#but i had no more opportunities to raise her rivalry by that point

[persephoneggsy]

I know Marian and Isabela didn't get along, but was it so bad that she didn't come back? Was there no duel? If not, how did Sebastian feel seeing her face off again a qunari over twice her size? If there was no duel, how did Marian handle the fight?

There was a duel - Marian had earned the Arishok's respect (however unintentionally; she's blunt and direct and usually also had Fenris with her, so she was pretty much guaranteed to earn his respect. it wasn't mutual, she hated him and the Qunari), so he offered her the challenge. Not wanting any more bloodshed over what she saw largely as Isabela's fuck up, she agreed. Isabela never came back, though if she did, Marian still wouldn't have forgiven her.

As for the duel itself… I’ve actually been writing a lil something about that. Or, at least the aftermath of it.

:)

Years from now, Varric will tell this story differently.

He’ll say that the soon-to-be-named Champion of Kirkwall stood victorious, her form towering over the fallen Qunari. The Arishok met her gaze, his chin tilted defiantly as he pointed a finger towards her and uttered his last, cryptic words, before finally expiring.

His guards, true to his word, turned and departed without a fight, leaving the Champion to be venerated by the grateful nobles of Kirkwall. Knight-Commander Meredith, however reluctantly, would name Marian Hawke the Champion of Kirkwall, and thus began a new chapter in her illustrious legacy.

It’s a nice tale.

Sebastian remembers it like this:

The fight had been drawn-out and vicious; Marian had to rely on her speed and smaller stature to avoid the Arishok’s lethal attacks, slinging ice at a distance and slashing him with the bladed end of her staff when he got too close.

But Marian, while formidable, was never meant for single combat, and certainly not against a bruiser of a man like the Arishok. When one of his attacks finally connected, it did so brutally — his battle axe sank deep into her side, before sending her flying across the throne room, her body ending its arc abruptly as she slammed into a pillar.

Sebastian remembered that in particular with startling clarity; he wished he didn’t.

Marian was on the ground, soaked in blood and trembling. The Arishok advanced on her, raising his axe for the final blow, his face as stoic as it ever was, betraying no sense of enjoyment or displeasure either way.

And then… Marian flung her hand up, fingertips coated in frost, and the Arishok took a sudden step back. A jagged shard of ice stuck out of his chest, far larger than anything she’d conjured before. He looked down at the shard with shock, stumbling backwards another step, and then another. Finally, he collapsed onto his knees, hands scrambling to tear out the shard.

Marian rose to her feet in the meantime, using her staff to hold her weight. The Arishok looked at her, opened his mouth to speak…

She let out a vicious snarl and raised her staff above her head, cutting off whatever he might have said to her. She swung down, burying the bladed end deep in the Arishok’s skull. She twisted the staff and dug it deeper, glaring at the Qunari with unbridled hatred. Blood poured from his wounds, spilled down his face, from his mouth. From where he stood, Sebastian even saw the moment the light left his eyes.

The Arishok died on his knees, and not too long after, Marian collapsed on the floor.

Before he could register anything else, Sebastian was at her side, cradling her close as he tried to staunch the bleeding. Red liquid flowed from her wound, slipping through his fingers and onto the cold tiled floor. He vaguely recalled the cheers of the surrounding nobles turn into gasps and worried murmurs.

Suddenly Fenris appeared with a cloth, torn from Maker knew where, and joined it with Sebastian's hand against the wound. His face was twisted with grief. Merrill knelt next to him, muttering a spell and waving her hands over Marian’s still body. She wasn’t a proficient healer, not like Marian or Anders, but Marian was unconscious and Anders was gone.

“Please,” Sebastian choked out. He felt his vision blurring. “Please, Marian, hold on. I can’t lose you too, I love you, please…!”

Her pale blue eyes looked up at him, but he didn’t know if she could see him. Her lips twitched, but even speaking seemed beyond her. All she could do was let out a pained wheeze.

Distantly, he heard the doors burst open; the knight commander and first enchanter had arrived. He couldn’t hear what was said — likely the nobles explained what had happened, told them of Marian’s duel with the Arishok, because soon Orsino had joined them on the floor, adding his magic to Merrill’s.

In his arms, Marian shifted. He watched in morbid fascination as the deep gash in her side began to close, flesh and sinew rebuilding with slow but steady progress.

Her breathing evened out from short, shallow gasps, and she sagged into his embrace. She spared him a smile before her eyes slipped closed.

“Marian—!” he began, but a hand at his shoulder cut him off. He looked up, and saw that the hand belonged to Orsino. The elven enchanter gave him a reassuring smile — grim and exhausted, but reassuring nonetheless.

“She’ll be alright,” he said gently. “But she needs rest, and plenty of it.”

“We‘ll take her home,” spoke Fenris, standing up. He offered a hand down to Merrill, who blinked in surprise, but took it without comment, and let him pull her up to her feet. “Sebastian, are you able to carry her?”

“I — yes.” Gingerly, Sebastian gathered her in his arms and stood as well, careful not to jostle her too much. Marian was… surprisingly light. She was a small woman, so perhaps he shouldn’t have been surprised, but, well. He’d never had the opportunity to hold her like this before.

“You will need an escort,” came the imposing voice of the Knight-Commander. Sebastian turned to see her sheathing her blade and approaching them. She looked thoughtful, yet still stern. “Thugs and looters still hound the streets.”

“We’ll be the escort,” Aveline said, the stubborn set of her jaw brooking no argument. Varric nodded beside her, looking unusually somber. Though Sebastian had never gotten along very well with either of them — indeed, neither had Marian — he was grateful for their presence now.

Meredith considered them, then nodded. “Very well. See that Serah Hawke gets home safely; it would not bode well, losing Kirkwall’s new champion.”

Sebastian heard murmurs around them, and finally remembered that the throne room was still full of people. Nobles whispered to one another, some craning their necks to get a look at Marian’s unconscious form. Others looked as exhausted as he felt; some were sobbing, the grief for the day’s events finally catching up to them.

He felt another hand on him, and he looked to see that it was Merrill, this time.

“Let’s go,” she said quietly. Her large eyes flickered from Marian’s face to his. “We all need some rest.”

He nodded. Following behind Fenris and Aveline, with Varric and Merrill trailing behind him, he carried Marian out of the keep, cradling her close, like he feared she would turn to smoke and disappear if his grip was not secure.

Sebastian felt movement, and paused, looking down at her. Marian murmured something indistinct and burrowed her head further against his chest. For the briefest of moments, the anxiety that sat like an anchor in his gut was alleviated. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, and kept moving forwards.

#ask #breadedsinner #sebhawke #*claps* ya girl wrote something! #my fic #the tl;dr is that marian got pretty lucky but still got her ass kicked and seb realized he couldn't live without her #he spent the whole time with his fingers twitching for his bow but he told himself to trust that marian would survive this #he'd seen her survive so much after all #so regarding isabela #my latest playthrough i was literally like 5-10 rivalry points away from meeting the requirement to getting her to come back #but i had no more opportunities to raise her rivalry by that point #so i accepted it and kept playing #i like to think that because i was so close isabela almost came back #but decided against it at the last second #oh and anders got kicked out by marian after dissent so he wasn't there to heal her :P

[nahoney22]

Hi, love! 💙

May I request a F!Reader x Thrawn? NSFW.

Jealous Thrawn , NSFW, tension with Director Orson Krennic~

Reader is an imperial intern in training & stationed to work under the Admiral for anything needed to make up community hours. Reader has had a good idea that Thrawn probably disliked them due to his distant & cold demeanor around reader & slight remarks. Reader is not too fond of the Chiss, finds them ‘rude’, but still obeys (loyal to the empire).

However Reader finds out that’s far from the truth when invited to an Imperial Ball, getting hit on by other superiors (Director Krennic, slight Rivalry between both men from Death Star vs Tie fighter Project), making Thrawn jealous & admit “someone like yourself can make a man like me lose control & do the most unimaginable of things, and suddenly my loyalty & devotion becomes all yours.”

A Warrior’s Needs***

Grand Admiral Thrawn X F!Reader

word count: 8.7k

Sneaky peak at my collab with @raevulsix 🤍 ^

When invited to the Imperial Ball to act as a spy, your galaxy is turned upside down when you witnessed your Boss, Thrawn, get jealous.

warnings: NSFW, 18+ only. Explicit sexual content and language, dom!Thrawn, sub!reader, smut, dirty talk, praises, p in v sex, blowjob, cunnilingus, multiple orgasms, face fuck, multiple positions, finger sucking, biting & marking, mating press, creampie, aftercare, doubtful reader, brief mentions of alcohol, jealous and possessive thrawn, kinda boss x secretary, shy imperial female reader who wears a white dress with slit. Director Krennic flirting with reader. NSFW ART. Not proofread. Also noticed I didn’t hit the brief entirely but it’s more or less on point 😅

Includes Fanart by the incredible Raevulsix that can be found here and the NSFW one here so go give her all the support and reblogs! 🤍

Authors note: oh, bestie here we go! This is my first time writing for Thrawn so I hope I portrayed him somewhat okay - I never kinda finished rebels yes I know bad girl. Co-wrote with @raevulsix 🤍

The seemingly endless day was filled with a relentless stream of forms, data analysis, and tasks delegated by your boss that was causing a strain on your eyes from staring at the screen. But when your superior got called away, you seized the opportunity to lean back in your chair and take a moment of respite and listen to the faint hum of the ship.

As you reclined, you surveyed the expansive office belonging to your boss, Grand Admiral Thrawn. The space was dimly lit, dominated by blacks and greys, with a faint luminescent glow that did little to alleviate your eye strain.

Even sitting for the prolonged period had caused your legs to stiffen, so, anticipating Admiral Thrawn's return in about an hour, you stood up and began to walk around, seeking relief.

The office itself was a marvel, a fusion of refined taste and strategic functionality. Intricate artwork adorned the walls, showcasing pieces from various galaxies, while carefully placed artifacts adorned the shelves, creating a captivating ambiance.

You hesitated, torn between returning to your desk or succumbing to curiosity just this once. Normally, being in the same room as your boss felt challenging due to his cold demeanor and strict rules – no speaking unless spoken to, avoiding direct eye contact, and focusing solely on work.

The reputation of the Chiss, their stringent standards and unwavering determination, preceded him. His formidable nature and unyielding drive to succeed made him a daunting figure which makes him all the most frightening. Though, he had never raised his voice in your presence. The odd quip of passiveness was hard to miss however when he spoke to those under him or even as an equal, but luckily, you never came across it.

Until right now.

“I sincerely hope that you looking through my possessions is a hint that you have finished today’s reports.”

Startled by his sudden appearance behind you, you turned wide-eyed and mortified, stammering out an apology. "Forgive me, Sir—Admiral—Grand Admiral," you fumbled, feeling the weight of his piercing red gaze. "I didn't realise you had returned."

His cold stare and piercing eyes bore into you as he coldly acknowledged your oversight. "Now tell me, what are you doing?"

Faltering, you considered fabricating a lie, but Thrawn's demeanor warned against deception. "My legs and eyes started to ache," you admitted slowly, collecting your nervous breaths. "I stood up to walk around the office in your absence to ease it off. Admittedly, I got distracted by your collection." You gestured awkwardly before composing yourself. "I will finish off the reports immediately."

As you settled back at your desk, attempting to regain composure with shaky fingers swiping across the monitor, Thrawn's silent presence once again caught you off guard. A large hand suddenly appeared in front of your face, tapping the screen as he scrutinized your day's work. Frozen, you held your breath, transfixed on the screen.

After an intense minute, he broke the silence. "I need your assistance tonight," he declared, withdrawing his hand and making his way to his desk. You swiveled in your chair to face him.

Tonight? The prospect of more work dampened your spirits. "You will attend this Imperial Ball," he stated, not bothering to look your way.

A ball? You? Your flabbergasted expression went unnoticed as you asked, "May I question why you're asking me to go Grand Admiral? I believe this is for people like yourself, not just workers. And I’m just an intern."

He leaned over his desk, hands flat on the surface, and lifted his gaze to you. "I hope that's not an insinuation that I do not work."

Your day seemed to be spiraling further downward. "Sorry, forgive me, I didn't mean for it to come across like that." Nervously wringing your fingers, you stood. "I just don't think I'm the right candidate for whatever it is."

"And yet you do not know what it is I am asking of you," he replied simply. For a moment, you thought you detected a hint of amusement, but the dimness of the room and the strain on your eyes left you uncertain.

His posture regained its imposing stance as he circled his desk, arranging items with precision, making an already orderly space even more meticulous. Leaning against the black desk, he continued, "There have been reports of a few individuals willing to expose the Empire's plans on Lothal and they've been invited. I need you to gather as much information as you can and report back to me."

You had heard about this upcoming ball. All of your superiors would be attending and you had very little doubt that your friends, other workers like yourself, would be attending. So, the confusion lingered; why involve you in this? Hiring spies seemed a more logical choice. "So, when we land and head to the settlement, dress up.”

You are almost at a loss for words, was this some kind of punishment or did he sincerely trust you this much? So many questions yet his answers won’t settle with you regardless. "But Grand Admiral, I... I don't even own a dress."

"All of that has been arranged already."

Staring at your reflection in the mirror, you hardly recognised yourself in the white dress that starkly contrasted with your usual Imperial attire. Only applying little makeup due to the fact you didn’t know how glamorous this was going to be, you marveled at the intricate details of the crystals adorning your dress—light and elegant.

As you added the finishing touches to the ensemble, you spent a moment admiring the transformation. The dress fit perfectly, making you wonder how Thrawn acquired your exact measurements. Perhaps it was part of the meticulous process involving your enrollment details he scoured through.

Yet, a peculiar thought crossed your mind: imagining Thrawn personally selecting this dress for you. Shaking off the notion, you grumbled to yourself, averting your gaze from the mirror. Such thoughts seemed absurd, given the professional context and how alluring you felt with a dress with a knee high slit. Your gut, however, betrayed you, swirling with a sense of uncertainty.

Left in disarray, you then pondered the impending social interaction with your superiors. How in the galaxy were you going to do this?

Thrawn had departed without providing you any guidance, leaving you to grapple with the dilemma of presenting yourself as his assistant or someone of greater significance.

When the time came, navigating the unfamiliar surroundings with nervous steps, you followed the confident strides of those who seemed familiar with the venue.

Presenting your pass to a guard, you slipped inside and held back a gasp at the sight that unfolded—an elegance seldom witnessed within the Empire's strict regimes. It was special, yet you couldn't shake the feeling of being out of place.

As a wallflower, you stood on the sidelines, observing and absentmindedly tapping your fingers against a glass of an unfamiliar alcoholic concoction handed to you by a server. Unbeknownst to you at first, your eyes were scanning the crowd, searching for your boss, Thrawn.

Surrounded by people you didn't know on a personal level, everyone exuded a somewhat regal aura. The faint but lovely music played in the background as the room unfolded into a wide-open space where various groups mingled, leaving you feeling like a hopeless outsider.

Taking a sip, cursing your shaky hand, you mustered the courage to fulfill your task. It was time to eavesdrop and gather the information Thrawn sought.

Worming your way into conversations wasn’t the easiest task you ever had to do but still, you managed it. Avoiding small talk, you nodded and smiled, feigning comprehension while attempting to extract useful information.

Yet, nothing seemed amiss.

Everyone appeared content with the Empire's forthcoming plans and events, leaving you struggling to maintain the forced smiles and laughter.

As you moved from group to group, you still found yourself keeping an eye out for Thrawn but no luck. Perhaps he wasn’t even attending. After all, his presence to you would have stood out since he was the only Chiss and his character was non-short of intriguing.

After an hour of this charade, weariness crept in. Your feet throbbed in the unfamiliar heels, prompting your excuse from a group - to whom didn’t seem to even acknowledge your existence - no one noticed your departure as you went to a quiet corner to collect yourself.

In the quiet corner, frustration and exhaustion compounded as you pondered the lack of information to report back to Thrawn. With past mishaps already haunting your thoughts, you berated yourself for the potential third strike.

However, things started to take an unexpected turn.

"Not enjoying the night?" The voice sliced through your thoughts, and you turned to see a figure adorned in a stark white military imperial uniform with a flowing cape to match. There was only one man you knew who wore that ensemble.

"Director Krennic," you blurted out, swiftly standing and adjusting your dress, visibly flustered. "I was just taking a moment for myself."

The man chuckled, swiftly suggesting you retake your seat, which, hesitantly, you did as he settled beside you.

Internally, you were freaking out. The power and influence of Director Krennic were both impeccable and imposing, especially considering his involvement with the upcoming and developing 'Death Star' project. "I hope you don't mind the company? It's been a long evening for me too," he mentioned, his gaze intense.

His stare unsettled you, sending an uncomfortable tingle down your spine. Yet, despite your unease, declining the company of one of your superiors wasn't an option. "Not at all," you replied, forcing a laugh that sounded awkward but hopefully convincing.

"Since you know who I am," Director Krennic began, turning to face you, "it is only fair that you tell me who I have the pleasure of meeting?"

A gulp caught in your throat. This was the first time tonight that someone had paid attention to you, and you debated whether to fabricate details about your identity. Ultimately, you settled for honesty—your name, at least. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I've heard many things about you," you said, hoping your nervous breaths weren't too apparent.

He smiled, seemingly charming. "Beautiful name for a beautiful lady."

Mentally, your smile dropped, but you maintained it outwardly. Was he flirting with you? This exceeded any expectations for the night. "Oh, erm, why thank you."

He chuckled, leaning back and making himself comfortable on the loveseat you both occupied, taking a sip of his drink. "So, tell me about yourself. What is it you do?"

The moment of decision that had loomed over you all night finally arrived, and you found yourself veering away from the complete truth.

His reaction was palpable. A flicker of tension crossed his expression, transforming his once-charming smile into one that grew tense and strained. "Ah," he responded after a pause, his fingers tapping against the glass as his demeanor turned slightly hostile. "So, I will assume you work under someone of... authority."

The word 'authority' sounded more like a growl than a mere observation. It was evident that Krennic held some animosity toward Thrawn, likely due to their conflicting projects that often caused tensions between the two.

"That she does."

A voice sliced through the tension, and you turned to see Thrawn standing behind both of you. Your eyes involuntarily scanned his attire—a departure from his usual white military uniform to an impeccably suave and expensive-looking all-black tuxedo. It was a stark contrast to his typical appearance, and he looked good, remarkably good.

"Thrawn," Krennic acknowledged, standing to match his height. Kind of.

"Director Krennic..." Thrawn drawled slowly, the two of them staring each other down.

(Art by Raevulsix)

The tense exchange between Thrawn and Krennic didn't escape your notice, particularly Krennic's apparent lack of acknowledgment toward your boss's full title, indicating a hint of pride. Thrawn, on the other hand, maintained his dignity with elegance.

"I was just speaking to this nice young lady and getting acquainted," Krennic stated.

"I noticed," Thrawn replied, his gaze briefly fixating on you. A sense of impending chastisement for lying to a superior loomed, but for now, Thrawn played along, redirecting his attention to Krennic. "But I need to speak with her in private.”

Krennic's expression twisted into a smirk. "We all serve the same purpose, Thrawn. Whatever you can say to her, you can say in front of me."

Maintaining his composure, Thrawn remained unaffected by Krennic's arrogance. "It is a matter that does not concern you."

"And it does her?" Krennic prodded.

"Yes," Thrawn affirmed, tone low.

Krennic's scrutiny fell upon you, making you feel a chill run down your spine. Unable to meet their gazes, you were frozen under his stare. "I see. Well," he extended his hand, and tentatively, you placed yours in his, allowing him to help you stand, his grip maintaining a slight tension. "It appears my presence is not warranted."

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Director Krennic. Perhaps we could talk again soon?" The words slipped out before you could consider the implications, and Krennic's sly smile at your proposition didn't escape Thrawn's notice, his glare feeling like sharp daggers at the back of your head.

Suddenly, you’re pulled towards Krennic, his breath lingered near your face as he spoke in a whisper but loud enough for a certain someone to hear, "That would please me, but I shouldn't continue to play with possessions that don't belong to me."

Thrawn's sharp rebuke sliced through the air, "That will be all, Krennic." In an instant, Krennic released his hold on you, leaving you stunned as he walked away.

Taking a deep breath, you turned to face Thrawn, your heart racing. The unsettling implication of being referred to as a possession of more so, his possession, lingered in your thoughts. As you stared up at Thrawn's stern expression, full of thunder, you tried to gather your thoughts.

"Grand Admiral Thrawn, I—"

"You are not to ever speak to Director Krennic again, is that understood?" his command cut through your attempted explanation.

The tension thickened as you nodded in acknowledgment of Thrawn's command, keeping your gaze lowered. However, instead of walking away, he approached, sending a jolt through you.

A gentle touch beneath your chin lifted your gaze to meet his, and you're awestruck as his eyes glowed. Not even metaphorically or hypothetically - red eyes that held a powerful allure, captivating your attention. His words became a distant murmur as you found yourself too entranced by his intense gaze to even realise he was speaking to you.

Was anyone else seeing this? Surely someone had to have been watching this somewhat intimate exchange.

Suddenly, his raised brow and deep furrowed eyes broke through your reverie, snapping you back to reality. "Sorry," you stammered, embarrassed. "What did you say?"

For a second, he paused before a sly smile merges on his face. "I said,” he starts but a part of you didn’t quite believe he was telling you everything, “I hope you have some information to tell me. After all, that is why you are here," he repeated, his tone unwavering.

Your stomach sank as you realised you had nothing to report.

"Actually, I—" you began, but he interrupted, instructing you to head to his quarters to discuss further. As he stepped away, you finally regained your senses, but before you could utter a word, he vanished into the crowd.

Feeling the weight of the situation, you sighed, acknowledging the mess you were in.

Entering Thrawn's office, anxiety flooded your thoughts, making the walk feel slow and burdensome. Anticipation of the imminent repercussions swirled in your mind.

Without seeing the point in waiting outside, you ventured in, greeted by the familiar ambiance—chilled air and a dimly lit room adorned with sculptures, artifacts, and paintings, showcasing Thrawn's appreciation for art, a shared interest between the two of you.

Moving towards his desk, your fingers traced the flat surface before taking a seat in one of the chairs opposite.

"I feel sick," you muttered to yourself, running a hand through your hair as your knee bounced nervously.

"Perhaps some water?" Thrawn's calm and composed voice cut through the silence.

Caught off guard by Thrawn's sudden appearance, you startled in your seat, quickly composing yourself with an apologetic tone. "Sorry, I... I'm fine."

He hummed softly, crossing into the room. "Are you sure you do not want a drink?" His offer was polite, but you declined, mustering a steadier breath. "I'm sure. Thank you, though."

Seated behind the desk, Thrawn's piercing gaze seemed to bore into you, an intensity that was strangely captivating rather than uncomfortable. Boldly facing the inevitable, knowing your fate might be sealed, you met his gaze head-on.

Despite working under him for months, it was the first time you truly looked at him. His angular face was striking, his skin a captivating shade of blue reminiscent of the most beautiful oceans you had only dreamed of seeing, yet it was his glowing eyes that held the allure.

"So," he finally spoke, leaning forward and interlacing his fingers on the desk, breaking the silence, "fill me in." The directive was clear, and despite your nerves, you prepared to relay the truth, whatever the consequences might be.

"Grand Admiral Thra—"

"Thrawn," he interrupted, and confusion furrowed your brows.

"S-Sorry?"

"Thrawn is just fine. Proceed," he instructed, nodding, and despite your confusion, the fear of falling short in your duty took precedence.

"I have nothing to report," you rushed, holding your breath.

Thrawn's expression remained unchanged as he leaned back in his seat, nodding slowly. "Is that because you spent the evening with Director Krennic?"

Your heart sank at the insinuation. "Not at all. I only spoke to him for a minute before you came over," you defended, sitting a little more forward. "I genuinely have nothing to report. I saw nothing awry."

"Interesting," Thrawn drawled. "And he gave no hints of deception to you?"

Thrawn was clearly fishing for information on Krennic, but you had nothing substantial to provide. "No, though he wasn't too pleased about me working for you. Lie or not."

The room fell into a hush, the only sound being the rhythmic tapping of his fingers against the desk. "That I can imagine, given how he was looking at you all night."

The mention of Krennic's prolonged interest caught your attention, and Thrawn noticed, a fleeting smirk crossing his face. "How is it you like the dress?"

