you from his spot at the table. “Sleeping beauty has finally awoken.”

You flipped Sam off groggily. “Are we going or not?”

“Do you wanna wake up s’more first?”

“No.” You answered the one armed brunette. “I’ll just splash some water on my face or something. I’ll be fine by the time we get there. Where’s-”

“Looking for me?”

Zemo strolled out, now dressed in that coat of his, that smug smirk on his lips. You scowled. “I wish I wasn’t.”

Sam stood up, standing subconsciously between you and Zemo. “Let’s head out.”

You nodded in agreement, shooting the Baron one more glare, before following him out the door and into the city, Bucky right besides you, shoulders brushing as if you weren’t ignoring him just hours prior.

The walk was mostly silent, a few jests between Bucky and Sam plus a couple comments from Zemo here and there. You talked about strategy, with Sam bringing up the fact that he wanted to try convincing Karli to step down. Zemo didn’t look pleased with the arrangement, but both you and Bucky relented, agreeing to let Sam at least try.

It wasn’t until you were close to your destination according to Zemo that anything exciting happened.

“Karli Morgenthau is too dangerous for you guys to be pulling this shit!”

Hell. No.

The moment the voice registered in your brain, your jaw tightened, your teeth starting to grind together as you held back the very not nice things you wanted to say.

“Ah! How’d you find us now?” Bucky called out, tucking you into his side protectively, and a little possessively you noted, as Walker and Hoskins came down the steps, the two groups nearing each other.

You were relieved when the subject of Zemo escaping jail went by relatively quickly, Walker latching onto the fact that you were going to talk to Karli instead of focusing on the escaped fugitive in front of him.

You very nearly punched him when he ran in front of you after Sam told him the plan, making the four of you stop in your tracks, but Bucky’s arm tightened around your shoulders, holding you in place next to him.

“You’re gonna let him do this?” Walker questioned Bucky in disbelief, self righteous judgement practically dripping from your tone. “You’re gonna let your partner walk into a room with a super soldier alone?”

Bucky’s jaw ticked. “He’s dealt with worse. And he’s not my partner.”

“And you?” Walker narrowed his eyes towards you. “I expected more from you; the last original Avenger.”

You snorted, shaking your head. He obviously didn’t know how chaotic the Avengers were. What Sam was proposing? You’d seen it a million times with Steve alone. Not considering Nat, Clint, Thor, even Bruce and Tony. All of them willing to try to negotiate before running in, bullets raining and hell rising. “First, I’m not the last original. I’m technically not even an original. Second, I trust Sam with my life and I’m standing by his decision. He’s my brother. As a soldier, I would’ve thought you understood that.”

Before he could respond, Sam stepped around Bucky. You saw the reluctance in Walker’s eyes as he admitted a temporary defeat once Hoskins agreed with Sam. The fact that he was so unwilling to try to save more lives - including Karli’s - made the truth that he wasn’t, and would never, be your Captain harden deeper into your heart.

Ignoring Walker’s confusion as you followed the little girl Zemo befriended - which was weird, you’d admit, but it was getting you closer to Karli - Bucky’s arm slipped from your shoulders, hand sliding across your back and skimming down your arm to grip your hand. Even through your jacket, you felt goosebumps erupt along his fingers’ trail.

You finally came to your destination and you let out a small breath. If everything went smoothly, this mission could finally be over and you could go home and take a bath, get take out, get out a bottle of wine, watch TV, and just relax.

What a dream.

“Hey.” You stopped Sam before he could go through the entrance of where the girl said Karli was, holding his forearm. “You want me to come with you?”

He shook his head. “I think it’ll be better if I go alone.”

You nodded, letting go without any hesitance. “Okay. Be careful.”

“Always.” And despite all you’ve been through, no matter how many times he’s followed Steve’s lead in doing something stupid, you knew he meant it. You nodded again, before he disappeared around the corner.

You leaned back against the wall, Bucky once again wrapping an arm around your shoulder now that you weren’t walking - he liked having mobility on the move, hence the reason he held your hand instead - leaning besides you and pulling you against his chest.

Ten minutes. You tried looking at Bucky’s watch, which was on the wrist of the arm around you. He noticed and turned his wrist slightly, bending his elbow more, which brought you even closer to him, showing you the time.

Giving a small sigh, you nodded slightly and dropped your head back against his bicep, your hands shoving in your pockets, one of your feet coming up to rest against the wall. Bucky shifted to your other side so he could stand in front of the doors to where Karli and Sam were, pulling you against his back, arms wrapping around your shoulders tightly.

It was a long ten minutes. You kept eyeing Walker, and you couldn’t help the anger burning through you as he held the shield in his hands. That damn shield. It wasn’t his. It would never be his. And he would never understand it. The fact that the shield didn’t make Captain America. The shield isn’t what made Steve a good man. Not even the Serum did. He already was one. Steve made the shield what it was, not the other way around.

But then you remembered a conversation you had, years ago, and your eyes flitted up to Bucky’s hardened face, the brunette staring intensely at the ground.

You didn’t get it. You were confused. You knew how important Barnes - Bucky - was to Steve. But apparently you didn’t understand it quite yet.

You watched from the entrance of the hallway, leaning against the wall, as Bucky went under once more.

Steve stood there for a moment longer, before turning and walking towards you. “Why’d you do it?”

He raised an eyebrow at you while you turned to walk with him down the hall. “Do what?”

“Give up the shield. And don’t say it doesn’t belong to you. It does. Howard gave it to you. You’re the reason it’s…a symbol.”

He hummed. “And what exactly is it a symbol for, honey?”

You scoffed. “Uh, freedom? Justice? Resilience? The defense of the whole life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness thing?”

He stopped, facing you with a strange expression on his face, thoughtful. “I dropped it because I can’t be that anymore. Not right now. People don’t have the same beliefs they used to have. How can I stand up for freedom and let the Sokovia Accords track every person they deem a threat, just like HYDRA tried doing? How can I be a symbol for justice and let Bucky take the fall for something that he wasn’t in control of? I can’t. And until the world is ready to change…I can’t be Captain America.”

And suddenly, it seemed to click. Steve gave up the shield for Bucky because the world wasn’t ready to admit it was wrong. Just like Sam gave up the shield for himself and his family because the world wasn’t ready for the truth that would come with him becoming Captain America.

God…when did a metal circle become so complicated?

“What’s goin’ on in that pretty lil’ head’a yours?” His whisper in your ear startled you out of your thoughts, his nose brushing against your temple tenderly as he placed a chaste kiss on your cheek.

You looked up at him and shook your head. Of all the things Steve gave up, he never gave up Bucky. And it used to confuse you, but you understood then. His blue eyes sparkling with curiosity and slight concern, his fingers tracing patterns along your collarbone with a barely-there touch that was so light it didn’t seem to exist. You finally understood. Not just Steve’s decision, but Sam’s too. And maybe you didn’t understand it fully, and that was okay, because you weren’t them, so you never would, but you understood a little bit.

“Nothing.” You shook your head, keeping your voice down so the others couldn’t hear, the conversation being a private one, “I’m just waiting for this to be over.”

He hummed, nodding in agreement, setting his chin on your head. “Me too.”

Walker started pacing the room about half way through, getting too antsy for your liking. “Shhh.” Bucky mumbled under his breath, feeling you tense as Walker started talking. “It hasn’t been ten minutes, John. Just sit tight.”

“Don’t do that. Don’t patronize me.”

“He knows what he’s doing.” Bucky stated confidently, straightening slightly from his leaning position, arms falling from your form. The two of you exchanged glances as Walker checked the clock over on the far wall, blocked from your view.

“I’m going in.” Walker strode across the room, heading for the entrance, no doubt willing to steam roll anything - anyone - in his way.

Bucky stopped him with a hand on his chest. You glanced back and forth between the two as Walker spoke, arms crossed tightly over your chest. “Buck…we promised him ten minutes.” You reminded him, seeing his resolve crumble a bit. You could guess he was thinking of the nightmares. The people he couldn’t save. The blood he already considered on his hands.

Walker used his moment of hesitation, shoving past him roughly. “I’m not waiting.”

“John!”

“Walker!”

You followed after him, you and Bucky arguing with him and Hoskins about giving Sam more time, but it was too late.

“Karli Morgenthau! You’re under arrest!”

“Fuck.” You hissed out when you saw Sam’s panicked expression, looking at you confused. Walker was flown across the room when Karli punched him, Bucky shoving Hoskins out of the way to run after her.

“Y/N-”

You threw your hands up. “I tried, Sam! C’mon!”

You and Sam ran over to some stairs, turning corners and trying to remember what the building looked like from outside to cut her off, but you only ran into Bucky again.

“I wish we had the layout or something.” You grumbled. “We were that close-”

“We’re not done yet, doll.” Nodding, you followed the boys out, Bucky pausing every so often to try to hear anything. “I’ve got gunshots.” At that, the three of you took off towards the sound, Bucky leading the way.

Just around the corner from where Bucky heard the gunshots, you thought you saw a couple people slip around another bend. Noticing you had stopped, Bucky backtracked. “You okay?’

“Yeah.” Deciding it wasn’t worth the pursuit, you turned to him and nodded towards the doorway Sam already went through. He gave you a look, but nodded and the two of you jogged into the room.

You sighed heavily, seeing Zemo knocked out on the floor, Walker standing over him and broken vials that were previously full of, what you assumed was, the Serum. Hoskins ran in right after you, meaning no one but Walker and Zemo knew what happened. Meaning you would probably never get the full, true story.

What fun it is to work with manipulators and liars.

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

“I don’t like him.” Bucky grumbled, the two of you walking up to the place you were staying in, Bucky holding the door open for you.

“I know you don’t, Buck. I don’t either.” You had asked Bucky to go with you to get some fresh air once you got back, Zemo having woken up a few minutes after and Walker and Hoskins had to make a call or something official like the good soldiers they were. “He’s hiding something.”

“You think?” Bucky scoffed, giving you a look.

You rolled your eyes. “I mean…I don’t know. When we found him and Zemo…my gut twisted.”

He nodded in understanding, his face twisting into a scowl. “Yeah. Mine did too.”

You stopped him before you could walk through the door to the main room. “Do me a favor?” He nodded again with a little hum. Catching his chin between your fingers, your free hand moved to smooth out the creases between his brow. “Stop brooding so much. It makes me worried.”

His tongue darted out to wet his lips, features softening slightly. “Are you really gonna leave in the morning? I know you’ve had a lot of people telling you to take a break, and it’s selfish for me to ask you to stay, but…I dunno if I can finish this without you.”

“I-” You sighed, ducking your head as you thought of a response, before looking up in his wide eyes, begging for you to stick around longer. “Let’s just finish the day and see what happens next. Okay?”

He bit his lip, nodding slightly. You gave him a smile, before tugging on his hand. “I need a drink.”

He chuckled at that. “That I can fix, doll.” He, again, opened the door for you, and the two of you walked in.

“What a gentleman. Straight outta the 40’s.” You joked, making him roll his eyes.

He took off his jacket, heading to the kitchen, while you sat on the opposite side of the island. “Somethin’s not right about Walker.”

Sam gave you two an amused look. “You don’t say.”

“Well, I know a crazy when I see one.” He opened the lid of the bottle he grabbed, starting to pour two glasses of whiskey for the both of you. “Because I am crazy.”

You rolled your eyes as Sam responded, “can’t argue with that.”

“You shouldn’t have given him the shield.”

Giving Bucky a disapproving look over the rim of your glass, you sipped your drink, narrowing your eyes when he ignored you. “I didn’t give him the shield.”

“Well Steve definitely didn’t.”

Your glass slammed down on the counter. Why did he have to bring this up right now? Seriously? You were just having a nice conversation about places you wanted to visit while taking a walk outside. Why was he suddenly snapping?

Before you could scold him, the doors burst open, making your head whip over as Walker stormed in, “ordering” you to hand over Zemo.

You stayed sitting, leaning on the counter and facing the opposite wall as Sam told him off, giving an amused snicker as you sipped your drink. Bucky sat besides you, facing Walker, and you recognized from the angle he was positioning himself that he was blocking you from Walker’s view, whether intentional or not.

You raised an eyebrow, turning in interest when Walker put down the shield, knowing Sam wasn’t about to fight the man. What an ego the blonde had.

Before anything could happen, however, a spear pierced through the air, lodging in the pillar next to Walker’s head.

Your frustration with Bucky’s comment flew out of your head as Ayo and a few other Dora Milaje walked in. Bucky sat up straighter and you stood up, leaning ever so slightly against his arm.

You nearly facepalmed, a sound of complete disbelief leaving you as Walker introduced himself. Sam looked over at you two, an entertained, slightly incredulous smile on his face.

Sam tried warning him. He really did. But Walker, you’ve come to find, was an arrogant, egotistical narcissist who only wanted to win and would do whatever it takes to do so. Even when there wasn’t really a winner. At least, not in that situation. It seemed that Walker liked ignoring the gray area in the world, which wasn’t good. Not in the least.

Which is why you couldn’t really feel sorry for the man. You saw it coming as soon as he told them they didn’t have jurisdiction. And the moment he touched Ayo?

You put your chin on Bucky’s shoulder - who had stood up from his spot - watching the Dora Milaje kick Walker’s ass, wincing and cringing mockingly at the right moments, making Bucky smirk at you.

“We should do something.” Sam said, although he didn’t look thrilled about the prospect.

Bucky crossed his arms. “Looking strong, John!”

You gave a slight snort, not wanting to encourage anything, but unable to hold in your amusement. Bucky winked at you, clinking his cup of whiskey with your own, before taking a gulp.

“Bucky.”

You huffed and stepped back at Sam’s tone. “C’mon, Buck.”

“Fine.” Bucky grunted. “But ‘M not happy about it.”

Soon, the three of you, plus Walker and Hoskins, were all occupied with a member of the Dora Milaje. You knew you couldn’t take them; they were on a higher level that Natasha, and you could barely beat her. But you weren’t necessarily trying to win.

It was a strange fight, knowing that no one - except Walker, probably - actually wanted to hurt anyone. Of course, that didn’t stop one of them from exploiting your injured shoulder that she spotted rather quickly. The hits were quick and precise, the tip of her spear cutting along the graze, hitting the spot just perfect enough to reopen it. The stitches that had been placed only a couple days ago ripped, making you wince and clutch your now bleeding shoulder.

“Oh fuck.” You groaned. “You were always good with those things.”

She gave you an almost apologetic look, before she looked over to Ayo, who stepped through the room towards the bathroom where Zemo had locked himself in during the chaos.

When you caught sight of the shoulder thing she did to Bucky, his metallic arm now laying on the floor, his eyes wide and his stance stunned, your jaw nearly dropped. You guessed it made sense that they had a way to do that, but, still. None of you were expecting it.

“Did you know they could do that?” Sam asked once they started leaving, Bucky picking up his arm and connecting it to his shoulder.

“No.” The arm whirred as he swung it, getting it back to normal.

You couldn’t help the little giggle that left you, making Bucky raise an eyebrow at you. You tried holding in more laughs, but they just kept coming. “She-she...she disarmed you!”

Bucky rolled his eyes as you chortled, holding your stomach and bending over. “Ha ha. Very funny.”

“Oh come on!” You straightened and wiped your eyes. “That was good! Wasn’t it, Sammy?”

Sammy chuckled and nodded. “I’ll admit, it was pretty good. This, however, is not.”

Your laughter died as Sam made his way over to the bathroom, the light air that came with your cackles dissipating as quickly as it came.

“I can’t believe he pulled an El Chapo.”

You stared at the drain that was uncovered - large enough for Zemo to slip inside and escape. He did it. The son of a bitch finally did it. It took him long enough. You would’ve betted against him days ago.

“I can.” Bucky turned and grabbed your hand. “Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

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

“I thought you told them.”

Bucky looked up from wrapping your shoulder, an eyebrow raised. “What?”

“I thought you told them. The Dora Milaje. Wakanda. T’Challa. I thought you told them about Zemo.”

He leaned back with a sigh. “It was kinda a last minute decision. You know that. You were there.”

You nodded. “I do. But I also know what they’ve done for you. Shuri and Ayo. I was there for that, too. And you know what he did to them. To their country. Their king.”

“I know, I know. I almost died several times because of it.”

Your eyebrows pinched in confusion. “So why-”

“I thought it’d be quick. I thought, maybe, I could do it without them finding out and then we could get to Karli and they wouldn’t be disappointed. Win win.”

Your cheek caught between your teeth as you thought. “You could’ve just asked-”

He shook his head. “They would’ve said no. You know that.”

“Okay. Fine. Yes. I know that. But…but giving them a warning would’ve been better than this.” He hung his head, closing his eyes. “Bucky. Hey,” hooking a finger under his chin, you tilted his head back up to look at you. “I know it’s been hard for you. Everything has. And I’m sorry I dragged you into this. I shouldn’t have let you come along. You should be healing, and it’s my fault you’re not.” He opened his mouth, face scrunching up in disagreement, but you shook your head. “It’s true. I just…I didn’t know it would come this far.” You gnawed on your bottom lip studying those captivating eyes, before sighing. “Which is why I’m not leaving.”

He perked up, those pretty eyes going wide, jaw slackening. “You-you’re not?!”

You shook your head. As much as you wanted to run away, you couldn’t. It wouldn’t be right. “It wouldn’t be fair to you or Sam. I promised to help, and I brought you into it. So I’m gonna stay.

“Are you, uh…are you sure? You don’t hafta if you don’t wanna, doll. I know I kinda pushed you earlier, but-”

“I’m sure Buck.” You nodded firmly. “Just…do something for me?”

“I dunno if I can promise not brooding, sweetheart.”

