#i shall make my twenties my bitch

[possum-down]

good borth

#i had at party for the first time in years #and came to the conclusion that i am cery loved in this world #i shall make my twenties my bitch #and i will get kinder and meaner #also #choclate bunt cake with choclate ganosh #plus pineapple cake from yesterday #very good #birthday

[caesium-55]

—seven days. [ vii ]

pairing: max verstappen x manager! reader.

summary: as the third time world champion, max verstappen's manager, you function on the belief that whatever max verstappen wanted, max verstappen shall get. but this time, after four years of working as his manager, you can't give him what he wants anymore and that was to stay.

author's note: that's it folks. welcome to the end. peace out (my hand is hurting like a bitch) NOT EDITED NOT BETA READ EXCUSE THE MISTAKES

tags: @whatamidoingwithmylife-ramdom @eugene-emt-roe @bellezaycafe @barnestatic @theseerbetweenus @wcnorris @notyouraveragemochii @lpab @vildetry06 @a-beaverhausen @formula1mount @loloekie @alucardsdaddyissues @juky-ps @cassianswh0reeee @devotedlycrookeddonut @amberpanda99 @supermaxv1 @evie-119 @spideylovin @harianaswhore @formulaal @landorris @onecojg @leclercdream @vicurious28 @c-losur3 @spookystitchery @0710khj @strollnstroll @justab-eautifulmess @ssrcsm i hope i didn't forget anyone

masterlist.

max: ANSWER ME

max: [NAME] I SWEAR TO GOD

max: I’LL FLY TO TEXAS RIGHT NOW I SWEAR

max: THIS IS ALL FUN AND GAMES FOR YOU ISNT IT

max: YOU FUCK ME AND THEN YOU LEAVE

max: YOU'RE ALL FUCKING THE SAME ALWAYS LEAVING ME

max: FUCK YOU [NAME]

max: TALK TO ME YOU COWARD

max: EXPLAIN YOURSELF

max: IM GOING INSANE HERE

Max has visited your apartment a total of two times since he’s given you the keys. The first time—Max remembers it was in early January 2020. You held a housewarming party disguised as a little lunch get-together as a thank-you for his gift. Daniel and him as well as two of your former roommates, Max recognizes them as Julia and Kendall from the PR team, are the only ones invited. You cooked pasta. Your mother’s recipe, you claimed. It easily became one of Max’s favorite dishes in the world and he requests you to cook it from time to time.

The second time, Max remembers going there again after the Monaco Grand Prix 2021. It’s been only a week after your breakup with Leo and four races before the incident with the Hamilton fan in Silverstone. The team holds a dinner to celebrate Max taking P1 and usually, you’re present in these types of things—the after parties and team dinners and all forms of team celebrations in general because you like celebrations but you're nowhere to be found.

Max finishes dinner quickly and excuses himself to Horner. He grabs a beer and drives himself to your apartment, because he knows you’re definitely not staying in the hotel with the team.

When you’re sad, you tend to hide away. It's an annoying habit. You make it your career to dig your nose into everyone’s problem—Max’s most especially—and provide everyone with the help you can offer. It's your love language, Max thinks, to be insanely helpful to everyone but the moment that the places switch and you’re the one who needs help, you run away because you refuse to bother everyone else with your problems despite the amount of people who are willing to return the favor you gave them in the past. It is very hypocritical of you.

He knocks on your door. Four slow knocks followed by three quick ones, so you’ll know it's him. It's an established pattern, a system that works for both of you. You shout for him to wait and Max does so, observing the details of the woodwork in front of him as he waits patiently for you. You have a very nice door.

You open the door. Max’s brows raised slightly at the sight of you. You're still in your Red Bull polo shirt but instead of the pencil skirt you were wearing during the race, you wore short shorts instead. Black, fitted, and they stop a little above your mid-thighs. You're barefoot, too. No YSL heels in sight.

Max turns into a lovely shade of pink. You don't notice it.

You have long legs despite being 5’5” only, which gives off the illusion that you’re very tall when you're actually not. Your body ratio consists of seventy-five percent legs and twenty-five percent upper body. You have lean legs. It's full of childhood scars—thin white lines that are barely noticeable because of how old they are. You have well-built calves and dainty ankles, which look weird but also look right, and your feet are veiny, jagged lines of green blue on skin. Max thinks it's because you wear heels every day.

“Somethin’ wrong, man?” your voice sounds nasal, hoarse, and deep at the same time. Your eyes and nose are red and Max knows full well that you’ve been crying over Leo again and yet you carry yourself as if you're fine, standing in front of him with your shoulders straightened and your tone professional.

Max never liked the bitterness that washes over him whenever he sees you with Leo. But at that moment, he’ll rather endure the bitterness that chokes him until he thinks he’s about to pass out if that makes you alright, if that makes you stop crying.

“I have beer.”

It's a lame thing to say. He should have said something better. He should have asked if you’re alright, should have asked why you were crying, should have asked if there's anything you need him to do just so you’ll feel better. But his mind blanks and he just thrusted the beer forward.

You smile, shaking your head. You take the beer from his hands gratefully, “I have pasta. Wanna go in?”

It's a fair trade. You love beer. He loves your pasta. And so, he entered your apartment.

He faces your door for the third time in 2023. A million thoughts run around his brain per second as his eyes train on the wood patterns of your front door. Dread pools in his stomach as he holds the door knob. He only holds it, not twisting it and pushing it open just yet.

Max is stalling. He knows that. He shouldn't be stalling. He knows that, too.

He dreads what's waiting for him on the other side of the door. He can hear your voice in the back of his skull, saying, “Pussy. You risk your life and drive a rocket ship for a livin’ and you’re afraid of openin’ a damn door?”

Max takes a deep breath and opens the door. Silence and emptiness greets him.

Your apartment has always been bare. You refuse to buy carpets, curtains, houseplants, decorative furnishings or anything that can make your loft apartment seem like someone actually lives there.

(“It's expensive here,” you said.

“I’ll pay,” Max offered.

“No,” you shook your head. “I’ll just bring something from home.”

You never did.)

Max’s feet lead him to your living room. Dust accumulates on top of your glass coffee table and couch. Max remembers them coming along when he bought the apartment. You never got them changed.

His brows furrowed when his eyes landed on the familiar looking box that sits atop the coffee table. He strides towards it, head tilting to read the little pink sticky note attached to it. It reads: Sorry Max, I can't steal more from Kelly.

Max’s entire world crumbles down. He opens the shoe box and sees the shoe, arranged carefully in place.

He hurriedly reaches for the folder next to it and reads the writings inside.

Max, I know you’d be the one who’d find this one day. By that time, I’ll be in Texas already. I don't know if I’d have told you that I resigned already. If I didn't, that's because I’m a pussy. Sorry.

Anyways, I will say this as straightforwardly as I can because I think I had been a pussy long enough.

I resigned, Max. I won't be your manager by 2024.

Max keeps re-reading the last two sentences just to make sure he’s reading it correctly.

I resigned, Max. I won't be your manager.

I resigned, Max.

resigned.

Max hurls the shoe box and it zooms in the air and hits the wall. He fists his hair and pulls. A scream erupts in his throat. The neighbors are going to file a noise complaint but Max cannot bring himself to care. He’s the one whose heart is breaking here.

He grabs the folder. Max feels something fall on his foot. He looks down.

A beaded bracelet. Navy blue and red—the color of Red Bull. There are three white beads in the bracelet and on those three white beads are the letters M and V—his initials—and the number 1—his current number.

Max drops on his knees. He picks up the little thing with trembling hands. He brings the bracelet to his chest and Max falls apart. This time, you’re not here to hold him together.

max: hey im planning to visit the US

max: do you think you can show me around?

Logan Sargeant is a good driver. That's a given. It's his profession. But the way he drives; it's making Max sleepy.

“So….” Logan begins awkwardly. “I’m assuming you're visiting Texas because of [Name].”

Max nods, “Yeah.”

“You're not mad at her, are you?” Logan asks. “For resigning?”

“She told you?”

So you told the American boy but not him? Max cannot help but be offended now.

“Well, I kinda assumed? Liam mentioned it to the other day, who heard the news from his cousin.”

Max’s brows furrow.

“Lawson?”

“Yes, Lawson.”

Max remembers the kid all too well. Liam Lawson has overtaken him in Singapore after all. It's embarrassing. Watch out, Max, you teased him. Liam’s out to get you.

“Liam probably heard it from Leo.”

“Leo?”

Logan is mentioning too many names. Well, it’s just two but two is still many for his brain to comprehend right now.

“Yeah, Leo and Liam are cousins.”

Max pauses.

“Leo and [Name] still talk so I guess [Name] told Leo, who must have mentioned it to Liam, who then mentioned it in the groupchat with me and Osc—are you okay?”

Max tries his hardest not to scream.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he says, voice tight. “I’m fine. How far are we from Austin?”

They drive past a sign that says “Welcome to Austin.”

“Well, it looks like we’ve just arrived.”

Max is once again offended that Logan knows where you live while he doesn't. Vista Del Pueblo, Logan tells him the name of the place as they hop off the car. It's funny how close you lived from the Circuit of the Americas. No wonder you always requested to be home after the Austin GP before flying off to the next city.

The two-storey yellow and red brick house is empty. Despite that, it looks like a perfect picture of a happy childhood home. The backyard and the patio is wide. Beside the driveway stands an olden tree. Below the tree is a reclining chair that looks like it has gone through a dust storm and a thousand rains.

“It’s empty,” Max announces. Logan nods.

“Yeah.”

Logan ends up approaching an old woman in the neighboring house who was sweeping dust off her porch and asks her if she knows the [Last Name] family’s whereabouts.

“They haven't returned home since Christmas,” she replies. “Everyone in the neighborhood tried contacting them but no one got through. Ever since Julio died… It's like the entire family followed after him.”

Max and Logan stiffen, shocked at the news that's just been revealed.

Julio died….?

Max needs to find you. Urgently. He needs to see if you're okay.

The sun retires for the night and Max decides that it's time for Logan and him to retire as well. Logan drives them to a hotel and Max pays for two rooms despite Logan insisting that he can pay for his own. They grab dinner at the hotel restaurant, in a private area that Max paid for.

“You’re not angry at her, aren't you?” Logan asks for the second time that day. His plate is half empty. Meanwhile, Max’s plate is barely touched. His appetite significantly decreased. He keeps thinking about you, worried about how you're coping with Julio’s death. You are never the best person when it comes to dealing with pain. Physical pain, you can handle. You’re barely fazed when you burn your hand in the oven, when you hit your hip at the corner of the table, when you accidentally get scratches and you don't even notice it until someone points out the blood that terrifyingly drips down your arm. Max can still remember how you dealt with your breakup with Leo. All those nights crying, the unhealthy fixation in work so you won't have any space feeling human emotions, the moments where you disconnect with reality that Max has to pull you out of many times. The death of a father is a million times worse than a breakup. Max imagines a thousand scenarios in his mind. He needs to be with you right now. He needs to make sure you're alright.

“I hope you're not. You obviously are but I still hope you're not,” Logan continues. “She was always going to leave, you know? She told me in January. She told me that she needs to—

Max accidentally throws the glass of water he was holding. It falls onto the floor. The sound of shattering glass echoes throughout the room. Logan stares at Max with his eyes wide. A cleaning crew comes in a hurry and cleans it up. Max doesn't apologize, he only says, “send me the bill later” and sends the crew out. He turns to Logan.

“She needs to what?”

“You're angry.”

You reminded me, Max said in his mind.

“And?” Max raises his brow. “She needs to what?”

Logan lets out a shaky breath, “She needs to become an engineer or else she’ll never forgive herself.”

Manager. Engineer. What's so damn special about that engineering position anyway? Why are you so hell bent on leaving Max? Red Bull pays you more than an engineer. Hell, Max is even willing to raise your salary to the same amount as half of his annual salary in Red Bull if it keeps you from leaving him. Max is willing to pay for your student loans and refund everything you paid to USC during your college years.

Max pinches the bridge of his nose, letting out a deep sigh. He’s feeling too many emotions all at once.

“I think it's best if you talk to Leo?” Logan suggests. Max appreciates that he’s trying to be helpful but mentioning Leo brings nothing but more anger in him. Fucking Leo. Why does he know where you are? He’s your fucking ex for god’s sake. Why are you even still talking to your ex? “He’s close with [Name]. I think he can help you.”

Max contemplates.

He doesn't want to ask fucking Leo.

And he’s not that desperate to seek help from him.

Logan writes his number on a table napkin. Max pockets it.

After dinner, Max sits inside his hotel room. He dials the number Logan gave him because if he’ll tell you where you are, he can swallow his pride for a day. It takes three redials and two rings before Leo answers.

“Hello?”

“Hi, is this Leo Stark?”

“Yes, this is he. May I ask who’s calling?”

“It’s Max Verstappen.”

Silence.

“Hello, are you still there?”

Max hears a loud crash followed by a series and a whole lot of ruffling, “Sorry about that. Do you mind repeating that?”

“Max Verstappen.”

“Ah, so I’m not hearing things. I thought I was hearing things. Sorry. Do you wish to talk to James Vowles? I can transfer the call to him.”

“No,” Max says. “I want to talk to you. It's about [Name].”

“Oh.” A pause. “You're going to ask me where she is, aren't you?”

“You're smart.”

“Well, mate, too bad. I’m afraid I can’t tell you.”

“You can’t?”

“I can’t,” he echoes. “I mean I can but I won’t.”

“So you know where she is.” It's not a question. Something bitter rears its ugly head in his stomach. His bitterness and anger now dwarf his worry for you in size. Fuck Logan for reminding him that you always wanted to leave. Fuck Leo for knowing where you are.

“I’m going to ask again and you better give me the answer I want. Where is she?”

“The answer you want?” Leo clicks his tongue. “It’s always what you want. Have you considered what she wants? Does [Name] even want you to find her?”

“You don't know what you're talking about—”

“I do,” Leo interrupts and the way he sounds so sure of himself aggravates Max. “I do, mate. Believe it or not.”

“I see what's happening here,” Max sneers. “I’ve heard you and [Name] broke up because she was prioritizing me over you. Is this it? Are you doing this out of petty jealousy?”

Leo sighs, “You’re making this about you again.”

Max opens his mouth to retort but Leo cuts him off, “Let me get this straight with you, mate. When we were still dating, not once have I been jealous of you. I understood that she works for you and that she has to put you first in certain situations. After all, you’re her job. I’m just the home she returns to after work.”

Max’s jaw clenches. Leo was her home. It was the truth no matter how much Max hated it. Leo does not stop there.

“I have no issue with her focusing on you. The only problem I have with it is her tendency to focus more on you than herself. If you come to her at a very vulnerable time, especially now, there’s a chance that she’s going to focus on you again. She deals with grief in a very unhealthy way and I don't want her to do that. Not when she needs to properly grieve for her father.”

Leo sighs again.

“So please, mate, just this once. Think about what she needs right now and it’s not you.”

You don't need Max.

But Max needs you.

That is one of the most painful truths he’s ever been given.

“She’ll come back. She always does. It may take months. Years, even. Just… Let her grieve and let her pick herself up. There are people who don't want help because they need to do it themselves or else it won't feel fulfilling. [Name] is no different. Also, I’ll be honest with you, mate. I don't want you coming to her before she achieves her dreams. You’re so used to [Name] giving you everything you want that you forgot that she, too, is someone who needs and wants and dreams. She just wanted to be an engineer.”

“And how is this my fault?”

“You knew what she wanted. You agreed to help her achieve it. You didn't allow her to move to Renault. You told her that you’ll ask your team principal after you win and you did win but you didn't keep your end of the bargain.”

“I—”

“Who are you to control her dreams? If you love her, you would have asked Horner, at least. She knows you never asked Horner. Maybe she would have never resigned if you tried to talk to Horner, but you let your selfishness win.”

Max feels all breath punched out of his lungs.

“You had the power to ask your team principal yet you didn't and she has to watch you achieve your dreams while she can't. Unfair, don’t you think?”

A pause.

“Just start considering what she feels, mate. That's all.”

“I am considering her. Always.” This is the closest to a love declaration he can admit out loud. The purest form of love is consideration, they say. When someone thinks about how things would make you feel, pays attention to detail, holds you in regard when making decisions that could affect you, keeps promises so you won’t be disappointed, that's when you know they love you.

“Are you really?”

Is he really?

“Take care of her for me, Verstappen. Even from afar. You can do that.”

The call ends.

Max stares blankly at the wall, still holding his phone against his ear. Then, he hurls it across the room. He aggressively drags his hand through his face.

Max flies back to Belgium after Austin to spend the rest of his off-season with his mother and sister. He apologizes to Logan for his behavior. Logan is a kind man, he forgives easily. He drives Max to the airport.

The next day, an article is posted, titled—AN UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIP: MAX VERSTAPPEN OF RED BULL RACING AND LOGAN SARGEANT OF WILLIAMS RACING SPOTTED DRIVING AROUND AUSTIN.

On New Year's Eve, Kelly messages Max. He can't say that he’s surprised. In truth, he’s been expecting her to message him, whether it's to beg to take her back or to curse him out or to tell him something about Penelope or it's to inform him that she's going to pick up her things in Max’s penthouse in Monaco.

kelly: i sent someone to pick up our things in your place

max: okay

kelly: also

kelly: *sent a photo*

kelly: she apologized for something that's not her fault

kelly: you have a good one

The photo is a screenshot of Kelly’s conversation with you, dated December 30. That was yesterday.

you: sorry about the breakup

you: i didn't know about the shoes

you: i didn't take it

you: im so sorry

you: i hope you're not too hurt

kelly: i think i’m the one who’s been taking him from you

kelly: take care of him for me

you: thank you for loving him

you: but i can’t do what you're asking

you: not anymore

“What’s wrong, baby?”

Max looks up to see his mother’s worried face.

“Oh, uh,” he closes his phone and almost drops it. Fucking clumsy fingers, fucking messages, fucking pain. “Nothing, Mum.”

His mother does not look convinced.

“You know you can tell me anything, right? No need to hide it. You may be a world champion now but you’ll always be my baby,” she says. “What does [Name] always say? Even champions are allowed to cry.”

At the mention of you, Max looks away.

“Tell me. Is it Kelly?”

The last time Max cried in his mother’s arms was when he was eleven. Jos always said boys should never cry. That boys who cry are weak. And weak people do not become champions. Max wanted to be a champion so he never allowed himself to be weak. Weakness only becomes a weakness if it is known so he learned to bottle it up over the years and all the bottled grief became anger. Hence, the birth of his serious anger issues.

He’s twenty-seven now with three WDC titles under his belt. He’s outgrown both of his parents in terms of physical size and in career accomplishments but when his mother’s arms wrapped around him, he allowed himself to become a little boy again. He allowed himself to be weak.

“She left me, Mum,” Max whispers, hugging her mother close. Sophie rubs his back in soothing circles.

“You’ll find someone, Max,” his mother assures.

“I don't want someone else,” he says. “I want [Name].”

“Oh.”

Sophie blinks.

“Max, you—”

“Please, don't make me say it, Mum,” Max pleads, squeezing his eyes shut. A lone tear drips down his cheek. “Don't make me say I’m in love with [Name].”

Max sends an email to Christian that he’s not going to take a manager in 2024. Christian tells him it's a bad idea, that he needs a manager because he’s becoming busy with his schedules and everyone wants a piece of time with the third-time world driver’s champion but Max cannot care less. If it’s not you, he’d rather have no one at all.

Max wants to learn how to get used without you on his side. He did a little reflecting over pre-season and realized how he had become so dependent on you. He learns the functions of a Google calendar and how to use a Notion page.

Max just knows 2024 is going to be a shitty year for him.

Bahrain, Max remembers, is your favorite track. He doesn't know why you like Bahrain. Bahrain is hot. Bahrain is not as exciting as other race tracks. Personally, he prefers Spa-Francorchamps.

He also remembers that you like watching the air show. You never said it outright but you always have this smile on your face while watching the jets painting the sky with colors so Max kind of figured.

Max snaps a picture of the jets in the sky. He opens his Instagram and searches for your name in his message list. When he presses his conversation with you, the first thing that greets him is his spam of angry messages. All delivered, all unread. The last message, Max remembers, was sent when he visited Austin with Logan to search for you.

max: SO YOU TOLD LEO BUT NOT ME? DO I EVEN MEAN SOMETHING TO YOU?

His finger hovers on the send button. He lets out a sigh and he pockets his phone instead.

Daniel approaches Max after Max wins Jeddah.

“Hey, have you been talking to [Name]?” he asks.

“Not lately,” answers Max. Not since she left me, Max thinks.

Daniel scratches his nape. “I think she's angry at me.”

“You’ve been talking?”

Now, Max is offended. So you talked to Leo, you talked to Kelly, you talked to Daniel, but you made no effort to talk to him? When was he going to get a message from you?

“Well, I kinda…” Daniel pulls out his phone. “I just checked up on her? And she replied like a week later. She sounds kinda angry? I don't know. Do you think she sounds angry?”

Daniel shows Max his last conversation with [Name].

daniel: hey!

daniel: heard from max what happened

daniel: we miss you! you should visit come by in bahrain! the opening is gonna be sick

you: can't sorry

daniel: aww how about jeddah

daniel: i’ll fly you out don't worry about traveling commercial

you: idk man

you: might be too much noise and distraction for you

you: good luck in jeddah tho

A very passive aggressive reply.

“Yeah, she is,” Max supplies.

Max wins Bahrain. Max wins Jeddah. Australia, on the other hand, is a funny story. First, the Williams team pulls an annoying move. Poor Logan. He had to give his car to his teammate and sit out of the race.

Max visits him after the news was officially announced. He finds the American racer in his driver room, sitting sadly on the bed with his head bent low, after asking a rookie Williams mechanic, who trembled at the sight of him.

It's a pitiful looking room. Max has a villa for a driver room. Logan doesn't even have a closet for his overalls, just a rack held together by hopes and dreams. The bed is so tiny and narrow that Max is sure he wouldn't even fit if he lies in there unless he assumes a tight fetal position.

“You’re here,” Logan stands from the bed, eyes wide in surprise. He hasn’t expected Max to visit him out of all the people in the grid. Not even his own teammate performed that courtesy. “Uh, I don't have anything. Here, have my seat. Do you want me to grab—”

“It's fine,” Max holds his palm up. “Sit back down, Logan.”

Logan slowly sits back down and moves to the side so Max can have a space to sit on. Max occupies Logan’s given space beside him. Their shoulders and elbows are touching.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

Logan nods.

“Yeah, I’m okay.”

Max nods, but he doesn't believe him. Comfortable silence wraps the entire room. It lasted less than five minutes.

“You should break the car,” Max suggests seriously. “So no one can drive it, too.”

A soft laugh escaped Logan’s throat.

The door swings open and enters Leo, who freezes when he sees Max Verstappen sitting next to Logan. He looks at the two F1 drivers then back in his hand, where he was holding a large Stanley cup and two styro cups.

“Great, I only brought two cups,” he says, kicking the door behind him to close it. “Should have told me the world champion is coming. I would have brought the expensive wine.”

“What do you have there?”