Glancing down at the attire, you smoothed out its seams. It was the most extravagant outfit you had ever worn, and while it felt foreign, it also made you feel special. Especially considering the attention from someone as influential as Krennic. "It's lovely."

"I knew it would look good on you," he replied casually, causing your heart to pause momentarily.

"Can I ask what you mean by that?" you inquired, exhaling shakily, eyes widening. Did he choose this dress for you?

Thrawn tilted his head. "I think it is obvious what I mean," he stated, then stood, circling the desk until he stood in front of you. You craned your neck to look up at his imposing figure. "But I will spell it out for you. I picked this dress specifically for you… And you look divine."

The realisation struck like a thunderbolt, rendering you momentarily speechless. Krennic's cryptic insinuation about being a 'possession' suddenly made sense—jealousy seemed to be the most plausible explanation, although it felt improbable given your position as just his assistant. Then, doubts began to seep in as you recalled that he might have had someone else before you, and maybe even before that.

Standing up, nerves jangling, you instinctively took a step back from the Chiss, your thumbs nervously twiddling as you grappled with the situation. "I'm not that kind of girl, Grand Admiral—"

"Thrawn."

"Yes, sorry... I'm not that kind of girl."

He regarded you with an almost quizzical look, his eyes betraying a subtle understanding of the implications behind your words. "And I'm not that type of man," he responded calmly, though your scoff interrupted him. A brief pause followed as he closed the distance between you, his gaze piercing. "You do not believe me."

"You're a powerful man, you've probably had numerous assistants, interns, before me..." you stated your thoughts, a surge of boldness propelling your words. "I don't want to be just another assistant, disposable at your whim."

Thrawn observed you, his face maintaining an air of impassivity yet hinting at a hidden admiration for your courage. "May I be honest?"

Silent but attentive, you allowed him to continue, even as his words stung. "Your work is subpar. Lacking."

Ouch.

"Yet, you've remained my longest-serving assistant," he remarked, drawing closer, and this time, you didn't pull away. "Despite mistakes, missed deadlines... Do you know why?"

He stood before you, his presence almost overwhelming, his eyes emanating a deep red hue, sending shivers down your spine as his warm breath brushed against your skin. Inhaling a distinctive, spicy scent mixed with a hint of alcohol from the Ball, you felt your knees weakening, your preconceptions about him slowly crumbling. "N-No," you finally managed to breathe out.

Thrawn's admission rang out in the quiet room, his voice a blend of quiet intensity. "Because what I want is you. I want you to be mine, I need you to be mine."

"Grand A—"

"Say my name properly," his hand swiftly found your waist, tracing the delicate details of the dress he had meticulously chosen for you. "Say it."

Your eyes met his, the words you intended to voice dissolving as all you could focus on was his demand. "Thrawn."

His chest heaved subtly at the sound of his name spoken by you. "Again," he urged, this time his other hand tenderly yet with some vigour cupping your jaw.

Your eyes closed involuntarily, caught in a trance. "Thrawn... what is happening?"

"You have captured my interest since the first time you entered my office," his hand glided from your waist to the small of your back, and you found yourself instinctively leaning into his touch.

The nagging doubt that this could be too good to be true lingered in your mind. "Have you said that to all of your assistants?"

He chuckled, the resonance of his low laughter sending vibrations through your chest. "Now, now... I was not lying when I said that I am not that kind of man. Have you ever seen a Chiss with another person?"

Truthfully, you had never witnessed any other Chiss aside from him. "Well, no, but—"

"Then understand me," he insisted, drawing you closer against his chest, your hands clutching the lapels of his black tuxedo. "Understand that I do not seek companionship, I do not pursue romantic commitments. War and military endeavors dominate the minds of my species. So, tell me, why are you at the forefront of mine?"

"I... don't know," you confessed, feeling an electric excitement coursing through your skin.

His hand cupped your cheek, his breath grazing against your skin as he leaned in. "A woman like you can make a man like me lose control."

His proximity made it hard to breathe, yet it felt inexplicably right to lean toward him. "Can anyone know about us?"

The query hung in the charged air, bold and daring. You anticipated the response, though his confirmation solidified it. "No, nobody can know."

The weight of the decision hung heavy in your mind. You understood the necessity of keeping your connection with him secret; his position was far too vital to risk any involvement. “But, my devotion, my loyalty… it’s all yours.” His interruption broke through your thoughts, and as you opened your eyes to meet his gaze, you found yourself once again ensnared by the fiery red glow that captivated you.

"Lose control then."

Without hesitation, his lips crashed onto yours, enveloping your senses in a whirlwind of passion. His kiss, intense and commanding, nearly swept you off your feet. His hands explored your body, fingers gripping your hips firmly before lifting you effortlessly. Your legs instinctively wrapped around his torso as he skillfully guided you through his quarters, never once breaking the embrace, and eventually leading you into his bedroom.

You find yourself being placed on a bed, his body leaning over you as his lips, intoxicating and flavoured with just a tinge of alcohol from this evening move from your lips, down your neck before he stands over you.

“I have submitted to you,” with one hand he unclasps the button of his tux before moving it off his shoulders and carelessly chucking it to the side, followed by him unclasping the top button of his shirt, “are you willing to submit to me?”

(Art by Raevulsix)

Sitting up on your elbows, you’re prepared to answer but your words are caught in your mouth as he unbuckles his pants, sliding the belt out of the loops before he releases his strong, throbbing cock.

Your mouth salivates, watching as he moves his hand along its length. You couldn’t help the gasp that left your lips just at the size of him and it made you both excited and also a little nervous.

“I assume that you like what you see?”

You nod, your legs coming together as you feel your cunt begin to throb which doesn’t go unnoticed by Thrawn. “Crawl towards me.”

Obeying, you crawl on your hands and knees across the sheets, your white dress trailing behind you before you are sat comfortably in front of him, his beautiful blue cock twitching under your wanting gaze.

Thrawn lets out a soft sigh, sliding his hand down to the base of his length and tilts his head at you before dangling the curve of his dick down toward you. You open your mouth almost on instinct and slide your tongue out, grazing the underside of the head.

“You’ve done this before,” he comments with glowing eyes.

“Once or twice,” you whisper, sitting up onto your knees to take the fullness of the head into your mouth, rolling your tongue around the tip of it, melting at the saltiness of his precum.

Thrawn moans, long and low. It's been excruciating for him to not have been able to touch you until now and you were absolutely perfect. Large blue hands lift to your head and his fingers slide through the roots of your hair, tugging softly—encouraging, pushing you to take more. "Now that is my good girl." He practically purrs, and the ache between your legs throbs even more with excitement. “You are wonderful.”

You blush, unsure if it’s due to the compliments or the fact your boss's cock is stuffed in your mouth which had your lips etched open wide and eyes already starting to water. As he drops his pants fully and removes his shirt from his body along with his tie and pants, you look up at him with adoration.

You run your hands up and down his toned thighs as you begin to take him deeper into your mouth (if you even can), your saliva dribbling down his heated skin and your chin.

Thrawn curls his dexterous digits tighter into your hair and holds your head still as you envelope him as far as you can, opening your throat for him as he begins a violent and sudden ruts into your mouth. You whimper in please, a hand coming between your legs as you pull your dress to the side and dive your fingers straight to your clit as he deepthroats your pretty mouth.

His grunts and moans fill the room yet remain low and husky as you feel his tip poke at the back of your throat that forces a response from you; gagging on his velvety and soaked cock.

You hold strong for him, your fingers aching as you rub your clit in a circular fashion and push down the pleasant assault on your throat. “Look at you, a mess… it is rather arousing.” He cooes, one of his hands leaving your hair and holding his cock as he pulls out, giving you a very brief gasp of air before he slips it straight past your lips again.

Closing your eyes, you swallow uselessly around his thickness as he grunts and gives a few shallow thrusts before he pulls you back off. The sound you make is ragged, spit bubbling from your lips and tears rolling down your cheeks as he cups a hand under your chin and brings your face up. “And did I say you could touch yourself?” His eyes glance down at the sight of your hand between your legs. “Very insubordinate.”

You had never been so belittled yet praised at the same time before but it had your blood boiling in lust for it. “I couldn’t help it,”

“That much is obvious,” he replies as he wipes a stray tear from your cheek, “lay back. I want to look at you.”

Doing as you’re told, you scoot back before laying back on the bed, your head hitting one of the pillows as he analyzes you fully from the end of the bed. His expression was unreadable, not showing much signs but as he looked at you, you just admired him for a second too.

Tall, handsome and clearly strong from being a skilled fighter, you were a little breathless and now, a little insecure.

“Don’t worry,” his words broke you out of your trance, watching him kneel on the bed before he moves towards you, “you are breathtaking to look at.”

Heat rises to your cheeks and bashfully, you look away from his gaze but find yourself softly moaning as you feel something warm and wet caress at your exposed thigh.

Looking back his way, Thrawn lay flat on his stomach and tediously licked at your flesh, your skin dousing in goosebumps at his touch. “Thrawn…” you breathe, now meeting his dark, glowing gaze as he folds your dress upwards, exposing yourself to him.

Thrawn pushes your panties to the side, hooking his finger through the damp fabric to expose your glistening cunt to which he made a noise of satisfaction. “You smell beautiful.”

You let out a soft and nervous chuckle but your nerves are dwindled when Thrawn continues to kiss at your inner thighs, tasting the slightly salty tang of your skin before you let out a small yelp of surprise when his teeth sink into your skin, his tongue circling around the teeth marks that he left. “I hope you do not mind if I sometimes find myself needing to taste you.”

You blink at him, breathing ragged. Nobody had ever bitten you before but it didn’t even hurt. It was new to you and the sensation made your mind whirl. So, you shake your head and watch as he continues to leave love bites on the inside of your thighs, marking his territory; his breath warm and fanning agasint your sex that you were so eager for him to touch.

“Thrawn… touch me. Please.”

There’s a chuckle that lasts a moment before he says, “I am not one to take orders… but since you asked so nicely.” He growled the last part until his lips latched to your cunt and you let out the most pathetic whine you could muster.

“Perfect." Thrawn grunts, his breath on your wetness making your toes curl as tongue slides flat against your folds and up to your clit.

“F-Fuck, Thrawn…!” You choke, stifling your ragged gasp with a hand over your mouth in the fears someone would hear the lewd noises of your moaning and the lapping and sucking of your pussy.

You look down at Thrawn at work, obsessed with the fact that his eyes were trained on you with an intense gaze. He’s sucking on your clit with such dominance that has your hands gripping the sheets beneath you as his hands clasp on your thighs, spreading them open as they threaten to close.

It had been a while since you had been touched like this so there’s no surprise that you felt your climax begin to bubble.

“Oh my.. fuck… Thrawn I’m going to-.”

“Do it. Cum on my tongue. Now.”

Legs spasming, stars blurring your vision you feel yourself let go, followed by a collected moan from the both of you as he laps up your juices. Your body is heaving from the sensation but Thrawn doesn’t stop.

“Another.”

“T-Thrawn… I can’t…” you rasp, completely overstimulated as your body writhes in your dress and across the sheets.

“I know you humans are capable of some remarkable achievements. This is one of them. Cum again.” His mouth is back on your folds, tongue rubbing along your clit furiously to force another orgasm from you.

You wanted to cum again, desperately, but your body was tingling and shaking too much for you to fathom what was even happening.

Despite the bed being so large and spacious, as your body involuntarily fights against him, your head is bumping against the headboard as Thrawn pushes his tongue deep inside you, strong and powerful hands biting into the flesh of your thighs as your whole body convulses.

“Thrawn,” you gasp, your hand finding its way onto the sheets, gripping tight, “I can’t.”

“Another.” He demands from you, tongue relentless. Not once did he even lift a finger to your pussy, the pleasure being solely done by his tongue. You pondered what it’d feel to have his fingers inside you but as the familiar sight of stars began to speckle your vision, your body fires up.

“That’s it,” he growls into your cunt, sending violent vibrations through your body, “I knew you could do it.”

You're crying his name, sweat coating your body as you let out a lewd cry as your body gives in to Thrawn’s advances.

As you heave, catching back your breath Thrawn has moved away from your cunt as you flop onto your side, completely spent.

Your legs still twitch and Thrawn watches you in amazement. The mattress sinks beside you as Thrawn brings you to him, your back pressed to his bare chest as he runs his fingers up and down your arm. “You really are quite enchanting.”

You let out a breathless laugh and found your head falling back into the crook of his neck, your heart rate calming down. “So are you.”

The compliment repeats in his mind, not really used to such pleasantries but nonetheless gives a rare smile. “Pleasures all mine,” he purrs, leaning down as his lips ghost over your ear before he plants a delicate kiss to your lobe that had you biting your lip.

You could feel his erection pressing into your back and you damned the beautiful dress for blocking the warmth of his skin against you again. But despite the room having a chill to it, the fire in both of you was sure to warm you up.

His lips move from your ear as he leans more over you and you crane your neck, giving him the access you knew he desired as his lips found your skin, teeth grazing your pulse.

Your breaths came in shallow, uneven waves, charged with anticipation as you awaited his next move.

"Do I detect a flicker of unease?" His voice, low and delicate, cascaded over you, sending goosebumps skittering along your spine.

You turned to meet his gaze, a response ready. "Not at all," you replied, your voice betraying the hint of excitement that danced within.

He leaned closer, his words a whisper against your lips. "All in good time, my pet. Patience," he murmured, grazing a phantom kiss over your mouth. "For now, I just want to revel in your presence."

Your smile was tender, curiosity lacing your words. "And how long do you plan to bask in this admiration?"

His gaze held yours, an intensity in his touch as his hand cupped your jaw. "Are you expected elsewhere tonight?" His inquiry lingered, hinting at a deeper intention.

“No,” you shake your head, looking down at his lips and subtly biting your own before meeting his gaze, “I just want you.”

“You are to do exactly as I say,” he utters, his thumb trailing over your lower lip before you take the instinct of letting him slide it inside your mouth, allowing you to suck on his digit eagerly, “and that is to be patient.”

You whine softly around his thumb, your pussy beginning to throb as you crave him. Suddenly, you got bold. You pull his thumb out of your mouth with a pop and meet his beautiful eyes again. “Perhaps I should have kept speaking to Director Kren-.”

He snaps.

A fire sizzled in him at the mere sound of his rival's name coming from your mouth, his jaw clenching but alas increasingly aroused at your defiance and his clear sign of jealousy.

Smashing his lips to yours, you’re brought to his chest with an intensity you hadn’t seen from him yet. Your lips felt swollen from his scorching kiss that left you breathless, needing more as you tug on his broad shoulders to bring him even closer to you.

“How dare you say his name in here,” he growls, raking his hands up your thighs as he shifts your dress past your knees, letting it ruch just above your navel and pulling your panties down to your ankles that you kick off, “that man infuriates me to no end.”

He leans over you, capturing your lips but before you could kiss back, he’s pulling away, teeth grazing your lower lip. “Sounds like you’re jealous,” you rasp only to receive a firm spank to your rear before his mouth moves to your neck, sucking and marking his territory once again.

“How can that be?” He murmurs against your hot, sweating skin, “I’m the one with the masterpiece.”

Before you could even fathom his words, you’re pushed up against the headboard, making space for Thrawn’s large and toned body between your legs, his cock and balls resting hot and heavy against your bare, wet cunt.

Dazed, you look at the scene between your legs before you, never in a thousand years would you think you would have the Grand Admirals cock just resting against you. On you.

“I’m going to fuck you,” his words both sounded like a command and a promise to which, you mouth a breathless ‘please’.

You whimper in anguish as he presses his cock down against your folds, teasing you as he thrusts his hips back and forth slowly. “I want you to beg. I want you to beg me to slide my cock into your pussy.”

“Please Thrawn, please fuck me. Please fuck me until I cum all over your cock again.” You wiggle your hips, attempting to coax Thrawn’s length to conveniently slip inside but by the size of him, this would be a delicate operation.

“That’s it,” he cooed, gripping his cock and stroking it slowly above you, letting the tip rub against your aching pearl, “you have submitted to me perfectly so far…”

Then, you feel his cock press into you, your pussy opening to welcome him all the way in. You're tender already but the pain that hits you as his cock splits you open is fucking incredible.

It’s hard to read his expression but he’s holding his breath, letting his eyes close he slowly seethes all the way in you. His fingers bruise into your thighs as he keeps them apart as you white-knuckle grip onto the sheets. “Wow,” you keen, “f-fuck - that’s amazing.”

“What a good girl you are,” his blazing eyes meet yours, “and it appears you take my cock exceptionally well.”

The motion of him sliding in and out of you slowly only lasts a few moments before Thrawn gives you everything. Grabbing your hips, he lifts you to meet his now rough and demanding commands, eyes not once leaving your face.

He’s analysing every movement, every sound and every look you make. Like he’s making a mental note of you.

Words strangled in your throat but the gentle groans and low rumble of his rare praises is enough to have your eyes rolling back, cursing loudly as you feel him so full inside you. A prick of heat dances down your spine and settles in your abdomen, increasing the already growing fire of arousal that was quickly overtaking you.

He moves one hand down your body, caressing your breasts from over your dress which has your head tilting back in pleasure but not before he grabs at your throat. His hold isn’t dangerous, in fact it was very alluring as he keeps your focus solely on him. “Don’t you look away from me.”

“Yes, Thrawn.” You pant, gasping as he ever so gently squeezes your throat as he drills hard and fast right into you

Minutes of exctasy pass and soon, Thrawn has flipped you so you straddled on top of him, not once breaking away from you as he ruts his hips upwards, your chest falling against his bare one as he fucks you with great determination.

“O-oh fuck! Thrawn please…!” You whimper pathetically, sobbing into his chest as his arms wrap around your body, pressing you tight against him, confined to his warm skin.

He’s groaning your name, teeth biting into the flesh of your shoulder before he moves you so you’re sat up straight, grabbing hold of your dress so you have nowhere to go. “Ride me. Come on.” With one hard spank to your arse, you squirm in pleasure; eyes locked to his as you began to move your hips to and fro, dragging your pussy along his cock that was soaked with your juices.

Nails biting your hips, you writhe on him, your hands falling to hold onto his toned pectorals, watching as he stares up at you as he fills every inch of you.

His blown pupils show that he is hungry and at long last, he starts to remove your dress. Tossing it to the side, he sits up slowly watching your breasts bounce up and down on your chest as you grind hard on his cock. “Your body would be perfect as a sculpture.” His fingers caress over your stiffened nipples, a hum of satisfaction in his throat. “That way I could admire you when you are in my absence.”

You couldn’t help yourself, planting a heated kiss to his lips as his words spur you on to satisfy the Grand Admiral. His right hand cups your cheek, his tongue sliding in your mouth where you could taste your orgasm from before. “I need you, Thrawn.”

“You are mine.” He murmurs to your lips, noticing as your rhythm starts to get jagged he does you the courtesy of laying you down on your side. And just like the before, he slips behind you but this time also sliding himself inside you.

Legs like jelly, your body is still alight with desire, one arm snaked under your nude body, cupping your jaw as he holds your head back just far enough so he can kiss and nip at your lips. You cock your leg up a bit, allowing Thrawn to fuck you with extra slickness. You take him inside your fluttering cunt with almost no resistance, just enveloping him in a heat that you were desperate for him to not to leave because it feels so good. You feel so good and so full.

The sound of his cock slapping your wet cunt was disgustingly filthy and you kept having the creeping nervous feeling that someone would have heard both of your secret ‘meeting’. “Nobody will enter,” he says as if reading your mind, “try and relax.”

His lips move from yours to your neck, sharp teeth grazing over your already bruised skin as he keeps one hand on your jaw, the other sliding over your breasts and giving them a teasing slap that emits a moan from your throat. “Oh, you like that? Would you care for another?”

And before you could even scream yes, he slaps your tits one more before his hand flies straight to your cunt, fingers expertly caressing your clit that makes your body involuntarily jolt.

“Gorgeous little tart.” He growls, hips now pounding into you that you were certain it was going to leave bruises as he circles his fingers deliciously over your swollen bud.

"Fuckfuckfuckfuck—" you cry, sweat beads trailing down the side of your face, only to have Thrawn's strong tongue dancing with your own.

Toes curling, you're melting into his mouth and under his touch as you whimper that you’re going to cum, only for him to encourage you to do so. And you do.

Your body burns with heat until it feels like you have been doused with water, putting out the flame inside you. You cum harder than you think you ever have in your life. A strangled cry of pleasure is made from your mouth, as if you were in pain but not at all.

“That’s it… what a delicious sight you are.” He purrs, eyes burning with delight as his thrusting lets up, welcoming the feeling of your tight and wet walls caressing around his cock.

Then, you’re being moved into the most compromising position you could be. Your chest is heaving wildly, eyes glistening in lust because despite your legs still shaking from your climax, you are pressed onto your back, legs folding over your body as he crouches between your legs. His cock pushed down straight into your core. His veined hands grip your ankles, keeping you in place as well as using you for balance.

“You have presented yourself so well tonight and you have obeyed me perfectly,” he rasps, mouth almost drooling, “now is time for your reward.”

Speechless, as usual when you’re around him, you’re surprised at how flexible you suddenly are as your feet almost come to the side of your head. His body pressed tight to the backs of your legs until his lips touch yours, rough and demanding just like his thrusts.

The position, the sounds, who you were with was sending your mind into overdrive. Your hands find their way around his back, nails accidentally scratching at his skin that made him hiss subtly as you go to apologise, he says, “harder.”

“What?” You gasp, both from him unexpected pleasure in you clawing at his back and how his cock has filled you completely, tip pushing right to your cervix.

“Harder.”

So you do. Your fingers claw at him desperately, legs aching and clenching your cunt around his cock hungrily making the roll of Thrawn’s hips more violent and his subtle groans of pleasure louder.

His hot breath catches your own as he pressed his sweat-slicked forehead to yours, legs quivering as you pant his name.

“You’re going to take every drop of my seed, do you understand me?” He growls, a shit-eating smirk on his lips as he gauges your reaction.

You nod your head eagerly but it wasn’t a good enough answer for him as he lets go of one of your ankles and wraps a tight hand round your throat. “Answer me.”

“Yes, y-yes.” You cry in pleasure, matching his smirk before time seems to grind to a halt as he plants himself as far as he can go into your womb, letting all of his scorching seed spill out with each pulse from his stiff cock.

Rope after rope of white lace pours into your used pussy, and the Grand Admiral doesn’t dare to pull out before he has made sure that you have received every last drop inside of you.

He lets out a heaved, heated breath before he pulls out of you, the feeling lewd and filthy before he collapses on to the bed beside you.

You lay still, heart racing at what just happened and before you could even turn to look at your Boss, he had stood up and walked across the room and left behind a door.

A twinge of hurt proceeds you as well as the sudden change of temperature in the cold air. You swing your legs round and sit on the edge of the bed, running a hand through your sex-crazed hair before you swipe up your dress in your hands.

Before you could slip away, preparing for the awkward retreat to your own quarters, the door glided open with a hiss.

"I have drawn you a—" His voice filled the room, interrupting your hasty exit, causing you to swallow hard. Glancing over your shoulder, you saw him holding one white robe while draped in another.

"I just... I thought..." Your words trailed off as he advanced toward you, a sudden surge of nervousness overtaking you.

He tilted his head to the side, his gaze penetrating. "Did I not convey that every word I spoke was genuine?" The question hung in the air, his sincerity challenging any wavering doubts.

“It seems too good to be true.” Your sigh carried both disbelief and a tinge of self-doubt as he closed the gap between you, his presence a calming yet overwhelming force. "I don't deserve a man like you," you confessed, your words carrying the weight of uncertainty.

In response, he enveloped you in a comforting embrace of a soft, white robe, shielding your exposed skin from the cool air.

"And why would you think that?" His question hung in the room, probing deeper into your insecurities.

As his actions of tonight seemed to have spoken louder than words, a glimmer of reassurance began to emerge within you. With tender care, he guided you across the room, revealing the spacious bathroom with its welcoming, steam-filled air. The drawn bath exuded an enticing warmth, a stark contrast to the chilly room.

"I want you to be mine. If you will have me," he murmured, his voice resonating with earnestness, echoing the genuine desire for your acceptance.

You turned to meet his gaze, observing the hand clasped in yours before lifting your eyes to his captivating, unique red gaze. There was a captivating allure, something undeniably beautiful and different about him.