You giggled at his words. “Not that. Just…stop giving Sam a hard time. About the shield. Please.”

His soft features hardened and he scowled. “If he didn’t give it up-”

“He thought it was going to the museum. I told you about that, remember? I told you we’d go when I got back.”

Giving a slight nod, he sighed. “We never did.”

“We will. But, I’m serious, Buck. Please. It’s not his fault. He did exactly what Steve did.” At Bucky’s confused look, you pursed your lips, looking down at his hands, starting to play with his fingers. “Remember how I was thinking during those ten minutes we had?” He nodded. “I was thinking about how Steve gave the shield back to Tony. After saving you. In Siberia. You remember that?” Another nod was given, so you continued. “It was for you, James. Because you made him realize that he didn’t want to be the face of a country that preached one thing, but did another. And that’s what Sam did. He did it for his family. For himself. Because no one wants to fight for a country that goes against your personal beliefs, no matter what they say.”

“I-I don’t understand.” Bucky’s eyes squinted, his brow creasing as he tried processing what you were telling him.

“That’s okay. Not everyone will. Really only they can understand their own reasoning. But you have to try to understand that he did what he thought was best for himself. For Steve. For the shield. And I know - dammit do I know - that it’s the last thing left of him. But it is just metal. Isn’t it? Steve’s the reason it is what it is. No one else. And no one is going to change that.”

Bucky took a breath, glossy, worried eyes meeting yours. “Walker’s going to ruin it. I know he is. I can feel it. Everything Steve worked for. I don’t care about Captain America. I care about the kid from Brooklyn who wanted to make a difference, no matter how little he was. I trusted him. I followed him through bullets and blood, with only that shield between us and them. He was home on a battlefield in Italy across the ocean from New York. And that shield was the welcome mat. It doesn’t matter what it says, what it looks like…but it protected my home when I couldn’t. But now? I feel like it’s tearing my home down. Pulling out the bricks. And it hurts. It was never about the shield, Y/N. It was always about the man it protected when I couldn’t be there for him. And now?”

Gathering him in your arms as he trailed off, you gave a couple little sniffles, pressing your face in his hair, nails scratching the nape of his neck lightly. “I’ll be your welcome mat, Buckaroo.” You offered.

He shook his head, pulling away to hold your face between his hands. “No, sweetheart. You’re not the welcome mat. You’re the new bricks replacing the old. You’re…you’re my home, now, doll.”

You swallowed thickly, unable to handle the rush of emotions that just poured through you, the sudden change in topic making you feel more vulnerable than you’d like. You leaned forwards, placing a gentle kiss to the corner of his mouth, feeling him go lax in your arms. “And you’re mine.” You murmured softly, before getting up and heading out for the room, unable to stay any longer. You still had a mission to do. One that became even more desperate with Zemo loose, Walker unhinged, and Karli being so close.

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

There was a silent agreement to not bring up your conversation. Not yet, at least. Sam had eyed you both when you came out of the room, saying you were ready to get moving, but he didn’t say anything either.

None of you really knew where you were going, only what you had to do. Find Zemo and get to Karli before Walker could. Both of which were a lot easier said than done.

Until Sam got a call from Sarah, who told him Karli contacted her personally and threatened her and her sons. She left a contact number for Sam, evidently wanting to meet. His phone dinged not a minute after he texted the number.

“She said come alone.”

“Well that’s not happening.” You opposed, crossing your arms.

Bucky nodded with your sentence. “We’re coming with you.”

Sam didn’t say anything against it, the three of you exchanging glances, before heading out to the location, changing into your tactical suits along the way.

Karli didn’t seem to mind you and Bucky tagging along, and you understood why the moment she mentioned not killing Sam because he wasn’t hiding behind a shield. It was a distraction. They were going after Walker.

It was confirmed only moments later when Sharon contacted Sam. “Looks like he found them, or maybe they found him.”

As soon as Sam announced that it was Walker, you jumped into action, Sam disabling Karli for just the right amount of time for you to get a head start. “I’ll send you the location. Go.” He told Bucky, who nodded and took off in his super soldier sprint. “You hitching a ride?”

You rolled your eyes at his slight tease. “I hate this so much.” You grumbled, catching his hand as he took off in the air with his bird costume. He held onto you tightly, like the millions of times you’d done this before, although it didn’t make you any less dizzy, traveling that fast, that high, with only his hold keeping you from dropping. “You’re lucky I trust you so much!”

He gave a small chuckle at your shout over the wind. “We’re landing! Brace yourself!” You followed his order, just in time for him to break through the glass ceiling of the building Walker was in. The both of you landed on a platform on the staircase just as a Flag Smasher was thrown through double glass doors, down the stairs, and into a power box. Your eyes went wide as Walker strolled down the steps, oozing a confidence that made you nervous. The moment Walker stopped the Flag Smasher - the Super Soldier - from hitting him with the pipe, you knew even before he twisted it like a pretzel.

“Sam.” You breathed out. You couldn’t even do anything, only watching as the Flag Smasher got up from being thrown again, and running down a hall.

“What’d you do?”

“They got Lemar.” Was the only reply he gave, brushing past you and Sam. You gave Sam a look, but he just jerked his head down the hall, in the direction the Flag Smasher went and the way Walker started heading. You nodded, willing to drop it for now to save someone’s life, but you were so bringing it up once this was done.

Jogging into the room, you should’ve expected the ambush in the room, but, to be honest, they didn’t take as much advantage as they could’ve, so it wasn’t too difficult of a fight. You had trained with Steve millions of times before, so you knew how to go against a Super Soldier. Granted, your Cap wasn’t trying to kill you while training, but it was better than nothing.

You protected your shoulder, knowing that was your weak point, while trying to disguise it so whoever you were fighting wouldn’t realize your Achilles’ Heel. Something you often found while dealing with Steve, and even Bucky, was that Super Soldiers, as quick as they were, tended to favor the super strength side of their enhancements. This made it easier for you to dodge the attacks, knowing most of your blows wouldn’t do much.

Knowing you wouldn’t be able to stay on the defensive for long, you decided to try to get an advantage over them. Disarming them and taking their knife was easy enough. A small advantage, yeah, but now you had a weapon, and you could work with that.

You weren’t exactly sure when Bucky joined the fight, but he did, immediately coming over to you when you body kicked your opponent, helping you up. “That was a Steve move.” Your eyes caught sight of the Flag Smasher behind him and you shoved his shoulder down, throwing your knife, making it land solidly in the man’s shoulder. Bucky looked up at you from his crouch, impressed. “And that was a me move.”

You shrugged. “I’m a visual learner.”

You, Sam, and Bucky were about to go for another round with the guys when a sickening crack sounded behind you, and you whipped around.

Hoskins was against a split pillar, a crimson streak running down his forehead, head lolling to the side, lips red and cracked. The fight stopped as Walker rushed over to his friend, but you knew there was no way he survived. A punch from a Super Soldier? That hard?

Eyeing the Flag Smashers, you turned to Sam and Bucky when they started dispersing, Karli running out as well. They nodded towards you and the three of you took off after her, not wanting to let her get away again and, for you, at least, wanting to give Walker some time.

You weren’t expecting his grief to turn into such raw hatred.

Running up to the city square, you didn’t actually see it happen. Just the aftermath. Which was good, considering you nearly threw up just seeing that.

You heard the change in Bucky’s breathing, barely recognizing the way he stepped in front of you, only realizing you stepped closer when you felt his sleeve against your palms, fingers tightly wrapped around his forearm. A choked sound came from somewhere, but you didn’t know it was you, even as Bucky reached his arm around to hold your waist, keeping you behind his shoulder.

Tears leaked down your face silently, eyes unable to look away as Walker straightened, sliding the shield on his arm, too nonchalantly for someone who just murdered another in front of a crowd full of people, cameras pointed towards him.

The shield. That piece of metal you had been wondering so deeply about the past couple of weeks. The link to the first person you’d ever loved. Ruined. Tarnished. Stained.

You could barely breathe, your throat clenching so tightly it was a wonder you were able to get anything out at all.

“James…”

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spectral-kitkat · 3 years

Text

Miraculous Rant.

Where the hell do I begin…

Season 1:

The show was decent in season 1. Some episodes were just mindless filler and probably weren’t needed in the grand scheme of things but they helped us get introduced to the characters, we got to know the plot and the world our characters inhabit. It was good. The love story between Adrien and Marinette was cute and off to a touching and fluffy start.

Season 2:

This season was immediately better than season 1. It had character development, it went more into detail about the lore surrounding the Miraculous and we got to learn more about our characters and their families and the villian’s motives. (HM really went from “I wanna destroy the world” to “I wanna wake my wife from the coma she’s in”).

We got to see new heroes which was fun! We got new characters like Luka and Kagami.

The season finale was epic! The Miraculous team all taking down all the previous villains in the show was awesome. At the end we even got Mari kissing Adrien on the cheek. It was great! (Even though it clearly reset itself in season 3 cause it’s never mentioned again)

I really enjoyed season 2 and it’s probably my favourite out of the 4.

Season 3:

Season 3 was kinda good and kinda bad. We had some great episodes but this is where the show took the wrong turn.

Marinette lost some of her character in season 3. This was the start of her descent into being the Queen of Mary Sues. It’s also where she was crowned the Queen of Stalkers! Her character took a fucking nose dive in this season. We had so many moments that just creeped me the fuck out.

1. The ENTIRETY of Puppeteer 2 🤢🤢🤢 I could not stand that episode. When we reached the dreaded statue scene I physically had to pause it like 10 times. That scene takes about 3 minutes to watch… it took me about 20. I cringed so fucking hard because of the secondhand embarrassment I was feeling. That was not sweet, it wasn’t romantic, it wasn’t the least bit cute… it was a train wreck! It was creepy and stalkerish and it’s a wonder Adrien even spoke to her again after that atrocity!

2. LB delivering the present in Chat Blanc. Two words: STALKER BEHAVIOUR!!! I genuinely could not believe my eyes when I saw LB run her hand across everything in his room and then actually SNIFF Adrien’s pillow. Like WTF!!! 🤮 I’m pretty sure whoever was responsible for that scene clearly thought it was the equivalent of when someone gets their S/O’s jumper or something and it still smells like them. But this turned it up to the nth degree and way passed the line of sanity.

Adrien was extremely under-utilised in this season. He didn’t really do anything. The only episodes we got about him didn’t really focus on him. ‘Felix’ whilst focusing on Adrien’s family didn’t really feature him. ‘Party Crasher’ while a beautiful mess was more about Mari trying to get into the party than the party itself. ‘Chat Blanc’ again focused more on Mari trying to fix her mistake.

We got even more heroes in season 3, not in the right order but they were there. It was fun seeing everyone’s transformations.

Season 3 was also the season of destroying redemptions. The big one obviously being Chloe. Season 2 was setting up this amazing redemption for her and before it could go anywhere it was wiped off the face of the earth during the finale (and don’t worry we’ll get to that dumpster fire later). Gabriel also had any remaining sympathy ripped away from him. How did the guy who stopped Gorizilla from letting Adrien die when he only thought he was CN go from that to using his son like fucking baseball in Chat Blanc when he knew his son was CN. Like I knew you were a shit father but you still cared about Adrien in some way shape or form but after that episode I can see I was clearly mistaken!

Before we get to the finale I want to talk about probably my 2 least favourite episodes from this season: Desperada and Reflekdoll

Desperada:

I fucking hated this episode! The only good thing was Luka getting to be Viperion, other than that this episode was awful!

Marinette was a selfish cringey bitch. Completely ignoring Luka to gush about Adrien to Jagged. Brushing Luka off as soon as Adrien turns up. Immediately cuddling up to Aspik and flirting with him when she needed to focus on the akuma (something which she has told CN not to do many times before)

Adrien, I love you kid but Jesus Christ you were a dumbass in this episode! Aspik’s design was terrible! Aspik himself was awful. I know Adrien tried his best but dude you were given the Black Cat miraculous for a reason! He shouldn’t have tried to be Aspik but even when he did he should’ve called it quits after like 5 resets not 25,913 times.

The only person with a brain this episode was Luka. So well done guitar boy, gold star!

Reflekdoll:

This episode was annoying! It was basically the start of the Marinette can do no wrong streak! When they have to swap miraculous I was happy cause it meant we got to see new outfits and see how they each handle the different powers. It would also serve as a way to get LB and CN to see what their partners role is first hand. Until we actually get to it…

LadyNoire is of course amazing and needs no introduction to using this new miraculous that she’s never used before. She’s cocky and confident and basically just LB in Chat’s costume with his powers.

Mister Bug on the other hand is just useless. He struggles with this new miraculous (like anyone would!) and is stupid and goofy. He has to rely on LadyNoire to solve the lucky charm. They swapped miraculous so shouldn’t that mean that Mister Bug should get the lucky vision and the creative powers that the earrings give him.

Overall Reflekdoll is awful. It was shitty writing and the start of Adrien getting the short end of the stick.

And now the season 3 finale… Just what the fuck. That is my only reaction: what the fuck!

Chloe you poor fucking child! What did they do to you!!! So much potential SQUANDERED!!!!

What was the point in bringing in all these different superheros with unique skill sets, costumes and transformations if you were just going to immediately reveal them to the main villian so they can’t be used again. That’s stupid! If you wanted the shock value that is “Oh no HM knows some of the heroes identities!” Then keep it as only some. Have like Max, Kim and Kagami outside trying to find somewhere to hide but unfortunately they get hit. Or Nino and Alya are hiding but the windows open and they get hit. Have some of the heroes hide so they’re fine! Taking away every ally of LB and CN’s was a stupid move! (Even if they wanted Alya to become a spy have her as part of the like 4 that get revealed or something, it’s not that difficult)

Season 3 was 50/50 for me

Season 4:

So I know season 4 isn’t even halfway through yet but so much is wrong with this season already that I need to vent!

So my biggest problem with this season of Miraculous: Tales of Ladybitch and Rena Rouge, I mean Rena Furtive… shit, Chat Noir! Is that CN is basically pointless! Adrien has been flung over a rainbow and is only remembered when he’s needed as

1. Marinette’s love interest

2. Someone for LB to shout at

3. A plot device

He has basically been sidelined. Partners my ASS!!!

Adrien is being blown off by pretty much EVERYONE! It’s coming to a point where this poor sweet summer child is going to crack! And it is not gonna be pretty… I definitely feel like the writers are leading up to a big fight between CN and LB which will probably end with Chat Blanc 2.0.

I REALLY HATE MARINETTE/LADYBUG!!!! In Season 3 I said it was the beginning of her descent, well in season 4 she’s done it. She’s descended, she has hit rock fucking bottom. She is so unlikable I don’t actually care about her as a person. She has entered full blown stalker territory it’s only a matter of time before she starts killing people for even looking at Adrien! Not to mention that Miss Mary Sue here can’t do anything wrong! She never has to suffer the consequences of her actions, she is always perfect no matter what she does… it pisses me off!)

She’s the Guardian now big whoop. I know what it feels like to be stressed and under pressure so I do understand why she needed to tell someone about it all. I just don’t see why that person had to Alya! Especially considering she has someone by her side every akuma attack going through pretty much the exact same thing. I know she’s worried about CB happening again but as I said before the more she leaves him out the more she is actually pushing that to become a possibility! Plus it makes sense for them to reveal their identities now since LB is now the guardian it’s probably a good idea to know who holds the cat miraculous, she knows everyone else’s identities!

Even if she didn’t want to tell CN her identity she could still explain the situation to him. If she didn’t want to tell him anything (which she doesn’t anyway) then instead of Alya she should’ve talked to Luka! Her boyfriend for all of half an episode (thanks writers…). He’s so sweet and caring and clearly loves her so much! If she wanted someone to confide in then why not choose the person you clearly wanted to date but couldn’t because of that very reason! (Yeah I know it’s kinda a moot point now since Luka knows both identities but still). He wanted to try and comfort her so it would’ve been the perfect moment for it. That way you could still date him and he’d know why you had to suddenly leave dates halfway through! But no break the boys heart instead!

Adrien and Marinette were both such fucking idiots in the first 2 episodes. Like why would you start a relationship with someone when you know your heart isn’t in it! That’s called leading someone on and is a really shitty thing to do to someone! No wonder Kagami and Luka ended up akumatized!

Another aspect of season 4 I don’t like is Rena Furtive. Yes ok having a spy for your side is a good strategy but when said spy basically tells an important member of a duo that the 2 person job doesn’t involve them… it just really ticks me off! Alya you are the sidekick to LB and CN! Chat isn’t!

Miraculous specials:

The Miraculous World specials suck! Shanghai is better than NY but still has its problems. Both specials add nothing to the overall plot/lore of the show apart from trying to set up some weird cinematic universe…

NY special:

One of the worst things I’ve ever had to sit through! The plane scene alone I paused a few times. I want to say well done to Mari for trying to move on from Adrien (especially considering I’m pretty sure she’s dating Luka at this point) but I can’t help but think it’s just to give her character some pointless development that goes nowhere and doesn’t actually develop anything!

LB can pretty much fuck off at this point! I hate her! She put all this shit on CN (like she doesn’t know exactly how that feels). It’s like why does she get to go off on holiday but CN can’t. LB should’ve stayed in Paris for 3 reasons:

1. She’s recently become the guardian meaning it would probably be best that she stayed with the Mircle Box

2. She’s the only one who can purity the akumas

3. If she’s so sure about being the boss then she should take responsibility of Paris and the citizens.

What really pisses me off about her is what she says to CN during the big fight. “I can’t trust you”… surely you could have this conversation afterwards since you’re supposed to be focusing on taking down the villian! Plus everyone bashes Adrien for giving his miraculous up in this episode but look at it from his point of view: His partner and best friend just said she couldn’t trust him which in turn caused him to cataclysm someone and essentially kill them. That’s gonna take a toll on anyone, especially a 14 year old! He probably thought in that moment. “Ladybug needs a partner she can trust and someone who won’t mess up and kill someone. She needs a better partner.” It makes sense he renounces his miraculous! I’m just upset that in doing so he loses Plagg who is pretty much his only friend who actually understands what Adrien goes through at home.

