#I actually found that boss encounter to be really amusing I was like laughing during it

[unmarkedhelicopter]

I’ve unfortunately picked up deputy Thornton’s repeated “shOW thE BItch WHo’s boSS” line as a new thing I just say all the time, it’s just such a funny thing to warble out in an exaggerated backcountry accent at random times. Yes, it’s driving my partner insane

[aitarose]

SUNSHINE | MAKO

PAIRING: Mako x Kya’s Daughter!Reader [fem]

PLOT: Mako’s always had a little crush on Y/N. After all, who wouldn’t? But admitting it to himself? Yeah, no. Just the thought of admitting it to her? Even bigger no. He’d never consider confessing..right? based on these requests by anons

WARNINGS: fluff, mutual pining, friends to lovers

WORD COUNT: 2.3k

A/N: i love mako sm like you guys don’t even know. this man OWNS me fdjafdlsjk. also i got a little carried away with these requests and i took them to the next level so please enjoy :)

MY MASTERLIST

Mako was living his absolute worst nightmare. 

Stuck aboard an airship with his two exes, his brother, his boss, and his boss’ ex with no opening window to jump out of?

The day was definitely not in his favor.

Every hour seemed to be the same.

Radio a call..hear about a new airbender..find the map..use the map..go to the town..get kicked out of the town..return to the beginning.

While Mako did love having a routine—he was bored of this one.

The only thing that made his day even slightly interesting was Y/N.

It wasn’t long ago when he had met the water tribe girl. They’d first spoken during the Glacier Spirits Festival in the Southern Water Tribe.

He had been introduced to her mother, Kya, through Bolin. His younger brother was so starstruck by Avatar Aang’s only daughter, that he couldn’t help but drag along her own daughter with him for the entirety of the festival.

Bolin spent the rest of the night proudly walking alongside the teenage girl, who had to have been at least two to three years older than him.

He went around and showed her off to all of their friends from Republic City, even if they already knew her.

“Don’t make a show of it, but I know the Avatar’s granddaughter. You don’t need to be wowed or anything, it’s no big deal.”

“Bolin, I’m literally her uncle.”

Mako was one of the very last people to meet the infamous Y/N.

It was right after his argument with Korra about the situation between her father and Unalaq. His emotions were all over the place, confusion and annoyance dominated his mood.

But all of his anger dissolved with one look at her smile.

It was at that moment when Mako decided that Y/N had a gift.

She could lift someone’s spirit with a single glance. Her eyes always glowed with positivity and her soul was the purest one he had ever come across.

Y/N could be compared to the rising sun. Just by existing, she radiated more light and goodness than the greatest man on Earth could ever achieve.

It had been a very brief introduction. 

“Mako, my man!” Bolin slapped his palm over the firebender’s shoulder, a cheesy side smile pointed at the teenage girl standing next to him. 

“This is my good friend, Y/N. Y/N meet my big bro!”

Y/N beamed, her teeth sparkling under the moonlight. She held out her hand in a friendly manner and looked straight into Mako’s eyes, unafraid of making eye contact. 

“It’s nice to meet you, Mako.” She spoke whilst shaking his hand. “I’ve only known Bolin for an hour and I feel like I already know everything about you.”

Mako groaned in embarrassment. He was always flattered by how much Bolin looked up to him, but sometimes his little brother went a little too far.

“You had an hour? Let me guess..” Mako pointedly looked at Bolin, shaking his head in amusement. “He must’ve told you our entire life story by now.”

When she laughed at his blunt attempt at a joke, Mako’s heart soared right then and there. 

It was like the fire inside of him had been ignited with gasoline. but instead of her water smothering his flames..they made the grow. Made them stronger.

Though Mako hadn’t realized these lurching feelings at the time. He did have a girlfriend after all, and he liked to think he would never intentionally cheat on her.

That didn’t stop him from admiring her from afar.

Platonically of course.

There weren’t many moments after the festival where Mako found himself alone with Y/N. 

He had chosen to follow Korra to open the spirit portals and Y/N went off to tour the air temples with her extended family—and if he was being honest, he hadn’t had much time to think about her between fighting off evil spirits and breaking up with his girlfriend.

It wasn’t until after Team Avatar defeated Unalaq and Vaatu, that Mako’s mind returned to his unresolved and unrealized feelings.

With the spirit portals open, the world was new again.

Thousands of people were traveling, discovering places they never knew existed, and migrating to different nations.

Luckily for Mako, Y/N had been one of those people.

It had taken her about a week to move into her apartment in Republic City.

Her flat was quaint but cosy. It had views overlooking the busy downtown and bustling people, and she had easy access to stores and shops in the neighborhood.

There was nothing wrong with her new home, but it wasn’t like the South. In fact, it was nothing like the South.

Y/N missed her friends and colleagues. She missed the chilly wind that would slice through the air and freeze her cheekbones. She missed the animals and the overall energy that the South had.

But she was open to new beginnings and new friends—and her open mindset was exactly what led her to join her family and Team Avatar on the search for new airbenders.

Which is right where Mako had left off. 

The airship was dreadful, dreary, and just plain boring. 

His main source of entertainment was watching a cloud disappear from his view, and then preceding to find another one for his eyes to chase.

Luckily for him, Y/N was also bored out of her mind. She had no one to talk to on the ship.

Korra? Tempting, but intimidating.

Asami? Sure if Y/N was less hippy and more business mogul.

Bolin? Yeah, she didn’t want to go down that path again. 

Lin? No way.

Her actual family members? Good option—but Tenzin was boring and all Jinora did was read old scrolls.

Y/N was at a loss, and the only person that seemed remotely interesting was the brooding firebender staring out of the window.

When she approached him, Mako was at a loss for words.

He had been thinking about this moment for awhile now, and had a pun filled pick-up line ready to go, but when it came down to crunch time, he stalled. 

“Hey,” Y/N smiled, gesturing to the seat next to Mako on the iron bench. “Mind if I sit?”

Mako’s mouth opened to respond, but no words came out of his mouth. He sat there like a fish out of water, nodding his head silently.

Y/N shrugged her shoulders and happily sat next to the nineteen year old. 

With her being so close in proximity, Mako’s brain flashed exe.error messages through his thoughts.

They sat in a comfortable, yet also awkward silence for a long time. 

Every time Mako tried to get a word out, he stumbled. His nerves overcame his speech, preventing him from sounding the least bit cool.

Scratch that. They prevented him from sounding like an actual person and not a toddler that just learned how to speak.

After what felt like generations, Mako was saved by none other than his ex-girlfriends.

“We just landed,” Korra said, waving to the former probender and his companion. A confused look flashed across her face at the sight of them so close yet so uncomfortable.

Asami then poked her head around the corner, coming into view. “Are you guys going to come out or what?”

Y/N was the first to jump up, nodding her head enthusiastically.

She nearly sprinted to the exit—not because she wanted to get away from her encounter with Mako, she was just really excited to meet new people.

Mako heaved a deep sigh when she was completely out the door and out of earshot. It felt like he could finally breathe again without the stress of being in her presence.

“You like her?” Korra crossed her arms over one another, leaning against the wall as Asami stood by her side.

“What?” Mako stuttered, his face flooding with hues of red and pink.

“Why would you say that?”

“No Way!”

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about!”

Korra and Asami loudly laughed at Mako’s rambling, while they had both been hurt by his actions in the past, they had come to forgive him—and they wanted nothing more than for him to find his special someone.

“Okay, then.” Korra shrugged, pulling Asami out of the room with her, “Whatever you say, Mako.”

Mako dropped his face into his hands, pulling at his hair as he mentally beat himself up.

“But if it matters,” he looked up to see Korra still standing at the door. A genuine smile shown on her face. 

“I think you two would be perfect together.”

As Korra finally left him to himself, Mako couldn’t help but think about how lucky he was to have a friend like her. 

She was everything he didn’t need in a relationship, but everything he could’ve ever wanted in a friendship. 

Eventually, Mako did manage to force himself off of the airship. He helped with the little show the airbenders put on to influence others to join the nomads and even fought a few bad guys while he was at it. 

He was finally having a good day, until the little punk tried to steal his wallet.

“Wait,” he ordered, pulling Kai back by the neck of his shirt. Mako held out his hand expectantly and gave the younger boy a hard look. 

“I think you might have something of mine.”

Kai smiled sheepishly before pulling out the firebender’s stolen goods. 

“It must’ve fallen into my pocket, my bad.”

Mako glared at the new airbender. The stare he was giving Kai was so cold, it could intimidate a pack of polar bear dogs.

“Now listen here,” he bent down to Kai’s level. His tangerine eyes meeting Kai’s green ones. “I know your game. I used to be the master at it, actually—and let me tell you that it gets you absolutely nowhere.”

Mako sighed, he already saw so much of himself in the kid that he didn’t want him to go down the same hard path that he did.

“All I want is the best for you, kid.” He patted Kai on the shoulder before sending him off to join Jinora on the ship. “Don’t mess up this opportunity.”

There were times where Mako enjoyed being the big bad cop or the authoritarian figure, but this was not one of those times. 

He just wanted Kai to have the best life he possibly could.

The life he had always wanted for himself.

Unbeknownst to Mako, his secret crush had witnessed the whole ordeal.

His pure-hearted intentions touched Y/N. Acts of kindness and wellbeing always found their way into her heart, and his act of good caught her attention in a very positive way. 

It caught her attention enough, that she found herself standing right behind him.

“That was really sweet what you said back there.” She told Mako, who jumped in surprise at her soft voice.

“Yeah, I tried. I’ve been where he is before. I know how it ends.”

Mako felt much more comfortable now that Y/N had started the conversation. He wasn’t afraid to give his thoughts knowing that she was the one who wanted to talk to him.

Y/N let out a low breath. Her hair willowed in the breeze, her eyes shining under the sunlight. She looked like a lost spirit.

A beautiful lost spirit, Mako thought. 

“I try, too.” She whispered to him. Mako could barely hear her voice, it was so faint.

“Sometimes being there for everyone else has its downfall.” Y/N’s sparkling eyes turned dim, sadness drowned her usually uplifting features.

“I spend all my energy making sure that everyone I love is happy, but then there’s never anyone looking out for me, you know?”

Mako did know.

He knew exactly how she was feeling. He’d raised Bolin since they were children. 

If anyone knew the pressures of holding onto another person’s burdens, it was Mako.

“I’ve noticed that,” Mako said, stepping closer to the girl. He could see that her eyes were welling with tears, all he wanted to do was wrap his arms around her and make all the negative energy go away. 

So that’s exactly what he did.

Y/N melted into Mako’s embrace. She felt his body radiate heat, he warmed not only her body, but her heart in an instant.

“I see you, with Tenzin’s kids.” Mako ran his hand down her back, comforting Y/N as best he could. “They look up to you more than they do anyone else. You’re really amazing, Y/N. I’m surprised you don’t hear it more often.”

Right then and there, Y/N realized exactly what she needed in her life—and it was Mako.

If she was being honest with herself, he hadn’t exactly caught her eye before.

She thought he was somewhat bland at the Glacier Spirits Festival and the whole double girlfriend situation definitely didn’t spark her interest in the firebender, but now here she was..

Crying in his arms, confessing her insecurities, and feeling heard.

She had never felt heard before.

“I think you’re really amazing.” Mako blurted out. 

He cringed at his confession, hoping that she didn’t take it the wrong way. If there even was a wrong way to take it.

Mako felt Y/N grow still in his arms. His heart pounded in anticipation for what her next words would be.

To his surprise she pulled away..

Before pressing a deep kiss to his lips.

Mako immediately responded. His mouth moved languidly with hers, connecting in the most perfect way, as if they were meant to be.

His entire body nearly combusted. Her bright spirit combining with his fiery one.

Mako felt like sunshine was running through his veins.

She pulled away, giving him one last chaste kiss.

“I think you’re amazing, too.” 

i love feedback pls give me some

[melancholydreadfuldream]

Hell-bound with you

Fandom: Doctor Who

 Pairing: Doctor x Reader

 Summary: You are the unwilling companion of the Doctor.

 Warning: ooc, plot holes as usual, dark!doctor, insanity, etc. You have been warned.

   A/N: I hope this post show up in search result  just fine. The part four of my other fic I posted at the end of last month just won’t show up in any search result, tags not working. I hope this one work okay.

     I watched in amusement from my spot as Jack tried to summon the Doctor but failed instead, he kept getting her companion. I couldn't help but laughed at the old man expression when Jack kissed him in the mouth. 

  I was surprised when the old man, Graham, revealed that the Doctor is now a woman. Jack is giddy with excitement as he wanted to see the Doctor so much. But he kept pulling in the companion instead. Yaz and Ryan. 

  Eventually Jack realized that the judoon technology is the reason why he can't pull the Doctor to him. Personally, I was grateful that the Doctor is not here. I wouldn't want to catch his - i suppose now - her attention. I admit I am a bit curious about how she looks like. The Doctor's first time as a woman, I wonder how she will act.

  My attention snapped back at Jack as he warned the companion about the lone cyberman. It was all very cryptic. 

  Turned out the companion has never encountered a cyberman before so they understandably are confused.

 Both Jack and I had suffered together in the short time since we met and you know what they said about forming a close bond during a life and death situation. It makes us comrade.

  Jack knew some stuff about me that I would never tell anyone. I am so grateful that I met him while stranded in this alternate universe. 

  Of course, it just my bad luck to have landed in a time period where cybermen overrun the world. I was lucky I met Jack. It would take me forever to sort thing out otherwise. I shuddered at the thought of being taken by cybermen for conversion.

  I didn't know what to think of the companion because I didn't know of them. I didn't know of the newest incarnation of the Doctor being female either. There were rumor floating around about it but I missed her first season on the account of finding myself suddenly existed within the impossible DW universe.

  I hated it. It wasn't fun. And I ended up ruining the Doctor's timeline. I had to run from him when he changed into that monster. Oh, I know he would come looking for me sooner or later. He would never let me go just like that. Misery loves company and all of that. Some part of him did blame me for changing him, I just know it.

  But running away and found myself stranded in another DW universe isn’t exactly how I planned my escape. The upside of being here is that I’m finally free of that person.

  I heard an amused chuckle within my mind and I frowned. Right, I guess technically I am still haunted by that person. I glared at the bow-tied figure that only I can see, a proof of my insanity. I tried to ignore him and his unwanted commentary on whatever it is Jack and I did.

  This particular universe thankfully still follow the canon, I think. I don't know if it will be a blessing or a curse my escape being here, knowing my luck it will ended up as another curse. I do know one thing, this time I have to avoid the Doctor at all cost. It will be hard, I'm sure, as I felt it so many times before back then, someone pulling the string and play on me like a puppet. Of course, no one believe me, not even that person.

  I didn't know the future of the Thirteenth Doctor but I will still be a threat to her should she realized what I am. That's what happened with that person. He insisted that I stay with him and everything has gone wrong ever since. 

  I tried not to think about that person and his now-never-happened future courtesy of me, of my presence, in his life.

  "(Name)?"

  I snapped out of my trance as Jack called out to me in concern.

  "Is it him?"

  I blinked when I realized I must have been talking out loud and thus gaining Jack and the companion’s attention. "I'm fine."

  Jack gave me a look that said he didn't believe my bullshit. 

  I ignored him. I noticed the companion are staring at me as if I was insane. I held back a frustrated laugh. Well, I am insane, somewhat.

  Jack introduced me to them. “This is (Name). She is with me.”

  "Is she a friend of the Doctor too?" Graham asked Jack.

  "Well..."

  "No." I firmly said as I glared at him in warning. "Oh, just shut up." I glared at an empty space on my left.

  The companion stared at me warily.

  “err, did she just talk to an empty space?” Ryan asked.

  “Yeah, she does that.” Jack replied, not taking his eyes off me.

  I tried to focus on Jack and the companion. I rubbed my forehead, feeling a headache forming.

  Jack's frowned as he observed me. "She's...complicated." He suddenly yelled in pain as the nano-genes started to attack him. He complained very loudly.

  I was worried for him. "It’s time. We should leave here, Jack." I said as I grabbed him. “You already did your part, warning them.”

  "You are right but there is...” Jack groaned. “...one more thing, (Name), you are not coming with me."

  "What?! What the hell are you talking about?" I punched his arms in annoyance.

  Jack rubbed his arms and give me a look. "You should go with them and stay with the Doctor."

  I was pissed. I thought he understand. "No. You..."

  "I know what you think of her but I still think you would be safer with her than with me. Also, maybe she could help you with him." Jack replied, turning to glance at the space I have been staring at before despite not being able to see what I see.

  "Like hell, I'm not going! And you can't make me!" I yelled petulantly.

  The companion stood there looking confused at our argument.

  Jack let out a sad smile. "I'm sorry, (Name)." He took my hand that is on his arm and let it go.

  I blinked in confusion and annoyance. I was momentarily distracted and Jack took that opportunity to activate the vortex manipulator on my person and I suddenly blip out of the ship and found myself on Earth instead.

  7777

  I almost lost my balance as I landed harshly. I cursed loudly.

  I saw the Doctor's companion materialized not too far from me.

  "Son of a..." I growled. "That damn head jar!!" I cursed Jack. "Shut it!" I snapped on the empty space near me.

  The companion stared at me warily.

  I groaned in annoyance.

  "We should go find the Doctor." Yaz suggested.

  "Yeah, you guys go ahead. I'm out of here." I said.

  "But I thought that Jack fellow said that you should stay with the Doctor?" Ryan asked.

  "Ignore that cheeky bastard's words!" I said and then stopped myself. "Except about the cyberman. That was true. Alright, I'm leaving." I waved at them and left despite their protests.

  Screw Jack. He is not the boss of me. 

  7777

  I walked without a purpose as I ponder over what I have to do next now that Jack has abandoned me. Like hell, I’m sticking around to see the Doctor no matter how curious I am of the female Doctor.

  “He’s right, you know, you would be safer if you stay with the other Me.” He said.

  I glared at him. “And what? Risking of her turning out like you because of me?”

  “I think you give yourself too much credit. I was always going to turn out this way sooner or later. Valeyard, remember?”

  “But you are not the Valeyard.”

  “Yet.”

  “And that’s what make it worse. I did this to you. I turned you...”

  “Victorious. That’s what I am, thanks to you. It wasn’t that bad.” He said with a shrug.

  “You burned down planets!”

  “I did that once in a while. You know this." He is referring to Gallifrey. "Besides, you know they deserves it.” He said as a dark expression crossed his features.

  “We lost Clara. I wouldn’t call that victorious!!”

  “And we avenged her.”

  I was ashamed that it was the truth. I did help him to avenge Clara’s death. In fact, I was the one who urged him to do it because I couldn’t accept her death. They haven’t even done Trenzalore yet. And now they never will. Because of me, Bow-tie won’t even get a new set of regeneration. But considering how he turned out, am I doing the world a favor by limiting his life to his eleventh self? Now he will not get the chance to regenerate into Eyebrow. Or did I just make it worse? Like he implied, he is very well on his way into becoming the Valeyard.

  “I am curious about the Doctor of this universe.” Victorious pondered. “I have never regenerated into a woman before. I was on my last regeneration right now."

  I tensed at that. I kept reminding myself that the person in front of me is not quite real so even if he did figures out the truth, there is nothing he can do about it. No Clara, no new regeneration. Unless he made me fill her shoes, play her role so to speak on Trenzalore. I hope not. Well, I had escaped him, somewhat. 

  The real Victorious probably was too busy right now to ponder about the calling of Trenzalore. And knowing him now, he might actually let Trenzalore burns.

  I think I bought enough time for myself so it might take him a while to locate me especially since I have a bio-damper ring on my person to hide the void stuff that apparently covered me when I first arrived in DW universe. With the ring, he won't be able to track me down easy. It also help hid my presence from the Doctor of this universe too.

  I sighed as I stared at my 'companion', the one only I can see, an accidental result after some weird mind meld with the Doctor. 

  When I first took a glimpse of him the first time I was stranded in this alternate universe, I thought he was somehow in my head, then I beginning to question my sanity, creating a shadow figure of the Doctor in my headspace. Seemed like I could never be free of the Doctor. Part of me believed I deserved it, to be haunted by the Doctor that I ruined.

  Sometimes I really thought he is the Doctor when he suddenly said things that sounded like something the Doctor will says. And then he is being all sarcastic with his unwanted commentary on everything I do and...meh I thought of him as a figment of my imagination designed as my personal demon to torture myself. But, weirdly he does know information that I could not possibly know, things that the Doctor or some other screaming genius might know but not little stupid, ordinary Me. There is no way if he is a hallucination created by me for him to know those complicated stuff. Anyway, thanks to that, Jack trusted me, I did save his life, both our life actually, by following the advice of the shadow Doctor. 

  Jack believe me albeit a bit reluctantly at first and eventually did trust me enough to watch each other back through hell and back. It was all very dramatic but also rewarding as we formed a friendship. Unfortunately, he's loyal to the Doctor hence he disbelieved me when I said I am bad for the Doctor, he still somewhat believe the Doctor is the answer to fix everything that could go wrong, even though he should know better. 

  I groaned as I ponder on what to do now. I understand the truth in Jack's words that I might need the Doctor of this universe help should Victorious able to track me down to this universe. But I am also right about my presence around the Doctor never bode well. So you see my dilemma?

  Thankfully the Doctor and her companion never look for me. I guess she is not curious enough with me.

  Back then as I watched the first two episode of season 6, I found it weird that bow-ties who supposedly adores children, didn't bother to look harder for little Melody Pond after she escaped the astronaut suit. Maybe there is some additional information about it from DW book or the audio-book but I never got my hands on them.

  Anyway this is good. It would be troublesome if she did decided to track me down.

  7777

  I thought I covered my track very well but the time bounty hunters somehow able to track me down at some black market in some random planet. It was weird but it seemed the Tardis translation circuit still work on me even if I am not anywhere near the Tardis. Or maybe it is thanks to that annoying 'companion' of mine?

  I'm following the advice of the shadow Doctor to find an equipment to, as he said he will indulge me for now, hide me better. I used my vortex manipulator given by River a long time ago at the Library. She taught me how to use it so that I won't accidentally kill myself while using it.

  Anyway after I purchase the said equipment and before I could use it per the shadow Doctor's instruction, the hunters found me.

  Honestly I hope the self defense lesson I got from River and then Jack would be enough to at least help me escape my pursuers. I thought I did good but they still found me.

  That's when the shadow Doctor 'helpfully' told me that I had a tracking chip somewhere inside my body courtesy of the real him. That bastard. Putting a tracking chip without my knowledge or permission like I am some freaking pets.

  I glared at him angrily.

  He grinned in amusement. "Hey, technically it wasn't me who did it."

  "Close enough..." I muttered.

  He told me the equipment I purchase earlier should destroy the chip into dust inside me without harming me in the process. Removing the chip would be better but without the correct equipment and a professional medical knowledge, it would be too dangerous.

  But before I could use it, they found me again. I was at some random abandoned building. One of them broke my wrist as I fought him. I screamed in pain.

  "Hey, don't hurt her! He won't be pleased!"

  "She won't stop struggling! She bites me!"

  I groaned in pain as they pushed my whole body on the wet floor.

  "She is not to be harmed in any way." Someone said. "The client is very specific about that one. He need her for something. He is willing to pay so much for her."

  My eyes widened in fear as I realized they are not planning to take me back to Victorious. That would be even worst. Are their client some enemies of the Doctor who is trying to take me as hostage? Or do they after the knowledge I have of the Doctor? But there is no way someone could know. I was sure Victorious remove all threat on me.

  I catches the glimpse of dark expression crossing the shadow Doctor's feature as he too listen to what the men had said.

  "Who even is she? Why do they willing to pay so much for her?"

  "Don't you know? She's the consort of that guy, the Doctor."

  I rolled my eyes in disdain at that misinformation but made no move to correct them. There is no point.