Your attempt to decipher his unreadable expression failed as his stoic visage remained unchanged. Yet, those enigmatic eyes held a magnetic pull, drawing you in. "Will you take care of me, Thrawn?" you asked, your voice carrying a vulnerable plea.

"I will do everything in my power for you," he assured you.

The moment lingered, and finally, your lips met his in a tender, gentle kiss. He guided you towards the inviting warmth of the bath, easing your weary body into the scorching water, allowing the tension to dissipate.

"Your face is like art," he suddenly declared, catching you off guard once more. His words prompted a staggered breath, causing you to look up at him as he admired you.

"Do you not agree?" His question tinged your cheeks with doubt and embarrassment.

"I've never viewed myself like that before,"

“I’m sure you will begin to find that you will agree with me for most things,” he drops the robe from his body and gestures you to sit forward and as you do, you sigh heavenly as he slips in behind you, arms wrapping around your body as your back is brought to his chest.

"And soon you will agree and see why you belong with me," he murmured, his voice carrying a sense of quiet assurance as he tenderly ran warm water up and down your arms, creating a serene atmosphere enveloping both of you in a comfortable moment.

His tender care continued as he focused on you, his lips trailing softly over the marks he had left on your neck. Whispered words of praise graced your skin, creating a delicate symphony of affectionate gestures, each touch and utterance a testament to his adoration for you.

Later that night as you grew tired, he gently carried you back to his bed and settled beside you, drifting off to sleep, the weight of your actions pressed heavily on your mind. The realisation dawned that this relationship would be far from ordinary. He held power, wealth—everything beyond your reach but he was offering it to you. a fundamental shift, a leap into an entirely different world.

Maybe, just maybe, this unexpected turn could be the shift you had been waiting for your entire life.

———

———

Masterlist

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#nahoney22 writes #thrawn x reader #grand admiral thrawn #Thrawn x female reader #admiral thrawn x reader #star wars #grand admiral Thrawn x reader

[deepouterspacecandy]

The Wolf and the Fox

I’m feeling rather sentimental lately, so I just wanted to pop in here real quick and say that kindness matters. Kindness for yourself, and for others. If your art, whether that be writing or something else entirely, helps you navigate this world—it matters, too. I hope you feel safe today, online, and in real life. This piece and all my work, really, is 18+ only. This one isn’t hot and heavy by any means, but there’s some violence and sexual themes sprinkled about. If you enjoy it, maybe I’ll chip away at another chapter. Otherwise, thank you so much for spending some of your precious time with my words and my mushy heart. Be well.

“This rivalry—whatever it is—ends now,” Isaac barks, pinning you both with a vicious scowl.

Abby crosses her stubborn arms across her chest, a snarl curled on her smug lips. You’re struggling to control the urge to roll your eyes with such intensity that they detach from your skull and land on the floor.

“Not a word from either of you?” Isaac says as his glaring frustration builds. He points irritably at the chairs across from his desk. “Sit down. Now.”

“But I have training in twenty minutes,” Abby explains, her meek manner only apparent when she is around the boss.

“I don’t give a damn—sit!”

Isaac raises his voice, making her flinch, and a sense of gratification fills you. It quickly dissipates when he directs it towards you.

“Did I stutter?” he shouts, kicking at the legs of your chair for emphasis.

As Abby turns her head, a smirk spreads across her face, igniting a fiery determination within you to bring her haughtiness crashing down by any means necessary.

“If it weren’t for him, I’d drop your ass right here,” you mumble.

She opens her mouth to retort, Isaac’s hands slamming down on the desk, causing both of you to jump.

“Consider yourselves lucky I haven’t tossed you both in the stockades. I need you to get your act together before the next raid. Otherwise, I would not hesitate. You embarrass me.”

Abby pinches the bridge of her nose, blowing out a heavy breath.

“Well, I’d hate to be the reason she ships off in a pissy mood,” you say, throwing your hands up in mock surrender. “Now you only have about a hundred other people to accost before she leaves.”

“Fuck you,” Abby says.

“Enough!”

Isaac leans back in his worn leather chair, and the metallic creak breaks the sudden silence of the room. The weight of his authority is suffocating, leaving your mouth dry, while Abby’s hands twitch anxiously beside you.

His finger jabs in her direction first.

“I expect more from you,” he says. “This ends here. Do you understand me, Abigail? I will not tolerate this petty behaviour.”

The verbal lashing doesn’t bring you any delight; instead, it serves as a painful reminder of her superiority over you and the respect the WLF has for her. Respect you’d happily offer if she didn’t treat you like a floating piece of swamp trash.

“You,” he says, his fury focused solely on your shrinking form. “I had high hopes for you. I’m now questioning my judgement and that does not please me. Are you trying to make me look like a fool?”

“No, sir.”

“Come again?”

“No, sir,” you say with conviction, dipping your chin in submission. “It won’t happen again.”

“Delightful,” he growls, his hands steepled in front of him. Sarcasm oozes out of his mouth like venom. “Tomorrow presents the perfect opportunity for you to address your troubles, as I’ve scheduled you both to ship out.”

Abby keeps quiet, but her head drops back with melodramatic flair. Your eyes involuntarily roll in response, unable to contain your annoyance this time. Isaac doesn’t ignore the barbs before him.

“With bells on, do I make myself clear?” he orders.

He gestures for you to leave the room, instructing Abby to stay behind for a mission briefing.

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

In the gym, you can feel the tension and stress melt away as you push yourself to your physical limits. Amidst the clanging of iron plates and the rhythmic flow of blood in your muscles, your restless mind finally finds peace.

In an act of defiance, you increase the weight on the barbell, determined to spite Abby even if she isn’t there to see it. With the image of her smug face behind your eyelids, you push yourself through six strong reps, feeling your arms shake on the seventh.

Vascular hands appear above you, hovering just below the bar.

“Spot someone else,” you huff, adjusting your legs and arching your back.

“Seven is good. Eight is better,” Abby says, standing her ground. “Again.”

As the vibration in your arms intensifies, your frustration towards her swells.

“Use it,” she advises, leaning in closer for better guidance. “Let that anger drive you. Again.”

You’re considering quitting and giving her a piece of your mind. You picture yourself ripping into her and leaving without a second glance. Her body remains rooted in place, an unspoken challenge for you to make a move.

It’s the heaviest load you’ve ever pushed, and you can feel every ounce of weight straining your muscles. A guttural whimper escapes you as you force the weight up. Only at the end of your final rep does Abby touch the bar, leaving you to swipe the sweat from your forehead.

“Not bad,” she says.

You hoist yourself up and off the bench, returning the dumbbells you previously worked. It’s late, and the gym is empty save for the gargantuan pain in your ass following you around like a sullen shadow.

“You’re just going to ignore me now?” she asks, leaning flippantly against the squat rack.

“That was the plan, yeah,” you mumble, attempting to restore order to the chaotic pile of free weights, likely abandoned by a soldier with an inflated sense of self.

“Your plan is total crap, but okay.”

Trying to maintain your composure, you shake your head at her arrogance, staying focused on the task at hand.

“Look, we should try to get along,” Abby says. “I don’t want this affecting what goes down out there. People depend on us.”

“Okay, Isaac,” you say, slinging your gym bag over your shoulder with a scoff. “I’ve wasted enough time with this. See you at zero six hundred.”

Her voice echoes behind you as you push through the gym doors and into the dim, vacant hallway.

“Don’t be late!”

If your arms weren’t so sore, you might consider the idea of flipping her off through the window.

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

The rift between the two of you didn’t happen overnight. It resulted from a multitude of minor incidents and one miscommunication that was blown way out of proportion. As Abby trudges ahead of you on foot, swearing up a storm under her breath, you’re reminded of this.

“You’re being too loud,” you say, breaking into a slow jog, trying to catch up with her massive steps.

Even as you approach a full sprint, your footsteps are blades of grass in the wind compared to hers. As she spins on her heel to glare at you, you can’t help but feel a pang of embarrassment at how out of breath you are, desperately trying to keep up with her.

“Cardio wouldn’t kill you,” Abby says, waving a dismissive hand in the air before striding off. “I might, though.”

You contemplate staying put, observing how far she goes before she finally notices your absence. It’s likely that she’d travel two states over before she bothered to look back.

“Duly noted. Since we’re on the topic of what wouldn’t kill us, how about you practice walking like an adult human?” you quip. “Instead of a full-grown safari animal. Are you trying to get us assassinated?”

“Just you,” she says.

You’d love nothing more than to fling a sticky ball of mud at the back of her head and leave her sputtering. Unfortunately, you are miles from home and stranded without the vehicle you left the stadium in.

“Screw this,” you exclaim, raising your hands in annoyance before veering off from her direction and choosing to follow your own path.

“Where the hell are you going?”

“Away from you.”

It’s incredibly reckless and potentially life-threatening, but common sense is the last thing on your mind. Before the WLF came along, you had already endured years of living outside the safety of the city walls. Currently, Abby’s actions are hindering concentration, and you’d rather deal with Isaac’s rage than spend another hour bickering with his golden soldier.

“You’re going the wrong way!” she shouts, her voice reverberating off the crumbling apartments.

Sudden, gurgled screams in the distance paralyze you. The racket seems to come from everywhere and nowhere at once, growing louder with each passing moment, turning your skin to ice.

“Oh, fuck!”

Chaos erupts as a group of decomposing Runners break through the glass doors of the building next to you, hell bent on tearing you apart. The sheer intensity of their shrieks overwhelm your senses as you fumble for your gun.

When Abby clutches your arm, it jolts you back to the present moment.

“Watch my six!”

With a swift yank, she hurls you behind her, rapid gunfire ringing out and adding to the deafening commotion all around you. As you empty your clip, the acrid smell of gun smoke fills the air. A runner emerges, and the lethal tip of your knife slides into his skull, dropping him like a sack of bricks. Your wrists ache as you slash your knife across any infected that break Abby’s barrier until you’re stunned by a pustular crawler who drags you to the ground.

Just as you think it’s all over for you; Abby fearlessly straddles the festering monster and snaps its neck.

With ease, she throws the corpse aside and pulls you up. Your wobbly knees collapse beneath you, expeditiously forged by gelatin and nothing more. Disorientation prevents you from formulating any brilliant escape plan.

You’re not sure how the two of you ended up barricaded inside an eighth-floor condo, but somehow you made the trek unscathed.

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

Spirals of peeling paint adorn the large, cracked walls, and you wonder how long the inhabitants survived when the pandemic struck. Despite the layer of mold and dust that coats every piece of overturned furniture, the scent of old leather wafts from the neatly aligned suitcases by the door.

You try to investigate who might’ve called this place home, but the clues are bleak. Empty picture frames rest on the fireplace mantel, with broken glass scattered about like grains of sand on a long-forgotten beach.

Abby disappears down the hall as you lose yourself in the moth-bitten curtains fluttering hauntingly against several fractures in the towering panoramic windows. It’s so quiet in this suite that you doubt anything is still lingering, even in the darkest shadows.

“Let me take a look at that,” Abby says as she flips over the loveseat, laying her jacket over its musty cushions. “Cop-a-squat.”

As you continue to stare at her, she fidgets, shifting nervously from one foot to the other. She clears her throat, gesturing at your ankle.

“You’re limping. Let me see.”

The adrenaline was pumping so hard during the fight that you didn’t even notice that you had rolled it at some point.

“It’s fine,” you dismiss. “We should check for scratches first.”

The snail’s pace you’ve adopted reflects your reluctance and Abby blows out a harsh breath.

“I’m clean, and that can wait—you don’t want that to swell up,” she says. “Come here.”

“Maybe I’ll turn when you’re busy playing doctor. Then what?”

You’re only half joking, but the way her mouth quirks up into a soft smile eases your mind. You can count on one hand how many of those you’ve witnessed on her. It’s a fleeting thought that you swallow down with the lump in your throat, but Abby is exceptionally pretty.

Yeah, you definitely caught Cordyceps.

“I decide who bites me and when,” she says, patting the sofa to hurry you along.

You can feel the heat rising in your cheeks as her comment sinks in. Her inquisitive gaze dissects your response, and her modest smile transforms into a full-bodied grin.

“That was too easy,” she teases. “An unsullied girl, huh?”

Plunking down in front of her, you watch as she kneels to inspect your injury with a light hand. A dull throb blooms along your foot as she presses and maneuvers it. You do your best to suppress any wincing, but the moment she rotates the joint, pain shoots up your calf.

She pulls a medical kit from her backpack and makes quick work of treating your ankle.

“You are way off track,” you say, trying to scrape your dignity off the stale carpet. “Your train is taking a dirt road—that’s how off track you are.”

“Got it,” she smirks, wrapping the tensor bandage snug.

“And who says unsullied? A gravedigger from the fifteen hundreds—Jesus,” you say. “I didn’t realize you were a whole two centuries old.”

When she looks up at you through her lashes and giggles, the sound is more infectious than spores. You chomp on your lower lip to keep from smiling, but your cheeks sting from suppression.

“I read a lot,” she says with a shrug. “Is that such a bad thing?”

Abby’s rugged hands linger as she rests your foot casually on her lap. The weight of her touch is more comforting than you’re willing to admit.

“I’m personally more concerned about your pale complexion and aversion to sunlight,” you say, wiggling your toes to keep the pins and needles at bay. “Does Owen know you’re a vampire?”

She rakes her teeth over her bottom lip.

“Is this where you finally confess you have the hots for him?” she asks. “You’re off the hook now that he’s no longer my problem.”

It’s as if the God of thunder himself dropped you in an ice bath. As soon as Abby mentions the flat-out conspiracy theory, it extinguishes the glee building between your ribs, leaving you deflated.

“I never had feelings for him,” you say, pulling your foot from her grasp.

“That’s not what he said.”

“Yeah, well, your boyfriend is a fucking jerk and a liar. But that’s obviously no surprise to you, given how everything shook out with Mel.”

As Abby’s heavy gulp echoes through the hollow room, you stand up just in time to avoid registering the pained look on her face. Although you may not be her biggest fan, it never brings you joy to see someone sad, never mind take part in it.

You attempt to distance yourself from the resurfacing memory of Manny’s party. The night Owen’s unrequited alcohol-infused advances made a mess of everything. Until that deceitful night, he had been a loyal friend to you, and it still unsettles you to remember the needless drama his cowardice brought about.

“His story checked out.”

“Oh, did it?” you chuckle humourlessly. “Supreme investigative journalism went on right under my nose, and I had no idea!”

“Why can’t you just admit it? It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“You know what, Abby? You’re dead wrong. But I don’t have to explain shit to you. I’m going to sleep.”  

With a purposeful shake, you rid her jacket of any dust before throwing it back to her. Driven by your determination to rise with the sun and get the long, miserable journey home over with, you stagger down the hall into the nearest bedroom.

Why did the damn Humvee have to malfunction and leave you deserted today of all days? If you didn’t get your butt handed to you on a silver platter, you would blame Isaac.

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

You are roused from sleep by a faint, repetitive thudding noise coming from somewhere inside the apartment. You blink against fatigue, the sky momentarily captivating you with its mesmerizing gradient of rich purple and blue. The shabby blinds filter the light, creating a lattice-like pattern of warm orange strokes on the walls.

It dawns on you that this dwelling must have been opulent in a previous time.

You stretch your weary muscles and track the sound until the subtle drumming leads you to the balcony. As the first light of dawn breaks, you find Abby poring over a tattered book, her heels absentmindedly knocking against the broken balcony ledge. Her long hair is golden and untamed, cascading down her bare back in wild ropes.

Your voice cracks from disuse as you mumble, “That’s one way to flag our team down.”

Engrossed in her book, she fumbles around for her damp shirt, the fabric slung over a nearby chair. Your etiquette kicks in and you hand it to her, averting your eyes.

“There’s laundry detergent on the counter,” she explains, dog earing her page to in favour of dressing herself. “It’s ancient but it smells better than I did, I’ll tell you that much.”

“Would you come inside already? That looks like it’s about to collapse. Aren’t you afraid of heights?” you ask.

Backward, she crab-walks through the sliding glass doors, her movements awkward and unsteady. As she hops up, the aroma of freshly fallen rain clings to her clothes.

“It’s not so bad when I’m distracted,” she says, thumbing at the abandoned novel. “How did you know?”

“Heard it through the grapevine,” you lie, gnawing at the corner of your chapped lip.

Following your team’s impressive escape through a high-rise complex, Isaac was the one who brought it to your attention. He thought that your fearless leadership would blend seamlessly with her fierce leadership, creating a formidable force. Abby could be the anchor that helped you find strength in your most terrifying moments, while you could be the guiding light that helped her find courage in hers.

Despite its initial promise, Isaac’s lack of realism is well-known.

“What are you afraid of?” she asks.

In this world, there is an abundance of things, enough to fill a scroll ten miles wide.

“People, mostly.”

She purses her lips, a frown pulling her feathered brows together.

“I guess I didn’t help much with that.”

“Yeah well, you don’t owe me anything.”

Her expression contorts as if she’s itching to argue against that statement. You divert her attention from the process by prioritizing the task ahead.

“We should go,” you say. “While it’s still quiet out there.”

She nods, pitching the book into a prehistoric pile of ashes in the fireplace.

It elicits a flabbergasted squeak from you, and she’s beguiled.

“What?” Abby chuckles.

“Now you won’t know how it ends,” you say.

“Nah, I’ve read this ending a million times,” she says, staring after the discarded book. “It’s nothing new.”

You would retrieve it for her if it didn’t threaten to leave your hands and all your gear covered in soot. Maybe her assumption is flawed.

“You’re just a rainbow of positivity in the morning,” you razz, and she snorts at your proclamation. “No, really. I’m floating on air over here.”

“You’re funny,” she says, and the sincerity of her tone takes you by surprise. “I didn’t let those monsters turn you into a zombie. That’s got to count for something, right?”

You suppose it does.

She takes extra care not to appear intrusive as she reaches over to lift the backpack from your shoulder.

“I’ve got it,” she says. “I’ll carry the heavy stuff today.”

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

As you settle back into the FOB, Isaac has you on light duty work assignments. It has helped you heal over the past four weeks, and as you’re easing back into your gym routines, you’re feeling strong. You find yourself in uncharted territory though, as this is the longest you’ve gone without joining a supply run—but lending a hand to the cooks in the kitchen is surprisingly fulfilling.

Avoiding Abby in the past has made it easy to continue to do so, even unintentionally. The only connection you’ve had with her since returning to base was through the stack of blueberry pancakes you whipped up for her team, which ultimately got passed on to her by someone else.

Since the mention of her name no longer brings you emotional pain, you’re satisfied with where things are. That is until Abby unabashedly leans over the cafeteria counter and whistles at you, attempting to grab your attention from across the kitchen.  

“Hi pancake girl,” she smirks.

“Pancake girl?” you groan, drying your hands on your apron. “I’m officially banning you from assigning nicknames. I’m still recovering from unsullied.”

Abby’s mischievous expression brightens up the poorly lit mess hall before she quickly commits to a truly theatrical act of sulking—bottom lip jutted out like a little kid.

“Oh man, I hate being punished—for how long?” she pouts.

The line of people behind her seems to multiply, and you try your hardest to juggle multiple tasks, but it becomes incredibly difficult with her playful gaze fixed on you.

“The rest of your natural born life feels appropriate,” you say, sliding a jug of juice across the counter for a group of soldiers. “Or at least until you come up with something better.”

“I can work with that,” Abby says, shuffling aside to make space for the growing queue of hungry civilians. “Your pancakes were a hit, though. My squad won’t shut up about them—and I love blueberries even though they stain the shit out of my hands.”  

Amidst the busy kitchen rush, a fellow crew member steps in to lend a hand, giving you a chance to take a breather. You chug a glass of water before giving Abby your full attention.

“I think it’s time we teach you about some ground-breaking eating tools.”

“Is that right?” she grins.

“Definitely,” you say, grabbing a roll of cutlery from the cart behind you. “For example, this here is a fork and knife combo. Rather brilliant in preventing blueberry stains instead of eating your pancakes like a toddler.”

Abby’s chin dips as she snickers, her spirited mood doing a fantastic job of lifting yours.

“What about that spoon thingy—where does that fit in?” she asks.

“Well, when you bless me with another horrid nickname, I can use this tiny shovel to dig through the floor and escape.”

The sound of Abby’s laughter is magnetic, drawing in everyone around her. She effortlessly embodies effective leadership, and it’s something about her you respect.

“It’s not usually this easy to make me laugh,” Abby says.

“I’m just that good,” you retort. “Unless you’re drinking on the job or something. Are you a day drunk, by any chance?”

She can barely contain her fascination as she shakes her head and looks up. The chow hall fades into a blur as soon as your eyes meet.

“No, I think it’s all you,” she murmurs, her fingers toying with the cuff of her sleeve. “Come on a run with me, okay?”

The clamour of clattering dishes and trays makes it difficult to hear her.

“I didn’t catch that. Come where?”

“A run with me,” she says, pronouncing each word like she’s teaching you to speak for the first time.  

“They haven’t cleared me yet.”

“Not that kind of run,” Abby says, pushing herself back from the counter, brows jumping. “Meet me at the track later, yeah?”

Trying to bridge the growing distance between you, you shout, “How about no!” as she continues to walk backwards, awaiting your response.

Disregarding your answer, she calls out the exact time she expects you to join her, overpowering everything else with her radiant grin.

“But I hate cardio!”

“Don’t leave me hanging, lazy girl,” she chimes, shouldering through the doors until all that’s left of her is a whirl of confused flutters between your ribs.

Her sprightly tone gives that moniker a whole new meaning, making it the most tolerable by far.

By the time your shift lets up, the halls are serene, as most of the residents have retreated to their quarters for the night. By helping to prep the food for the next few days, you’ve lightened the load for tomorrow’s workforce.

Cardio with Abby is bound to leave you needing a rest day.

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

The stark contrast between the bustling stadium and the peaceful calm that descends after everyone wraps up their day never ceases to leave you in awe. You’ve spent countless hours in the nosebleeds, admiring the arena you call home.

While cutting through the gardens, the sweet, floral scent that fills the air enchants you. A basket of cherries precariously perches on the edge of an overturned crate, beckoning you to indulge in their juicy goodness.

After popping one into your mouth, you sneakily pilfer a few more for later.

Pushing through the gates with your hip, Abby catches your eye immediately.

Clad in a pair of sweatpants and a baggy tank top, she jogs along the opposite end of the track. Her hair is in a wavy, swinging ponytail, and she looks like a completely different person from where you’re standing.

Despite your instinct to sprint and catch up, your legs remain rooted to the spot, inexplicably frozen. It is surprising to see such grace in someone who’s composed of mostly muscle and grit. The idea of how you might look while running enters your consciousness, a thought that never occurred to you before this moment. You walk just fine. Surely you can run without humiliating yourself.

“You made it,” Abby pants. “I was beginning to think you bailed on me.”

“I should’ve,” you tease. “I could be cozied up on my couch, watching the same movie over and over.”

“Which one?”

“The Breakfast Club,” you say with a half-hearted shrug. It may not be to everyone’s taste, but there’s an elusive charm that entices you to keep picking it up from the library. “It’s my comfort flick right now, I guess.”

Abby flashes a self-assured smile and nudges you forward with her elbow, urging you to get a move on. After a few minutes of walking side by side, you work up the nerve to inquire about the source of inexplicable happiness etched on her cheeks.

“I found that one, actually,” Abby explains, her shoulder brushing against yours as she drifts into your lane. “The Breakfast Club.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“The thing made it through a hellish trip all the way from Eastern Montana. I thought it might be the only thing that made it back for a bit there.”

“That bad, huh? Sounds brutal,” you say, your attention drawn to the laces on her left sneaker, as they slowly loosen. “Well, good thing the movie survived.”

“Ha-ha,” she drones. “You’re just hilarious.”

You appreciate her lightheartedness as she shrugs off the playful jabs, and you contemplate teasing her about her lack of spatial awareness as she keeps unintentionally bumping into you. As you notice her shoelace giving way and dragging on the ground, you swiftly extend your hand to her chest, signalling her to stop.

Without thinking, you crouch down in front of her to retie it, noticing her panting heavily above you at the ministration. Fumbling your first attempt, she chooses not to mention it and instead adjusts herself to make it more comfortable for you.

With one shoe firmly secured by a double knot, you see that her other shoelace is gradually unraveling. You fix that one, too.

“Don’t need anyone rolling their ankle,” you say.