When Uncanny gets CN to come back, LB acts like it’s not her fault in the first place that he feels inadequate! She didn’t even apologise for saying what she did! He apologised for lying about not being in Paris but nope LB wasn’t in the wrong at all and didn’t have anything to apologise for 🙄… (yes the LadyNoir hug was amazing but I just wish it was under different circumstances!)

Also are we not gonna mention Gabriel Agreste almost starting WW3??? He wanted to launch a fucking missile!!!

Shanghai:

As I said before, this special is way better for several reasons.

We got MariChat! (Best side to the love square imo). This special actually had some semblance on a plot. Fei, whilst a bit op, was a cool character. It was nice to see Wang Cheng again.

However once again there were many problems.

A big one being Marinette yet again! (What a shock! 😒 I’ll come back to this). Another was that once again HM’s motivation has changed. How is getting the Prodigious gonna help bring back Emilie??

Back to Marinette… The fact that the words “Huh?! There must be some kind of mistake! I always know what's up with Adrien! … His 5 first names and every corresponding name date, his yearly schedule, even his shoe size! If there were anything to know about him, I would know it!” come out of her mouth whilst she is flipping through his schedule that she keeps in her pocketbook is a hugh red flag!!! That is not cute or adorable! That’s messed up and Adrien needs to fucking run and maybe possibly go into witness protection… Marinette is a full blown stalker! Not to mention the GPS she has (that could just be the find my friends app on iphone but still).

It also is extremely rude of her to use not only her great uncle’s birthday but also a lie about wanting to know her Chinese heritage in order to go to Shanghai to stalk her obsession, I mean crush. This could’ve been avoided if the Dupain-Chengs were going to Shanghai for the purpose of celebrating Wang Cheng’s bday and then Adrien just so happened to be in Shanghai.

Also this means LB left Paris without telling CN! I know CN did the same but again he can’t purify the akumas. Plus he has a reason he couldn’t stay in Paris, Mari just went cause her crush did. Great guardianship there Marinette.

This was also the last time CN actually did something. Even if it was for a short while before LB and her female partner took over (the beginning of a theme…)

Other things:

There are 2 other things that I wanna say but felt they needed a separate bit.

In Furious Fu, Su-Han has a rule book that he uses to tell Marinette which rules she has broken. At the end of the episode he tells her that is she breaks 1 more rule that he will take the Miraculous and the Miracle Box off her, which fair enough but wouldn’t it be helpful to leave the rule book with her?! How can she be wary of not breaking anymore rules when she doesn’t even know what the rules are??

Now the big one: Master Fu…

Where do I even start with him. He is so fucking manipulative!! He is Asian Dumbledore!

He decides to leave these extremely powerful jewels in the hands of 13 year olds! Surely leaving the miraculous to someone in their 20s would’ve been better!

He clearly favours LB over CN even though the Ladybug and Black Cat are supposed to be partners! Wouldn’t it make sense for them both to be in contact with the guardian from the start?? He randomly started introducing rules such as if LB and CN find out each other’s identities they would lose their miraculous… what kind of bullshit rule is that? It also came out of fucking nowhere!

Final Thoughts:

But to summarise all of that: Miraculous is on quite a steep decline but I’m invested at this point and I am genuinely curious as to where the fuck this will go.

Marinette needs professional fucking help before the writers even consider canonising Adrienette cause at the moment she is not what Adrien needs!

Adrien needs to stand up for himself! He needs to pull LB to the side and tell her what he feels and what he’s going through cause he is on the precipice of a breakdown!

(Small point that’s more to do with the fandom: when searching for fanfics it’s really annoying that Adrien Agreste/Chat Noir Bashing is a tag but Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Ladybug Bashing isn’t. Why does everyone think Marinette can do no wrong???)

#miraculous fandom #miraculous ladybug #miraculous salt #adrien agreste #marinette dupen chang #marinette salt #master fu salt #ladybug and chat noir #fandom salt #thomas astruc salt #adrien deserves better #miraculous season 4 #miraculous season 3 #miraculous rant

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bakingandbooks3 · 3 years

Text

A Court of Song and Serpents

A bit short but the begging of a project I'm SO excited for- hope you love this as much as I do.

Summary: What a time to be alive as Nesta Archeron, going backward to move forward and finding that the places she once called home are now empty tombs.

Nesta

Nesta held her breath for a moment, a pause, and stilled entirely. The Court of Nightmares. She knew the verdict would be severe, but never would she have expected exile to a world of terror. The horrors of that place, of how it was once the main residence of the High Lord- till Rhysand.

Rhysand, the man who boasted of lands bountiful with choice and reason, now sat across from her donning unmasked hatred. A look he kept shielded from his mate, reserved just for Nesta. The kind that rips one apart from the inside out, would carve out the belly of a beast, burn a witch on a wooden pyre.

Nesta felt nothing, she always did. It wasn’t hard to see what he was thinking of her, how his beautiful wife’s wretched sister was little more than a gambling thief who slept her way through his glorious city. Now, fingers smeared that blank canvas so pure of her darkest shades.

Eyes flicking back, she studied that same sister. The Cursebreaker, the Savior.

How small and insignificant she became next to the glimmering shining thing Feyre was. The lands spoke of her beauty and kind touch, and how she sacrificed everything to save a world of people, and Fae that she was raised to despise.

Nesta wished it’d be known that her touch wasn’t always kind.

She built her bricks firm enough that her house of grace never shattered; Held firm, it was all she had left in her. Too many eyes on her filled with grief, excitement, retribution-Nesta was keenly aware of how this Court of Dreams felt of her.

“This is an exile.”

Rhysand's smirk peaked so slightly, his mate tensing.

“No, no. This is an intervention, a chance for you to find yourself away from bad influences and habits. You can’t keep living like this, and I refuse to let it continue happening and I take the fall for it. Your decisions are impractical and immoral. You are sober much less than you are drunk and-”

“If you’re going to condemn me, do it. But don’t sit here and act as if this is out of kindness.” Nesta snarled. She hated the barbed words, but it’s what she felt. “Who are you to question my morality?”

“I think I can speak for my wife when I say that your presence here is….” Rhysand growled but pulled back, like he forgot Feyre was right there, too.

Nesta wished he would’ve let go, so maybe that facade Rhys reserved for Feyre was broken. No, that’s cruel. As much as she hated this and him, he was making her sister happy.

Something Nesta could never do.

“I do not give a shit what my presence is doing. The decision has already been made, so stop scolding me like a child and make good on your word, Rhysand.” Bile rose in her throat, the words feeling nothing but slimy and disgusting. Foreign, yet habitual all the same. Sometimes, she forgets there once was a woman called Nesta who was so much more than the viper living in her now.

Sometimes she remembers that she can’t ever be her again.

Home was nowhere for her, not in a person, not in a place, certainly not in this bombastic group of “heroes”. Nesta didn’t need a hero, she just needed someone to care. But Nesta knew better, no one would. She was taught to be unlovable, just a woman to be sold off and married- to climb her mothers' ever-growing social ladder.

But Nesta on her own was never enough, even with her mother six feet under and rotted away there were unsung expectations unmet. She was a catastrophic failure and a dark smear on a family name that never truly held weight to her.

Nesta looked up, felt everything all at once again, could only see one man pacing a worn-through tether between them. He wasn’t going to stop this, but she could see it, how it looked like he wanted to jump out of his own flesh, the veins of his arm prominent and knuckles normally so brown a new fresh fallen snow.

There was no prince to save Nesta, much less any will to save herself. So when Mor took the pleasure of bringing her to a living Hell, Nesta did not fight.

She was tired of fighting, after all, she fought an inescapable fate for the first twenty years of her life…

Flowers always made Nesta sneeze, but Elain lit like lights during winter whenever she could thread them through her hair. They all symbolized something, Laine would say. There are ones for good days, and hard storms, for sunshine and stars.

Nesta was always adorned in flowers that paralleled the estate. Astute, cold, tired, where she was warm, comforting, and smelled like cookies- ones that Celia normally baked for the sisters. She never asked Laine why she picked the ones for her that she did, her reasons would stay silent for now.

Spring was a high time of activity in the Archeron estate. There was always a flurry of activity, from preparing their mothers' obscene balls, to guests at every corner in every room. The halls were sprinkled in candles and on walls hung frames nearly kissing it was packed so tight.

They were in the gardens. It was an Elain day, as the girls would call it, and no matter how boring or mundane her wishes were they’d be fulfilled. Nesta was propped on the floor in front of Laine, who was bunching handfuls to weave in tangled auburn coils that gathered on Nesta’s head- as a bird's nest would.

Eventually, Nesta would have to learn braids or risk knotting the curls entirely.

The eldest basked in the silence she created from mentally muting her middle sister, and spared a glance at Feyre. What she saw was not surprising, but required far more willpower than she expected to not burst into laughter and risk the flowery rat's nest on her scalp.

Feyre appeared to be so bored out of her mind she was eating discarded flowers of Elains. Actually, ingesting them, as if she was a critique. When Elain wasn’t looking at Feyre, she’d grab another couple and study them- analyzing her next experiment. Glaring at the blues and yellows as if she was speaking to them, “Which one of you will make me puke the fastest so I can run away?”

In time, Feyre looked up from her taste tests to see Nesta grinning at her so violently you’d think Feyre hung the moon.

And Feyre beamed back, crossing a pinkie across her chest and pointing it back to Nesta. Then she viciously spit out the grass she’d just finished chewing, crying directly at Laine, “This MUST stop at once, my stomach hurts far too much to continue on here.”

Elain, in a garden so quiet, simply ignored her sister's poor attempts at escape. Making Nesta work even harder to stifle the shaking of her shoulders, covering her mouth and nose before she started wheezing. Elain would hardly hurt a fly but sent Nesta a glare that could’ve easily killed a man.

Nesta cleared her throat, “I do believe there are more of the blue flowers down that hill near the pond. Would you mind getting some more for Laine?”

Feyre was already on her feet, mouthing her thanks as Elain turned her back to get the next bunch of flowers, “Why of course I will!” And with a very bad curtsey, Feyre threw off her shoes and was rolling down the hill, spinning wildly, her laughter sure to be heard in meadows far beyond theirs.

You would find the Archeron sisters all together, or never in the same place.

Laine was the easiest to find, by the waters or pond on the east side, in gardens surrounded with bugs and willows calling to the young girl. She could hardly read but if the text included any mention of colors and blooms, suddenly she was a scholar. Elain was not simple or dull, but rather a passive spirit, like a summer wind- brief, fleeting, but teeming with love and hope.

Feyre, as their mother said, was a reckless wild child. Far too young to care, far too small to be whipped into shape. If you were sent to find her and your life depended on it, may the Mother bless you. Feyre liked the kitchen, because of the immaculate food and maids who would shove any sweet down the littlest Archerons throat. But, also for the immeasurable amount of sharp items to be found in there. If it was pointy and could stab a wall or scare their ice-cold mother, Feyre would be running the halls with it in hand or making targets of her fathers old trade route maps.

Then there was Nesta, the firstborn. Molded to be another woman that she somehow couldn’t fit, as if her feet were too big or hair too long, Nesta was outgrowing the standards forged into her being. You would see her as a ghost, floating in and out of rooms, comfortable in silence and slumber, but never escaping people. She loved the maids and could recite all of their names like clockwork, and the workers loved her in turn. Always stuck in new worlds between pages or willingly dragged by the two youngers, Nesta teemed with liberation. She was often alone, but never lonely, and found new loves in the library or in the fields beyond marble confines.

Adela was constantly dissatisfied with her eldest's progress inside these walls, as if at eight she should’ve already been engaged to a prince. Granted, Adela knew better. Nesta would never truly find another kingdom to buy into when she already had a crown waiting for her elsewhere. She was known as fair and beautiful beyond her years, would age like fine wine, and become so much greater than Adela ever was. What Nesta saw as fit would normally come to be, an instinct Adela was unprepared she would inherit. Nothing left her more confused than this daughter only by blood, who was hated by both her parents for reasons far from the same, and how at less than ten years had an entire mansion wrapped around her fingers.

But Adela would wait, and simply leave them be for now. When viper's strike, they kill. And even though the Matron of the house wanted her little queen gone, she had other ways to see this through.

Anyways, children's blood on her hands would stain her diamonds.

---

Cassian

Cassian was violently fucking ill. Watching whatever the fuck that was did not help in the slightest. The second she was gone, so was he.

The General and High Lord were not on speaking terms, his presence was an obligation and not a request. When Rhys first displayed his plans, Cassian just about murdered him. Had his brother on the table in a chokehold that the Shadowsinger had to come and release Rhys from. The way his so-called family planned her exile was… horrific.

Cassian was full of light and humor, but not dull the way his family made him out to be. He could see this for what it was, punishing an already broken female for not meeting every damn need of a fully grown woman that was no longer her responsibility. Cass knew better than to downplay the sacrifices Feyre made, but he was also well aware that Nesta's habits were hardly a financial problem and more of a reputation scandal.

That’s what the High Lord did best, when his Court was breaking at the bonds, the mess would “disappear”. Just like the Illyrians hidden in the mountains, the displaced families of Spring, the homeless warriors of Night.

Cassian loved his brother, but more often than not he wondered when Fate would come to bite them in the asses for Rhys’ neglect.

Now, here he was, in his mothers' cabin, wings dragging behind him wiping tears long since shed over a woman who was thrown to the wolves and torn into so many scraps he wasn’t sure how he could put her together again.

He missed his Nesta, the one who threw glares and begged for her people, not this one who hardly spoke and caved into herself enough that she couldn’t see where she was heading.

Cassian fingered for his mug in the wooden cabinets and hit his mark, soon placing water to heat over a small fire over the counter.

He was not okay, not okay at all.

When you look for something in the dark for too long, you eventually find what you need but not always in the way you expect. Cassian coped the same as Nesta Archeron in his first years post-war. It was suffocating trying to be the happy one while dying inside. He watched men he looked up to fall and a lover he admired take her last breath- too much in far too little time. Cassian was not an idiot, he was simply perplexed. Why was he allowed to grieve in unacceptable manners, but Nesta was a sinner in holy clothing?

Bright walls and unlit rooms in the house were silent, only the winds of the mountains singing outside. The newly dusted snow wrapped the dirt in a delicate kiss- a forbidden touch. It was the peak of winter, just after Feyre’s birthday and another insufferable party.

One that Nesta wasn’t invited to.

Cassian wished he wasn’t invited either.

The cup in his hands was dwarfed in comparison to the bulky Illyrian holding it, but at least it was warm. At least it wasn’t empty.

Because if there was one thing he knew, it could always be worse.

Cassian knew that if things were a little different, he’d be the one sitting in a prison of darkness and Hell because of mistakes made as a child. He’d be exiled by family, cast away by the only living remains of a life once lived.

Nesta didn’t know but long before this he had called it even, their sins atoned for in hurting each other equally.

She was the only one in the world who could tell which smiles he was faking.

To anyone on the outside, one kiss was merely that. How curious it was, the iceberg went far deeper.

So when the mug crashed against the wall, and in its wake resembled his inner turmoil, Cassian took to the skies and found himself at the door of a place far too familiar.

AHHHHHHHH OMG OKAY hope you guys enjoyed this:) if you want to be added to the tag list let me know!

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skiyoosmi · 4 years

Text

– caramel frappucino ch. 27

marga’s notes. AHHH hello my loveliest readers; i cannot believe we have finally reached this end (well, not really the last chap ‘cause we still have two epilogue-like chaps coming up but yeah)… i hope you enjoy this part!! PLUS LISTEN TO THE SONGS CAUSE AHHHHH THE. MOOD. FITS.

♪ CHAPTER THEME ♪

on the train ride home by the paper kites | quiet eyes by axel flóvent

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“Do I look okay?” you asked, head turning to your cousin who was casually lounging around your room. For the umpteenth time of the day, Tetsurou released an exasperated sigh, looking away from the game he was playing on his mobile phone and glaring at you while lying on your neatly-folded bed.

“That’s what you’ve been asking for the past hour and I keep telling you yes,” he grumbled as he adjusted his body so he now laid on his stomach, continuing to scroll through his phone and at the same time, muttering some stuff about how he hopes you miss the fireworks show. Seconds later, he let out a loud yelp as he felt something hit him right on the back of his head. He scowled in your direction upon noticing the missing pink hairbrush that was previously in your hand, now on the floor.

“You brought me into this situation so don’t curse on me now. This… is your ship sailing,” you gestured to your face that was fancily styled for the night out. You only rolled your eyes when he childishly stuck his tongue out as a reply, going back to fixing whatever still needs to be fixed.

A few more minutes of doing unnecessary things passed before a knock resonated through your apartment’s front door. Tetsurou immediately jumped up from his position on your bed, giggling when he passed by your form before skipping his way downstairs to open the door for your guest.

To say that your heart was beating loud is an understatement – hell, you could almost swear it’s about to burst out of your chest from its pounding. Stop sweating, doofus! You’ll ruin your makeup, you silently screamed at yourself, feeling the dampness slowly beginning to form around your forehead and neck out of extreme anxiety.