“Beer,” Leo lifts the Stanley cup and gives it a small shake. “Transferred it to a Stanley cup so no one would notice.”

“James wouldn’t be happy,” says Logan, frowning.

“We’re not happy with him either,” Leo retorts, pouring the beer into the two cups. He hands one to Logan and another to Max.

“I suggested breaking his car,” Max inserts, accepting the cup. He still feels a bit weird to be hanging out with Leo like this. He’s angry still, but he’s not as angry as he was in Austin. Leo’s words, though Max would never admit it out loud, made sense. You left because of Max’s own selfishness. He was the one who had cut your wings and thought that his gesture was out of love when in fact, it was an action born out of his desperation and his fear of being left behind by you.

“Should I?” Leo humors his suggestion, shrugging his shoulders.

Logan sighs, shaking his head at the two. He can’t believe they're both older than him but still wield that petty immaturity.

“Please don't.”

Second, the RB20 has brake issues in Australia so Max ends up retiring in the middle of the race. Max hears everyone cheer at his retirement. That's when you know he’s good. When everyone wishes for his downfall. Everybody in Red Bull grows wary watching their prized driver stomp inside the garage, looking like he has a lot to say to the mechanics. His head is as hot as the burning car at the pit.

Max hears two people whispering amongst themselves:

“Mad Max is back.”

“Where's [Name] when you need her? He’s going to get blow up at us now.”

“[Name] really is a saintess because she’s the only one who can handle him when he’s angry.”

“I never appreciated her efforts before but I am now. I hope she never left.”

Max hopes she didn't, too. Out of all the people in Red Bull, he’s the one who wishes that she hasn't left the most. Now, he’s even angrier.

Max wins P1. If he doesn't, it's a DNF. The problem is the reliability of the car, not him. Never him.

He steps foot in Austin soil again on October 15th for the 19th race of the season, eager to win another P1 and increase his chance of snatching his fourth consecutive world driver’s championship title.

Fortunately, the RB20 doesn't fail him mid-race. The Dutch national anthem is heard all around the Circuit of the Americas and Max retires to the garage, too tired for any form of celebration. He wants to change out of his racing gear. He still has to fix his Google calendar and check out a few things in his Notion page. Who knew being your own manager can be so tiring?

Kendall comes by, a camera in hand. She snaps a quick picture, only one take because she knows Max hates taking pictures. Max believes you mentioned it to her before and has asked her to take the pictures quickly so he wouldn't get annoyed. You were always too thoughtful, always mindful of the little details. Perhaps, it was why he fell in the first place.

Max pivots on his heels to leave after he hears the camera click.

“Oh Max,” Kendall stops him. “[Name] came by earlier. She said congratulations.”

Max entire world stops spinning. Everything else became a mass of white noise.

“Where's she?” Max demands.

“She left already, said she’s got somewhere to be—”

Max sprints to his driver room, grabs his keys and ran all the way to the parking lot where his car was parked, not minding the screams and the questioning stares he received from the people he ran past them to his car. His mind only focuses on one thing—he has to get to you.

He drives down to the familiar road that he and Logan drove in last December 2023. He's racing against time and like all races he'd participated in, he hopes to win. He hopes that he’ll be able to see you. Max arrives at the red and yellow brick house in Vista Del Pueblo, jogging up until the front door and knocking. Four slow knocks followed by three quick ones, so you’ll know it's him.

No one answers. Max jogs up to the window at the front and peeks inside. The house is still empty as it had been in December.

Max's shoulders sagged.

He wasn't fast enough.

#max verstappen x reader #f1 x reader #formula one #max verstappen #formula 1 #max verstappen x you #manager!reader #f1 imagines #fanfic #mv33 x reader #mv1 x reader #mv1 #mv33

[vivgst]

COD Headcanons

I mean they're not hc it's just shit I think they say/do but I needed the title okay?

As I previously said this is just my silly little opinion, I would love to read yours but don't take this too personal and I'm saying this cause Imma bout to write SHIT about two characters and I'm scared cause they're loved by the whole fandom.

Okay thats all thanks<3333

Let's start with my favorite piece of shit, shall we?

Alejandro Vargas

I don't care what yall say this man is a CHEATER and he would make you feel guilty about it too because you're not "meeting his needs".

“I’m not sexist???? We cannot do the same things, it's basic biology!”

Maybe he's good in bed, let's give him that.

Alain meza said he loved Rudy so let's assume he's bi, uh... he wouldn't admit that shit, not in a million years, probably would get offended if you even dare to suggest it.

He doesn’t argue to fix things, he argues to repeat how much in the right he is, I feel like he NEVER admits he’s in the wrong, he seems very stubborn.

Now can we address that fucking temper of his? Breathe mf, no ones gonna die if you stop yelling for a second.

I feel like he must’ve had A LOT of trouble when he just joined the army because of his anger issues, think about it for a moment: someone with a higher rank yelling at him and you think he just took it? I doubt it.

MUST HAVE fought with Valeria more than once cause that temper of hers is just as shitty.

I promise I don’t hate him, well I do but he’s one of my favs, I don’t know how to explain this bye.

Simon Riley

He’s very chill I love him <3

I think of him like a very nostalgic man, he thinks a lot about his past, past lovers, past experiences, when he was new in the army, you know? Not in a “I’m still traumatized” way, he’s just nostalgic.

He’s absent minded, he’s always daydreaming (when he’s not doing something important ofc).

Thin and I don’t fucking care, THAT MAN IS THIN, you can even see it sometimes!!!! He’s got chicken legs, I love them.

He really seems to enjoy dad jokes.

He cares a lot about his teammates and I love it, it’s very cute.

Can we talk about how everyone put him as a fucking beast in bed? I don't see it, I think he's ruthless when he needs to but I don't think this applies when it comes to sex, he suffered a lot too and sadly I know too well that sex is pretty fucking terrible after rape, especially because you feel like you're gonna hurt the person you're having sex with so...

John MacTavish

Typa guy everyone loves, even your dad and your grandma's always saying how handsome he is.

Maybe he was bullied bc of his accent but he just told them to go fuck themselves.

Caring and loving, buys his partner flowers and their favorite candy/chocolates/desserts.

Remembers anniversaries, birthdays, medical or school appointments.

Too charismatic and funny.

Kyle Garrick

He’s too good for his own good… I feel like he always end up going out with INSANE people, the jealous type, they’re always bitching and making him angry and stressed but he forgives them cause he’s an angel.

Very sweet, loves cooking for people he loves.

Kinda family oriented.

He smells good, I can almost smell his perfumeeeeee he smells good, he spends MONEY on it too.

Even the devil is afraid of him when he’s mad.

I think he's very private about his life in general, doesn't like to vent his problems.

Hot lover.

John Price

Now this man is a FATHER, my fucking dad I swear.

He seems pretty conservative to me, not in a bad way like he wants you to be his personal maid and slave, more like he wants to date to marry, hates casual sex.

Loves whiskey.

Dad energy, he would be so caring and loving with his child, he would give that baby the moon.

I don’t think he would love to date a younger woman, not a woman in her twenties at least, I think he would be into women his age.

If you feel disappointment by that, maybe you could try fixing your relationship with your dad, sweetheart ;).

Hates confrontation and loves to work things out.

Let’s not talk about how sex with be with the old man, okay? Thanks.

He's not that old, I get that but he looks like he's fucking 68.

Phillip Graves

He looks kinda daddy in that pic, not gonna lie.

“How come you don’t want to have sex? What about me? Have you thought about how that makes me feel? If your head hurts, sex would help but you never consider me, I’ll sleep in the couch”.

A selfish, self-centered bitch, only thinks about himself.

Feeling good having sex with him? Aw baby, try again cause this mf would use you like a damn toy and he couldn’t care less about your feelings or how much pain you’re in.

Cheater, he wouldn’t even be quiet about it. “Oh you want to divorce me? And where are you gonna go, sugar? You’re nothing without me”.

Doesn’t fucking know where the clit is, he doesn’t have a fucking clue.

Of course straight, loves to be white and American.

“Of course I can say whatever I want, I’m from America I have freedom of speech”.

Fuck you graves.

Rodolfo Parra

Perfect.

He seems so sweet and kind and considerate I love him.

Smart as hell, probably got the best grades when he was a kid.

Doesn’t hate anyone, no one hates him.

Loves nature and animals but he can’t enjoy it too much cause he is always busy.

Dreams about having a big family and a dog (a golden, probably).

Forget about having rough sex UNLESS he’s mad (fr mad like losing his shit but that doesn’t happen frequently).

Could be a teacher if he wasn’t in the army, he’s very patient and can explain things easily.

Have a pretty smile.

Valeria Garza aka MAMI

Feels like she needs to prove something, she was underestimated for so long in the army that now she’s always trying to prove to herself how badass and good at her job she is.

Almost no one knows the real Valeria, her favorite things, music taste, if she prefers cold or hot, coffee or tea etc.

She hates cold weather with all her MIGHT.

Likes to smoke only when she’s stressed.

Likes animals but thinks they’re so much work and she doesn’t have the time.

Did drugs once and hated it.

Feels guilty when she spots a church but she WOULD NEVER admit this shit to anyone.

Used to the worst of life so she didn’t like when someone is kind with her, is like “tf am I supposed to do with it???” but she gets used to it eventually.

I don’t think she has anger issues but def she doesn’t fucking know how to regulate her emotions, she lets stress take over her.

She would love a narcowife, kind of woman who wears a lot of beachy dresses and have a shitty personality like her (like Kate del Castillo in La Reina del Sur or in Bad Boys, exactly that kind of narcowife) (I’m kinda projecting, sorry lol).

I can’t picture her with a sweet girl and I think a sweet girl wouldn’t be able to handle that woman.

She keeps arguing even though she realized she’s in the wrong.

She wouldn't be able to spend a lot of time with her S.O, she's such a workaholic.

I don't think she likes to wear men clothes.

I don't think she hates kids but I can't picture her with kids.

Wouldn't divorce once she's married.

Btw I didn’t want to make this too sexual bc lately this fandom is full of just that, too much smut, too much violence and rape in the smut and it’s so graphic that I feel I’m watching instead of reading wtf, its uncomfortable and I honestly can’t picture the characters being that violent and vile.

As I said in my previous hcs… these guys are surrounded by violence, stress and blood every day, I personally don’t think they wanna get home to torture their partners (well, maybe graves cause he is a piece of shit that mf. Okay kidding, not even Graves is that much of a bastard).

#valeria garza #call of duty #cod x reader #phillip graves #rodolfo parra #rodolfo cod #alejandro x rodolfo #alejandro vargas #cod #valeria mw2 #ghost cod #simon ghost riley #ghost headcanons #john price #captain price #soap #john soap mactavish #gaz cod #gaz garrick #gaz mw2 #cod headcanons #cod hcs

[jackdaw-and-hattrick]

Hey Brother

Inspired by Loli-kolinaki by larunde

Dick and Danny Greyson were close. The nine and seven-year-old seemed almost more like twins. That was until tragedy struck the Flying Greysons, both parents dying and the youngest disappearing without a trace, leaving Dick to his own devices until Bruce Wayne came to the rescue. He would come to be known as Robin, then later Nightwing, never stopping his search for his missing brother. Over time, as no new evidence came forward, Dick became convinced his brother was dead. He would be half right.

Danny Fenton didn't have many memories from before he found himself in the Amnity foster system, but what he did know he treasured, holding soft memories of kind smiles and high-flying acts. He did his best to stay connected to his roots, maintaining his acrobatic training and Romani. Then came his accident, and all that took a back seat. The accident had an odd effect, bringing back memories of falling through the broad green he now knew to be the Ghost Zone. As his relationship with other ghosts improved, he began spending time with Desiree, both bonding over their shared heritage, separated by centuries as they were. She came to care for the boy (he would not call her good, never good, but she was sweet, and that was enough)

A twenty-one-year-old Dick was having what could be called a mental breakdown. Jason, his brother was dead, and the last time they’d talked had been a screaming match two weeks before his death. His adopted dad was midway through his own shitstorm and was generally being a bitch intent on getting himself killed as well, there was a literal child following them everywhere and the damn insult of a clown was still standing. He was high when he said it, with no idea anyone was listening, let alone the consequences it would have.

“I just... I wish I had my brother.”

.

.

.

“So you have wished it, so it shall be.”

.

.

.

Desiree at least had the decency to give Danny a heads-up before sending him to a separate universe to help mend his long-lost brother’s fractured life. The rules were simple; Danny could not do anything to reveal his identity, and could not return to Amnity until they knew who he was. He could use his powers, but quickly realized that if he was going to get through to his brother’s family he’d be best off at least pretending to be human. There was no Phantom without Amnity, instead, Gotham got Magpie, a man more on vacation than a mission with a spirit box on his hip and a penchant for areal silk.

Things maintained like that for a while. The Bat colony was making progress; Tim had been successfully put through therapy and had more or less stopped incessantly stalking Danny. That was until one day a chill ran down his spine. Danny did not know Jason Todd, so when he found the kid wandering around with no memories and a soul barely hanging on to a broken body, he had no idea that this was more or less his brother. Still, he took care of him, helping nurse him back to health. Eventually, Jason decided to start working with Magpie under the name Cardinal, keeping his distance from the Colony until such time as he can look at them without wanting to punch someone (luckily being Cardinal means he can do that without questions)

#danny phantom #dp x dc #jason todd #dick grayson #Magpie au #hoping I’ll write something for this but who knows? #digital art #sketches #I have struggled so much with trying to name these characters

[leonstoenailunderhisbed]

Insurgency: The Uprising

Summary: A totalitarian regime reigns over a South American country in which the virus is being distributed to its citizens at the pretense of a “cure.” Leon was sent to retrieve a sample of the virus mutation when he stumbled upon a group of anti-government activists whose main goal is to overthrow their government. Will Leon help the cause or will he fall down with the government as well?

Warning: Mentions of mature themes. Read at your own discretion. Slow burn. Age gap (Leon is 38 and reader is 21+). Reader is female.

Word count: 4,750

A/N: this is an idea I had for a book I wanted to write. I love dystopian books and movies so I really wanted to write something like this. This will be a series lol.

[part one][part two][part three][part four][part five][part six][part seven][part eight][bonus]

“The relief of giving in to destruction.” - Franz Kafka, Diaries.

“This is an urgent message from the president. This is an urgent message from the president. This is an ur-“

“Hello citizens of Pruye,” the TV warning got interrupted by the screening of a middle aged woman sitting down on a desk. Her suit was black as a flag stood behind her. The colors blue and green with a crest on the far left corner- a serpent. The woman had a brown bob with a few grey hairs. Her eyes were deep brown as her lips remained a bright pink. Her rosy cheeks puffed out the look of exhaustion as she embodied the feeling of a confident and strong leader,

“Today is an important day that all must remember. Tonight, we will launch the cure of all illnesses. The immunity to life. We shall bring peace and harmony all throughout the globe. A change never seen in history… until now.”

“Membario will become the new pharmaceutical phenomena. Our people worked hard for this cure and we shall be the first ones to prove to the world that we, too, can make history. Tonight, you all will be receiving a sample of this cure. Tonight, we will boast in the celebrations of what it feels to be victors! We are proud Pruyanians!”

The TV got turned off by someone, your coworker, “What a bunch of mierda,” Your coworker was an old man, a veteran who served in the war and now worked at where you worked. A canteen right in the middle of downtown Pruye. The streets were made of cement but had plot holes from previous battles.

The Pruyanian government, right before the current president won the election, was peaceful and harmonious in which it allowed citizens to have a voice. After President Mendez took charge, she changed everything.

Streets were patrolled by the Pruyanian soldiers who proved their loyalty to the country. Laws were changed and made to accommodate the president’s demands.

“I just don’t understand why it’s such a big deal, it’s just a drug like opium or morphine,” he continued with a grumpy voice.

“C’mon, Franco. Don’t be a buzzkill. Imagine how rich we can be if we were to sell it to other countries?” Another coworker said, a young woman in her early twenties with dyed hair. Red fiery hair covering what was a previous black raven shade.

Franco snorted as he stared at the TV and then back at the young woman, “Don’t tell me you actually believe her words? She’s manipulating us!”

You sighed and went to clean up a few tables, “You two fight like politicians.”

“Look- I’m just saying is that there are better ways to make a living. I don’t want to work here for the rest of my life,” the young woman replied as she too helped you clean around the canteen.

“Too bad, Esme,” Franco replied as he opened a newspaper and began to read, “Life’s a bitch and you can’t do anything about it.”

Esme raised her brow and looked at you for a brief moment, “He gets old but not his spirit, eh?” She nudged you with her elbow gently.

You stifled a chuckle and shook your head as you went back to the kitchen to clean the used dishes.

It’s always been you three working here. Esme, Franco and you were like family. After President Mendez delivered the order to kill all those who opposed her, your family became a target.

Your brother, around 16 years old, died right before a ceasefire was called. He was with his friends when a group of Pruyanian soldiers appeared and shot him. The cause for the shooting? He defied a soldier and showed insubordination.

Since then you’ve grown resentment to the government- specifically President Mendez.

The ground shook as you were cleaning the dishes. You slowly approached the open door entry along with Franco and Esme, watching as battle tanks drove through the city.

“Coño… what are they doing over here?” Esme asked faintly as she watched the tanks and army pass by. Their uniform blue with the serpent crest embedded on their arm. The red serpent you’ve seen all throughout the city.

“Must be presidential orders,” Franco pointed to a big screen on a tall tower. The tower stood right in the center of the city layout. Its purpose was to guide those who are lost- or maybe it was to show who the powerful ones really were.

You and Esme turned your attention to the big screen, watching as a countdown took place. They were about to distribute the cure to the citizens in 6 hours.

Esme huffed in annoyance and went back to stare at the soldiers pass by. Their boots echoing through the humid streets of Pruye as they held their weapons with a firm grip.

“They’re securing the area…” you whispered as you furrowed your brows. You turned back to look at the screen and listen to what the president had to say, “We will be patrolling the following areas- Pucalara, Miguén, San Jolonia, and San Bandero. Do not be alarmed, this is standard protocol.”

Currently, you were in San Bandero. The heart of Pruye. The soldiers all surrounded the city and held their rifles close to themselves. You watched as the tanks all moved inward, closer to the tower.

“They’re locking us in…” you spoke faintly as you quickly walked back inside the canteen. Esme and Franco exchanged a look as they followed behind you, seemingly confused.

“This isn’t protection like she claims- no. She’s locking us inside the city-“ you frantically said as you got your bag and jacket.

“Y/n, slow down. How do you even know that?” Franco put a hand on your shoulder to calm you down.

You shook your head as you swung your jacket around your shoulders, “I don’t. But knowing her… she’s hiding something and I don’t want to be here for that.”

You walked out of the canteen and walked down the sidewalk towards where the soldiers were blocking an exit. As you neared them, a soldier held out his rifle and aimed at you as he spoke through his helmet, “Turn back around. You cannot leave the area.”

You raised your hands in the air and took a step forward, resulting in the other soldiers pointing their guns at you, “I said- turn back around! Now!”

With a glare you slowly took steps back as you walked away from them. They weren’t letting people out which meant that they were also not letting people in.

As you walked back to the canteen, you noticed how people began to get out of their houses and grow confused at the soldiers. Why were they blocking the exits and entries of the city?

Right as you were about to walk inside the canteen, shots were fired. You crouched down to the floor and covered your head with your arms as you looked over your shoulder and saw soldiers shooting the civilians with weapons launching at them.

Your eyes widened at the sight of the people with machetes and guns fight each other. The sound of bodies falling down to the floor as well as the blood seeping through their lifeless bodies, staining the cement under them.

Rain began to pour down, making it hard for the soldiers to see through their helmets. You watched as a person stabbed a soldier from behind with their knife but then fall to the ground dead as the soldier behind them shot them in the head.

This was war.

-

Leon was called to the main office of the organization he was currently working at. Which was for the government. He found himself inside the White House again for some reason.

As he waited inside a room, he couldn’t help but notice how bright and sunny the weather had been lately. Which was a contrast to what he felt. Drained and exhausted.

The door opened gently and two men dressed in expensive suits stepped inside with a file in their hands. They approached where Leon had been sitting and sat on the couch across from him.

“Good news, your request for a getaway vacation has been approved,” one of the men, balding and tired, said as he laid the file on the coffee table between them. Leon leaned forward to pick it up and go through it.

“And the bad news?” Leon asked without glancing at them.

The other cleared his throat before speaking, “You’re being sent to another virus mission.”

Leon looked up from the file to stare at the two men. Another mission about the virus, when will it ever end?

He sighed as he closed the file and leaned back against the couch, “So another zombie apocalypse. Great, just what I fucking needed…” he whispered as he put the file back on the coffee table, “No.”

“No? What do you mean no? This is important, people’s lives are at risk and we can’t-“ Leon quickly interrupted the balding man.

“You can’t save everyone when it comes to this. I’ve seen it many times, why don’t you all just do what you did back in Raccoon City, huh? Bomb them until there’s no trace of the virus,” Leon got up and began to walk towards the door.

“This is different,” the other man said, causing Leon to stop in his tracks. “This isn’t like the virus you’ve seen before… this is much more dangerous.”

Leon turned around to look at the two of them before walking back to sit on the couch. “Go on.”

“Ahem-“ the man continued, “South America. The branch wants you to go over there and retrieve a sample of the virus. That’s all you have to do. Once you give us the sample, we’ll proceed from there and you’ll get your vacation.”

Leon narrowed his eyes at him, growing suspicious of how easy the mission sounds, “You aren’t telling me everything, are you?”

The balding man laughed nervously and readjusted his black tie, “Not per se-“

“There’s a revolution going on in the country of Pruye where you’re being sent to. They mutated the virus’s genetic code into something more dangerous and they’re using it as medicine- I believe you know where this is going,” the other man said.

Leon nodded and kept quiet as the man talked, “The government is planning on distributing this ‘medicine’ to other countries but we cannot let them. Your mission is not only to retrieve a sample but to also stop the spread and destroy the evidence of the virus ever existing. You will be given a team- both air and land to help you complete your mission. Your task is not let others know the real reason why you’re there. You are acting as a soldier proving aid to the government. Once you have retrieved the virus sample, we will pull you out of the country and bring you back.”

“This time I’m actually getting help. Nice,” Leon replied sarcastically. It was obvious that Leon wasn’t all too excited about this. He’s been used as a killing machine ever since Raccoon City. He’s been tossed around the globe with expectations of solving everyone’s issues. And he’s tired. He’s 38, he should be worrying about other things other than war and death.

His hands rested on his thighs as he began to stand up from the couch, “When do I leave?”

“First thing in the morning, you’ll be on a private plane provided by the government,” the balding man answered.

Leon nodded before finally walking towards the door and exiting the room. As he walked down the halls of the White House, he wondered what life would be like for him. Is this all he’s ever going to do? Was his life purpose about fighting and killing? He couldn’t wait to retire.

-

Smoke covered the entire block. Rain poured down harshly against your skin, causing your hair to stick to you like glue. The smell was of gunpowder and metallic blood infiltrated your nose. A vision full of haze as you stood up from being crouched down on the floor.