You spring to your feet, causing her face and neck to turn a rosy shade that appears too vibrant for moderate exercise. You’re too preoccupied warding off the heat that is climbing up your own neck in tingly vines to tease her about it.

She softly whispers her gratitude.

Without ever picking up your speed beyond a steady stroll, you continue to complete laps on the track, the repetitive motion becoming almost meditative. She eagerly shares details about the book she’s immersed in, and you hang on to her every word, intrigued by her perceptive theories.

“Wait, did you invite me here just to talk about books?” you ask. “Because I have to admit, I don’t totally hate it.”

“I’m not boring you to death?”

“Not at all,” you say. A crisp breeze dances across your arms, and you to hug yourself to fight the chill. “It’s fun to read books through your eyes.”

“Hold up.”

She jogs toward the bleachers and returns with her bomber jacket in hand.

She clings onto it for a while, long enough for you to question if she intended to wear it herself. Abby clears her throat and clumsily extends her coat and her generosity to you.

“I don’t mind the cold,” she says. “For you—if you want.”

“Oh, so I get to choose now.”

“Yeah, but can you please wear it? The rejection is killing me a bit.”

A smile tugs at the corners of your lips. Even when she’s just messing around, she reveals delicate parts of herself that help you understand her more. With the garment draped over your frame, you jog ahead and give her a spin.

“Ay! Watch that ankle!”

“Oh, I’m back, baby,” you boast, darting back and forth to show off your agility.

She watches as you frolic around, and you swear the dorky smile on her face only slips when she catches herself doing it.

You stop in front of her, tracing the nametag stitched neatly below the collar.

Anderson.

“It looks way better on you. How is that even fair?”

 “It’s all this running we’ve been doing—I’m the superior athlete now,” you jest. “You might as well quit while you’re ahead, Anderson.”

“Think you can back that up?” she asks, her competitive edge shaking to the surface.  

She points at a couple of lamp posts across the field and starts the countdown. With a sudden burst of energy, you take off like a bullet before she’s ready, provoking her to hurl fake threats after you as she closes in on your head start.

Your uncontrollable laughter is hindering your ability to run as the thunder of her approaching steps grows louder. You cut her off before she can pass, interrupting her momentum and taking the win by a hair’s breadth.

“Not cool,” she huffs, folding over at the finish line. Catching her breath, she steadies her hands on her knees. “Play stupid games, win stupid prizes, right?”

“You’re just jealous I outsmarted you. All those muscles and for what?” you taunt.

Abby puffs out her chest in a defiant gleam of rebellion.

As you blindly try to free the rogue strands of hair that have become entangled with your lashes, you feel an annoying tickling sensation on your sweat-slicked face.

“Oh, come on,” you gripe.

“You’re ridiculous,” Abby says, drawing nearer. “Let me get it.”

With a slight tilt of her head, she patiently waits for you to acknowledge her offer.    

“Close your eyes for me,” she says.

You oblige, and suddenly, your heart pounds in your chest as her fingertip skims the sensitive skin between your eyelid and your brow. She meticulously brushes your hair back, tucking what she can behind your ears. A warm hum settles inside you as her touch makes your scalp tingle.

“Why are you being so nice?” you ask.

“It’s what you deserve,” Abby murmurs without missing a beat. “I’m sorry I wasn’t before.”

#abby the last of us #abby tlou #abby x fem!reader #abby x reader #abby x you #tlou abby #lesbian

[kazmura-archived]

THE NOT A DATE, DATE ✶ nishimura riki x fem reader 0.6k warnings, kissing fluff angst if you squint ﹕ series masterlist

you are known for your constant bickering and rivalry - on this occasion, you find yourselves at a bowling alley together, though both of you are reluctant to acknowledge that it's more than just a casual outing. despite the mutual denial, it's evident to everyone around that this outing holds all the elements of a date

Enemies to lovers? I just don’t get the appeal. Falling in love means to be happy, to find your other half and be at ease. No enemy can do that for you, especially if they're as annoying as mine.

Riki, they call him the prince of Decelis, and I swear I've seen girls actually bow to him in the halls. It's not an exaggeration. I never had anything to do with him until he decided to drop a bomb on the whole school, claiming we were dating and putting me in the spotlight. Ever since then he’s been after me. Even after I managed to clear up our fake scandal, he still insists on annoying me every chance he gets. From untying my shoelaces in the halls to paying surprise visits to my locker.

So it was no surprise when I arrived at my locker this morning to be greeted by Riki, a wide grin decorating his face. He leaned casually against the locker door, looking like he belonged there.

“Let’s go bowling!”

Is the prince trying to ask me out right now?

"Are you serious?" I asked cautiously, trying to hide my surprise.

Riki nodded, his playful smile still in place. "Don't get the wrong idea, I heard you were good at it, so now I need to beat you."

"There's no way I'd ever willingly go out with you."

3:20 PM

And there they stood, side by side at the counter, shoes in hand, both wearing determined expressions. The echoing sounds of clattering pins and laughter filled the bustling alley as they made their way onto the well-worn lanes.

"You seem awfully confident for someone who's about to lose," Riki teased, his eyes scanning the array of bowling balls for the perfect one.

She took a deep breath, attempting to steady her nerves. "We'll see about that," she replied, her eyes settling on what she believed to be the perfect ball.

It must've been a pretty impressive ball because, as it turned out, Riki had his eyes set on it too. Their hands brushed against each other, sending a surge of electricity through them both. They locked eyes in surprise, then quickly stepped back, trying to play it off.

They're both two dummies in love.

𓂃

As the game began, Riki couldn't help but notice her unusual bowling stance. "You know," he said with a hint of amusement, "Your form might be the reason you're losing."

She raised an eyebrow, not quite convinced. "Excuse me?"

He grinned, unable to resist the opportunity to tease her. "You might want to take a lesson from the one who's ahead by forty points."

With that, he positioned himself behind her, his hands gently guiding her through the movements, adjusting her stance and showing her the finer points of bowling technique.

"See, it's all in the wrist," he explained, his voice low and encouraging, his breath brushing against her ear. "And don't forget to aim for the right spot."

She followed his guidance, her heart pounding in her chest for an entirely different reason now. Riki's closeness, his warmth, and his hair tickling her neck had her on full shutdown.

His fingers gently grazed her hand, guiding it into the perfect position on the ball. "You've got the hang of it. Just relax and let it flow."

She tried to concentrate on the game, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. His scent, a subtle mix of cologne and mint, enveloped her senses. His warm breath on her neck sent shivers down her spine, and her heart raced as their bodies moved in perfect synchrony.

"Do you really hate me?" she asked suddenly, her voice tinged with vulnerability.

Before she could even process what was happening, Riki was leaning in and planting a soft, lingering kiss on her lips. The world seemed to freeze in that moment, their hearts racing as their lips met in a sweet, desperate connection.

"I don't hate you. I've liked you for a long time."

Her eyes searched his for any sign of deception, but all she found was a raw honesty that left her speechless.

"Im sorry," he continued, his cheeks turning a faint shade of pink, "I said we were dating because I wanted your attention. I thought it was the only way to get you to notice me."

Her heart pounded in her chest as she tried to process his confession. "You pretended to date me just to get me to notice you?"

Riki nodded, his gaze unwavering. "I know it was a crazy idea, but it worked, didn't it?"

As the truth of his feelings sank in, a smile slowly spread across her face. "Well, you definitely got my attention."

With that, they shared another tender kiss, sealing their confessions. The bowling alley around them seemed to vanish as they embraced the unexpected turn their rivalry had taken, leading them straight into the arms of love.

When they finally parted, she raised her hand and gave him a hard smack on the shoulder. "Don't think I'm gonna forgive you for starting that scandal though."

"I'll make it up to you, I promise."

Enemies to lovers? I get the appeal now.

💬 my coming out of hiatus fic !! u can tell i rushed it 😞 pls be on the look out for a new series release im planning - its gonna be life changing i will personally come kiss u if u read it

taglist open! @kflixnet @cherryunnie @okwons @flwrshee @beomsbeanie @parksunghoonsgf @mrchweeeee @en-chantedtomeetyou @hyhees @chaerybae

#‎ ‎ ��� 내 메모장 ‎ ‎ ‎ #enhanet #k-labels #enhypen soft hours #enhypen reactions #enhypen imagines #enhypen niki x reader #enhypen #enhypen niki imagines #enhypen oneshots #nishimura riki #enhypen drabbles #enhypen fluff #niki fluff #enemies to lovers #niki x reader #niki drabbles #niki headcanons #nishimura niki #heeseung enhypen #enha #enha fluff #enha imagines #enha drabble #series: love for dummies

[buttergurll0409]

Regrets

Let me know if you guys want a Part 2

Katsuki walked quickly to the hospital labor and delivery center, his confident stride was breaking little by little with nervousness and anxiousness. Never in his life, had Katsuki thought that he would receive a phone call at two in the morning from Izuku that his girlfriend was starting early labor well ex-girlfriend. Katsuki and y/n relationship ended because he felt like he couldn’t balance being in a long-term relationship and trying to be the number one hero, so he chose to be a hero. After one month y/n found out she was pregnant with his child and that they should talk about it.

The four months went by fast and they were getting along. The first time Katsuki heard the baby's heartbeat, he was hit with all types of emotions. Bakugo couldn’t understand how he could love someone that he hadn’t even met yet or that he was willing to risk his life for them. Katsuki brought baby books and mixed and match paints for the nursery while being lunch break. He would meal prep and drop them off at y/n apartment and many other things. Everything was going great in his eyes until Izuku came into the picture. Izuku and y/n were close friends and got even closer when she was pregnant because he wanted to be her support system. He hated it.

Y/N shut down the idea that Katsuki and her should try to be a family due to the baby. Katsuki and Izuku's rivalry was starting to reach a boiling point, they started getting into arguments about small things about how to enter a building on fire at hero meetings safely then it escalated to more personal problems, and Katsuki felt that Izuku was trying to take his spot as the baby father. 

After the nurses pointed out which room y/n was in, Katsuki started to walk toward it and he heard y/n laughter. As he stood outside in the hallway, a small involuntary quirk tugged at the corners of his lip. He loved y/n laugh it helped calm him down, and made him feel like he was the number one hero. Katsuki opened the door expecting y/n mom to be there but he was dead wrong. It was the actual number one hero helping his ex-girlfriend who was standing in nothing but her sports bra and underwear change into a labor gown. Katsuki actually saw red that day.

Y/n head snapped up to see her ex-boyfriend standing in the doorway, his face filled with a mixture of frustration and jealousy. It felt like it had been an eternity since Katsuki had seen Y/n in this state of vulnerability, and then it hit him. That he wasn’t the only man who had seen Y/n fully undressed. Izuku was trying to step into the role of being the father. The sight of your big baby bump made his heart race but other thoughts filled his head fast.

Katsuki's jaw clenched as he felt a surge of possessiveness wash over his body, this was his family after way. He should be the one helping you, this is your and his baby. The thought of Izuku, of all people, stepping into a role that Katsuki believed was rightfully his, fueled his anger.

“What the hell, Deku?” Katsuki muttered loudly enough for Izuku to raise his head after helping Y/n adjust the gown. Izuku's face filled with dread and unease after hearing Bakugo say that nickname. Katsuki continued to stare down Izuku as he placed his backpack and pillow on the couch that was pressed against the window.  

“Katsuki, I-I didn’t think you were coming until later and she needed help changing into the gown–” Izuku tried to explain. The two men were causing high tension and a very hostile environment, and Y/n tried to break some of it.

“Katsuki can you get me some ice chips please?” Y/n asked giving Katsuki puppy eyes. It was a very simple request but to him, it felt like an opportunity to finally contribute to your well-being. Katsuki left the room with a sense of purpose, once he started walking through the hallways he started thinking. All the doctor appointments that should have been a private moment between two people were shared with Izuku and that wasn’t even the worst part. All the doctors and nurses assumed that Izuku was the father, and this added more frustration. The baby shower was a shit show. Katsuki just felt that he was being pushed to the side. 

#bakugou katsuki #bakugou x reader #izuku midoriya #izuku x reader

[bonefall]

who is a character that you love in BB (for better or for worse lol) that you haven’t talked much about yet?

These kinds of questions can be difficult because my brain will just forget completely the minute I'm asked. Who am I. What's warriors cat

BUT it's probably some of the little random background guys who have interesting stories I haven't gotten into yet. I've actually been thinking about WindClan a lot.

Galerunner is one of them. Galerunner and Smokehaze are now the kittens of Brushblaze and Whitetail-- both exes of Onestar. They're born near the start of AVoS, and are pretty young when their dad dies collapsing a tunnel to save a ton of Kin escapees.

Smokehaze dies like she does in-canon, to the Impostor, but Galerunner is going to be present to the modern arc. He's Heathertail's little half-brother, in an odd way. Whitetail wasn't involved in raising Heathertail, but openly offered to Onestar that she would if he wanted.

So Heathertail's relationship to Galerunner is closer than her relationship with their mother, bringing them ALL together, and it's just really sweet. She tells him a lot of stories of Brushblaze (who was a really good friend of hers!) and eventually becomes his mentor.

Gale's a cheeky bastard, too. Very smug, self-assured. He thinks he's a cool guy but he just looks like a goober.

There's also Gorsetail, the mother of Thistleheart and Sedgewhisker. She has a lot going on but I haven't figured her out entirely yet.

First of all, she's Crowfeather's childhood best friend. They had a massive falling out over some dumb shit neither one of them even remembers, and drifted apart as young adults. If they ever remembered what it was, they would feel bitter that THIS is why they stopped talking-- but before a certain point, would just blame each other for not making the first move to reconnect.

She fell head over heels for Beechfur on the Great Journey, but he was waaay better at hiding his forbidden love than his sister Swallowtail. He saw it more as a fun fling. When she got pregnant in Po3, he ghosted her immediately. Gorsetail held out hope he was just busy for months-- even naming one kit "Marsh Thistle" as a secret reference to RiverClan.

In terms of personality, I know she was vaguely fun-loving as a kid and probably still has that goofy streak if you can get her to relax. There's probably a bit of a bitterness inside her, and she's not satisfied with her life. She never got to have a happy mateship, she lost one kid, not really powerful or significant. I think she gets more adventurous the older she gets, looking to make some sort of change in her life.

Her and Crowfeather reconnect, once they're older and a bit more self-aware. Passing each other a heatherhoney lozenge like it's a smoke break and commiserating in how wrinkly they are now.

WindClan's full of some interesting dudes now in my effort to distribute more personality outside of ThunderClan. Stoneclaw and her traumatic muteness, Willowclaw the ferocious and her love of kibble, Cranberrysplash the ex-street urchin whose old name was Spaghetti Bolognaise. Leaftail and his onesided rivalry with Hallowflight of RiverClan.

Shame they neglected WindClan so badly and there's so few warriors there with established personalities, but hey. Opportunity for me to build cool stuff.

#better bones au #BB!Windclan #BB!Galerunner #BB!Gorsetail

[all-my-ocs-are-evil]

more Grojband au drawings and headcanons bc apparently I only like making fanart for fandoms that are non-existent or on the brink of extinction.

(au ramblings after the keep reading)

Relationships

Platonic/Familial:

Lanes and Larry (nickname Lars or Lars Bar) got really close during middle school. They found comfort with each other bc they were in similar situations regarding their crushes. They'd sneak off after band practice to rant to each other about their band leaders and just wallow in self-pity. And that didn't really change as they got older. If anything, they got even closer, acting more like siblings than friends—they even got similar/mirroring piercings to match and wear coordinated outfits—, constantly ranting to or annoying each other at any opportunity. However, their audience doesn't really believe that it's just that (having given both of them the titles of casanovas for dating each other and their band leaders). And neither does Corey. Which, as you can probably guess, often leads being a point of contention between them.

Kim and Konnie: I've made them really close cousins. Why?. Because I can! jk jk but tbch I just wanted to add some variety in the lineup's dynamics. I'm also playing with the idea of one of them being half-white and the other being half-Filipino and having them be raised in different households to see how that would affect the different ways in which they'd interact. They are still close like sisters and each other's best friends, they were born on the same day and wear matching hair ties like friendship bracelets, but I want them to have things about them that make them different from being exact copies of their counterparts. However, this is definitely subject to change as I explore the concept more.

Corey and Carrie: acquaintances. Over the years their rivalry has seriously mellowed out and are more or less pleasant with each other. They will tease each other from time to time but that's kind of just what you do when you've known someone as long as they have.

Mina and Trina: Not quite sure where to put this one lol. Their relationship imploded senior year when Mina confessed to her and Trina responded in the worst way possible. Now Mina is doing school abroad and Trina had to repeat her last year. No one really knows what happened but rumor has it that Mina had said something so bad to Trina that it made her completely break. She doesn't hang out with anyone and she rarely, if ever, talks. She spends all her time alone in her room or at her job that nobody is even really sure she has.

Romantic:

Kon and Konnie: they are just happy and cute together. They started hanging out together more during sophomore year when Konnie's gym closed down and she had to go to a new one. They were definitely more awkward at first, they didn't really dislike each other but their friends did so they kind of just...didn't interact, but once they actually started talking they found they got along really well! They would often spot for the other and offer encouragement when working out. Inevitably they caught feelings and tried dating in secret. But that didn't last long (bc ofc it didn't lol) and they got caught. Both bands were more irritated than mad but eventually got over it.

Kin and Kim: a bickering old married couple. they are constantly 'breaking up' and then getting back together the next day. They are snarky and live for drama and gossip. They both think that the other is more in love with them and can control them bc of it. In reality, they are both equally whipped for each other but refuse to admit it. They constantly 'fight' to show that they aren't in love then somehow always fail miserably every time. They haven't made their relationship public and hopefully never will. They like having their fans think they're single and that if they found out it would ruin their images as the mysterious prince and princess of their respective groups. The bands' reactions to them range from exasperated eye rolls to mocking laughter.

Larry (yes, I'm sticking to calling him Larry) and Carrie: ??? Larry adores Carrie and she knows this. He makes it very clear and is willing to do almost anything for her. But how Carrie feels for Larry is unclear, at least that's what he says to Laney. She will treat him like a best friend and they'll hang out alone without problem, but she will have this weird distance about her that she doesn't close. That is until the cameras come on. During interviews and shoots, she will pull him close to her and say things that can be easily interpreted and romantic, but when asked to specify she will laugh and deflect the question. Then, once the cameras are off, she goes right back to being distant. He is unsure whether or not she actually likes him romantically or is just refusing to clarify for the sake of the band, but he'll lean into her touch whenever or wherever it's given. He seems to have come to terms with this being their dynamic and just...goes with it. There is one thing he knows for certain, he loves her and regardless of whether or not she cares for him romantically, he will stay by her side no matter what. Oddly enough, whenever the topic of Larry and Laney's relationship is brought up, Carrie refuses to talk about it. To be honest, she'll act like she has no idea what they're talking about and bluntly steer the conversation towards literally anything else.

Laney and Corey: Contradictory. Laney has essentially given up on forming a romantic bond with Corey. However, her actual feelings don't seem to have gotten the memo. She still cares for him so much it hurts. So much so that she's come to terms with the fact that she will never be able to be with anyone romantically because of it. Laney used to love the high of being in love, floaty and light, and now she feels more like a suffering addict, lost and panicked. She drowns in every touch and caress given to her but at the same time feels burned and scorned every time she realizes how simple and platonic they are. She can't blame him for not liking her back, but she's come to resent him for it. Just a little bit. She sometimes even wishes she had never met Corey. Constantly thinking about the life she could have had had she not been pulled into the living whirlpool that was Corey. She loves him, and he doesn't know it. But he holds her closer than anyone else. He is possessive of her and her attention. Whenever it's directed towards someone else, Larry especially, he pulls her back into him and refuses to let her go. This makes it even more unlikely for her to move on, in fact, it makes her angry. They argue about it often.

I have the beginnings of several scenes that explore these relationships and stuff but I'm not too sure I wanna share them just yet ^^; (my creative writing skill is a bit more than a little lacking lol)

#fanart #digital art #artists on tumblr #digital illustration #i dont make them evil on purpose i swear! #grojband #grojband fanart #grojband au #my art #doodles #my art <3 #sketch #sketches #my art stuff #nostalgia #teletoon #corey riffin #laney penn #kin kujira #kon kujira

[forestcat000]

Sooooo

This was a comment in response to me wanting an excuse to ramble about my Targaryen's survive AU so thank you @celerieth for this opportunity and thank you for the follow (:

Btw I am sorry to everyone who only follows me for aphmau content because I keep posting game of thrones stuff.

Warning, long post

So I've mentioned my AU and it's concept on my blogs before. The premise is basically all the Targaryen's survive the rebellion and kill the Baratheons, Starks, Arryns, and Tullys for their treason. Aerys remains king but I kinda stall his madness for the sake of story telling so Jaime does not kill him.

My fic starts at the same time as the Canon books except it basically only (so far) takes place in kingslanding. All the Targ kids (Aegon, Rhaenys, Daenerys, Viserys, Jon) get their own chapters, Rhaella and Elia, get them as well. Rhaegar is the only one so far without a chapter in progress.

The story mainly follows the more domestic drama and relationships between the characters so far, with everyone having to endure Aerys. But I do add in a lot of fluff for the Targ kids so it can be sweet.

Aegon is the picture perfect prince, smart, funny, kind, good looking but he has a few problems. Aegon has some pent up hatred towards Rhaegar for abandoning the family during the rebellion, this results in Aegon being more critical and distrustful of Rhaegar, viewing Rhaegar as mad for chasing a prophecy. This extra tension since Aegon is the child who Rhaegar views as the prince who was promised and thus pays extra unwanted attention to Aegon. Aegon is very close with his siblings, and mother, feeling extremely protective of them.

Rhaenys is an intelligent, witty, charming girl. Rhaenys shares Aegons feelings towards Rhaegar for the rebellion but she's much calmer and more lenient with Rhaegar, mainly because she doesn't talk to him often, he's distant and often in his head so neither cares enough to reach out. Rhaenys is loving towards her family and often tries to keep them in line, especially Daenerys. She has a slight rivalry with Daenerys but it's largely loving. She is the only one of her siblings in a relationship, she is secretly courting Willas Tyrell, heir to Highgarden.

Viserys is much nicer and calmer than in Canon since he never had to go through the trauma of being on the run and having his family die. Viserys is a loving older brother and uncle. He's a mama's boy, he tries his best to support his mother while she deals with the abuse at Aerys hand. He has a slightly odd relationship with Aerys. Aerys spared Viserys a lot of the abuse that the other family members suffered because Viserys is his favorite son, while he was saved from the physical and mental abuse he developed a guilt of sorts, feeling guilty that while his family is hurt he is safe. This guilt causes Viserys to be a bit protective and he tries to remove his family members from the area when Aerys get violent and loud.

Daenerys is reckless and chaotic but loving. She has a complicated relationship with her father. Aerys goes from doting on his daughter in every way to yelling and screaming at her at an instant, as a result Daenerys tends to avoid being around her father unless necessary. She's extremely close to Viserys with him being her safe person, kinda seeing him as a father or a caretaker more than a brother.

All the family members that have POVs are the main characters but Jon (Aemon in my rewrite) has the biggest one planned out. Jon is the last known member of the Stark family since he's Lyannas son. Jon is raised as something similar to a prisoner, being a symbol of the war and all the people the Targaryens demolished. Jon is antagonized by Aerys frequently to the point Jon loses sleep every night over the possibility of being murdered and having dreams of being burned alive by Aerys. He feels something similar to survivors guilt, believing he didn't deserve to live, and viewing his birth as the cause of the rebellion (will alaborate if needed)and as a result the cause of death of everyone who died in the rebellion, including all the Starks and his mother. Jon is extremely paranoid and fearful. Hes so paranoid that he went mute because he was scared of saying the wrong thing and being killed, his fear is intense that he can't talk if he tried, he created a mental block to stop him. he is rarely away from Aegon who he is close to, if Aegon is in a room Jon cannot go in he'll wait by the door for Aegon to come out. Jon is close with Rhaenys as well, often going to her for comfort.

That's base info, I know there's a lot, and that's just the stuff that I'm posting, I have pages of lore I'm waiting to implement.

If anyone is interested in any of this feel free to ask questions. Also thank you Celerieth.