“Y/N! Get your butt downstairs. Your date’s already here,” the teasing and boisterous voice of your cousin echoed throughout the apartment, followed by another giggle after a few seconds, probably because Sakusa replied to his rather embarassing comment. Despite not seeing the two, you felt your face flush; it wasn’t like you’re denying that it was a date… it was just unusual to hear especially when your date was someone like Sakusa.

After gathering enough nerves to face them, you took a deep breath and looked at your vanity mirror for the last time, hands smoothing down your red floral yukata for any crease that formed. Soon, you found yourself bashfully standing in front of the two tall men as Sakusa’s eyes shamelessly scanned your figure. Although he himself was wearing a simple navy yukata, you couldn’t fathom what he was thinking seeing as his face was adorned with his usual mask that was, for some reason, black this time.

“You look nice,” he nodded at your direction while you smiled, returning the compliment you have surprisingly received from him; you knew that your face was red as hell right now based on how your cousin was biting his lips to keep himself from laughing.

“Now, go! Enjoy yourselves and remember to make the wish,” he winked, pushing you both out of the door with his hands on your lower backs. You both gave him a glare that he only ignored, waving goodbye as you went on your way.

“I hope he understood what I said about making the wish though.”

“I’m sorry, he really didn’t mean to,” you profusely bowed your head at the man almost twice your age who was glowering at your companion who, in return, remained unbothered. On the ends of the said man’s feet were his spilled strawberry and milk kakigōri which Sakusa, coming from the old man’s words, knocked over when he bumped into him while walking beside the food stalls.

“Young miss, instead of apologizing when it’s not your fault, you should teach your companion how to be respectful to his elders,” he shook his head from side to side in a mocking disappointment, as if to annoy Sakusa further.

“Are you implying that I am disrespectful?” Sakusa countered, hands clenching a little bit as he tried to calm himself down. He doesn’t need a nameless man almost ruining both of your nights right now. Still, his pride didn’t let him let this one go; he couldn’t give this man the satisfaction when he clearly knows to himself that he didn’t bump into him a while ago. If anything, it was the older man who purposely bump into the two of you – probably cause you kind of looked a little too beautiful tonight.

Sure, he won’t deny that he found you pretty right from the moment he met you, one of the main reasons he decided to keep on talking to you and befriending you instead of loathing you for spilling the caramel frappucino on him. For some reason however, the way you styled yourself tonight made you even more gorgeous in his eyes, if that was still possible.

“Just drop it, ‘Omi,” you harshly whispered, fingers grabbing a fold of his yukata and tugging on it to stop him from engaging into an unnecessary fight. In addition to that, you were pretty sure the fireworks show will go off any moment now; you had to find yourselves a decent place where you can watch the much-anticipated event or else you will seriously sulk into a corner until next year’s festival.

“Apologize,” the man ordered but to no avail, Sakusa still stood his ground; even going as far as grabbing your hands with his and pulling you into the opposite direction. From behind you, you could hear a noise of protest and a ‘you little s–‘ before it was cut off. He kept on pulling you despite your arguments about how he should’ve just lowered his pride and said he’s sorry.

“Why would I say sorry when I didn’t do anything? It’s clear as a day that he’s just trying to prolong the conversation so he could take more look of you.”

“W-what…” you stuttered, not really being able to understand what he was trying to say. As if he was able to read your mind, he let out a frustrated sigh after removing his black mask.

“He had this disgusting look that screams he wants to take you out despite him being older by so much. I’m saying it’s because you look too pretty tonight,” the last sentence he told you immediately caused your face to flush a deep red; you were just so thankful it was nighttime or else you wouldn’t be able to live off the embarrassment of being so flustered from a simple compliment.

A few seconds later, it dawned upon you that he brought you to a rather secluded place by the top of the small hill where you still had a good view of what was about to come. Observing the area, you began to think Sakusa also watches the yearly event, judging by how he knew that this kind of secret place existed. People usually crowded by the bridge since it has the widest space and the clearest view which also meant that on this hill, you two were alone together.

He then took out a large piece of clothing that he laid on the ground, sitting cross-legged and patting the space next to him as he gestured for you to sit as well. Following his request, you gently sat down and looked ahead the reflection of the moon by the river.

“Are you feeling alright these days?” you only hummed in reply, too entranced by the night’s beauty. Ten minutes from now, the fireworks will make it even more beautiful.

“I’ve never pestered you about your… situation with Iwaizumi-san, but I felt like I needed to ask how you are,” he explained upon catching your eyes that were filled with wonder and curiosity due to his sudden question. Your mouth formed a small ‘o’ before giving him a small smile.

“I’m really okay, don’t worry. I just feel guilty sometimes, you know? In my mind, there are just some thoughts that pass by… things like I wish I’ve known so I didn’t hurt him that long,” you let out a quiet sigh, folding your arms over your knee and placing your chin on it. The quiet cricket of the night bugs adding more solemnity in the air as you both talked.

“Do you wish to go back to that time? And maybe be in a relationship with him?” you immediately shook your head ‘no.’

“No, no… not that kind of regret. I wouldn’t have agreed to be in a relationship either way. I was too young and too dumb; I know it won’t work out between us. I mean… I just get that feeling that we won’t.”

“Then why do you feel sad?” you mulled over his question, trying to form the right words that will truly explain how you really felt with everything that has happened.

“It’s something like… I wish I’d known so I could’ve rejected him right away? Is that cruel? I mean, maybe if I did that, we wouldn’t have gone through such pain for such a long time, get rid of the false hopes we had for each other. Hell, I don’t even remember anymore what it feels like to be really happy without thinking of such thoughts,” you sadly chuckled before shrugging and leaning back as you saw the people from faraway beginning to take their phones out, signaling that the fireworks show was almost beginning.

You felt Sakusa scoot closer to you; something you didn’t expect since you knew he never liked getting close to another person. You were sure as hell by now that all throughout the night, he was acting really weird; something different compared to his usual demeanor – not that it freaked you out though. If anything, you liked his slight clinginess too much… but you didn’t need him being weirded out so you opted to not saying anything.

“Is that your wish?” he quietly asked, making you jump out of surprise for his sudden closeness. His nimble fingers were on your chin, turning your head so you could look at his eyes that screamed a thousand feelings.

“W-what?” you breathed out, internally cursing because you didn’t even know how many times you’ve stuttered tonight.

“I’ve read somewhere that if you make a wish and… give the person beside you a kiss, it will come true so I’m asking you, is that your wish? To be truly happy,” he whispered, eyes flickering from your eyes to your lips. If this was any other person, you were pretty sure you would’ve slapped the wits out of him due to his statement’s ridiculousness but for some reason, you couldn’t move away from him.

“I… I think so,” you meekly nodded, gulping as he seemed to have no plan on moving at all. You think you can hear the fireworks crackling as it began to light up the sky, booming over the night sky as it tried to get your attention

“I’ll try my best to make you happy then.”

… but the feeling of soft lips crashing into yours as soon as he said what he wanted to say was enough to leave you distracted. It wasn’t like anything you have imagined before; this – this was full of love, magic and adoration, something you have missed when you often wondered what it felt like to have a kiss. Heartbeats powering the sound of the explosions and sparks as he intertwined his fingers into yours, panting for breath when he released himself from you.

“Y-you.... kissed me... you hate germs... and I missed the fireworks,” you mumbled, feeling rather lightheaded from kissing him too long. He lightly chuckled, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear, leaning over to give you another peck.

“I think we can let those slide just this once.”

#haikyuu smau #haikyuu x reader #sakusa smau #sakusa x reader #haikyuuwritersnet #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu scenarios #haikyuu social media au #haikyuu headcanons #sakusa imagines #sakusa scenarios #sakusa social media au #sakusa headcanons #sakusa kiyoomi #haikyuu

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metroheterojerk · 3 years

Note

Ok but what if bugs really died in space jam 2?!?!

AU idea?!?

OMG MAYBE! It would be really angsty though. I’d feel even worse. As I’ve said before, getting the Tunes back together again was the one thing Bugs wanted the most, and like not even a few hours after he was able to do that he “died” in the presence of his best friends. There’s a lot of potential for this, actually.

This concept reminds me of a KDRAMA I’m watching where currently one of the main character’s mother died, and she was filled with regret because she hadn’t been checking up on her mom and purposely stayed out of contact with her because she had resentment towards her. Her mother also had nobody else to turn to. No friends or immediate family members. She ended up going mute from the shock and couldn’t even vocally apologize to her before she passed. (If you know the show I’m talking about then extra props to you.)

I bring this up because the Tunes willingly left Tune World which meant that Bugs was all alone. He had nobody to talk to, nobody to lean on, nothing. So, he took to imagining that his friends were actually there and was desperate to restore the normality his home once had when Lebron showed up. I think the Tunes would feel a great deal of regret if he really did die. Much like the character in the KDRAMA I was talking about, they’d feel guilty for even leaving in the first place, especially because they knew well that Bugs would be the only one back home. They might’ve felt like they were selfish to only think about what possibilities could be out there for them instead of thinking about what might happen to Bugs. He comes off as a joker, sure, but he still has feelings! I think the Tunes might stand back and realize they misjudged and took the biggest misstep of their lives, and now, their friend is dead. They got to spend some time with him, but it couldn’t make up for all those years or months they were apart. Bugs is what held them together, in a way. The glue to a Mother’s Day project that they worked so hard to build, only to watch it crumble. The glass palace they all built where all their hearts and friendship lived together shattered. So… what now?

I think it’s safe to say Daffy and Lola would take it the hardest. Lola being his… you know… , girlfriend, if you will, (at least to me), and Daffy being his best friend. No matter how much they might’ve bickered or pretended not to care at times, those two were the closest people to Bugs’s heart. Lola might feel regret for trying to disregard Bugs when they came to get her and Daffy might feel shame for acting childish towards him. Always wanting to be the best and trying to prove to others that he was worthy enough to cover up his own insecurities. Instead of trying to one up each other, maybe they should’ve just taken things slow. Who knows? Maybe he might end up carrying the worst burden of all…

Enough to make him go silent for some time.

EDITED!!!:

Lola and Daffy would probably depend on each other and find comfort in knowing they had similar bonds with Bugs. We’ll get their iconic duo, but for a less iconic reason.

“It’s Quiet Uptown” Intensifies

#looney tunes #looney toons #space jam #space jam a new legacy #space jam 2 #daffy duck #bugs bunny #lola bunny

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repo-net · 3 years

Text

This was originally just something I submitted for a friend after I lost a bet, but I decided I'd post this here too. This really isn't one of my best works since it's been a hot minute since I last played YTTD, but luckily the new chapter is coming out soon (it's already been released in the creator's pixiv fanbox for people to squash bugs in) and we just gotta wait for the public release and the translators do their work. Anyways.

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

The Mask I Put Up

“Welp, I’m off. You staying here, Alice?”

“I shall relax myself in this bath a little longer, it is an opportunity not often presented after all. You’re free to leave.”

“Not like I was plannin’ on staying anyways, wahaha. Enjoy the bath all to yourself.”

Alice Yabusame had a difficult life growing up; his mother forcing himself to be raised as a daughter because of some idea or trend that was going on, when he dictated that he was more at home with his masculinity. He was ready to be thrown out of the house when he confronted her that enough was enough, but in the end, his mother only gave him an uncaring and simple approval. To Alice, maybe that was enough. But he sometimes still thinks about that event to this day and what would’ve happened if he never retaliated.

Not to mention the time he really messed up and the event that caused his own family and fellow band members to remove him from their lives, his own mistake that still haunts him to this da-

“Hey, you seem pretty lost. Y’alright there?”

“Ah, yes, I am. I was simply lost in thought, please do not mind me.”

“If you say so.”

With a little bit of an awkward nod and thumbs-up, Keiji went back to getting himself dried and dressed. As the steam cleared and he watched as the only other person left with him; Keiji left the bathhouse, Alice was once again left alone to ponder on his own thoughts. Laying back onto the rock as he looked up at the ceiling, the former convict let out a sigh that was filled with nothing but exhaustion and worry. He needed to stop thinking about the past; nothing was going to change it, all he could do now was make sure he fixes everything up so that he can move forward in the present.

And maybe when this is all over, he and Reko can finally…

“Hey, bastard! What the hell are you still doing in here?”

“Gwah?! Rio Ranger, damn you! What the hell are you doing in the men’s bathroom?”

The frail doll let out a small noise which could only be described as a giggle, before taking off his hoodie and tossing it over to a nearby dry bench.

“I’ve got my own priorities here, buddy! You can’t be hogging all the bath time for yourself, ya selfish prick! Besides, you should know already; I belong in this men’s bathroom as much as you, shouldn’t you know a thing or two about stuff like this already?”

“You goddamn…!”

Alice got up and was about to throw hands with the ginger doll, before the floor master threw one of his expression masks his way, hitting the taller man right near the eye.

“Hey now, settle down. I just saved your life there, don’t think you can just get away with trying to hurt a floor master. Are you trying to leave poor, helpless little Reko here all alone? Some kind of sibling you are.”

“Gh…”

Ranger simply responded to Alice’s clear discomfort with a mocking chuckle, then getting rid of the rest of his attire before cannonballing into the bath, sending hot water all around the area, splashing Alice on the way as well.

“I give myself a 10/10 on that one! Thank you, thank you!” Ranger proudly said as he held a rather happy expression stick in front of his face, bowing to particularly no one.

“Are you… not a doll? How are you not malfunctioning or even getting harmed by the water? Actually, why are you even in here, you don’t even need washing!” Alice exclaimed as he pointed at the floor master.

“We literally kidnapped 20 of you here and not a single bastard on the outside noticed, you think they can’t make a perfectly waterproof doll like me? Idiot.” Ranger replied, putting his arms behind his neck as he laid against a rock, releasing a small noise that could probably be described as a sigh of relaxation.

“I suppose that’s true… but still, I feel disgusted to be in the same bath as scum like you. Again, you don’t even need a bath!”

“Yeah? And we didn’t need to give you one or have Safalin treat you guys either, but look how generous we’re being. Be thankful for the stuff you’ve been given. You guys are disposable as hell, we could always just throw you out whenever needed.”

That was a lie; Ranger knew that the participants were important as hell to the game and having it all flow naturally was part of the plan. After they were left with 12 participants, he and the other Floor Masters were tasked with getting at least 3 out every phase of the game, 1 for the Sub-Game and 2 or more for the Main Game, depending on the results. He knew that any deaths that would be caused outside of those sets were going to be his responsibility and his fault, and the last thing he wanted happening was to disappoint him.

“Right… great, now I don’t even want to be here anymore, I should’ve just followed the rest of the men when they left, now I’m stuck with this annoying, intolerable,-“

“Sexy, attractive, handsome-“

“I wasn’t done talking, stop trying to flatter yourself!”

“Ahahahahaha!” Ranger started cackling like a madman as soon as he saw Alice get pissed off at his antics again, that feeling of anger and negative emotion; it was something Ranger always felt glee at, the sadistic nature of him always enjoying that feeling of humans letting out all their frustrations.

“Gh…! Fine, you desire to toy with me like this, to make me feel worse simply by being around you? Then I won’t let you have this satisfaction anymore, you problematic mess!”

“Awww, leaving so soon? But we were just getting started! What a killjoy. No wonder your sister tried to not associate herself with you anymore.’’

Alice grit his teeth at the incredibly low comment that Ranger had made, resisting all the desire in him to just scream and bend the doll’s body like it was a twig. He got up from the bath in fury, which only seemed to make Ranger enjoy his time in the bathhouse even more. Truth be told, the floor master did have a reason for being there in the bathhouse with the convict, but it was a reason that he wouldn’t admit, even to himself. That inferiority complex that he doesn’t even know he has wouldn’t allow of it, of course.

Ranger simply giggled sadistically as he watched Alice storm off to grab his clothes, still hiding his face behind one of his masks. He was about to close his eyes (well, as much eyes a doll like him could have), until he noticed in the corner of his eye. Alice picked up something. It was black, long, and something Ranger knew well.

That was one of his expression sticks. Specifically, the one he made that was to look like Kazumi Mishima.

“You said I couldn’t harm you physically, but what happens if I make you pay in another way? Take this, this is for trying to make a mockery of Nao Egokoro’s dear professor!”

And before he could even get a word out, Ranger watched as the former convict grabbed the mask by it’s edges and snapped it in half, the two pieces that left behind it falling with little trouble.

“How’s that?! Don’t try to mess with me or my sister ever again, you cursed being!” Alice smugly smiled and proclaimed as he looked at Ranger’s expressionless face, before storming off and leaving the bathhouse with his clothes on, giving the dressup doll time to comprehend what had just happened.

He sat there in silence for a moment, before getting out of the hot steamy water that he couldn’t even feel as he walked over to where his expression stick had been left broken.

“…”

This was his way with dealing with being a doll. He knew he wasn’t as human as the other floor masters; so this was how he coped with and kept up with them, putting up masks that would make him feel more human because he was aware that he couldn’t do it himself.

This guy that was one of the people who could die in this game just broke and snapped it right in front of him, in an act of pettiness to try and get back at all the low and disrespectful comments he made.

It didn’t matter that Ranger could always just make one; the fact of the matter is and what’s important to him is that this guy actually just pulled that right in front of him with the intent to piss him off. And it didn’t matter how little it was, Ranger despised the idea of being one-upped by a human.

Picking up what remained of his broken expression stick, Ranger held them before looking at the door that Alice had left by.

“Cursed being…? You don’t know who you’re trying to pick a fight with, you bastard... I’ll make sure you learn your goddamn place, shithead, don’t you ever mess with me...! It doesn’t matter which one it is now, I’ll make sure that a Yabusame doesn’t get out of this game alive… whether it be on the inside, or the outside…!”