Blood.

A lot of blood.

They brought tanks and a helicopter. “¡Al suelo!” Someone yelled.

You got down on the floor as an incoming tank shot a building, causing it to crumble down just a few feet away from the canteen. Your eyes widened in horror at the sight.

People screamed- from pain and from the fight. You got up and ran to try and find Franco and Esme. You needed to get them out of here now.

You staggered as you ran towards the canteen. The debris that had fallen over from the building covering the road. You jumped and ducked as soldiers hid behind them and shot at anyone who they deemed a threat.

Panting through the bloodied streets, you had reached the canteen. You heard groaning and some yelling more up ahead.

You didn’t know what took over you but you found yourself running towards that sound. As you approached the yelling, you saw that Esme had been hit by a piece of debris from the collapsed building. Her leg had been squished and she desperately tried to pry the piece off of her. You kneeled down beside her and pushed the debris aside, watching in horror what had happened to her leg.

Her bone broke and penetrated her skin. Snapped in half like a twig. There was blood pooling down her leg. You froze, you didn’t know what to do. You weren’t a medic but you also weren’t heartless enough to leave her.

You took off your jacket and applied it to her wound, hoping you could at least stop the bleeding. She gripped your arm as she let out a bloody scream in pain.

“Estoy aquí- respira. Todo va estar bien-“ you tried to calm her down but she let out another yell, “y/n it hurts- grragh”

Of course it hurt, her bone was poking out of her skin.

“Where’s Franco?” You asked as you tried to get her distracted from the pain.

She didn’t respond and instead pointed to a mountain of rubble. Metal rods and pieces of cement fell down on top of people. You could see limb pieces- arm, legs. But you couldn’t recognize all of them.

Your eyes followed her finger as she pointed to the gore display.

“He’s under there…” she replied weakly and let out another pained scream.

You felt your breath catch in your throat as your heart rate quickened. Slowly standing up, you walked over to the mountain of rubble. “Franco?” You called out in a panicked tone.

Silence.

You hurriedly kneeled in front of the mountain and hastily moved the rubble away. Taking piece by piece as you denied the thoughts scurrying through your head.

Almost immediately, your heart dropped down to your stomach as you recognize the veteran necklace. With shaky hands, you reached for the necklace and took it.

Franco was dead.

Your vision blurred as you held the necklace on your chest. You let out a blood curdling scream as you trembled in horror.

The ground shook as more bombs blew off. Troops stampeded through the streets, their weapons aimed at the citizens of San Bandero.

You went back to Esme and tried to pick her up, “Come on,” you grunted as she leaned her weight on you.

Dragging her alongside you, you managed to walk further away from the city and towards the exit. The soldiers bordering the entry/exit road had been killed and now laid there lifeless. Their uniforms stained with the red tint of what could be assumed was their blood. Maybe it was also someone else’s.

As you managed to get her out of the city, you walked through the dense forest and laid her down on the ground as she leaned against a tree.

“I’m going to get help- stay here and don’t make a single sound-“

“Leave me,” Esme interrupted you. Her gaze defeated and weak as she looked up at you. “I’m only going to slow you down. You need to get out here…”

Your eyes softened at her, “I can’t leave you, Esme. You’re coming with me-“

“For fuck’s sake y/n! Just go!” She cut you off again. She sighed and closed her eyes. “Just go…”

You stared at her in silence, your feet frozen in place.

“Esme…”

“Just go. I’m not going to live, you saw what they were doing to us… please, Y/n… just go…” she rolled her head back against the tree and grunted softly in pain.

You stared at her in silence as you contemplated your next actions.

“Y/n, go to La Séten mountain…” she heaved as she tried to breathe, “There’s- there’s a group of people who can help you, give them this.”

She weakly handed you a piece of paper with writing on it. You took it and put it in your pocket as you nodded shortly.

“I will…” you whispered as you looked into her amber eyes, “I’m sorry, Esme…”

Esme gave you a weak and faint smile, “Don’t be sorry… promise you’ll live… for me…”

You nodded and held her hand as your eyes welled up in tears, “I will.”

You leaned closer to her and gave her forehead a gentle kiss. She closed her eyes and exhaled for the last time in her life.

You stifled a sob as you let go of her hand. You’ve lost Franco and now Esme too.

You walked through the forest, making your way to the mountain Esme mentioned.

-

“Madam President, the city states have been seized and are under troop surveillance.”

“Wonderful, let the Chief in Command proceed with the plan. We mustn’t delay the delivery.”

“Yes, Madam President,” the female assistant walked out of the President’s office, the same one when the announcement was first made. President Mendez let out a soft hum and stared down at the files in her hands.

“Tonight, we will change lives Doctor Ramirez,” she spoke as Doctor Ramirez walked closer to her desk.

“Yes, we will Madam President and it’s all thanks to your help. Without your sponsorship, we couldn’t have progressed so quickly with our research,” Doctor Ramirez was a tall and lanky man with glasses. His hair was neatly parted at the side and his white coat shielded the suit he was wearing underneath. He exuded wealth and power, much like the President herself.

President Mendez laughed and clapped her hands slowly, “Oh.. Doctor Ramirez, you are too humble.”

“Not all Madam President… not at all,” he replied with a quiet tone. His eyes unreadable.

-

The path to La Sénte Mountain was a rough one. It’s one of the biggest mountains in San Bandero that has been classified as unreachable. There was an abandoned trail that originally was used for horse riding but ever since the country got ruled over by President Mendez, everything turned industrial.

Trees aligned the rail as the tall grass reached up your shins. It had gotten dark by the time the bombs and the shootings all faded in the background. As you took a step up, you turned back to look at the city that was once your home become occupied by soldiers. The helicopter flashed its light in search for citizens. There was smoke and fire coming out of the city from where you stood.

You couldn’t believe this was happening. With a sigh, you continued your trail up the mountain. Unknown to you that you were being watched by eyes hidden in the grass, trees, and bushes.

Hours passed and it was now some time past midnight. You took a break to catch your breath. Sitting down on a rock, you took out the piece of paper Esme gave you.

It was a small map with the word ‘Insurgents’ on it. The map was a layout of Pruye, it contained information about where each government and army building was located around the coast as well as the center of the country.

You tucked it back into your pocket not before hearing a twig snap. Anxiety quickly coursed through your veins and you got up to leave. Whatever was out there was probably not friendly given the current uprising in the country.

With a force against your feet, you kept climbing up the mountain. Climbing for what felt hours until you saw an orange light emitting from a cave.

Fire. Someone had lit up a camp inside a cave in the mountain.

You gripped the edge of the cave and pulled your body up. As you entered, you were immediately met with guns pointed at you. There were about four men pointing their rifles at you as you climbed up. A woman came up to you and dragged you up by your arm, helping you stand on your feet.

There was a table right in the center of the cave with a lantern. And behind that table stood a woman with a scar across her face. Her eye a different color as the scar ran right through it.

“Hold your weapons,” she raised her hand to stop the men from shooting you. The men took two steps back and slowly lowered their weapons. The woman who helped you up left your side and walked back to where the other woman was standing.

“I assume you were told about us,” she began as she went around the table and walked to stand in front of you. She was taller than you by at least two inches. Her hair was short and black. Her skin tanned and full of freckles.

You nodded and took out the note Esme gave you, “A friend of mine told me to come here.”

The woman took the note and inspected it before giving it to the woman who helped you up.

“Another recruit, Esme was really good at recruiting more people,” she said casually. Your eyes widened, she knew Esme?

“I don’t suppose you know what we do or who we are?” She walked back to the table and motioned for you to follow behind her.

As you neared the table, there were papers scattered around messily. Maps and files with important information. The woman turned to you and took out her hand for a handshake, “Name’s Yanira. Welcome to Insurgents.”

You took her hand and shook it with a firm grip, “Insurgents? What are you guys?”

She let go of your hand and focused back down on the table, “We are an organization looking to overthrow President Mendez from her position. She and her minions have been controlling our land far too long. It’s time we claim back what’s ours.”

An anti-government group. And they’re fighting the Pruyanian government for freedom. You furrowed your brows and stared down at the table as well as Yarina kept speaking, “We need as many people as possible if we want to make this happen. You’ve seen how they treat people back in the city states. Why don’t you join us?”

You looked at her with wide eyes, “What? Why would you want me to join? I don’t even know how to shoot a gun.”

Yarina chuckled softly, “You’ll learn. We’ve got plenty of people who can teach you different things,” she leaned closer to you, “We’ve been preparing for this moment. All we need is more help. And you- I have a feeling you can help us big time,” she whispered and then leaned away.

She focused back on the table and continued discussing whatever it was that she was talking to the other people.

Join them? You can help them? Up until now you were just a girl working in a canteen living paycheck to paycheck. And now everything turned upside down. The army has taken control of four city states and you’ve lost more people.

It was no lie that a war was coming but to actually partake in it was terrifying, at least to you. But witnessing how everyone seemed to have the spirit and the faith that everything will work out in their favor is beginning to persuade you.

What more do you have to lose? You’ve lost your family and now your friends. It’s time to fight back for what was once yours.

“Okay,” you nodded slowly and looked at Yarina.

“I’ll join you.”

Yarina smiled brightly and hung an arm around your shoulders, celebrating with the other insurgents.

It all felt so overwhelming yet so real. This was happening and there was no turning back.

“Okay, here’s everything you need to know so far,” Yarina pointed to the map.

“The coast has been guarded up by the navy army of Pruye. President Mendez sent out an order to not let anyone in or out of the country. The ports have been closed and the soldiers are patrolling the beach.”

She then pointed to the center of Pruye, right on San Bandero, “San Bandero has become the military center of the country and is where most of the soldiers have been patrolling. This is where their control comes from. If we can target and destroy their center from this point then we have a chance at liberating the other city states.”

You furrowed your brows, “It’s not easy. I’ve seen what they brought. Tanks and helicopters. Are you sure you want to target them first? What about the civilians?”

Yarina let out a soft exhale, “We can perform an underground evacuation- some of our soldiers will go in the sewers and take people out of the city towards the forest. Once the people have been evacuated, we will proceed and attack the main tower.” She then pointed to a tall building colored in red right in the middle of the map.

“This is where most of the military controls the country. If we can hijack and steal their data, then we can convince the rest of the country to join us. And we can also delay the soldiers from terrorizing other city states.”

She already had a plan for everything. No wonder Esme knew about this. If this group was this good then that means that there’s hope for liberation.

“Okay…” you began slowly, “What do you need me to do?”

“You, my friend, have a special mission,” she slid a piece of paper your way.

“The United States will send some troops over here to aid President Mendez. I want you to go back to San Bandero with a few of my people and infiltrate their meeting location,” her finger pointed to another building on the map, “This place is called La Fundación de Membario. It is heavily guarded by soldiers. The place is where President Mendez is currently staying at. She’s going to personally welcome the Americans and give them a run down of what Pruye has been up to. She’ll most likely tell them about us and knowing her-“ her tongue clicked against the roof of her mouth as she stared at you.

“She’ll want the Americans to target us.”

You pinched your brows together and looked back down at the files of the American soldiers that were expected to come, “But why is the U.S. sending their military over here?”

“Because President Mendez sent an emergency alert to their President. She declared her country was threatened by us and needed backup. So, the U.S. playing God in all wars- decided to send their people over here to control us.”

You looked up at her from the files as she spoke again, “But you know what I think? I think they don’t stand a chance against us. We know the country better than anyone. They’ll die right before they can touch land,” she replied quietly.

She sounded like she wasn’t lying. It was a promise to herself and to the people of Pruye.

“When do I start?” You asked after putting the files back down on the table.

“Tomorrow morning. You can stay at our camp and we’ll teach you the basics. For now, you should rest. We’ve a long day tomorrow,” she patted your shoulder and walked deeper into the cave. The other insurgents gave you a look and some gave you a firm nod as they followed their leader.

You exhaled shakily as you looked out the cave. From now on, you were a soldier. No longer the girl working in a canteen. That life was long gone.

You were now part of the Revolution.

#leon kennedy #leon s kennedy #leon scott kennedy #resident evil #id leon kennedy #leon kennedy x reader #leon kennedy x y/n #leon kennedy x you #leon s kennedy x reader #leon #di leon

[uzumaki-rebellion]

"King Killmonger: The Golden Jaguar" Chapter 5

Masterlist HERE.

"We hope each soul will find

Around and inside

Another soul to love

Let this be our prayer

Let this be our prayer, just like every child

Need to find a place, guide us with your grace

Give us faith so we'll be safe"

Avery Wilson & Candace Boyd—"The Prayer"

Yani held onto the hand of her baby sister Anika, as her middle sister Dawnette gushed over meeting Tahir. Anika told their entourage of women—Twyla, Zola, Ilana—the story of Killmonger and Tahir spending the night at their Aunt Leona's cramped apartment when she was sixteen and impressionable. But now that she was in her early twenties and legal, she had the right of first dibs on the handsome foreigner to Wakanda.

They entered the banquet venue's snazzy restroom where a full sitting room/powder room was set up before one even made it to the restrooms in a separate section. Checking their make-up and showering the room with their loud gossip over men and available bachelors, Yani noticed Ime in a corner with four other women seated on plush chairs chatting. Anika and Dawnette followed Twyla into the restroom to relieve themselves of wine and other spirits passed around for the after dessert libations. Yani took note of a few other noblewomen clucking together in their various groupings parceled about using wall mirrors to fix hair, and check make-up.

It was obvious that women snuck glances at Yani and she smiled while passing others to get to Ime.

"Princess Yani," Ime said.

Ime stood quickly and her friends did too, showing Yani respect.

"Leave us please…I would like to speak with Ime," Yani said.

Zola and Ilana walked away and kept watch over her for any intrusions.

"Shall we chat for a moment?" Yani said.

Ime nodded and Yani led her to some chairs in a corner that faced away from the other women in the room giving them some privacy.

"I wanted to talk to you about our relationship going forward. After I marry King N'Jadaka, I will be having a series of special events throughout Birnin Zana. Private teas, luncheons, and of course, the Queen's Ball. You and I will see a lot of each other because of Ramatla's position working for my husband."

"Of course."

Ime's voice was sweet as pie, but Yani wasn't keen on her maintaining a façade any longer.

"I know you don't like me. No need for us to pretend that you give a fuck about what I think about you."

Ime's eyes widened and several women within hearing distance moved away quickly to avoid catching strays. Hushed voices spread throughout the powder room and every woman not connected to Yani or Ime vacated the premises immediately. Zola and Ilana strolled over to the restroom toilet entrance to provide interference in case their party came out.

Ime pulled her shoulders back and lifted her head higher. She regarded Yani as a worthy adversary. Her mask fell away.

"It is true. I do not like you. You aren't fit to be queen—"

"You uncouth bitch!" Zola snapped.

Ilana held Zola back.

"I'm a bitch?" Ime said, slanting her gaze toward Zola. "You disloyal witches were so quick to scuttle over to her side that you threw away years of our friendship…and for what? A chance to be around the king?"

Yani glanced at Zola and Ilana. Ime craned her neck back and folded her arms over her chest. Her gaze burned into Yani's face.

"Do you know how many eligible women here that are better than you who would kill to have N'Jadaka Udaku?" Ime said.

"I know you are one of them," Yani said.

Ime didn't flinch. Her lips twisted into a devilish smirk.

"You are damn right. I was one of those women. Had you or that other one not showed up, I'd be in your place right now."

"Listen to this hussy!" Zola hissed.

Yani held up her hand to silence Zola.

Twyla, Anika and Dawnette wandered back in.

"What's going on?" Twyla asked, quickly sizing up the tension.

"Twyla, would you mind taking my sister's back to our party? I need to talk to Lady Ime in private," Yani said.

Twyla took the hint and gathered up the younger women toward the exit. Zola and Ilana followed behind to block anyone else from entering. Yani leaned her left arm over her right on the armrest and crossed her legs.

"I will be queen soon, so any dreams or aspirations you bad minded bitches had about N'Jadaka are over fuh good. I'll fuck up anyone who tries tuh come for we…even Remy."

Ime huffed and jumped to her feet. Yani's chest burned. She took her time standing up like a powerful royal woman with the highest status in the land shared with her man.

"This hatred yuh have in your heart…keep it or throw it away. I don't care. You mean nothing to me. However, we both have a duty to our country—"

"You are not a real Wakandan, Yani Galiber. You are a fake. A blight on the bloodline. You think your position is safe just because you will marry him tomorrow? Hmmph. Then you don't truly know the history of Udaku men. They have an appetite…a lust for life that you could never satisfy as an outsider. No Wakandan man in his right mind would see you as any kind of prize."

"Well, your man has a taste for me, so I can't be all that bad."

Ime's eyes narrowed and her right hand went up high to strike Yani.

"Ime stop!"

Remy's voice rattled them both. He grabbed Ime's arm and pulled her away before her hand connected with Yani's face.

"My apologies Princess Yani. She has disrespected you and I am…embarrassed by this."

Ime snatched her arm away. Her cold eyes had gone beyond jealous hatred. There was envious murder lodged in them too. Yani took a step back sensing an uncontrollable rage flowing through her nemesis. Remy struggled to get Ime's hand back down to her side. She stuck a finger in Yani's direction.

"You aren't special. He will get bored with you…you are nothing like us…"

Ime vomited hatred with her words, and Yani stood strong with a half smile on her face, allowing the woman to get everything off of her chest right then and there. Had Yani worn her finger armor that night, there would've been deep bloody holes in Ime's face. She kept a rigid posture despite her blood pressure going up. A physical entanglement would only fuel the fire of other nobles who felt the same as Ime. Her throat tightened and she parceled her words carefully. Yani's mind screamed to revoke Ime's wedding invitation, but she wanted the woman to watch her nuptials and squirm about it. Diplomacy and tact were the order of the evening.

"Lady Ime, I appreciate your honesty. You have never minced your words, so I will not run around the bush with mine. King N'Jadaka and I are one blade."

Ime's eyes narrowed hearing the euphemism. Remy watched Yani's face with an apprehensive expression. Had it been a club in St. Thomas back when she kept a reckless mouth, Yani would not hesitate to let all of the noble women know she was a good pussy gyal. They way N'Jadaka carried on in her pum pum was all the evidence she needed. The elites could come for Yani all they wanted, but that bad man from the hill wasn't going anywhere.

She took a step forward and Remy repositioned his left foot in front of the tips of her shoes to create a barrior between the two women. Biting back the rancor in her throat and the urge to call Ime a heavy-tongued cow foot whore, she opted to act her position.

"Your campaign to vilify me or make me feel less worthy of the throne has failed. You can't have N'Jadaka, so you go for Remy. The way I hear it, you backstabbed your best friend to get him…so if I were you Ime, I would worry about repairing my social reputation instead of coming for a queen. Good luck with this one, Remy. It's a pity that your family settled for this waste gyal as your future wife—"

Ime lunged for Yani. Remy became a shield. He hugged Yani and protected her body from Ime's attack. Ilana and Zola rushed over and yanked Ime into a corner, pushing her back against a wall mirror. They shoved her shoulders and cursed in her face to keep her from going up against Yani again.

"Please forgive her…I'm sorry for everything," Remy pleaded.

He held Yani's shoulders and she could feel his warm breath blow across her lips. From the reflection in the mirror behind him, Yani noticed N'Jadaka walking in with Twyla. Remy's hands dropped away from her body quickly, but N'Jadaka saw it all. Ilana rushed to the king's side and whispered something to him before he reached their side of the powder room. He moved like a stalking cat toward Ime afterward, ignoring Remy and Yani completely. Zola stepped to the side giving N'Jadaka space. Ime cowered before the man she desired above all others.

Everyone remained silent. N'Jadaka's smoldering presence held them all in a chokehold. Ime trembled.

"Look at me," N'Jadaka commanded.

Ime turned her head to the side and refused to do so. N'Jadaka crowded her body and Yani knew exactly how that felt up close. The heat. The crackling energy. The sexual prowess. It was too much to process all at once, and for a mere second, Yani pitied Ime. Her greatest desire was right in front of her and she couldn't even look at him.

"Don't make me repeat myself."

"King N'Jadaka, I beg…let me remove her from your presence. She has been drinking—"

"Do you have permission to speak to me?"

N'Jadaka didn't bother to look at Remy. His voice boomed and the message was received.

Stand down.

Ime lifted her head. Watery eyes peered at the king.

"I don't normally get into women's business, but I warned you once about bothering her, so now I will give you a choice. Get on your knees in front of her and beg forgiveness for your insolence or I will strip you from your title and make life hell for your entire family."

Ime jammed her back against the mirror with horror dripping from her eyes.

"She accosted me…I was minding my own business with friends," Ime whined.

"Ime…just do it. Stop making this worse for yourself. If you have no title, we cannot marry," Remy said.

The tears fell then. Ime wiped at her eyes as if her own body betrayed her. Yani slipped her hand around N'Jadaka's.

"Let it be. She's drunk and we know how powerful the drinks have been tonight. We need to leave for rest. Our wedding will be here soon, king," Yani said.

Mercy.

That is what Yani gave Ime. Although it would've been a sight to see Ime groveling at her feet, Yani wanted to be above the woman in the best way. Knowing N'Jadaka showed his trump card, she doubted Ime would get out of line ever again. The threat of losing a title was worse than going to hell in Wakanda.

The king allowed Yani to lead him away from Ime, and Remy rushed to her side, throwing an arm around his fiancé's waist. He guided her quivering form away from certain banishment. Twyla wandered over.

"Gossip has already spread outside. When you walk out of here, look cheerful like nothing happened," Twyla said.

Strolling hand-in-hand with Twyla cracking a joke, they left the powder room laughing. Their performance was good enough to get them past a few people, but it was clear the mood had shifted in the banquet room toward her. The upper class were shook to their core. No one was safe if the king jumped for Yani like that in public.

Yani gathered up her children with Leona and Dante's help, and they all bid farewell to the hosts and their dinner companions from the center table. Couples were still dancing and liquor still flowed and would do so into the night. Nobles from all the tribes rushed up to Yani and wished her a good evening, hoping that she graced them with her sweet voice and a smile. N'Jadaka shook hands and accepted congratulations for their upcoming nuptials once more. She waved at her favorite people throughout the banquet room while Zola and Ilana stayed close with her sisters in tow.

N'Jadaka held Yani's and Joba's hand until they were outside the venue boarding a different vehicle with the children by themselves. Yani turned on the sound-proof barrier for the back seat where Joba, Riki, and Sydette sat comfortably, their eyes drowsy from all the activity of the day. They spoke freely without their driver and guard hearing.

"I'm glad you didn't fight her physically," N'Jadaka said.

"Me too. It wouldn't be a good look for us, no matter how much she deserved to get boxed. She knows where I stand. That's the important thing when dealing with a yamhead gyal."

"Remy has a problem on his hands."

"You do too."

"How's that?"

Yani leaned into him and held onto his arm.

"According to her, you were supposed to be her betrothed if I hadn't showed up in Wakanda. Remy was her back up consolation prize."

The corners of his lips went down and his brows joined in the center.

"This caste culture is very particular, very selective of whom they pair couples. The more I learn, the more I see how dangerous it was for my father to choose my mother. Sometimes I think she would've received the same treatment."