  "For real? But she is running from him? Why?"

  "Have you been living under a rock? That man has gone insane. Who would in their right mind stay with him?"

  "I heard the stories about him."

  "Not stories."

  "So, is it wise to betray him like this?"

  "You assumed we got the job from him but we didn't. By the time we hand her over to the client and got our money, with this technology to cross over universe..." He glanced at the elaborate vortex manipulator on their wrists which you assumed they got from the said client. "we can make a new life in some other universe. He won't be able to find us."

  The shadow Doctor chuckled coldly. "Whoever that client of their is, I know they are not stupid. To go after what is mine, they would have to take care loose end in order to remain undetected from me." He said as he observed the men. "That vortex manipulator probably has an expired date on it and more..."

  He turned to look at me, kneeling before me with almost a bored look. "I did warned you that you would have been safer if you stay with the other me."

  I glared at him. "Quit talking, do something." I hissed at him.

  He smirked. "You didn't say please."

  "Who is she talking with?" One of the men asked.

  They hauled me up to face them.

  "You are not very smart, are you?" I said with a smirk. "He is already here. The Doctor. Or should I say Victorious?"

  They looked around nervously.

  I pulled my sonic screwdriver, the one I stole from Victorious, and set out sonic sound, as instructed by him, that momentarily hurt everyone's ears but also caused some old hanging lamp to either explode or fell to the ground, causing chaos. 

  I ran immediately out of the building. Ignoring the growing pain in my wrist, I yelled at him to tell me how to use the equipment to destroy the chip. I moved the equipment to some spot of my neck and pulled the trigger.

  I clamped my mouth as burst of hot fire pain filled me. I gasped as I fell to the ground. Tears filled my eyes. I felt so dizzy.

  I distinctly heard him telling me to stay awake and ran. So I did albeit really slow.

  Like I said before, someone or something seemed to be pulling the string on me because as I made my weak escape, I found myself face to face with the companion I met with Jack weeks ago and there is a woman with rainbow stripes on her clothing with them. The Doctor, my mind supplied.

  Shit.

  "It's you." Ryan whispered, seemingly surprised to see me.

  "Doctor, she is the one we told you before. she was with Jack." Yaz explained.

  The woman glanced at me in guarded curiosity. She walked toward me and opened her mouth to say something but I fainted right into her arms.

  7777

  I woke up inside the Tardis in the medical bay. How did I know that? He told me.

  The Doctor, the female one, entered the room and smiled upon seeing that I already wake up.

  I no longer feel any pain, not on my broken wrist and on my neck. I assumed she fixed that. And someone changed my wet dirty clothes with something comfortable.

  I heard her yapping about the danger I put myself using the equipment she found with me. I didn't listen, still a bit too dizzy.

  "Who are you?"

  "(name)." I replied.

  "Ok, (name), I'm the Doctor. My fam said you were with Jack and that he instructed you to stay with me?"

  "He was wrong." I said bluntly. I forced myself to get up and stand up despite her protest. "I should leave."

  "You can't. We are in the vortex. Also you were hurt. Who hurt you? Also who put a tracking chip inside you? You destroyed the chip using that equipment. Are you running from a prison? Did Jack broke you out of prison?"

  I groaned and chuckled harshly. "You talk too much." I said as I clutched my pounding headache. "Prison, huh? I guess you could say that. Oh, shut up." I snapped at my right.

  "Who are you talking with?" She observed me curiously. "The fam told me that..."

 "I am a bit insane? That would be correct. Better stay away from me, doc." I said in derisive.

  She glanced at me.

  "Stop looking at me like that!"

  "Like what?"

  "Like I am some animal in a zoo."

  "I am so sorry."

  "For what?" I asked in confusion.

  "For whoever hurt you like that." She whispered. "Yaz changed your clothes. She said you have scars on your arms, consistent with someone being restrained and being injected and also..."

  "Stop." I glared at her menacingly. "That was private. None of your business."

  She, thankfully, stopped talking about that topic. But she suddenly pulled my sonic screwdriver. "How did you get this?"

  I took a deep breathe trying to calm myself over the fact that she and Yaz invaded my privacy. "It's mine."

  "Not possible." She said firmly.

  "Uh-oh, someone in trouble..." I heard him said in a teasing sing-song voice. I glared at him before turning to face her. 

  "Someone gave it to me." I lied. "Now give that back and let me leave." I demanded.

  She shook her head as she took a step back. "Did you steal this?"

  "Ding dong, she got it!" The shadow Doctor answered cheerfully much to my annoyance.

  Fine, I'm going to give her some shock value. "River gave it to me, satisfied?"

  The Doctor look shocked, her mouth dropped open. "You know River? River Song?"

  "That was a low blow, (name)." The shadow Doctor whispered at me in disappointment.

   "She was my friend." I spat. That wasn't a lie, technically. River was my friend but in the other universe, not in this one. "I'm sure you wouldn't know me, Doctor. She wouldn't talk about her friends with you. Mostly because you would not be interested." 

  The Doctor observed me, trying to spot the lie. She seemed satisfied to find none. But she is still suspicious though. "Why would she give you this?"

  "For my protection. I will only know how to use it whenever I was in danger." That one is not a lie since the shadow Doctor only tell me how to use it whenever I need to escape danger.

  She hummed at that, probably wondering if I ever misuse it. She didn't seem to keen of returning it though. At least she didn't confiscate the vortex manipulator.

  "Jack vouched for me. Do you think he would send someone not trustworthy to you?" I said. The answer is yes, by the way, because that traitor Jack ignored my warning how I am not good for the Doctor's timeline. If I am to stay with her, predictably things will not be canon again and it will definitely be hell-bound.

  The shadow Doctor chuckled at what I said.

  The Doctor didn't say anything.

  I raised an eyebrow. "I guess you don't trust Jack or do you only trust him when he is useful to you?" I asked in vicious tone. "Fine, keep the damn sonic screwdriver."

  "Oh now you have done it. She is not going to let you leave now." The shadow Doctor helpfully informed. "That is my 'i-don't-trust-this-person-i-need-to-solve-what-she-is-hiding' look." He grinned gleefully.

  I almost want to slap the jerk if not for the fact he is not really there so it is kinda pointless.

  Resigned to the fact that I am stuck with the new Doctor, I am determined not to let her in my head. A mistake I made with bow-ties which in turn caused him to become Time Lord Victorious.

  But I have no idea what the future hold for this version of Doctor and her companion. One thing for sure, the canon is about to go to hell, especially since I have no idea what to do and what to avoid doing.

  "I think you should stay with me. I can help you with whoever after you. But I need you to trust me."

  What a hypocrite. She doesn't even trust me. Why should I trust her? 

  "I don't want to intrude. Just dropped me back on earth at 2020." I said.

  "Oh, bad year." The shadow Doctor supplied. 

  "I insist you stay here for a while. After all, isn't that what Jack want me to do? Welcome to the Tardis. It is..."

  "I know what it is. River and Jack told me."

  "Well then...if they trust you, I am willing to give you the benefit of the doubt..." She smiled brightly. "Welcome aboard, (name). We are going to have adventure of the lifetimes."

  If she think I would rejoice, she is sadly mistaken as I stared at her flatly, not impressed.

  He chuckled at my expense.

  The Doctor glanced at my unimpressed look, sighed. "Well, you are a tough one."

  7777

  And so I ended up becoming the Doctor's unwilling companion...again.

  She re-introduced me with her fam and officially give me a room in the Tardis.

  Yaz is wary of me but Ryan and Graham are nice and friendly.

  And just like that I got pulled into their adventure. I tried to refused saying I'm feeling ill most of the time, preferring to stay behind but unfortunately the Doctor doesn't trust to leave me inside the Tardis.

  Does she think I could drive the Tardis or something? Seriously...

  7777

  I was stuck in a nightmare. I was back with Victorious and he punishes me for escaping. He trapped me in a special room designed to punish me mentally. He always did know I am weak mentally. He was surprised that I could survive this long by luck alone.

  I saw the laughing figure of a trickster, saying the joke is on me and...

  I woke up to the concerned face of the Doctor, the female one.

  I remembered now. I fell under the clutch of some wannabe gods from ancient Syria. They fed from people's nightmare.

  The woman, Rakaya, glanced at me wickedly, saying I have some delicious nightmare.

  The Doctor saves the day and able to trick the wannabe gods into eternal imprisonment.

  At the end, as I sat with a blank expression on my face on the stairs at the console room, Yaz and Ryan approached me and asked if I want to talk about my nightmare.

  I just said that I dreamed of being back in the room. They didn't push me for more. Yaz, being a police officer, probably suspected based on my scars, that the room was where I was imprisoned before.

  7777

  Darn it.

  Despite my determination not to get attached with the Doctor and the fam, I failed. Damn adventures and dangers and excitements, it does bound us closer with each other. I saved them, they saved me.

  "Admit it, you miss this, didn't you? The adventures, dangers, excitements?" The shadow Doctor teased me. "You got used to it already."

  "what about you?" I asked him. "Do you miss being the Doctor? Saving people and planets instead of destroying them on a whim?"

  He was silent. For once, he left me alone. I think I hurt his feeling despite him being a hallucination.

  7777

  Once I was almost taken by another bounty hunters, the Doctor rescued me and declared that I am under her protection and anyone who want to take me, will have to go through her first.

  The oncoming storm expression on her face is enough to make them back off and I was left in peace.

  The Doctor is not pleased that I still won't tell her the reason.

  "You have your own secrets and I have mine. Respect that!"

  "I can't protect you if you don't tell me the truth." The Doctor had said.

  "Fine, let me leave. I can take care of myself!"

  Both the Doctor and the shadow one snorted at me much to my anger.

  The fam has to interfered with our arguments. 

  "Cool off, the both of you!" Yaz demanded.

  Reluctant to leave for the next adventure but having no choice, I went with them. Another life-threatening incident passed with me rescuing Ryan, softened the Doctor and she apologies to me, sort of. 

  7777

  It finally happened. As Jack warned, the lone cyberman has come.

  The Doctor asked me the thing that the cyberman after so I told him about the cyberium. Jack did told me about it in passing. He was part of the alliance, after all. I guess he told me about it because he always planned to dump me at the Doctor. I admitted I hold a grudge against Jack for this still.

  The Doctor took me with her but instructed the fam and the rest to stay put. She asked me more about cyberium. I honestly don't know anymore but she kept pressing me, taking her frustration at me.

  To be honest, she frighten me at that moment, reminding me of Victorious.

  From the way the Doctor reacted when she explained about cyberman to the other, the shadow Doctor concluded that she must have lost someone to the cyberman.

  Bill Potts, my mind supplied. I knew she was supposed to be the Doctor's companion after Clara. Since Bill is not here anymore, I can only assume she is the one the Doctor lost.

  The Doctor raced against time competing with the cyberman called Ashad to get the cyberium before him.

  She eventually figured out the cyberium is possessing one of the residents in the house. She managed to trick the cyberium into leaving its current host.

  The cyberium is attracted to the Doctor for a host much to my horror as she started to blurt out something the Time Lord Victorious would say.

  I saw the shadow Doctor glanced at the other Doctor in amusement and curiosity. His eyes darkened with the lust for power. At that moment, he look so much like the real Victorious I have to believe he is truly him, not a pale imitation of him.

  He turned to look at me as he finally notice the look of dread on my face. "You see? The Doctor has always headed to this..." He said with a chilling smile. "It wasn't you who turned me, dearest (name)."

  "Get away..." I whispered in fear. I snapped out of it and yelled at the other Doctor, "Doctor, don't!" at the same time as Yaz.

  Thankfully, the Doctor snapped out of it too.

  The lone cyberman threaten to destroy the planet right that second if the Doctor refused him the cyberium.

  Having no choice, the Doctor give its back to him. I have failed Jack. I know she has no choice but this meant Jack and the alliance would be in danger again.

  As we returned to the Tardis, the Doctor made a plan to go after that asshat, I mean, Ashad. 

  She prepared some machinery in order to fight against the cybermen armies. At least she is confidence she could win this. 

  I planned to go with her to help and rescue Jack and then I am going to slap the hell out of him.

  7777

  Of course, things just don't worked as well as the Doctor planned. We are in the far future where the last of the human race located. I couldn't find Jack or the alliance.

  We are overpowered by the cybermen and got separated from each other. I ended up with Yaz and Graham while the Doctor is with Ryan.

  Somehow we ended up in cybership with the cybermen armies in the middle of waking up.

  We are trapped. Everyone is panicking. I heard Yaz tried to talk to the other Doctor via an unreliable communication device.

  I turned toward the shadow Doctor. "Do something!"

  He turned to me with a chilling smile. "I have taught you before, right?"

  I swallowed down my fear. "Please..."

  He sighed as if what I am asking him is too troublesome.

  I jumped when the steel door started to shake some more under the constant attack from the cybermen.

  "You remembered when you were taken from me by the Division?" He suddenly asked.

  I remembered it. I was taken, my mind half lobotomized in order to gain access on what I know of the Doctor. I woke up to everyone in the building died. I assumed Victorious did it.

  "I could activated the physic bomb I planted inside you."

  "What?!" This is the first time I heard this. "What the hell is that? Why do you insist of putting things in me?" I lost it at him. I am furious, wouldn't you be?

  "(name)!" Yaz called out to me in concern but I ignored her and the rest who thought I finally lost my marble.

  "Oh chill out, it won't kill you, well, only temporally." He said as he played with his nails.

  "Bastard!"

  "If I activated the psychic bomb, you and everyone in this ship will died, well not you obviously, and the cybermen but they will lost all function for roughly an hour or more. Enough time for you to escape, well, once you are resurrected that is." He said.

  "What about them?"

  "What about them?" He parroted. He shrugged. "Not my concern."

  "The hell with that! Save them too!" I demanded.

  "I warned you not to get attached..." He sounded bored now.

  "Find another way!"

  "Why should I?"

  "Please. You are the Doctor."

  "I'm not the Doctor anymore, remember?"

  "Fine, you are victorious! So prove it!! Save them and be victorious over the cybermen!!" I screamed at him, tears of desperation filled my eyes.

  He took a look at me and relents. "Fine."

  I let out a shaky relieved breath at his answer.

  He instructed me to tell the mechanic of the bunch with me to remove some electrical thingies to support enough for teleportation for all of us to escape.

  "It is not enough!" The mechanic said. "Only enough for four and there are seven of us!"

  "If only someone has a sonic screwdriver..." The shadow Doctor said mockingly. "Guess you have some decision to make, little (name), which four gets to escape with their life."

  I cursed the other Doctor for taking the sonic from me. To my surprise, Yaz pulled a sonic screwdriver from her bag.

  "She told me to give it back to you." Yaz explained.

  My mouth dropped open in shock. I laughed in near hysterical and turned to the shadow Doctor with a grin. "Tell me."

  He sighed in exasperation. "Fine."

  I used the sonic as instructed, giving the teleportation enough power to transport all seven. "Go!" I instructed Yaz and Graham and the rest to go first.

  "What about you?" Yaz demanded.

  "I have one last thing to do." I turned to the shadow Doctor as everyone left the ship. "Do it."

  He glanced at me with a look and smiled. "Being a martyr?"

  "Buying them some time. They are far enough not to get affected by the psychic bomb, correct?"

  "Correct."

  "And you are the one who said I will survived it so not a martyr."

  He hummed. "You sure?"

  "Do it."

  "As you wish."

  Just as the door crashed open, I screamed as he filled my head with so much pain it triggered the bomb creating a pulse of energy that sweep the cybermen off their feet.

  I clutched my heart as it was rudely stopped.

  The last thing I saw is the shadow Doctor hovering over me, muttering something I couldn't hear.

  "I only ask because triggering the bomb would send a signal directly to him..." He said. "He is coming, (name). I am coming."

  7777

  I slowly opened my eyes, found myself on the ground. "Oww..."

  The Doctor and the fam are there, surprised to see me alive.

  The Doctor scanned me with her sonic. "But...this is impossible." She blurted out. "You are only human, how can you...? You are immortal? Like Jack?"

  "Ugh stop talking. Can I get some water please?" I pleaded.

  Everyone stared at me weirdly but an old man thankfully gave me some water.

  The Doctor still couldn't get over the fact that I survived and demanded to know what I have been hiding from him.

  "Take it easy, doc, she did save our life." Graham said.

  The Doctor relented.

  "The cybermen..."

  "Out of commission for now. How did you do that?" The Doctor asked.

  "Tell you later."

  She glanced at me. "You better." She said firmly before turned to Ko Sharmus who showed us to the Boundary and there a portal opened.

  Both the Doctor and the shadow one blanched in horror when they recognized the ruins of Gallifrey.

  And then some random guy leaped out of the portal.

  "Master." I heard the Doctor spatted in disgust.

  "What?" I accidentally yelled. Last time, to my knowledge, the Master is Missy, though? What happened to her?

  "Like a pest...he just keep coming back, huh?" I heard the shadow Doctor said with a chuckle.

  The Master demanded the Doctor to go with him. She refused at first. But when he threaten to kill the rest of us, she relented.

  Reluctantly, she goes with the Master through the portal, instructing the rest of us to stay behind.

  "Follow them." The shadow Doctor demanded. 

  I stared at him as if he has lost his mind.

  "Do it!" The force of his words gave me headache.

  "Oh, alright! Geez!" I glared at him in annoyance but did as I told and the pounding headache lessened just a bit.

  Yaz and the other tried to stop me but I told them not to follow me.

  The Doctor is enraged when she saw me. "What the hell? (name), get back out there!"

  The Master is not pleased to see me either. "Control your pet, Doctor, or I will be forced to kill her."

  I glared at the shadow Doctor at my predicament of having two very angry Time Lord. "I have no choice, okay!" I said to them.

  The shadow Doctor chuckled and told me to say something for him intended for the Master.

  "Like hell, I'm gonna say that. He is going to kill me." I refused as I glared at the empty space beside me much to the confusion of two still very angry Time Lord. He wanted me to call him by his name 'Koschei'. I clutched my head. "Oh, fine!!"

  "You always have such a sort fuse, Koschei." I repeated word for word.

  Both the Doctor and the Master flinched and glared at me suspiciously.

  Great. Nice going. Is he planning to get myself killed?

  "How do you know that name?" The Master demanded.

  "He told me." I gesture to the empty space beside me.

  The Master stared at the empty space before chuckled darkly. "Your pet has gone insane, Doctor?"

  I stared at him flatly, trying to cover my fear. "The Doctor told me." which is the truth. "just not the Doctor you know." also truth since the Master technically never met bow-ties.

  The Doctor stared at me in confusion.

  "Yeah, don't care." The Master shrugged and pointed his gun at me as I raised my hand in surrender but the Doctor stood firmly in front of me, shielding me from him.

  "Don't you dare." The Doctor hissed at him.

  "You don't want to do that. Unless you want me stop both of your hearts." I said, more like repeating the shadow Doctor said.

  "Are you threatening me?" The Master look pissed.

  "(name), who are you talking with?" The Doctor turned around and grabbed both of my arms, demanding an answer out of me.

  "I..." Is this it? Do I have to tell her the truth? I turned to look at the shadow Doctor. I swallowed down hard as I look at the Doctor and then at the Master. "To answer your question, yes, that was a threat. How do you think I made the cybermen lost his function, Doctor? I have a psychic bomb inside me, killing me would trigger it, would kill myself and stopped both of your hearts. So unless you want an early death, I suggest you temper yourself." I said as flat as possible.

  Both Time Lords stared at me in shock.

  "Psychic bomb? Who did that to you?" The Doctor demanded in concern and slight fear.

  "The Doctor did." I said softly.

  She released me as if stunned.

  The Master curiously looked at me and the Doctor. "Oh fuck this, you ruined my moments, ape!"

  "(name)..." The Doctor stared at me as if I grow two head suddenly.

  "Come on you two, we need to be somewhere else right now!" The Master demanded.

  The Doctor grabbed my hand and took me with her as the Master led us the ruin of the citadel.

  As we entered the hall of matrix chamber, the Master suddenly hit me over the head, causing to collapse on the floor, losing my consciousness.

  Both Doctor and the shadow Doctor are enraged at my behalf. The Master claimed he need her attention on him, not on her stupid pet.

  7777

  I woke up to huge commotion. The Master is yelling something at a hologram of Ashad and his armies, asking them what happened. We could heard explosion. He turned to the Doctor asking her what has she done but the Doctor claimed it wasn't her.

  They were shouting at each other. Until a signal caught on his communication device.

  "A signal. The four taps of two hearts." The Master suddenly said in confusion.

  I glanced at those two as they started to bicker again. They are the last two Time Lords, so who was it that send him a signal?

  My heart suddenly beats faster as dread filled me.

  "The signal is getting close but something seemed to prevented it to come through..." the Doctor said as she pulled her sonic at the device that now emitting some sort of pulse. A portal suddenly appeared in the middle of the room.

  I turned toward the shadow Doctor who look at me fondly. I couldn't decipher the meaning of it for a time. He suddenly started to fade away and my eyes widened as I suddenly have a realization.

  "No!!" I shouted at both the Doctor and the Master trying to make them stop just as a pulse of energy exploded knocking all of us off our feet and I lost my consciousness once more.

  7777

  The portal opened. A man in bow-ties and dark purple suit stepped out of it.

  The Doctor and the Master groaned on the floor. They looked up to see the newcomer.

  The Doctor froze in shock when she saw her past-self. Her mouth dropped open.

  He fixed his bow-ties with a grin. "Finally..." He turned and glanced at the other two Time Lords. "Hello there."

  "Who the hell are you?" The Master asked.

  "Victorious, at your service." He said, bowing mockingly at them.

  The Doctor's face paled at the name. "But you can't be..."

  "Oh? Why not?" He asked.

  "You were me. And I never, he never..."

  "You are the Doctor. Interesting." He said, eyes gleaming in excitement.

  "You...are not me." The Doctor finally realized.

  Victorious turned toward the unconscious human at the floor. His eyes softened considerably as he walked and squatted before the human, one hand gently removed the strand of hairs covering the face. "I guess even here, you couldn't escape a Me after all, huh?" he said. He sighed as he cradled the human into his arms. His forehead touches the human gently. "Seemed like you still keep some secret from me too..." He glanced at the Time Lady before him with a chilling smile before turning to look at his human again. "You bad, bad girl, what is to be done with this?"

    A/N: I don’t know if there will be more. Maybe if inspiration hit, I will. Bear in mind, if I do write more, I might just add it in the same post instead of making another one so stay tunes? But for now, TTFN.

[ugly-crying-over-bucky-barnes]

Blue Eyes Part 2

Summary: After the Garrison is shot up, the youngest Shelby daughter finds a new home in London. She strips herself of her last name and tries to live a peaceful life far away from her brothers’ chaos in Birmingham. But fate leads her right back into it after she runs into Alfie Solomons.

Part 2: A chance encounter between a Shelby and a Solomons. But neither knows who the other really is. 

           Ella Thorne spent her twenty-third birthday with close friends. They went out dancing at a popular club that January night. It was well liked by the young adults of London who liked frivolous fun mixed with intrigue. There, the ordinary rubbed elbows with the wealthy and the criminal. It was great fun and perfect for a birthday celebration.