With that declaration and plan in his mind, Ranger threw away the broken mask before drying himself as he put on his attire once more, ready to execute out a little plan he has for the future.

The Yabusames were on the top of his list now.

#yttd #your turn to die #rio ranger #alice yabusame #kimi ga shine

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snarkwrites · 3 years

Text

14.12, all I want for Christmas is you, tim speedle

Title: all i want for christmas is you

Theme: songs/music.. i swear to god, this relates to it.

Fandom / Character(s):CSI Miami / Tim Speedle x OFC, ‘blondie’ is the nickname.

Warnings: Uhhh... Fluff to the max?

Word Count: uhh.. 1k-ish?, roughly.

NOTE: I think I tried 3 times to make this work. Then it finally did. This wasn’t even remotely close to the original idea I had for it? But like.. It’s cute and I’m happy, although I apologize if it feels rushed. This is meant to be a one shot type thing, but.. Doesn’t mean I didn’t catch the ‘must write more for CSI’ bug whilst writing it, so we shall see. This is my second story for bae @champbucks 12 Days Of Christmas challenge, fyi. I made the graphics thing so do NOT steal it / repost... Do ya’ll know how damn HARD it is to find good ‘beachy christmas’ blue themed christmas photos? because if you didn’t, take me at my word... Anyway. Enough rambling. Enjoy, hopefully?

TAGGING:

@chasingeverybreakingwave is the only person on my CSI Miami tag list at the moment. However.. if you’d like to be tagged in my CSI writings, add yourself to the doc linked below or shoot me a message / dm on my main on here. :)

[ about my writing | masterlist | multifandom tag doc ]

9:00 PM [ Blondie ] Hey, Tim?

9:15 PM [ Blondie ] How would you feel about spending Christmas with me? Well, me spending Christmas with you… because I’m kind of standing in Miami International…

I sent the texts and took a few seconds to stop and pull myself together. To locate some kind of map or information center for the airport while I collected myself because if I were being totally honest with myself, this was a spur of the moment decision brought on by a recent wave of nostalgia and longing. I hadn’t actually… Stopped to consider that Tim might be involved with someone or have plans already. Or any of the thousand other possibilities that chose just that exact moment to actually occur to me.

Taking a few shaky breaths, I tried to shove all these sudden doubts and worries out of my head. If I found out he was happy and with someone else, I’d simply shelve what I came all this way to actually tell him at last. I’d just catch up with my best friend and spend a few days away from the freezing cold of New York.

With an exit strategy in place, I felt better. A little more confident. I spotted a kiosk that had a map of the airport in it’s entirety and I wandered over, locating where I was and where I needed to go and as I did that, my stomach fluttered a little. I was nervous and excited, all in the same time. This was.. Huge for me.

And sadly, this was something I should’ve done before he left New York a few years ago, I just hadn’t been able to bring myself to do it then. I knew Tim too well. If he felt the same, he never would’ve gotten away. He’d have stayed. Kept working hours he didn’t like, in a field he didn’t care for. Or he’d have wound up shelving his own dream entirely and simply done as his father suggested and taken over the family business.

I couldn’t let it happen.

As I wandered down to baggage claim, I walked myself through my half-formed plan. And I glanced at my phone every few seconds. By the time I was standing in the back of a long line at baggage claim, tapping my foot and staring at the baggage carousel impatiently for my bags, I’d sort of started to convince myself that what I was about to do was a dumb idea. And that I shouldn’t have come all this way without making contact first.

And lastly, that Tim Speedle wasn’t going to text me back.

So when my cell phone went off in my hand, I jumped a little and nearly dropped it on the tile flooring. I half expected the text to be from my own mother, the driving force behind my spontaneous decision, but to my surprise, it wasn’t.

XXX

“Hey, Speed?”

Tim Speed looked up from the evidence he’d been looking over for the better part of two hours now. Eric nodded to the desk, where Tim’s phone sat, screen lit up. “You got a text, man.” Eric stepped into the room as he said it, grabbing the phone off the desk, intending to take it over to the part of the lab Tim was standing in.

His eyes caught on the name and he wiggled his brows at his best friend in teasing. “Who’s Blondie, Speed?’

Tim’s head snapped up and he hurried over, practically snatching the phone from Eric’s hand as he answered with a shrug, “A friend from home. I wonder why she’s textin now? We haven’t talked in a long time, it’s been years..” Tim trailed off, unlocking his phone, brown eyes darting over the texts as a soft smirk played at his mouth, tugging the corners upward.

Eric leaned against the wall, arms folded over his chest. “Friends don’t make you smile like a goofball. Start talkin, Speed.”

Tim shrugged and explained the whole thing, adding at the end, “That one time we were talking about missed chances and regrets.. That’s her.”

“The blonde from that picture on your fridge? Damn.” Eric let out a low whistle. “Still say I don’t see why you didn’t just come clean and tell her how you really felt before you left town.”

“I tried, Delko. Everybody’s not smooth like you.”

“Literally all you had to do, Speed, was open your damn mouth. It’s bullshit, you just copped out.” Eric shrugged and smirked at Tim as he said it, especially when he saw that his words had actually gotten a rise out of his best friend. He eyed the phone in Tim’s hand and nodded to it. “Well? You answerin?”

“Hell yeah, when you remove your nosy ass from my lab, Delko.”

“Damn grouch. Hey, Tim?. Don’t think. Just act. Do somethin about this, yeah? You should’ve a long time ago. You’re getting a chance here, man.. take it.” Eric advised before finally leaving the lab, chuckling to himself as he went.

Tim shut the door behind his friend and laughed, leaning himself against the closed door as he spent the next five and a half minutes trying to figure out exactly how the hell to respond.

His heart was racing. One, he’d never thought she’d come to Miami and he found himself wondering why she had now. Two, just seeing her name show up on his phone bought it all rushing back. With more urgency.

10:30 PM [ Speed ] You’re in Miami.. Right now?

10:35 PM [ Speed ] I’m on my way. I just came by the lab to look over some stuff. Stay at the airport, okay? I’ll pick you up. We’ll grab some food or something.

He debated heavily on sending a third text, telling her he missed her, among other things, but he put it off. After all, he didn’t even know if she was here alone… Or why she was here to begin with.

,, but she’s here man. That really should be all that matters. Especially when you were just thinking about her, not even two days ago.” he thought to himself as he slipped on the oversized leather jacket he’d discarded upon entering the lab earlier. After shutting off the lights and locking the door behind him, he hurried out to the parking garage to where he’d parked the Ducati hours before. And the entire time, he couldn’t stop the happy smirk that came.

Nothing mattered but getting to her. Seeing her again.

XXX

My cell phone went off again. By this point, I’d had enough time to wrap my head around Tim being on his way to pick me up. Seeing him again after all this time. I was just coming back up the escalator to the waiting area to find a seat. I stopped a few feet away from the escalator and dug around, finding my phone.

11:00 PM [ Speed ] I think I see you.

11:03 PM [ Speed ] Turn around.

I was just finishing the last text as All I Want For Christmas Is You began to play over the speakers throughout the airport terminal and I felt his hand on my shoulder, turning me around to face him.

And seeing him again after all this time, something in me just snapped. As opposed to a friendly hug hello, I was climbing into his arms, my legs wrapping around his waist. Those calloused hands settled on my lower back, squeezing as he chuckled. My fingers carded through his hair and the wrapping around the roses in his hands crinkled. The roses settled on the floor and when my body rubbed against his, a quiet groan escaped in the slim margin of space that remained between our mouths for the moment. “Missed you so damn much.” we both mumbled the words at the same time as his mouth connected with mine, his lips latching onto my lower lip, nipping at it. My tongue slipped past his lips and his fingertips dug into my lower back as he chuckled into the kiss.

The current Christmas song playing, the crowd as it rushed past, everything pretty much fell away as the kiss deepened and one of his hands left it’s resting place against my lower back to tangle in my hair. Neither one of us wanted the kiss to break. Honestly, I think I may have been in a little shock that I’d just… Reacted to seeing him like that, without a seconds thought or hesitation. But the kiss had to break so that we could catch our breaths and when it did, I climbed out of his arms, dragging the back of my hand over kiss swollen lips as Tim bent, retrieving the fallen bouquet of roses off of the tiled floor. “I,uhh..” he held them out and I gave a soft laugh, raising to tiptoe and clutching at the front of his leather jacket as I pressed my lips against his. “They’re beautiful… Any reason?” I questioned, only half in teasing because my breath caught in my throat as I wondered if he’d answer.

“Because I should’ve done.. Something.. About the way I feel a long time ago. Before I left, princess.”

My jaw dropped and he shifted his feet around, staring down at me nervously for a few seconds. “Funny you should mention it, Speed.. That’s kind of what bought me all the way here…” I gave him a soft and slightly teasing smile as I watched his jaw drop.

“Wait.. Just to be clear… you’re saying you feel the same way, yeah?” his voice was husky against my mouth as he leaned down, pulling me against him for another kiss as I mumbled quietly, “Mhm. All I wanted for Christmas was you. So here I am, Tim.”

He scooped me up and started to hurry towards the doors of the airport after grabbing my rolling suitcase and I laughed. “You in a hurry?”

“Yeah, see.. I kind of have this real hot date.” Tim teased as we stepped out into the cool Miami breeze...

#12daysofchristmas #12 days of christmas #tim speedle #tim speedle fanfiction #tim speedle fanfic #tim speedle imagine #tim speedle imagines #tim speedle one shot #my writing; tim speedle #my fics; tim speedle #my one shots; tim speedle #// this is so cornball cheesy but I am here for it and lowkey proud I made it work out the way it did

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adamwatchesmovies · 4 years

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The Best of 2019

What a year. By the time 2019 ended, I had seen over 130 new movies. It's actually probably closer to 150 but I lost count. There are a few titles I missed, such as The Dead Don’t Die, The Fanatic and Honeyland so obviously, this is not an all-encompassing, definitive list of 2019’s best, but it should give you a good idea of which films you need to check out if you haven’t already.

I usually like to save the #10 spot on my list for a movie that’s just for me. Normally, this would mean a giant monster movie, an off-beat creation nobody else saw, a comic book movie that spoke to my particular tastes or maybe a Canadian movie I know didn’t get the opportunity to shine like it should’ve. This year, that’s not happening. Trimming my list down to 10 was hard enough. I certainly wasn’t going to sacrifice one more to make it just 9. Let's dig in.

10. The Farewell

It’s been weeks since The Farewell and I’m still thinking about it. If I was put in the same position as Billi, I'm not sure what I'd do? Is it better to tell someone that's dying that their days are numbered, or should you spare them from that burden? Is it really them you’d be sparing, or is keeping the secret for your own selfish needs? Writer/director Lulu Wang asks serious questions about culture I had never contemplated before. There’s a lot for you here and even more if your family comes from mixed backgrounds.

9. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

I heard some complaints about Fred Rogers (Tom Hanks) not being the main character of this film by Marielle Heller, from writers Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster. It was the right choice. The plot has a cyical reporter meet Rogers and through their relatively brief interaction, learn what we knew going in. It delivers a moving character arc without having to stain its subject with flaws we didn't want to see. The quasi-meta presentation is what elevates it into top-10 status. That extra touch means it does a lot more than simply re-iterate what we saw in the 2018 documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor?.

8. Knives Out

Knives Out is one of the most entertaining films all year. There are no profound moments of meditation, no earth-shattering realizations about yourself, just a mystery to be solved. All the suspects are so intriguing they could be the stars of their own movies. Put together in the same house as a dead body and you’ve got no idea who did it. Its screenplay is excellent. The twists are juicy. Everything ads up in a satisfying manner. Rian Johnson is already working on a sequel. I can’t wait.

7. Apollo 11

There are few holdovers from the list I made halfway through the year, which either says something about the strength of the second half of 2019, or the weakness of the first. Either way, you’ve got to see Apollo 11. It’s the closest thing to going back in time and being there when man landed on the moon. The tension and anticipation are overwhelming. Knowing what happened doesn't matter. The way the footage is assembled is nothing short of incredible. Why this documentary wasn't present at the Academy Awards is beyond me.

6. Uncut Gems

Adam Sandler should’ve been nominated for an Oscar. He wasn’t. I’ll bet you dollars to donuts it's because of his association with all of those brain-dead Happy Madison Production comedies. His history with cinema shouldn't matter. The movie is what matters. The fact is, this was the perfect role for him. It isn’t even that Sandler’s doing something different, it’s that he’s being used to his full potential. If you weren’t glued to the screen, eager to see what’s coming next, this movie would have you jumping out of the window screaming - anything to escape the anxiety the Safdie Brothers serve up with devilish grins.

5. The Lighthouse

Next on my list is The Lighthouse. Right away, the aspect ratio and black-and-white cinematography lets you know you’re in for something different. You have no idea. What I love so much about this film is the way it handles madness. At the end of the day, I’m not sure if I could tell you if Robert Pattinson’s character was crazy, if Willem Dafoe’s character was the nutty one, or if they both were. It shows you just enough to make you doubt your own sanity. It’s also unexpectedly funny, which makes it feel oddly genuine. In one scene, Robert Pattinson's Ephraim Winslow gets a hold of the lighthouse's logs. In it, his boss, Thomas (Willem Dafoe) recommends Ephraim be disciplined for masturbating excessively. Considering Thomas has been cavorting with some kind of tentacle creature up in the lighthouse (at least that's what I think I saw, I'm not so sure anymore), all you can do is laugh. What kind of loony bin is this turning into? One I'm looking forward to revisiting.

4. 1917

Shot in a way that makes it all look like one take, 1917 is a technical marvel. It hooks itself up to your circular system and steadily replaces your blood with pure, undistilled stress. As you're about to flatline, it stops and gives you a breather. A shot of a meadow untouched by the ravages of war; a reminder of what the soldiers are fighting for and of how utterly devastating armed combat is on humanity as a whole. Gorgeous cinematography, powerful emotions, magnificent production values.

3. Joker

Along with Godzilla: King of the Monsters (a movie they basically made for me), this was my most anticipated movie of the year. To get ready, I watched Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy, two Scorsese films Joker director Todd Phillips drew a lot of inspiration from. For some reason, it seems as though many critics took offense to the similarities. Sometimes I understand differing opinions from mine. This time, I don’t. It’s a great film that warns of the dangers of letting people like Arthur Fleck (brilliantly performed by Joaquin Phoenix) fall through the cracks. Left unchecked, he discovers that by doing terrible things, he becomes a “better” version of himself. It’s not a drama. It’s a horror movie that spins the familiar Batman archenemy in a new direction but also stays true to the character. There are several scenes in this movie that are going to be permanently imprinted in my brain. Those stairs. Need I say more?

Runner-ups

Avengers: Endgame

Even if every single Marvel movie going forward is awful, this caps off the whopping 22-chapter saga epically. A couple of aspects bugged me enough that it could only manage to make the runner-up list but it's a terrific film.

Booksmart

The funniest comedy of the year. I think back to Amy and Molly using their hairs as masks and still can't manage to hold back a few chuckles months later.

Toy Story 4

This one was hard to cut. The only flaw I could find was that it isn’t on the same level as 3… even though they’re both 5-star movies.

Midsommar

I’ve heard the extended cut is even better than the original. I wish I’d had the chance to see it in theatres.

Jojo Rabbit

Audacious and heartfelt. I loved those scenes of Scarlett Johanson being a mom. Her agent might've dropped the ball getting her cast in Ghost in the Shell but she sure knew how to pick great work in 2019.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Quentin Tarantino brings us back to a time when Roman Polanski was simply a good director instead of a convicted rapist, movie stars were untouchable, and the death of someone’s wife under mysterious circumstances was nothing to raise eyebrows about. It’s not a movie that screams “here and now”. If anything, it’s regressive. That said, I cannot deny the experience I had watching it. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime kinda thing and I doubt even Tarantino could pull it off again. I wonder how many people went in knowing what happened to Sharon Tate like I did.

Marriage story

It’s nothing but raw emotion and powerhouse performances in this drama about two people you love going through a divorce. I always make it my goal to watch movies all the way through without any interruptions. Several times throughout, I was tempted to hit "Pause" so I could catch my breath.

Internet lists are everywhere. You know why, don’t you? They suck you in and when you get down to it, most don’t require all that much effort to put together. Except when I make them, apparently. These bi-annual lists always turn out to be difficult to put together. 2019's proved particularly arduous. I’m fairly sure that my #3 movie belongs there. Out of all the movies on this list, it’s probably the one I’m going to go back to most often. The other two? I’d say that technically, one may be better than the other but I think the other one is “more important” so that gives it the edge. What I’m trying to say is, they’re all winners and on a different day, I might even swap them around.

2. Little Women

I have only seen three of the seven silver screen adaptations of Louisa May Alcott’s novel and I don’t expect any of the others to top this one. The secret ingredient to this one's success is Greta Gerwig. Writing and directing, she does so much more than merely translate the classic to movie form. She re-arranges the story to give the events a greater punch than they would if they were shown chronologically and puts a little more emphasis on a couple of key moments (that tear-jerking Christmas, for example) to crank up the emotion. She also makes it more modern without having to change anything about the setting or characters. Admittedly, the back-and-forth between the past and present is a little jarring at first - makes you wonder what Greta Gerwig could’ve done had she been given the de-aging budget Martin Scorsese was given - but that’s where the performances and costumes come in. It takes mere moments before you get what the movie is doing. I’ve said it already but it made me cry.

1. Parasite

To make this list, I didn’t go through all of my past reviews and check which ones were rated what. I thought back to which movies gave me the most vivid memories, which ones gave me the biggest reactions. I’m still not sure how I feel about the final final moment but there’s so much about Parasite that I admire. This would be a great one to watch with others just to see their reactions to the reveal about the bookcase.