#rhaenys martell targaryen #rhaenys daughter of rhaegar #rhaenys targaryen #rhaenys martell #rhaenys daughter of elia #rhaenys iii targaryen #rhaenys x willas #aegon vi targaryen #aegon son of elia #aegon martell #aegon martell targaryen #jon snow #daenerys targeryan #game of thrones daenerys #daenerys stormborn #daenerys targaryen #viserys brother of daenerys #viserys targaryen #elia martell #rhaella targaryen #queen rhaella #rhaegar targaryen #prince rhaegar #aerys targaryen

[theopolis]

I'm told BND Harry started patching things up with Liz off-panel and didn't care about Normie for most of his appearances. Would you say that's a fair assessment?

I'll preface this by saying that I may be overlooking something as I am not super well read on the post OMD era (many thanks to my friend @kitausuret for her liveblog of it, which def filled in some gaps for me!)

But overall... yes and no. Patching up things with Liz off-panel definitely rings true to me, I can think of only one storyline where the conflict between them was beginning to be adressed head-on

Which ended with both of them by Normies side, establishing how they are a family regardless of how the relationship between Liz and Harry may evolve from here. Overall, a good start.

However following that this conflict was neglected. Until, at a later point, we were informed that while plot was happening Harry and Liz were basically locked in a room together and whatever happened in there caused them to get romantically involved in some way again which. Hmmm. Is a very lackluster way to revive their relationship, especially considering how little ground it had to begin with. I can buy them being young, impulsive, etc pre OMD and rushing into getting married and having a child. But after the trauma Harry put his family through during his Goblin days, I cannot imagine things resolving so easily. We deserved a deeper exploration of their feelings, especially Liz' side.

Harry's relationship to Normie post OMD wasn't as undercooked, although it still didn't receive its due if you ask me. The main thing that made me go "blegh" was that one quote from Harry about how he went for days at a time without thinking of Normie while he was in hiding. Bad. Very ooc. I do not see it

But ignoring that - Harry was consistently shown around Normie when the narrative didn't whisk him away to somewhere else (a problem of its own) and they definitely got more of a real pay-off to the conflict between them compared to HarryLiz. Normie was wary of his father upon Harrys return and there was this subplot about Harry struggling to raise two sons at a time, and Normie growing jealous of Stanley (as well as being confused by the status of his parents relationship)

In my opinion, Normie's feelings were justified considering how big of an impact Harry's Goblin days and death must have left on his young psyche, and his (one-sided) sibling rivalry with his half brother was a compelling concept. The resolution to that, while rushed, was still quite sweet

The main issue with post OMD Spider-Man comics, as you may have deduced from this summary, is that they more often than not do not want to commit to fleshing out grounded interpersonal conflict. Often, the writers don't give the characters enough time to be around each other, and when they do, we do not get to see enough of it to really paint a picture of the way their dynamics evolve. A problem will be set up, forgotten about for a while, and then we jump-cut to its supposed resolution.

This stands in stark contrast to the root of the complicated feelings between Harry and his family especially - DeMatteis' Goblin Jr arc left more room for the characters inner lives and how they externalize those than perhaps anything else. That's what made it so intense and captivating.

I really wish for another version of the post OMD era where Harry is not only written more in line with his original personality and themes, but he and his family receive more of an opportunity to shine as complex individuals with complex relationships to one another which change at a natural pace and through thoughtfully placed character beats. But regardless, I cannot agree with the assesssment that post OMD Harry didn't care about Normie. If anything, his scenes with Normie are the rare moments where his once character-integral softness and domesticity come through

#harry osborn #liz allan #normie osborn #theopolispost #osborns #canon

[wordsandrobots]

IBO:Urdr Hunt part 17 has been fansubbed over on Youtube by @trafalgarlog (who you’ll note is now on Tumblr).

Oh, I misspoke on my post about the Soup Party side-story -- I believe we’re due one more side-story from the game, featuring McGillis and Almiria. Though given events in this episode, there is an outside chance that’ll actually be in the Urdr Hunt.

Speaking of those events, it’s only a flipping beach episode. Sort of. IN SPACE! Sadly we are not treated to Montag [swimsuit edition] but he does stick his oar in properly this time, as Katya’s past definitively catches up to her, the Afam gang do some pool-side market research, and serious questions are raised about how exactly the Seven Star family lineages work.

Hajiroboshi  (Part 1, Part 2)

Departure (Part 1, Part 2)

598 (Part 1, Part 2)

Corridor of Betrayal (Part 1, Part 2)

Holder of the Ring (Part 1, Part 2)  

Unexpected Encounter (Part 1, Part 2)

Venus’ Worth (Part 1, Part 2)

Brothers’ Ship (Part 1, Part 2)

Horn and Flower's Shadow (Part 1, Part 2)

As we are wont to do, we open on the bridge of the Erda II where the crew are remarking on the lack of instruction regarding the next stage of the Hunt. The ring has been dormant for a month and a half, leaving everyone at a loss for how to proceed. While Korunaru believes she would have been told if everything had been called off, they are talking about someone who can casually hand out a hundred million meria as a deposit. Dexter and Sinister point out this is chump-change next to the hundred billion prize. Perhaps it has just been written off?

On the plus side, the free time enables what is presumably a great opportunity to spend some of Wistario’s deposit: visiting a near-Earth resort colony to look into what it has to offer with a view to replicating that on Radonitsa in the future.

Or at least this is what Katya and Korunaru claim they’re doing as they have a whale of a time testing out the colony’s water-park. Range chides them on treating this as playtime when there is serious work to be done -- while seated on an inflatable, sipping a cold drink through a straw, and wearing his swimming trunks.

And yes: Range is absolutely ripped and yes, his swimming trunks match his poncho. What a guy.

Wistario is fine with everyone having a good time: they’re here to study the facilities after all. And Range is in fact fully committed to doing so, having checked out the A-plus service from the staff and established there’s a cinema and casino in easy reach, not to mention the large-scale docking port to accommodate passenger liners.

I do wonder - only partly because I love the manga - if this is meant to be one of the Avalanche colonies from IBO:Gekko. Avalanche 5 at least is indicated to be a resort and the position close to the Moon would make it an easy destination from Earth. That would also place this in Arianrhod Fleet territory, which might have a bearing on later events.

Anyway, no way is Venus able to copy a place like this given its current circumstances. Katya is amused by how much Range is throwing himself into this -- he’s even been getting details on the permit system that Gjallarhorn uses to control travel to Venus (since it’s used as a penal colony), in the hopes of finding a way to bargain for greater access. It’s kind of endearing, honestly. Range is, as ever, jumping both feet first into the challenge before him.

But enough fun: Demner has spotted some suspicious characters watching the party. It appears intrigue is afoot!

Seeing as they need to know what’s up -- it could be another Urdr Hunt rivalry in the offing -- Wistario, Korunaru and a reluctant Katya draw the spies into the open at the back of the pool buildings.

To everyone’s surprise -- through perhaps not the audience and definitely not the girl herself -- the two men are here for Katya. But with Range causing a distraction, Demner is able to sneak up behind the men and overpower them (have I mentioned that the old chap is a scarily dab hand at beating people up? It bears repeating).

Unfortunately, it turns out these two were carrying genuine Gjallarhorn IDs -- and a fully-uniformed officer arrives to raise the alarm.

Everybody Scooby-Doos it out of the water park, running into the requisite nearby alleyway. But just as Range is thinking they might be in the clear, an impressively large blonde-haired gentleman judo-throws him clean across the alley. This is Captain Londo Bron and he is here for Lady Katya.

That’s right -- Lady Katya, who a tearful Londo remarks is the spitting image of Lady Carta when she was young.

Katya, of course, point-blank refuses to leave with him. Unfortunately, with Londo’s men blocking the way back, things are looking sadly inevitable. Demner offers to handle Londo while the others escape, but Wistario won’t leave him behind.

Which is when a familiar voice speaks from a nearby hatch: down here!

The gang scramble through the open door, finding themselves in an emergency escape tunnel designed for evacuations in the event the colony is damaged. Shutters close after them, allowing them to evade Londo and the other soldiers. But who is it that came to their aid in such dire straits?

I mean, no prizes for this one. ‘Humble businessman’ Montag steps from the shadows with his best insufferable smirk, congratulating himself on the success of his spur-of-the-moment decision to help.

Range is surprised anybody would go against Gjallarhorn like this, only for McGillis to smoothly move the subject to the fact that Londo’s next move will probably be to blockade the ports. So maybe they’d all better be running along, hmm?

Katya and McGillis exchange a last look as the group hurries away from him, and he notes that she really does look like Carta . . .

(I remain delighted by the fact that Mackie’s masked stranger act continues flies purely by virtue of him never giving anyone time or space to call him out on it.)

Remarkably, the Erda II is able to safely undock and leave. Wistario speculates that Londo’s unit might fall under a separate jurisdiction and therefore not have been able to halt a departing ship. However, they’re not in the clear yet, as a Gjallarhorn Halfbeak cruiser sends out a stop signal and is promptly dwarfed by the gigantic Skipjack-class battleship emerging from behind the colony. (Err . . . small note here, I’m not actually sure what the correct equivalent for Gjallarhorn’s ships would be in modern naval terminology. I tend to default to ‘cruiser’ to describe the Halfbeaks and the Skipjacks as ‘command ships’ though I think ‘battleship’ would be correct? These things are all part-aircraft carrier anyway, so there might not be a direct analog.)

I’m pretty certain the Halfbeak is in ‘default’ colours rather than those used by the Outer Earth Orbit Regulatory Joint Fleet (oh lord, I can type that from memory now) under Carta Issue’s command, but the Skipjack has the Issue Family crest proudly displayed on the side, so there’s no question of who it is has come after Katya (she herself calls them out by name). Incidentally, this is I think the first time an animated IBO thing has really conveyed just how bloody massive the Skipjack is. It’s twice as long as a Halfbeak and about thrice as tall, so it’s little wonder Wistario and the others are struck dumb at the sight of it.

With more mobile suits than Dexter can count approaching, Katya takes imminent capture as well as you might expect and flees to the mobile suit bay with a half-formed idea of taking Hajiroboshi.

Wistario intercepts her as she’s flailing in the zero gravity and she tells him she’d rather die than be captured. He says that must mean they’re some fairly horrible people. So she’d better leave this to him. And Range, who he orders into battle: they’re going to break through Gjallarhorn’s line so the ship can escape.

Katya looks up to find Demner and Korunaru there as well, readying themselves for a fight. In the middle of everything, it’s good to have friends.

We get the stock-footage of Hajiroboshi and Asmoday launching, which is cut in a bit inelegantly since we go from Wistario and Ranger entering the ‘suit bay to them entering it again in their flight gear. Could have been finessed, I feel. But anyway, it’s fight time!

The two Gundams manage to make a dent in the force of Grazes sent after them (which are tan-coloured, something previously only seen with the Dáinsleif archer variants in Season 2; not sure if that’s significant) and thus create the required opening for the Erda II. Regrettably, that’s when Captain Londo joins the fight.

His Graze Ritter (commander’s variant) instantly obliterates Wistario’s rifle with a Giant Fuck-Off Axe. He is, it turns out, a crack pilot and not a bad tactician either, as he is able to hold the pair’s attention long enough for his troops to encircle them.

Aboard the Erda II, Demner and Katya can only watch helplessly, since turning back to assist would undo everything they’re trying to achieve. Luckily, a certain red mobile suit zips past in the opposite direction, announcing that it’s there to help . . .

Londo is suitably thrown by seeing the Grimgerde bearing down on him, swords drawn, and McGillis joins the fray, confidently taking charge and ordering Wistario and Range to regroup then divide Londo’s forces. With the masked man’s help, they’re able to disable everyone except the captain himself. McGillis tells the others to go on without him -- he’ll see them soon -- and engages the Ritter directly.

It’s a fierce duel but McGillis is quickly able to get the upper hand, disarming his opponent, headbutting him, and then dropping a quick bit of psychological warfare on him before peacing out: is Londo aware of Okina Uroka’s ambitions?

(Incidentally, I think this is the first time we’ve seen the Grimgerde’s visor open to expose the monocular eye inside - this feature wasn’t ever shown in IBO proper but McGillis does it here for . . . some reason. Possibly just to show-off.)

As he leaves the battlefield, Mackie reflects that Londo’s loyalty will be of use to him. He’s also intrigued to see a couple of extra Gundams knocking around (because he is a nerrrrd).

Aboard the Skipjack, the sensor operator reports the loss of the Erda II’s signal to an elderly gent with familiar eyebrows: Lord Uroka. He is not pleased with Londo’s blundering, who does not make excuses for failing to ‘protect’ Katya. But Katya herself refused to come with him . . .

Uroka is unphased. She’s too young to appreciate her position. Londo remarks that she nonetheless seems smart, to which Uroka responds by saying that while Carta was special, Katya might come close, if she learns from the right people. This will be his final duty as Issue Family patriarch.

To this end, he sends Londo out with a Halfbeak and a platoon of mobile suits. But he doesn’t seem all that impressed with the good captain, remarking in his absence that he’s more loyal dog than loyal subject.

Back on the Erda II, the subject of conversation is most assuredly: what the fuck? While nobody blames Katya for the actions of others, she has run out of room to squirm around the question of what she’s running away from. The Issue Family is currently without a heir, owing to a slight Mikazuki-induced curtailment of the bloodline. Carta Issue was going to replace the head of the family due to his being on his sickbed -- but if that sick patriarch happened to have another, illegitimate child . . . well.

Yes, Katya confirms dourly: she is the final Issue heir.

Which if nothing else raises a massive question-mark over who exactly Lord Uroka is. Up to now, all the heads of the Gjallarhorn noble houses have borne the name of their Family. Does this mean Uroka is only an Issue by marriage? But if so, how does that square with keeping the bloodline going? If Katya has a claim, it’s surely got to be via the Issue Family line. Or are the rules flexible in that regard? We’ve had no hint previously that Carta’s dad was anything less than the outright head of her house prior to his illness. His illness was severe enough to have required her to be placed under Iznario Fareed’s guardianship, sure, but you’d think a more complicated family situation would have come up before now. Or is that situation *why* Fareed could get his hooks into the matter?

Actually, while I assume this is a blind-alley for speculation to follow, we’ve no confirmation as yet that this *is* Carta’s father. Uroka looks old and sickly but he’s up and about. Could it be that this is in fact another relative who has stepped into the void left by both father and daughter?

Well, hopefully we’ll find out next time. I’m not wholly convinced how beneficial it will be to Urdr Hunt as a story to have McGillis’ political maneuvering thrown into the mix. But I am certainly intrigued by what’s going to happen here. While the obvious conclusion is that Uroka intends to use Katya to perpetuate the Issue Family, Mackie’s parting line to Londo suggests something more is going on. And we do know for certain that whatever Uroka is planning, the Issues are a spent force by the time of Season 2. We have a foregone conclusion without a clear picture on what the middle part is yet.

As for Londo Bron himself . . . well, he’s obviously a survivor of Carta’s, um, what is the masculine equivalent of an Amazon Brigade? Whatever, he’s a blonde hunk fanatically loyal to House Issue and honestly, I like where this is going. Carta’s Mackie-clone squad beautifully walks the line between joke and heartbreaking detail, so exploring what became of a remainder of them after the fact is an intriguing line to follow. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he ends up pitted against his boss before this is done.

Katya’s opinions on all this have been clear from the start: she does not want anything to do with the Issues, with her affections being squarely for her mother. This ramps that up, with her being willing to effectively leap into space rather than be dragged into her father’s schemes. Obviously we get the note of everyone rallying round to protect her, which is fine if rote. I really hope wherever this goes, she’s able to settle it on her own terms and isn’t reduced to a damsel in distress . . .

#GUNDAM #Gundam Iron-blooded Orphans #gundam ibo #g tekketsu #Tekketsu no Orphans #Iron-Blooded Orphans: Urdr Hunt #Urdr Hunt #game #app #fansub #reference #notes

[ariadnasdiary]

Diatober - Day 6: Rivalry

Normal timeline vs UTDC AU

Mun Ari: What a great opportunity to have these two interact! To be able to explain their relationship~! . So! Here there are some headcanons of this rivalry:

In the normal timeline (NT) both girls haven't interacted... yet.

NT: It is when Ari gets engaged with Kino and is sort of allowed to assist to the leaders reunions that both first met.

Their interactions are mostly polite and distant, on the edge of being cold.

This is due to Sabine's fault honestly. Sabine as most demons has lots of issues and prejudices towards everything that represents Ari: being a half specie, part human and the lowly ghouls leader... not to mention being KarlHeinz's illegitimate son's fiancé.

A half breed? Not being from royalty? Being on the ghouls side? Tsk tsk not a good impression for Sabine who's a recognized, pure blood and the soon-to-be Vibora heiress, a race who's way above the low raven race.

For Ari, Kino and the ghouls is the bread of every day: discrimination, prejudice, injustice and overall rejection. Just because really.

Ari introduced herself as such, she's proud of who she is, who she represents and to whom she's engaged. She was polite and went to show her respects to Sabine. Sabine started it by being mean and look down on her. Ariadna tried to stand it, but she was being cornered and humiliated. Kino had to intervene.

Kino's card on his sleeve are his powers, which are the only reason why Sabine won't start a fight one-on-one with him. She can sense/feel she wouldn't stand a chance. After that, the Vibora clan will have constant friction with the Raven clan even before negotiations and a relationship could be built.

In the NT, Sabine doesn't hold feelings nor has attraction towards Kino nor the other way around. I've explained it already, but in short: the reason why in the break-up AU everything went downfall was because Kino approached Sabine with second intentions and win her over through flirting and making her falling for him (until the it turned against him lol).

In the NT, Arino has a strong relationship and are deeply in love with each other (they are engaged after all in this point of the story) so there isn't this issue on the table. Also, Naomi and Ari had met various years before this. Ari had an idea of how Sabine was due to Naomi. She had warned her about Sabine, but she wanted to have an opinion of her own... which turned out to be just as Naomi had told her :/.

Sabine and Ari can't be friends, for the mere reason that I made Sabine the opposite of Ari on purpose :). They are supposed to be rivals/enemies, since I created Sabine for the mere purpose to be the villainess in the break up AU where she was first introduced. I've polished Sabine's personality for the better, but it would be SO HARD for them to even get alone (not even Naomi could even if they are a little more similar and have been interacting with one another for CENTURIES :)). Sabine and Ari are total opposites after all ;)

If we go a little into the future from their first interaction: Ari marries Kino, they earn the support of the other clans through a lot of work and effort and alliances of course~. Ari was friends with Yui (the vampire queen in the future in this AU), Naomi (eagle clan heiress) and later one Arino managed to stablish a good relationship with the wolf clan. Having the support of the majority, the vibora clan (*coughSabinecough*) was pressed to agree to sign a peace treaty, recognition and abolish of the slavery of the raven clan. Not because they wanted honestly. But, it is what it is~ 🤷🏻‍♀️.

You can't blame Sabine, is the education she had all her life and she's prideful, so yeah.

Now! In the UTDC timeline: is... sort of spoiler and complicated(? but meh~

Sabine being spoiled and prideful, is after her interests and is willing to do anything to get what she wants. She was raised like that after all (not so different from the NT)

Sabine was in the middle of the negotiations with the royal family (aka Sakamaki/KarlHeinz) to form an alliance through marriage. She was negotiating to get engaged to any of the princes (she was going to end up most likely with Shu, Reiji or even Ayato being the ones who had more support and chances to be named crown prince).

Sabine is the "queen bee" of the aristocracy in the UTDC timeline. She moves the threads, she marks the trends and is the leader. Everyone wants to be on her good side, and not being able to achieve that could end in a nightmare.

When Sabine started hearing about Arino, but specially about Kino she was intrigued. She saw it more as: "if he's the one that everyone is interested in and therefore the most desirable of the moment... I should have it". Somehow like a girl wanting the toy on trend: she doesn't necessarily likes it, she wishes to have it only. To brag mostly.

Those tow saw each other as tools to use for their own interests. Kino to open negotiations with the Vibora clan and Sabine to raise her status even more. Both are people that use others and are too witty for their own good. Was there any attraction between them? Absolutely. How far it went? Who knows~?

However! As Kino changes for and thanks to Ari and wishes to make Ari fall in love with him (cause he already loves her after other things that I won't spoil lol), he loses interest in Sabine and focuses on Ari. Sabine couldn’t stand this. Sabine isn't used to be rejected, ignored, being used instead of using others and overall to NOT get what she wants. What happened as a result? She gets obsessed over the idea of posses Kino, like a sort of whim. Somehow, this obsession turned into a twisted love(?. Sabine fell for someone who wasn't interested in her, the irony.

She tried to win Kino but with methods that only works on interested people. Money, status, benefits... none of them matter when love is in between. Sabine went as far as to harass Ari to belittle her with what she could offer and Ari couldn’t. At first this didn't work nor affected Ari (when she wasn't interested), it changed to affect Ari as she was being harassed by Sabine's followers and ended up in an official "war declaration for Kino's love" when Ari fell for Kino.

Sabine played dirty tricks that Kino discovered and some affected him directly as they were towards Ari and himself. She was getting in between their relationship/love and Sabine almost got away with it. But I won't say more~ I haven't written so far and that yet, so bare with me(? As I don't l know when I'll get there :'v.

In conclusion: Ari and Sabine are rivals but not for the same things, depends on the timeline. Is so HARD for them to get along and that was made on purpose... for me. It was for the script honestly lol.

Sorry it got long, but I hope those who got here enjoyed it :3.

#ariadnasdiary #Sabine Tachibana #ariadna koizumi martínez #arino #ariadnaxkino #diatober 2023 #mun ari speaks #diabolik lovers oc headcanons #headcanon #diabolik lovers oc #diabolik lovers latino

[ladylynse]

Chapter 8 [FF | AO3] of Revision: Maddie can’t deny it any longer. If ectoplasm can become blood, there’s more to this story than she ever realized.

Beginning | Previous

-|-

Maddie was still picking at her meal, long gone cold like her half-drunk cup of coffee, when Alicia returned.

Alicia slid into the chair opposite Maddie and promptly stole a couple of fries, popping one into her mouth and gesturing at the remainder of the food with the other. “Tastes the same as it always does to me.”

Maddie swallowed, but she should have known Alicia wouldn’t bring up everything while they were still inside. There were far too many listening ears. “It’s as delicious as always. I’m just not as hungry as I’d thought I’d be when I ordered.”

That earned her a raised eyebrow. “You had to order?”

A snort came from behind Maddie, and she started, looking up in time to see Margie put a fresh cup of coffee in front of Alicia. “Course she didn’t. I ain’t that old. You want the special or are you heading out after the coffee?”

“Heading out,” Alicia said, “but you can warm her up in the meantime, thanks.” She nodded towards Maddie’s cup, and Margie filled it before moving along to the table with Johnny, Eugene, and George. Frank had been there earlier, Maddie remembered, but she hadn’t noticed when he’d left.

They’d tried to get her to join their table, and she’d only managed to avoid it by insisting she was meeting Alicia.

None of them had believed her, but they’d let her get away with it. She suspected they wouldn’t have if she hadn’t stood at the edge of their table visiting until Margie came out with her food. (Margie had confirmed Maddie’s order, of course, though she hadn’t gotten it wrong. Maddie would have been concerned if she had.) Still, she’d gotten an extensive weather forecast and crop report, along with a smattering of the town gossip—including the news that Jasper was seeing Polly, something Maddie would have never imagined, and that Sara and Ellie were planning to move so they could be married, at which point Maddie had signed Alicia up to make her famous rhubarb pie to auction off at the town fundraiser. Between that, Shelley’s pecan pie, and Pete’s torte, most of the town should show up for the dessert auction.

At least, Maddie hoped they would.

She hoped no one else would make a similar mistake to hers.

Spittoon tended to rally around its residents—Alicia’s ten-year divorce party would hardly have been as well-attended as it was if they didn’t—and had a fierce rivalry with the nearby towns (which town depended on the rivalry in question) more out of spite than anything else.

As far as Maddie could tell, the townsfolk were already standing behind Alicia, and they didn’t even know the truth of the situation.

If they knew Danny was here, they didn’t know why.

If they did, Maddie wouldn’t be able to go anywhere without someone keeping an eye on her.

As it was, she still wasn’t sure she could do that. If they knew Danny had come on his own, the speculation as to why would be enough for them to keep tabs on her. If they didn’t know about Danny, if they thought she’d come on her own, unannounced, it would beg the question as to why.

And then there was the fact that Alicia had started calling in favours, which would start its own mess of rumours if nothing else had.