"They aren't nice about my foreignness at all in Ime's cliques. She even insinuated that Ilana and Zola only came to me to get close to you."

"We know there are advantages being around me. But those two…," He gave a casual glance to to Yani, "Their hearts are in the right place. They adore you. I know they have crushes on me, but those are just harmless feelings. Most times I have to bargain with them just to get you to myself all alone."

Yani grinned and stroked a finger up and down his chest.

"Are you still going to your bachelor party tonight?" she asked.

"It's not a party. A little get together with the fellas."

"Where will you guys go?"

"We're staying in the palace. I have some food and drinks prepared up in the salon. We'll play cards, smoke cigars…catch up with my cousins. Nothing crazy."

"Strippers?"

Yani giggled and N'Jadaka put an arm around her pulling her into his side. Her breasts mashed into his chest.

"I've seen enough naked women in my life to last me. Every color, size, and from damn near every continent. I'd get bored watching some stranger shake ass for mere entertainment with a bunch of men. Smoking, drinking and shooting the shit is all I want to do. Besides…I have the baddest woman on the planet and I'll get my own private show after we get married."

She puckered her lips and he lowered his head to brush his mouth against hers.

They arrived in the palace parking structure at a reasonable hour. N'Jadaka carried Joba and Riki, while Yani carried Sydette in her arms. Back at their home, Kora helped guide the children away from the front door in their sleepy daze toward the stairs.

"I guess we have to say goodnight here," Yani said.

She wrapped her arms around N'Jadaka's waist and he held her close.

"Yep. I say goodbye to Princess Yani forever. I'll miss her."

They locked eyes, basking in the moment together.

"Thank you for never giving up on me…even when you thought I was gone forever. Thank you for making sure our children knew about me. Thank you for being the light that brought me back to myself…the light that showed me that I could find a perfect love in paradise. You have made this imperfect man so very happy."

"Thank you for coming into my life…thank you for believing in me and making sure I was taken care of even when you thought death was a possibility for yourself. Thank you for being the love of my life…choosing our precious Sydette as your own and giving me my beautiful son. Thank you for trusting me to raise a special extra daughter too. You have made this equally imperfect woman very happy too."

"Well shit, we might as well be married now. Sounded like we said some vows," he joked.

"I know. I'm actually happy that we don't have to say a lot tomorrow. I already feel like crying…"

"Aye girl…no tears…"

Yani buried her face in his chest and wept out her happiness. He rubbed her back with loving hands and cooed in her ear soft words of love.

"You are my life, baby."

He pulled away and kissed her forehead.

"Go on now, get some beauty rest. We all get to sleep in until twelve thirty. I shouldn't even be looking at you right now. We're supposed to stay separated," he said.

She held his hands, not wanting to let him go, not wanting to part from his warmth and strength. Staring into his eyes, she luxuriated in the overpowering essence of his presence the way Ime had experienced him up close. Yani still thrilled to his energy and aura. She pulled him in for a kiss…a long one. Their heads moved from side to side and his hands palmed her backside, squeezing the heavy orbs. His tongue explored and made promises for their wedding night. He kissed her woozy and she stepped back on weak legs. Her brain felt mushy and her body tingled all over. Especially down below.

"I should go now," he said.

"Okay."

Neither one of them left the front door.

"I have to change clothes for my bachelor party," he said.

"Hmmm."

His dimples and septum ring mesmerized her. The glint of his gold panther teeth held her captive when his lips parted in a gentle smile. The king's body heat wrapped her in a cocoon of love. His too-muchness enveloped all of her senses and she suppressed the urge to look away from his face.

N'Jadaka's kimoyo beads lit up breaking the spell for Yani.

"It's Mpilo…I betta dip. Can't be late to my own gathering," he said.

Yani moved away from him knowing that if he touched her again, she would pull him into their home and up to her bed.

"Love you," he said.

She blew him a kiss and dashed inside the front door, closing it quickly. Resting her back against it, she touched her face. It was hot and a light sheen of nervous sweat covered the back of her neck. She touched her stomach to calm the butterflies there. Lord…he still made her swoon like it was their first time together.

"Are you alright, Princess Yani?"

Sindiswa, the evening attendant for their home approached Yani with concern.

"I'm fine. Can you please bring me some bria tea and chocolate biscuits to my bedroom?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Yani climbed the stairs thinking of love, family, and finally having her happy new beginning with N'Jadaka.

Sunrises in Wakanda were a stunning tapestry painted with the delicate hand of Bast.

N'Jadaka rose early before the streaks of orange, rose, pale turquoise, and magenta saturated the horizon heralding the golden return of the sun.

He bathed in a wide tub filled with oils and herbs to purify his body for marriage. The humble priest Dinani waited for him on the balcony where they prayed together in the language of Bast, the ancient tongue that supported him through his transformation on the holy mountain. Ogum stirred in his chest and quickly rose to the crown of his head where the energies of two gods merged.

The ancestors rested within him.

Dinani and N'Jadaka's former temple caretaker Ayiz'e smudged him head to toe fully nude with river sage and more prayer work. As the sun rose, he watched it golden the sky while listening to a recording of a berimbau being played by his mother and a drum pounded by his Grandpop. He prepared his mind for hours of ceremony and honed in on Ayiz'e warming up a thick glob of ceremonial body butter in her hands. The pale yellow substance melted into clear oil and she rubbed it all over him, even his locs. It smelled wonderful, like citrus and honey. She knelt down and rubbed it on his buttocks and the back of his thighs. Dinani observed the preparation making sure no spot on his body was missed. Ayiz'e started rubbing the oil on his groin and when she stroked his flaccid penis and scrotum with it, Dinani held up a tied leather bundle about seven inches long.

"Kumkani, before you consummate your union with the new queen, you must remember to give Bast an offering of your semen first. Princess Yani has been trained properly to do this with you. We would all be pleased if you conceived a new heir on this night," Dinani said.

Ayiz'e finished oiling his nutsack and the front of his legs and feet.

"He is heavy with seed. We can expect plenty of blessings in the king's future," she said.

Dinani smiled.

"This is good to hear. It has been a long time since the royal family has had a bounty of children. Bast will be pleased with our king. We shall take our leave now until we see you at the wedding temple," Dinani said.

They left the suite and an attendant brought his early morning breakfast. Pork medallions, porridge sweetened with sugared red berries, buttery biscuits and slices of fresh fruit. He ate his meal alone on the balcony, calming his mind and the wedding jitters. The eagerness to be married right away already overwhelmed him. He wished they could skip all the ceremonial work, but the new marriage had to follow ancient Udaku customs.

Belly full and mind straight, he relaxed in bed for a short respite until it was time to dress. His wedding robes were brought to him and his personal stylist helped him dress. Ayiz'e returned to twist his locs into an elaborate bun with a few strands left to fall on his shoulders. She checked the wedding clothing front to back. His black opal ceremonial robes were blacker than an inky sky at midnight, but as he moved, the robes refracted an array of colors in blue, green, and silvery gray hues that looked like tiny galaxies bursting light in deep dark space.

"He is ready," she said.

Once more, she smudged him with a different bundle of dried plants that smelled spicy and sharp in the nose. It fit his personality. He sniffed it as she passed around him.

"You recognize it?"

He shook his head.

"Bast Root. It is the plant that we used for ceremonies before vibranium fell from the sky. This plant cradled the vibranium meteor when it landed. Bast led King Bashenga to it, and soon after, a patch of it mutated into the heart-shaped herb that we cultivate today. This original plant links us to our past because the Panther Goddess led us into our future. Smudging with it calls Bast and her sisters down to be with you on this day."

"I understand," he said.

Ayiz'e left his side and he stared at himself in the mirror.

"You truly are a king."

N'Jadaka turned his head and Dante walked forward.

"Your parents are with you…they can see how handsome you look, JaJa."

"I feel them."

"They came to me in a dream last night. All I could do was tell them how excited I was to watch you marry Yani, and they looked pleased. I woke up before I could remember what they said, but I'm sure it was something like 'We love you, son.' Their faces were so shiny…so close to me that I could touch them."

Dante touched N'Jadaka's shoulder and admired his wedding garb.

"Are the guys ready?" N'Jadaka asked.

"Waiting for you at the carport. Yani and the children have already left for the temple."

He took a deep breath and checked his clothing again. Dante tapped his arm.

"Come…let's go get your wife," Dante said.

N'Jadaka walked with his grandfather out of the suite. Four Dora Milaje and six kingsguards awaited him outside. They rode a private elevator down to an underground carport where his groomsmen stood near their vehicle transports wearing custom obsidian Wakandan suits that complimented N'Jadaka's robes.

"You look clean man!" Shawn said, giving N'Jadaka dap.

"Damn, I feel like royalty too," Walter said, showing off his outfit.

Tahir wore a custom suit that incorporated his cultural heritage into the design. Mpilo grinned from ear to ear in his own attire. Bibi shook N'Jadaka's hand and congratulated him on his day.

His older cousin, Junie paraded around in his suit.

"I think I ate too much last night," Junie said, patting his stomach.

"I think that fat has always been there," Bibi joked, poking Junie's round belly.

His cousin Nevaeh hugged him. She wore a long overcoat over her covered dress and would walk as his groomswoman carrying flowers to represent Marisol's missing presence. Yani's cousin Kendall was doing the same as a bridesman filling in the gap of missing family from the Galiber side. He would escort Nevaeh down the aisle.

"How are you feeling, JaJa?" Nevaeh asked.

"The nerves are kicking in a little bit, I'm not gonna lie," he said.

She kissed his cheek and wiped away the smudge of her lipstick.

"Are you ready to leave, kumkani?" a driver asked.

"Let's rock and roll," N'Jadaka said.

They split into three cars and N'Jadaka sat next to Dante.

The streets of Wakanda were jam packed with spectators who had lined up on every avenue and street corner waiting to catch sight of the royal family. Every inch of the city looked decorated and the festive energy of the citizens forced grins on all their faces in the cars. The wedding was the celebration the country needed after a tumultuous year adjusting to life removed from the Infinity War.

He watched people dance and throw flowers at the cars as they were whisked to the heart of the golden city where the temple waited. Traffic clogged up two blocks before they arrived at their destination, and they waited patiently for the kingsguards and the royal onyx squad to make way for their cars to get through.

They crossed through the gauntlet ten minutes late, but N'Jadaka didn't care about time. He stayed in the present moment, feeling all the feelings, letting the fervor of the crowd wash through him.

The ancient temple loomed in front of them. The last time they had been there was to reunite with his parents, but that sadness didn't linger over the ancient site. It beckoned to him with an ethereal beauty and gave him the gift of peace in his heart. His parents were there waiting to watch him wed. Their spirits hovered all around him.

Their vehicles were ushered into a covered parking structure on the west side of the temple entrance where his clan and extended family convened. Umama, Ramonda, and an army of other Udaku relatives stood waiting for him and his groomsmen.

"You look amazing Umama. You too, Ramonda," he said.

He hugged as many relatives as he could before a wedding director arrived and pulled him away from Soliel, Aujannue and Serah to give final instructions. Nevaeh's mother Rolita straightened the locs that tangled on his shoulders from all the hugging. The family drummers stood nearby waiting for their cue, and the family griot, his cousin Didah, walked in front of everyone carrying a centuries old staff that was carved with family sigils of protection. She touched the top of her forehead and took a deep breath before approaching N'Jadaka. He could feel the rising energy of his family behind him.

"Cousin N'Jadaka, the temple is packed. Your grandmother has permitted some people to stand in the back, so when we go in, please keep yourself in the center behind me at all times until we reach the front. The acting griot for the Galiber clan will come in right when the last of our family has been seated."

N'Jadaka nodded. He heard Didah's words, but his body sensed the anticipation inside the temple. Somewhere on the otherside of the structure, Yani was waiting for him. His heart thudded in his chest and his hands went clammy. Umama lifted his chin with her hand.

"Breathe, grandson…that's it. Relax and breathe."

Tunnel vision and anxiety ran through him. The overstimulation forced him to gulp in air. Serah clasped his hand and his Uncle Addae slipped next to him and gripped his elbow to steady him. N'Jadaka was about to ask for a chair to sit in, but a comforting warmth spilled down from the crown of his head and flowed to his feet. He closed his eyes. Her familiar scent came down on him the way it did when he used to cook in her kitchen when he was a little boy. Florida water.

Nana Jean.

"I'm glad you're here too," he whispered under his breath.

He knew his great-grandmother always stayed with him, but the scent of her protective potions surrounded him…grounded him. Standing tall, he shook his hands and prepared to swagger down the aisle so the world could see a king claiming his queen.

Didah gave him the biggest smile that rivaled the sun shining above them. She tilted her head back and burst into the first stanza of their family history and the drummers matched her strong voice as they pounded out the backing rythmn. His groomsmen and groomswoman were led away to join Yani's bridesmaids and bridesman to prepare for their entrance.

"I feel you all in me," N'Jadaka said out loud to his ancestors.

He held onto Dante's and Umama's hands and followed Didah out of the covered structure. The drummers controlled the pace of their trek around the temple and once they entered, N'Jadaka focused his eyes on Dinani the priest who waited for them at the front.

The temple overflowed with guests and their excited energy pushed against the king, adding an extra layer of sensory overload he tried to control. He was happy, so very happy, and every inch down the aisle heightened the experience. The piercing pride in Didah's voice carried him along as she sang out the story of the Udaku family leading the country for generations. Each time she named a queen or king, N'Jadaka felt their movement in his core as if they each tapped his soul to let him know they were walking beside him. He laughed out loud when Queen Shuriya's name was uttered. His greatest grandmother tickled the back of his neck and a vision of her clouded his eyes before the next name was called. His family gave a call and response with the drummers as they circled the temple allowing all the spectators to see the great King N'Jadaka in all his royal splendor. They made their way back up the aisle as his father's and mother's names were uttered. Umama let out a ululation that rippled through the family and N'Jadaka's knees almost buckled hearing the pain that was still in his grandmother's throat.

He closed his eyes when he felt a kiss from his mother on his temple and another kiss from his father on his forehead. He wiped his eyes and guided his elder relatives to their seats on a dais behind the priest. The rest of his family filled in the reserved seats in front of their guests.

N'Jadaka looked across the rows of guests and acknowledged the nearly nine hundred non-Udaku family members facing him. Sunlight filtered through the temple and illuminated the majestic indoor trees that created the canopy roof, their wide-sweeping branches intertwined with the solid pillars and Goddess statues making the atmosphere look surreal and holy. Didah and the drummers concluded their family song by highlighting N'Jadaka's bravery in protecting the people, and he danced entertaining the crowd. A few elderly Udaku aunts and uncles stood up and encouraged him to show out and he granted them a show. Umama and Dante hooted and hollered for him too. A bold drummer jumped in front of the king and pounded an extra rhythm for his feet and shoulders and he allowed his limbs to cut loose. The unseen Galiber clan called out his name loudly from the back announcing their entrance, and he ended his dancing by bowing to his grandparents. A riotous applause cascaded from the foreign guests in the audience.

Didah took her place behind him on the dais waiting for Yani's family griot to orate about her family.

The sound of clashing blades echoed from the far side of the temple. N'Jadaka waited with great anticipation. Kendall, and about fifteen of Yani's adult family members carried shiny cutlass blades and lit torches. They didn't use drums for a percussive sound, but sang acapella about Queen Mary, their history of enslavement and liberation using the acoustics of the ancient temple to echo the beauty of their combined voices. Leona walked among them lending her voice with her head held high wearing a strapless puffy champagne-colored gown decorated with tiny cutlass blades. Her salt and pepper hair was carefully decorated with Ginger Thomas flowers the official island flower from their home. Several young children and teenagers from their family followed along clapping to the beat and gazing at the wondrous beauty of the ancient temple.

Although Yani's family was small in number representing their clan in comparison to N'Jadaka's, they kept the guests spellbound listening to the story of their island roots and their connection to Africa through the diaspora. After singing the folk song of Queen Mary, Kendall took over the oral history and sang/rapped about their family. The other relatives stomped their feet and clapped their hands with percussive beats supporting his playful delivery of Caribbean history. The Galiber clan circled past N'Jadaka, and Kendall helped Leona join N'Jadaka's grandparents on the dais with four other elder cousins from her family. N'Jadaka moved over to them and gave them hugs and kisses before quickly taking his position back in front.

Kendall stood before Didah and the two of them had a playful back and forth of singing. Didah challenged Kendall to tell the world why Yani was the best woman for N'Jadaka and the young man waved his blade around and pointed the torch at the king. The fire was close enough to heat N'Jadaka's cheeks.

Didah held a long singing note and studied N'Jadaka's face.

"Is this woman for you, kumkani?" Didah asked.

"Bring her to me," he replied and the Udaki family laughed and clapped because he was supposed to simply say "Yes."

Didah's smile swelled his heart and she turned her attention back to Kendall.

"The king has spoken," Didah said.

Kendall grinned and attendants took away all the torches and cutlass weapons. The Wakandan drummers pounded away giving Kendall time to ceremonially return to the bride-to-be letting her know she was called forth. The sweet orchestral sounds of Wakandan strings, flutes, and violins mixed with the beautiful vocals of his paternal grand aunt serenading the strides of Twyla and Bibi. Twyla was already bawling as she clutched her husband's arm and the bouquet of flowers. Yani had all of her bridesmaids wear custom-made, iridescent mother-of-pearl dresses that each woman was allowed to choose in their personal style. Twyla's garment was a one shoulder wrap dress with a high slit on the left side. Her shoulder-length locs were also heavily decorated with island flowers. She clutched Bibi's arm tight while sniffling toward him. They stood on either side of N'Jadaka and he bent over and kissed Twyla's cheek, wiping her tears away.

"I'm sorry..I'm sorry…" Twyla whispered.

N'Jadaka laughed at her and she gathered herself together.

Zola and Ilana walked down with Tahir and Mpilo wearing elaborate crisscross halter neck gowns. The slits in their dresses were more modest, but their elaborate braided hair-dos showed flair and sassiness in their style. Mpilo looked terrified of messing up his walk down the aisle with Ilana, but he relaxed more when the king smiled at him. The heavenly music elevated the feelings in the temple and N'Jadaka touched his chest hoping it wouldn't explode before Yani appeared.

Anika and Dawnette made the long walk down the aisle with Walter and Shawn. Their dresses were a matching ruched style with sequins at the top and satiny overskirts that reminded N'Jadaka of mermaids. They crafted thick twists in their hair and wore their hair flowers tucked at their left temples like Billie Holiday.

Junie escorted Shuri who stunned everyone with her make-up and hair. She had fluffed out her hair into a perfectly coiffed 'fro where flowers were strategically placed to look like they grew from her scalp like a giant ebony bouquet. Her dress had a plunging neck with split sleeves that showed skin powdered with sparkly dust that twinkled like stars on her rich brown skin. As she passed the front row, she gave a nod to Nakia who held a sleeping Toussaint on her lap. Shuri gave a sly smirk to N'Jadaka knowing he was peeping all the extra make-up she never wore in her regular life. His young cousin looked stunning and his older cousin Junie looked proud to escort her in front of the Udaku clan.

Kendall strolled out with Nevaeh whose custom dress shared her Native heritage with Yurok detailing of abalone shells and stringed shell beads that dangled around her waist like a fancy apron that jingled as she walked. She wore a long braid threaded with flowers all the way to the small of her back. When she separated from Kenny she blew a kiss to N'Jadaka and showed him the extra bouquet of flowers she held for Marisol and Disa.

The music changed into a melody that transfixed the entire temple gathering. A young woman sang like an angel with a choral ensemble backing her up high above them. N'Jadaka lifted his gaze to a balcony above the temple entrance where the angelic voices rained down on them like holy blessings. He now understood why Umama insisted that the wedding take place in the late afternoon. The placement of the sun in the sky had its sunrays directed into the temple by the architecture where it created a natural spot light for his children coming down the aisle next.

The entire congregation stood up when Joba appeared, flower crowned with her thick wavy hair shiny with ringlet curls all down to her back. She held a basket of flowers and threw them in front of herself as she slowly walked in the procession. N'Jadaka heard the oohs and ahhs of their guests. The sun made Joba's skin a deep mahogany brown like her mother's and he beckoned for her to keep walking to him so he could hug her. Although her walk was out of order for an American custom, the Wakandans deemed it appropriate for the youngest child in the bridal party to herald the coming of the new wife with flowers and acceptance from the priest.

Joba reached the front and her eyes took in the ancient wisdom of Dinani who presided over the ceremony. Dinani gestured for Joba to come forward and the little girl paused, staring up at the expectant priest. Twyla waved for Joba to come to her side, but Dinani stepped forward and held Joba's hand. Something sacred transpired between the priest and his child. Dinani glanced at N'Jadaka and smiled. Whatever it was made the priest happy. N'Jadaka reached for Joba's hand and pulled her in front of him. He kissed the top of her head and the sweet show of affection made a few guests wave their hands in approval.

Sydette, his ring bearer, stepped lively carrying a satin pillow in her right hand that held the wedding rings. Her left hand kept a tight grip on a red satin binding rope that she would tie around her parent's wrists as part of the wedding ceremony.

His eldest child's hair carried buoyant curls that almost looked bigger than Shuri's 'fro with a braided Mohawk style. A few flowers were tucked into the intricate braiding pattern along her scalp accentuating the fullness of her curls, and her face glowed as she kept her eyes on her Baba watching her steps. Sunlight dappled across her hair and face as she drew closer to him. Her dress matched Joba's, silvery white and princess-styled to fit her age.

"Hey Sweet Pea," he said.

She fixed her lightly pink-glossed lips into a big smile for him showing big dimples like him, and took her place by his side next to Joba. He bent down and gave her a kiss on her nose and she giggled, patting his cheek with the hand carrying the marriage tie. She glanced at her sister and Joba giggled making Sydette giggle more.

"Wait until you see Mama," Sydette said to him.

N'Jadaka straightened right back up and waited for Yani to appear. Before she stepped into the temple, he heard her voice singing the words that were meant for him in that little St. Thomas club so long ago.

"Can't do without you for sure

Amount a place I and I explore

Still nuh find nobody else I adore

Them can't stop we, yeah

Yuh love a sumn wah mi have to protect

You are my balance and my ease to mi stress

Your vibration never fail me yet

Wull on pon me, yea…"*

N'Jadaka had been unaware that Yani was going to sing during their ceremony. Their rehearsal had been calculated from start to finish and at no time was he made aware of his bride serenading him. His ears caught the lead singer of the choral ensemble vocalizing the exact same English words into Wakandan, lending her vocals after Yani finished.

Like it had been in the past, he was mesmerized by Yani's voice before she even stepped into his sight.

Riki held his mother's hand and led her into the temple. His royal robes were an exact replica of his father's. His hair was fluffed out into the big sandy-red sunburst of his grandmother Califia. Yani wanted her son, the first child born to N'Jadaka, to give her away for the ceremony.

N'Jadaka's lips trembled as he watched the beaming face of his gorgeous bride walking toward him in all her glory. Yani's silvery-white dress sparkled in the light of the sun rays that struck the shimmery iridescence in all the right places. Form-fitting, a hood covered her head that fell back into a luxurious train, accentuating the roundness of her beautiful face and big tranquil eyes.