           Amelia, Ella’s best friend who she met at work, was a carefree spirit who loved the era. She wore her hair short and her dresses even shorter. She mastered the smoky eye and used her alluring appearance to lure men like a siren’s song. Often times she had multiple men trying to win over her affection at the same time. There were rumors that she’d had affairs with American mafia and European royalty. But behind all the showmanship, the young woman was a kind soul and a loyal friend.

~~~~~~~~~~~

           “Don’t you want to dance with that boy again?” Amelia pointed out a dapper man who had asked Ella for a dance earlier in the night. He stood by a group of well-dressed colleagues. His green eyes kept returning to Ella and he gave her a smile whenever she returned the glance.

           “Oh, I think my shoes have given me a blister.” She replied and nursed her gin. “He’s sweet but not very interesting.”

           “His mate said he’s a banker. Might be well off?” Amelia shrugged.

           Ella smiled but shook her head. She knew money wasn’t everything. “What about you? I’ve seen you dancing with four different men tonight.”

           “Five.” Amelia corrected with a smug smile. “They’re nice and all, but none of them could keep up with me on the dancefloor.” She sighed dramatically and leaned against the bar. "So I assume they couldn't keep up with me in life."

           “I don’t think anyone could keep up with you, Amelia.”

           “I know but…oh shit, look!” She gasped and pointed towards the entrance of the lavish club.

           “What?” Ella tried to see over the crowd of dancers and drinkers but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

           “That’s Alfie Solomons. Bloody hell, what’d you think he’s doing here?” She asked.

           Her friend saw the crowd start to part slowly like the Red Sea. She saw a small group of men making their way through. “I don’t know who that is. But he’s at a bar, I’m assuming he came here to drink.”

           “No, El.” Amelia shook her head firmly. “He’s a gangster but don't let him hear you call him that. Controls Camden Town, s’fucking terrifying. He doesn’t come to clubs unless he has a reason.”

           Ella furrowed her eyebrows. The men drew closer and she finally got a good look at the man leading the pack. Barflies quickly moved aside to let him through. They seemed afraid to be caught in his line of vision. He appeared very intimidating. A black hat cast a shadow over his face; he wore a big coat and multiple rings on his fingers.

           “Just keep your head down,” Amelia whispered to her friend over the loud jazz music. "Ignore him and he'll ignore you."

           Ella had never seen her friend shy away from anything. But she apparently had a good reason just like the rest of the club. She turned and faced the bartender who had gone a little pale.

           The gangster arrived at the bar; he was given a wide berth despite the packed nature of the club. “Evening, Louis.” He greeted the man behind the bar.

           “Mr. Solomons, can I help you with anything?” The bartender swallowed hard and approached him slowly. "A drink maybe?"

           “Nah mate, just out having some fucking fun, ain’t I?”

           “O-okay…”

           Alfie chuckled and gestured for the man to come closer. Warily, the bartender leaned in. With frightening speed, the gangster grabbed the man by the collar and slammed his face against the bar top.

           Ella jolted and watched the bartender pick himself up and stagger back a few steps. His nose was clearly broken and blood streaming down his face. She’d never seen anyone react so violently when they were unprovoked. But no one else seemed surprised. In fact, even the bartender looked like he had been expecting it the moment Alfie walked in. He simply grabbed a towel from under the bar and pressed it to his bloodied nose, wincing from the pain.

           “Your boss is fucking late again, mate. You know I don't give people a third chance. Fuck, you're lucky I gave you lot a second chance.” Alfie continued talking like he hadn’t just bashed the man’s face in.

           “I-I’ll get him on the telephone…” Louis stammered behind the towel.

           “’Course he ain’t here again.” Alfie sighed heavily and adjusted a gold ring on his index finger. “Fucking hiding out and making you face the consequences, s’a disgrace, innit? He's a coward, yeah, and people like that in my fucking neck of the woods don't survive very long.”

           “Yes, sir…”

           Alfie pointed at him with two fingers. “You get him on the phone, yeah, you tell him if he innit down here in two minutes with the proper money he owes me, I’ll fucking kill you both. Right? Good lad.”

           The bartender nodded shakily and hurried off.

           Ella was frozen in place. Her blood had run cold as she listened to the threats the man was dealing out. She wasn’t sure if he would really kill the poor boy but she wouldn’t put it past him.

           “Did’ya hear me?”

           Ella was in such a state of shock that she didn’t even notice the gangster had turned his attention to her. She met his eyes and was partially surprised to see how handsome he was, albeit rough around the edges. He certainly wasn’t the clean-cut gentleman that Amelia fawned after. But had had lovely teal green eyes and a spine-chilling scar that marked his right cheek, not completely hidden by his beard. He was interesting even on face value and Ella couldn't look away even if it meant her safety.

           “Sorry?” She wasn’t sure how she found her voice again. It was nearly impossible to think straight in his presence. It was such a strange contradiction that she felt. She’d watched him harm an innocent young man, continue to threaten his life, and now she was caught up in his appearance.

           “Said your drink’s empty, love.” He repeated himself. A small smile graced his face.

           “Oh uh…” Ella glanced down and saw that she had finished her gin. “Yes, well I…”

           But he didn't let her finish. “Fucking hell, you’ve got blue eyes, don’t ya?” He bent down slightly to come eye to eye with her. “What’s your last name, love?” There was only one other person on this planet that had eyes like her.

           “Thorne,” Ella answered. She’d successfully gotten the name Shelby out of her mouth during those four years away from Birmingham. “Ella Thorne.”

           Alfie nodded slowly. Tommy never mentioned having a relative named Ella. “Alfie Solomons.” He introduced himself in turn. “Sorry, ‘bout the little show.” He gestured to the blood on the counter. "But it's all business, innit?"

           “N-no it’s okay,” Ella replied. She felt someone tugging her arm and saw Amelia give her a look of alarm.

           Alfie raised an eyebrow. “Am I interrupting something?” He asked.

           Amelia shook her head firmly. She looked immensely uncomfortable when his attention turned to her. “No, Mr. Solomons. I uh…”

           “Go and dance, I’ll be right here,” Ella assured her friend. It took some convincing but Amelia did eventually retreat to the dance floor, looking over her shoulder every so often.

           “Ah, your friend’s told you who I am.” Alfie surmised by Amelia's reaction to him.

           “She knew your name,” Ella admitted. But she remembered not to say anything about his profession to his face.

           “And you didn’t.”

           “I can’t say I know everyone in London.” She smiled shakily. "It's such a large city."

           He nodded with an amused look and ran a hand over his beard. “Just an innocent bit then, aren’t you? Small life in a big city, aye?”

           Her lips parted and she thought about her family. She certainly didn't have a small life when she was in Birmingham. The Shelby name gave her a larger appearance. London did make her feel smaller but that was good. Fewer people paid attention to you when they didn't care what your last name was. “Do you judge people based on how they look?”

           Alfie leaned back to take in her appearance. “You a Soviet spy or something?” He cocked an eyebrow.

           Ella couldn’t help but giggle at the outrageous idea. She'd never been accused of being a spy before, let alone one from Russia. “No.”

           He actually let a small smile make his beard twitch. She had a charming smile. “Well, they usually send beautiful women that’ll catch you off guard, don’t they? And when they've got you naked and tied up, they stick a gun to your fucking head.”

           Her cheeks flushed red when he called her beautiful. She was strangely used to crass language. She grew up swearing like a sailor because of her brothers. She tried to be a little more refined now that she was a professional woman, working in an office. But habit was hard to break and Amelia always laughed whenever the girl got too drunk to speak English and reverted to Shelta. The young woman ducked her head and shrugged. “You spoke to me first, Mr. Solomons.” She replied.

           He chuckled and tapped his fingers against the bar top. “Cheeky.”

           “Do you always think you have spies on your tail?” She wondered and tilted her head to the side. “Most people aren’t worried about spies."

           “I’m just a baker, love.” He smirked. “What would spies want with me?”

           The bartender returned with a nervous looking man following him. His eyes were shifty and he looked like he was going to be sick when he saw Alfie standing there. “Mr. Solomons.” The man cleared his throat and tried to look him in the eye.

           Alfie looked displeased that he would have to conclude the business he’d come there to carry out. He was a little more interested in the woman to his right. The one with the bluest eyes he’d ever seen. There was something about her that was drawing him.

           But business was business.

           “Is that money I see in your hand?” Alfie looked surprised. “Really? To think I was going to have to fucking beat it out of you.”

           “I-it’s…” The man’s sentence stopped abruptly and he shook his head. “Erm…here.” The owner of the bar handed Alfie the envelope of cash.

           Ella had seen massive wads of money before and hats full of coins. She often wandered around the betting shop, helping Finn read the betting slips, following Polly around, and seeing if Tommy would let her drive the family car. Sometimes she glanced over her aunt’s shoulder as she opened the safe. It was unreal to see that much money in one place. But her brothers made it happen.

           But Alfie seemed displeased when he took a peek into the envelope. “Seems short. Ollie, count it.” He handed the envelope to the curly-haired man standing to his left. As his assistant swiftly counted the bills, Alfie kept a hard look at the owner of the bar.

           “It’s only half,” Ollie informed his boss and returned the envelope to him.

           Ella saw the owner of the bar go even paler than before. She clutched her purse close to her side and looked for Amelia in the crowd.

           “Half. Fucking half? Louis, mate, did I ask for half or did I ask for the full amount?” Alfie narrowed his eyes at the bartender.

           “F-full, sir.” He answered.

           “So why do I only have fucking half of the payment in me fucking hand?” He demanded.

           Ella wondered briefly if this was how her brothers handled business. She could for sure see John and Arthur carrying out in such a way. She’d seen Arthur threaten men for far less, like accidentally bumping into her on the sidewalk. But she wasn’t sure about Tommy. She often wondered if Tommy was capable of hurting anyone. He was intimidating, sure but that didn’t mean he would be as brutal as her brothers or the man beside her at the bar. She usually considered him the brains of the operation and not the force.

           Alfie pocketed the money in his coat. “I’ve got to take care of some business, love.” He turned to Ella.

           She nodded and realized she wasn’t afraid of him like she probably should’ve been. Like Amelia and the rest of the club was. She knew how gangsters were. They were only scary to the people who had reason to be scared of them. She wasn’t afraid of her brothers because she was under their protection. Alfie didn’t seem like the kind of man who would harm her unless he had good reason to.

           “Have a good night then, yeah?”

           “Yeah…you too,” Ella replied even though she had a good feeling he was going to seriously injure the men behind the bar. But what was that compared to all the men her brothers had harmed? Maybe she'd grown too accustomed to the idea of violence even while she was away. There was always a reminder in the back of her mind that her brothers were dangerous and she didn't even know the half of their deeds.

           He smiled and tipped his hat to her before turning and walking towards the back door of the bar. His entourage followed him as well as the owner of the bar who would be found in the Thames the next morning.

~~~~~~~~~~~

           Ella woke up with a bit of a hangover. Amelia had kept her out into the early morning hours. She’d only managed to get a bit of sleep before the sounds of London woke her up. After getting dressed, she went downstairs and picked up the mail. She sorted through the pile and stopped at a cream-colored envelope.

           Miss Ella Shelby

           She rolled her eyes and knew who it was from. Only Tommy insisted on calling her by her given name. She often missed her family but she felt she had a good reason to stay in London. She had Ada who seemed happy to keep her distance from the family business too. Although these days she found herself more involved.

           Tommy called Ada frequently to make sure Ella was safe and doing okay. He snuck small amounts of money into her bank account, just enough that she wouldn’t get suspicious. He just wanted to feel a little less guilty. Tommy missed his youngest sister but he had to carry on. He just thought she’d be back in Birmingham by then but four years later and she didn’t show any signs of giving in.

           Ella opened the envelope and furrowed her eyebrows when she read the invitation.

           Cordially invited…Wedding…Thomas Shelby…Grace Burgess.