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vikingsarememes · 4 years

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His True Wife

previous part ↭ part nine ↭ next part

Main Characters: Ivar the boneless, Reader, Bjorn Ironside.

Characters Mentioned: Thora, Hvitserk Ragnarsson, Brenda the Goat, Original Characters

Summary: Ivar’s fate was decided by his brothers, you are still trying to forgive your husband and try to understand him while doubting if you made the right choice.

Word Count: 1478

A/N: none

warnings: none

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

A week had passed since he returned, you started to remember how life with him was like, how he liked certain things, like the warmth for his legs and the mead by the fireplace, how to look after him when his pain was too much for him to handle, the little things you forced yourself to forget.

He’d learned few tricks to please you at night, he even fixed his fractured cock on his journey, and he made it his task to prove it to you, that’s he’s just like any other man, in his head, he had this image of you and him raising your children in the farm, you didn’t mind though, no, you actually enjoyed it more than you should, considering how everything was going well.

On the evening Bjorn visited without his brothers, his men with him of course but they respected the rules, no bloodshed on your holy ground, they left the weapons at the gate “Y/N, Ivar” he greeted once he entered the hut, you were on Ivar’s lap, the two of you were laughing about something, but that stopped the minute he entered, you were about to sit properly when Ivar stopped you, keeping you closer to him “please, make yourself at home” Ivar greeted, Bjorn took a seat on the empty chair across from yours “we came to a decision, Ivar can live” your husband grinned and kissed you happily “as long as he doesn’t leave the farm’s ground” he added and Ivar’s smile fell “you want me to stay a prisoner?” He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion “we forgave you because we are related by blood Ivar but the people didn’t forget what you did!” Bjorn explained.

“That’s fair” Ivar surprisingly replied, that made you sure he was up to something, you knew Ivar too well to know he wouldn’t just agree without arguing “how’s Hvitserk?” You asked, only earning a glare from Ivar “he’s well, he sent you his greetings, he told me to tell you that he’s moved on and he wishes for one last favor from you” you nodded “of course! Anything!” , “he wishes you to free the slave you sent with him, He said he wants to be joined with her in marriage and asks for your blessings” you felt a stab to your heart, one week ago he told you he wanted you, he kissed you, he begged you to choose him! And now he wants to be married to someone else? That’s just your luck with those Ragnarssons! They’re a heartbreak, they are pain, yet you never seem to stop yourself from getting involved with them. You nodded and faked a smile “of course, tell him he has my blessings”

“Now if you excuse me, I must go if I want to return before the morning, I promised someone that I’d make time for them” he stood up and so did you, Ivar was about to take his crutch but Bjorn motioned him to stay “Y/N can walk me outside herself” you nodded, and the two of you left the cripple by himself.

“Do you regret your decision?” Bjorn asked you as you escorted him, you shrugged “it’s too early for that, he’s been only here for a week” you responded “I regret mine all the time, I should’ve never let Hvitserk convince me to keep him alive, he said it was to return the favors” he explained “is he really getting married?” Bjorn shrugged “sadly... I don’t understand what’s going on in my brother’s head, but I know he longs for you, and I know he wants you protected, he’d visit himself but he saw the way Ivar glared at him, he wouldn’t let you rest, I wished if you chose him instead, you’re a sweet woman and he’s a good man, great even” you smiled when you saw the goats playing in the field, they sent you back to the days when Hvitserk played with them “wait!” You shouted for Bjorn who was now outside of your property.

You went to the little goats and picked up Brenda, then returned to Bjorn, giving her to him, he raised an eyebrow at him “give her to Hvitserk, tell him part of me will always be his and whenever he needs me I’ll be there one way or another, he’ll know what to do with her” Bjorn hugged you and kissed your cheek goodbye then you watched him go away.

A lifetime with Ivar awaits for you and you walked back to your hut very slowly to make sure your freedom last as long as it could, you wondered if you made the right decision with every step that you made, by the time you finally went inside, you realized, if it was any other time, you would’ve chosen Ivar with no hesitation but now, you weren’t so sure and that only meant something, Ivar didn’t have a grip on you anymore.

“Tell me, wife, why are you so concerned about Hvitserk from all of my brothers? Did something happen when I was gone?” his voice, so calm, it frightened you, the way he looked at you was different “a lot happened when you were gone Ivar, believe it or not, life didn’t end, but none of what you think, Hvitserk was ill and I took him in, we looked after each other, we healed each other” you murmured and took a seat, in front of him, he didn’t appreciate the distance “now we get to make your dream come to reality, I’ll spend a lifetime here with you in the farm don’t you like it?” you shook your head no “I know you wouldn’t like it, you never did, you always wanted more”

“And I’m a changed man now, I told you Y/N, you have to trust me” he leaned closer, “well, you broke my trust before, you must earn it back” you stated, he nodded “we have all the time in the world for me to make it up to you wife” you faked a little smile “why did you kill her? Thora?” you couldn’t help but ask, it kept bugging you ever since you’ve learned about it “Y/N! That’s in the past and I don’t wish to speak of it!” he roared.

“The past is the only reason why I’m agreeing to this foolery Ivar! The man I once used to know is the only reason why I’m tolerating this ridiculousness! The husband I once loved is the only reason why I’m convincing myself of your lies, and if you wish for us to continue then I beg you to answer my questions! Ivar I’ve seen what you’re capable of every time I looked at the broken pieces you left, Hvitserk, the people! I’m choosing to ignore them and the least you can do is answer my damned questions!”

“You forgot how to love me, is this what you are trying to say?” he was surprised of your reaction, you were never this angry at him, or were you angry at yourself? It didn’t matter anymore “we have a lifetime together to figure it out now no?” you huffed and leaned back into your chair “fine” he whispered and did the same “she and her family were conspiring to overthrow me as a king, in case you don’t know what that means… they wanted me dead, and I only did what I had to do to survive”, “you took the people’s free will!” you opposed “No! I wanted them to fear me! The minute they realized I can’t run after them with an ax is the minute they decided I’m not a man enough to be a king! They didn’t give me a chance to do good! They hated me the minute they laid their eyes on me because I was cripple, a weak, and I only did what was needed to be done to survive, to ensure a life for my child and you”

“The child you killed” you corrected, he laughed “well, it turned out it wasn’t mine, she lied to me, you’ve always told me she was no good, but I never listened, Y/N, please, it’s time to move on past this, if I’m sentenced to live here, we can either hate each other or love each other, and I swear to you, hating each other is a lot of work and you don’t want to experience it, not with you, you are the only person who ever loved me besides Aslaug! Please Y/N, just let the past stay where it belongs!”

“then give me time Ivar, give me time to forget” you whispered, he nodded “we have enough time for this, I love you, no matter what happens, please remember that, and I wish to spend my life with you”

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Tags: (let me know if you want to be tagged for this story) @youbloodymadgenius @lol-haha-joke @i-am-a-teenage-dirtbaggg @gearhead66 @joebob15274 @supernaturalvikingwhore @xbiekesx @yg0angelittaa

Images source: stolen from google images.

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being-worthy · 4 years

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The Last of Us Part II – Adding my two cents to the game

Just so we’re clear, let’s establish a few things first:

MAJOR TLOU II SPOILERS AHEAD!!

I also spoiled myself ahead because I needed to know what would happen to Joel and Ellie… and the ending as well.

I’ve played the first one. I liked how it ended and totally support the ending!

I haven’t played the 2nd part but I’m watching the playthrough on YouTube in small doses. My heart can’t take much of it at once lol (and being poor and paying of debt for a loved one is no fun because I don’t have much money to spend on myself).

Right now, I’m at the part where Joel goes with Ellie to the museum for her birthday – it’s so cute and fatherly and my heart can’t take how bittersweet this is …

The 2nd part was rushed and has some bugs that could’ve been avoided, whether you like it or not. That’s a fact and we’re here for the facts not the truth (if you want the truth join a philosophy course).

The parts with Abby are too long, more than what they should’ve been and her vengeance is 💩.

English is not being my first language but I do my best (that’s all I can do).

I’m listening to Bryan Adams and Richard Max while writing this because I’m still not over Joel…

You may voice your opinion but remember this is my space! Be respectful at all times and absolute no hate here!

The first part ended with Joel bringing an unconscious Ellie to the hospital where the last Fireflies are, she almost drowned and he had to perform CPR on her. He’s rendered unconscious too and wakes up on a hospital bed with Marlene and Ethan (the guy who hit Joel in the head with the butt of his rifle) in the room.

That’s when he starts asking where Ellie is and Marlene informs him that she’s not his problem anymore and being prepped for surgery. Here, we need to note the following things: Marlene had sworn to Ellie’s mother to protect and to keep her from harm’s way but TAKES the decision to practically sentence her to death and yeah, she gives a speech that it’s not easy for her either yada yada yada but it’s all bs. The reason why is because:

a) making a decision refers more to the process and is something that takes time, while taking a decision is the act of deciding something that happens in an instant. Ultimately, Marlene decides for HER!! What about ‘my body, my decision’? Or in this case ‘her body, her decision’? It doesn’t matter if it’s related to an abortion or having your skull opened, the same principle should be applied!

She even says to Joel ‘because this isn’t about me. Or even her. There is no other choice here’. – Firstly, there’s always another choice! Secondly, Joel replies to her saying ‘yeah, you keep telling yourself that bullshit’ and he’s right, it’s total and utter bullshit. Even later on, when he’s carrying Ellie into the parking lot (I believe it was a parking lot), he tells her ‘that ain’t for you to decide’. Again, he’s right. It isn’t Marlene’s decision nor his but Ellie is still unconscious, so what do you want to do? Let them butcher her open? He crossed with her through half the country and ended up caring profoundly for her – she became like a daughter to him. He doesn’t have an on and off switch to turn off his feelings towards Ellie. Moreover, do tell me, if you’d like a doctor or someone else TAKE such a decision for you, instead of waiting for you to wake up and then tell you about the procedure and what this will entail. I get freaking furious whenever someone takes a decision for me or without asking me first.

b) Neither she nor the doctor wait for Ellie to regain consciousness and since she’s unconscious, they see it as the perfect importunity to just go ahead and rummage in her brain to see if there’s something that could help them developing a vaccine or a cure.

c) That’s another thing. They had zero guarantees, not even a 0.1 percentage of probability that they’d find something – nothing, nada, zilch. Just a hunch and maybe in an apocalyptic world for some people this might be enough but then why not wait until she wakes up and tell her ‘we don’t know for sure if your immunity will help us finding a cure or a vaccine. So that’s why we need to open your skull and see what makes you immune which ultimately, will kill you’ (in some nicer words though lol). Because they know she might not fully agree with it and they give a sh*t about what she thinks/wants and have that narrow military/cult mindset of ‘a sacrifice for the greater good’ and/or wouldn’t care either way because she’s a kid. I’m no fan of sacrificing one or a dozen people to save billions. If we can’t save them all or at least try our damn hardest, then we’re doing something terribly wrong! Also, she’s a freaking kid!! She hasn’t seen much and has her whole life ahead, doesn’t matter if it’s in the apocalypse. The thought that they’re willing to sacrifice her, a kid, without batting an eye shows me that all Fireflies are terrorists.

d) Now to the doctor (the one with the scalpel) – according to the internet this guy was Abby’s father and his murder was why she tortured and slaughtered Joel. First things first, every doctor has to take on a Hippocratic oath. There are many different variations but they all come from an old one that states the following:

… I will apply dietetic measures for the benefit of the sick according to my ability and judgment; I will keep them from harm and injustice.

I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody if asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect. Similarly, I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy. In purity and holiness, I will guard my life and my art.

I will not use the knife, not even on sufferers from stone, but will withdraw in favour of such men as are engaged in this work.

Whatever houses I may visit, I will come for the benefit of the sick, remaining free of all intentional injustice, of all mischief and in particular of sexual relations with both female and male persons, be they free or slaves.

… If I fulfil this oath and do not violate it, may it be granted to me to enjoy life and art, being honoured with fame among all men for all time to come; if I transgress it and swear falsely, may the opposite of all this be my lot.

The doctor doesn’t keep her from harm or injustice, he isn’t even there for her well-being, only to see how her brain ticks. So, that immense violation of his oath doesn’t make him a doctor anymore but a BUTCHER and don’t come to me with ‘but it’s the apocalypse or it’s for the greater good blah blah blah’, then how better are we compared to rapists and people who murder out of fun? If we throw our principles out of the window just because it’s the apocalypse and/or it’s for the greater good, then with all due respect we all should just go ahead and jump from a building and burn in hell.

e) I got to the part where Joel and Ellie went to the museum for her birthday and at the end there’s a graffiti that says ‘liars’ with the fireflies’ symbol above. Even at the end, their own members saw that they Fireflies were only a bunch full of hot air and nothing else. They ended up being terrorists and forgot what they once stood and fought for.

So, taking all this into consideration - who wouldn’t have saved her? And yes, Joel saves her out of selfishness, so what? True, that he didn’t tell her the truth either, but can you resent him for this? He’d have to tell her that Marlene betrayed her, betrayed her trust and her mother’s trust in her and was willing to let her die and let her body being violated (rape is not the only way to violate someone’s body – FYI). This would have impacted Ellie’s state of mind too. She’d have ended up resenting Marlene and the Fireflies or worse. She had gone through so much already and didn’t need more on her plate. So, he spared her that betrayal and resentment.

Now let’s talk a bit more about Joel. Joel is no saint or hero but no villain either. He’s just a man who was willing to doom the whole already-damned world to protect the girl he adopted. He does what he needs in order to survive but within some reason and hasn’t lost his humanity (it’s just deeply hidden in him), he’s a person trying to survive. He tortures people - yes, but only to get information and makes sure to end them quickly afterwards. I agree that one of the main things you’ve to do during such times, is to adapt or you’ll die or worse. In the 1st part he’s rough, tough, strong, stubborn, resilient, experienced in the world he lives in and wary of strangers (just remember that scene on the highway with the stranger pretending to be hurt and Joel knew from the moment he saw him that it was a trap), someone you don’t want to mess with, etc. On the other hand, there’s this other side of him where he teaches Ellie to swim, tries to joke with her, to play the guitar, takes her to beautiful places, he takes her to a museum with dinosaurs and stuff from space, that proves he’s capable for carrying deeply for someone, in this case Ellie, and don’t get me started on the gift he gives her when they’re in the space capsule (!!), and so on. Ellie and Joel have this great dynamic. Then in the 2nd part, they made him to be so trustworthy toward a young unknown girl, tells her even their REAL names, like he literally says ‘my name’s Joel and that’s my brother Tommy. We live further down’. Dude, why don’t you just go walking around with a banner around your neck stating who you are to the whole freaking world. At some point he even said the name of their home (Jackson)!’ - WHAT THE HOLY F*CK?! He even offered her to go with them and take her to their home and give her supplies. Then, even BLINDLY and WITHOUT ANY WARINESS follows her to a place with an unknown sized group, where he and Tommy don’t know anyone - HOLY FREAKING HELL?! It’s not like it could be a trap, I mean it’s completely normal that there are many survivors camping up in the mountains in the middle of a snow blizzard, it’s the perfect season for doing that ¬¬. We’re living in times were everyone is kind to each other… I just don’t get it. This behaviour change is too radical and old habits die hard, especially ones acquired and used for decades!! That’s a big flaw from Naughty Dog regarding Joel. They portrayed him as someone stupid (sorry Joel but it’s true), sloppy, too soft, etc. He’s older and fatherlier with Ellie all fine and good, but he’d still be very cautious toward outsiders, particularly when they outnumber him!! It’s true that at some point we’ll have to be more trustworthy toward others in order to try and reestablish society or something close to it but you’d still be wary and wouldn’t take them right to your home first thing!! I had also into consideration that they were being chased by a horde of runners and clickers and their options where limited but still!

In some games the death of an important and primary character is sometimes essential. TLOU II is one of them because this was necessary for Ellie to grown and learn more about herself, the world she lives in, among others but Joel deserved way better than what he got! I feel for Tommy too, he didn’t deserve to split up with Maria or lose an eye but I believe the reason as to why he became obsessed with avenging Joel was because he already thinks he failed him in the past already, either when Sarah died, or when he joined the Fireflies and Joel wasn’t happy about it, or when they blindly trusted Abby and her friends.

Before I start with Abby, we need to establish something else first: revenge is about retaliation; justice is about restoring balance. The motive of revenge has mostly to do with expressing rage, hatred, or spite. It’s a protest or payback, and its foremost intent is to harm. And because it’s so impassioned, it’s typically disproportionate to the original injury—meaning that it usually can’t be viewed as just. The punishment may fit the crime, but it’s often an exaggerated response to another’s perceived offense. Nevertheless, I do believe that justice comes from vengeance but that type of justice only breeds more vengeance, and this is what Abby essentially does, avenge her father (even though I believe he lost his way and became unscrupulous) and ends up being capable to live with herself with little to no trouble after what she did to Joel, after repeatedly hitting him over and over and over again with a golf club, and forcing Ellie to watch the last bit. Abby and a bunch of others, who were also aware of her secretive plans, travel thousands of miles just to find Joel and brutalise him and massacre him. That scene was really brutal. But at some point both Abby and Ellie have to realise that vengeance is not the answer and if everyone keeps coming back seeking vengeance, then they’ll move around in a vicious circle until someone decides to forgive because killing like this not only hurts themselves, but also those they love and love them.

I don’t see the WLF as a whole as someone who deserves sympathy. They’re quite similar to the Fireflies who maybe at some point had noble goals (or almost) but ended up strayed from their path. They loot and kill everyone they see, no questions asked (much like the police these days in our world), even if they’re just passing by and aren’t affiliated to any group and just want to survive.