Maddie sipped at her coffee, but she felt too uneasy to enjoy it. Alicia still hadn’t said anything. Not anything important, anyway. She was drinking her own coffee in between exchanging a few barbs with the other residents, something Maddie suspected was born less of politeness and familiarity than it was a desire to see her sister squirm.

It felt like an eternity had passed before Alicia finally saw the end of her cup, even though Margie had only warmed it up once. (That Maddie had seen, anyway; she’d slipped away from the table once, and Alicia could very well have taken the opportunity for what it was.) Alicia spent a further fifteen minutes visiting over the cash register, finally leaving with a toothpick between her teeth, and Maddie got to her feet so she could strategically stand between Alicia and the others still at coffee row lest Alicia decide to strike up another conversation.

Or, just as likely, before someone else decided to include her in their conversation.

“Well?” Maddie asked as her feet hit the sun-warmed sidewalk.

“Well what?”

Maddie looked over her shoulder and realized that Alicia hadn’t followed her down the concrete steps. Instead, she was frowning with something that befitted confusion more than it did displeasure.

“You know what.”

Alicia held up one finger as she slowly walked down to stand so that she was only a step above Maddie, who hadn’t moved. “Do I now?”

She was stalling, but something had changed. Maddie decided to play along as Alicia reached for her collar. “Don’t you always?”

Alicia’s hand came away with something pinched between her finger and her thumb, and Maddie’s first thought was that she’d pulled off a tick that mercifully hadn’t yet dug in.

Then, Alicia tilted her hand, and the thing that was very much not a bloodsucking insect glinted in the sunlight. “I do try,” Alicia said as she let Maddie guide her hand closer so she could get a better look.

Up close, it looked more like a beetle than a tick, but it was a bug of the electronic type—or at least the robotic one—and she’d seen the like before.

She’d helped Vlad put the finishing touches on a larger one.

Maddie recoiled, not knowing how long it had been there, not knowing if there were more, and she nearly charged right back into Margie’s so she could strip down in the washroom and shake out her clothes.

Alicia stopped her with a warning look and a hand on her arm, keeping up a stream of chattered nonsense the entire time they searched Maddie’s person for more bugs.

None turned up, and Alicia made a gesture that meant it was Maddie’s turn to check her over as she emptied her pockets.

When Maddie stepped back and held up her hands to show that she hadn’t found anything, Alicia she put the bug in her mouth and bit down.

Maddie made a face as Alicia spat the metal remnants into her hand. “You’re going to ruin your teeth.”

“Not going to lecture me on where that was or what might’ve been inside it?”

“I thought you might listen to the teeth argument.”

Alicia shrugged and wadded up the whole mess into a handkerchief before stuffing it into her pocket; all the other odds and ends had already been returned. “Looked flimsy enough to me.” She gave Maddie a critical look. “You recognized that.”

There was no point in denying it. “I’ve seen something similar before. You remember how I’ve told you about Vlad.”

“Masters?” Alicia’s lip curled. “He still your mayor?”

“Yes, but he—” How could she put this when she wasn’t sure what this was? “He never gave up our studies as completely as Jack and I had thought. He’s been building his own inventions—”

“That thing included?” Alicia’s voice spiked with incredulity. “You mean he planted that bug on you? You really dodged a bullet, didn’t you?”

“I doubt that was intentional,” Maddie said, though in truth, she couldn’t be sure. “I was at his place with Jazz when you called. We were working on something to try to track down Danny, and at some point, I fell asleep. For all I know, it could have caught in my hair.”

Except it couldn’t have.

She’d washed her hair. She’d changed her clothes. That little machine would have had to actively seek her out—or at least be set to seek someone out, even if she had simply been the nearest person at the time—to have latched onto her after that.

And she hadn’t noticed.

Of course, now that Alicia had destroyed it, Maddie couldn’t be certain of its purpose. A tracker seemed most likely if it was similar to the one she’d worked on with Vlad, but she’d told him where she was going; he hardly had reason to track her. Then again, he hardly had a reason to send any of his tech after her on purpose. It must be a mistake, even if she couldn’t see how.

Mustn’t it be?

He’s a creep who hates Dad and has a weird obsession with you and Danny.

Had Jazz only said that last night?

“That your best guess about all of this?” Alicia’s tone made it clear that she thought Maddie’s scenario was more than a bit of a stretch.

“It’s one stray piece of technology,” she said, but she didn’t entirely believe her own words. Under completely innocuous circumstances, she couldn’t see a simple path that would lead to this. Every scenario she could imagine involved mistakes, coincidences, chances of timing—

Unless it had been deliberate.

You just can’t see it.

Was this another thing she hadn’t been able to see? Even after Jazz had told her? Even with the circumstantial evidence staring her in the face, draped in enough plausible deniability and logical reasoning that she’d explained it all away?

Maddie dearly wished she hadn’t left all her inventions behind. Alicia would pass over the remnants of Vlad’s invention if she asked for them—probably—but Maddie would hardly know if anything was salvageable until she examined the pieces. If this was a trick by a ghost—

By Plasmius—

By Vlad—

“Mmhmm.” Alicia still didn’t look convinced. “Well, in case we missed a second stray piece of technology, come back to my place and change. I’ll have something that fits you somewhere, and I can take care of those clothes in case there are more hidden surprises.”

Maddie glanced at her sister, keeping pace with her as they headed towards Alicia’s cabin. She could tell that Alicia figured Vlad’s intentions were dubious, but half the time, she thought Jack’s intentions were dubious. For all Maddie knew, the little piece of technology had successfully sought her out—but not for malicious purposes. If Vlad had needed a way to contact her, Jazz would have pulled out every stop she could to make sure he was unsuccessful.

This could simply have been a failsafe.

Maybe.

Or it could have been something less innocuous after all.

Maddie put it out of her mind for now; she could ask Vlad once she saw him, and she hadn’t particularly liked Alicia’s tone with that last statement. It had never boded well for Maddie in the past. “Take care of them how?”

“Burn barrel’s in the same place it always is.”

“You can’t—”

“You wanna risk it? I’m willing to bet your son wouldn’t.”

Maddie stopped. “He agreed to see me?”

“Not alone.”

“They both—?”

“I get to observe and intervene if needed.” Alicia started off again, and Maddie was forced to follow. “It’ll just be the three of us.”

Right.

She shouldn’t have expected more than that.

She was fortunate Danny was willing to see her at all.

“Are you going to tell me where they are?”

“Not yet. Not that it’ll matter much, anyway. We’re not meeting there.”

Of course. Alicia wouldn’t risk that. Danny…. Danny might not risk it, either. If he really was—

No.

Not if.

Since he was Phantom, he wouldn’t risk it. He wouldn’t trust her. She hadn’t given him reason to do so, and since the— Since the girl—

Her name is Danielle.

She’d been so blind. She and Jack had both been so blind. She still didn’t know how she was going to explain all of this to him, and if Danny wouldn’t— If he refused to— If he couldn’t bear to be—

“Chin up,” Alicia said, moving closer so that she could nudge Maddie with her elbow. “You’re going to see him. That’s what you need.”

“It’s no guarantee of anything,” Maddie whispered.

“Never said it was. It is an important step, though, him being willing to talk to you.”

“Is now when you tell me how much you already know?”

Alicia blew out a breath. “I know enough, Mads. Let’s just leave it at that.”

Maddie left it, but she fiddled with the fraying hem of her shirt sleeve for the rest of the walk.

-|-

Maddie’s borrowed shirt and jeans were slightly too big, both cinched tight with a belt Alicia had taken an awl to when Maddie had needed it smaller, and Maddie couldn’t help but feel more out of place than before.

It wasn’t that the clothes weren’t comfortable—Maddie had chosen the slightly larger cotton shirt over the heavier but smaller flannel one Alicia had offered—but they were another reminder that she was out of her depth.

Maddie joined Alicia out back by the burn barrel, wrinkling her nose at the strong smell of gasoline. “Isn’t this a bit extreme? Couldn’t you just wash them?”

“Better safe than sorry.” Alicia pulled a matchbook out of the pocket of her overalls—a lighter denim than the previous pair had been, as those were in the burn barrel along with all the other clothes they’d had on. “You want to do the honours?”

Maddie shook her head; she’d destroyed too much recently to take any joy in more.

“Suit yourself,” Alicia said. “Better stand back for this, though.”

One match was all it took to catch, thanks to the gasoline, and Maddie flinched back at the wave of heat. Alicia stood closer than she did, relishing it, but then again, she had always loved watching the dancing flames.

Maddie wasn’t sure having a burn barrel in what was essentially the backyard was strictly legal, but she wasn’t about to bring that up to Alicia now. This wasn’t the time for that argument. Besides, if she so much as mentioned the environment, Alicia would remind her of the portal in the basement. It ran on ectoplasm now, but it had been connected to the electrical grid initially; they’d really only taken it off in case an unexpected power surge ended up in a town-wide blackout.

“When are we meeting Danny?” Maddie asked at length. “Shouldn’t we be going soon?” Alicia had moved to stand beside her when the wind had changed, sweeping the smoke towards the house rather than the rhubarb patch, but the wind didn’t pick up enough for Maddie to insist that they douse the fire.

Not unless they were to leave, anyway, and she doubted that from how Alicia was acting. Had Danny asked for another day? Maddie would give it to him, of course—since he’d agreed to meet her at all after what had happened, she could hardly insist he meet her immediately, however much she might wish it—but not knowing any details was nearly driving her up the wall.

Something Alicia would know very well.

Something Danny no doubt knew, too.

“I’ll put on a pot of coffee,” Alicia said, which very much wasn’t an answer, much less the one Maddie wanted to hear.

She turned to go inside, and Maddie fetched a pail from the shed, filled it at the well, and tossed it on the fire before following. Alicia would have let it burn out, and given that it had been reduced to embers, perhaps Maddie could have, too, but she hardly wanted to chance anything right now.

Maddie dropped the bucket by the rocking chair on the porch and was asking more questions as she walked in the door. “Can’t you at least tell me when we’re meeting him? It’s not like I need to know where right now, but if I can at least know when—”

A fresh cup of coffee was shoved into her hands as she reached the kitchen, and Alicia’s lack of retreat from the entryway forced Maddie to stop in her tracks. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”

Maddie turned the mug in her hands so she could hold it by the handle rather than the sides; it was hot enough that doing that was uncomfortable. “I wouldn’t be here if I weren’t ready for this. You know that.”

Alicia shook her head. “No, you always used to bite off more than you can chew and dive into things without thinking it through first. I want to know that you’re at least keeping afloat right now even if you are in over your head.”

Maddie clenched the mug tighter as it threatened to tremble in her hands. “I’m trying.”

Alicia pursed her lips and stared Maddie down for a few long seconds, and then she raised her voice and said, “How about you?”

Maddie’s breath caught in her throat.

“I have to be ready, don’t I?”

That was Danny’s voice.

That was Danny’s voice.

Maddie opened her mouth, but Alicia spoke first, not taking her eyes off Maddie’s face as she did so. “You can have more time if you want it.”

“It’s fine.”

Maddie had heard that tone from Danny before. It’s fine. I’m fine. Knowing what she knew now, it didn’t ring true.

Had it ever been fine? Had he ever been fine?

“You sure? Not too late to change your mind.”

“Yeah.”

Alicia moved aside, and Maddie got a chance to see her son for the first time since—since—

“Danny, I’m sorry.” She moved forward slowly, half expecting him to jump up from his chair at the kitchen table and vanish again. Instead, he stayed where he was at the table’s head, hunched over a mug that might have been the first cup of coffee out of the pot or might have been hot chocolate or a mocha; she couldn’t tell by the smell from here.

She eased into the chair opposite of him, leaving the chair between them for Alicia. She didn’t want to push her luck. Alicia caught her eye as she took the empty seat, the corner of her mouth quirked in what might be approval. She took a sip of coffee, and Maddie remembered her own drink and took a sip as well. The heat of it was enough to burn her tongue, and it was stronger than Margie’s had been. Maddie swallowed back the bitterness and sucked in some fresh air to try to relieve the sharp flash of pain the scalding liquid had left in its wake.

Alicia plucked a spoon from the holder and pushed the covered sugar bowl towards her.

Danny watched all of this without a word, his eyes tracking every movement they made.

He looked…tired, despite his alertness. The bags under his eyes were more pronounced than usual. His hair was its usual mess, but his favourite shirt was wrinkled and stained now, spotted with rusty brown and dull gr—

Maddie blew on her coffee before taking another sip without adding the sugar, and then she set the mug on the table and stared into it so she didn’t have to see her son’s immediate reaction to her words. “I can’t undo what I’ve done. There’s no way that I can go back and stop myself, but that’s no excuse for what I did at the time, and I know that. But I—I—”

Every argument she’d made to Alicia died on her tongue.

I’m human, too.

“I didn’t listen,” she whispered. “Not to…to Danielle, not to you, not to Jazz. Not when it mattered. And I can’t undo those mistakes, either.” She risked looking up, but Danny’s face was an inscrutable mask. When had he learned to hide his emotions like that? “But I can listen now, and I can do better in the future.”

Danny didn’t say anything.

Neither did Alicia.

Maddie swallowed. “Jazz told me everything.” She wouldn’t go into detail when she still wasn’t sure how much Alicia knew, but— “I know what happened to you, and I’ve spoken to Vlad about what happened to him—”

Danny’s expression tightened, and he bit out, “Don’t bring Vlad into this.”

“I know it’s all been misunderstanding upon mis—”

“Mom. I don’t know what Vlad told you. I don’t know everything Jazz told you. But if you want to listen to me, then listen when I tell you that you still don’t know the half of it.”

She opened her mouth, caught sight of Alicia’s sidelong glance, and swallowed back her protests.

She couldn’t say she’d listen and then not do that.

“Are…are you willing to fill me in on what you know?” she ventured.

Danny’s shoulders rolled in a shrug.

She shouldn’t have expected that he’d have his mind made up about all of this already.

The fact that he’d agreed to talk with her surely proved that, as if he had, it was unlikely to have been in her favour.

“May I know how Danielle is?”

Danny raised his chin, just slightly, and said, “You’re only asking now?”

She flinched. “I needed to apologize first.”

“An apology isn’t going to change what happened.” Danny blew out his breath but didn’t drop his gaze. “She’s doing as well as she can be. She’s doing well enough to know she doesn’t want to see you right now.”

That meant she was conscious and coherent, and frankly that was better than Maddie had been fearing. Some of the tension loosened from her shoulders. “I know it’s not enough, but please tell her I’m sorry.”

“I’ll tell her.”

Danny raised his mug to his lips and proceeded to take a long drink, and Maddie found herself looking at Alicia. “She’s not alone right now, right? Someone’s with her?”

Alicia tilted her head towards Danny in answer.

He lowered the mug but held it cupped between both hands, not letting it touch the table’s surface. “She’s not alone.”

No other explanation.

No other hint.

Maddie took a slow breath, trying to make sense of everything, and then said, “For what it’s worth, Jack and I— We’ll change. Everything. I know he’ll agree once I tell him—”

For the first time, surprise registered on Danny’s face. His eyebrows rose and then furrowed. “Wait, you didn’t tell Dad? Even after you found out? Why not?”

Maddie glanced at Alicia.

“It’s okay,” Danny said.

“Your dad started searching for you in the Ghost Zone before Jazz told me anything,” Maddie said slowly, still wanting to tread carefully despite Danny’s assurance. “Vlad was helping me search here, and—”

“You went to Vlad?” Danny groaned. “Please tell me he doesn’t know Dad is in the Ghost Zone.”

“Well, he does, but—”

“Alone?”

“Jazz called Sam and Tucker in to help after she found out,” Maddie said, though from Danny’s expression, the words weren’t as much a comfort as she’d hoped. Perhaps he rightfully suspected that Sam and Tucker had not been sent in primarily to find Jack but to find him. “Jazz is with Vlad now, but if Jack comes back for provisions before Sam or Tucker finds him, he’ll see our note.”

Danny closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then looked her in the eye. “Okay. Fine. Between Jazz and Sam and Tuck, Dad should be safe.”

Should be?

Maddie really didn’t want to think that that meant the Ghost Zone was as dangerous as they’d always feared, but it was hard to imagine what else Danny could mean.

Then again, he didn’t sound worried about the fact that Sam and Tucker had gone in after Jack, so maybe—

“Really not wild about the fact that you still went to Vlad after Jazz told you, because she must have told you before you decided to go.”

“She—” How much could she say with Alicia listening in? “She thought he’d have something we could use. Of Phantom’s.”

Danny placed his mug on the table and crossed his arms. “Jazz told you everything, huh?”

Maddie nodded.

“You’re sure about that? And you listened to her? Like, actually listened to her?”

“Danny—”

“Just pretend Aunt Alicia isn’t here,” he cut in. “I told her enough of what she needed to know when I asked for her help.”

Maddie blinked and glanced at her sister, but Alicia’s poker face was as good as ever.

I’m not fool enough to ignore the evidence right in front of my eyes, Alicia had said. Had Danny freely shown her what he’d fought to keep from them for so long? What he still might have kept from them if Maddie hadn’t done what she had? If Jazz hadn’t broken her silence to say what Maddie had needed to hear but still not understood until it was too late, would she even know now?

“We needed a recent copy of Phantom’s ecto-signature to have a hope of the Booo-merang functioning properly again.” Her measured, steady tone was as much an attempt to keep the turmoil of her emotions in check as it was to keep Danny talking with her, but it wasn’t doing much to help in either case. She felt like she was teetering on the edge of a crevice, that the smallest nudge could have her slipping into darkness and dissolving into tears. As for Danny, if anything, her words had caused him to tense more; he’d dropped his arms but looked ready to spring from his seat at any moment. “I’ll confess I still didn’t quite realize what that meant for you at the time, but—” Her voice caught. “We didn’t know. We didn’t listen. That’s going to change now. I promise. If you give us the chance to try to make things better, we will.”

The silence stretched.

Alicia took another sip of coffee.

Danny let out his breath and made a visible effort to relax his shoulders. “Vlad shouldn’t have a recent copy of my ecto-signature. Tucker destroyed it, and the fruitloop won’t have had time to get another one.”

My ecto-signature.

The words rolled off his tongue with apparent ease, and Alicia didn’t react to them at all. Whatever she knew or whatever she’d pieced together—

She’d accepted it.

She’d listened.

“He says he doesn’t,” Maddie whispered, “but I had— I had a sample of Danielle’s blood. When Vlad told me he hadn’t given up his paranormal research but continued inventing on his own and had something that might work, I— I gave it to him.”

“Jazz didn’t stop you?” Danny’s disbelief was written all over his face, and incredulity dripped from each word.

“She didn’t approve, but the sample wasn’t enough. You were already out of range.”

Danny snorted. “Fat chance of that.” He looked to Alicia. “Know if I’m missing anything important so far?”

Alicia reached into her pocket and then passed a handkerchief to Danny. He wrinkled his nose but took it by one corner, and his expression changed as the remains of the little robotic bug hit the table between them. Even before Alicia had swept it all back into a pile, he was looking at them both with wide eyes. “When did you find this? Where did you find this?”

“Nestled up by the back her collar,” Alicia said with a nod to Maddie, “when we were leaving coffee row. Round about an hour back now. Burned the rest of what we were wearing, just in case.”

Danny was standing before Maddie had really registered that he’d moved. “I need to check on Dani.” He met Maddie’s eyes and added, “I’ll come back.”

Maddie blinked.

The kitchen was empty but for her and Alicia.

Once again, Danny had disappeared before her eyes, and even now that she knew the truth, it was still hard to comprehend.

The lump in Maddie’s throat grew, and this time, she couldn’t blink away her tears.

Alicia reached behind her to snatch the box of tissues from the counter and exchanged it for Maddie’s coffee cup. As she stirred in a spoonful of sugar, she said, “He’s coming back. Just give him a bit of time.”

Maddie sniffed, nodded, and wiped at both her eyes and nose, hoping that she hadn’t made another mistake and that there was time enough left for her to begin to make amends.

(see more fics | next)

#danny phantom #maddie fenton #danny fenton #dp alicia #dp fanfiction #phanfiction #fic: revision #my writing #ladylynse #dp snippet #snippets

[let-them-read-fics]

Rivalries Of The High Seas

Requested By Anon: "Pirate AU, enemies to lovers."

AU: Pirate

Pairing: Captain!Rosé x Fem!Captain!Reader

Word Count: ~ 7,375

Warnings / Misc. -- Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Major Injury (Inflicted On Reader), Dangerous Situations, Fluff

Disclaimer: This writing is a work of fiction, and no disrespect is meant for those mentioned herein.

A/N: Anon, thank you for this one! I've never seen the movie you mentioned in your request, but you did well in explaining what you wanted to see here. I had a lot of fun with this one, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

PS ~ Captain Rosé could step on me and I'd say thank you

♡ Happy Reading ♡

🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

Death isn't a new thing to you. It isn't some far-off, enigmatic fear capable of tearing down your psyche anytime the topic is brought up. In fact, you're faced with the harsh realities of it almost everyday, given your ranking. Even still, when you woke up this morning, you hadn't expected for the day to consist of you meeting your end. 

Your hands remain clasped together tightly, bound to the rickety wooden chair you've been securely strapped into by layers of rope and chains. Your wrists burn as the rough material pulls against your skin, surely leaving dark marks by now, but that's the least of your worries as you eye the bandits standing before you. Their faces hold smug grins, cheeks pulling back in eerie smiles to reveal crooked teeth. "I won't give you the pleasure of seeing me beg for my life. I accept my fate." You say bravely, holding your head high. 

"How noble, Captain." They sneer, leaning far too close for comfort. You fight the gag that works its way up your throat at the smell of them, the wicked stench burning your nostrils as it invades them. 

"Even if you escape now, the rest of my crew will come for you." Rosé finally speaks from behind you, sitting in the same state as you as she glares at the surrounding men. Her fingers futilely pull at your shared restraints for the millionth time, brushing along your wrist in the process. 

"It's cute that you think that matters. We'll be long gone by then."

Her head lightly pushes against yours as she leans back in her chair, seeking to evade the man when he enters her personal space. For some reason unbeknownst to you, your blood boils at his actions -- though Rosé is your enemy of sorts, seeing that she's a rival captain herself, you can't help but want to keep him away from her. 

The vile creature parts her legs with an evil smirk on his lips, his filthy hand groping her thigh as he runs his fingers along her beautiful skin. She whimpers in protest, growing afraid of what he'll do to her in her captive state. Had she been unrestricted right now, she would've most definitely cut his hand off, forever reminding the world of his misdeeds. 

"Just get it over with!" You shout angrily, voice hoarse from all the screaming you've done today. You've grown tired of the game they've been playing for over an hour, flipping between beating and ridiculing you relentlessly. 

"Alright, alright," their leader chuckles, putting his hands up as he approaches you. He instructs his men to be on standby, ready to gather around the two of you and hoist you into the air. They wait for the all-clear to throw you overboard and into the chilly sea below, full of creatures you've seen during your fateful adventures over the years. There are certainly worse ways to go, and you attempt to come to terms with what's about to happen. Perhaps this is a poetic end for you -- being laid to rest in the place that you've spent most of your life and made countless memories.

"Keep those eyes on me as you fall. I want to remember what it looked like to take down the infamous Y/N L/N." You narrow your eyes at their leader, grimacing as they scan over his greasy, jet black hair and tattered overcoat. Aren't the "bad guys" supposed to at least be stylish? He's a sorry excuse for one if so. 

"Kiss my ass." You utter, spitting at him. He lunges forward, just like you expected -- seriously, why are men so predictable? -- and takes the collar of your shirt between his fingers. He delivers a swift blow to your left cheek, only allowing you a second to recover before pulling your head back up to give the same treatment to the other side. 

You can feel Rosé tense behind you, doing all she can to reach for you and offer comfort. 

With a pained groan, you spit out a mouthful of fresh blood and raise your head to look at him again. "You know, you're not nearly as observant as you think you are." You smile, ignoring the pain that shoots through your busted lip. Before he has time to react, you raise your foot in one motion, swiftly connecting it with his crotch.  How could they neglect to tie your feet? That's practically Pirate 101.

He doubles over in an instant, lungs void of the air necessary to speak another insult in retaliation to your act and body incapable of any further movement. His men make the decision for him, taking this moment as a sign to follow through with their plan and throw you over. Shouts and cheers pierce through the air above you as you make your quick descent, not even having time to say a goodbye to Rosé or offer a final word to the universe. 