           “What?” Ella whispered under her breath. She shook her head in disbelief and left her apartment to walk to Ada’s.

~~~~~~~~~

           “Married? I thought Grace was just the barmaid at the Garrison, what on Earth?” Ella shook the invitation at her sister. “What is he trying to pull?”

           “El, it’s not some master plan,” Ada assured her. “Sit, I’ll make you tea.”

           Instead, Ella threw the invitation on the table and followed her older sister into the kitchen. “Ada, he wrote Shelby on the envelope!” She exclaimed. “I told him…”

           “He misses you. They all miss you.” Ada interrupted her. “You know how much they care about you.” She started the kettle and pulled out two teacups.

           Ella huffed. “Why is he marrying her?” She asked suspiciously.

           “They have a child together now. He only thought it was right and I think he really does still love her.”

           Her mouth fell open. “A…what? A child?”

           Ada sighed softly. “You’ve been away from Birmingham for longer than you think.”

           “I…” She scoffed in disbelief. But the shock of the news hit her in the heart. She hadn’t known her brother was a father now. She didn’t know her new nephew even existed. “When’s the wedding?” She asked quietly.

           “Next month,” Ada answered and poured her sister a cup of tea, adding in the milk and two sugars she always requested. “I think it would mean the world to him if you were there.”

           Ella looked at her feet and sighed. “I know.”

           “He’s got a lot on his plate right now. The Oddfellows, the Soviets, the London outfit.” Ada listed off and went to sit down in the parlor.

           She sat on a sofa and slowly stirred the milk into her tea. She wrestled with the idea of attending her brother’s wedding. Could she really be heartless and refuse to go? Or would she be protecting herself? She had hardly any clue what Ada was talking about anymore. Used to be her brother only dealt with the other gypsy families, the police, and the people in Birmingham. “The London outfit?”

           Ada waved her hand with a shrug. “Other gangsters who work from London. The Italians, the Jews.”

           Ella had a sinking feeling in her gut. If Tommy was getting involved with firms in London, then she was more open to being victimized by his enemies. “Are we safe?” She asked.

           Her sister nodded. “Of course. Tommy knows what he’s doing.” Both of the Shelby girls weren’t completely sure about that but he always seemed like he had a plan for any possible scenario. “I would just stick to the areas you know. Stay out of Camden and don’t trust anyone who says they’re a fucking baker.”

           Ella stared at her. “A what?”

           “A baker. Usually means they work for a distillery in Camden Town.”

           “Oh…” Ella felt her chest tighten. Had she come into contact with one of her brothers' enemies? Was that why he asked her last name? He thought she was a Shelby because of her blue eyes. She had just lied to a very dangerous man and now she could only pray she never came into contact with him again. Even though she had thought about his playful eyes all night and how her heart had skipped a beat when he called her beautiful. A fucking baker. Tommy would have a fit if he found out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Masterpost

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[inosuketingz]

the sheets are stained with blood [p.2]

( gif source rafikecoyote )

PART ONE [ PART TWO ] PART THREE PART FOUR Victor Zsasz x fem!Reader Warning: swearing, mentions of sex, violence, blood, spoilers for Birds of Prey Word Count: 1980 A/N: I promise I am not dead I just disappeared. I do plan on extended this fic to like far off places so if you want me to tag you in upcoming parts, feel free to ask!

 Victor’s knife digs deeper into your neck and you groan. His face isn’t an inch away from yours, his breath able to tickle your nose. 

 “I’ve got a special place on my back for you, Night Hex,” Zsasz insists. You roll your eyes. People only started to call Night Hex after your first few encounters with Wonder Woman. It just so happened that they all occurred during the night, and now you’re stuck with that shit hole of a super villain name. 

 You grab onto his arm and he instinctively tries to jerk it away, but your grip is tight as you chant “Mutanter et nos, mutanter et nos, mutanter et nos.” One of the first spells you ever learned- it allows you to swap positions with whoever is in your grasp.

 In the blink of an eye, you are standing where Zsasz stood, holding his knife into his neck. For a second a look of shock and confusion crosses his face until that shit-eating grin returns. 

“Spooky,” he mocks you.

 “I hate to rain on your parade, Mr. Zsasz, but I’m not in the mood to be another one of your slaughter animals.” You pull back, making sure to keep the weapon on you. “Maybe next time, though.”

  He doesn’t move from the wall and you watch him watch you, waiting for him to say something. You two share a moment of silence, VIctor staring you down with hooded eyes.

 You aren’t sure if you should get nervous right now. You could easily overpower him with one one of the plethora of spells you know. But, it’s not like you’re immortal or anything. All it takes is for him to grab the nearest sharp object to gut you- and you’re a goner. 

 “Why the hell are you here?” You question and quickly add “And how the hell did you get into my apartment?” 

 Again, he doesn’t say anything. Instead, you watch him reach into the back pockets of his dress pants and you immediately slam his knife into his shoulder before he can pull anything out. A small, but joyful smile forms on your lips as you stare down at him. Your strength is in your witchcraft, not weapons. When your instinct led you to shove the knife into Zsasz’s skin, you were only about 50% sure you were strong enough to actually hurt him. 

 He looks  up at you as he pulls the object out of him. “You didn’t even let me answer, bitch.” And then he tries to lunge at you. Again- you are a witch. Not a weapons-master nor a body builder. From what you’ve heard about Zsasz, his strength is impressive for a normal human. One punch from him could knock you out. 

 Since you started practicing your witchcraft after turning 18, you found out there were a lot of pros and cons that came with it. Pros are; with the right spell, potion, ritual, or object- you are capable of doing practically anything. Cons are; these things take time. So in cases where a psycho is attacking you with a knife, and you don’t have time to say a three-line spell, you have to act from the top of your head. Usually not the best idea.

 And, in this scenario, as Zsasz’s hand’s only a little a couple of inches away from your face, your brain tells you to raise your leg and slam your foot on his groin as hard as you can. The chunky platform heels you’re wearing help with the effort. 

 Victor stumbles back, dropping the knife to cup his crotch in pain. You lurch for the weapon the second it slips out of his hand and shove Zsasz to the ground, straddling chest as his back hits the floor to keep him from moving. 

 Maybe dealing with Wonder Woman these past few years has its perks.

 Holding the knife up in warning, you repeat yourself “What do you want, Victor?”

 Again, he smiles. “So, you really don’t remember me, huh?” He, again, changed the subject. 

 “What?” You lowered your arm in confusion. “The fuck are you talking about?” A man like VIctor Zsasz is not one you could forget. But, he doesn’t let it go.

 “I mean, sure, it was a couple of years ago, but c’mon. I wasn’t that bad, was I?” He’s amused as he speaks. He knows the more ambiguity he says, the deeper he gets under your skin.

 You watch him chuckle and narrow your eyes in thought. Admittedly, your history is a long and fanatical one. Maybe you did come across Zsasz one time or another.

It's when he continues his monologue that the bulb in your brain finally lights up. “What was the name they gave you? Cosima or some shit?” 

 You struggle to come up with a reply. Cosima? In the least cliche way; you haven’t heard that name in years. Victor laughs at the shocked look on your face. “You do remember!” He feigns appreciation.

 Your parents never took too great of a liking to you. As they raised you and your twin sister, with the knowledge that only offspring becomes a witch, it was clear that they wanted that witch to be the latter, Talia. You couldn’t blame them, of course. You were a little shit, constantly hanging with the wrong crowds and causing chaos around the city. And then, you inherited the powers. They were angry about it. A month later Talia went missing. They became angrier.

 Their favoritism never really bothered you, and you and your sister were actually quite close. You didn’t take your sister’s disappearance well. What started as you stealing a few things from the corner store as a kid turned into sex, drugs, high theft, and more. 

 So, they kicked you out. For the first few months, you couch hopped from friend’s house to friend’s house. At this time, you had almost no experience with magic, so scamming your way through life using witchcraft wasn’t an option. Then, one of your friends proposed a job offer. She worked as a dancer at a gentlemen's club where there happened to be an opening. 

 Workers also got free housing, so you took the friend on her offer. You never imagined that you’d work as a stripper, but at that point- you were desperate for anything. 

 Rich men from all over the world came to the club, one of them being the rich Gotham entrepreneur Vikram Zsasz. He was well into his 40’s and brought with him a couple of employees for his company- as well as his 25 year old son, Victor Zsasz. 

 It was so hard to draw a connection to the Victor who lays cackling on your hardwood floor to the fresh-faced young man who visited that day. He was a completely different person, you wouldn’t have ever remembered it was him had he not mentioned it. 

 The younger Zsasz moved with energy and pride, like some arrogant frat boy. He was attractive, as he still is, with clear skin that lacked the tally marks that plague him now. When your boss escorted you and a few other girls to host the group of men, he was chugging a glass of scotch like juice, his platinum blonde hair styled in a messy side part. 

 You remember his attention always being on you as you sat with the party. You never thought much of it since there was always men and women lusting over you while you danced. His eyes watched you with adoration, unlike the disturbing leers he gives you now.

 You would have declined his offer when he asked you to spend the night with him had he been anyone else. But, he was hot and you were horny so you accepted.

 He was equally as cocky in bed as he was at the gentlemen’s club. He kept telling you to “lay back and let him do all the work”, something you didn’t have a problem with since it wasn’t like you planned on doing shit anyway. He attacked your pussy like he hadn’t eaten in days. The feeling of his tongue swirling against your clit and his fingers deep inside of you had you pulling at his hair. 

 When he inserted himself inside of you, you remember that he was rough. He took you from behind first and held you by your neck as he continuously ordered you to call him “Daddy” and praise his work on you. 

 For about two hours, all that filled the hotel room were your moans, his groans and the sound of your skin slapping against each other. 

 Your face warms and you feel yourself growing wet from the thought. You don’t even notice when he placed his hands on your thighs. 

 “Guess I wasn’t so bad after all, witch.” His voice pulls you out of your thoughts and you’re reminded that the Victor you’re straddling isn’t the boy from your memories. 

 He’s an insane serial killer whose body count of corpses ascends over the Wayne Tower . A devil who lurks the streets of Gotham. One ready to take the lives of any that come too close to him, including you.

 You push yourself off of him. “Don’t call me that, dickhead.” 

 “What else should I call you? My little slut?” He sits up on his elbows and smiles when you roll your eyes. “Or maybe a fucking cocksucker? That’s what you are anyway-”

 “If you’re not here to kill me, stop wasting my time,” you cut him off. He’s trying to get into your head, with his twisted teasing and reminders. You’re not in the mood for any of it. 

  He glances at the stab wound on his shoulder. It wasn’t too deep, but his printed Versace dress shirt is stained with blood. “What, you’re not gonna help with Daddy’s wounds?” He taunts you.

~ ~ ~

 Zsasz moans in comfort as he slips into the bath. His arm was stiff since you actually did wrap his gash on his shoulder. You made sure you tied it too tight, so much so that it almost cut the circulation off his arms. But that didn’t matter. It’s the fact that you did it which he cares so much about it.

 He picks his phone from the pockets of his pants which he tossed on the bathroom floor while getting undressed. He opens the photo app and taps on an untitled folder. In it are images of you, ranging from low quality helicopter shots of your encounters with Wonder Woman to pictures he snapped of you from your apartment window without you knowing.

 When he saw you that day at the club, he was immediately fascinated with your looks. When he returned to Gotham, you were all that took up his mind. He was obsessed, but he lost you. You were hours away, in the dangerous parts of Boston without anyone to watch over you. 

 His parents died a few months after his encounter with you. After that, his depression led him to the gambling addiction where he lost it all to Oswald Cobblepot. He was ready to end it all when he met Roman. By then, he almost forgot about you until your face showed up on nationwide news one day as everyone dubbed you Wonder Woman’s new foe.

 He zooms in on a photo he had taken of you in the shower. Your breasts were nearly in full view, if it wasn’t for the stupid fucking plant you had in there that blocked much of the window. Zsasz smiles.

 He’s lost everything. He lost his parents in the car accident. He lost his fortune in the Gotham casino. He lost Roman to that bitch, Harley Quinn. He’s lost everything. Everything except you.

[kutemouse]

Not-A-Date Date with Jimin

Disclaimer: The images from my header belong to BigHit and BTS, but I edited them together.

Age Recommendation: 16+

Warnings: Angsty fluff... I mean, it’s just a coffee date. Jimin’s still a vampy asshole. Swears?

Word Count: 1,627

Preview: And with that, I left you sitting speechless, your coffee not even half-gone. My stomach rumbled once more, and I clutched it, feeling the hunger roil through me like a monster all its own. “Soon,” I thought. “Very soon.”

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

Jimin’s POV

I spotted you before you spotted me. I took a draw from my coffee cup, swallowing the liquid that would warm my body and put some color in my cheeks so I’d look a little more human. Your gaze locked onto me and I appreciated the way you did a bit of a double-take. I’d let you know this was casual, but I’d dressed up a little more than I had for our last encounter. I wore tight black slacks with a belt, a collared white shirt which I’d neatly tucked in, the top few buttons undone just enough to catch your, and everyone else’s, attention.

You, in turn, wore jean capris with rips and tears along the legs, white sneakers, and a loose, black v-neck that stayed modestly above your breast line. So cute. So innocent.

“Hi,” you said, a bit out of breath as you slid into the seat across from me.

“Hello.”

“You already ordered?” you said pointedly.

“Yes, but get whatever you want. It’s on me.”

“It better be,” you grumbled, getting up to order from the barista.

It had been quite the hassle getting you here, despite the fact I’d sworn up and down this wouldn’t be a date when I texted you.

Me: It’ll be more of a hanging out, getting-to-know-you thing I promise

You: I still have no idea why you want to “get to know me” in the first place

Me: Let me show you why. You don’t trust me? Fine. I’ll prove to you I don’t have any motive other than to find out more about you.

You took a long time to reply, leaving me on read for a good 24 hours before finally responding.

You: Fine. Coffee tomorrow. 3:30.

I had no idea what made you finally agree. You seemed dead-set on keeping your distance from me, but here we were. Technically, I didn’t lie. I wasn’t going to try anything during this meet-up. I truly wanted to get to know you. If you were going to be my main meal for the next however-long, I needed to know you were the type that wouldn’t get yourself into any trouble. And by trouble, I mean drugs, excessive drinking, sleeping with anyone other than me… I wanted your blood to be as pure as possible for my maximum pleasure.

You sat back down, a large iced coffee in your hand, glaring at me. You looked annoyed, but I could see through you. You were cautious, yet hopeful. Naive, but not to the point where you became a cliche. For me, it was the perfect mixture.

“So, I’m guessing you have a couple hours before work, right?”

“Are you stalking me now?” you said, rolling your eyes and biting down on your straw. I briefly wondered if you had an oral fixation and how fun it would be to exploit that.

“Not at all. Just guessing judging by your occupation.”

“Yeah, right.”

I leaned forward, locking our gazes together, causing you to stiffen. “Listen y/n… I’m here because I want to be. Do you think you could tone down the hostility a bit?”

You looked away and I caught a trace of guilt before you sighed. “Fine. I just… why am I here, Jimin?”

“It’s like I said, I want to get to know you better.”

“But why?” The words came out as more of a whine than a question. Cute.

“Because you caught my interest,” I said. Your expression changed then, going from pouty to almost a smile. Got you.

“Listen,” I continued. “Let’s play a game, shall we? I’ll ask a question, then you ask a question, and so on until you feel more comfortable with me.”

You nodded, taking another sip from your coffee.

“I’ll start. Are you a university student?”

You shook your head, the straw sliding out of your pretty mouth before you replied. “No. I wish. Tuition is… well, I’m saving up to afford it. That’s why I’m working so much.”

“Can’t your parents help out?”

“They aren’t really around… and that’s two questions,” you said, pointing a finger at me.

I chuckled. “You can ask me two questions then.”

You thought for a second before asking, “What do you do for work?”

“What do you think I do for work?”

You gave me another eye-roll. I was beginning to live for those. “It’s my turn to ask the questions, remember?”

I sat back, amusement making the corners of my mouth turn up. “I partially own a company that retains a large number of hotels and resorts around the world.”

“Partially own?”

“Yeah. My six childhood friends and I started the company together.”

“Six? Wow, I don’t even know if I have a whole six friends, let alone a group that I’ve known since I was a kid,” you said.

I chuckled once more. I was truly enjoying myself. Normally I’d have to fake my laughs and interest, but you were like a breath of fresh air compared to the usual company I kept. You were bold, blunt, sarcastic, and rude, and I can’t remember the last time I had to chase my prey this much. I hoped you’d be just as entertaining when you found out the truth about me.

“I somehow don’t believe that,” I said, reaching out to put my hand over yours. I stared into your eyes, delighting in the way your cheeks flushed pink. “You seem very personable to me.”

You scoffed, awkwardly sliding your hand from mine and hiding it under the table. “If you consider me personable, you really don’t know me at all.”

“Which is why we’re here… so I can get to know you.”

“Are you sure?” you asked abruptly. “I mean… I think it’s nice you’re taking me out for coffee and everything, and I liked how you didn’t push the whole date thing on me again… but why me? I mean, you could have any girl you wanted… why me?”

It was clear you weren’t going to let this go. I guess it was time for me to come clean. “Well, I do have a slightly ulterior motive for asking you here, but in my defense, I was going to wait until later to talk to you about this.”

You threw me a look of pure disgust. “I knew it.”

“Hear me out,” I protested, leaning towards you once more. “My company, Bangtan Enterprises, is looking to expand its interests.”

Your look changed from disdain to confusion. “And what does that have to do with me?”

I leaned in even closer and lowered my voice almost to a whisper. “This is top secret information. You have to promise me you won’t tell anyone else about this… except those whom I tell you to.”

You leaned in towards me as well. “I promise,” you said, your tone mocking but your eyes curious.

“Bangtan Enterprises is planning on opening a nightclub in the abandoned warehouse just a couple blocks from here.”

“Really?”

“Yes. We want to improve this part of town, and thought a nightclub would bring enough high-end clientele to swing the economy upward a bit.”

“Oh, so it’s purely philanthropic,” you said, smirking. “Gotcha.”

You hardly sounded convinced. I sighed. “Well, if people with more money come here and spend it, they will stay for a while and spend it in places like stores, markets, and then other places could start opening up, like boutiques and shops-”

“Alright, I get it,” you huffed. “But once again, how does a nightclub involve me?”

“I need a bartender,” I said simply, taking another sip of coffee. “And you’re my number one candidate.”

“What, why?”

Not going to lie, your constant need to know the reasoning behind everything I did was starting to grow tiresome. “Because you fit the personality of the club. You’re very pretty which will attract more customers, and you don’t take shit from people. You’re tough, you’ll be able to handle any pretentious assholes who come your way.”

You shook your head in disbelief, biting down on your lip cutely. I wondered how good you’d taste if it were me biting it instead. “You haven’t seen much of my actual bartending skills, though,” you said after a beat.

“I’ll train you if necessary,” I said, waving your insecurities off. I wouldn’t let you find an excuse to wiggle out of this opportunity. “And I’ll pay you double your salary.”

“Double?” you gasped.

“Double.”

“But… but what about Sejin? I can’t just leave him,” you said weakly.

“Sejin? You mean the owner of the bar you currently work at?”

You nodded.

“The same bar that will be closing soon because someone has hired him as the manager of a new nightclub?”

Your mouth parted in surprise. “Are you serious?”

“Yes. He’ll be your boss there too,” I said, throwing you a smile. “He highly recommends you, you know.”

“Well… well…”

I smirked, knowing you were about to give in.

“Well… thank you. I will… I mean, I’m happy to take this opportunity,” you finally said.

“Oh, and don’t think of this as charity,” I said loftily. “You’ll definitely be working hard to earn your keep.”

You nodded eagerly. “I understand.”

“Great. The nightclub opens in exactly three weeks from today. Sejin will be closing his bar two weeks from today, and then we’ll spend a week setting up the place and training. Sound good?”

“Sounds great.”

I tossed a few bills onto the table. “See you in two weeks… y/n.”

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

If you like this preview, check out the full story on my Wattpad profile!

[just-kit-ink]

All the rest of WFRR characters loll

*deep breath*

//Okay let's do this! I'm only doing characters that were created for the movie/those that had the most screentime.

Part 1/2

Lt. Santino

1: sexuality headcanon: We never really see/hear about a significant other in the film but I'm going to headcanon that he's bisexual but closeted.

2: otp: ? Maybe he has a lover we don't know about who also works at the police station.

3: brotp: Him and Eddie Valiant of course!

4: notp: Him with Jessica or Dolores

5: first headcanon that pops into my head: That he's been a friend of Eddie's since his brother was still alive and on the force. That he doesn't have as much of a prejudice towards toons as his detective buddy does.

6: favorite line from this character: "Marvin Acme...the rabbit CACKED him last night!"

7: one way in which I relate to this character: He has to look away when Doom dips the shoe.

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character: That he treats Eddie's drinking problem as an inconvinience instead of an addiction.

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?: Complete cinnamon roll, just a very professional one.

Marvin Acme

1: sexuality headcanon: He likes the laaaaddiies

2: otp: Don't know? I always assumed he was already married and if not that at least has a string of messy affairs/seperations with both human and toon women.

3: brotp: I'll bet he was at least on speaking terms with RK Maroon before his death.

4: notp: Him and Jessica Rabbit of any sort, even fake for the cameras.

5: first headcanon that pops into my head: He's pulled the disappearing ink trick with wealthier and scarier people. Some found it amusing, others earned him a black eye.

6: favorite line from this character: "Oh it's a Panic!"

7: one way in which I relate to this character: I love cartoons and I laugh a lot.

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character: The fact that he keeps on pestering Eddie with his gags even after Eddie has made it clear that he's not in the mood. Also the Patty-Cake pictures, where he's making all those sounds but you can't see what's happening!

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?: A little bit of both. On one hand, he loves what he does and clearly has a respect for Toons but he also did business with Maroon which eventually lead to his death at the hands of Judge Doom.

Dolores

1: sexuality headcanon: Heterosexual and in love/going steady with Eddie Valiant

2: otp: Dolores and Eddie

3: brotp: Also her and Eddie as well as her and Roger but I quite like the idea of her being good friends with Jessica.

4: notp: Her and any of her patrons.

5: first headcanon that pops into my head: That she and Eddie love Catalina so much because it was where they met. Eddie, Teddy and their father were doing a circus show there and needed a volunteer from the audience. He pulled a bouquet out of thin air and gave it to her and then pretended to saw her in half - it was so romantic!

6: favorite line from this character: Too many! She's such a sass mouth! "Dabbling in watercolours, Eddie?" "Is that a rabbit in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?" and "Is he always this funny or only on days when he's wanted for murder?"

7: one way in which I relate to this character: That she works hard and is tired all the time.

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character: The scene where she sees Eddie and Jessica together and Eddie's trousers have fallen down while Jessie is talking to him and it looks...bad. Doesn't help tt he bumps his head on her chest as he goes to pull them up.

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?: Cinnamon roll that you don't want to mess with!

Baby Herman

1: sexuality headcanon: He loves human women...and is possibly a little bit gay for some male toons. (But the idea of that is weird to me, because he's literally a baby it's like shipping Stewie Griffen with someone.)

2: otp: Him and his human girlfriend that you see in the movie. I think she's just credited as "Ms Herman."

3: brotp: Baby Herman and Roger Rabbit. Before Roger started being late to rehearsals and messing up his cues, they were best friends.

4: notp: Probably him and Jessica, although he is very envious of Roger.

5: first headcanon that pops into my head: He plays both male and female baby roles. That everything in his home is baby-themed, right down to the giant cot and mobile. If he needs anything, he calls his mistress via a baby monitor.

6: favorite line from this character: "The whole thing stinks like yesterday's diapers!" and "What da hell was wrong with that take?!"

7: one way in which I relate to this character: Looks pure but is actually a foul-mouth.

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character: When he throws a tantrum because he dropped his cigar after Eddie pushed his pram down the hall...and when he darts underneath a woman's skirt...and the fact that he claims to have a "50 year old lust and a 3 year old dinky..." Wtf.

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?: Both. He's a baby who chain smokes and can wrap anyone around his little finger by offering to pay them.

Benny the Cab

1: sexuality headcanon: Well he's a car, so I don't think gender's an issue. If you're wheels are shined and you got a nice set of headlights, he doesn't mind.

2: otp: I'd pair him with a nice flower-glass Corvette.

3: brotp: Benny and Roger. He is Roger's car after all.

4: notp: Him and any human character.

5: first headcanon that pops into my head: That he also often appears in Roger Rabbit shorts, as the vehicle for a quick getaway during a chase, or comedic car wash scene.

6: favorite line from this character: "Sister, Mary Francis, what the hell happened in here?" and "I can't believe they locked me up for driving on the sidewalk!"

7: one way in which I relate to this character: Likes helping, makes sarcastic quips.

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character: That he drives straight through the Dip and burns his tires and has to waddle over to Roger when he finds him which is like the equivalent of burning your feet with acid to him. Also, when he tells Roger to be careful using a real gun because "this ain't no cartoon ya know!" ...As he, a car, drives away in his own car.

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?: Cinnamon roll unless you're a fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Smartass Weasel

1: sexuality headcanon: I'm going to go with pansexual. He only cares if you have status and are not human (though that doesn't mean he hasn't had a fling with one or two.)

2: otp: No love interest in the film. Although I'm kind of a sucker for a tough guy character falling for a really sweet and innocent character.

3: brotp: Him and the rest of the Toon Patrol. He does care for them and he only hits them for laughing because he knows they are suscepitable to dying from it. Also, I feel like he would have gotten along better with Eddie Valiant had he not fallen in with Judge Doom because they're both bitter and hate the industry.

4: notp: I would say him and Doom. Or any of his boys.