The ending of TLOU II couldn’t have been better. Ellie was happy with Dina and the baby but deep down she knew she didn’t close the chapter with Joel’s murder. Abby, and knew that at some point, she’d have to revisit that part to close it entirely. Her leaving with Tommy was the right decision, even if Dina wouldn’t/couldn’t fully understand why and I feel sad for Maria too but I strongly believe that she’ll return - whether or not Dina will wait for her is another story.

This is all I’ve to add. I’ve been sitting her for about 5+ hours writing this because I wanted to put my perspective of this masterpiece out there and show people that the game is still great.

Let me know your thoughts!!

#the last of us #the last of us 2 #tlou #tlou2 #tlou2 spoilers #tlou joel #tlou ellie #the last of us 2 spoilers #joel miller #ellie williams #tlou abby

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nova-shadowtail · 4 years

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The World Burns And Someone Gets Hurt (A Mystic Messenger Fic)

I know this isn’t marvel and that’s what i mainly do on this account but i got inspiration from 2 songs and had to write this. Stuff might be off because I only know what I’ve read online cause I haven’t done every route and stuff might be ooc but oH WELL

These are the songs I was inspired by:

https://youtu.be/3rU2Xf1LK-g

https://youtu.be/7hBy11aK-qw

I used the song lyrics for the dialogue I’m sorry (I also changed some lyrics to better fit this)

I also feel the need to put a trigger warning because this is DARK AF AND THERE’S A LOT OF DEATH I’M SORRY

Rika leaned on the desk as she glared at herself in the mirror. She hated MC. Hated how she took over her position. Hated how she stole V from her. Hated how everyone suddenly loved MC and no one ever paid any attention to her anymore.

“My name is Rika Kim,” She spoke to herself, “And I am a massive deal.”

She looked across her desk at all the destroyed pictures of MC. Some had been ripped so much you couldn’t tell what the picture originally looked like. Some were just ripped in half. Some of them she had written all over with a marker.

She picked up one of the only photos that weren’t ruined and held it up. I was a picture of you and everyone in the RFA, excluding Rika, at a restaurant smiling and laughing. You were holding the camera but you weren’t looking at it. Instead you were looking towards V, who was spreading frosting on Jumin’s face. You had pure love in your eyes and Rika hated it.

“I will grind you to sand beneath my Louboutin heel,” She said, taking her other hand and ripping the photo in half.

Rika turned around and looked at the walls. All were covered in more ruined pictures of you. Words were written everywhere. “Husband stealer” “Liar” “Demon” “Ugly bitch” “Slut” “Stupid” and many more.

“This is what I get for helping,” Rika glared at the picture she just tore up and dropped it, watching it fall onto the floor, “Helping someone worthless fit in”

She walked across the apartment. More pictures were pasted all over the walls, “MC, enjoy your temporary win.”

She picked up her phone and opened the RFA app, no one knew she still had it, or that she could get in. She had found a way to hack it so she could watch the chatrooms without it saying she was in them. So she watched as you, V, and Jaehee chatted. Rika swore and closed the app.

She had to ruin you. Force you out of the RFA. Make them all hate you. She had to torture you. But how? She glanced back at the app and got an idea.

“My name is Rika Kim,” She said, opening an editing app and getting to work.

She took a screenshot of a conversation and edited it to make it look like you were talking shit about everyone else.

“Saeran is an evil bitch,” She said, writing “I’m so terrified of him. He always has a murderous look in his eye and I’m just waiting for the day he’s going to snap and kill one of us.” on one of your text bubbles.

She smiled as she kept editing, “Hey MC, how do you like me now?”

After a few hours of perfecting everything, she quickly saved them to her phone and opened messages. She decided against sending the screenshots in the app because no one knew she still had it. So instead she sent them anonymously.

“I wanna watch the world burn,” She sent Saerans, “I got the gasoline,” She sent Saeyoungs.

“I wanna watch the world burn,” She sent Zens, “And everyone gets mean,” She sent Jumins and Jaehees.

She quickly sent Yoosungs and Vs, not even hesitating even though she knew it would hurt them. She sat back and watched as they all responded, everyone, asked who you were. You couldn’t give that away though, so you just sent them all the screenshots and waited. After they all saw every screenshot, they stopped responding.

“MC, time to watch your back,” A new chatroom opened, “MC, time to turn and cough.”

The chatroom was titled: How could you do this? Rika beamed when she opened it and watched everyone start screaming at you. They were all really hurt, some even said they were heartbroken or crying, but she couldn’t care less.

“You took me down, but you didn’t finish me off.”

Zen has entered the chatroom

Jumin has entered the chatroom

707 has entered the chatroom

Saeran has entered the chatroom

Jaehee has entered the chatroom

Yoosung has entered the chatroom

V has entered the chatroom

Zen: IS THIS REAL

Yoosung: Looks like it

Jaehee: Why would she say that about us….MC, did you really say these things?

Zen: Of course she did! They’re screenshots!

Jumin: I agree with Zen. It seems she did indeed say these things.

707: Who was she even talking to?

Yoosung: They should’ve told us as soon as she said something bad about us.

MC has entered the chatroom

MC: What’s going on? Why is everyone here?

Jumin: Why would you say that about us?

707: We trusted you, MC. How could you?

Zen: What did we ever do to you?

MC: What are you guys talking about?

Jaehee: “Where do I start with her? Her whole personality is just work. All she does is follow Jumin around and do whatever he wants. She’s like his servant.”

Zen: “He’s such a narcissist. The only reason he’s in the position he is now is because of his good looks and he knows it. He always brags about it.”

Yoosung: “He’s just a child. A stupid child. All he does is sit around and play games all day. He shouldn’t even be in the RFA”

707: “He’s not even that great. Everyone acts like he’s such a hero and a genius because he’s a hacker but he’s actually really stupid. Not to mention he’s not even funny.”

Jumin: “He’s just a heartless, wealthy, billionaire who doesn’t care about anyone other than himself”

Saeran: “I’m so terrified of him. He always has a murderous look in his eye and I’m just waiting for the day he’s going to snap and kill one of us.”

V: “He’s just a stupid, blind, photographer. He’s not even that special. He’s the worst out of all of them.”

MC: I didn’t say those things! I would never say that about you guys. I love all of you!

Zen sent 7 images

V: There are screenshots, MC. You can’t pretend they aren’t real.

MC: They’re fake! I didn’t say those things!

Jumin: MC, I’m sorry. But I don’t believe those screenshots are fake.

MC: I would NEVER say those things about you guys because they aren’t true. You guys are my family. I would never talk shit about you guys.

707: MC…

MC: Saeyoung can check if they’re real or not. Can’t you Saeyoung?

707: I-

Saeran: Do you really think I’m evil? Are you really scared of me?

MC: Of course not, Saeran

MC: You know what? I know who’s behind this. I’ll fix this, don’t worry.

MC has left the chatroom

Rika beamed. They hated her now. She was going to be forced to leave. The conversation quickly ended and everyone left. She shut her phone off and went back to the desk. She picked up a marker and wrote MC on one side of the mirror and Rika on the other side.

“MC might have one the battle,” She put a mark under her name, “but I will win the war.”

+++

You knew Rika was behind this. You would never say those things about them and they should know that. They have no reason not to believe you. Saeyoung should’ve checked to see if they were real before accusing her.

You had to do something about this. So, you grabbed a knife, just in case, and took a cab to the one place you knew she would be.

The Mint Eye building was abandoned after Rika was sent away, but the doors were still unlocked and occasionally people snuck in so snoop around. A few weeks after everything that happened, Saeyoung and Saeran went in to clear everything classified out so no one would find it.

The cab could only go as far as the main road, so you had to walk the rest of the way. You thanked the driver and paid him before taking a deep breath and starting your walk towards the building.

The sun was setting by the time you reached the door and you didn’t hesitate to go in. You walked down a hallway and back to the main room, where the throne still sat. You weren’t surprised to see Rika sitting on the throne.

“You did this didn’t you?” You asked, glaring at her.

She didn’t look at you but she nodded, “This is just the first step in my plan.”

You scoffed, “What plan? Do you want your role as party organizer back? I would’ve given it back if you had asked.”

Rika shook her head and you rolled your eyes, “You want me to leave the RFA don’t you? You want me to leave cause you’re jealous I got close with everyone and me and V are really close now. Is that it?”

She glared at you when you mentioned V, “He isn’t yours. He’s my fiance.”

Your jaw dropped, “You’re the reason he went blind. You fucking attacked him and then stabbed him, Rika. You hurt him. He didn’t deserve that. He’s too good for you,” you practically screamed.

Rika stood up and walked towards you, “He loves me.”

“You don’t deserve him.”

“And yet he’s still mine.”

“You haven’t seen him in years, Rika. What makes you think he still loves you?”

“I know him. He still loves me.”

You rolled your eyes, “Is this really what it’s about? You’re mad cause I hang with V?”

She laughed, “Oh, it’s way bigger than that MC. You see, everything was so perfect before you came along.”

Now it was your turn to laugh, “You’re the one who brought me to your old apartment and had me join the RFA.”

“That may be true, but I expected everything to go back to normal once I returned. And it didn’t. You took everything from me. So now I have to take everything from you.”

“What do you mean?” You said.

Rika looked at you and motioned for you to follow her. You took a step forward and felt something prick your arm but you assumed it was just a bug bite and shrugged it off, continuing to follow her.

She led you to a hallway with 6 doors. She stopped at the entrance of the hallway and turned to a desk that was tucked away in the corner, “Yes I look perfect. Ice Queen that’s what you see.”

You furrowed your brows and looked around at the pictures lining the walls. The pictures of you, torn up and ruined.

“What…?” You asked, but she ignored you.

“It’s what they all expect from me. But it’s all a show.” She turned to you.

“Face it, you used me.” She spoke bitterly.

You shook your head, “I didn’t-”

“You saw the RFA, and saw a family. But did you know?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Was I a game to you?”

“Of course not-”

“Was I a way to be cool?”

No. Rika-”

“I truely cared,” She brushed passed you and admired the wall behind you, covered in your pictures.

“I know you did Rika,” You followed her and stood behind her.

“Was I the fool?” She asked, looking over her shoulder.

“No, Rika.” You said, grabbing her arm.

She shook off your grip and grabbed your wrist, leading you to the first room. She slowly opened the door, “It’s fine for you.”

You walked into the room, confused before your eyes landed upon Saeran. He was tied to a chair with a cloth around his mouth like a gag. He glared at you as soon as he saw you.

You were about to rush forward and help him or hurt Rika before she could hurt him, but as soon as the thought crossed your mind it was like a mental barrier stopping you. You felt like you didn’t have control of your body anymore and you were just watching the events through a screen.

“It’s fine to flirt,” Rika said, walking around you and picking up a glass full of blue liquid from a shelf nearby.

Your eyes widened as she came behind Saeran and took his gag off, pressing the bottle to his lips, “It’s fine….until someone gets hurt”

The blue liquid flowed into Saeran’s mouth and he shut his eyes as he drank it. Instantly choking when he swallowed it. Rika took the bottle away from his lips and you sobbed as you watched his body go limp and watched him stop breathing.

Rika looked at you with a satisfied smile and walked back towards the door. She set the glass down on the shelf and took your wrist, leading you across the hall.

You didn’t want to go in, but you knew you didn’t have a choice, “Rika don’t do this.”

She ignored you and stopped before the door, “Feel my heart beating,” She pressed your hand to her chest and you felt her heart. It wasn’t sped up with adrenaline, instead, it was calm and slow. Like this was therapeutic.

“I’m just like you,” She said and you shook your head, ripping your hand away.

“People forget I’m human too,” She said, putting her hand on the door.

“No, they don’t,” You said.

“Yes, they do.”

She pushed the door open and you both entered. Saeyoung sat in a chair tied up and gagged just like Saeran. He was staring at a screen in front of him.

You looked closer and realized it was a live feel from Saeran’s room. He had just watched you do nothing while his brother was murdered. Tears streamed down his face and you felt yourself tear up when you still couldn’t do anything to stop Rika.

This time Rika didn’t say anything as she grabbed a bottle of pills from her pocket and force Saeyoung to swallow all of them. You turned away from him and sobbed when you heard Rika set the bottle down.

She grabbed your wrist and lead you across the hall to the next door. She opened it, and you saw Zen tied up exactly the same as the other two. This time the walls were covered in writing. All hate comments and rumors about him.

“This is performance. This is all self-defense,” You saw her take out a knife. The same knife you had brought, “I thought you had the sense to see through that.”

You didn’t look away this time. You couldn’t. You looked Zen in the eye and tried to give him an apologetic look as Rika slit his throat. His body went limp and you cried as the dragged you out of the room.

“Was I too proud with you?” She asks as she opened the next room, “Was I too cold and forbidding?”

“Please stop hurting them,” You begged.

She dragged you into the room and you saw Jumin and Jaehee tied up, right next to each other. You shook your head and looked away until you heard a gun cock.

“And you chose them over me,” She pressed the gun against Jumins temple, “Are you kidding?”

She pulled the trigger on the last word and you screamed. You kept trying to force past the barrier. To fight back and stop her before she could hurt anyone else.

She took you back out in the hallway and you stood in front of the final door. V was the final person. The final one she would hurt before she inevitably killed you. You sobbed and begged her not to do this. Not to hurt him.

“If you love him, please don’t hurt him. Please.”

She ignored you once again, opening the door. You went to the doorway, hoping to stop her from hurting V...but the room was empty aside from one picture of V that sat on a table in the center of the room.

You furrowed your brows for a second before you were pushed into the room. You fell to the floor and looked up at Rika as she came in and shut the door behind her.

“Poor little me,” She glared at you, “All trapped inside this fabulous show.”

You tried to stand up but she kicked you back down, “You could set me free.”

She held out the knife and you wanted to take it. Wanted to badly to take it and stop her from hurting V, but you couldn’t.

“If you’re going, go.” She said, smirking. She knew you couldn’t.

You shook your head and begged again. Trying to get her to stop this whole thing.

“It’s fine for you. It’s fine to flirt.”

“I’m so sorry Rika. Please stop this,” You cried.

You watched as she walked to the table and picked up the picture of V, tracing her finger across the frame, “And god he’s hot.”

She looked at you and showed you the picture, “Why does he even wear a shirt?”

She was teasing you now. This was all a joke to her. She didn’t care she was killing her friends as long as she was hurting you in the end.

“No, It’s fine,” She said, and you both turned when another voice spoke at the same time as her.

V was standing in the doorway. Dressed in his normal black shirt and grey jacket. You tried to scream at him, beg him to run so she didn’t hurt him. But he didn’t even look at you.

He walked into the room and looked Rika up and down, “Damn, you’re fine.”

He held out his hand and Rika took it, “Damn, you’re fine,” Rika replied.

You watched in horror as they looked into each other’s eyes, “And it’s fine…”

They turned so Vs back was towards you and Rika glanced at you over his shoulder, “Until someone gets-.”

He cut her off by pulling her into a kiss. Long and passionate. You couldn’t look away as he pulled her closer, ignoring your screams and cries. Rika pulled away after a long while and smiled at V. You saw him smile back before Rika looked at you.

“Until someone gets hurt,” She looked into Vs eyes and you saw the murderous look, “Until someone gets-”

She cut herself off by plunging the knife into Vs chest. You screamed as you watched him fall backward, betrayal written all over his face. He landed on his back in front of you and you crawled over to him.

“Hurt…” You heard Rika say, but you could only focus on V.

You used one hand to press down on his wound and your other hand to cup his cheeks and wipe away the single tear that fell. You let out a sob as he closed his eyes.

You tensed up in anger and finally stood up. The barrier was broken now that everyone was dead. Facing Rika, you saw her bright smile and her satisfied look.

“You bitch!” You shouted, lunging towards her.

Right before you reached her you felt something grab your foot and slam you to the ground. The last thing you remember is Rika’s laugh before you passed out.

When you opened your eyes, you were back in the throne room. Rika was on the throne, and you were tied up and kneeling in front of her. You sobbed as you remembered what happened, how she murdered all your friends just because she wanted to torture you.

“Just kill me,” You begged, “Please.”

She laughed at you, “But that would end the suffering too soon.”

You watched her stand and walk towards you, stopping before you and tilting your chin so you were forced to look at her. She smirked at you and you tried to fight her grip, but couldn’t.

You closed your eyes and screamed, thrashing around and trying to escape. You sobbed when you felt a knife lightly caress your cheek and you leaned into it, wanting Rika to just end the pain she caused.

You heard her laugh, but it was cut off by shouting and voices coming from down the hall. You opened your eyes and saw Rika’s smirk fall and eyes widen as the shouting got closer.

You couldn’t understand what they were saying, but Rika evidently did. She quickly looked around for an exit, but before she could go anywhere someone tackled her to the ground as men in black suits surrounded her.

You looked around and sobbed in relief when you saw Zen, V, and Saeyoung at your side. Alive, and real, and safe. Zen and Saeyoung untied you while V just stared at you in horror. He kneeled in front of you and you saw his eyes tear up as he saw how broken you looked.

When the roped released you fell into Vs chest and sobbed, wrapping your arms around him and hugging him tightly. He hugged you back just as tightly and you silently thanked every got out there that everything she did didn’t actually happen.

“You can’t do this! I didn’t even touch her!” You heard Rika scream.

You buried your face into the crook of Vs neck and tried to ignore the pain you felt when she spoke. You felt Vs arms move under your knees and shoulders as he lifted you up bridal style.