Cold water immediately rushes over your heated skin as you plunge into the waves below, its frigid temperature almost taking what little breath you managed to store away in your lungs. Aided by the water's altered state of gravity, you're able to work your hips past a few of the loosely tied ropes that rested against them. 

One thing you admire about Rosé is her quick thinking. She's smart -- while you distracted the leader, she took the opportunity to pry off some of the restraints that required more time and effort, just like you hoped she would. Her slender fingers inconspicuously wiggled their way out of the ropes before freeing you from them as well, and the bandits were none the wiser. Her previous actions make this part all the more easy, and after spending a while on the final ties, the two of you kick off of your chairs and head for the surface. It's a struggle, no doubt, with the way you have to fight to bring the chains up with you and keep them from pulling you further under. But eventually you reach the surface, once again filling your lungs with that miraculously fresh air that they so desperately craved. 

The saltwater stings as it flows over your face, getting in your eyes and rushing over all the wounds you've accumulated. Rosie sputters from beside you, struggling a bit to keep her head up, so you extend an arm for her to use to push herself up. You tell yourself you're only doing it -- that is, making sure she doesn't drown -- because she'll be useful in helping you survive. Deep down, though, your intentions extend further than that. 

Once you find a steady rhythm with the waves and the fear of drowning subsides for the time being, you scan the horizon line. "I see land -- over there." You say, using your head to point to what looks to be an island in the distance. "We'll swim when we have the energy and float when we need rest, okay?" She nods in response, and the two of you get set on your way. 

-----

Huffing from the pure exhaustion coursing through your bodies, you manage to drag yourselves onto shore before collapsing. The sand serves as a good place to lay, almost cradling you the longer you lay there. Tiny, rippling waves -- the aftershocks of much bigger ones -- lull into shore, fluttering past your ankles before being pulled back in by the tide. They lap against your skin, remedying your racing mind with their rhythm. Minutes pass in this cycle, setting you in a state of comfort before you remember everything you'll have to do before nightfall.

Once gaining enough strength, you raise your head and peek over at your rival.

She's sleeping. Of course. You can't blame her, but the sun -- once blazingly hot, perched high up in the sky -- is now setting, giving you a preview of the darkness that the night sky will hold. She turns, rolling her head towards you in her sleep, and you almost smile -- a light dusting of sand sticks to her puffed-out cheeks, and the bridge of her nose holds a small sunburn, making her look sunkissed and blushy. Y/N, stop that, you command yourself, shaking your head at your thoughts. She's your enemy, and she's the reason you're even in this mess in the first place. 

"Wake up," you nudge her, reverting back to your previously tense demeanor. The anger you possess for the situation you're in is returning en masse, wiping the pleasant thoughts of Rosé from your mind. 

She groans, keeping her eyes tightly shut as she attempts to ignore you. "Roseanne, we have to get up." Your voice is strong, commanding her just like your crew. Your crew, you think to yourself. Some of them were killed by the bandits while others were thrown into the prison chambers of your ship, left at the mercy of your enemies until they decide what they want to do with them. Your people are inventive and strong -- they'll likely find a way out of the sticky situation and reclaim victory. For now, though, you're left to worry about their fates as you attempt to survive on this island. If the elements and animals don't kill you first, the gorgeous woman beside you most definitely will. 

"I'm up!" She all but shouts, following another prodding from you. Her eyes flutter open and she instinctively raises her hand to wipe her face -- you catch the chains before they can make contact and harm her, and she sends you an appreciative look. "Guess I forgot about these…" she shakes her arms, jiggling your restraints in the process, "Oopsie."

"Come on." You say, standing up and pulling her along with you. Her dilly dallying is making you impatient, and it only increases your levels of irritation. You don't have time to waste. 

"We have to break these," she states the obvious, searching the shore for a decently sized rock.

A sarcastic gasp slips past your lips as you look at her. "You don't say! I was thinking we'd just leave them on." She turns to glare at you, narrowing her eyes as she stops walking. Dear god, there's no time for this. With a mumbled "here we go", you allow her to continue. 

"You know, we wouldn't be in this mess if it wasn't for you." 

"Me?!" You shout, completely taken aback. "Quite the contrary, Rosé. You're the one who led them to us!"

"If you would've accepted my offer, none of this would've happened. But you refuse to team up with anyone else. Look at where that got us now." She motions around herself to the island, expression settling back into an annoyed scowl as her eyes settle on you again. 

"It's not my fault that my crew is more trained than yours; I had no reason to merge our teams."

"An agreement would've solidified our strength!" She yells, stomping her foot into the sand. Her boots managed to survive the long trip here, but their material is completely soaked.

"I'm responsible for my crew, and my crew only. I had no decent reason to bring yours in with mine. It's just a liability and more mouths to feed." You say evenly, clenching and releasing your jaw a few times. 

She begins to fire off her rebuttal, but you tune her out for the most part and start walking further inland. She has no choice but to follow, and she does so while adamantly complaining. You throw occasional jabs to her arguments in order to keep her moving, and your plan works well. She's too busy bickering with you to notice that she's doing exactly what you want her to.

"...and you're so arrogant, Y/N! I mean, really. God, you're infuriating." 

"Are you done yet?" You ask, cocking your head to the side while you simply blink at her. She squints at you, about to give you another piece of her mind, but you glance down at the rock you led her to and she closes her mouth. 

"You can keep screaming at me or we can break these chains. Your choice." You shrug, pursing your lips. She cuts her eyes at you, but agrees with a huff, nonetheless. 

The two of you work together to find fittingly sized rocks, taking turns dropping them on your restraints and methodically working them against them. Eventually the chains give way, allowing your hands to wiggle out of their strict hold. You're the first to free yourself; once you're done, you find Rosé struggling in silence, refusing to ask for your help. 

"Here," you offer, extending a hand to her. Doing nice things for people without gaining something for yourself isn't something you do often -- you've been raised differently; grown more independent and self-serving after your time on the sea. 

"Oh, now you want to work together?" She quirks an eyebrow.

You put your hands up with an amused grin. "I don't have to help, feel free to do it alone." You stand, dusting the sand off of your clothes as you begin to walk away and investigate the island. She calls out behind you, annoyed shouts getting further and further away as you just smile and continue your journey. 

------

"Ah, glad you could join us again." You smirk, adding some kindling to the small fire you managed to set up during her time away. 

"Shut it," she bites back, glaring at you. 

"Tough crowd," you laugh, raising your eyebrows. For once, she doesn't say anything back. She busies herself with removing her shoes and socks, setting them next to the source of heat to dry before disappearing into the tree line. She returns a few minutes later, carrying with her a few different branches. Some of them are forked at the top, and she arranges them into a sturdy structure beside the fire as well. You try not to focus on how strong she looks as she does it, her muscles glistening in the fading evening light with a sheet of sweat.

To your surprise, she begins stripping. 

First her overcoat, which she drapes across the branch acting as a beam between the forked ones, and then her vest. She wrings them out individually, and you watch as the materials drip with what water hadn't already evaporated yet. The loose linen undershirt that she wears remains on, and you're thankful for that -- had she taken it off as well, you likely would've passed out. The blush on your cheeks deepens as you feel her eyes on you, and you keep your gaze trained on the fire. 

"Well? Are you planning to stay in those clothes all night?" She asks, running a hand through her hair to fix it and get some of the sand out. 

"If I didn't know better I'd say you're trying to get me naked, Rosie." You play, smiling harder when you see her roll her eyes and look away. 

"You wish," she scoffs, though you can see her stealing glances at you as you remove your clothes. She admires the shadows that the fire casts over your body, the flames dancing as they offer their beautiful warmth. The two of you go way back, having grown up as frenemies due to your professions, but she's always had a soft spot for you. You piss her off to no end, and yet somehow she can think of plenty worse people to be stuck with.

After catching her staring, you decide to tease her. You flex your muscles, making sure to be extra and really make a show of it. She blushes, hiding behind her hands to escape the situation. 

"Awww, somebody's shy." You say, chuckling at her. 

"Am not," she protests, though her sheepish grin sells her out.

"Prove it," you challenge, a mischievous smile tugging at the corners of your lips. Teasing her is one of your favorite pastimes. 

Tired of the games, she gathers all of the courage she possesses and stands, slowly sauntering her way over to you. Your eyes take in the sight of her, and she smirks; she works hard to stay in shape, and she knows she looks good. Countless weeks spent at sea, working alongside her crew on long voyages has left her with artfully tanned skin and a physique to die for. You go to compliment her, but she stops you before you have the chance, pressing a finger to your pursed lips. She trails it lower, blazing a path across your jawline and chest, stopping at your ribs. Your breath hitches, and she definitely feels it. You curse yourself for being so easy, already knowing what's coming. 

"Who's shy now, sweetheart?" She purrs out, smiling victoriously. 

How she's capable of switching demeanors so easily baffles you, but it ensures that no interaction with her will be boring, if nothing else. 

"Yeah, yeah," you grumble, pushing her away to break the growing tension. She's looking at you with some glint in her eye that you can't quite place -- all you know is that if she keeps doing it, things might escalate to a place neither of you are prepared for.

You clear your throat and step around her to adjust your clothes on the drying rack. "You can go ahead and sleep. I'll stay awake and keep the fire going."

She nods with a slight frown on her lips, though you don't see it. "Alright. But wake me up when you get too tired, okay?" You assure her you will, though truthfully your body is aching for sleep right now. The beating you took earlier did its worst on you, leaving your skin bruised and muscles knotted. She deserves to rest, though, and you're okay with giving her the first shift of it. Besides, your mind would surely keep you awake for the better part of an hour -- at least it'll be used to its fullest with her. 

What you don't realize, however, is that when she lays down beside you, cuddling into the sorry attempt for a bedroll that you threw together, she merely pretends to fall asleep. Likewise, when she settles her head in your lap, searching for a more comfortable place to lay it, she's fully conscious. She lazily smiles when you run your hands through her hair, wrapping the locks around your fingers in mindless patterns before releasing them and starting over. It's soothing, and soon enough she calms her eager heart enough to slip away to dreamland. 

--- A Few Days Later --- 

"Wakey wakey…" Rosé sing-songs, hovering over you. The two of you have settled into this familiar rhythm over the past few days, spending the daytime searching for food and supplies and taking shifts to sleep through the night. You've almost always ended up taking the latter opportunity, though sometimes Rosé would force you to rest first if you needed it badly enough. 

"Mmm," you groan in disapproval, rolling over. The sun is far too bright, and your upgraded bed situation is much too comfortable to offer any valid reason for you to leave it. Rosé knows how difficult it is to get you up, but she's learned some very useful tactics. 

"Y/N…" she drawls, voice like honey as it releases your name with care. Her lips are next to your ear, teasing you as her warm breath fans across your neck. You audibly swallow, not prepared for that in the slightest, and slowly peek your eyes open. She raises a hand to shield your face from the unforgiving sun, and you smile at the domesticity of the act. She looks like a dream -- her hair is fanned out, swaying peacefully in the calm breeze that rolls in from the sea, and she's grinning that killer smile down at you. Her previous sunburn has turned into a tan now, making her look even more irresistible somehow. 

"What do you want to do today?" You ask, lacing your fingers together as you put them behind your head. They work as a cradle, cushioning your head from the sand.

"I saw some berry bushes on the north side of the island. They didn't look like any poisonous kind I've studied about, so maybe we could check them out?" She suggests, sitting back on her knees with a quirked brow. 

"Sounds like a plan." You smile lazily, gazing up at her. A light pattern of freckles paints her cheeks, and you can't help but grin at how adorable she is. 

"What is it?" She asks skeptically, squinting at you. 

"You're just too cute for your own good, is all." You sigh, content as you stand up and tug a blushing Rosé behind you. She closes the "door" behind herself, sealing off the entryway to your humble abode. It's a panel of leaves and sticks, built to be sturdy yet lightweight and easy to move. She built it herself, and a sweet smile works its way onto her lips as she remembers the praise you sent her way after she presented it to you. 

--------

"If you don't slow down then I'm gonna slap you," she says, peering up at the trees that loom high overhead. In her distracted state, she neglects to look where she's going.

Her rambling is cut short by your hand darting out in front of her, effectively stilling her movements and words. You glance at the ground, prompting her eyes to follow the path they made and widen upon realizing what you just saved her from. An animal -- some wretched cross between a scorpion and pincher beetle -- continues its trip across the downed log that lays in front of you, menacing in its appearance. 

"Thank you," she breathes out, leaning into your side as you hold her and direct her away from danger. 

"Do me a favor and don't die, okay?" You quirk, scrunching your face up at her humorously. She shoves you, holding up her middle finger as she walks ahead and blazes a path for the two of you. You chuckle, grinning stupidly as you follow after her. 

--- 3 Hours Later --- 

"Take cover," you shout to an imaginary army, seeking refuge behind the base of a large tree. Rosé chuckles maniacally from behind one of the berry bushes, her fingers lightly stained from the juices that are running down her palm. 

"Nice try, Y/N. But you can't escape… CAPTAIN ROSÉ!" She shouts, surprising you as she charges in your direction, pelting you with berry after berry. You squeal, evading as many of the makeshift missiles as you can by darting behind different greenery. She eventually catches up, snaking her arms around your waist and preventing you from getting away again.

"NO!" You exclaim, slumping further into her arms in defeat after your attempts to escape prove futile. She spins you around to face her, pressing your back up against the nearest tree as the two of you practically double over with laughter. She looks ethereal, with how she shines in the sunlight that sneaks its way through the canopy of tree tops above you. Her eyes are almost closed from how hard she's smiling at you. 

A sharp growl breaks the happy moment, perking your ears up and causing your heart to race for a different reason entirely. You glance around the tree, protectively stepping in front of Rosé to shield her from any new threat. An animal -- something you've never seen before -- bares its teeth, snarling aggressively as it sets its sights on you. Your blood runs cold in your veins, stopping your heart momentarily as your brain attempts to formulate a plan on the fly. With only a few precious moments left before it attacks, you glance around for anything to double as a weapon without making any sudden movements. 

Rosé is clutched onto you from behind, and you can feel her heart beating wildly. You have to protect her, no matter what. 

"On my count, I want you to climb into this tree. I'm going to try and defend us." From what little knowledge you've inferred in the past couple minutes, you doubt the animal is capable of climbing well; it doesn't have the body or feet for it. You fear it is capable of running quickly, though, so the tree is likely your best bet. 

"What? No, I'm going to--"

"Roseanne, please, for once, just do as I ask. Trust me." You plead over your shoulder, noting the slight tremble that runs through her as another roar echoes out. Your eyes remain trained on it, never backing down for a second. 

One steadying breath later, you shout, "Now!" and swoop down to pick up what helpful materials you can. You charge at the animal, taking the offensive in order to keep as much distance possible between it and Rosé. You successfully jab the sharpened stick into its side, causing it to wail in pain. In an instant it grabs your arm, wrapping it's paws around you as it lunges forwards and tumbles to the ground on top of you. A scream leaves your lips as you watch its teeth dig further into your flesh, garnering deep crimson blood to spill from your developing wounds. You protect your neck with your other arm, only breaking this rule to reach to your side and retrieve the heavy rock you brought along as well. It connects with the side of the animal's head, only making it whimper before loosening its grip the slightest bit. You weren't prepared for it to be such a tough enemy. You use your strength to roll it over and sit on top of it, keeping your arm in its grip to ensure that it stays occupied. Your fingers dig into every sensitive part of its body you can reach, performing the defense moves you've spent your life practicing to use. With a glance at Rosé, you find her safe in the tree, just like you wanted. 

"Run!" You shout, willing to keep the creature distracted in order to give her time to escape. Before you can see if she listens to you, it's nails claw into your abdomen, scratching painful designs into the previously smooth skin. It performs another death roll, and you barely have the strength to shank it in the side again. It howls, rearing back to go for your jugular before its movements are abruptly cut short. An unsettling crack rings out above you, and you open your eyes after not receiving the fatal blow you had been expecting. The animal scampers away from you, limping off further into the forest until it's out of sight. 

Rosé drops the large branch in her hand, the end of it lightly stained with blood. "Go..." you weakly mumble, eyes beginning to flutter closed as you notice how much blood you've already lost. You feel cold, and you have to fight the shiver that runs through you.

"I've got you, Y/N." She whispers, cradling your fragile frame in her arms as she picks you up and begins the journey back to camp. "You did good." She reassures, having no idea how much you needed to hear that before falling unconscious. 

---------

After gathering the medicinal plants and resources that the two of you have accumulated so far, she returns to the fireside, settling down beside you. She raises your shirt enough to have access to your wounds, but not far enough to expose you. Temperate water meets your bloodied and broken skin, rushing over the sensitive areas as she gently cleans them. Once dry, she mixes the materials into a sort of salve to rub on them before laying the plants on them in place of bandages. 

The crackling of the fire works with the crashing of distant waves to serve as background noise, making the night far more peaceful than the day had been. She allows you to continue resting, knowing you need all of it that you can get. 

About an hour or so later you wake with a start, hands reaching out as if you were right back in front of the animal. Your dreams were plagued with images of the nightmarish beast, and you're having trouble adjusting to the fact that they were all in your head. They felt so real. Rosé is by your side in an instant, brushing your hair out of your face with one hand while caressing your thigh with the other -- it's one of the only places that made it out of battle relatively unscathed. Your panicked eyes find hers, glazed over with tears as you pull her flush against your body, glad to know she's okay. Her warmth reminds you that she's here, that she's real, and that she's safe. 

Memories of your fight come flooding back, filling your mind with the terrifying things you witnessed and reigniting your fight or flight response. You remember that she didn't listen to you -- she put herself in harm's way instead of leaving you behind, like you asked -- and you grow angry. Muttered phrases of disapproval leave your lips as you push her away, stumbling slightly when you try to stand on your own. Although confused by your erratic behavior, she reaches out to assist you, only to be met with a harsh refusal from you. 

"Stop!" The word comes out as an angry shout -- louder than you originally intended -- but you can't find it in yourself to apologize right now. You find your footing after a moment, holding your side as you walk away from her. 

"What's your problem?" She shouts, marching after you. She refuses to let this go without a fight, seeing as how she has plenty more questions than answers now.

"You could've gotten hurt, Rosé, and I could've handled it on my own." You say over your shoulder, continuing on your journey away from camp. Her relentlessness is quickly getting on your nerves.

"Clearly you couldn't! You needed help; why are you denying that?" She stops now, crossing her arms angrily with her brows furrowed. The fact that you're still so set on clinging to your pride is pissing her off. 

"You should've left me there! I can't have you getting hurt because of me." You turn around now, setting your jaw. Is she really this blind? This has nothing to do with your pride. Her eyes meet yours, the pools overflowing with confusion as they scan over your face in search of clarification.

"I can handle something happening to me; I've made my peace with that. But if something ever happened to you because of my incompetence…" you shake your head at the mere thought of that, momentarily too overwhelmed to continue, "...I wouldn't know what to do with myself. I care about you, idiot." You add that last line before turning around, not bothering to wait on her reaction. Part of you is scared to, honestly, and the day has been far too eventful for you to handle a potential rejection on top of everything else. 

She says nothing, leaving the air around you void of her beautiful voice, and you don't know whether to be thankful or disheartened. 

You put more distance between the two of you, leaving a stunned Rosé in your wake as you find a place to sit along the shoreline. Your temper -- more precisely, the fear you hold that presents itself as anger -- reared its head tonight. You didn't mean to snap at her like that, but the possibility of her getting hurt because of you makes your blood boil. That would be unforgivable, and you wouldn't be able to live with yourself. You felt helpless earlier, quickly running out of the strength required to keep her safe.

Salty tears manage to break past your line of defenses, much like Rosé has managed to do with your heart. She's torn down every wall you've ever put up to protect yourself, and now that she's there you don't know how to cope. You've had people you considered close before, but none of them have mattered like she does. You've never been so afraid of losing someone. 

A soft hand on your shoulder makes you jump slightly, pulling you from your thoughts. Speak of the devil.

"Hey." She says simply, sitting down beside you. You turn your face away, not wanting to let her see you cry. "I'm sorry for fighting, okay? But I'm not sorry for helping you. I care about you, too, and I'll be damned to just leave you like that." She doesn't say anything else, doesn't try to make you look at her -- she just sits there, waiting for you to be ready to do so on your own. 

She's waited on you since you were teenagers, so she figures she's capable of waiting a bit longer now. Both of you are aware of the love you hold for one another; this is just the hardest part -- finally admitting it. 

"I can't lose you," you whisper, eyes full of tears that occasionally roll down your cheeks once gravity finds its footing. You turn to the front, still too emotional to look into her eyes. 

"Ditto. That's why I did what I did." 

Your knees are raised and pulled in close to your body for security, your arms wrapped around them to keep them in place. She reaches over to rest her hand on yours, wordlessly coaxing you into looking at her. 

"I…" You pause, voice breaking with the emotions you're still reeling from. 

"I know." She says, resting her forehead against yours. 

"I love you, too." 

She pulls you in, making sure to be gentle and not injure you any further. She raises your head to press her lips against yours, tasting the faint hint of wildberry that still rests on them from earlier. It's slow and new, giving you a break from the intensity you've been dealing with the past few days. You tilt your head to the right, letting out a whimper as her fingers graze a bruised spot on your ribs. She gives you another peck before pulling away, determined to stop herself while she still can. You're addicting, and she already can't get enough of you. 

A beat passes between you, giving you time to sort the thoughts rushing around your mind. "I've always loved you." You admit, pulling back to look at her. Tears well in her eyes, shining brightly in the brilliant moonlight as they threaten to fall. 

"Ever since we commanded our own boats for the first time. Mine was better, of course," she laughs at that, smiling despite herself, "...but I knew you were different then. I've spent all these years being too stubborn to let myself have you." 

She takes your words in, her heart pounding victoriously in her chest at your confession. "I knew when we were still training together. You always made things better for me then; I was so thankful to know you. Even if we teased the hell out of each other." 

You grin at the countless memories that come to mind. "Do you remember that night at the docks, after we graduated from our classes?" She looks up, searching her memory vault. "When you kissed me?" She asks. You nod, looking down with a bashful smile. 

"I knew we wouldn't see each other for a while, so I wanted to make it count."

"You made it really hard to say goodbye, you know?" She says, her eyes softening as she looks at you. 

"I know. But you get half of the blame." 

She tuts at you, nudging you playfully. You hiss in pain, causing her to bring a hand up to cover her growing smile. "Oops. Sorry, not sorry." 

"If I wasn't hurting so bad I'd tackle you right now." 

"Oh, I'm so scared." She laughs, mocking you. 

"That's it," you declare, ignoring the pain that shoots through your body with all the moving you're doing. Her laugh practically heals you anyway, so it's not hard to push it from your mind. You press her into the sand, rolling over to straddle her hips and pin her hands above her head. 

"Woah, tiger. Don't hurt yourself." She raises her head as much as her restrained state will allow, coming dangerously close to your face. 

"You're such a dork." You tut, leaning in to capture her lips once more. She mumbles out a, "you love it, though" against you, and your heart can't help but soar. 

- A Few Weeks Later -

A soft melody rides along the airwaves towards your ears, persuading you to wake up from your cozy slumber. You cuddle further into Rosie's tempting embrace, smiling at the way she pulls you impossibly closer. Her throat wiggles as she hums out a familiar tune from your childhood -- one of the songs you used to dance together to. 

"You big softie." You coo, resting your chin on her chest to look into her eyes with a smile. She grins, finally peeking at you through her lashes. 

"Good morning, beautiful." She says, her accent coming through adorably. She pulls you up to her lips for a kiss before rolling you onto your back. 

You sigh as she leaves open mouth kisses to your neck, dragging her lips over the skin there lazily. She takes her time, leaving marks here and there to show the world who you belong to. Her hands skim over the warm skin of your abdomen, finally free of the intense wounds you've been recovering from. Only small scars are left now, serving as a testament to what you endured.

"Mmm, I'm hungry. Let's go get something to eat." She chuckles at that, her head falling forward to rest against your shoulder as her body shakes with laughter. 

"You're thinking about food while I'm kissing you?" She grins, propping herself up on her arm to look down at you lovingly. 

"What can I say? I'm a hungry girl." You kiss her cheeks, ghosting your lips over hers. "Although," you tease the corner of her mouth, "...you're looking pretty tasty right about now. I might just eat you instead." 