5: first headcanon that pops into my head: That he was drawn to be wicked but not a villain. He has multiple other items aside from his suit that are bright pink because he likes to dress flashy...and that the only people exempt from potential target by his patrol are children.

6: favorite line from this character: Honestly, every line of his is terrific. "Step outta line and we'll leave you and your laundry out to dry!" "Say Boss, what do we do with the wallflower?" and "Want us to disresemble the place?"

7: one way in which I relate to this character: Small but feisty.

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character: That all his team members get cute little toon ghosts when they die but he just...dissolves in Dip.

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?: Problematic fave definetly! But even though he's mean, sneaky and carries a lot of weapons, he's also funny, charming and I can't help but feel a bit sorry for him because he was just tryig to please his boss. Weasels certainly are assigned villain roles in cartoons and maybe he was just fed up with it so he decided to become a real one.

Greasy Weasel

1: sexuality headcanon: Heterosexual, biromantic...and he's an utter sex-pest.

2: otp: He needs someone who can reign him and his desires in so he can actually focus on whatever he's doing.

3: brotp: Him and the rest of the Toon Patrol, especially Smartass. He admires his boss' attitude.

4: notp: Him and Jessica. Their encounter in the film is cringe-worthy to watch.

5: first headcanon that pops into my head: That he has a gentler, romantic side deep down but doesn't want to show it because he has too much bravado.

6: favorite line from this character: "I'll handle this one..." followed closely by a LOT of uncensored Spanish curse words!

7: one way in which I relate to this character: We both get crushes easily.

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character: When he reaches down Jessica's dress. He's so confident until her hidden bear-trap clamps onto his hand. He probably replayed the first three seconds beforehand over and over in his head though.

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?: Problematic fav for sure! Perverted, knife-wielding henchman who reaches into someone's bosom in a canon Disney movie. Yet, he's still weirdly adorable. If he were human, I might say different.

Wheezy Weasel

1: sexuality headcanon: I'm just going to say it...I headcanon him as gay and asexual.

2: otp: Don't really see him with anyone unless they're another smoker, (or are willing to put up with smoke.)

3: brotp: Definetly him and Stupid! Look at the way they drill through the wall together and laugh at our hero's predicaments towards the end if the film! They're great pals, having a good time!

4: notp: Him and Greasy.

5: first headcanon that pops into my head: He enjoys Camel cigarettes the best. And he's the best card player in the group.

6: favorite line from this character: It's so funny because he doesn't have many lines in the movie so I'm just going to say his dialogue from the Cartoon Spin ride at Disneyland "But Boss, Benny knows ToonTown, like the back of his tread!" and his laugh.

7: one way that I relate to this character: Chill most days until I see or hear something funny then I lose it.

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character: The fact that he tries to grab onto his ghost to try and pull it back into his body before it leaves.

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?: Problematic fav. Carries a tommy gun and is not afraid to use it, knows that smoking won't do him any harm since he's a toon and is good at following orders even if they're immoral.

Psycho Weasel

1: sexuality headcanon: N/A Psycho is like the family dog. A feral one...that was rescued from the streets.

2: otp: None. Unless you like snuggling, just mind the teeth.

3: brotp: Psycho and Stupid as well as him and Wheezy. Wheezy is like a parent looking after him and Stupid is like his sibling.

4: notp: Basically him with any other character.

5: first headcanon that pops into my head: He doesn't really use his barber-shop razor for anything nefarious, but he likes how threatening he looks with it. Also, when you scratch behind his ear, his leg does the scritch thing where he kicks behind it.

6: favorite line from this character: "Time to kill the raaaabbbit...hee hee!"

7: one way in which I relate to this character: We're both a bit mad. He's just toonier. And we laugh like maniacs.

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character: When Eddie Valiant just straight up kicks him across across the bar when he tries to attack him.

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?: I'm going to say he's a problematic cinnamon roll. He has no problem doing wicked things but he's too small and cute to really be considered awful. At one point Eddie snatches Marvin Acme's will out of his hands and he looks like a kicked puppy. He bad but he baby.

Stupid Weasel

1: sexuality headcanon: A hopeless romantic for anyone, but too dumb to realise when someone's flirting with him.

2: otp: I like the idea of him and an equally dim character so they can both be ignorant and happy together.

3: brotp: Stupid and Psycho. They're just the children of the patrol.

4: notp: Him with his boys or human characters.

5: first headcanon that pops into my head: He once got into a heated argument with another weasel who had broken into their hideout until Smartass informed him he was looking at a mirror.

6: favorite line from this character: Again, he gets hardly any lines. "Boss! Look at the little birdies!"

7: one way in which I relate to this character: I have my moments where common sense just leaves me.

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character: Him falling backwards into a row of humans at the bar when he is pushed by Eddie. They just...goes right down, like bowling pins or dominos.

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?: Despite being in the Toon Patrol he's a total cinnamon roll. I don't even think he knows what he's doing half the time and that's really sweet.

[cicadas-epiphany]

Black Hat’s Past Lovers: The Queen’s Plan

Part 6 and the assumed final chapter to an ongoing fic series canon to this blog, part 1 can be found here.

Hazel sat in her ship, thinking. She has had an idea for a few weeks, but was nervous to suggest it. She knew Umbra well, and she knew he was very prideful. He may reject her suggestion without a thought. But she decided to try anyway.

She made her way to the mansion and climbed into the office window.

“Hello, Umbra.”

He glanced at her, then went back to his work, ignoring the fact that she just climbed through his locked window on the top story of the mansion.

“What is the name of the man with the bag?” Hazel asks.

“Dr. Flug Slys.”

“His name is now Eclipse. Are you close to him?”

“In a way.”

“Do you trust him?”

“Yes.”

“I… may have a solution to…  a problem of yours. Please, listen to me fully. I do not wish to be interrupted.”

Black Hat nodded, leaning his elbows on his desk and his chin on his hands. What could possibly be so important that she breaks into his office and immediately starts going on about? This better be good.

“While being a commander, for all those years, I have come across spells, unknown arts, and long lost religious practices. There… is actually a way to get you a new heart. But Eclipse will have to be the one to give it to you.”

Black Hat blinks a few times. A new heart? How? And why is she coming to him about this now?

Millions of questions swarmed through his head, but he picked just one to ask.

“Why him?”

“It has to be installed by a person you learned to trust during your heartlessness. I have never made one before, but I am confident in my abilities to make it.”

Black Hat stares at her. He doesn’t believe her. If there was a way, he would have known.

“You are spreading lies and false hope. I will allow you to try, but I do not believe in you.”

Hazel nodded. “So be it. Where would I find Eclipse?”

“Laboratory. Out the hall and to the right.”

Hazel nodded and turned to leave.

“Hazel. I have one last question.” Black Hat says.

“Of course you do.”

“Did you lie to me the other day?” he was still suspicious as to why she came back after all these years. He didn’t believe her answer.

Hazel looks at him blankly. “I told you what you needed to know.”

Then she left.

She found the lab and explained everything. Flug was reluctant to help her. Why should he? He didn’t know anything about her, and Black Hat had never even mentioned her before she showed up out of nowhere.

It took days of convincing, but soon Flug was finally, though reluctantly, on board.

“Eclipse. I need that… that tool. Over there.” she says, motioning to it. She needed it to build a charger for the heart.

“It’s called a wrench. AND MY NAME IS NOT ECLIPSE! IT’S DR. FLUG!” He yelled, agitated by the name.

She stared at him blankly. “You ever fucked?”

“WHAT?

“I said, have you ever fucked?”

“I HEARD YOU THE FIRST TIME! Why would you ask me that!?”

“ Maybe getting your ass fucked for once will loosen you up.”

Flug recoiled in disgust. “You’re disgusting. I don’t like you.”

Hazel snickered. “Cool, you want an award for that?”

Flug groaned and passed her the wrench. “How the fuck is she a queen…” He mumbles to himself.

Hazel just chuckles. She knows she can get him eating out of her claws within a week. She managed it with Umbra, how hard could it be with Eclipse?

They worked on building a heart for weeks. Black Hat gave Flug a few months off to work on it, due to some puppy-dog eyes from Hazel, so they weren’t rushed.

Flug was very thankful for the months off, he almost kissed her in joy.

Her first encounter with Dementia came near the end of the first week.

Flug had told her about Hazel, and she was very eager to meet.

“Hi Hazel! What’s MY name?” Dementia asked, hoping to get something cool.

Hazel looks her over. “Hmmm… Eris. Named after the Greek goddess of discord.”

Eris jumps around in joy. “Eris! That’s so cool! I love it!” She exclaims, running and hugging Hazel. Eris giggles and pulls her along, hoping to pull some pranks on Eclipse in the lab on his break.

They spend the day together, when Hazel is available. They grew to be friends quickly, even when Eris knew of Hazel and Umbra’s history.

5.0.5 loved her immediately. She gave him the name Candy, and he loved it.

It took time, but Flug too grew fond of her, but he was still wary.

Soon, after a few months, the heart was built. It was strong and pulsing with power.

They went to Black Hat’s office and knocked on the door. After a few seconds, it opened.

They walked in with a large glass case. It charged the heart as it sat, for it lost power outside of a body. The case was full of redish pink smoke, being expelled from the heart. Black Hat looked at it, surprised that they actually built it. It had a strong glow, illuminating the room.

All they needed to do was to see if it works.

Flug takes the glass case and walks to the desk. Black Hat stands and walks in front of it, standing before Flug. Hazel and the rest stood in the background, the air thick with anticipation.

“I have to be the one to give it to you, beca-” Flug starts.

“Yes, yes, because I grew to trust you in my condition without a heart, blah, blah, blah, GET ON WITH IT!”

Flug jumps. “Y-yes, yes sir!”

Flug opens the case. Using tongs, he pulls it out. Smoke billows out of the case falling from the heart, covering the floor quickly. A thick pink ribbon phased out of the heart, swirling around Flug’s arm before shooting into his chest, causing him to shriek in surprise. A heart shaped glow illuminate from the inside of his body where the ribbon was attached, though it was not nearly as bright as the heart itself.

“Oh my, that is… an odd feeling.” He gulps, sweating profusely. He takes a deep breath to recompose himself before continuing. Flug looks at Black Hat, terrified. He wondered how this would change things and who his boss would become.

He hesitated. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to do this.

“Flug, what is taking so long? Give me the heart!” Black Hat yelled. He was getting tense.

Flug yelped and shoved it forward. The heart hit his chest.

It didn’t go in.

Silence.

They stared at it. Why didn’t it go in? Was it defective?

Silence continued to fill the room, nobody dared to move.

Nobody except Hazel. She groaned and walked forward, irritated.

“You dumbasses. Umbra, calm down. It will not accept you if you are tense. Eclipse, don’t be so violent with it. Be more careful, you could have damaged it! And that would hurt you too, since it already linked to you. Now, try again, and do it RIGHT this time.”

She stood back, crossing her arms and glaring.

Black Hat watched her and laughed. Her dismay was amusing.

Flug tried again while Black Hat was distracted, and slowly moved it forward. It slipped through his form slightly, the glow of the heart fading as it was enveloped with the darkness inside Black Hat. For a moment Flug was afraid it would kill the heart.

Black Hat halted and looked down. He saw the heart going into his chest and stared.

Black tentacles burst from Black Hat’s chest curled around the heart, slowly pulling it in. Black Hat stood there, an odd look on his face. He seemed to not know how to react to the feeling.

The heart suddenly beamed with light, blinding everyone in the room. Starting from the heart, the ribbon began to rot, turning black and bubbling over with cold, black slime, the large bubbles pulsating and jerking as slime spewed and splattered across the floor. The rot climbed its way to Flug quickly, and the heart glow inside his chest mimicked the appearance of a heart shattering. The whole ribbon burst into dust soon after. This all only lasted for a few seconds, though, as at the same time the tentacles from Black Hat’s chest had surrounded the heart, choking its light. It was pulled in and a fizzing sound could be heard.

Everyone held their breath. Black Hat stood there… emotionless.

He looked from person to person, his face blank.

Blinking a few times, he let out a hum.

Flug took a few steps back. “H-how do you feel?” he asked. But his question was left unanswered. He himself felt a little woozy.

“Can you feel?” asked Dementia. “Do you love me?” she tried, striking a smug pose.

But he only stayed silent.

His gaze fell to Hazel. He looked her over, studying her.

Black Hat smiled.

“You are still as beautiful as you were when we first met.”

Flug let out a squeal of shock and fainted, a loud thud as he hit the floor. Dementia screamed, running and clawing at the walls. 5.0.5 stepped forward, hoping for a hug, but Black Hat pushed him away. Hazel watched this and laughed.

Black Hat smiled wider. This felt good. THIS FELT SO GOOD. Oh, how he missed this. He missed her laugh, he missed her smile, he missed her smell, he missed her attitude, he missed HER.

He could FEEL again. And he felt happy.

Hazel stepped forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “How did it feel? Getting the heart?”

Black Hat paused, holding her waist. “At first I felt nothing, but that was quick. An odd warmth stabbed my chest, it felt like needles, but… good. They multiplied quickly, and my body seemed to want more of it. Tentacles came out to help pull it in. The heart hurt but… it was warm. I don’t know, it was just very warm and strong.”

“Do you feel ill? That was a strong heart, you know. I assumed you would need time to adjust.”

Black Hat looked around blankly. “Well, I do feel… strange. I want to cry and laugh, I feel anger and fear, everything is swirling in my head and chest, I don't… I don’t really kno-GAHH!”

Black Hat suddenly jerked away, turning and vomiting black slime onto the floor. It sank through the ground, leaving an acidic hole as it dripped down to the next story. Black Hat took a few steps back.

He was crying.

He panicked. Everything was coming in at once, it was too much. Hundreds of emotions and feelings crashed into him all at once, and he fell to the floor. Every emotion he would have felt over the past hundreds of years had built up and are breaking out of him right now. Hazel ran to help him, but he pushed her away.

He stared at her with anger, and snarled. Then he cried. Then he laughed. Then he clawed at the ground in pain, choking on air.

Hazel tried to help again, but he pushed her away and ran. His body was glitching and thrashing, his form becoming unstable.

Flug woke up and looked around. “Wh- what happened? Did it work? Where is Jefecito?”

Hazel helped him up. “Yes, it worked. But the heart overpowered him. He is having a bit of a melt down right now, just leave him alone and he will be fine. Probably.”

Flug glared at her. “I KNEW this would happen! I KNEW this was a bad idea! Giving him a heart was a mistake, how in the hell is he going to be a villain if he has FEELINGS?”

Hazel stares at him with a deadpan expression. “He used to have a heart, idiot. He was just as evil before as he is now. And don’t YOU have a heart? YOU have feelings too, dumbass, and you get along just fine.”

Flug glares angrily and goes tense. “I should have never let you in the gate.”

Then he turns and leaves.

Dementia walks up and looks at Hazel. She seems upset. “Hazel, are you okay?”

Hazel smiles at her, “Yes, I am fine. I did not take any of his words to offense.”

Dementia hugs her. “I don’t know what you just said, but I think you did the right thing. Blackie seemed really happy before he ran off. Flug is just being a bootyhole.”

Hazel laughs and hugs her back. “Yeah, he is a real poopy face, huh?”

Dementia smiles. “The poopiest face.”

Hazel laughs more and pulls away. “I am going to find Umbra, and see if he is okay.”

“I’ll find poopy face and try to cheer him up, too.”

Dementia runs off and climbs up and along the walls, searching for Flug.

Hazel walks the mansion, searching for signs of the eldritch.

She finds him outside the mansion, sitting next to the front door. His knees were tucked into his chest and his face was buried into his knees. Soft whimpering could be heard coming from him.

She sits next to him. Slowly she reaches forward, rubbing his back in attempt to comfort him. He glances at her, seeing who was there, before going back to his whimpering.

“Are you okay?” She asks.

“I don’t know. It all came in at once.”

Hazel scoots closer. “That is okay. It is okay to be upset and emotional. Just take a few days off to recover. I am sure you will feel better soon.”

Umbra nods. “Yes, I will be.”

Hazel rubs her arm awkwardly. “By the way, Eclipse went on a rant after he woke up. He is angry at us and himself for giving you the heart. He thinks you will not be evil anymore.”

Black Hat looks at her. “What? I am BLACK HAT!” He poses, “I am just as evil as before. I could kill someone right now if I wanted to!” he proclaims.

Hazel giggled, looking away. She stares at the ground, thinking.

They sat in silence for a moment.  It was peaceful. They listened to the birds and watched the townsfolk move around throughout their day.

Umbra stared at her. He still wanted a true answer to his question.

“Hazel?”

“Hm?”

“Be truthful. Why did you come here?”

Hazel stays quiet.

“Well…” she mumbles, “I saw you and… well…”

She pauses again, shrugging.

“I guess… you never really get over your first love.” 

---

Previous: Black Hat’s Past Lovers: The Queen’s Arrival

[krackheadkulture]

God’s Shadow (Pt.3)

Pairings: OC X Hwang Hyunjin Word Count: 6k+ Genre: Gang AU, mafia, comedy

WARNING: MENTION OF VIOLENCE, STRONG LANGUAGE AND PROBABLY DEATH

[THIRD PERSON PERSPECTIVE]

A/N: Andddd this is the finale of the entire story! I didn’t actually know it would be this long but I hope everyone liked it! Anyways, if you haven’t read the story, you can read Pt.1 here and Pt.2 here. I’m so excited for SKZ’s comeback!!!

Kyunghee walked through the crowds, rushing through the push and pulls from people walking around her. She blended in perfectly with the crowd despite wearing such a fancy outfit but she stood out in her eyes; everyone was normal, living a normal life, and there was her, one of the greatest mafia’s daughter that was currently being chased by hitmen and assassinators just to earn a recognition from their bosses and leaders.

She had no connections or way to reach anyone, not Jisung, not Chan and definitely not even her father. She did not have any money on her, she did not know where her phone was or had Chan figured out her coordinates all because she smashed the ring onto the wall before running away; she was the definition of alone. She felt a tear dripped from her face as her pace slowed down and she was getting pushed more often now. Why did she even leave the hideout in the first place? Why did she need to rebel Hyunjin or her father that much? Why was she crying?

She finally looked up when the people stopped pushing past her, heading towards their completely normal life. Why had they stopped? How far did she walked away? She glanced around and looked across her surroundings. Instead of the noises from city life, all she could hear were the waves crashing against the shore, and the crickets frequent whistles. She glanced around before looking up in front of her. A small smile rose on her face.

“I see you have found me,” she whispered, blinking her eyes slowly and let the tears dripped down her cheeks.

-

Hyunjin’s heart was pounding when he exited the hideout. He had to take the backdoor of the hotel to avoid the people from his gang and ran straight to his car to drive away. Why the hell did he even take her phone away from her in the first place? She could’ve been anywhere now at this time. What if she was hurt? What if she was held hostage? What if she was found?

He let out a frustrated yell and slammed the steering wheel hard. He was never going to forgive himself if she was ever hurt.

-

The breeze from the sea blew past Kyunghee’s face as she stared at the waves rippling across the water, the moonlight reflected across the sea. Kyunghee felt calm at last, even if it was for a short time at least.

“How did you find me?” Kyunghee asked, not looking at the companion beside her. “I didn’t have my phone, I smashed the ring against the wall while fleeing and I was brought to an unknown place.”

The person next to Kyunghee smiled slightly. “I’ve known you since you were a kid; we’re literally childhood friends. Whenever you’re conflicted or confused or maybe in a crisis, the first place you would go is the beach, after wondering around aimlessly. It’s funny how you always end up at a beach no matter where you go,” he said. “Was anyone there with you during your escape? Because as far as I know, you didn’t bring a car along with you to the party, and you couldn’t have escape… down the building without jumping extreme lengths.”

“Chan, I- I can’t tell you,” Kyunghee whispered back. “He saved my life…”

“If you don’t tell me, how am I supposed to protect you?” He asked.

“My assassinator,” Kyunghee gave in. “He was supposed to kill me but instead, he saved my life and brought me to his secret hideout… or yeah, it was his hacker’s secret hideout.”

“A-and he hasn’t kill you yet?” Chan raised his eyebrows. “What’s his deal anyways?”

“Aren’t you glad I’m still alive?” Kyunghee scoffed. “But now I’m worried about him, he’s going to get killed by his boss for not completing his mission. And I really don’t know what to do right now because of that. It… it kills me, thinking like this. God, I shouldn’t have left him from the hideout.”

“You escape from their hideout yourself?” Chan asked. “Why don’t you come back to the gang, with a little more training, you would make a fine assassinator.”

“And that is basically the reason why I don’t want to associate with any of you,” she choked a little, suddenly thinking of the events that had occurred. “Just so you didn’t know, I had to use my bare hands to take the life of at least three hitmen targeting me just a couple of hours ago at the party.”

Chan chuckled in amusement. “Lee Young, did not know you were capable of that!”

Kyunghee could not help but smile as well. She nudged Chan at the side roughly and rolled her eyes. “Stop that, Chris. We trained together when we were younger. Both of us know I can handle more than just a few hits.”

Chan rolled his eyes and smiled. The way he smiled reminded Kyunghee so much about their time together last time. Oh, how she had missed that smile. It was the only smile she remembered from her childhood and the only real smile she had ever seen during her training times. It was still surprising enough how Chan still forgave her and still stayed by her side despite leaving everything behind, including him.

“Anyways, how on earth did you even leave the premises without anyone catching you,” Chan asked, tilting his head slightly.

“I didn’t, they just let me off,” Kyunghee whispered, now tearing her attention from the taller boy. She could not help but replay the events that had happened within the couple of hours before. That brief moment in the car with Hwang Hyunjin, how that small tension could make Kyunghee see something in him, how he cared so much for her that he brought her into his close friend’s hideout. That moment when she looked into his eyes, to just see how much worries clouded on the surface of his eyes when he walked out, stressed over whether to kill her or to just bring her to safety…

“So what do you want to do now?” Chan asked, distracting the worries from her mind. “You can’t possibly go back home and expect yourself to continue your normal life.”

“That’s why I changed my mind, I’m joining,” Kyunghee claimed.

“Joining what?”

“I’m coming back to the gang,” she glanced at Chan with a determined smile. “And I promise this time, I’m not running away. Because no matter where else I run, I still can’t run away from my past, so I learnt to just embrace it instead.”

-

Hyunjin stood in front of the plain door to Kyunghee’s apartment. He was breathing heavily as he reached over to touch the doorknob. Carefully, he twisted it open, but it never opened.

“Hyunjin?” The familiar voice of Kyunghee asked. Hyunjin twisted around almost as instantly as soon as he heard his name. And there she was, right in front of his face, the girl he had almost lost his mind searching for.

Hyunjin stride straight towards Kyunghee and wrapped her in his arms while resting his head onto the girl’s shoulders. “W-what were you thinking, Lee Young? What the hell were you thinking? Running away from the hideout? T-that was a good thing but why the fuck did you do that? Did you not know how worried sick I was looking for you?”

“I never knew you were so concerned about me,” Kyunghee whispered, a little shocked at the embrace. “Since you were going to kill me eventually.”

Hyunjin pulled himself away from Kyunghee and a gentle smile rose on his face. “Forget about killing anyone. They are looking to kill me too. L-let’s just run away together… you and I.”

“The only thing I have ever known about you is your name and your motive to kill me, other than that, we’re just strangers, Hyunjin. I don’t even know you,” Kyunghee replied. “And what do you mean it’s a good thing I ran away from the hideout?”

“The men, my boss’s men, they are set out to hunt for both you and I now and they were heading to the hideout you were in… what are you even doing here? What if they come back for you? It’s not safe for you anymore,” Hyunjin chattered away.

“That’s why I did something else,” Kyunghee replied quietly, then recalling back her encounter with Chan. “I-I’m staying with one of my other closest friend, someone who owes me a favour and I’m sure they wouldn’t find me there at all. I’m just here to get my belongings before moving away… for now.”

It was a bad idea to tell Hyunjin everything now. She thought that maybe a little white lie and leaving the fact that she had joined the gang was for the best. She gave the boy a weak smile before opening the door into her house. She sighed as soon as she looked at her small apartment. Furnitures were overturned, clothes were thrown out of the closet, and everything was not at their correct place.

“Why not you help me pack as well?” Kyunghee ignored the mess behind her as she talked to Hyunjin. “The faster we finish packing my luggage, the faster we escape out here from the eyes of the enemies… right?”

-

“You’re doing so great! What did you even eat during your entire life out of the gang to move this agile?” Chan praised Kyunghee as he clicked the stopwatch to a stop as the girl walked up to him. Sweat dripped down her face as she took the water bottle from Chan’s hand and took a big gulp of water. “Did you not see how accurately you threw the daggers at the targets while running the straight line? Incredible!”

Kyunghee chuckled. “You wouldn’t believe it if I tell you I actually train at the gym.”

“Throwing daggers at random people?” Chan raised his eyebrow curiously. He glanced around the training centre where everyone was also training as well.

“No, running,” Kyunghee said. “But… it’s too tiring to run. I don’t get where you get the motivation to run at all!” She pouted and earned a laugh from the latter.

The laughter shared between the duo didn’t last long when a man wearing a suit walked towards them. The atmosphere around him was so cold, Kyunghee and Chan literally stopped laughing altogether even though he was a couple of meters away from them. They turned heads simultaneously to the newcomer. Chan bowed his head down immediately while a frown formed on Kyunghee’s face.

“Good afternoon, Mister Lee,” Chan greeted the man. The man nodded his head at Chan’s direction but never left Kyunghee’s face.

“Good morning Chan,” he replied back. “Would you excuse us for a moment? I would like to have a word with my… daughter.”

“Yes sir,” and instantly, Chan walked away and disappeared through the automatic sliding doors that led out to the hallways.

Kyunghee stared back at the last of Chan. She did not want to look at her father at all. Despite not reconnecting for almost a decade, he still looked the same, with his gel-up hair swept to the side, his stern and cold piercing eyes, his upturned, thin lips that would show no mercy in making comments or judging someone, or the black suit he always wore. He was still the same as she had remembered, just a little older with more wrinkles crimped into every folds of his loose skin, his hair a little finer and whiter.

“It has been long since we have talked, Young. But I just want to tell you that I am proud that you have come back,” her father beamed.

“My name’s no longer Lee Young, sir,” she grumbled.

Mister Lee’s eyes twinkled as they observed Kyunghee’s face. He nodded his head and a smile appeared on the tip of his lips. “Very well… I just wanted to tell you that I am holding an event… like a party for my… business and it would be the greatest pleasure for you to be able to join.”

“Why would I even join you?” Kyunghee asked.

“You’re my daught-“