You kept your arms around his neck as he carried you. You looked around and saw Jaehee, Jumin, and Yoosung by the doorway looking at you with concern. You bit your lip and tried not to cry when you saw them. You noticed Saeran glaring daggers at Rika as she was taken outside and forced into a cop car.

You buried your face into Vs neck when the sun hit your face. Wasn’t it sunset when you got there? Had you been gone all night? You heard a car door open and felt V try to set you down.

His arms loosened around you and you screamed, holding him tighter in fear that it was him dying or leaving you. You heard him sigh before tightening his arms around you.

Suddenly you were in his lap, his arms wrapped securely around you. You moved your head and opened your eyes, looking around. It looked like you were in a limo. Jumin, Jaehee, and Yoosung sat on the seats across from you. Seven sat on Vs left and Zen on his right. They were both trying to offer comfort but it was hard because of the way V was holding you.

Seven ran his hand through your hair and Zen awkwardly rubbed your leg, but you didn’t mind. You notices Saeran sitting next to Seven and he looked like he was deliberately looking away from you. After a few seconds, you notices his tears and instantly felt guilty for hurting him like this.

V tapped your arm to get your attention and you looked up at him.

“What happened?” He asked.

You swallowed, trying to get rid of the image of everyone dying in front of you, “Um…”

“V, she just got out. Give her a bit,” Zen said from next to you.

You shook your head, “No. No. It’s fine,” You just wanted to get this over with.

“I went to go find her because I knew she was behind the fake messages and I wanted to fix everything. She said it was only step one of her plan to torture me and then she told me to follow her so I did and she must’ve drugged me or something because no matter what I did I couldn’t attack her or escape. And the whole this wasn’t even real but it felt so real. I thought it was real. I-”

“MC,” Jumin spoke up, cutting you off, “Breathe. It’s okay. What happened after that.”

You took a deep breath, “She took me into a hallway filled with torn up pictures of me and started accusing me of using her to get to you guys. After a while, she led me into a room and she-” you cut yourself off when a sob forced its way out of your throat.

“It’s okay. You’re safe now,” Seven said.

You nodded and looked at Saeran. He was still facing the window but he was looking at you, “Oh god she killed you Saeran.”

You sobbed as you looked at Seven, “And you,” You turned to everyone else and explained what happened more. You were on the verge of a panic attack when you reached the part where she killed V.

You looked up at him, “I kept screaming at you to get out but you wouldn’t even look at me and then she kissed you and-” you gasped, clutching your chest.

V pulled you closer and you buried your face back into his neck, trying to calm down. His hand rubbed comforting circles on your back and you could feel everyone staring at you.

“Shh, it’s okay MC. Just breath. I’m right here. I’m alive. I promise.”

You listened to his voice and followed his breathing, trying to calm down. Images of everyone dying flooded your mind and you squeezed your eyes shut, reaching a hand up to latch on to his shirt.

“We’re all okay, MC,” Jaehee said.

“Yeah. We’re all alive,” Yoosung agreed. Everyone slowly began talking and comforting you and slowly you were able to calm down.

“I’m sorry,” you said and were instantly shushed by everyone there. They reassured you that they were okay and you were safe. With that knowledge, you were able to fall asleep. Safe and comfortable in Vs arms.

Your dreams were plagued with nightmares for the next year, but the RFA stayed by your side and you knew you would be okay with them there.

Yeah sorry about that. Kinda just random and not accurate at all to the game but when inspiration hits i have to write.

#mystic messenger fanfic #mystic messenger #DEATH AND ANGST #Idk how to tag please help #Trigger warning?#This is just a depressing crack fic #jihyun kim #mc #rika #yoosung kim #zen #jumin han #jaehee kang #wow this made me sAd #im sorry

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strawberry-skies-xx · 4 years

Text

you wingless thing

C H A P T E R T E N

tags: rape/non-con, dead dove: do not eat, geralt / jaskier, original female character, original male character, angst with a happy ending, angst, angst and feels, rape, past rape/non-con, implied/referenced rape/non-con, implied/referenced abuse, emotional hurt/comfort, psychological abuse, emotional abuse, emotionally repressed, fae jaskier, fae magic, hurt jaskier, torture, revenge, past torture, hurt/comfort, past abuse, jaskier whump, feral jaskier, creature jaskier, inhuman jaskier, eventual happy ending, love confessions, idiots in love, wing kink, homoerotic wing grooming

author’s note: *hamilton voice* ladies and gentlemen, the moment you’ve all been waiting for...

nyla gets wrecked! :D

main masterlist | story on ao3

Geralt doesn’t deal with it in the morning - or, for the entire week and a half they have left. He doesn’t get rid of Jaskier - rather, he only grows more attached, and he knows he shouldn’t, because when Jaskier inevitably leaves him he’ll hurt more for it, but he can’t help himself. No one has treated him like the fae has, treated him like a person before a Witcher, and Geralt is helpless to resist.

Nyla doesn’t do much for the last week and a half - only shows off her claim on Jaskier, but does nothing so terrible as what she brought Jaskier to a week and a half ago, which they are not talking about. Jaskier said that he doesn’t want to talk about it, and the first time Geralt did he nearly went into a panic attack, so they don’t. Geralt and Jaskier don’t talk about when he holds the fae through the nightmares, either. It’s a long list of things they don’t talk about.

Their time is up, now, and Jaskier wakes up with an excited energy, the same that he had before they made the deal with Nyla, except this time it’s a certainty. Geralt doesn’t want to think about what will happen when Jaskier leaves him once he gets his magic back. He hadn’t come to terms with it before, he still hasn’t now.

Nyla meets them in the front room, where they first made the deal, and for once Jaskier is allowed to wear whatever he wants. He picks a dress, because it falls over his wings loosely in a way that it doesn’t hurt, and Geralt tries not to look at the way the black fabric shimmers in the light, like the outfit he got for the fae before they found Nyla. He tries not to look at the fae at all, tries not to put himself in more pain than he’s already in.

Nyla smiles, but it’s bitter and her scent is tinged with anger. Geralt wonders if she’s going to follow through on her deal, and he’s fully prepared to try to force her to do it if she doesn’t. They didn’t go through all of this for nothing.

Nyla looks at him, senses his suspicion, and her lips curl up in a sarcastic smile. “Don’t worry, Witcher. I’m a woman of my word, and as pretty as the fae is, and as much as I want to keep him-” she reaches out and traces her fingers along Jaskier’s jaw, while he falls completely still, “-I don’t go back on promises.”

She meets Jaskier’s eyes now, taking her fingers off of him, and suddenly her face grows serious. “But I need a promise from you both. Once I take this collar and the enchantments off, I will be allowed to walk free. You will not hurt me.”

Geralt growls. After all she did to them, she expects them to let her walk free? At best, she’ll be allowed to live, in Geralt’s opinion. There is no way he isn’t going to at least hurt her for what she did to Jaskier - he doesn’t care what she did to him. It’s Jaskier that matters.

The fae looks over at him and shakes his head, and the growl dies in Geralt’s throat. He resents not being able to do anything, but this is Jaskier’s deal, and they’re so close that he can’t ruin his chances at getting the other half of himself back now.

“I will agree,” Jaskier says, and Geralt frowns slightly. Strange wording, he thinks, but he doesn’t put much more thought into it. He’s too focused on the i agree that he himself grits out, and the surge of anger that rushes through him at her satisfied smile.

“Good,” she says brightly. Her smile turns to a smirk, and Geralt gets the feeling that she knows something they don’t. Which, isn’t a particularly new feeling, but it’s never worked out in their favor before, and there’s no reason to assume it will now.

She lifts her necklace from her neck, revealing a small silver key on the chain, and unclips it. The key fits perfectly in the dimeritium collar, and Geralt frowns.

“Why do you have that key made already?” he asks. Jaskier freezes, and she doesn’t look at him, unlocking the collar in a complicated series of twists.

Her tone is neutral when she speaks. “You couldn’t find a sorceress powerful enough to undo this collar and enchantments until you found me,” she says, and now she turns that smirk on Geralt, whose stomach is slowly sinking with dread for what she’s going to say next. “How do you think Erynd put the collar on?”

She lifts the collar off of Jaskier, taking the enchantments with it in a simple flick of magic, like unraveling thread, and the fae slowly turns around. Geralt ignores the feeling of his magic stirring to life, and surges forward, intent on hurting Nyla for everything she did, rage surging through him. She put the collar on, she knew who Jaskier was, she hurt them in so many ways for the past month. Geralt is going to make her pay.

He’s halfway to her when her magic slams into him and he goes flying back towards the wall.

“Don’t touch him,” Jaskier hisses, and the whole room crackles with energy suddenly. Her magic vanishes, and Nyla yells as she is thrown back by Jaskier’s magic, now alive and thrumming around them, charging the air with tension like the air before a thunderstorm. It rages around the three of them, but somehow doesn’t touch Geralt, who stands and watches Jaskier turn towards Nyla, his magic pinning her to the wall.

Geralt can feel them both - Jaskier’s magic and Nyla’s. Nyla’s magic struggles like a trapped bug, the hum distant beneath the storm that is Jaskier, and the pure rage radiating off of the fae as he holds Nyla against the wall. His wings extend out from his dress now, and Geralt can almost see the Chaos lashing around him, raw and powerful.

“You said,” Nyla gasps, “you wouldn’t hurt me!”

Jaskier smiles, dark and dripping with threat, and his tone is lethally calm. “I said I will agree. Not that I did. Only Geralt agreed not to hurt you, and he’s not bound by fae magic.”

Nyla’s eyes widen and anger floods her scent alongside the fear. “I held my end of the deal up!” she protests indignantly.

Jaskier is unfazed. “And I held mine. A bit too well, I think.” He raises his hand, and twists, and Nyla screams, arching against the magic holding her in place. Geralt doesn’t dare move, for fear of breaking the apparent bubble of protection he has around himself. He does, however, feel a cruel sense of satisfaction at seeing Jaskier get his own revenge on the woman who tormented him.

Nyla glares, panting from whatever invisible pain Jaskier inflicted on her. “You’re punishing me for using the freedoms my end of the deal gave me?”

Jaskier’s smile fades, the anger in his scent growing sharper. “Yes,” he snaps. “Because how many others have you had those freedoms on? How many others have gotten hurt because of you and your freedoms? ”

He twists, and she screams, gasping out words through the pain. “You’re… a hypocrite… for saying I’m bad… and then… doing this!”

Jaskier smiles again, just as dark and dangerous as before, and flicks his other hand, summoning a familiar dagger into his fingers. Geralt realizes with a shock that it’s the dagger he gave Jaskier, before they found Nyla, before she took their personal belongings, and he feels inappropriate heat flood his body at that thought.

“What you did to me is nothing close to what I’m doing to you,” Jaskier says, as dangerously calm as he’s been this entire time. “I could bring you to the fae court,” he muses, spinning the dagger in his fingers. “They have much more of an imagination than I do, and not nearly as much mercy.” He grins, and for the first time Geralt can see his true fae nature beneath the optimism and humanity - that of vengeance, and trickery, and destruction. He’s torn between letting Jaskier kill Nyla and killing Jaskier himself, because as human as the fae is sometimes, he’s still fae, and if this is what Jaskier has hidden beneath his humanity, what he does when he gets angry… it scares Geralt to think of what he could do out in the world.

Except, the magic thrumming around him that should’ve been raging, like every other bit of Jaskier’s magic, is instead almost caressing his skin, weaving around him softly, and it smells like sweet lemongrass. None of the anger Geralt can smell on the rest of Jaskier’s magic, like before a thunderstorm, is on the magic touching him… and even if Jaskier was truly evil, Geralt wouldn’t have been able to kill him anyway. He’s a bit ashamed of himself for even thinking of it - as if Jaskier would betray him like that. Jaskier is fae, but he’s like none of the fae Geralt has ever known - he complains about dress fabrics, and sings bawdy songs in noble courts, and lets Geralt wash his wings, and curls up next to him at night. He’s more human than he is fae, at least in personality, and Geralt would protect him with his life before he’d ever think of hurting him.

“No, no, don’t,” Nyla pleads, squirming, all her self-righteousness gone in a flash at the simple threat of the fae court. Jaskier’s grin fades, and his eyes darken.

“I won’t. Like I said, they don’t have nearly as much mercy as I do,” he replies, and Geralt watches Nyla relax for all of a second before Jaskier raises his dagger. “You’re lucky you’re getting a quick death. I’d have given you to the fae court without a second thought if I was in any less of a generous mood.”

Nyla’s eyes widen again and Geralt almost wants to laugh. He knows it’s dark, but after seeing what Nyla did to Jaskier? After talking Jaskier through panic attacks, holding him through nightmares, knowing the scent of Jaskier’s fear better than his happiness?

Geralt couldn’t care less what happened to Nyla.

“Songbird, please-”

Nyla falls silent as Jaskier throws the dagger, blade flipping through the air to land point-first, lodged in her neck and the wall. The low hum of her magic stops abruptly, leaving only the thunderous storm of Jaskier’s, which gradually calms to its own steady thrum around Geralt.

“I’m not your songbird,” Jaskier tells Nyla’s dead body, hissing the last word, and then goes quiet. He lets out a breath, all his anger leaving him and replaced by the sour-sweet scent of anxiety, the acrid tang of fear, and underlying it all, the dandelion scent of satisfaction.

He turns to Geralt, blue eyes wide, and Geralt steps towards him. He should be afraid - Jaskier did just kill a powerful sorceress, after all - but all he feels is concern as Jaskier lets Geralt wrap his arms around him, and his voice is distant and numb when he talks into Geralt’s shirt.

“She’s gone,” he whispers. “She can’t hurt me- hurt us.”

Geralt hums. “Let’s go.”

Jaskier stays still for a moment, but nods and steps back. Geralt watches him, unsure of why Jaskier hasn’t hidden his wings yet - surely he didn’t want Geralt to see them, and he was definitely planning on leaving as soon as he got his stuff back, but Geralt wasn’t thinking about that. He was savoring the time he had with Jaskier right now, and dealing with when he left later.

Jaskier’s wings flutter and he flicks his fingers, summoning their possessions that Nyla had taken, and both him and Geralt hear the quiet footsteps from around the corner.

Geralt looks up and sees one of the servant girls watching, hidden halfway behind the wall, the tang of fear and confusion rolling off of her in waves. He looks at Jaskier - he is certainly better with people - but the fae steps back and shakes his head. His eyes are tired, in a sense that goes much deeper than physical fatigue, and Geralt can’t blame him for not feeling up to dealing with people.

Geralt turns back to the girl and makes himself as non-threatening as possible, making his voice as soft as he can. “You’re free,” he says, and at the stronger scent of confusion from her, he opens his mouth to reply again.

He’s cut off by the loud snap of fingers from Jaskier and the wave of magic resonating through the mansion, and his eyes dart to the fae.

Jaskier sighs. “They were under a spell,” he says shortly, tiredly, before returning to checking his things.

Geralt looks back at the girl, but she’s gone, leaving behind the faint floral scent found in all of Nyla’s mansion, and he frowns. He turns back to Jaskier, who has both their bags slung over his shoulders and is wearing the emerald outfit Geralt had bought him so long ago, wings magically extending through the back of it. His frown gets deeper.

“You’re not leaving?” he asks, and he really does try to hide the note of hope in his voice, but Geralt has been dreading the time when Jaskier leaves so much that it’s impossible for him to. He can’t hide the note of hope in his voice, and he can’t hide the resulting spark of it lighting in him, despite his best efforts to tamp it down these several months.

Jaskier shakes his head, not even trying to analyze why Geralt had thought he would leave. If he hadn’t been tortured both mentally and emotionally for a month by a manipulative, sadistic sorceress, and if he hadn’t just killed her and been left with the adrenaline drain from that and finally realized he could let his guard down, he’d have known exactly why Geralt thought he would leave, and been able to deal with it. But right now, all he wants is to take his things, build a fire in the woods, and curl up with Geralt next to it.

And maybe… he could have what he’d wanted for so long, now that there is nothing in the way. It’s obvious Geralt didn’t want him to leave, so… it is possible.

Jaskier can’t find out without trying, though, so he looks up at Geralt, meeting golden eyes that are so carefully blank of emotion save for the small spark of hope he knows is lighting in them, and steps forward. He feels Geralt’s hands hover around his waist in response, so close to holding yet not, and he leans just slightly up, pressing his lips softly to Geralt’s.

“I’m not leaving you,” he whispers against his rough, scarred skin, and feels Geralt’s hands land on his waist. Jaskier has never known anyone to be as gentle as Geralt is, holding him like he’s fragile - and, past the tiredness, he knows it’s because Geralt thinks he’ll hurt him.

He wants to prove him wrong, wants to show Geralt that he’s possibly the kindest, most human inhuman creature he’s ever known, and he couldn’t ever hurt Jaskier. Especially not as he presses his lips back to Jaskier’s, soft and sweet and nothing like his scarred, calloused skin and title as a Witcher imply.

Geralt pulls back from the kiss, though he doesn’t move away from Jaskier, only buries his face in his neck, and hums softly. “Love you,” he whispers, so quiet into the skin that if Jaskier was human, he wouldn’t have heard it.

Jaskier smiles and pulls back, sliding Geralt’s bag off of his shoulder and offering it out to him. “Well, then let’s go.”

Geralt lets the corner of his lips quirk up, and he takes the bag, following Jaskier out of the mansion and leaving behind the memories and pain there. They’re not starting a new life, but simply continuing what they had and didn’t say, and Erynd and Nyla are going to haunt them both, but Jaskier and Geralt both find they don’t care, as long as they have the other.

#the witcher netflix #geraskier #geralt of rivia #jaskier

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