She squeals as you crawl on top of her, pretending to bite her skin as you tickle her sides. 

"I surrender!" She shouts, finally giving into you. You kiss her one last time before pulling away and practically dragging her out of the structure. 

"I'll get started on cooking the fish if you grab some water." You offer, rustling through your handmade crate for the skewers you use to prepare food. 

"Alright," she nods, kissing you on the cheek before grabbing your canteens and setting off towards the freshwater spring not far from camp. 

"Be careful!" You call out after her, smiling when she turns around to face you with her hands in the form of a heart. 

---------

"Good job baby. That was delicious." She compliments, leaning back against the log you use as seating beside the fire. She almost always opts to sit in the sand and rest against it for some reason, but you're long past questioning her at this point. Rosie's… unique. 

"They don't call me Chef Y/N for nothing." You quip, holding your head higher with a sense of self-importance. 

"They don't call you that anyway." 

"Hey," you pout, slapping the back of her head with no real force. "Let a girl pretend, would you?"

"Fine, my apologies." She smiles again, and you can't help but do the same. You've lost count of how many times she's made you laugh over these past few weeks, and although you hope to be rescued sooner rather than later, the thought of being stuck here with her for a while longer doesn't seem all that bad. 

"You're doing it again," she trails off, wiggling her voice up and down to tease you. 

"What?" 

"Looking at me like a lovesick puppy." Her eyes shine in the warm, tropical sunlight, pools of rich amber that you wouldn't mind getting lost in. They match the color of whiskey almost perfectly.

"Not my fault. Have you seen yourself?." She scoffs, but blushes nonetheless. You lean over to press a kiss to the top of her head affectionately. 

Your attention is stolen away all at once as you hear the words you've been imagining ever since you arrived on the island. "Land, ho!" Multiple voices bellow out in the distance, prompting you to search for their source. Collective cheering can be heard, and you swiftly stand -- as if that simple act will miraculously enable you to see better. 

"We're coming, Captain!" Jisoo, your second in command shouts, seemingly hanging off the bow of the ship -- your ship. A squad of others follows behind, maintaining a tight formation as they make their way to shore. 

"Us too, Captain!" Someone calls from one of the neighboring boats, apparently one of Rosé's crewmembers. She waves back excitedly, and you bite back the smile that tugs at your cheeks. 

Eventually they reach land.

"Y/N!" Your scout, Lisa, shrieks like a schoolgirl, running into your arms eagerly. She was the first friend you ever made during your training years, long before you met Rosé, and you were truly worried for her.

"Ah, Lisa. Jisoo." You look between the two of them proudly, glad to see them alive and well. "What happened?" 

"We managed to defeat Captain Crusty's men--" she stops to explain when she notices your brows furrowed in amused confusion, "--that's the nickname we gave the bandit leader. Anyway, we defeated them and repaired the ship enough to make it back to shore. They did some major damage, though." 

You nod, satisfied with their story, until you remember that they didn't come alone. You subtly motion your head to the other crew, and Jisoo gets the memo. "We found the rest of these pea-brains back at the docks and they insisted on coming along."

"Hey, it's not like we wanted to be stuck with you either!" Jennie, Rosé's second, hits back, defending herself and the rest of her crew. "If your moron captain would've listened to Rosé we wouldn't be here, and we wouldn't have lost anyone in the process." 

"Quiet," Rosé warns, stepping in front of her to block the two sides from each other.

Despite knowing it isn't technically your fault, Jennie's words do hold some truth. You feel guilty for all the senseless violence you could've potentially spared your people from enduring, and the what-ifs weigh heavily on your mind and heart. 

"So long as I'm still in charge, no one will disrespect Y/N or her crew. Are we clear? I won't take kindly to any of you going against me." It's a heavy warning, and her tone makes it clear that she'll be true to her word. They know better than to test her. Her eyes scan the group of misfits, all looking bewildered by her sudden change of heart. It must be a bit jarring for them, after being such bitter enemies with the others for so long. Regardless, scattered nods and grumbles of acceptance leave them before they all scurry away to get started on their tasks, looking like scolded children. 

You send Lisa and Jisoo along with the rest of your crew to go ahead and board again, seeing that you have no real equipment to pack up this time. It feels wrong to leave the island  -- the place that brought you back to Rosie and allowed you to open your heart to her -- without something to remember it by. So, with a whispered, "Wait here," you run back to camp to snatch something. 

You return soon after, a huge smile plastered on your face. "You're bringing our door?" She laughs, tilting her head at your strange choice. 

"Duh. Good to know your eyes still work, I was getting worried." You tease, giggling as she pinches you. 

"Come on baby; let's go. Last one there has to clean the poop deck." 

"Get back here!" She yells, chasing you into the chilly water with a smile. Whether she loses or not doesn't matter much to her -- she finally has you after all these years, and she can't wait to see where the future will take the two of you. 

#rosé #roseanne park #pirate au #park chaeyoung #blackpink #blackpink x reader #rosé x fem reader #rosé x reader #blackpink fluff #blackpink angst #rosé imagine #blackpink scenarios #blackpink imagines #blackpink oneshots #kpop #kpop scenarios #kpop girl group #let-them-read-fics #kim jisoo #jennie kim #lisa manoban #enemies to lovers #blackpink fanfic #oh captain my captain

[ramos123]

This all happened because of the joker

In all honesty, I forgot to post this here I am very sorry

Damian had a crush on Marinette for some time, but he never dared to tell her. He and Marinette were friends they had known each other since she first came to Gotham after touring the world with her uncle. She has attended Gotham Academy for her 3rd year of high school.

At first, Damian hated Marinette just like everyone he could not stand her but Marinette would not take his bullshit and stood up to him. Damian at first was shocked but glared at her and Marinette glared right back.

Damian huffed and turned around and ignored Marinette. They were constantly at each other's throats, and their classmates would try to separate Marinette from Damian but would fail constantly. They still had a rivalry but not as much as their 3rd year of high school. They had grown over the summer and matured, but that didn’t mean that they still didn’t despise each other sometimes.

Once the last year of high school started, they had to learn to be around each other as they had mostly every single class together except for clubs and electives. When they got to know each other better, they learned that they enjoyed being around each other and a friendship was born.

Damian was currently waiting for Marinette at her locker, so they could walk to class together. When Marinette showed up to her locker to retrieve her stuff for their next class Damian noticed she was using her headphones Damian couldn’t help but say I'm falling for those eyes but they don’t know me yet. Once he realized that it had come out of his mouth, he raised his head wondering if Marinette had heard him but she hadn’t as she had said nothing.

Marinette internally was freaking out she had heard what Damian had said but did not want to make things awkward even if she liked him she was not ready for a relationship. She had finished a long-term relationship with Adrien on good terms but it still hurt she had loved him with all her heart.

Marinette loved Damian with all her heart she really did, but she didn’t want to hurt him when she was not ready for a relationship. She had learned to treasure the friendship she had with Damian. Even if they were enemies before she would not trade what she had now for anything.

They were on their way to class when they heard screaming they turned around only to find the Joker and a bunch of goons surrounding the exits and a group of students that had the misfortune of being trapped between them.

Damian and Marinette were planning on how to make it out of there and saving everyone. Unfortunately, the Joker had noticed Damian and Marinette next to him and cackled he would get some money once Bruce Wayne got the news that he was holding his son hostage. But then he noticed how worried Damian looked for Marinette so he decided to call Marinette over. She walked over cautiously for she had no clue what the Joker would do.

Marinette was scared she was walking towards the Joker and she had no clue why all she knew was that he could kill her anytime. Once she got near the Joker, he yanked her arm and put a knife to her throat and she went immediately stiff. Marinette could hear the gasp Damian had let out. Marinette was panicking at this point she had a clue about what was about to happen.

The bats had caught word about what was happening in Gotham academy suited up ready to get Joker back to Arkham. Batman got inside the batmobile and Red Hood, Red Robin, and Nightwing rode on their motorcycles. Once they got there, they got information on what was going on inside the building. What they heard was not good news Joker had a knife held to someone’s throat and that someone just happened to be Damian’s crush. Once they had a plan, they crashed through the windows and started to take out Joker’s goons and tied them up.

Batman approached the Joker and told him to let Marinette go she had nothing to do with what he wanted. Joker cackled and dug the knife further into Marinette’s neck until he drew a little blood. Batman stopped in his tracks knowing the closer the more Joker dug his knife into Marinette’s neck. He was trying to distract the Joker, so he could let go of Marinette but was failing.

He was trying to come up with a plan in his head and then noticed the Joker had started to walk backward dragging Marinette with his knife still held at her throat. The bats stepped forward but Joker just dug his knife even further into her throat.

Marinette was crying scared because she had no clue whether the Joker going to kill her or just use her to escape from the bats. All of a sudden she got an idea a bad idea but she had no other option. She stomped on the Joker’s foot hard and he yelled in pain and grabbed his foot and accidentally let her go Marinette took the opportunity to run away from him.

Batman yanked her forward and pushed her towards one of the bats. Once she was safe batman arrested the Joker and pulled him along to take him back to Arkham Joker was cackling telling Marinette that she was lucky and was looking forward to seeing her again.

Marinette walked away from the bats clearly still in shock over what had happened an ambulance had been called and once they spotted Marinette they walked over to her to make sure she was okay and had no serious injuries. She had a scratch from when she bled but otherwise besides the shock and the scratch she was doing okay. After they were done checking up on Marinette Jagged came bursting in freaking over what had happened to Marinette once he spotted her ran towards her and pulled her into a hug. Marinette relaxed into the hug and burst into tears that just made Jagged hug her tighter and rub her back.

She eventually finished crying but still clung to Jagged, and he let her and asked Penny if she could grab Marinette's stuff from the floor where she had dropped it. Damian saw her stuff and picked it up for Marinette walked towards her and handed it to her and hugged her. Marinette was confused at first but accepted the hug not knowing when the next one would be. Damian and Marinette hugged each other for 2 min until Marinette had to go but before she left she kissed Damian cheek and walked away with Jagged and Penny leaving Damian standing in his spot with a soft blush.

This was for the bracket war that @mgi-events hosted if you want to read all the wonderful fics that were written here is the link

#maribat #daminette

[karmamelony]

Why Black Clover is not a (if Naruto and Fairy Tail had a baby) type of Anime

Sick and tired of people comparing these 3 anime so when I came across a tiktok with points on why they are all the same by @/jersey.kawaii I was like hey I don’t have nothing to do. 

So here is my take on why they are not the same along with the points they made on why they were. Sorry if this looks choppy

Loud mouth protag with something to prove.

Naruto Uzumaki: Becoming Hokage so the village would respect him. Being loud so he would be noticed. Did not become OP with Kurama’s help until during the Ninja War Arc. Before that Kurama didn’t help in Naruto’s growth and took every opportunity to control his body when his host was overcome with hatred  which would send Naruto into a rampage

Natsu Dragneel: Was raised by a dragon and said dragon left him at a very young age. Is just very boisterous and overall friendly. Does not have a set goal (besides finding his father which he later does) just wants to go on adventures with his guild mates. (not all caught up with fairy tail 100 year quest) He did not get help from a demon Natsu was already half demon and a Dragon Slayer.

Asta: Wants to become the wizard king because he wants to prove that even if you’re poor or have no magic anything can be possible so long as you don’t give up on yourself. Grew up in an orphanage. Born with no magic but did not let that stop him from training. Is very boisterous but has a certain charm after a while. After requiring his grimoire Asta didn’t know anything about the demon living inside of it until much later. The grimoire chose him because he was the ONLY person in that world who could use it.

Rival/Best Friend

Sasuke Uchiha: Has black hair and an attitude problem. Watched his clan be slaughtered by his older brother and then had a curse mark forced upon him. Does not share a goal with Naruto

Gray Fullbuster: Has black hair and an attitude problem. Fire and Ice don’t mix unless you’re Shoto Todoroki. Does not share a goal with Natsu

Yuno: Has black hair and an attitude problem: If anything Yuno should be in a league of his own when it comes to the rivalry he has with Asta. It’s a give and take for both of them and Yuno will get upset if people underestimate Asta. He acknowledges that it was Asta who helped him become a strong mage and now shares a goal. He was not cursed if anything the power he has would be called a blessing

Female Lead

Sakura Haruo: Best friends of the protag and tends to hit him a lot and deemed useless by fandom: She was not Naruto’s best friend growing up. If anything she always called him annoying and a burden. Would hit him for the most outrageous reasons. Their relationship got better when he returned to the Leaf Village. Was very useless in part 1 of Naruto but is a great ninja in part 2. However her personality as a human being is complete garbage

Lucy Heartfilla: Best friends of the protag and tends to hit him a lot and deemed useless by fandom: Natsu and Lucy are like two peas in a pod. If you add Happy then they could be thought of as the three stooges. Is not weak but less strong than other members of her guild.

Noelle Silva: Best friends of the protag and tends to hit him a lot and deemed useless by fandom: She cares for Asta because he was the one to help her with her magic. Stood up for her when she was being bullied by her family. Is just as strong if not stronger than Asta. Has a crush on Asta but doesn’t know how to deal (total tsundere however much cuter when it’s Noelle). She is very much in love with protag

The more reserved female character

Hinata Hyuga: Who is in love with the protagonist and he does not notice and or care...Pretty much her whole character 

Lisanna Strauss: Who is in love with the protagonist and he does not notice and or care: She was at a time and Natsu did have feelings for her as well (they raised Happy together and promised to get married) however Natsu had presumed her deceased after being told by her siblings and did not know that she was in another world. Upon her return she supported the relationship between Lucy and Natsu (if anything was their biggest shipper)

Mimosa Vermillion: Who is in love with the protagonist and he does not notice and or care: Has more to offer than just being known as a girl who loves the protag. Asta does not notice because he is in love with sister Lilly (it’s not going anywhere Asta) but I’m sure if he did know he would care because that is just who Asta is.

The character that was a villain but now is part of the group

Gaara of the Sand: He was just doing a job he was told to do. Always felt like an outcast because of the One Tail being sealed inside of him. Really started to change because of the kinsmenship he had with Naruto who was the only person who could really understand him 

Gajeel Redfox: The character that was a villain but now is part of the group...Honestly where is the lie?

Zora Ideale: Less of a villain more of an anti-hero. Zora was always part of the Black Bulls unofficially he just really hated Royals and magic knights. After meeting Asta he made up his mind to become an official member of the Black Bulls

Mentor / father figure

Jiraiya: Overpowered and dubbed himbo of the show: Overpowered kinda but then again he did die and we really didn’t get to see more of his abilities. He’s more of a pervert than a himbo. Himbo- an attractive but unintelligent man. Jiraiya was plenty smart and nowhere near unintelligent, again he’s just a huge pervert. 

Gildarts Clive: Overpowered and dubbed himbo of the show: To be honest I don't remember much about him. I can say he was overpowered and that's all I can really remember of him and that he didn't know he had a daughter. Status: Alive

Yami Sukehiro: Overpowered and dubbed himbo of the show: (Copying off his Wiki Page) Yami is uncouth, reckless, slightly hypocritical, and prone to delivering death threats at the slightest provocation. Nevertheless, he is a powerful and well-respected Magic Knight who was able to recognize Asta's merits when none of the other Captains would give him a chance.

He is typically a stoic man who believes more in actions than in words. He is very hot-headed, who can be easily angered by small matters. In other words overpowered yes but well earned and not a Himbo. Status: Alive

#black clover #asta #yuno #noelle silva #mimosa vermillion #yami sukehiro #zora ideale #naruto shippuden #naruto uzumaki #sasuke uchiha #gaara of the sand #jiraiya #hinata hyuga #fairy tail #natsu dragneel #gray fullbuster #lucy heartfilia #gildarts clive #gajeel redfox #lisanna strauss #grim speaks

[dreaming-twist]

THAT'S NOT FAIR!

I wrote something self-indulgent for myself ~

Note: "(Y/n)" has her/she pronouns. And sorry if the translator changed any pronoun, I re-read it already but if something's left I'll correct it later!

At NRC, there weren't many opportunities for an entire course to come together in one class, but this was one of those days when it did. Professor Vargas had told all his students something about how observing other people, apart from classmates, could awaken in each one a feeling of improvement and rivalry that would make them try harder everyday. And having said that, he gathered all the first-year classes in the schoolyard, so that each of the students could do the sport that they most wanted.

Ace, Deuce and (Y/n) –who was carring Grim– walked around looking sideways in search of their friends, and after a few seconds they saw Jack's hand, calling for them above all the student heads around. The four of them made room to pass netween their classmates, and found Jack and Epel there.

"Hey ~" Ace greeted, raising his hand. Deuce and Epel bumpled their fists, and Jack smiled. "Well, I'll be brief: Basketball"

"You're making up your own mind, Ace" Grim said reluctantly.

"You know, there are two people here from the athletic club, if we were to pick something by majority we would win" Deuce commented casually, glancing at Jack.

Ace mockingly mimicked him, then put his arms behind his head.

"What do you want to play then?"

"Anything, I only want to start moving NOW" said Epel, who had already begun to stretch.

"Same here" Jack said, folding his arms. "I just want something to keep me going."

"Well, then it's decided!" Ace turned away, before Deuce could say anything to him. "I'm going for a ba—!"

"I THINK that what Professor Vargas wants is for us to try new experiences."

"UWAH!" Ace was startled to see someone cutting him off, which he almost bumped in. "SEBEK!? Since WHEN were you there!?"

Sebek arched an eyebrow, not changing his expression too much.

"I have listened to your conversation from the very beginning, human. If that's what you mean."

"... Well, now that we are 7 at least we can play 3 VS 3."

"... Huh? But if we were 6 before, right?";(Y/n) said, counting.

"Ah— did you count Grim? 'Cause I didn't"

"HEY, ACE! I'M GONNA TO HIT YOU, YOU SEE!" Grim yelled at him angrily as Ace held up his tongue.

"AS I WAS SAYING," Sebek began, walking a few more steps to the other boys, "I think trying something that no one practices on a regular basis would be a much more enriching experience for everyone."

Ace narrowed his eyes at him, though Sebek didn't seem to have noticed him. Deuce put a hand to his chin thoughtfully.

"Sounds like a good option to me, actually" he said, glancing at (Y/n) and Grim, who nodded. Jack seemed to be listening intently, and Epel's eyes were fixed on Sebek, since he wanted to get started as soon as possible. "Do you have any suggestions, Sebek?"

"Hmpf. Of course I do" he said, smiling, and then headed straight for a bench.

They all looked at each other without understanding anything, and followed him. Sebek ended up sitting up and putting his elbow on the table, and when everyone saw him smile proudly they knew what it was about.

"Arm wrestling? Like, seriously?" Ace asked, looking bored. He sought support from the others, looking at them, but he was surprised to see everyone really wanting to get started.

"Do you think you can beat me?" Jack asked confidently. "I was competing against Leona-senpai some days ago."

"Impressive, but yes: I think I can win. Do not underestimate the bodyguard of the great Malleus Draconia."

Jack smiled and sat down at the table, and they both put their hands together for a second after they started. They were both too strong, so they just smiled while straining.

Epel was looking at them with super bright eyes, and then he turned to Deuce, clenching his fists tightly.

"DEUCE! We are next! I'm not losing to you!"

Deuce looked at him in surprise, but then his grimace changed to a crooked smile as he collided with one of his fists against his other hand.

"I'm going to do everything I can to win you over, huh?" He said, and Epel was quick to nod and sit up to go against him.

They both put their elbows on the table and clasped their hands, and on the count of three they started. From the start Deuce seemed to have the upper hand, but Epel didn't give up on the first try, keeping his arm up for a long time. Deuce knew that if he used as much force as in his past days, he could win, but he was no longer like that, so he gave his all without going to extremes that were not going to be good for him or for his opponent. But still, he was struggling. And that made him feel proud of his friend, who seemed to be getting stronger every day through training and perseverance.

"Epel, your training seems to be paying off" Deuce said, smiling, though his tone darkened a bit afterward. "But I'm not going to let you beat me."

"HA!" said Epel, cocky. "We both train very hard, but there is something that I have and you don't ~"

Deuce arched an eyebrow not knowing what his opponent was planning on him... until he fixed his eyes on him: Epel was looking at him with the brightest and most adorable eyes he'd ever seen.

"Huuum, Deuce-kun, you're too strong ... I'm not going to be able to beat you ... ~"

Deuce shuddered when he heard that high-pitched tone of voice suddenly, which made Epel suddenly use more force and knock down Deuce's arm, thus winning the game. Epel stood up with a jump, returning to his normal voice again.

"TAKE THAT, YOU LOSER! WOOOOOOO!"

Deuce blinked a few times, unaware of what had just happened. But as he recovered, he snapped his eyes open and pointed at Epel, embarrassed.

"EPEL! THAT'S NOT FAIR!

"What's not fair?" Epel asked, pretending to be oblivious, but without losing his smile.

"Deuce... You have to lose that irrational fear you have of women... Or well, of everything just a little femenine, ya know" Ace said, sighing.

"It's not irrational! EPEL! I DEMAND ANOTHER MATCH!"

"Eeeeeh...?"

Ace, Grim and (Y/n) stood watching them argue a bit, not saying anything ... until Ace and (Y/n) ended up looking sideways. And Ace then showed a mocking smile.

"... Weeeell, (Y/n)... Do you want me to crush you?~"

"You speak very confidently for being the weaklest guy in the basketball club, Ace" Grim said quickly, to which (Y/n) gave a small laugh.

"WEAKL...! All right, Grim, you against me! But if you end up crying don't blame me, huh"

"Whatever, I'm gonna win you over."

Ace sat down at the table and Grim jumped on top of it. They both put their arms in position and on the count of three, they started the match... which ended just as quickly.

"... Wait, WHAT!?" That scream sounded so loud that other students turned to look his way. "THAT'S NOT FAIR! (Y/N)! WHY HAVE YOU HELPED HIM!?"

"Hum? What are you talking about?" (Y/n) asked innocently, whose hand was on Grim's paw, and both of them had managed to knock Ace down in no time.

"HEY, DON'T PLAY FOOL!"

"Tch, tch, tch ... Ace, my minion and I are one student. If you are looking for a fight with me, you are looking for it with her. This is how things are ~"

Meanwhile, Sebek and Jack continued to compete. Neither of them seemed to want to give in and be the last loser of the day.

"Aren't you tired yet, Sebek?"

"Not at all. I am totally focused on our match."

"Heh. I supposed it. Although it seems that the others have already finished. We should finish soon.”

"HA! That those humans and that magic monster are not as good as us is none of our business."

"... You're right, I just have to beat you."

That made everyone turn their heads towards the two of them, especially Ace and Deuce, the losers from the previous rounds. The two of them frowned at being treated like that, looked at each other, and ended up reading each other's minds. Epel, Grim and (Y/n) could feel how they weren't planning anything good... even though they couldn't say anything about it. Ace and Deuce took a breath then, and...

"M-M-MALLEUS-SENPAI! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?"

"KINGSCHOLAR-SENPAI! HAVE YOU COME TO WATCH JACK'S MATCH?"

And then, Sebek and Jack reacted at the same time, getting up from the place very upright, turning to see their superiors ...

"WAKA-SAMA, IT'S AN HONOR—!"

"LEONA-SENPAI, I WAS—"

... Only to realize that they were nowhere to be found.

"WOW, Sebek, looks like you've lost, huh? ~"

"Now we're in the same boat, Jack ~"

The two of them were stunned to realize that they had given up at the same time, and thus, they had both lost.

"Good work, Deuce-kun ~

"Same there, Ace-kun ~

Ace and Deuce bumpled fists, grinning. When they weren't arguing, the truth was that they made a great team. Although...

"... Uh... You two... I don't think it's time to celebrate."

They both turned to Grim and could see Sebek and Jack getting dangerously close to them, stretching their arms and clenching their fists.

"Time to show them who the losers are"

"I was going to say the exact same thing"

Epel, Grim, and (Y/n) stood, watching the chase live... until Epel finally said something.

"Well... do you want to take one more?"

"Of course! This is the one to see who wins!" Grim said, jumping back onto the table.

"No cheating this time, okay? We will play as it should from the beginning" (Y/n) said him, laughing, and placing her hand on Grim's paw.

Epel smiled and joined them, getting ready.

"OK! So... AT THE COUNT OF THREE...!"

#twst #twisted wonderland #epel felmier #deuce spade #ace trappola #jack howl #sebek zigvolt #grim #twst imagines #twst writing #self indulgent