His heart stopped.

N'Jadaka gasped and Joba patted his wrist keeping his spirit from flying out of the room. He held out his hands, palms up, willing his radiant bride to come to him with all his might. Riki took his time setting Yani's pace. The boy wanted to show off his mother. The Wakandan choir sang over their bridal march with a hymnal that brought tears to N'Jadaka's eyes. Yani transported him.

He stood nude in warm liquid inside a Caribbean sea as a young mouthy woman fussed at him to get out of her waters. Surly eyes from the past challenged him to show his true self in a hectic kitchen on a compound until he clawed his way back to humanity and fell in love with his future queen. Yani beckoned him into the ocean of her love for all time. Was there no better proof of higher powers protecting him than that divine encounter with her?

Nothing prepared him fully to witness a vision coming toward him that made his whole body quake. He gasped for breath. Joba squeezed his hand.

"Its okay, Baba. Umi Yani is coming," Joba said.

Riki stopped halfway to the priest and puffed up his chest.

"Baba, come get Mama!" Riki shouted.

The congregation erupted into cacophonous laughter. Like his father, Riki eschewed tradition and said what needed to be said. Sydette pushed N'Jadaka forward and he took eager strides toward Yani. He was supposed to sing the royal wedding song that grooms shared with the bride, but he spoke them instead. The Wakandan words slowed down his steps and he approached Yani full-throated and proud:

"Come when the nights are bright with stars Or when the moon is mellow; Come when the sun his golden bars Drops on the hay-field yellow. Come in the twilight soft and gray, Come in the night or come in the day, Come, O love, whene'er you may, And you are welcome, welcome.

You are sweet, O Love, dear Love, You are soft as the nesting dove. Come to my heart and bring it rest As the bird flies home to its welcome nest.

Come when my heart is full of grief Or when my heart is merry, Come with the falling of the leaf Or with the redd'ning cherry. Come when the year's first blossom blows, Come when the summer gleams and glows, Come with the winter's drifting snows, And you are welcome, welcome…"**

He smiled, happy that he was able to remember every word and say them with enough eloquence in flawless Wakandan. Pausing for a moment to look over her stunning appearance, he relished the sight they created standing in the center of the temple with the warmth of the sun caressing them.

"Will you walk with me Yani Galiber?" he asked.

Yani kept her eyes locked onto his face. She fought to keep any tears from welling up, but the shimmer on her lower lids lost the battle. He never wanted to see her cry, but he made an exception for that day. Riki nudged her hip with an impatient hand. She cradled her son's chin and spoke to him softly.

"Should we?" Yani asked Riki.

A saucy grin curled Riki's lips and he nodded enthustiastically.

"I will walk with you King N'Jadaka Udaku," she said.

"Say that one mo' 'gin," N'Jadaka teased, cupping a hand to his ear.

Yani laughed and obliged him, her voice as soft and magical as it had been the first time he heard it.

"I will walk with you forever King N'Jadaka Udaku…my Golden Jaguar."

"Aye!" he shouted while offering her his arm. She held onto him with a firm grip and he clasped Riki's hand, escorting them both to Dinani.

Yani held tight to Riki's hand while the adult bridesmaids and groomsmen walked into the temple stepping in time to the exalted music playing for them. Several women priests had smudged her and the children with aromatic plants and oils before they left the palace and once again, a young female priest circled Yani and the children with a gold incense burner trailing a spiraling cloud of purple smoke that clung to their wedding garments and hair. The sweet odor calmed her mind and settled the children who were ready to gallop through the temple to reach their father.

Sydette hugged her waist.

"You look beautiful Mama," Sydette said.

"Thank you Sweet Pea. You all look beautiful, too."

Yani touched Sydette's hair then caressed Joba's cheek.

"I wish they'd hurry up," Riki lamented, swinging Yani's hand.

"They have to take their time walking down the aisle, silly. Everything is being filmed for the country and it's a big deal. If they walked fast they'd miss all the pretty clothes and how good we all look," Sydette said.

Riki and Sydette spoke quietly and Yani honed in on Joba's silence. She had been chatty and playful earlier that morning when everyone rushed around bathing in sacred oils and herbs with the female priests overseeing their preparations. But once they'd eaten a full breakfast, dressed, and left the palace, she'd quieted down.

Yani knelt before her youngest child and clasped her hands.

"How are you feeling, Sunshine? Nervous?"

Joba nodded. Sydette wrapped big sister arms around her.

"You'll make Baba proud when you lead us out…okay? We practiced and practiced and you will make the path for Mama pretty. I will be right behind you," Sydette said.

Joba clutched her basket of flowers and nodded. She tilted her head to look at Yani.

"What if I drop the basket or walk too fast?" Joba said.

Relief spilled over Yani hearing her speak again.

"All you have to do is listen to the music. It's like the metronome in Umama's suite. The beat sets the pace. If you think you're walking too fast, check the music cues. You are going to be a wonderful flower girl."

Yani hugged her and Joba leaned into the embrace. She kissed Yani's cheek and all was well again.

"It's time Princess Joba."

The lead wedding director smiled at the little girl and held a hand out to guide her into position at the temple entrance. Riki ran forward and hugged Joba. He whispered something in her ear and his sister broke out into another bright smile.

"You got this," Riki said out loud.

The director glanced at Yani.

"Everyone is standing up…here we go," the director said.

Joba took a deep breath and marched in time to the harmonious music.

"I'm next! I'm next!" Sydette squealed, twirling in a circle holding the wedding rings and sacred red tie.

Sydette peeked around the wedding director.

"Oh Mama! Baba looks so handsome," Sydette said.

Yani's heart and stomach fluttered. The anticipation of seeing him engulfed all of her nerve endings. They all heard collective oohs and ahhs and a smattering of applause. She wondered what happened to make the congregation applaud. Luckily, she would be able to watch the entire ceremony at a later time. The ceremony was broadcast live and recorded from start to finish. Palace recorders filmed everything the moment they stepped foot outside the palace for candid shots to later be edited into a royal wedding documentary.

"Princess Sydette, you are next please."

The director held out a hand and waved it, summoning the girl. Sydette blew Yani a kiss and marched out like a diva.

"Here you go, Princess Yani."

Another wedding coordinator handed her a mic. Yani waited for her music cue to tap it on. The peaceful strumming of harps alerted her, and she sang out all that she felt to N'Jadaka. She wondered what his facial expression looked like hearing her voice singing that particular song. Riki squeezed her hand in support and for a moment, holding her son's hand and singing to his father brought back all the connections they had in St. Thomas. Emotion spilled through her voice as she conveyed to the king how much he meant to her.

As the voice of the Wakandan choral member sang the song in their language with a different musical arrangement that transformed into the Wakandan wedding march, Yani held tight to her bridal bouquet and let her son lead them into the temple.

Grateful to have her son's hand for support, Yani took in the hundreds of faces that watched her march toward her destiny. Her brain tried to connect with individual eyes upon her. That proved useless once she zeroed in on N'Jadaka waiting for her at the far end.

God…he was more than handsome.

She lost her footing for a second and Riki helped her find her steps again.

It all came down to this moment.

Yani drifted away into a time when she was a lost woman-child trying to make a way out of no way on a small island. How many nights had she prayed for a better life for herself and Sydette? Given up on herself? How many days had she cried and chastised herself for choosing love with Chez who treated her so poorly and abandoned Sweet Pea? Yani had felt so alone and lost to a pre-destined fate that befell too many young women with big hearts and limited resources or support. Thank God Auntie was there for her. Thank all the angels too that her auntie liked Killmonger so much that she didn't run interference keeping them apart. There were too many tangible things that should have prevented Yani from ever meeting the foreign mercenary.

But look at God.

Her eyes watered and she looked away to control her blurry vision. No tears fell and she was able to concentrate on her delicate steps to reach the king.

Riki halted their march and shouted for his father to get her. The audience laughed and Yani chuckled herself. His declaration was not a part of the ceremony. She lifted her bridal bouquet to her lips to hide her open-mouthed laughter when Riki sucked his teeth sounding like an annoyed Auntie back home.

Her laughter fell away once N'Jadaka came down the aisle to claim her at his son's demand. She heard a few gasps from women around her who also felt that energy coming toward her. He spoke forceful words of love instead of singing them to her. The switch up made the evocative words more powerful and she felt every utterance in her bones, marrow deep. When he finally reached her, she could barely see his face. Her eyes had become a river threatening to spill down her face.

"Will you walk with me Yani Galiber?" N'Jadaka asked.

His voice was full of pride and so much love for her. The scent of oils on his skin and the smudging on his clothes smelled heavenly. She lost the ability to speak taking all of his spirit in. Riki balled up a small fist and pressed it into her hip. Yani lifted his chin and stared into Riki's shiny eyes.

"Should we?" Yani asked her son.

Those little Udaku lips on his face swept up into a knowing smile and Riki nodded like she was foolish to even ask the question. She looked at her great love again.

"I will walk with you King N'Jadaka Udaku," she said.

"Say that one mo' 'gin!"

N'Jadaka had cupped his ear and she knew in her soul he did that purely to show off for the nobles who questioned her place in his life.

"I will walk with you forever King N'Jadaka Udaku…my Golden Jaguar."

"Aye!"

Yani gripped his arm and he held Riki's hand, escorting them all to the priest waiting for them. Her bridesmaids and bridesgroom were in various stages of watery eyes, crying, and beaming love to her. She handed her bouquet to Twyla and her cousin gushed over her with a weepy voice.

Facing N'Jadaka, Yani watched the priest give Sydette instructions. She handed the wedding rings to her brother and a footstool was placed in front of her so she could easily bind her mother and father together. Dinani spoke ancient words as Sydette tied the satin binding rope around N'Jadaka's wrist first. She left about two feet of rope in between them before she tied the other end on Yani's wrist. Her task complete, Sweet Pea kissed both their wrists and returned to stand next to Joba.

Yani listened to the Wakandan words spoken by the priest, but her eyes stayed on N'Jadaka's face the entire time. His soulful eyes drank in every inch of her. It seemed like they were the only two there, but with the guests, plus the entire Udaku clan in attendance, over one thousand people witnessed their union and she blotted them all out.

Dinani spoke of their expected duties toward one another. Her ears glossed over all of those expectations and only tuned back in when the long ceremony moved into the portion where she was told the qualities of a virtuous queen.

Holy scripture was read by Ayiz'e who wore the sacred red robes of the mountain temple of Bast. A male priest presented Dinani with more sacred oils and they anointed Yani and N'Jadaka. The qualities of a virtuous king were recited to N'Jadaka. An older female priest blessed their children who stood there, and also blessed the children they would have in the future.

Umama stepped forward from her place on the dais holding Yani's queen isicholo. Dinani prayed over the crown and anointed it with holy Bast oils before N'Jadaka pulled back the hood on Yani's wedding dress revealing her platinum hair. Umama's voice was loud and strong.

"We of the Udaku clan accept Yani Galiber into this holy union. She is our welcomed daughter…our new queen…Queen Yani N'Isiqithi the First."

The women of the entire Udaku clan broke out into heartfelt ululations that echoed throughout the temple. Yani bowed her head slightly and Umama placed the queen's isicholo on her head.

"Stay blessed Queen Yani, may your reign make us all proud and may your greatest grandmother Queen Mary guide your hand in all that you do," Umama said.

Yani stood still and accepted the ululations, the shouts, the applause, the jealousy, the envy, the hatred, the admiration, the love, the curiosity, and the fear her queendom brought to Wakanda. She straightened her posture and let the weight of the crown sink into soul.

Queen Yani.

Heavy was the head that wore the crown, but not so much with N'Jadaka by her side. He held her hand up and they turned around to face the congregation. Dinani raised their arms and spoke with a firm tone in their voice.

"May I present to you all here, the royal heads of the nation, King N'Jadaka and Queen Yani Udaku, avatars of the Golden Jaguar…children of the Black Pather Tribe."

Everyone in the temple stood, including the relatives on the dais. The Council of Elders came forth from the audience and circled Yani and N'Jadaka. They held hands and recited an oath promising them both wise council in the days ahead. Stepping aside afterward, Yani and her new husband were able to acknowledge the crowd amidst their applause.

"You may now kiss your bride, kumkani," Dinani said.

N'Jadaka's lips were on hers before the priest finished giving permission, almost knocking her crown off. He kissed her within an inch of her life and backed away when she almost went limp.

"Hey queen," he said.

"Hey king," she answered.

Yani checked on their children and all three had glossy eyes admiring her new isicholo. N'Jadaka threaded his fingers with hers and boldly showed her off. To close the ceremony, they had to circle the inside of the temple as newlyweds counterclockwise. The isicholo settled nicely on her head, and Yani willfully entered her new era as ruler. She relaxed into N'Jadaka's strides and pranced about, letting her beauty and new status burn her enemies down to charcoal.

N'Jadaka kept stopping to kiss her hand and the red satin binding tie dangled between them letting everyone know they would never part. She reveled in the power, soaked it up and let it propel her around the temple with a fierce protective energy.

Back at the front again, N'Jadaka kissed her chasrely, with pecks to her lips and both cheeks. She bent down to hug and kiss their children just as the closing wedding march started. Dinani gave their final blessing and the Udaku family drummers showed out again, leading the march out of the temple. Didah sang a new griot song prophesying the reign of Yani and N'Jadaka.

"Ready to face the rest of the world?" N'Jadaka asked.

"I am," Yani said.

They held hands tight and strolled down the aisle together, exiting the ancient temple as husband and wife.

Chapter 6 HERE.

* Lyrics to Jada Kingdom's "Wull On"

** Poem by Black American poet Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906), "An Invitation to Love"

Tag List:

@readingaddict1290

@issimplyaamazinggg

@eyeknowmywrites

@kitesatforestp

@fd-writes

@soufcakmistress  

@cherrystainedlipsbaby

@tclaybon  

@thadelightfulone

@allhailqueennel

@bartierbakarimobisson

@cpwtwot

@shookmcgookqueen

@yoyolovesbucky

@raysunshine78

@the-illlestt

@terrablaze514  

@l-auteuse

@amirra88

@jimizwidow

@janelledarling

@chaneajoyyy  

@sweetestdream92  

@purple-apricots

@blackpinup22  

@hennessystevens-udaku

@scrumptiouslytenaciouscrusade

@bugngiz

@stariamrry  

@honeytoffee

@meilintheempressofdreams

@tyees

@eye-raq  

@writerbee-ffs  

@chocolatedream30  

@childishgambinaa  

@mygirlrenee

@thewaysheis—awkward

@tchallasbabymama

@lahuttor

@goodieyaya

@post-woke

@soufcakmistress

@yomiloo

@goddessofthundathighs

@nahimjustfeelingit-writes

@retroxvailles

@cydneyrenee4

@nizzle-mo

@cecereads209

@childishgambinaax

@gopaperless

@bombshellbre95

@tchallasbabymama

@musicisme333

@sister-winter73

@nccu-rnc

@sj206260358

@blmcd57110

@griot-of-wakanda

@xsweetdellzx

@nayaesworld

@carlakeks

#King Killmonger #King Killmonger The Golden Jaguar #Killmonger Fanfiction #Black Panther Fanfiction #Wakanda Forever Fanfiction #Killmonger Fanfic #Uzumaki Rebellion #Uzumaki Rebellion Writes #Pantherverse #Namor #Talokan

[t0ast-ghost]

S3 EP16 (The Mark Of Gideon) hmmm this sounds like something from supernatural…

I’m sorry I’ll never mention supernatural again:

- Sending Kirk down by himself? His boyfriends will be worried :((

- “I shall be interested in your description, Captain” “You won’t have long to wait.” This was said with so much lust

- Kirk calling to anyone and everyone. “Bones. Bones answer me.” D:

- Spock has immediate concern for his boyfriend

- Spock sees McCoy is on the bridge and immediately wants to escape to the planet. He’s not dealing with McCoy’s worry on top of his own

- “We must acknowledge once and for all that the purpose of diplomacy is to prolong a crisis.” Spock is so so angry he can’t go looking for his boyfriend

- “You mean you’re going to scan space for him.” My god he wants that man so bad. Scanning the entirety of space when he goes missing is not normal behaviour.

- Spock is very bitter towards bureaucrats and diplomats this episode and I agree

- Hey Kirk. Just this once buddy, don’t kiss her. Can you do that?

- On the video call McCoy looks seconds from snapping and Spock is right there with him

- I love when everyone was on Spock’s side like ‘yeah they fucking suck, I’m sorry bbygirl’

- Quilt ass vest

- Scotty is not going to take them besmirching his transporters

- Spock needs to go listen to Break Stuff

- Kirk’s ass It’s sad how sad Kirk is.

- pretty privilege

- “I envy you and your sense of loyalty. I want to ease your feeling of dread, your fear that all your crew no longer exists.”

- twenty four minutes and fifty seconds in. He’s kissing her.

- THE GREEN PEOPLE ARE JUST WATCHIJGBTHEM KISSWGAT

- ID BE SO FREAKED THE FUCK OUT NAH. No. Legitimate fear is to look out a window and see someone watching. this is a no.

- Time for me to ask what is happening

- Aaand they’re using Kirk in their little fucked up little experiments

- Spock is angy

- I like how there is legitimate character development. Spock and McCoy aren’t fighting, McCoy knows Spock is doing everything he can, short of just running in there. And Spock is getting visibly pissed off which McCoy I think would be proud of if their boyfriend wasn’t missing

- Kirk not afraid to fight some bitches

- “That’s the best possible decision you could make, Spock. I’m with you.” Kiss each other Character development yay!

- Spock is using ‘logic’ to break the rules and save Jim.

- Spock is protective of McCoy, McCoy is protective of Spock

- After Spock leaves Scotty walks up to McCoy with this look like he’s about to ask him if he’s dating Spock

- “I will not be long.” Is the equivalent of ‘I’ll be right back’ number one rule is never say it

- Trippy ass shippy

- If you’ve lived so long why are you dressed like that? Can’t contract a sickness AND can’t contract a sense of fashion

- This is awful

- Spock should’ve brought McCoy with him

- Spock THREW that man

- Spock is like, ‘don’t get in the way, I will bitch slap you.’ (Edit: three Spock comments in a row)

- PRETTY BOY PRIVILEGE (what’s got you smiling like that) if he smiled at me like that I wouldn’t survive

- “As crowded as my planet is, I wish for it to hold one more person.” *smiles* “Kirk to transporter control one to beam down to the planet Gideon.” ‘nah, bitch’

Development: I’ve found out how to cross things out I’ll use it for evil

Masterpost

Episode written by George F. Slavin & Stanley Adams

#star trek #star trek tos #star trek the original series #spock #s'chn t'gai spock #tos spock #leonard bones mccoy #tos mccoy #tos bones #captain james kirk #james t kirk #tos kirk #montgomery scott #tos scotty

[xxsp3llb0undxx]

The Cullens as song's // HC

Song's I think the Cullens would be, based off of their personalities and their backstories. I couldn't find a song to fit Emmett, I've been searching for the last hour :/ Sorry to all Emmett lovers, he shall not be in this little HC. I hope you enjoy reading the rest though, please do let me know what you think the Cullen's would be as songs <3

MASTERLIST CULLENS

Rosalie - Black Dahlia // Hollywood Undead

I think this song fits Rose the best because of everything she went through prior to being turned.

Like the apparent love of her life, future husband, using and manipulating her ??

He took everything from her, let others do things to her.

He's a lil bitch :)

The lyrics "and I've been abused, I feel so used because of you."

"The future that we both drew and all the shit we've been through. Obsessed with the thought of you, the pain just grew and grew."

Really sound's like something Edward would hear Rose think to herself whenever he would listen to her thoughts.

Her revenge was worth it though, she finally got to take something from him, like he had done to her.

"You just lay without a sound, seems like all we had is over now, you left to rest."

Major 'Lol I killed my stupid husband' vibes

Edward - Parasite Eve // Bring Me The Horizon

Okay not to be one of those people, but considering Eddie boy over here was around during the Spanish influenza and almost dying from it; I kinda found this song fitting ??

'Parasite Eve' is about Covid, and both illnesses are similar; too similar in fact.

The lyrics "I've got a fever, don't breathe on me." and "Leave your flowers and grieve." Really scream Edward for me ??

We were all scared of big man Covid but imagine how terrified he must've been when he had the Spanish influenza.

Like he's just vibing one minute and then, boom, he's literally lying on his death bed.

Edward would probably really relate to this song, even if he's into classical; 'Parasite Eve' would be an exception.

Jasper - Forest // Twenty One Pilots

Okay, I know what you're thinking but hear me out.

Lyrics "I don't know why I feed on emotion, there's a stomach inside my brain."

Signifies Jasper's gift of empathy and control of emotions.

"My brain has given up, white flags are hoisted."

White Flags were used during the Civil War to end it, a way to show they have surrendered.

Not only does those lyrics signify the Civil War, it could also be a metaphor for Jasper; he's given up that part of his life.

He doesn't want to let it corrupt him any further because he's guilty for playing a part in taking so many lives.

So, in turn, he's put up white flags to surrender and hope to start over; become a better person, vampire.

Alice - Can You Feel My Heart // Bring Me The Horizon

Sweet little fairy.

Didn't deserve to be locked away in an asylum.

I think, in some way, this song is fitting for Alice.

Lyrics "Forgive me father, I love you Mother."

Make me feel like she would've said this a lot, thinking she was a disappointment to her parents for her gift.

"I'm scared to get close, and I hate being alone."

Definitely was something Alice had felt prior and post-vampirism, scared if she got too close to someone she could predict their fate.

But also being scared she would end up alone because people would be so weirded out by her gift.

Carlisle - Put Your Head On My Shoulder // Paul Anka

Absolute sweetheart !

This song is just Carlisle to Esme, 100%

He's such a gentleman, even though his father was like a BIG priest dude who killed the supernatural and he caused Carlisle to turn ??

He's just full of love, no one can tell me different !!

Secretly, Carlisle is Paul Anka and wrote this song for Esme

So sorry it's short, Dr. Cullen is just an angel and didn't really have much corruption in his life ngl.

Esme - Brick By Boring Brick // Paramore

For some reason I feel like this song definitely reminds me of Esme because of the meaning behind the song.

"The song Brick by Boring Brick is a story about a girl who escaped reality through pictures and fairy tales and anything that wasn’t the real story. This way, she’d look perfect to everyone else and we’d all think that she’s got it together. But being that it was all for show, it couldn’t last"

"Esme was born in 1895 in Columbus, Ohio, where she was treated at the age of 16 by Carlisle after breaking her leg when climbing a tree. She married Charles Evenson, but he abused her. After finding out she was pregnant, she ran away and gave birth to a son, who subsequently died a few days later."

Brick By Boring Brick resembles Esme's tough life from a young age, she was still only a child when she was to be married to Evenson, she didn't want to continue with the abuse she suffered.

So, she ran, she created a life where she would be happy, even though; if you looked a bit closer, there were cracks in her reality.

All she wanted was to be happy, but she also ended up losing her son in the process of freeing herself from the shackles of her abusive husband.