“My father’s dead,” she snarled. “Have you forgotten someone out there is still trying to kill me?”

“I am well aware that it is one of my… rivalling gangs led by a man called… Spades King,” her father began. “But that’s the entire point, I am inviting him over as well as my other rivalling gangs… to form a truce.”

“Does that include sacrificing me as well?” Kyunghee rolled her eyes.

Kyunghee accidentally made eye contact with the old man so she quickly diverged her attention to the ground as he continued to speak. “No, of course not,” he explained. “Even if anything happens to you, my men will defend you immediately… but not as if you need any help in defending yourself.”

“Fine, I’m in,” Kyunghee decided quickly. It even shocked her how fast those words came out of her lips. She did not know what got into her but her guts were telling her to go to the party.

The smile on Mister Lee’s face widen. He nodded excitedly at his daughter. “I’m so glad you want to join me, Lee- Kyung… hee. Now don’t be late for your next training, setting up and defusing bombs… it is your expertise after all.”

“How did you know?” Kyunghee raised her eyebrow. “The last time I checked, you were never interested in how I am doing since according to you, I disappoint you.”

“I was never not concerned about you,” he replied softly and placed his hand on Kyunghee’s shoulder, only to have it swept off almost immediately. He let out a sigh. “Just… just know that no matter how much you hate me, you can’t run away from your past. It will always come back to bite you whenever you least expect it to.”

Those were the last words that hung on Kyunghee so heavily that when her father walked away, she could feel tears slipping from her eyes. It was when she realised how similar she was with the person she deeply detest. How much she hated being in associated with him.

-

“Say yes?” Kyunghee looked up with pleading eyes at Hyunjin. The two of them were seated next to the beach, enjoying the breeze, the sun and the laughters of children running around the sand barefooted. “Please Hyunjin, just… join me for once?”

Hyunjin was wearing a black cap that covered his eyes, so Kyunghee could not see his eyes or read his expression. “Lee Young,” he was the only one that was allowed to call her by her real name since she had long given up with correcting him. “For the last time, have you forgot my boss still wants to kill me? And when did you even start talking to your father again?”

“I’m not,” truth. “He knew about your boss wanting to kill me and wanted to start a truce with him so he went over to find me,” half truth. “I didn’t want to talk to him but since he found me, being the concerned father he is, he begged me to agree to the party,” and that was a complete lie. She couldn’t help it because she didn’t want him to worry at all. “So… would you be the other half of me at the party?”

It took Hyunjin one last glance at the girl before giving in. “Yes, I will. I’ll go with you, Lee Young, and only because I want to look after you,” he replied and was wrapped in Kyunghee’s embrace.

“Yes!” Kyunghee giggled. “Thank you for helping me in this! You’re the only person I trust with my life since as you know, you are the best hitman ever.”

“Who tried to kill you,” Hyunjin added.

-

“Are you sure you’re ready for it?” Hyunjin asked as he squeezed Kyunghee’s hand. The both of them were neatly dressed for the occasion, with Hyunjin in a suit Kyunghee had found laying around in Chan’s room and she in a floor-length maroon dress. But it was never a real party for them if there were not any knives or weapons hidden beneath their fabric.

“No,” Kyunghee answered nervously. “I had been hyperventilating the past hour getting ready. I’m walking into the den of the most dangerous, murderous and merciless parties hosted ever.”

“So that’s why we’re here for you,” a voice added. Kyunghee twisted her head to her left side and found Chan standing next to her, smartly dressed as well. “And I brought you another companion that I saw and… adopted.”

“Me,” the most familiar voice of Yang Jeongin added. “If anything ever goes wrong, watch me switch off all the light in the split second on my phone and lock all the doors from the outside even with those old fashioned knobs.”

“I never knew you would be interested in my business, hacker boy,” Kyunghee raised her eyebrow.

“I’m not,” Jeongin replied. “I’m only interested in keeping Hyunjin safe.”

“Well, whatever, let’s get going now,” Chan interrupted them and stepped closer to the venue. He pushed the wide and grand doors open, revealing a full house of formally and elegant dressed people. “Let’s get this party going!”

-

As the people at the event moved quietly from one standing table to the next, talking in soft voices as their voices were overlapped by the classical music above their heads. Everyone who were not in the party would have thought it was a launching event for a new product or a very formal meeting, but it was a lot darker than that. Everyone was having a surprisingly pleasant time and Kyunghee took that opportunity to pull Chan away, with Hyunjin and Jeongin equally distracted to avoid their boss. Kyunghee quietly dissolved in one of the many hallways out of the grand hall, away from staring eyes.

“Are you still on board with my decision?” Kyunghee asked, her face turning serious now as she glanced at the boy. “Because if you ever want to back off, now it’s the time for you to do so.”

“Lee Young,” Chan opened his mouth.

“Kyunghee to you too,” Kyunghee corrected.

“Whatever,” he sighed. “I would never leave you alone in any situation and you know that, didn’t we make a pact together? I stick to it and I’m not going to leave you… but are you sure that’s the right thing to do?”

“The only thing I can do for everyone’s sake,” Kyunghee sighed. “I need to save him.”

Chan looked at Kyunghee for a hard second. She could see the regrets and worries in his eyes, how hard he did not want to agree but he did eventually. It was not for her sake at all, it was for someone else and she knew he thinks it was foolish for her to do so.

“I… I just hope you’re doing the right thing,” Chan replied softly and looked down at his trouser’s pocket. He fished the pocket and produced a small ring box. “Here,” he opened the box revealing a similar diamond ring that he had given her a couple of days before for the party. 

Kyunghee could only give him a weak smile. “I-I hope so too and thanks,” she said as she slipped the ring onto her finger. “Just remember to not get Hyunjin seen by anyone. Get him out of here, with my father… and just anyone you could.” 

“Ahhhhhhhhh!” A scream erupted through the crowd just before a gun shot was heard.

The two of them looked at one another in confusion. “Hyunjin,” Kyunghee whispered, looking back and froth from Chan to the grand hall. The both of them could hear and see screams from the other party guests as many scattered out of the place, while some stayed back to fight off the danger. But what was the danger at all?

Kyunghee’s legs immediately picked up their pace as she rushed through the corridor, tearing into the grand hall, barely missing a gun shot fired near her.

“Hyunjin!” She screamed. She could feel her vocal cord straining as she called out his name. “Where the fuck are you Hwang Hyunjin?” Her heart was beating so quickly now. She could not fail now, she could not lose him… just yet. It was too soon to say goodbye.

“Lee Young!” Arms wrapped around her immediately, pulling her into a hug. Kyunghee could feel tears welling up her eyes as she hugged back fiercely the boy in her arms. “I’m… I’m okay.”

“I should never have left you by my side, Hwang Hyunjin. What would happen if you were shot or killed? Oh god, it was a bad idea to have brought you here… I shouldn’t have!”

“What the fuck is going on?” Chan appeared beside Kyunghee as the duo unraveled themselves from their embrace. Jeongin stood close by. “Never mind what’s happening now! Come on into the hallway! At least we will be shielded from the sudden attack!”

“W-we bumped into our boss-“ Jeongin started.

“Former boss,” Hyunjin interrupted.

“Is it that important?” Jeongin splatted at Hyunjin before looking back at Chan. “He found us and asked us to follow him, but obviously we wouldn’t since everyone knew he would kill us the moment we’re out of everyone’s view. But Hyunjin had to be the smartass and tell him no instead of following him and losing him as soon as the crowd started blocking any path towards him…. So he pulled his gun out.”

“And now this has caused a bigger problem. Everyone is now thinking that there’s a mole around here and they’re fighting back. It’s chaos!” Hyunjin added. He faced Kyunghee. “You didn’t bring me here to have me surrender… did you?”

“I wouldn’t, you know that, Hwang Hyunjin,” Kyunghee bit her lips. Because you’re a part of my bigger plan… She looked at her childhood friend. “Where’s my dad now?”

Chan instantly glanced down at the smartwatch resting on his wrist. “He’s still in the grand hall,” Chan replied. “But I don’t think his bodyguards are alive-“

“Then I’ll get him,” Kyunghee said.

“No you’re not. Is he worth it?” Hyunjin cut in, grabbing her wrist. He was not going to lose her as well.

“No, he’s not worth it, Hyunjin, but he is my dad. He was the one that took me under his wing for my first few years,” Kyunghee replied quietly. Her heart hurt to see him like this, all battered and helpless.

“Then let me go with you.”

“No, it’s too risky for even two people,” Kyunghee explained. “There’s too many enemies and so little chance of surviving. I will… come back to you.”

Hyunjin was still not persuaded. His face folded into wrinkles as he looked at the girl in front of him. “No-“

“Now’s not the time to argue, Hwang Hyunjin,” Chan interrupted. “Look, bad people chasing after you now. Let’s get going.”

“I’ll hold them down for you,” Kyunghee volunteered.

“Hell no you’re not!” Hyunjin fought back, taking a protective step towards Kyunghee. “You’re not doing this alone! I’m not going to let you!”

“Then I have no choice but to do this,” Chan grumbled and grabbed Hyunjin by the shoulders. With one hand still holding the struggling Hyunjin, his other hand managed to grab his gun and he hit Hyunjin hard in the cranium with butt of the gun. It instantly knocked Hyunjin out cold.

Kyunghee could feel her heart breaking little by little as she watched helplessly as Chan dragged the boy away, leaving Jeongin and her alone, with very little time to spare before the men coming after Hyunjin reached them.

“Go, hacker boy,” Kyunghee commanded, slipping out a knife hidden beneath her dress. “Please take care of Hyunjin for me…”

“Are you sure you would be safe?” Jeongin asked quietly. He did not want to look at Kyunghee’s face and Kyunghee was actually hoping for that. Her eyes were wavered, filled with uncertainty and worry. Tears spilled from her eyes little by little.

Kyunghee tried to cover it up with a short laugh. “I will be, don’t worry, Jeongin. I have had the early fifteen years training with that merciless god, I can handle this… I promise.”

“And I hope you don’t break your promise,” Jeongin whispered and before she knew it, he was gone already. Thank god he listened to her. He would be free soon… just as soon as she finished what she needed to do.

With that determined mindset, she focused her attention on the three men advancing towards her. She rolled her eyes and wiped her wet eyes and that was before she started moving.

-

Kyunghee found her father at the balcony, overlooking the grand hall. She quickly climbed through the long staircase and ran through the many other hallways to reach him. She was lucky she had asked for the blueprint of the party’s venue.

She barged through the doors that led to the balcony and that was when she saw her father, still looking out of the balcony, his expression never wavered as more bodies fell onto the ground, staining the fine marble floor with crimson red.

“Father!” She cried, rushing towards her father immediately. “Why the fuck are you still here? Why did you not leave when you had the chance?”

Mister Lee merely glanced back at his daughter before looking at the wide spread of murder beneath him. “How did my party for truce turn into something like this?” Was the only thing her father asked.

“Are you fucking serious right now?” Kyunghee stared at her father with those cold hard eyes. Her heart was burning with anger as she continued staring at the back of her father’s head. She could kill him right at this instance. “That’s all you want to say instead of running to safety now?”

“We’re fighters, Lee Young. We’re not cowards. We don’t run away from situations we both know we can manage,” Mister Lee answered, now looking at Kyunghee. “You brought that boy over to this party because you had a plan… am I right?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Kyunghee whispered.

“You should start lying better, my dear daughter,” Mister Lee chuckled. “You knew that boy… what’s his name? Oh yeah, Hwang Hyunjin. He is wanted by his own gang so you decided to meet the both of them up here in this venue where I have a truce between ours and his gang… and what is this for?”

“So most people would evacuate,” Kyunghee replied.

“Evacuate? For what? You and I both know that there’s not any innocent people in here so why not kill everyone?” Mister Lee’s eyes sparkled when he spoke.

“Because I’m not like you,” Kyunghee replied. “I’m not someone who would kill people that deserve a second chance. They came into this place… this murderous background because they had nothing and they thought this was the only way of them to survive. I need to tell them they’re wrong. They do have another way of living.”

Mister Lee said nothing for a while. He just stared at his matured daughter. How fast she had grown to become, how she would have been made to become one of the greatest- if it weren’t for her kind heart.

“You remind me so much of your mother,” he whispered. “Even though your physical appearance and your skills were all adapted from me, it is your heart that differs so much from me… you took your mother’s kind heart instead. You’re not perfect but you never judge anyone else because you believe that they do good in the world.” He let out a heavy sigh he did not know he had been holding and gave a tight smile. “What do you need?”

-

“The exit’s that way,” Kyunghee grabbed her father’s arm as she sprinted across the hallway. There were not many exits left in the building and the closest one was the one where she had led Chan, Hyunjin and Jeongin out. Many people were already dead on the grand hall, their blood puddling up to form one big puddle. Why did they have to fight one another when it was the fault of only one?

She glanced around, expecting to find who she was looking for but he was nowhere to be found. The duo entered the hallway where her other acquaintances had left but Kyunghee was too distracted searching for him, she did not hear her father’s short warning and instead, tripped over her leg, falling straight down.

“Lee Young!” Mister Lee yelled, hurrying back to help his daughter. Kyunghee let out a scream as she tried to stand up, it was impossible; she had twisted her ankle.

“Go!” Kyunghee urged her father. “You have no idea where… where…the Spades King might be! He might kill you if he sees you unprotected, goddamnit!”

“A bit too late isn’t it?” The voice of the one and only Spades King asked. Both Kyunghee and her father looked to the left to see the person she was looking for walking out of the shadows from the many corridors connected to the hallway. “Oh look! Father and daughter! Hwakmin, it was really a shame that this didn’t end later, because I could’ve met your daughter… I assume, Miss Lee Young?”

“Fuck off,” Kyunghee snarled.

The Spades King chuckled in amusement. “That’s… such a bold statement, coming from a helpless girl with a twisted ankle and an ageing old man. Where’s Hwang Hyunjin, your knight in shining armours? Too scared to fight?”

“Look at you, spitting nonsense at people who don’t care a shit you said,” Kyunghee snapped.

The Spades King only laughed. “You stole my hitman away from me and I see I’ve trained him too little because he… chickened out.”

“Enough sprouting your nonsense!” Kyunghee screamed. She quickly turned to her dad. Her face softened immediately. “I love you, dad… even though you haven’t exactly been the best bad ever. Just… you have to let me deal with this alone,” she whispered before shouting,” Run!” As soon as she said that, she grabbed a knife from her heel and threw it in the Spades King’s direction. The small dagger flew swiftly through the air and dug deeply in the man’s left thigh.

Mister Lee was gone by this time and all that was heard were the agonising screams of the Spades King. “You bitch!” He yelled just as Kyunghee brought her hand to her face. She opened the diamond ring Chan had given her a couple of hours ago and smiled wickedly at the man in front of her.

“See you in hell,” she said and her finger touched the button on the finger. All she heard was a Bang! Before a rush of fire hit her.

-

Hyunjin jolted up as soon as he heard the Bang! His heart was beating rapidly, his breathing accelerated, he did not know where he was but his mind was only focused on one thing as his eyes watched the flames dancing through the event’s venue. He could feel the hotness of the heat on his cheeks. What the hell happened when he was trying to help Kyunghee? Why the hell was he outside?

“W-where’s Lee Young?” His voice came out as a stutter as he glanced around, trying to look for help. “W-W-WHERE THE FUCK IS LEE YOUNG?” He screamed.

“She’s gone,” Chan said as he approached next to Hyunjin. “I-I’m sorry.”

“S-she’s- it’s impossible! S-she can’t be gone!” Hyunjin was breathing too heavily now. “We… we were supposed to go away together! R-run away f-f-from t-this nightmare!”

“What she did saved your life,” Chan tried to stay as calm as he could but he knew it was impossible. “She-“

“Bullshit!” Hyunjin shouted. Tears were welling up in his eyes as he continued to look at the building burning down in flames. He jumped up to his feet unsteadily and started running at the burning building, only to be stopped by Chan. “S-she can’t be dead!” He sobbed. “S-she can’t!”

“She lied to me, Chan. What am I supposed to do with that?” Jeongin whispered, staring at the burning building as well. A tear dripped from his eye. “You knew about her plan… didn’t you?”

Chan stared at the empty face of Yang Jeongin. Taking a deep breath, he shut his eyes and nodded quickly. “I… I did,” he stated. “You’re free now. That was what she wanted to do: to set you free. No one will be chaining you to the grounds. You’re allowed to do anything.”

“What can I even do now without her?” Hyunjin cried.

“Help other children that were trapped under the wrong influence of the Spades King. I-I’m here,” Mister Lee added, walking out of the framing building. Chan could see redness around his eyes. “I will help as well. It was my daughter’s last wishes for me to do and I will do it for her. I will help you and the rest of the kids restart at life, give life a second chance.”

“She saved almost thirty children because of this,” Jeongin whispered. “Why did she had to do that?”

“Because she loved Hyunjin,” Chan replied and turned to Hyunjin. “Please, live up to her wishes and help the other children.”

Jeongin walked up to the older boy and wrapped him in his embrace. “Please… just do it for her,” he pleaded Hyunjin.

Hyunjin wiped his tear stained face and peeled his eyes from the fire one last time. He couldn’t smile even if he tried to. “I will… for her,” he whispered. “I didn’t even tell her I loved her.”

[purge-that-urge-rhackathon]

-gently kicks thru the door- how did i only now find ur blog hot dang. hey if ur still doing requests or prompts.. consider... a thing where jack takes care of rhys. just like in whatever way u might want to take that. im thinking like rhys is sick and is 2 pitiful to take care of himself but u can totally... smut that up to ur own tastes should u so desire. yes the first time i interact w/ u its to ask for smut and no this is not out of character for me sdjgskhhffh im so srry

It’s a big internet out there and this blog is only 3 years old…. it happens heheheh xD And you caught me in an excellent mood SO:

This labeled as Assistance. Also on my ao3 here :) My masterlist archive of bullshit i write can be found linked at the top of the blog or here.

–

Rhys was frustrated.

Not just because he’d tripped over his own damn feet bringing Jack his morning coffee, nor from the resultant fracture to his left hand that the doctors told him to absolutely not use for the remaining two weeks as it healed nicely, and not even from the fact that his right hand needed recalibration after the embarrassing face-plant in front of the CEO’s desk.

No, he was frustrated because Jack– for all his teasing and braying laughter- was actually being nice about Rhys’ clumsy fall, had shunted off the majority of hand-intensive work to his secretary, and was being extra considerate and handsy with him in the office in ways that set Rhys’ heart beating faster.

In the very sense of the word, Rhys was getting desperate, and desperation lead to… creativity.

His cybernetic arm was a mechanical wonder of technology, yes, but even without the calibration it so sorely needed, it wasn’t quite the same– or welcoming- as his flesh hand.

He’d considered asking Jack to recalibrate it for him- more than a few times- but the idea of letting his boss into his subsystems and opening up his hardware was…. Well… Jack had a questionable attention span already, and coupled with his brilliant mind, Rhys was worried about what he could possibly put in there. Spyware. Weird voice commands. Or worse, with the connection to his echoeye, he might encounter all the very-specific searches Rhys had done about the man on the echonet.

Not worth it, in his opinion.

His right hand was… usable, yeah, but it wasn’t the same. He wasn’t what he’d call ambidextrous, and the lag in how his fingers worked– imperceptible to others but frustratingly off to him- made even the most enthusiastic jerking-session a lesson in persistence.

He was horny was the thing. Crazy horny. Unable-to-ignore and stressed-out-of-his-mind-and-required-release horny. Release was good, the relief itself a blessing, but he wasn’t satisfied. And the fact that his insanely-attractive boss almost seemed to be touching him more than normal in encouragement, watching him more keenly than usual in case he needed assistance, wasn’t helping matters.

Of course he could have just been being paranoid, and Jack himself was more observant than he was given credit for. But if Rhys didn’t figure out some way to get himself off that wasn’t shamefully sticking it in a sock and fucking between the mattress, then he was probably going to end up short-circuiting something.

And then he’d be out two hands and up one easily-encouraged boner and he could just kiss his professional reputation goodbye.

Not that he didn’t feel he was doing that already.

Jack had given him half days to rest– or more like half-weeks. Rhys spent some days working from the couch in his apartment– or his bed when feeling particularly lazy- and other days spent in the office with the CEO doing not much else than fetching coffee or looking pretty when Jack yelled at people.

He was doing that now, actually, listening to music and working remotely with his echotablet from bed to organize things for Jack’s meeting tomorrow.

Well speak of the devil. A notification popped up on his echoeye; the personal chat Jack had had him install mainly so he could write snarky comments to the younger man during meetings. Though it also proved very useful to quickly communicate since Rhys’ hands weren’t doing what he wanted them to these days.

→J4ckRule5: ive got some shit I need you to personally look through→J4ckRule5: stuff for 2morrow these idiots didnt send in the brief

Crap. What timing.

←Rhy5winz: Do you need me to come in?→J4ckRule5: nah ill drop it by your crappy little apartment after work→J4ckRule5: been meaning to see if that part of helios needs fumigating again :p←Rhy5winz: >>:|←Rhy5winz: Thanks for your kindness and consideration, sir.

There was a pause, and Rhys smirked to himself. Jack was probably laughing at his own jokes, but even more at Rhys’ overly polite response. They were hardly this courteous to one another anymore after working together so long, and his own way of handling his boss made him grin. Jack’s response met his expectations entirely; probably bored with nothing better to do than bug him.

→J4ckRule5: U mad? (:

Rhys smirked.

←Rhy5winz: I don’t know what you mean, sir.←Rhy5winz: Please take care when coming down here.←Rhy5winz: Don’t want any vermin biting our CEO.

Rhys was amused as he waited for Jack to get back to him, the CEO typing for ages it felt, when Rhys realized something.

Shit. He was getting hard over Jack’s playful messages. Really? Over a few innocent texts from his boss about work? Seriously? That’s what was getting him excited nowadays? Jesus he needed to take the edge off ASAP because this wasn’t just embarrassing, but downright insulting. Not to mention what it said about him to be getting all hot over Jack’s denigrating teasing.

Rhys stared at his tented boxer briefs with judgment as Jack’s response was overlaid right over the tip of his dick.

→J4ckRule5: dont get ur panties in a twist there pumpkin ;D

Rhys’ dick twitched at that.

Fuck.

Even as he was disappointed in his cock’s lack of taste in what was erotic, he was already palming himself through his underwear with his metallic hand. Maybe he could make this work.

→J4ckRule5: if u even own panties

Rhys’ brows shot up in interest and a spike of undue alarm at the thought that Jack knew what he was doing went through him– and made his cock harder.

→J4ckRule5: speaking of which:→J4ckRule5: do u own panties? (;

Rhys actually laughed, a husky sound as his cock liked this conversation very much so, and didn’t give much thought as to the appropriateness of the topic.

←Rhy5winz: You can’t bring up a topic and then say ‘speaking of which’, Jack.→J4ckRule5: i just did ;p→J4ckRule5: dont change the subject

Rhys’ chewed on his lips, his breathing deep and hips moving just a little of their own volition against his hand. He freed his cock from its confines and stroked himself, cursing the lag and responsiveness of his hand, but making do.

←Rhy5winz: Wouldn’t you like to know→J4ckRule5: i would ;D→J4ckRule5: answer the question kitten. im really bored here

Rhys allowed his mind to wander, to fantasize over any possible subtext. Bored. Right. The idea that Jack was bored and jerking off in his chair gave him a little thrill. That he was talking to Rhys of all people while possibly doing so made him very excited indeed.

←Rhy5winz: Sorry sir, that is classified information.←Rhy5winz: You don’t have access :p→J4ckRule5: brat→J4ckRule5: and how does one gain access? ;D

Okay, this was some next-level flirting for Jack; playing along and furthering the teasing. And that response was fast. He was either super bored and having a laugh at Rhys’ expense, or he was passing the time by playing a little five-on-one.

Good idea or not, Rhys wasn’t the one writing his responses to the older man so much as his cock was, and all the thoughts of Jack’s hands on him in the office– little innocent but overly familiar touches- was adding to the novelty of the experience.

←Rhy5winz: This is pretty privileged information←Rhy5winz: I don’t know. Maybe you should work harder→J4ckRule5: OH believe me cupcake im the hardest worker on this station

Rhys made a little noise at that, now certain Jack had his dick in hand and taking out his boredom at Rhys’ expense. Well, teasing the CEO back was probably safe at this point, right? He knew Jack appreciated some good word play, and though it was risky, he decided to let the older man know he knew what he was up to. It wasn’t like Jack didn’t make dirty jokes in the office constantly. Turnaround was fair play.

←Rhy5winz: I have no doubt you are ;)←Rhy5winz: Sucks having to take matters into your own hands

Jack was typing for several moments, Rhys’ heart beating and his cock pulsing as he awaited the response. It was shorter than all that typing lead him to expect, making him curious what the older man might’ve sent instead.

→J4ckRule5: ur killin me here cupcake

Rhys snickered at the response, waiting for more, but none came. Huh. Well, that was anticlimactic, though it was useful as he was harder than ever (or as hard as he’d been since the injury) and he quickly forgot about their conversation in lieu of inflating it for masturbation fantasies.

It was going pretty well, actually, and he’d have to thank Jack (in some roundabout way, of course… maybe a cheese and sausage basket to be funny) because he knew it wasn’t going to be a goddamn nightmare trying to get himself off this time. No lubed-up and ruined socks– which was a crime in itself- nor errant twitching of uncalibrated fingers to throw off his delicate movements on his poor neglected cock.

No, rubbing himself against his thighs was actually working pretty nicely, and the smooth metal of his fingers warmed with his body heat actually felt really good. Imagining Jack at his desk imagining Rhys was doing it for him, and rereading their conversation from earlier only added more substance to his fantasy.

So when Jack himself stuck his head around the corner of Rhys’ doorjamb, the younger man thought he was just getting really good at visualizing what he wanted– for approximately a quarter of a second.

Rhys made an impossible sound between a gulp and a squeak– impressive in Jack’s opinion- as he quickly pulled a pillow over himself, face crimson and speechless that Jack was in his apartment, let alone his bedroom.

“Heeeeey cupcake… Whatcha doin’?”

The dirty leer on Jack’s face told Rhys the older man knew exactly what he’d been doing. There was no way out of this, and Jack looked about as pleased as anyone finding someone else jerking their dick possibly could.

“H-How– How did you get in here? Why are you in here?!”

“Was gonna deliver that stuff to you but forgot it halfway after those dirty texts you sent me, kitten. Not to mention, the door locks on this level are ridiculously easy to hack.”

Jack’s grin was predatory, shark-like, and it did funny things to Rhys’ stomach, and furthermore, his cock beneath the pillow.

“This how you’ve been using these work-at-home days? It’s not like I’d stop you if you wanted to do this at the office, kiddo.”

Rhys whined, embarrassed, frustrated, tired, and goddamn horny and just wanting a little relief. His damn cock was still hard beneath the pillow.

It had flagged a little, yeah, but with the object of his fantasy right goddamn there and the way Jack was leering at him, well… Rhys’ cock was a dirty goddamn traitor and he wasn’t getting out of this situation gracefully.