The lyrics "Well, you built up a world of magic, because your real life is tragic." Truly speaks on so many different levels how Esme presents herself to the world and everyone around, even though how she want's to be perceived is fake and in reality Esme has suffered a lot.

Not only with losing her baby but also she will never be able to have those years of her life back, it'll forever remind her of how badly she was treated. Just like Rose.

#twilight #twilight saga #twilight fanfiction #twilight x reader #twilight imagine #edward cullen #edward cullen x reader #rosalie hale #rosalie hale x reader #emmett cullen #emmett cullen x reader #jasper hale #jasper hale x reader #alice cullen #alice cullen x reader #carlisle cullen #carlisle cullen x reader #esme cullen #esme cullen x reader #vampires

[sansxfuckyou]

bitten, smitten- what's the difference?

Summary: He's been waiting so long for this moment

He can't go through with it

Warnings: Swearing, stuff that's suggestive because one of them is a vampire, small identity crisis, light drinking, check Ao3 port for full tags

Authors Note: I have once again written a ballroom dance scene that follows no rhyme or rhythm. anyways, I went insane over the vampire hunter Mysterion/vampire Kyle that @kennysdeadbody drew, and I am once again asking everyone to go look at his art because its good. and if ya'll enjoyed consider dropping a reblog or checking out the Ao3 port

There are three simple rules to being a vampire hunter, all of which Mysterion has been following since the first day he got his hands on a wooden stake and a silver bullet.

Rule number one: if they aren't dead, then you are, finish the job at all costs even if the cost is your life.

Rule number two: never verbalize your full name unless it's for something off duty, even at that.

Rule number three: Mysterion broke rule number three, don't fall for their charming ways no matter what.

Who can blame him either, the ever elusive Kyle Broflovski has men dying at his feet. He's slept with every monster in the encyclopedia and somehow Mysterion finds himself shocked the charm worked on him. A vampire, his sworn enemy in life, the plague he hopes to purge alongside his other companions in the business. Of all monsters, he could tolerate falling in love with a werewolf because their monstrous aspects only show once a month, but a vampire? That's full time.

Still, he's spent a year living in the town that Kyle inhabits, aware he runs the town behind the scenes. He has old money, all the power he holds is old power, inherited like everything else he has. He holds grand parties sometimes, the old style, like his town is a locked ten, twenty, thirty, forty years behind the rest of the world. And Mysterion knows he's fibbing when he says that, but he knows for the fact that the wine doesn't taste this fine outside of this town, the air isn't as clear, and the water as velvety on his throat.

He waits, tends to the crops under a different false name, Kenny, a nickname his old partner gave him before dying in the line of duty. He waits so very, very patiently for the day that he gets a chance to attend one of those grand balls that the vampire holds once more. It's not like people doubt he's a vampire, they all know he is, he's shockingly open about it. He's Kyle Broflovski, this town is his bitch, and Mysterion is his only predator who dares to set foot in his town. He flaunts his immortality, offers free food to those too poor to buy it themselves, let's those who needs a quick buck or a place to rest stay in his castle.

And he never gives a lethal bite.

There isn't a single recorded lethal bite that the hunter can find town records on, but he knows it isn't because Kyle doesn't bite. Every single vampire needs to feed, to drain a human till they die or else the vampire will die. It's common knowledge, they all have a bloodlust, unmistakably so, it's what makes them vampires. They need to drink at least once a year or else they'll go rabid and after the craze, then they keel over.

The invitation arrives when he's packing his bags, getting ready to leave because luck hasn't been kind to him so far like it has in the past. He's wearing a shitty orange hoodie, scratched and dirty through years of use when off duty, and the mailman just hands him the letter wordlessly.

"Thanks man," Kenny answered with stiffly.

"It's just my job," And they're pivoting on a heel to leave before Kenny can say anything else.

He shuts the door and slides open the envelope, he tosses aside the paper casing gently. He meanders over to the kitchen and leans on the counter as he reads.

A masquerade ball shall be held on the Friday evening of October thirteenth, and you are invited as is the rest of the town. Please come with a plate of appetizers if you can manage, I fear for my main chefs health and don't want to overwork her. Arrive with a mask at the very least to keep your identity sealed, my doors are open if you so desire to stay the night in the case of drinking too much. And in the spirit of Friday the thirteenth, I'll be feeding upon someone, chosen in the usual fashion and without lethal consequences.

As always, I hope for a turnout with how fun they've been in the past, sincerely, Kyle Broflovski.

Kenny gives an amused hum, he was there last time Kyle fed at one of his balls. Someone was taken away and didn't return back to town until the next day, and Kyle returned with blood on his lips and wiping his fangs with his snow white sleeved shirt. He remembers finding it to be attractive, he also remembers berating himself for it later in the night when he was in his own home. He did see Kyle afterwards, and he looked so much more vibrant, full of life, because he stole someones life force in a sense. And the lass he drank from became his chef, Wendy, and she buys crops from Kenny as the seasons pass, and more importantly, she tells Kenny about Kyle and his habits.

She's been none the wiser to the actual career Kenny had taken up and she does have good gossip. Maybe if he wasn't out for her bosses life they could've been actual friends, not just fake friends for the sake of Kenny's own job. It would be nice, to till the field and gossip with the girls, live an innocent and naive life unaware that their vampire ruler is a bloodthirsty monster whose pulling all the strings. Even Wendy, the closest thing Kyle has too a firsthand man, is seemingly unaware of the danger she lives with and serves.

She says that he's nice, and that even in private all he ever does is play chess, backgammon, and occasionally offer to get drunk with her because she never takes a night off even though he says he can cook for himself. He fashions her dresses, and fashions suits for the men who've worked for him, a ploy, Kenny decides it's merely a ploy to lull them into false safety. He's just a gentleman, Wendy always says, he never does anything to make her displeased, he just wishes the town is prosperous.

And he scoffs every time, says a vampire took his best friend, he can't trust the man. And Wendy always answers with a somewhat smug 'how come you always attend his parties?' which consistently pins Kenny into a rough spot. He always answered with 'well maybe I find him appealing' instead of anything else, and perhaps that is what's finally deciding to come back and bite him in the ass. He's still yearning for the moment he gets to end Kyle, three days from now, he'll stake the vampire through the chest and leave. But, there's this terrible feeling at the idea, a small one, and he chalks it up to just being a shame that he doesn't get to sleep with the hottest monster he's been given the honor of slaying.

-/-/-/-

Kenny really missed the way his Mysterion garb fit on him, he hasn't worn it in nearly a year. It definitely fit tighter around the shoulders, but he supposed that tiling fields will give you some muscle. Thankfully the hood still fits like a charm, draping over his shoulders and down too just below his knees. The gloves slide on the same they always have, no chafe, and soft lining, just like the boots.

Maybe if he were a renowned vampire hunter he would choose against wearing his signature purples, but alas, he's still just a shadow in the business. Besides, the boldness to wear his vampire killing outfit to a vampires ball? He's never heard of another hunter so confident in the history of vampires being hunted and hunters hunting vampires. He'll be the first, he'll be renowned, decimating the Broflovski bloodline, one that hasn't been ended despite being so very, very old. He'll go down in history, for killing a vampire so cruel, tricking an entire town like it's nothing.

He hides the stakes to the side of his hip, hooked along belt loops and covered by his cape. He feels this burst of adrenaline (almost glee) as he slips on the mask, deep purple and tied back with a small knot of near silken fabrics. It's time, he knows the procedure of how these feeding events go, how Kyle 'chooses' even though his choice can decline. He glides onto the dancefloor with the grace of a swan and asks someone to dance, they agree and he gives them a dance, and then he bites. Sometimes he takes them to a separate room, sometimes he doesn't- Kenny just knows the only way he'll get a chance to strike is if he's chosen.

So if he messes it up, it's not his fault. It just means that he'll have no choice but to stay for one more year until Kyle has to feed again, and he has another chance to be chosen. Another chance to strike when thematically appropriate and rather bold at that.

He meets Wendy at the door and gives a genuine smile, "What do you think of my outfit?" Maybe he's being a little bit too upfront, oh well.

There's instant recognition on Wendy's face at his voice, "It looks amazing, matches your eye color," She's polite enough not to drop his name, to keep the spirit of the masquerade.

Kenny, no, he can't be in the 'Kenny' mindset right now. He'll drop a couple octaves once he's done his conversation with Wendy, "Think he'll pick me?"

And Wendy laughs, "Maybe he will, his taste changes every single year; so long as you've been easy on the garlic you're plenty a candidate."

And he has been easy on the garlic, he's fallen ill with a horrible rendition of the cold twice since he stopped eating as much of it. But he has to do so, for the job, and he had to double down on other spices and herbs to keep his food flavorful. He will wreak havoc on some innocent jackalope population if it does fail, anger management if you will.

"I haven't eaten garlic in months, if he doesn't pick me I'll die," Kenny answered with a laugh to his voice, "I really should be on my way though, I don't wanna miss my chance."

Then he's waving off Wendy and making his way in, keeping his cape curled around his hip to hide his weapon. He wasn't ever trained for social interactions, he was just told how to kill, so he isn't exactly doing this 'dancing around' thing properly. He's just chatting, drinking, trying to be social and enjoy the spirit of the event despite the sense of dread that he'll be the one to bring it all down.

It's nice, sipping slowly on fine red whines as he talks to acquaintances and people he's never met despite the town being so small. He almost doesn't want to go through with it, almost, this is his lifes work, once he's done with this mark he can leave forever. He just steels himself for when that lifeless entity enters the room and chooses someone for a dance.

That... impossibly good looking, but still heartless, creature makes his entrance. He can't believe himself for having such a thought, that's the wine talking, he supposes he's had a glass or two by now. It's the wine, he tells himself, it's the wine taking facts of matter (Kyle looks just above average) and blowing them out of proportion (Kyle is the best looking monster he's laid eyes on) instead of peeling back a layer of complexities he can't identify. He shudders at the fact his mind is spewing such nonsense, a vampire, attractive, what bullshit. Still, his face heats up the more he tries to counter the unwarranted train of thought by drawing up an image of Kyle in his head and trying to pinpoint what looks bad. What is bad, aside from him being a vampire, and he can't find shit.

There's the sound of someone clearing their throat and he looks up to find Kyle with a hand outstretched. He's wearing this sanguine grin that puts his pearly whites on display, and as usual he's dressed in a white button down and slacks. Mysterion just looks up to meet his gaze, eyes a swampy olive hue.

"May I...?" What a gentleman, and he pauses, retracting his hand just a bit.

"Mysterion," The answer is low.

Kyle gives a hum, "May I have this dance, Mysterion?"

And suddenly the blonde feels so cold, all of his nerves suddenly aware of whatever they're pressed against. It feels like the light is on him, shining bright in his eyes and on his skin. He places his gloved hand atop Kyle's, "Do be warned, I don't dance much."

There's a swift tug before Mysterion finds his back against Kyle's torso, twirling on his heel with the hand taken outstretched. One hand rests gently on his hip, "Just go with it then, I won't let you get hurt," His voice is as gentle as his grasp. Featherlight and almost a ghost of a touch, just enough to remind him of his position.

Mysterion nodded, "Cool, lead the way."

And then he's outstretched on another twirl, a foot forward and he rocks back into the motion. A foots distance between them, the hand returns to his side, resting at his shoulder blade, the other one higher up. He follows the swaying motions rather poorly, but still, he tries. He needs to at least attempt to look good in front of a crowd, it must be amusing to the vampire with how often he fumbles his footing. But, his dance partner keeps making up for it, shifting methods to work.

The hand drops to the small of his back and he twirls out instead because a dip isn't happening in full. And Kyle works around it, gliding over to find himself in front of Mysterion once more (he knocks off the hood, Mysterion knows what it means). He links their hands once more, and its the other hand this time. The blonde follows the next twist, the one under Kyle's raised arm, a pirouette that he can only describe with having similarity to a ballet routine.

He does the same to Kyle twirls him out and catches his half fall, but he slides back. He keeps himself flush against Mysterion as he sidles along the length of the blondes still outstretched arm. He swiftly pivots, hand grasping Mysterion's waist much tighter then before and fangs brushing against his throat. There's a hitch in the hunters breath as he goes rigid, hand gliding along his arm to gently grasp his hand.

"We can go somewhere more private," The offer is spoken so quietly it's clear he's trying to make sure only Mysterion hears him.

"That'd be lovely," There's a certain husk to his voice that rarely makes itself known, especially not with lethal weapons to his throat.

Kyle lifts his head and doesn't release Mysterion's hand, he leads the hunter way with a grace to his motions. The door hinges don't squeak as it's pushed wide open, leading to a comfortably wide hallway. The carpets are red, and the only light is what shines in through too tall windows and the occasional candle here and there on small tables.

Mysterions heart starts to pound a little bit faster as he tries to reach for a stake. It's already drumming so very, very loud in his chest from the dance, probably so the blood is better. His grip shakes just a bit, but this is it, he has to do it now or he'll never get another chance. He tugs his hood back up defensively, he's got this, killing his first full blood is gonna go great.

"Let's get this over with," Kyle said as he turned around, he didn't even look very shocked when he saw the stake Mysterion was brandishing.

He did give a yelp of shock when he was pounced to the ground, quick to get himself up just a bit. Knees rest at either side of his hips and there's this stressed look on Mysterion's face, holding the pommel of his stake just below the base of his ribcage with both hands. Kyle props himself up on his elbows, knees hitching reflexively, the purple fabric of the cape pools a little bit more on the floor.

Why isn't he moving?

He has his prey right where he wants it, and he isn't striking. Stake in his hands, and this impossible existence below him wearing an expression of fear never found on the ferals Mysterion usually deals with. He's used to his marks writhing and screaming and thrashing until he shoots them or cracks their by hand.

This so much worse than that, than anything else he's ever done. He can handle snuffing werewolves who are transformed. He can handle killing seemingly innocent and harmless creatures. He can handle poisoning the food of someones pet cerberus for their own safety.

Kyle sighs, "Go ahead, it's your job."

And Mysterion still doesn't, his grip just starts to shake again. He can feel sweat start to bead on his forehead, stress, he's going to crack under pressure. He's been so excited for this moment for years at this rate and his body refuses to jam the stake through the vampires chest.

He's too human. Mysterion sees too much of himself and his family and his friends in Kyle. There's too much kindness behind those eyes, his smiles are too genuine. He isn't evil, he can't be, and Mysterion can finally see that know, sort of. He's sure that Kyle will go feral if he doesn't drink, but he also knows that he's wearing his cross right now.

"Mysterion," Kyle said, raising a hand to rest on the stake, "I've known you're a vampire hunter since day one," He jerked it forward just a bit, "This is your job."

"How come you didn't get rid of me?" Mysterion asked, and his voice shook as he spoke, yanking the stake to the side.

Kyle shrugged, "You kept out the werewolves, kept my town safe, and in turn, I kept you safe."

"Fuck you mean you kept me safe?" Kenny answered with sharply as he could muster.

"What makes you think your business partners weren't ready to come and kill you for failing your job?" Kyle answered with, "They were, I dealt with them."

In a second the tip of the stake was pressed to Kyle's throat, "You killed them?!"

"I scared them off," Kyle said calmly, "I told them that if they killed you, I would end their bloodlines."

Mysterion halts, again, for the third time, the fifth time maybe, he's lost count. Mercy, from this, this monster- this person he's been sent to kill, he's been gifted mercy. And here he is, raising the stake back to where Kyle's heart would rest.

"You have business here Mysterion," Kyle said, he gave a small smile. He was fine with this, he was content with dying, "I let you go without finishing it this long, it's time to do your job."

He presses the tip of the stake to Kyle's chest.

"You're gonna be a great vampire hunter," And he sounds so fucking wistful it makes Mysterion feel like he's the one being stabbed in chest.

"I can't," The words come out strangled as he releases the stake and brushes it off of Kyle's chest like dust, "I can't."

"You kill me and go home a winner, a hero," Kyle said sternly, "Or you don't and get hunted by your once faithful companions- you have a choice."

Mysterion stood up and stepped to the side. He ran a hand through his hair with a heavy exhale. Fuck, "I can't do it, you aren't what I was brought here to kill."

"I will be if I don't drink any blood," Kyle said, smarm heavy on his voice as he stood.

"I know!" Mysterion snapped, reaching to his throat and the chain resting on it. He tugged it off, the silver cross he wore for self defense discarded.

Kyle watched it land on the carpet with rapt attention, watched one of his banes hit the floor. He glanced back up to Mysterion and stepped a bit closer.

"I came here to kill a monster, but you're not a monster," He was pacing now, back and forth. He was shaking and so close to crying, "I don't, what am I supposed to fucking do?"

"I'll say it again, kill me and live, or don't and die," Kyle said calmly, gingerly reaching for Mysterion's form, "Although, if you do kill me, may I see your face?"

The blonde nods rapidly as Kyle stands in front of him. The hood is pushed back first, delicate hands come to undo the knot next and the purple falls off Kenny's face. He leans into Kyle's hand, it's cold, but it's human, it's not monster aside from the fact his nails are sharp. He's not what Kenny was told he'd be killing.

Kyle doesn't speak, just grabs Kenny's hand with his free one, "May I?"

"May you what?" Kenny asked.

"Have a bite, I'm still absolutely starved," He tries to leave an air of humor on his voice but he fails to do so.

And it goes against every fiber of Kenny's being, but he speaks, "Go ahead."

The bite is gently placed along the vein on the inside of his wrist. He barely feels it, in fact he can only tell because of Kyle's bowed head.

He heaves a shaky sigh, "What am I doing?"

Kyle pulls back and Kenny wipes away the blood smudged on his lip, the rosy red hue of his own blood gathers on Kyle's face. The vampire gives a hum, "You don't have to leave," He speaks softly again, how does he keep doing that? Charming Kenny deeper into this pit of conflict.

"I'll be killed, Kyle," Kenny said as he leaned further onto Kyle, "I broke the rules."

"I'll kill them for your safety then, Wendy will shoot them for your safety, Tolkien will burn them for your safety," Kyle promised, "You're part of our town now, you always have been."

"What am I supposed to do, all I've ever fucking done is kill monsters," Kenny said, words spoken quietly.

"You're our farmer now," Kyle answered with.

"I've wanted to kill you for so long, Kyle," Kenny confessed, so much shame rested on them, "I'm not going to though."

Kyle paused.

"I'm sorry,"

The stake is at Kyle's chest again, it falls short again. The display is laughable as Kenny crumbles into Kyle's arms and the vampire just holds him. Rubbing between his shoulder blades as he sobbed.

"I didn't, I failed-" He breaks, he can't even speak.

"You're better now," The words are soft, and affirming, "We won't let them hurt you."

#south park #sp k2 #kenny mccormick #kyle broflovski #kenny x kyle #south park fanfiction #vampire kyle #writing #fanfic #fanfiction #please ignore the fact this is almost 4K words long #i went feral #tw identity issues #tw suggestive themes

[gemini-magic17]

Entanglement Chapter Twenty-Eight

**Y/n's POV

It's been weeks since I returned to Tir Asleen; all I have gotten is the cold shoulder. Not that I could really blame anyone considering what I did and how I left things. My parents won't speak to me and whenever I try to approach James he just gives me a look of disdain and walks the other way. I now know what they felt when I was missing and what I put them through. The heartbreak they must have gone through must have been horrible and knowing that I caused it especially after I experienced myself I know how wrong I was.

It was midday when I pulled myself out of bed after not wanting to deal with the whisperers and stares from everyone around me. I know I can't just hide in my chambers forever no matter how much I want to. Once I had gotten dressed I made my way to the courtyard but of course, I couldn't go without receiving looks from others. As I passed a corner I saw two older women whispering to each other but not so much where I couldn't hear them.

"How could she do that to everyone", one of the women asked wearing a blue dress with gold accents running across the bodice.

"She obviously doesn't care about anyone but herself otherwise she wouldn't have done it. King Aiden wasn't threatening to execute people if they didn't find her and all this time she ran off without any explanation."

"If I were her parent I would disown her. Can you imagine the pain and fear she must have caused her family? Not knowing where she was letting them think she was in trouble or possibly dead. What an awful daughter I'd say", the woman with curly blonde hair said. My heart sank to my stomach knowing that they were right I am an awful daughter or rather just an awful person.

"Don't you old bitches have something better to do than gossip about? You're talking ill of the princess and that could be considered a crime that warrants execution. If you continue I shall remove both of your heads from your bodies at once", I hear Ser Easton say as he comes up beside me. It was then the two women scurried off in the opposite direction obviously afraid of the wrath that he was going to bestow upon them at any moment.

"It seems that people have nothing better to do these days", he stated.

"Maybe so but they are not wrong", I said turning my head down to the castle floor.

"Y/n you need to stop doing this to yourself."

"Doing what Ser Easton, huh? Pretend that I didn't run off leaving my family to think I was kidnapped or how I let them believe I could be dead", I exclaimed.

"I know you are just trying to make me feel better but there is no way anyone can stop me from feeling absolutely shitty about what I have done", I stated and walked away.

I moved as fast as I could through the groups of people that resided in the castle just wanting to be alone, away from everyone else. It wasn't until I got to the courtyard that my eyes landed on the blacksmith shop. I walked over to the crowd of people surrounding it and as I approached it it was almost as if they could sense my presence because as soon as they turned their heads they hurried away from Smithery.

"Now what did you do to make everyone take off", I hear the blacksmith say.

"You haven't heard", I asked him truly stunned that he was practically the only person not to hear about what I had done.

"Heard what?"

"About how the Princess of Zemira took off on her wedding day making everyone believe that she was kidnapped in turn leading into an uproar."

"No, I haven't I don't much care for gossip. It in my experience that people don't tell the truth. However, if you did take off on your wedding day it must have been for a good reason right."

"I thought it was", I stated.

"Did they believe it was when you told them", he asked as he hammered a blade and I looked away from him.

"I didn't exactly tell them why", I said and he looked up at me curiously.

""If you had a good reason why didn't you tell them what it was?"

"Because if I did tell them the real reason my father and brother would be more furious than they already are now."

"At you", he asked.

"No, not at me but someone else who let's just say did me wrong."

"I am guessing that person who did you wrong is the one you got married to. After all, that is the day you decided to run", he stated and I slightly chuckled.

"How did you know?"

"Well, who else would cause you to run out on one of the most important days of somebody's life other than the one they were marrying", he said giving a small smile as he put the hammer down and put the blade it a barrel of water.

"I have only told a few people the real reason why I left and all of them I knew. I don't why I just told you all of this though".

"It is easier to tell a stranger your secrets rather than those you are closest to", he said.

"I guess that makes sense. I mean I kept this secret for so long and just telling someone even if it is a random stranger about this whole thing is somewhat of a weight off my shoulders."

"Well, anytime you need to talk to someone I am always hear to listen", he said.

"I might take you up on that", I said and my eyes wandered to the blade he finished working on as he took it out of the water.

"What do you think?"

"What do I think of what", I asked and he raised up the blade in front of me so I could take it.

"It is magnificent", I said when I took it from him. When I did I accidentally cut myself on the tip of it.

"Son of a bitch."

"Oh be careful this blade is especially sharp", he said and handed me a rag to stop the bleeding.

"Aren't they all", I asked applying pressure to the wound.

"Not this one. This dagger is made of Draconian steel", he said and that immediately caught my attention.

"Isn't that steel incredibly hard to come by?"

"It is but last week there was this man by the shipping ports selling it."

"Did he say when he got it?"

"No, but I did buy all of it", he said and showed me the steel that lay next to the kilm.

"How much are you selling those weapons for?"

"Quite a lot", he said.

"I can pay it", I said sounding almost too eager.

"Well, I have only made this one so far."

"I will be happy to buy this one now and come back to purchase any remaining ones you forge later", I said and I could see him contemplating what I had said.

"You know what you can have this one and come back and pay for the ones I finish creating."

"Really?"

"I trust you. After all, you do seem very eager to buy them so come back in a week and they should be ready."

"Thank you", I said and turned to walk away when my eyes made immediate contact with James. I could see the anger all over his face and breaks eye contact with me storming off. Not being able to take any more of the silent treatment I ran after him and decided I was going to make him listen to me whether he liked it or not

**James' POV

As soon as I saw her every word that came out of her mouth the day she arrived back just came flooding back in. I tried to get as far away from Y/n as possible but no matter how far I go she just keeps following me. It wasn't until I stopped in close proximity of the woods that I had enough of this.

"You think me avoiding you would tell you that I have no interest in speaking to you", I said and turned to face her.

"That may be true but it has been weeks you have to talk to me at some point."

"No, actually I don't because after what you did I really don't want to speak to you or even look at you ever again", I stated and tried to go around her but she just moved to stand in front of me.

"Get out of my way."

"No. I have tried to talk to you and explain why I did what I did and all you have done is ignore me! Well you know what it is about time you damn well listen to what I have to say", she exclaimed.

"You wanna talk? Fine talk please explain to me how you could just leave without telling anyone where you were or that you were unharmed. I mean at least of all you could have told me! The person who has always had your back, protected you against those who would wish you harm, and would always defend you! How could you not say anything to me?"

"It is not like I planned any of this it was just spur of the moment."

"SPUR OF THE MOMENT? SPUR OF THE MOMENT! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?"

"After everything we have been through together and what we have done for each other, this is how you decided to do this? How can you be so fucking selfish", I said and that look of sadness that was once on her face was replaced by one of anger.

"You know what James fuck you!"

"I'm sorry what?"

"Yeah said fuck you! I know I was wrong for how I handled this whole situation but god I felt so alone in this place even with the people who I trusted most were here. I would be left to live the rest of my days out with someone in love with their best friend! I couldn't bear it and knowing that I would most likely be unhappy for the rest of my life I needed to be free from that damn marriage. I knew how it would go and what the hell my life would be so for once instead of looking out for everyone else I looked out for myself!"

"So you can be pissed off at me for the rest of my life and never forgive me I don't give a damn. I am done trying to get you to forgive me. It seems that you get holding grudges from our mother", Y/n said and sneered.

"Forgive don't forgive me I don't care", she said and walked off.

There was no doubt that I was pissed at her but I couldn't hate her not for one second. It was a shitty thing for her to do but knowing the kind of situation she was put in. Especially, since Kit was the one she was marrying I think I can understand why she left. I don't think I will ever understand why she couldn't tell me out of all people.

**Kit's POV

"You ready to get your ass kicked", Airk asked unsheathing his sword.

"Get my ass kicked? Nah I think you have that switched around", I said.

"You sure about that because whenever we train I beat you".

"I don't know if you have brain damage after the last time I knocked you on your ass but you can't beat me, never have been able to before", I laughed putting on my mask guard.

"Care to make a wager", he asks.

"I'm listening."

"Loser goes with mother on her next "diplomatic" journey to one of the many kingdoms ."

"You got to be kidding those things are a month at best", I stated.

"Scared you'll lose", he quirks an eyebrow and puts his mask on.

"Just get ready to pack your bags", I said swinging my sword in his direction leaving him little time to block the attack.

The clash of our swords seemed like it went on for hours as we landed blow after blow on each other. It felt like this would go on forever but it wasn't till Airk made a fatal mistake that cost him the bet. As Airk was trying to trip me he didn't release he was on the edge of a giant rock bed losing his footing. When he tried to balance himself I disarmed him and held the tip of the sword to his chest.

""You lose", I said and laughed.

"I would have won if I didn't loose balance", he said.

"Maybe but I guess we will never know now will we", I chuckled and stuck out my hand for him to take.

"Uhhh", he said as he got up.

"I can't believe I have to go on one of mother's stupid trips."

"Now you know how I felt all those years when you would find some way out of it and I would have to end up going."

"Do you know when the next one is", he asks.

"How should I know mother would usually spring that stuff on me at the last moment so I couldn't get out of it."

"Oh, great", he says sarcastically.

"So..."

"So what?"

"How do you feel about Y/n being back", he asks.

"Good. I'm glad she is back", I said.

"Did she ever tell you where she went those past couple of months when she was gone", he said and I hesitated for a moment.

"Um no she didn't."

"Its weird though isn't it? She leaves the day of her wedding and nobody knows where she is. Then a couple of months later she arrives on a boat with Ser Easton after he found her when the whole kingdom was looking."

The one thing I hate about my brother is he is too inquisitive and can't leave well enough alone.

"I guess he was just lucky", I said hoping to put an end to this conversation.

"But how-"

"You know Airk I told Willow I would go see him before it gets dark I'll see you back at the castle later", I said turning away from him and going in the opposite direction.

I wasn't really going to Willow's but I needed some type of excuse to get out of there before he started asking more questions than he already was. This whole thing has turned into a shit show from Y/n's family to the rumors going around about her. This has gotten way out of control and hopefully, this will all die down soon. Otherwise, we are going to be in for some serious problems.

#hazel callahan x reader #kit tanthalos x reader #kit tanthalos #willow 2022 #ruby cruz #willow fanfic

[hekateinhell]

Vamptember, Day 7: Reverse AU

adult vampire!Claudia and little mortal!Lestat | M | 1.3k | tags: abuse and SA mentions/references, gore, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat.

New Orleans, 1808

Winter in New Orleans makes the evenings draw on longer. 

Meaning that Claudia has to create her own entertainment lest she go mad with boredom; she takes what she wants and does as she pleases. 

How many other women can say that? 

Sitting in front of the vanity, turning her head from side-to-side, pondering which role best suits her temperament tonight.

Pity she had been a poor white’s daughter at her death, malnourished to the point of missing her menses at the mature age of twenty. Oh, how utterly brutal the beatings were when her father and brothers caught on and arrived at the wrong conclusion! 

Whore. Slut. Witch. 

Such a rabid pleasure to crush each of their skulls between her hands the night she’d returned to the dingy little shack by the river. A giggle escaping her at each agonizingly slow crack of bone, delighting in their futile struggles. Dark torrents of blood igniting the demonic thirst inside her, and finally, the gelatinous messes — more fun than mud pies — gushing as she digs her thumbs into their eye sockets. 

Eyes that had violated her long before their ever hands did. 

“Witch!” 

“And yet it’s you that shall burn at the stake tonight, father dearest! Fancy that!” 

She beams at her reflection at the memory, the blonde ringlets that cascade over her small breasts bouncing as she trembles with poorly suppressed anticipation. Not a wasteful eater, no, but she does enjoy playing with her food. 

Finishing touches, a robin’s blue ribbon in her hair, her corset cinched tight to create the hourglass figure she most certainly did not possess. 

Childbearing hips that would never bear onto her a child, the son that the Lord she once prayed to for deliverance had sent to her in her dreams. A promise that one day she would have final dominion over the male sex. 

Flesh of her flesh, blood of her blood. 

Holy Mary, mother of God.

It’s humid when she sets out, but then again, it’s always humid in New Orleans: a sinner’s city, a gambler’s paradise. Fragrant roses combine with the stench of urine and decay as she makes her way down the cobblestone streets, taking in the sounds of the night. A child cries, a man yells to his wife: You stupid bitch!; a horse and carriage trot by, the mud almost reaching her shoes; a drunkard’s piercing laugh. 

“Hey, pretty lady, what are you doing all by your lonesome? Don’t you know what happens to dainty little things like you in places like these?”

Sounds like a tramp but means well. He has two sisters at home; one older and one younger. Claudia reminds him of the youngest. 

“Oh, I didn’t know! I’m new to the area, you see, and terribly disoriented! I don’t mean to trouble you Sir, but it is awfully late and now I am awfully frightened… If you could please escort me to my home, I have been trying to find my way back for hours to no avail!” She knows what men like to hear.

She can be demure.

Helpless. 

“Of course, darling,” he proffers her his arm which she graciously accepts, “I know this city like the back of my own hand.” 

Perfect. 

A quick, satisfying break of his elbow and his knees soon follow before she takes her first drink of the night, the gambler’s luck running dry as his sweet blood runs down her throat. His heart pounding on her tongue, the glorious resistance she craves gradually fading. No, no! Fight me more, handsome. Fight me just as hard as I fought them! Alas, it is finished and Claudia pulls back, wiping her mouth on her lace glove. 

She stands in the shadows, still clutching the body, savoring the aftertaste. Not an evil soul, merely one made unfortunate by virtue of his sex, as she had once been.  

A hunter as shrewd as she, a woman who’d been raised to have the survival instincts of a prey animal in the jungle, shouldn’t have been caught off guard by sudden wailing so high-pitched, Claudia cringes into herself. Relentlessly loud and surely bound to attract attention!

The body hits the ground with a wet thud as another, much smaller body barrels into her skirts, clinging to her legs. 

Images flash through the child’s mind; he can’t be older than five. A brute of a father raising his fists. A mother cold and impassive, her nose in a book as her children wept for her affections, even her scolding lacked interest. “Quiet down, Lestat.” Blonde and beautiful yet gaunt — Claudia had she lived another ten years, perhaps. Lived the wretched life she was destined to have, like her mother before her and her mother before her. 

This woman doesn’t want her child, and the decision is made. 

“There, there,” she drops to her knees to embrace the boy. His hair tangled unkempt, a shade strikingly similar to hers. His face covered in dirt, the scrapes along his arms and legs still oozing blood. Delirious from terror, hunger, and exhaustion, and in the darkness, he thinks she is his mother.

Claudia swallows back her thirst. 

“I didn’t mean it!” he sobs as he presses himself flush to her chest, burrowing into her sharp collarbone. Tears, dirt, and mucus smear all over the cotton of her dress, her hardened skin. “I didn’t mean to run! I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I want to go home! I’ll be good! I’ll listen, I promise!”

Yes, Claudia's decision has been made, but not here. 

“I know, dearest,” she lifts him off the ground and he settles momentarily, soft and warm. Pulls back to stare at her face, large grey eyes blinking at her. 

He touches her cheek, curious and gentle. Frowns. 

“Mama, you’re so cold.” 

There’s a second where she can feel his hummingbird heart quicken, little rosebud mouth pinching as he sniffles loudly, the tears gathered on his long lashes suspended as he holds her stare with intensity. But then it passes, and he rests his head on her shoulder.

“You need a blanket, Mama,” he sighs and drops his sticky fingers from her cheek, bringing his thumb to his mouth instead. She, too, had suckled her thumb until far too old an age. 

Back home, she cleanses his face.

He whines in his sleep, whimpering into her palm. Fragile and pitiful as the newborn kittens her brother Edgar had drowned to punish her. 

Her clothes are too big, and the doll’s clothes are too small. She cuts a nightgown three-quarters of the way short. The candle flickers and so does her confidence, but it’s too late now. His lifeblood flowing over her tongue, his little heart going and going, refusing to give up! Burst after vibrant burst, innocence devoured. 

Mama, Mama… I love you, Mama.

Claudia groans with it, the flavor of unrivaled purity unlike anything she's ever sampled before. She's never had to catch herself at the very edge of the precipice before; the shadow of a thought passes through her mind that perhaps she doesn't have to — she'll gorge herself on this one and find another to suit the same purpose: make for herself a son sculpted in her unholy image alone. 

But this precious heart! It still won't surrender! How can she trust that she will ever find another with not only the looks to match hers, but one that reflects back to her her own unbroken tenacity? 

“Mama’s here,” she tears open her bodice, exposing her breast, the dark blue vein at the underside. Makes the incision, guiding the child’s mouth to it. She will be Thetis reimagined in the spirit of the new age, submerging the baby Achilles in the River Styx to grant him immortal life, this time careful to fully saturate the heel.

The greedy thing latches quickly, reflexes of an infant still nestled in his subconscious as he takes all that Claudia has to offer.

It must be the male in him. 

“Mama’s here,” she repeats, stroking his hair, humming a long-forgotten lullaby.

Once, a poor woman’s only comfort to her daughter. Now, a little boy’s dirge.

“And you’ll be good for your Mama, won’t you, Lestat?”

#my first vamptember this year rip ACTUALLY I WANTED TO WRITE THIS ONE LAST YEAR AND NEVER GOT AROUND TO LMAO #claudia #lestat de lioncourt #vampire chronicles #vc #vamptember #prompts

[drchenquill]

Since you've taken the liberty to ask me about my title, I have to admit, I've been curious about yours too. But I've been really preoccupied with personal stuff so I got a bit late. And I have ALOT. Hope you don't mind me bombarding you.

Desire Is The Purest Of Sins

Life Can Be a Bitch

Elite

The Fairy And The Man

The Nightingale

Pas De Deux

The Secrets Of The Sea

Veangeance Is The Meal Of The Powerless

The Memories Of The Future

Foliè

I can't help it 😭 the titles were pulling me in 😭😭😭.

Oh gosh!!! Thank you so much for the interest!!! I'm overwhelmed (in a good way)!! I'm always happy to talk about my stories, so don't even worry about bombarding me!! I welcome it!

Let's begin, shall we?

Desire Is The Purest Of Sins

This story talks about a young woman named Rosie the goes through life with metaphorical blinders. Nothing can change her world view, until she lands a job as a barwoman. There she'll meet a man she first gets to know as "Gin". He is a charming man, flirtious, knows his way around the ladies, but Rosie won't let herself be swooned or brought off track, until she sees something she shouldn't have. Her "blinders" get ripped off and now she is forced to see the world in a whole new light. (spoiler: it's a fantasy story~)

Life Can Be a Bitch

This is a rather tame, non-fantasy high school romance story. Eighteen year old Hannah moves into a new city with her mother and has to attend a new school. To her surprise, she fits in quite well, making friends pretty fast. She meets Dylan, a wannabe bad boy that gets beat up on a regular basis, and they get along like a cat and a dog (not) , but they gradually get used to each other and something starts to bloom~

Elite

This is quite tricky to explain, but I'll try my best. I've come up with a race of creatures who inherited their luck bringing powers from "Lady Luck". Their task is to prevent a vitium. A vitium is what happens when a world is in such a bad streak of bad luck that it fades from existence. This usually happens when the world has to go through something that affects its history. If for some reason that doesn't happen, then the world is gone because its story hasn't been continued. Now, the main character of this story is part of the elite, the best of the best. She gets send down on earth to investigate the disappearance of some of her collegues that had previously send down to safe the world from the incoming vitium.

The Fairy And The Man

This one is about soulmates, or better, the wish of having one. Moira, the main character, is a fairy woman, locked up with other fairy women to prevent the extinction of their race. You must know, my kind of fairies, are very, very, sensitive to emotions. A fairy could literally explode from happiness or die out of fear, so they lock them up and give them a pill to surpress any kind of emotion. But Moira hates being locked up, she wants to go outside, to find out who she could be if those walls wouldn't be trapping her. She suddenly gets a roommate, sixteen year old Felicity. A young fairy that is everything that withered away inside the now twenty year old Moira. Felicity is full of exictment and joy, awaiting the arrival of someone that could sweep her off her feet. Sadly, that person does come and manages to coax young Felicity out of those protective walls, leading her into an unknown world. Moira follows without a second thought, but everything goes downhill from that point on.

The Nightingale

A young woman forced to either marry a wealthy man or to work under a wealthy woman. She chooses the latter, of course, because with that one, she will at least get paid to do the housework. Madeline Templeton starts working under a noblewoman as one of many other maids. She is eager to please (to not get kicked out) and follows all the rules. At least some of them. She is very curious and sticks her nose into things the lady of the house might want to keep hidden. One of the biggest rules is to not enter the white door that she will eagerly open anyway. In there she will find something that will change her life forever... or maybe someone?

Pas De Deux

Another non-fantasy story. Ellie is a ballett dancer with a weird sort of problem. She hates being touched. Only the people she knows her entire life long are able to touch her without getting snapped at or even hit. She can't help it, she herself doesn't understand why. Everything goes to shit when her train and dance partner ditches her. At least he has the decency to present her wih a solution: his older brother. Joshua Reed is a boxer with a nasty reputation and a shitty personality. She begrudgingly gives in to let Joshua help her with the training, which is the worst idea she could ever have.

The Secrets Of The Sea

Pirates, wohoooo!!! Maire is the daughter of a pirate captain and the sea is the only think she knows. She was born on it and will die on it. One day, her father decides to visit an old friend, explaining that he still owned him a favor. Without doubting her father one bit, she and the rest of the crew agree to this favor. As she will find out, the favor included trafficking of a creature she long thought a myth: a siren.

Veangeance Is The Meal Of The Powerless

Its' a vampire murder mysterty and it's sort of a sequel of a finished book of mine "Who's to judge?". We follow Thana, Talon, Valerio and Leroy as they get called to assist in a murder case with a vampire as primary suspect. The evidence was clear as day, they only needed to find which vampire took their anger out on the victim. But the more they dig, the more intricate the case becomes. What if the murderer is the actual victim? What if this wasn't an act of meaningless killing, but an act of veangeance? Our four vampires will need to question thei own morals and world views to get to the bottom of this.

The Memories Of The Future

Picture this, a young girl lives with her aunt and her border collie in an old town where nothing intersting ever happens. This young girl, Sophie, is as chaotic and skittish as a squirrel, and just as forgetful. She leaves notes for herself around the house to remind her of stuff she has to do, which she still forgets. But as she soon will find out, those notes and those confusing visions she has, are acutally snippets from the future, and it turns out, some people might want to kindnap her because of it.

Foliè

My newest baby. This is the first story I planned out the numbers of chapters (let's see how well that will go). It's set in a world where the air has been polluted by something the humans call "The Madness". It's a gas that slowly makes you lose the grip on reality. Once you inhale it, there's no turning back. You'll hear a womans voice, whispering to you your deepest, darkest wishes. She will not stop until you act upon it. Some scientists succeeded in building a machine that filters the air, but since it's still in its early stage, it needs a lot of maintrnance, that's where the main character comes in. They are in charge of checking every crook of the machine, which goes well until, one day, they start hearing the womans voice.

That was a wild ride! Again, thank you so so so much for asking and I hope you have a wonderful evening/day!!!

#asks #wip ask #writing #writeblr #writers #writers on tumblr #writerscommunity #wip

[labaguetteisdabest]

✦ 𝚂𝚝𝚛𝚊����𝚐𝚎 ✦

a/n: not much chartteo in this one unfortunately :( divider credit to @cafekitsune.

warnings: dagger/sword mentions, cussing, a little bitch who i despise

word count: 861

prompt: “Isn’t it strange how people can change?” - strange (song) 

wattpad link

“Charlotte?” 

I look up to see Matteo riding his sleek black horse beside me, his gold-flecked hazel eyes filled with something I can’t quite place... concern? 

That’s the logical option. I’ve spent every second of our twenty-minute horse ride clutching the reins as if they’re the only thing keeping me from plummeting into a haze of panic – and they are. Today is the first time I go back to the royal palace since I was abducted. 

“Charlotte, are you okay?” The boy adjusts his black bandanna to keep it from falling into his eyes. 

“Yeah,” I manage. “I’m fine.” 

Matteo raises an eyebrow. “I figured that, after spending this much time with pirates, you’d be able to lie better.” 

I sigh exasperatedly. “Of course I’m not okay. I haven’t been back to the palace in ages. I can’t help but feel that I’m going to want to go back.” 

Matteo opens his mouth to say something, but the first mate, James, interrupts him before he can say anything. 

“Cap'n, we've got to 'ead off-road now. We’re nearin' the palace.” 

The three of us steer our horses onto a muddy path that leads to a door behind the palace. My ride neighs, obviously uncomfortable with the mud coating her hooves. I stroke her silver mane and she calms down. 

A few minutes later, we slow our horses to a stop, hiding them in the bushes around a hundred feet from the palace. 

My heart races, panic flooding my mind. 

This is only supposed to be a scouting mission; I have no reason to be this afraid. 

But the fear persists, shattering my mental shield. 

Someone slips their hand into mine, and I look up to see Matteo, a reassuring smile crossing his face. 

My face burns and I pull my hand away from him, resting it on my hip holster for my dagger. His face reddens slightly as well and we begin to walk silently and carefully towards the castle. 

James pulls ahead, checking for guards. He suddenly stops at a corner and waves us closer. I pick up my pace to a jog, Matteo following suit. 

“What is it?” I whisper. 

“Guards. We’re gonna need a distraction if we want to finish that map,” James replies. 

My heart leaps to my throat. 

“I’ll distract them,” Matteo says. “I’m one of the most wanted people in the kingdom, after all.” 

“And that,” I retort, “is precisely why you won’t be going. I know every single guard here far too well. I can get myself out of a tough spot if I need to.” 

Matteo raises his hands in surrender and James pushes me forward. I take a deep breath and run forward, towards the guards. 

I recognize one of them almost immediately. I’ve only met one person with hair so blond it looks silver, eyes so green they look black, skin so pale it looks white. Deep blue glasses frame his eyes, and a haughty look is on his face. 

Eren. 

I wrinkle my nose. I’ve always hated him and his arrogance. 

I’m about to see the other guard’s face, but Eren sends them away, probably to switch out with another guard. 

“Eren!” I call. 

His head whips up as he makes eye contact with me. 

I keep my face straight, but a sneer crosses his face.  

“The traitor princess,” he says. “Fancy seeing you here.”  

“Oh, I don’t fancy seeing you here. Not at all.” 

“You still think your silver tongue can defeat me?” He laughs sharply. “Your Highness, with all due respect–” 

“Uh-uh,” I say, wagging my finger at him. “No ‘Your Highness.’ I’m no princess.” 

“Oh, yes, of course. What shall I call you, then? ‘Traitor?’ ‘Deserter?’” 

“Traitor?” Now it’s my turn to laugh. “I didn’t betray many people. You haven’t heard the rumors? No one likes the royal family or their comrades, so I turned to people who actually appreciate my existence. I guess you’ve never had anyone feel that way for you?” 

I can practically see the fury emanating from Eren, but he regains control far too quickly. 

“Isn’t it strange?” 

I don’t say or do anything, but the sentence piques my curiosity. 

“Isn’t it strange,” he repeats, “how people can change? I used to be kind to you, you know. But then someone hurt me, and I turned myself around. I made it right. And you...” A look I can’t describe crosses his face. “You used to be the most loyal princess I’ve ever met. Alas, when I look at you now...” He waves his hands towards me. 