“Cat got your tongue, kitten?”

Jack’s eyes were darting between his face and the pillow, interest and amusement there both but not yet moving closer, and Rhys was so close yet not, and so goddamn fucking frustrated he didn’t even care at this point and rambled quickly to the older man. “…I’ve had a rough week and shit timing and no sleep and I hate this damn cast and being useless and I can’t sleep-” he repeated, “-and nothing is working how it should and I can’t even do my job right and I feel useless here.”

“That it?” Jack asked smugly, still looking expectantly at the pillow.

Rhys knew he was not going to drop the topic, so he internally said fuck it and just blurted out: “…and I’m just really pent up and this isn’t fucking working and if I don’t get off I’m going to strangle someone… with someone else’s hands,” he growled.

A pleased shiver went up Jack’s back as a smirk took his face, and he moved closer as if his personal assistant’s dick wasn’t out and leaking beneath a Hyperion-branded pillow. “Babe, kitten, is that all? If you were horny you could’ve just said so. I’d have been down here ten minutes ago.”

Jack sat down next to him, a hand starting at his thigh and disappearing under the pillow. He heard the way Rhys’ breath hitched, the younger man’s face becoming less red with embarrassment and more pink with arousal, and his whole body very aware of the path Jack’s hand was taking. When it made contact with his shaft, Rhys made a mumbled sort of whimper in his throat, eyes shutting tightly as Jack’s big hand wrapped around his cock and gave him a gentle squeeze. Rhys whined pathetically, and Jack cozied up into his space to whisper smugly into the younger man’s ear.

“Baby,” Jack said, breath hot on Rhys’ skin as he allowed his face to touch Rhys’ own just barely. “I’m always up to get you what you need. Even if all you need is to get off.” He gave him a stroke and Rhys’ hand shot out to grab Jack at the man’s shoulder, bending a little at the waist towards Jack as it felt so damn good and was just what he needed and god he wanted Jack to stroke him.

Jack pressed his lips to Rhys’ neck where the younger man’s flesh was exposed to him, grinning and feeling his own cock rallying in his jeans as he played with Rhys.

The pillow was flung away, and Jack wrapped one arm around Rhys’ waist, the other giving him long, tight strokes that passed over his cockhead every few. It was rougher than Rhys was used to– but he was so on edge and it was so goddamn satisfying and it was Jack doing it to him- and he came relatively quickly with pleased little cries over the older man’s hand.

Jack wiped his hand on Rhys’ sheets before hooking a hand behind his neck and kissing the younger man senseless. It totally blew Rhys’ mind.

Sex was one thing, kissing was another, and Rhys was thrown through so many loops and twists and turns of defied expectations that he threw caution to the wind and wrapped his arms around his boss, the Handsome Jack, and kissed him back for all he was worth.

Jack’s heavy breathing and the way the older man’s kisses turned to nipping bites was already rallying Rhys’ cock for a second time, but he pulled away when Jack broke it, a filthy look of desire on his face that Rhys’ attention was only stolen from by the older man’s tented pants.

“Jack, I-I want to– to– fuck,” he cursed, wanting more than anything to return the favor and get his hands on his boss’s dick like something out of one of his fantasies. Neither of his hands were up to the job and the last thing he wanted to do was have the CEO think he was shit at handjobs, but the way Jack was tenting his own jeans was nothing to tease about. He’d done that to the CEO, and dammit, he really wanted to do something memorable to it.

“Maybe next time, sweet pea,” Jack laughed at Rhys’ words, a big hand on Rhys’ thigh as he bit at the younger man’s neck. “When you’re all healed up and I don’t have a meeting with distribution in an hour. Maybe in my big yellow chair, mm?”

Rhys’ eyes widened as he looked at the older man. Next time? Wait… he wanted to fuck him?

Jesus Antwerp Christ, Rhys must’ve actually fell on his head and not his hand, and he was having a coma-wet-dream right now, because that was right up there in his impossible bucket-list of imaginary jerk-off material.

“In the meantime baby, you don’t need your hands to give a blowjob, right?”

Rhys swallowed and his mouth watered, and at this point he didn’t give a shit about Jack’s smug look that said he knew he was going to get what he wanted, or that insufferable grin that knew how much Rhys wanted to give it to him.

No, the younger man slid off his unmade bed, cock still out at half-mast, to eagerly get between Jack’s knees while the older man chuckled with arousal and undid his belt and fly to remove his cock from his jeans.

It wasn’t the best blowjob he’d ever given, or even in the top five, but the way Jack moaned his name, carded fingers through his messy hair, and talked dirty to him as Rhys sucked him off definitely ranked it among the most memorable of experiences to boot. The strangled curses that left the older man’s lips as he’d come down Rhys’ throat was the best of all, and knowing he was one of the few privileged enough to know the sound of Handsome Jack being thoroughly wrecked was enough to get him through this hellish period until he got full use of his hands back.

“Jesus kiddo, if that’s what you can do without your hands, I can’t wait until you’re all fixed.” He swiped a thumb under Rhys’ swollen lower lip, teasing it over his mouth before applying the barest of pressure. Rhys sucked the digit into his mouth with a pleased hum, and Jack just chuckled, pleased. “Damn buttercup, you were pent up, huh baby?”

Rhys just nodded in agree– would agree to just about anything Jack said right now- and hopped back up on the bed when Jack patted it.

The older man kissed him into the mattress, hand already back on his cock which surprised Rhys enough to make a noise about it, and Jack just laughed until he’d jerked him to full hardness and through another orgasm.

Rhys’ sheets were a ruined mess, and he was more or less feeling the same. His eyes gleamed with satisfaction as Jack tucked his own spent cock back into his pants, redid zip and belt, and told Rhys his work for the day was excellent. It made them both laugh, and Jack moved to leave until he gave one last look at the younger man laying there, the very picture of contentment.

“Forget something?” Rhys asked, voice teasing but dripping with satisfaction.

“Yeah, I did.”

Jack came and bent at the waist to kiss him again, moving to his neck where he sucked and bit at the younger man. It felt good until Rhys yelped, and Jack rose with a laugh, moving Rhys’ hand that had moved to the spot where he’d bit him. There was a pretty decent hickey there. Rhys bruised up nicely.

“What the hell, Jack?”

“Just making sure you don’t forget about me, cupcake.”

Rhys gave him a frown. “We work together.”

“So, so well, sugar pie.” The glare Rhys sent his way had zero effect on the older man. “Okay pumpkin, see you tomorrow, bright and early. Same old same old. Or maybe not so much.”

Rhys snorted. His neck smarted, but he was already excited about work tomorrow, clear this little liaison was going to be continued, and pleased as fucking punch about it. “Lock up after yourself, will you? Don’t want any vermin getting in. There was a big rat in here that just bit the shit out of me.”

“You little brat,” Jack laughed, himself feeling ready for the dullery that was distribution, his own edge without his pretty PA well taken off. “But guess I don’t want anyone else taking a bite of my cheese.” Rhys snorted. “See ya babe.”

Rhys laid in bed for a while after, replaying everything in his head all giddy as hell. Dream come true? Yes please and thank you for seconds if you don’t mind.

He got up later with interest as his doorbell rang, wondering if it was Jack and if the older man had remembered his manners.

A special delivery from one of Helios’ most expensive boutiques was instead waiting for him to sign, the Hyperion-yellow lace of expensive panties inside with a note that said ‘Mystery solved -J.’

Rhys told himself he was going to spite the older man by not wearing them to work tomorrow, but Jack’s pleased laugh of surprise when his face was in Rhys’ lacey-crotch the next day was worth it.

With Jack’s special deliveries and their new work ethic, Rhys found that fracturing his hand wasn’t so bad in retrospect, and for every stormcloud, there was a Hyperion-yellow laced-lining to look forward to.

kofi | ao3

[takaraphoenix]

Phoe’s Advent Calendar: Day 12

We’re officially reached half-time! 12 more days to Christmas! This one was prompted by @rokutsubasa61​, enjoy. ;)

Title: Advent Calendar Project – Flowers for Winter

Fandom: Disney/DreamWorks

Disclaimer: All rights concerning the movies reserved to DreamWorks/Disney respectively. 'Guardians of Childhood' is property of William Joyce. 'How To Train Your Dragon' is property of Cressida Cowell. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: shounen-ai, awkward courting, fluff

Main Pairing: Hiccup/Jack

DreamWorks Characters: Jackson Overland | Jack Frost, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III

Disney Characters: Merida DunBroch, Moana Waialiki, Rapunzel Gothel

Summary: Jack keeps getting flowers. He doesn't understand.

Links: FFNet | AO3

Flowers for Winter

Jack frowned thoughtfully as he rolled the flower around between his fingers. It was the oddest flower Jack had ever seen. So... round. And weird. Odd thing. Jack didn't know what to do with it. And it wasn't even the first one. He had been waking up every single morning of December so far to find such a weird flower next to himself. He had no idea what to make of it, so he had decided to consult his girls. His friends. Because over the past three-hundred years of being a winter spirit, Jack of course had made quite some friends. He didn't get along too well with the other winter spirits – they didn't have his sense of fun, they were mainly dark or angsty (urgh, the most annoying one of them really was Elsa, it was so straining having to work with her), but he had found his own 'year'. Rapunzel, the spring spirit, Moana, the summer spirit, and Merida, the autumn spirit.

"Can you look at the flower any more offended?", asked Rapunzel amused.

She was running her fingers over her long braid with lots of flowers in it. Moana behind her grunted at that and glared, since she was in the middle of braiding said flowers into those golden hair. Merida was kicking her legs, eating an apple. Jack sighed and put the flower down gently.

"What does it even mean?", asked Jack irritated. "And who would give a winter spirit flowers...?"

"Someone who's totally in love with you, idiot", pointed Merida out, taking another bite.

"...What? No one is in love with me", snorted Jack in disbelieve.

"Okay, first of all, the chrysanthemum means death. That's like... you. I mean, winter symbolizes death, spring symbolizes rebirth", explained Rapunzel hastily. "It's a winter-friendly flower, you know. And it does look pretty. And he totally is head over heels in love with you."

"He?", echoed Jack confused.

Rapunzel's eyes widened and she clasped a hand over her mouth as both Merida and Moana glared at her pointedly. Jack frowned in confusion, looking down at the chrysanthemum flower in his lap.

"Come on, dork. You're not that slow", grunted Moana, nudging Jack.

"...It's not Bunny, right? Like, chasing me through a continent is not his way of courting, right?"

"No, it's not my boss", huffed Rapunzel and shook her head.

"Then who is it?", asked Jack, looking completely frustrated.

"Ca—an't tell you", chimed Merida with a broad grin.

/break\

"Ouch! Stop—ouch—throwing things at me—ouch!"

"Then. Stop. Leaving. Flowers. Without. Notes!", groaned Merida, throwing a shoe at his friend.

Hiccup glared as he tried to duck her. After he had died to save his father's life during the attack of the Alpha dragon all those centuries ago, he had been reborn as a spirit of autumn, riding Toothless in the night, him being the storm and lightning bringer. He had fast befriended Merida, his fellow autumn spirit. He also sometimes hung out with her friends Merida and Moana. And... and Jack. The prettiest spirit of them all. The gorgeous, pure, sweet, funny winter spirit.

"He's been wrecking his brain about what the flowers mean and where they come from", grunted Merida. "And he really doesn't get it. So go and explain yourself to him, you utter idiot. I swear, I will sick Moana on you to drown you if you don't tell him. With words."

Hiccup winced and ducked her as he made his way over to Burgess, where he knew his favorite winter spirit to live. Merida was probably right. He shouldn't have expected for Jack to understand what it meant or from whom they were, but he was just really awkward about those things. He was really awkward about Jack. The fun-loving snow-bringer made it hard for him to function. Picking up a chrysanthemum on his way over. He disapproved of the way Jack was still living beside a lake instead of an actual home. The seasonal spirits lived with the Guardians – spring with Bunny, summer on the sunny island of Sandy, autumn in the colorful palace of Toothiana and winter in the North Pole with Nick. Not Jack though; he had ever only encountered Bunny when it came to Guardians and that had apparently not gone well. Hiccup smiled as he spotted the still asleep winter spirit. Landing next to Jack, he plated the flower beside the sleeping spirit. The white fluffy hair looked nearly like snow and Hiccup couldn't help but reach out and brush it out of Jack's face. The winter spirit stirred at the touch, blinking bleary crystal-blue eyes up at Hiccup.

"Hics", grinned Jack pleased. "Haven't seen you in a while. Where's my favorite scaly kitten?"

"Toothless is at home", replied Hiccup fondly. "A—And... I came to talk to you."

"Su—ure. What can I do for you?", asked Jack and sat up stretching.

He really liked Hiccup. A lot. Aside from the girls, Hiccup and Toothless were the closest to him but he hadn't wanted Hiccup there when discussing things about the flower, because it made him feel awkward because... deep down he kind of really wanted them to be from Hiccup. He blushed and ducked his head, thus spotting the new flower. Frowning, he took it and looked at it. It really was pretty, but he couldn't really wrap his head around the concept of having a secret admirer.

"Punzel thinks that I have a secret admirer", stated Jack curiously. "It sounds... weird though. I mean, it's ridiculous, right? Who would even... I mean..."

"What?", asked Hiccup stunned. "W—Why do you... do you sound like you can't believe that someone would be in love with you? Of course they would. You're funny and quirky and you never fail to make me laugh with your pranks, you always go above and beyond, instead of just bringing snow, you also bring fun, you are absolutely beautiful and kind and the way you're with Toothless is just heartwarming and you're a good and loyal friend and-"

"...Are... Are the flowers from you, Hics?", asked Jack stunned, blinking slowly.

Hiccup's eyes widened frantically. So maybe gushing to your crush about your crush was not the most subtle way and even Jack could read that between the lines. Jack still stared at him.

"...Yes", nodded Hiccup slowly, cheeks dark-red. "I—I am so gone on you. You just make me so happy. Winter and snow used to always annoy me, but then I met you and now I get giddy every time I see snow because I hope I get to see you. I'm just not... good with those things, so... flowers."

"That's... so cute", grinned Jack as he sat up some. "So... can we... kiss? Perhaps?"

Hiccup made a high-pitched sound at that and nodded so wildly, his head nearly fell off – and the last leaves on the trees around them did too at the autumn spirit's excitement. Jack grinned and leaned in to place a gentle kiss on Hiccup's lips, causing snow to fall around them.

~*~ The End ~*~

[panda-noosh]

Helloo I'm back at it again with the shiro requests 😂 could I have a scenario where the paladins and s/o thrown a party and for once s/o convinces shiro to let go and have fun, and somehow he ends up getting really drunk and she loses him in the crowd. She finds him later and he's all "i'm sorry i have a gf and she's UH-MAZING" and proceeds to gush to his s/o about how much he loves her cos he's so drunk, and then the next morning everyone teases him about it but he's just so hungover hahaha

Enjoy!

   It was time to getShiro shitfaced drunk.

   Okay, that wasn'tyour intention. Not initially. Initially, your own intention was toget the man to relax, ease up a little bit after a long couple ofmonths of hard work – non-stop hard work. The day Allura came toyou with the news that they were throwing a party for the success offreeing their final planet, you knew you had toget Shiro to go. It would relax him a little bit, perhaps ease theconstant stress he was feeling.

   Youknew it was a long shot. The man very rarely understood thedifference between home-life and work-life, meaning it was very rarethat he was actually ever completely away from his work.

   Youdidn't mind. You had grown used to it, but the idea of seeing himrelax was too good to pass up.

   Andso started the campaign. He denied your invitation at first, claimingparties 'weren't his thing,' but you had expected that. Hence why youhad Keith help you, with him also asking Shiro to the party, and thenAllura, and then Hunk, and then Pidge, and then Lance and Coran whoboth decided to do a dramatic ballad of a disco song in an attempt toget him to go.

   Finally,it all came back to you. You took the final straw – you weren'tgoing if Shiro wasn't going.

   Thischanged everything for the black Paladin. Despite not wanting to goto the party himself, he wanted you to go. He wanted you to enjoyyourself, give yourself a night to congratulate yourself for the hardwork you had been putting in over the past few months, because therehad been a lot of it, and he had seen you running yourself just asragged as any of the Paladin's had.

   Sothe idea of you not going because of him had his mind changingquicker than he liked. With a roll of his eyes and the usual, “You'resuch a brat,” thrown into the conversation, he had agreed toaccompany you to the very casual party of Allura and Coran.

   Thenight swung around in no time, and Shiro was dressed up in a casualbutton-down shirt with jeans which hugged his legs perfectly. Youstare at him as he walks out of the bathroom, fighting to do the topbutton of his shirt.

    “I'mstaying for, like, ten minutes,” he says before he has even saidhello to you.

   Younod your head. “That's okay. I'm just happy you're going at all.It'll be nice for you.”

   Herolls his eyes, clearly not believing you. “I don't drink thatoften.”

   “Doesthat mean you're a light weight?”

   “Itmeans I don't get drunk.” He shoots you a glare through the mirrorhe is now standing in front of him, though a smile slowly creeps ontohis features whenever he sees your giddy expression. You wear asimple tank top and skinny jeans, a leather jacket ready to throwover the top of it to complete the outfit, though it currently layssprawled at the side of you. You seem so happy in this moment – itmakes Shiro forget just how much he doesn't want to go.

   “Okay,”you reply, finally. “You don't have to get drunk. I didn't reallyplan on drinking that much, either.”

   “Great.We can be the old couple in the corner.”

    “Asper usual.”

   Youhad only been present for an hour and a half whenever you lost Shiro.

    Youand Pidge had been busy playing a game of darts together whenever youfirst noticed Shiro at the bar. Swear lined his exposed collar bones,him having popped the first few buttons on his shirt to give himspace to breathe. At first, you hadn't paid much attention to it. Hewas enjoying himself, laughing with Coran about something or another.You turned back to the darts game.

   Itwas only ten minutes after that did you hear him holleringcelebratory words at the top of his lungs, one arm wrapped aroundLance and the other holding yet another shot.

    “WEARE TEAM VOLTRON! WE DID SO WELL THE OTHER DAY, GUYS! I'M SO PROUD OFUS!”

   Pidgeraises a brow at you, but you gently shake your head, turning back tothe dart board.

    Andnow, an hour and a half into the party, and Shiro had gone missing.All of the Paladins had slumped down on the sofas in the restinglounge, meeting up to take a toast, but Shiro was nowhere to befound. The party was packed with aliens from all different planets –all of which you had freed over the past few months – meaningfinding Shiro was going to be a task.

   Yousigh, knowing full well that it would have to be you who takes upsaid task.

   Youpush your way through the thick crowd, letting out small 'Excuseme's' every now and then so you didn't seem too rude, but you were ina rush. You had no idea what Drunk Shiro could be up to, and thethought worried you. You knew he was a light weight just from hislack of experience with alcohol, meaning he could be anywhere rightnow.

   Itis whenever you finally reach the hallway leading to the mensbathroom do you find him. He's leaning against the wall, head tiltedback as he sways back and forth, softly humming to a Mozart piece youhad heard him playing once or twice before, despite the thumping ofdisco music playing directly behind him.

   “Thereyou are!” you exclaim, startling him. He yells, his eyes snappingopen as he reaches his fists up dramatically, as if ready to fightyou. “We're doing a toast. You have to be there for it.”

   “How rude!”he suddenly barks, placing a hand on his chest. You narrow your eyes,raising a brow in question. “You walk up to me anddemand my attention? Iam a taken man, my friend. Taken. Not single.”

   Youstifle a laugh, pressing your fingers to your mouth to hide the smilethat is forming on your face in this moment. “I cannot believe-”

   “Doyou want to see a picture of them?” he asks, suddenly. You look upat him. His previously deadpan look of seriousness had morphed intoone of amusement, him suddenly taking on the persona of an excitedpuppy. “I have a picture of them. I love them a lot. Do you wannasee the picture?”

   “Shiro-”

   Buthe's already reaching into his back pocket, shocking you whenever heflips open his wallet to reveal a picture of the two of you together.The picture had been taken way back when – during your Garrisondays. When things were simpler, easier. You were just two studentswith a dream of flying who had happened to fall in love with oneanother.

   Shiro'sarm is slung over your shoulder in the photo, him grinning wildlywith his scar-free nose scrunched up and his eyes making the shape ofcrescents. You're giggling in the picture, trying to hide your headin his chest but he doesn't let you, his free hand messing with yourhair and making you look crazy.

    “Ihated that picture,” you mutter, reaching out to touch it.

   Shiro'shand suddenly snaps back, pulling the wallet protectively into hischest. “Ah, ah, ah! This is my specialpicture, okay? Not yours. You can't touch it, look at it, breathe onit, think about it. If you do, so help me god I will rip my metal armoff and shove it so far up your-”

   “Okay!”you exclaim, raising your hands up in pretend surrender. “I didn'tknow you were so protective.”

   “Onlyover Y/N,” Shiro confirms, smiling drunkenly as your name passeshis lips. “God, I want to kiss Y/N right now. Have you seen them?”

   Youbite your lip, unsure of how to reply.

   Hedoesn't let you. He begins to nod to himself, slurring words abouthow he's “going to go find Y/N so I can express my love,” beforehe drags himself off and out of the hallway.

    Thenext morning, Shiro doesn't even want to hear it.

   ThePaladins swarm him at breakfast, having heard all about your littleencounter in the bathroom hallway the previous night. Whilsteverybody had a little bit of a headache, Shiro was by far the worst.

   Youcould all see that as he dragged himself downstairs for breakfast,not even dressed in his Paladin uniform like he usually was. Instead,he was wearing his plaid pyjama bottoms along with the button upshirt he had worn to the party last night – vodka stains and all.

    Assoon as he trails himself into the kitchen, the teasing begins.

   “Watchout, everyone! Shiro might get mad at you if you even thinkabout his special picture of himand Y/N!” Pidge exclaims, causing a burst of laughter to erupt fromthe Paladins and yourself.

   “Goto hell,” Shiro grumbles, stealing a piece of egg off of your plateand putting it in his mouth. “Why did you let me drink so much?”

   “Ididn't!” you exclaim. “You walked off with Coran and the nextminute you're confessing your undying love for me in the hallway ofthe mens bathroom.”

   Shirocrinkles his nose up, opening his eyes to look at you though it'sclear the gesture causes pain in his head. “For letting me get sodrunk last night, the least you can do is get me a damn Advil.”

   Yousmile. “On it, boss.” You stand up and head towards the medicinecabinet, but not before you gently place a hand on the back ofShiro's neck, dragging him in for a kiss. Whenever the two of youbreak apart, you whisper, “Oh, and by the way. I love you too.”

[lenific]

Shelter - Belle&Mr. Gold

@thelonelyjournal-keeper asked ‘heat’ + Guilty Until Proved Otherwise.

Her living room was warm, but Belle still felt a chill run up her spine as Mr. Gold told his side of the events that had robbed him of his right to privacy and the respect of his neighbors.

Her day had started with a call warning her to remain at home, since Gold’s house had been targeted by someone with a homemade petrol bomb. Her hurried trek across town hadn’t been appreciated by either Dove or Gold, who had insisted that she returned to her apartment - and succeeded only after she had demanded that her provisionally homeless boss came along with her.

At the moment, dragging Mr. Gold through her doorstep seemed to be the highlight of her day.

More than anything, Belle regretted every time she had felt tempted to ask him to open up about those awful months. Mr. Gold was not the type to rail about injustice, or to protest his innocence, but his demeanor chilled as the tale came to the week before his wife’s body had been found.

The quasi-clinical recital of the weeks that had preceded Milah Gold’s death was not what Belle had expected when she’d teasingly offered to trade shelter for a story. Mr. Gold, however, had given up on talking her out of publicly taking their relationship outside the boundaries of a business contract - just to try again to push her away while in private.

Like this, it was impossible to think of him as the friendly man who had given her free reign of his astounding library during breaks - and whose complaints over her increasingly lengthy lunches were more a reminder to eat her food while it was hot than an actual reprimand. There was so little emotion in his face as he recounted the facts as he remembered them, that Belle felt as if he were again before a jury, his freedom at stake, instead of safe under her roof.

His name - his given name, a gift she seldom made use of - was at the tip of her tongue, to ask him to stop; but he had put so much distance between them that Belle felt she could reach out and feel thick walls rising sky-high around him. Curling her fingers against the temptation to hold his hand anyway, Belle wished for at least a cup of tea to give her a distraction - and to generate at least a little warmth as the story prompted shivers to run down her spine.

The privacy of the Gold marriage had been torn open during the investigation and resulting trial, all the ugly facts and faults - particularly pertaining to the surviving party - had been a constant feature in the Mirror during those weeks. Having followed the news curiously, along the rest of the town, Belle had believed that she already knew the worst.

Not five minutes into Mr. Gold’s story, Belle had admitted her naivete.

“Should I stop?”

Belle opened her mouth to agree, if for his sake only. She couldn’t imagine that the memories were comfortable. But she pressed her lips shut when she saw the resigned flash that crossed his expression. No one would have cared to listen to his story, would they? Taking a deep breath, she shook her head. “If you want to share this, I will listen,” she told him, and made herself add a reassuring smile. “Rules of good hosting, you see.”

“Give the presumed murderer a fair hearing? That’s new.”

“Formerly presumed murderer,” Belle volleyed back, emphasizing the first word. “And it’s this or eating my cooking. I doubt you’d prefer the latter.”

His eyes widened, and there was a pause as he swallowed thickly, still staring at her. “Fine,” he said at last, hands curling around the handle of his cane. “We’ll order in. Where was I?”

“You found out about Milah’s affair.”

“Caught them in flagranti, you mean,” he corrected, his voice even. “No need to spare my feelings, Miss French. I am aware that what little the reporters were decent enough to withdraw from the news, Jones has been happy to share.” His lips pulled into a mirthless smirk. “He, apparently, has nothing to hide.”

“Neither do you,” Belle said loyally.

Mr. Gold gazed at her, his fingers tapping the wood of his cane in a slow tattoo. “You really believe that.”

Holding his gaze, she nodded.

“Even when I claimed that I do not remember a thing from the evening before Milah’s death until the next morning?” He chuckled without humor. “I’ve heard I bought the psychiatric agreement with my convenient memory lapse.”

Belle snorted. “From Dr. Hopper? You forget I’ve been his patient as well. He’d sooner resign from his practice than allow his conscience to be compromised.”

“Consciences can be purchased,” he said, giving her a knowing glance.

Not mine, she thought, straightening in her seat. “You don’t have that kind of money, Mr. Gold.”

He glanced at her, then gave a slow nod, acknowledging her point and seamlessly returning them to their original conversation. Shoulders that had been tense from the moment he stepped into her home dropped half an inch. “Not money, then,” he countered easily. “But there are other ways to break a man.”

Belle should chastise him for making the suggestion, but for the first time in their conversation there was a hint of heat in his voice. He was amusing himself at her expense, she realized.

Weighing her options, she decided it was better than his attempt to alienate her.

“For example?”

He lifted his eyebrows, but rose to the prompt. “Hopper startles every time he sees me in the same room. I could have had Dove threaten him instead.”