“When I look at you now, I see an obnoxious, oblivious little bitch who’s filled to the brim with pride – and not the good kind, either. Would you like to finish your sentence or would you rather keep your snobby head on your shoulders?” 

A feeling of satisfaction blooms in my heart when I see Eren’s bewildered look. I unsheathe my dagger and hold it in my hand lightly. 

“Nothing you can say will hurt me,” I tell him, even though I know it’s not true. “But I know plenty of things I can say that’ll hurt you.” 

©labaguetteisdabest | do not repost, copy, or translate on any other platform.

#rising star writes #writing #writer #writeblr #creative writing #my writing #original writing #writers on tumblr

[video-killer]

Here is a supposed audition sheet from a set which has made the rounds for a while. Because of my unrelenting bias, it's the one for a certain television headed overlord. Let's have a look-see, shall we?

Right away with option 1 we see a red flag: the extended "bye". Vox canonically was in his fifties at the time of his death in the 1950s. The vernacular of twenty-year-old social media influencers coming out of a man of that age, from that time period, supposedly with a high level of respect, in an implied professional setting is strange.

Another issue is the clunkiness of the dialogue. There's no flow to it, and reading it aloud elicits the atmosphere of a middle schooler's half finished adventure story. Lines feel hollow, and seem to only exist to move the story along. This isn't just present in the first option, it's an issue with all of them. Fun.

Option 2 is just grim. Not only is the apprehension to change nonsensical for Vox, whose whole character is based around technological progress, contributing to his foil to Alastor's traditionalism, but the line's whole existence is centered around a dreaded cock joke.

While the basic idea of a gag about producing a beyond awful show for eight seasons is fitting and humorous [anyone who has heard of MTV's "Ridiculousness" knows about the realisim of this all too well], it falls dead in the water. Perhaps the idea of there being a genuine market for a show with a name of that caliber would be funnier, and it could be a semivisual gag with Vox enthusiastically accepting the show onto his network as the atrocious title looms in the background.

Option 3 is, once again, clunky, with the ending bit of dialogue not connecting very well with the first and the whole bit feeling overall pointless. But main issue here is the suggestion that Velvette works for/under Vox despite canonically being her own overlord. Not only is it weird, it's demeaning to her character and has some... concerning undertones.

Option 4 has a very similar problem to option 1, which is the unnatural language, as well as an overuse of vulgarity. Vox saying "bitches" is humorously bad. If the writers wanted to demonstrate a crude streak through derogatory vocabulary, they could have used "wenches" or "harlots", something equally vulgar but more fitting to his character. But no, modern slang is the writers' crutch. In a similar vein, all the professions listed are maybe a little too specific to modern day. You could go a bit broader and list off jobs such as actors, directors, models, etc cetera. It would age much better.

And once again, Velvette is implied to work for Vox despite us having been told that she is also an overlord and in possession of enough power that she is a part of the triple alliance. Sigh.

Also, the whole plot presented by this line is stupid. If your sworn enemy is working for a certain establishment, wouldn't you be better off spying on them to see what they're doing there? And wouldn't it be easier and more interesting to try and sabotage the establishment instead of wasting who knows how much money building a whole rival company from scratch? It's simply illogical.

This one also has a significant grammatical error: there should be punctuation of some kind between "we'll make our own hotel" and "we'll fill it with...", implying a lack of proofreading, which is a massive red flag.

In conclusion, I sincerely hope that this is either fake or a very, very early draft that they decided to use as audition sheets due to some sort of legal issue with the actual final script. I don't think I could stomach a whole show with dialogue like this.

#writing criticism #dialogue critisism #Vivziepop critical #hazbin hotel critical #hazbin critical #hazbin hotel criticism #voxpost

[pcrfectstorms]

leave my fucking friends alone you attention seeking cunt. I will fucking end you . this is your last warning. ☺️ 💜

yikes, someone needs to come collect their feral dog. what was it y’all were crying about how i should be ‘responsible’ for my followers and friends? yeah, maybe heed your own advice there sweetheart.

first up, i am not the one who needs to leave anyone alone, bitch i’m trying and yet here YOU are in my inbox spewing utter nonsense that tbh could be considered a violent threat, hmm let’s see what tumblr has to say about that shall we? i haven’t spoke about your friend in days, as i’m sure you can see from the fact you’re on my blog snooping, the last thing i said in reference to them was when they were mass tagging me in nonsense a few days ago; which ironically enough made them according to tumblr activity page my fourth biggest fan - but i am the stalker, right?

i have not attempted to contact them once, no via anon asks or otherwise, and yet i had their other friend harass me on discord, have you in my inbox, off anon because i had to turn it off to avoid further idiocy, and yet you still managed, so congrats, i guess?

it’s like beating an old dead horse at this point. the only people continuing the drama and bullshit is on your friends side, me and my mutuals are fucking tired on the constant daily harassment and attempt at getting attention.

i beg of you to use a little critical thinking skills about the situation. but then, if you’re in my inbox with this bullshit critical thinking is obviously beyond you. so i shouldn’t expect too much, but i’d like to think it’s common knowledge and courtesy not to threaten and harass strangers on the internet. seriously, you’re a faceless internet troll threatening to ‘fucking end me’ listen to yourself, what makes you think it’s acceptable to speak to someone that way?

also, im not sure if y’all are aware but time zones exist and i am in GMT. i was fucking sleeping until twenty minutes ago. i have barely been online all week bc i have a real life outside of the internet and a full time career, quite literally, fuck off and leave me alone. i don’t care about a bunch of idiotic gen z kids on tumblr.

and just for fyi; who’s really stalking who bestie?

#❛ talk like an open book ; sign me up ❜ [ answered asks ] #❛ shit talking ❜ [ ooc ]

[sam--morgan]

𝘀𝗮𝗺'𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗳𝗲 》𝒔𝒂𝒎 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒙 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓 - Chapter six

Sam's wife m/l here !

"Sully, don't worry about him. You know Nate. He's going to survive this." Y/N reassured him and placed her hand on his arm.

"I'm ain't worried about him. I am worried about the fact that the bidding is starting now, and Rafe will get that damn crucifix." Sully said taking a puff of his cigar, and y/n rolled her eyes.

"In a couple of minutes, we will start the bidding." Said the auctioneer and y/n started to bite on her bottom lip. "Come on Nate.." She muttered to herself. Just then she heard crackling on her earpiece and she took a sigh of relief.

"Sam? Sully? Y/N? You there?" he asked.

"God damn it, kid, where the hell have you been?" Sully asked, worried laced in his voice.

"I made it... Had a few close calls but..." He started but he was interrupted by y/n. "You need to cut the power right now. They are literally about to start the bidding."

"All right, well, I'm gonna need a minute before I can reach the panel."

"We don't have a minute, Rafe's about to walk out of here with your cross," Sully stated, which caught Nate's attention.

"Wait, what? Rafe? Rafe is here?"

"Yes, that son of a bitch is here and if he thinks that he is going to get that cross, he's going to..." Y/n started but was cut off by Sam. "Baby not the time. Yes, Rafe is here. And as of right now, he has the highest bid."

"Well outbid him."

"How are we gonna do that when we don't have that type of money?" y/n asked incredulously.

"Y/N, we're stealing it, remember?" Nate reminded them and y/n looked at Sully with a shrug. "He has a point."

"What if he calls our bluff?" Sully defended and Nate sighed

"He won't."

"Guys, if we do not get this cross, I am as good as dead," Sam said over the earpiece.

"Do you need to remind me every time?" Y/N complained and she took a bidding sign. "Screw it. I'll do it. You focus on getting to that panel." Y/N said getting to the floor.

"Since we have no other bids... going once... going twice.." The auctioneer started and y/n puts up her sign-up. "Bene! We have one hundred thousand euros in the room. Thank you do we have any other bids?" The auctioneer asked Rafe stared at her as he slowly raised his sign and y/n smirked back at him.

"We now have one hundred ten thousand euros in the room."

"In for a penny, in for a pound," Sully said, as y/n smirked as she lifted her sign up.

"That bid brings us to one hundred twenty." The auctioneer stated and Nate said, "You'll be out of there in no time."

"Oh take your time. I love seeing the look on Rafe's face." Y/N chimes happily as she saw Rafe's face grow angry with each bid. The bid was getting higher and higher and y/n's blood was running cold.

"Hey man. Starting to sweat bullets here." Sam said over the earpiece and y/n scoffed.

"You? You're not the one who is bidding," she said quietly.

"Yeah gimme a second," Nate said and the bid was up to one hundred eighty thousand.

"All right guys. I'm at the switch. You ready?" Nate said and y/n's sighed in relief.

"As I'll ever be. Victor? Y/n?"

"Just a sec," Y/n said back to him and smiled sweetly, and raised her sign. "The lady's bid: two hundred thousand euros."

"Five hundred thousand! Let's get this show on the road here." Rafe said looking over to her and she smiled at him before making a bowing motion.

"uh.. thank you. We have five hundred thousand euros in the room. Does the lady wish to bid again?" The auctioneer said everyone turned to her and she put her hands up before stepping back.

"Okay, my liege. Go take your throne." Y/N said sarcastically and the crowd chuckled

"Had me worried there for a minute, Y/N? Thought I might have to kill you!" Rafe said in a cheery tone but nothing about that was cheery.

"Over my dead body. He won't even come near you." she heard Sam say.

"Okay. Let's ruin this asshole's evening." Sully said laughing softly and y/n chuckled as well.

"Anyone else? We are going once... going twice... then i shall sell it for five hundred thousand..." She was cut short when the lights turned off and y/n felt someone grab her hand. "Ladies and gentlemen, please remain calm..." She didn't hear the rest because they were trying to make their way out the door where Nate and Sam went previously.

"Sam, tell me you got the cross.." Nate said coming through the earpiece.

"I got Saint Dismas right here, you want to say hi?" Sam joked and moved his arms around y/n's shoulder as they ran outside to the civilians trying to make their way to the front by the roofs.

"Yeah, we've kicked the hornet's nest down here. Ballroom's locked down, security's scrambling."

"Sully where is our getaway?" y/n asked quietly as she avoided the spotlights that the guards were swinging around searching the area.

"Come to the driveway out front... just follow the spotlights. I'll bring the car around." Sully answered as they heard guests in the background panicking.

"You ready sweetie?" Sam asks quietly as he gets a nod in return.

"As I'll ever be. I'm lucky that I'm wearing pumps for this." y/n joked as they saw that the guards moved away and they moved quickly in the shadows making their way toward the front.

That's when they heard gunshots starting to ring out and y/n became paranoid.

"Nathan, what's going on?" Sam asked over the earpiece as it got louder on his end.

"I'm being shot at."

"Told you, we should've brought guns," Sam said in disbelief and y/n hits his arm slightly.

"Ain't nobody thinks that this was going to happen Sam." y/n said rolling her eyes and he looked at her as he said, "We wouldn't be in this situation right now if we can fight back."

"I know, but for right now let's just stick to the sides and away from the flashlights." She said making the first move as she stayed underneath the balcony.

"How are we doing, Nathan?" Sam asked checking on his little brother and y/n smiled.

"I'm on my way... heading to higher ground to get my bearings," Nate said over the earpiece and y/n sighed in relief.

"Stay safe and we'll meet you there," y/n added in.

"All right," Nate said before his earpiece went silent.

The two couple made their way across the rooftops unnoticed but when they were close to the ballroom and the exit they saw three guards standing around and y/n and Sam went up to them and snapped their necks, and took their guns.

"Che cos 'era questo?" They heard another guard say and made their way to where they were standing Sam cursed under his breath before shooting the guard in his head making the other guards notice them.

"So much of that idea.." y/n mumbled as she joined Sam in the gunfight.

"All right, I'm at the car. Where the hell are you guys?" Sully said coming onto our earpiece.

"Ah, just met your friend Nadine Ross. She's lovely." Nate joked and y/n just sighed.

"Yeah? Well, it's chaos out here. They're trying to keep it contained, but everybody's freaking out. I don't wanna rush you, but.... hurry the hell up!"

"Nathan, where are you?!" Sam said after Sully got done explaining and he grabbed y/n's hand moving across the rooftop.

"Good question. You?" He answered back.

"We're by the ballroom. Look for this round sign thing, it's on the way." Y/N answered as they ran into more trouble and started to shoot at the guards.

"Good news is, we got a gun, see you soon." Sam finished for her and they took out the guards and sat behind a plotting bin as they waited for Nate but more guards came and they got out of their covers to start shooting.

Then they heard a crash and even more, guards showed up. They looked up to see Nate on the sign and y/n sighed as she saw that they were shooting at Nate.

"Nathan! What are you doing?" Sam called at him as he started to shoot at the guards along with y/n.

"Oh, you know! He's just hanging around! What's it look like?" y/n said sarcastically as she took down one guard and moved on to the next, but they started to shoot at them.

"Ah, shit! Get down babe!" Sam said grabbing her arm and pulling her down as he stood back up again. "Nathan! Catch!" He said tossing the gun towards Nathan who was far away from them and Nate caught it.

y/n looked at him in shock and noticed that he was a lot of buffer since he was in jail for fifteen years. They took down the guards with the help of Nathan and Sam pulled y/n up gently

"Nice shooting! You all right?" Sam screamed towards Nate as he was still hanging there.

"Yeah. Hanging in there." Nate called back and Sam laughed as y/n shook her head with a sigh.

"The two of you are unbelievable," Y/N commented and Sam looked at her with a smirk.

"You married a Drake hun. What did you think was going to happen?" Sam commented and y/n shrugged her shoulders.

"Something that will give me less grey hair, and something that will keep me up at night. The usual." Y/N said with a laugh and Sam laughed.

"This is why I love you." He said then he looked at Nathan who was making his way down. "We can't get to you from here. You have a way down?"

"Yeah. Yeah, i think so." Nathan said out of breath.

"Okay. We'll meet you at the driveway, just head towards the ballroom." Sam said taking y/n's hand and leading her away.

"All right see you there," Nate called out to them and they made their way toward the ballroom taking some of the guards out along the way.

"Sully, we're kinda stuck here, any ideas?" Y/N called him onto the earpiece.

"Fastest way is through the ballroom."

"You said that the ballroom is locked down." Sam retorted as he headed towards the ballroom.

"Yeah, well now that they know it's you guys, they cleared the place out," Sully said and y/n cursed under her breath for the umpteenth time today.

"Ballroom it is. You get that, Nate?" Y/N asked over the earpiece as they sneakily made their way to the ballroom.

"Yeah.. I'll be there in a second." He said and they got pinned down at the ballroom where there were too many guards.

"Nathan, we're pinned in here! We could use a hand!" Sam panicked which got y/n to panic as well. She never heard Sam panic before.

"On my way right now," Nate said back. They tried to take out as many as they can but more and more came, and Nate swung through the window behind them.

"Jesus Christ! Nate?!" y/n asked as she was behind the covers and lifted her head to look at him.

"Hey. How's it going?" Nate said in disbelief that happened.

"Uh... i think I'm done with this auction, huh?" Sam joked and y/n laughed nervously at that.

"You can say that again," Y/N mumbled and she started to shoot.

"All right boys and girls, change of plan! Too many people trying to leave, the driveway's all jammed up."

"All right Sully. What's your backup?" y/n asked as she was trying to talk over the gunfight and shooting her gun.

"There's that fountain just outside the ballroom. I'll meet you there." Sully suggested and the three of them nodded their heads.

"Got it. Let's go!" Nate said they started to shoot again and they were able to take down all the guards.

They started to make their way to the side doors but more of them showed up.

"You bastards don't know when to give up!" Y/N called out to them as she headshot on guard as they ran out the door and to the steps.

"Sully we're running out of time here!" Nate called out.

"Hold on, kid... nearly there!" Sully said struggling slightly over the earpiece. They shot at the guards that were on the steps and made their way down the steps to the small courtyard where the fountain was at. "Almost there," Sully said coming again through the earpiece.

"Unless you're driving a hearse, you better hurry." Nate joked as he kept shooting. They were able to shoot down some of them until they saw Sully crash through the hedges with a white car.

"Someone call for a limo." He joked as the three made their way to him. They got into the car, Nate was first then y/n was in the middle, and then Sam, and they shut the door.

"Hang on!" Sully screamed as they turned around quickly and tire screeched their way out of there.

time skip

They were all at the table where they stared at the crucifix. Sam puts down his shot and takes a hammer and grabs the crucifix.

"I hope I don't go to hell for this." He joked and y/n rolled her eyes who was already in her casual attire and was standing next to Sam.

He broke the crucifix and looked inside it and his face dropped. "Shit.." he mumbles.

"What?" Nate asked as he sat closer and y/n looked at him worriedly.

"It's empty." He said looking back up at them and they looked shocked.

"What?!" It was now y/n's time to say it, and Sam turned the crucifix around shaking it as a paper fell out they all groaned as y/n punched his arm hard. "Don't do that to me asshole."

"He's your husband," Sully said back.

"Yeah and sometimes i regret marrying him," Y/n stated playfully and she stuck her tongue out at said husband.

"Alright. Skull and crossbones. Very good sign." Nate said getting a good look at the sigil.

"That's Avery's insignia..." Y/N and Sam said together and Sam started to pull away the stamp carefully and unroll it. He examined it and got confused. "What is this? Ah... "Hodie mecum eris in Paradiso," Sam said trying to read it.

"Today you will join me in paradise." Y/N translated and San looked at her with a small smile.

"In paradise... It's what Jesus said to Saint Dismas on the cross, but..." Sam said a little confused. "But what about these numbers here? What do you make of this?" Sam asked turning the paper around and y/n got a closer look.

"Some kind of code? Or a phone number?" Sully joked leaning back as he smoked his cigar.

"C'mon guys. They're dates.." Y/N started and the men looked at her, and y/n pointed it out. "Look. 1659.."

"The year Avery was born," Sam said interrupting her and she placed her hand on his shoulder.

"And 1699. The year he supposedly "died"." Y/N said putting air quotation when she said Sam smiled even bigger at her, and she looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "You talk about the treasure before even in your sleep." She admitted and saw how his cheeks went slightly red.

"Ah... well.." He said shyly and y/n leaned down kissing his cheek, and he looks down at the paper. "That means we have the date of birth, date of death, and "paradise"."

"Which means we're looking for... Avery's grave." Y/N said as Nate looked behind him and then back to them.

"At Saint Dismas' Cathedral," Nate said with a smile, making the two couple smile with him.

"Wait a second... Hasn't Rafe been scouring that site for ages already?" Sully asked as he leaned back.

"Yeah, the cathedral. See these symbols? These are found on old Scottish gravestones. Right?" Nate explained pointing to the symbols then he pulled out a map. "The layout of this place is unusual. Here's the Cathedral..." Nate said pointing to a spot.

"And this is where the graveyard is at... huh." y/n said pointing to another place and y/n hummed.

"Rafe's been focusing on the wrong area," Sam said butting in and Nate smiled as he said. "Exactly."

"Guys. We're going to Scotland." Y/N said getting excited as she hasn't done this for years. y/n moved to stand in between Sam and Nate as they looked at the map.

"All right, all right. Wait.. wait up. You do realize that Rafe knows your coming?" Sully said as he said looking at the downside of this but he has a point.

"Yeah, we can deal with that when we get there," Nate said not caring about Rafe.

"That psycho would like nothing better than for you to show up," Sully said trying to talk them out of it. "Plus he's got Nadine and her whole army to back him up."

"Yeah but he doesn't have this," Y/N said pointing to the clue that they stole. "That rich boy doesn't know what he is doing." she insulted and she high-fived Nate.

"The biggest pirate treasure of all time is within our grasp." Nate finished.

"I thought this was about saving Sam," Sully said pointing to Sam and y/n looked down at the table. He was right and she completely forgot about that because of all of the adrenaline that happened within the past couple of hours.

"It is. But come on, it's both, right? We need the treasure to save Sam." Nate explained.

"How is Elena cool with all this?" Sully asked then looked over to y/n directing the question to her about Mya, and they both stayed quiet. "Oh, Jesus, kids," Sully muttered in disappointment.

"Look, it's just not that simple," Nate said finally.

"With all that you two have been through together..." Sully started but was interrupted by Nate. "She wouldn't understand this." and Sully finished. "You are not giving her enough credit."

"I can't take that chance," Nate said pleadingly and y/n placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Nathan, he's right. I would've told y/n if she wasn't going so she wouldn't be going." Sam said looking at y/n then looked at Nate.

"I would've been shocked if you called me out of nowhere when you should've been dead." She said with a half-hearted chuckle. "But Nate, things are going to get a little dicey out there.. and Elena won't be too happy with a dead husband." y/n said squeezing his shoulder he thought about it before standing up and walking to the balcony as he took out his phone.

Sam grabbed the bottle to pour him some bourbon and then Sully but he pulled his cup away, and Sam sighed.

"Something on your mind, dear?" Sam said as he goes take a drink from his cup, as y/n checked her phone.

"I have to make a call so I'll be right back." She said walking to her room as she checked the contact for her daughter.

The phone ranged a couple of times before her daughter picked up. "Hey, mom!"

"Hi, Mya! How was school today?" She asked glad to hear her voice again. She leaned against the dresser as she listened to what her daughter was telling her putting her input into it.

"That sounds all great, but i miss you," Y/N said with a smile.

"I miss you too mom... When are you coming home and where are you?"

"I don't know hun. Sometime soon hopefully and right now we're in Italy," she said and she heard her daughter gasp.

"Italy?! I always wanted to go!"

"Maybe when I get back we'll make a trip here." She said chuckling and smiling.

"Yay! Oh, Aunt Elena is calling me for school." She heard her daughter rushing with her things.

"Alright. Have a great day at school and i love you, baby. I'll try to contact you when I can."

"I love you too! Bye, mom!" Mya said before hanging up.

Y/N's smile faded and she sighed. She's going to have to tell Sam soon about Mya and she doesn't know how would he react.

She felt a pair of arms wrap around her and she jumped slightly. She felt a pair of lips on her shoulder and the stubbles of a beard.

"Who were you talking to?" She heard Sam's deep voice in her ear and she shivered slightly, and she can also hear the anger slightly in her voice.

"Nobody important.." She hummed softly as she placed her hands on his arms, and she heard him sigh.

"You know... if you moved on, please let me know so i won't get hurt.." Sam said softly as he buried his nose into her shoulder. She widened her eyes slightly and she quickly turned around in his arms cupping his cheeks. If she wanted to move on then she would've over the 15 years that he has been gone.

"Baby.. if i wanted to move on I could've done that by now, but a part of my heart was telling me that you were still alive.. so I didn't.." She explained as she brushed her lips against his softly.

"I know but I'm just afraid that you will leave me... The reason why i got out of jail or even did this in the first place was to see you again." He said tightening his arms around his waist. She felt her heart tighten and she took a shaky breath.

"You're not going to lose me... Not when you need me right now." She said looking into his eyes and he stared back deep into her eyes.

"God i love you so much." He said softly as he placed his forehead against hers.

"I love you too.." she said rubbing her nose against his before kissing him deeply.

#sam drake x reader #sam drake #samuel #uncharted #rafe uncharted #nathan drake