Barely keeping herself from laughing at the thought of Dove threatening anything other than a misfiled document, Belle settled for shaking her head. She could point out that Hopper had stood up to Mayor Mills, but she had witnessed that encounter out of chance, and wasn’t sure that she should share it as it had been part of little Henry’s therapy. Instead she pointed out the ridiculousness of Gold’s arguing against his own innocence. “You must have been a godsend for the prosecution,” Belle said, rolling her eyes. “It’s a miracle you didn’t do their job.”

Where he had kept his feelings under wraps as he talked about the past, his eyes warmed with laughter now that their conversation had shifted into one of the arguments where each fell into opposite positions and defended it. “I do have some self-preservation instincts.”

“As proved by your refusal to eat my food,” she said, trying to sound tart but giving in to a smile in the end. “Is it really that bad?”

“I didn’t escape death row to succumb under your lack of culinary talents, dearie.”

Belle shivered at the mention of the death penalty. It was an exaggeration, as even being found guilty wouldn’t have ended with such extreme punishment, but Belle didn’t like to even contemplate the notion. “Don’t speak like that, please,” she said softly.

He waved his hand in careless dismissal. “It was a quip.”

“It wasn’t funny,” she told him, frowning.

Mr. Gold pressed his lips together. “You have a soft heart, Miss French,” he said, as if it was some fault of hers. “You care too much.”

Stung, Belle raised her chin and met his eyes. After almost a year working together, she knew several truths about Mr. Gold that he would rather have kept hidden. “I’m not the only one, am I?”

 The End 02/07/17

[faygosmayhem]

Story Time #2- Final Fantasy & Me:Part 2

The Reason People Should Be Afraid of Clowns: 

I was gifted the PlayStation Final Fantasy Anthology at the end of the ‘04/’05 school year to celebrate my moving up in the world. On it was ported versions of Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy VI, which had originally been released in the US for the Super Nintendo as Final Fantasy III.

 I started out playing V a few days later. For some reason, it never grabbed me at all. I got through a good chunk of the game, then hit a troublesome boss and just stopped playing it. I still can’t remember anything about the game no matter how hard I think on it. Probably because it was overshadowed by what came next.

 After rage quitting FFV, I moved on to VI and never looked back. Similar to IX, I was automatically captured by the game’s easy charm and emotional resonance. The characters in that game are so multifaceted and I found each of them to be wonderful in their unique way. 

The one thing VI has that IX, unfortunately, does not is a fantastic villain. Kefka, the demented little fashion-challenged asshole, easily set the standard for things that make up the perfect villain to me. This guy had absolutely no motivation other than just wanting to watch the world burn, and is a key citation of personality traits you never, ever, want to encounter. 

Comical as he was, Kefka scared the ever loving crap out of me, much more than any horror game or movie I’ve experienced since then (with the exception of Silent Hill 2), and I freaking loved it. Of all the memorable aspects of FFVI, that maniacal laugh is always the first thing to come to mind. 

Me In The Spotlight, Losing My Religion

( readers with sensitive views on religion might want to avoid this part)

People always look at me like I’ve grown a second head when I tell them that a video game is the reason I became an Atheist. I agree that sounds a little extreme, but back in ‘05/’06 when I finally caught up to the rest of the world and got my hands on Final Fantasy X, it made perfect sense. 

For the first time, I wasn’t the one in my circle of three close friends to acquire the game first. That honor went to my friend Mikey (that is not her real name), who had just been gifted the game and a Ps2 of her own. The problem was that she didn’t have a memory card and couldn’t afford one (they were anywhere from 25-40$ dollars at the time), and called me up one day desperately begging to borrow mine after having had to play through the intro of the game all the way to leaving Besaid island for the third time because her mom kept shutting off the system.

 Of course I wanted to help her out, but this created a bit of a problem; I couldn’t lend her my memory card indefinitely because it would prevent me from enjoying my own games. The solution was for us to play through the game the first time completely in each others company. By that point we were used to getting through sections of games together, but this was the first (and last) attempt for us to play the entire game under the stipulation that the game could not continue unless both of us were there. So, naturally, I practically moved into her house for the summer. 

Things started out fun enough. We ruthlessly made fun of the game for hours on end. We shared laughs and frustrations with the game’s mechanics, had fun recording amusing cut-scenes and lines of dialog (we made a YouTube poop VHS before YouTube was even a thing), and were just generally loving life at that point. 

Then we get to fucking operation Mi’ihen. 

That section of the game floored us both. We had just finished learning about Constantine and Crusades the year previous in school and had commented earlier about noticing the reference, though I never thought the game would ever try to give such a direct example. 

For those in need of a quick refresher, Operation Mi’ihen was the part of the game where the Crusaders and Al’Bhed team up and try to use a new type of machina to defeat Sin. The operation fails, most of the people who take part are slaughtered by Sinspawn, and the Crusaders who survive are excommunicated by the church for going against the teachings, even though two of Yevon’s most prominent figures were on site to ‘Bless the Operation’. Operation Mi’ihen was the point in the game where the religious allegory really got heavy, and just kept getting worse from there. 

After that section was over we both needed a break. I finally went home for the first time in about two weeks, and spent the next few days recharging my batteries until I was comfortable picking the game up again. We went back to joking about the game pretty easily, though the tone didn’t exactly improve from there. The next time the game broke me was during the revelation of Yevon and the Final Summoning. 

The knowledge that the entire journey up to that point had been a lie, a pointless quest of willing Martyrs that were being deceived themselves hit me the hardest. During that part of the game I adapted traits of characters I hated the most. I was dumbfounded, whiny, frustrated, and unwilling to believe what was going on even though the evidence was being clearly presented. I was Tidus and Wakka combined, and at that point I hated myself for it. I came to really loathe Yevon and its real world basis. 

When the game finally ended, I spent a few weeks in quiet contemplation. My friend wasn’t religious, and never had been, and couldn’t understand the extreme negative reaction. I was young, and at the time unable to formulate and articulate enough explanation while my feelings were still so turbulent. I distanced myself from her for a time while I tried to work it out. 

All these years later I can finally put words to the metaphor I saw when I witnessed the end of the game. To save her world from Sin, Yuna sacrifices her fayth (the Aeons) and kills the dream (the Zanarkand utopia). The lie of Yevon is disbanded and the world enters an Eternal Calm. 

I couldn’t explain it at the time, but I felt it. After coming to terms with everything, I renounced my faith in the church. Playing Final Fantasy X wasn’t the only catalyst, there were plenty of real world instances and influences that had me questioning even before the game, but FFX was definitely the boiling point. 

X is the only FF game I’ve never been able to play all the way through more than once. I went back again after my friend let me borrow the game for myself in order to get through all the sidequests, but never progressed past getting inside of Sin. When the re-masters came out, I tried again and couldn’t make it past the Mi’ihen Highroad. 

Final Fantasy X was a very good game, but it is still probably my least favorite of the ones I’ve played. 

Horrible Feeling Redux- This Time With Fun Costumes!

I honestly don’t know why I bothered with Final Fantasy X-2 this time around. I guess there was a part of me that wanted to see if the fake world was dealing with the loss of Fayth better than I was. My first playthrough of the game took me about six hours, and I was left so angry I almost broke a controller. 

Once again, it took a chance encounter and consult of a guide for me to realize I played the game wrong, and that by only following the game’s main story points I had missed about 9/10ths of the content and that was the reason the game felt incomplete and pointless. With frequent trips to the EB Games across the street to re-check the guide I eventually was able to 100% the game and get the actual ending. 

I honestly don’t remember much of the plot, too much got drowned out in the endless repetitive mini-games and AP farming. I do remember liking the new characters, and that overall I was pleased with the re-visit to the world and how well the game handled the familiar while still being new enough to not feel like the same thing over again. I also must have watched that fmv of ‘1000 Words’ about a hundred times in that sphere dome (I had a file saved at the location so I could just watch it whenever). The take on the classic job system was interesting, but at the time I was a huge tomboy, and felt pretty offended that the game seemed to be trying to appeal to a female market by making the entire plot revolve around clothes. 

All in all, X-2 gave me peace with X. As much as I complain about it, I did end up liking it, though it was a game I could have done without. 

Ok readers, I know I promised XII with this part, but re-living the feelings of X took more out of me than I was expecting, so now it shall be lumped in with XIII, XIII-2 and XV. I do hope it’s as much of an experience reading it as it is writing. I’d like to hear some memories other people have with the series, if you have the time to share. 

Also, the header for X is a line from the song ‘Losing My Religion’ by REM. 

[lefthanded-sans]

I've never played Undertale, personally, but to me, it seems that one of the only ways to actually get through the Genocide Run is to not just be hateful... but rather, to be completely unfeeling at all. To actually distance yourself from your actions...

I absolutely love your observation and I believe you are right, both on the level of what the game player feels, and on the level of what the human character feels in-game. The human and the game player, to finish the Genocide, must distance themselves emotionally from their actions and any potential emotion they might have for the characters.

Listening to game player experiences about Undertale’s Genocide Route at least to me fills out a pattern: a number of people feel unable to complete it because they love the characters too much. Some even abort at a point which they feel too much. The game route intentionally places several obstacles in the player’s way that makes completion more emotionally difficult. 

The first obstacle, and one that dissuades a fair number of people from continuing the route, is the meet-up with Papyrus. Papyrus chooses not to fight; instead, he offers to bring you along a better path, become your friend, and give you a “hug of acceptance.” This unconditional friendliness is a powerful message that makes many people unable to kill Papyrus. How can they kill someone so lovingly friendly who offers acceptance, peace, and won’t even fight? Papyrus is not a character Genocide Route players learn to hate… you don’t hate someone like that... but players have to mentally distance themselves in order to land the killing blow. 

After that, the game places another shocking challenge in the player’s way. I’ll admit this is the one that actually gave me the most pause in my first runthrough because I couldn’t believe I’d have to go through with this. The small child, Monster Kid, stands in the human’s way. To continue the Genocide Route, Monster Kid must be attacked - players going through the game without any foreknowledge expect that they’re going to murder this child. Killing a kid in game? Yikes! That’s dark! It’s not hate that players must feel to get past this point. They have to distance themselves from their action and the spark of conscience it might evoke.

By the time of the Sans boss fight, the flavor text says, “You feel your sins crawling on your back.” Later, one may also read, “You feel your sins crawling on your neck.” It’s a suggestion of guilt. The player should feel guilty for all the people they’ve killed. But to fight Sans, and to defeat Sans, one cannot back down from the guilt of what they have done… only pursue forward and coldly kill another monster.

The Genocide Route is designed with multiple tiers where the game player has to emotionally distance themselves in order to commit horrendous act after horrendous act after horrendous against against the monsters. 

And as you say, it’s not hate. It’s distancing that is the tactic to finish the route. The people who do successfully complete the Genocide Route are individuals I commonly hear say they “didn’t feel anything” or “found themselves being distanced from the characters” during gameplay. That is what I myself experienced. I adore the characters and cried for them in the Pacifist Route. Bawled for them, in fact. I thought I would be heartbroken and emotionally struggling going through the Genocide Route. Instead, I found myself becoming increasingly distanced and capable to kill without remorse. I didn’t feel anything watching Papyrus die, or Undyne, or Mettaton. By the time I got to Sans, I was thrilled with the idea of the boss fight, and cheered excitedly when I hit my favorite character and killed him. I felt exuberant, rather than sad, to see my favorite character go. I had completely lost sympathy for my favorites while playing the Genocide Route. Several days after the fact, it hit me hard emotionally, but only then did I mourn what occurred. The people who win the Genocide Route I feel are often those who experience this emotional separation, this distanced and unfeeling shell, from the characters as they play the route.

For I doubt people are suddenly going to hate dear Papyrus - who continues to be friendly even in this dark storyline. People aren’t going to hate Doggo or Lesser Dog or Greater Dog… if they loved the dogs in the other routes, they’ll still love the dogs here. The dogs are going to act the same way, after all. Players have to learn how to distance themselves, so that instead of petting the dogs, they dust them instead. And it’s not burning hate to kill all sorts of random NPCs like Pyrope, Vulkin, Whimsum, Migosp, or Moldsmal… players might not feel anything deep for these characters… and yet they still must be cold, emotionless, and persistent in their campaign to kill every monster they encounter in the underground. It’s not a route of hate. It’s a route void of emotion. It’s cold, and the stark cold feel of the gameplay itself enforces that mood. The world feels empty... unfeeling... void... in the Genocide Route.

The game itself predicts this sort of emotional response. Sans in the Judgment Hall says:

What’s EXP? It’s an acronym. It stands for “Execution points.” A way of quantifying the pain you have inflicted on others. When you kill someone, your EXP increases. When you have enough EXP, your LOVE increases. LOVE, too, is an acronym. It stands for “Level of Violence.” A way of measuring someone’s capacity to hurt. The more you kill, the easier it becomes to distance yourself. The more you distance yourself, the less you will hurt. The more easily you can bring yourself to hurt others.”

That is indeed the path players follower in the Genocide Route. The more they kill, the more they become unfeeling and distanced. The more that they become distanced, the less it will hurt - suddenly, it’s not that hard to kill even favorite characters like sweet Papyrus. And because that cycle continues, it becomes increasingly easier for the player to direct the human Frisk to kill others.

Now, as far as the human themselves is concerned, it seems as though there could be some evidence that they, too, in game, become more callous in this route. We can apply Sans’ Judgment Hall speech to how the human feels in game, but there’s other evidence we can bring up, too, that’s more clearly directed at Frisk.

It is to note that Toriel in the Genocide Route says she believes the human feels hate. As she is dying, she says, “you… really hate me that much? Now I see who I was protecting by keeping you here. Not you… But them!” However, the majority of comments characters make about the human’s reactions, and the majority of the flavor text, demonstrates disinterest, outright coldness, rather than fiery hate.

The human is described as not emoting, having instead a dead expression. Sans, after making a joke, says, “that’s, uh. your cue to laugh. or, uh, to emote at all…?” Later, Papyrus observes that the human shambles strangely place-to-place, a stride that does not arise from fiery emotions, but from something far colder. Flowey, talking to the human near the end of the Genocide Route, even says, “Creatures like us… Wouldn’t hesitate to KILL each other if we got in each other’s way.” Something as simple as being a hindrance is enough for the cold human to end Flowey’s life without thought.

Flowey himself compares the human’s Genocide Route to his own negative characterization. Flowey gives an extensive backstory about how and why he started to experiment with the timelines. He talks about how killing monsters began as a curious thought. He had a conscience at first, but over time, he went through all the options and lost conscience. He killed so many monsters that he quit caring... and indeed it became an amusement, a game. Flowey sees parallels between himself and the human in the Genocide Route. The human becomes increasingly uncaring, too. It suggests that, just as Flowey lost conscience and could kill from something as simple as curiosity rather than hate, so also does the human kill from something cold and unfeeling.

I don’t think the idea of a human killing in cold blood contradicts what is said about murder in the library book, either:

Because they are made of magic, monsters’ bodies are attuned to their SOUL. If a monster doesn’t want to fight, its defenses will weaken. And the crueller the intentions of our enemies, the more their attacks will hurt us. Therefore, if a being with a powerful SOUL struck with the desire to kill… Um, let’s end the chapter here…

Cruelty can be cold and unfeeling. As the human gains LOVE in the Genocide Route, they become increasingly crueler. They are walking through the underground working together with Flowey to eradicate the monster species. That is literally the agreement: work together to enact a genocide. That is an incredibly cruel intention, and the further they succeed in their plan, the more their attacks are going to harm. The human’s EXP and LOVE rises. They become increasingly distanced, as Sans says will happen when EXP and LOVE rise. This distance and lack of conscience makes them crueler, and thus their attacks hurt monsters increasingly more. What we see in the Genocide Route is a being with a powerful SOUL striking with the desire to kill. It’s a gold, unfeeling desire to kill, but that is still the motivation of their campaign.

The human’s kill count is also seen to affect their conscience - and thus how distanced they feel from the monsters - in other manners. If they kill all the dogs in Snowdin, flavor text for the bag of dog food in Alphys’ lab will say, “You just remembered something funny.” It’s funny that the dogs are dead to Frisk. When the human encounters Mad Dummy in Waterfall’s dump, they can choose to punch the dummy. The higher the kill count, the harder they will punch, and the less remorse they will feel about committing that punch. There is a sense of increasing distance in the human: the more they kill, the closer they get to a Genocide Route, and the more they don’t feel remorse about what they’ve done.

And in the Genocide Route itself, there is plenty of uncaring flavor text like “In my way” to describe Monster Kid’s Encounter.

So I think that the human in game… and the player playing the game… both go through an experience of emotional distancing in the Genocide Route.

It’s not all that simple, of course. Nothing ever is. There’s Chara possession theories to consider. There’s the text that Chara says at the end of the game about the human having a “perverted sentimentality” - that’s emotion and care, isn’t it? There’s a lot more nuance than just, “And Frisk went dead of emotion.” I don’t think it can be summarized like that. But overarchingly, yes, I would say it’s definitely the case that the human becomes more emotionally distanced. The players who win the Genocide Route I’ve seen often express the same emotional experience I do - that they became distanced and unfeeling playing the game route.

I’ve said before, and I’ll say it again: it’s one of the things I hugely appreciate about the Genocide Route. The story is one of great gravity. 

And it serves a purpose. 

This isn’t a route that’s supposed to be about having fun killing.

On the contrary, it serves a deep moral message about what it means to go down this darkness. 

The point is that, the more a person commits dark acts, the easier it is to keep down this road. And the way the gameplay is designed, the Genocide Route itself gives players a firsthand experience of what it means to get unfeeling and distanced. The experience of realizing you have become distanced and unfeeling toward the characters you love is... powerful. It teaches you firsthand what can happen in a path like this. It gives you a personal experience of what it is to become unfeeling, and once you reflect upon it, can help you process how scary this path of increasing coldness can be. You just did this to your own favorite characters! The Genocide Route teaches us the dangers in a powerful firsthand play through of how one can become unfeeling.

Watching someone else do it, or seeing another character do it, is nowhere near as effective as having to confront the fact you just did this. You have to confront yourself about having gone so cold. That’s what makes the moral message so powerful.

And it doesn’t stop there.

Genocide and Pacifist Route work in tandem to give us the message of what it means to show love. Undertale is about love, forgiveness, second chances, and mercy. The Genocide Route is utterly powerful because it demonstrates what a world without mercy can do. It shows the darkness and the pain the characters endure. We cannot fully understand the light without the dark, and the Genocide Route gives us that darkness to comprehend the light of the Pacifist.It makes the Pacifist Route more effective when we see what mercy can do. The Pacifist Route shows the happiness, the care, and the power of love between friends. What a stark contrast! Each route makes the other more powerful, and helps us realize with greater depth what the heart can do. If we expand our soul to love and care, if we bury our soul in sin and coldness, well… we see, understand, and feel what happens firsthand. We see how much more amazing and emotion-evoking a world of mercy and love can be. How beautiful that mercy is.

And because of that, because something as dark as the Genocide Route complements the Pacifist, Undertale is one of the most powerful stories about mercy, love, forgiveness, and peace.

[sincerelymlg]

And Counting

Summary: The ultimate power couple. That’s what you two are, but that doesn’t mean that every mission goes smoothly. Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Agent!Reader Warnings: swearing, idiot goonies Word Count: 1232

Masterlist is in my bio! 

You and Bucky are the ultimate power couple on missions.

You’ve mastered the art of fighting back to back, and you’re so in tune with the other’s movements that you may as well be one person.

It’s not uncommon for you to swap weapons during the fight; you’ll feel your gun being taken from your belt at the same time as you sneak one of Bucky’s knives from his boot, both of you knowing that you’ll swap back later.

Contrary to popular belief, you’re not actually very protective over each other. You both know the other’s capabilities, and know that it’s better not to try and play the hero by sacrificing yourself.

You do, however, have a competition going on how many times you’ve saved each other’s asses.

After missions, you patch each other up on the Quinjet, smirking to each other and giving the count.

This was supposed to be like every other time. Supposed to be.

“Why’d you throw it at him?”

You felt Bucky sigh at your back. “Well someone used the rest of the magazine in that gun, threw the knives that are currently stuck in that wall right there, and discarded the other empty rifles around the warehouse. I think I was out of options. So yeah, throwing that gun at his stupid face felt like my last option.” He groaned as a kick landed itself in his side.

You chuckled, wincing as your lip split open again.

“Serves you right.”

“Sir, can you kick him again? It seems he didn’t get the message the first time.” It was your turn to earn a kick in the side, the goon grunting a ‘shut up’ with the blow. Your vision blurred black on the edges. You sucked in a breath and fell to your side, gasping.

Bucky turned to face you, “Love? Doll?” His eyes were wide with terror as he watched you try and breathe deeply.

“‘M fine, ‘m fine,” you gasped, your back still facing him. You tried to will the tears the fell down your cheeks back where they came from. You knew there was no hiding the shuddering breaths as you listened to the threats that he spat towards your captors.

“Buck, it’s fine.”

His words halted in his throat. Throwing his scariest Winter Soldier glare at the men pacing in front of him he turned to watch you. He chuckled at the way you wiggled, worming your way back into a sitting position, “I’m sorry, is something amusing to you darling,” you wheezed.

“Not in the slightest.”

“Well, we’ll see who is laughing harder when I get us both out of here, breaking the ‘saved-your-ass’ tie, and you are paying for dinner.”

“Shut up,” the goonie yelled. He pulled his gun from the holster, pointing it at Bucky’s head.

“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning,” you tutted.

Bucky chuckled, the click of the safety being turned off bouncing through the concrete echos, only causing Bucky to roll his eyes. He sighed, feeling your fingers graze his wrist, “finally.”

The idiot still pointing his gun at Bucky’s temple, fell backward, his legs swept out from under him. The gun went off as it, and his body hit the ground. Bucky rolled his shoulders back, working out the stiffness. He toed the gunman, rolling him onto his side satisfied with the amount of unconsciousness that seemed to have taken him over. He reached over and grabbed the gun, holstering it with a smirk in your direction.

“Great, now this idiot’s idiot friends are gonna storm in here. You couldn’t have done that any quieter.”

He laughed, kneeling down next to you, “you’re welcome, babe.” He kissed the crown of your head. With a grunt, he pulled you up to stand.

“Than-,” your words were cut off as he hoisted you over his shoulder. “Really?”

You felt his shoulders shake, a small smile of your own forming. “I think I quite like you like this, tied up, mine for the rescue, paying for dinner tonight.”

You huffed at his response. Your head bounced with every step he took, knocking into his belt a couple times, and that was it, he was buying his own meal tonight and eating alone, you were going by yourself to the nicest restaurant and getting the tastiest thing and he could have take-out in the living room.

Bucky wandered the room, gathering the stray weapons from around the room, a symphony of footsteps and yelling coming closer. He watched the shadows stretch across the floor and windows, guns positioned toward them. He sighed as you continued to squirm, “will ya quit your wrigglin’?”

“Not until you put me down and let me open the can of whoop-ass I’ve been keeping in storage to serve at the right time.”

He put you down, catching you as you swayed, all the extra blood draining from your face. He chuckled, cutting the ties at your wrist. You rubbed where the zips and nearly broken the skin. “Thank you,” you said leaning in to kiss his cheek. You pulled the Glock he’d acquired from Mr. Unconscious from the holster. “Alright, can we wrap this up? I’m ready for dinner.”

“Anything for you, doll.”

You approached the door holding the handle, watching Bucky get a quick count of how many mafia members they might be about to encounter. He gave you a small nod and you wrenched the door open, three men falling on top of each other and through the doorway. You rolled your eyes and followed Bucky into the fray.

It didn’t take long before the pair of you found the boss and had him cowering in his office. A couple zip ties, and a quick call to Sam to finish up here with the local authorities, later you stumbled through your own doorframe, nearly tripping over your own feet. Exhaustion and hunger biting at your heels.

The crinkling of a paper bag came from behind you as Bucky got plates and plated the Chinese take out you’d acquired on the way back. You turned on the t.v. skipping through the news, catching snippets of how the rising mob had been taken down by the Avengers until finally settling on some 90’s show rerun that would go all night. Bucky sat next to you, a heavy sigh leaving his mouth. He handed you a plate and no other words were said until you both laid back, stomachs full and eyelids half open.

“I think tonight puts me in the lead.”

You shot up, all thoughts of sleep forgotten, “excuse me?”

Bucky laughed as he stood, turning off the show and throwing the boxes away, leaving the dishes for tomorrow.

“We’re still even,” you said, closing the bathroom door behind you and starting the shower.

The bathroom was filled with steam when the door opened again, “I can see why you would think that, doll, but I did most of the heavy lifting.” He listened to your scoff as he climbed in behind you, “though I could be swayed to the tie if you give me some damn good evidence.”

You chuckled, giving him a deep kiss and taking a step back. He growled as the water hit him in the face, your laughter echoing off the tiled walls.