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debbiechanclub · 4 years

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Best Two Out of Three, Part 26

This is it: the last chapter of BTOOT 😭

I wrote a long, sappy post about what this means to me *months* ago when I thought we would finish much sooner than we did (whoops), so I won’t get into all that again. However, I will say that this is a huge accomplishment for me because I have never finished a multi-part fic until now. But I didn’t do it on my own. I absolutely could not have completed this in the time that I did without @hotyeehawman, and BTOOT absolutely would not be the fic that it is without her. So thank you so much, Lauren. We wrote a whole ass 123,419-word, 228-page mf’in fanfiction novel in less than a year 😳

And, at the risk of sounding cheesy AF, we couldn’t have done it without you all, either. The response to this little wrasslin’ fic consistently blows us away. SO THANK YOU. It means more than words can say. So once you finish reading this last chapter, please come scream at me in your tags, in the comments, in my asks, in my DMs. Because I cannot wait to hear your thoughts.

Alright, enough of that 🤧 I’ll let you get to reading 😉

Best Two Out of Three

Part: 26/26

Pairing: Kenny Omega x OFC, Matt Jackson x OFC x Cash Wheeler, Adam Page x himself

Word count: 7.8k

Warnings: Language; MAJOR angst

Catch up on previous parts here.

Tag squad: @freshlysqueezedmox @comeasyoudar @heelchampbucks @bec0m @betsy-bradock @linziland13 @gabbynorth98 @exe-darbyallin-exe @librathepheonix13 @irish-newzealand-idian-dutch @kingswitchblade

Callie pulled her phone out of her purse to check the time again. 8:57 a.m. She put it back and glanced anxiously around the hotel lobby. She and Cash had agreed to meet there at nine to head to Orlando, and with each passing minute she worried that it would be Matt who stepped out of the elevator instead.

Their conversation had played on a nonstop loop in her head all night. This all happened way too fast. Yeah, I guess it did. Over and over again. Except, in her head, it didn’t end the way it had last night. Instead of Matt walking off she called out to him to wait. She told him that the reason she’d been avoiding him was because she felt guilty about how much she enjoyed being with him. Her brain told her it was wrong, but her heart told her otherwise, and because she didn’t know how to reconcile the two it was easier to just avoid the issue all together.

And that’s exactly what she was doing now: avoiding the issue by going to Orlando with Cash. And she wasn’t just going for the day—she was staying the night at his place.

It had been Cash’s suggestion that she spend the night. It’ll save me a round trip, he’d said via text. It made sense; they both had to be back in Jacksonville for Dynamite tomorrow, so there was no point in making Cash drive four extra hours tonight. So, Callie had agreed.

But, deep down, she knew she’d mostly agreed because it helped her avoid Matt that much more.

She pulled out her phone again, but rather than check the time she opened the camera and flipped it to face toward her. Her double black eyes had worsened from last night, turning an ugly bluish color, but thankfully some full-coverage concealer had made them barely noticeable. Even so, she pushed her oversized sunglasses onto her face. The last thing she needed was people thinking she was a battered woman.

The elevator dinged, and Callie’s chest constricted as the doors slid open. Mercifully, it was Cash.

“You ready?” he asked as he moved toward her. “Sorry I’m a little late.”

She nodded and jumped up from her seat. “Mhm,” she said as she grabbed her suitcase. She couldn’t leave the hotel fast enough.

* * * * * * * * * *

The drive to Orlando was mostly quiet. Cash had asked her if there was anything in particular she wanted to do or see, but she’d just told him she was up for whatever. She knew absolutely nothing about Orlando outside of the fact that Disney World and Universal Studios were there and the little bit she’d seen when she’d stayed with Britt. But Cash didn’t seem bothered by her apparent lack of enthusiasm; he’d just grinned and said, “I got you.” It made Callie’s stomach flutter.

They dropped off their bags at his place and she met his English bulldog, Pawla, before they set off for their first stop of the day. Cash seemed excited as he steered his truck into a parking lot in front of a large complex. Callie, however, was more than just a little confused when she saw what it was.

“Go-karts?”

She hadn’t meant to sound so disappointed, but Cash just let out a laugh. “What? You don’t like go-karts?”

She didn’t answer, looking skeptically out the window at the building. For whatever reason, it made her think of Alex. Go-karts seemed more her speed. She frowned. I wonder if he took her here, too.

“Come on, it’ll be fun,” Cash said. “I think you could use the adrenaline boost.”

“I can think of better ways to get an adrenaline boost.”

As soon as she said it, Callie wished she could take it back. It had just slipped out, implication and all. She looked hesitantly at Cash. He was smirking.

“I’m sure you can,” he returned. Callie felt her cheeks burn hot behind her sunglasses.

“Come on,” he repeated as he unbuckled his seat belt. “I’ll let you pick where we go to lunch afterward.”

He got out of the truck, and Callie drew in a deep, calming breath through her nose as she did the same.

Maybe avoiding Matt wasn’t the only reason she’d decided to stay overnight in Orlando.

* * * * * * * * * *

Alex still hadn’t gotten over what had happened at the Labor Day party. In a word, she felt awful. She wanted to text Callie and apologize again, but between nearly breaking her nose and all but telling her to stay away from Matt, she doubted she wanted to hear from her. So, in hopes of boosting her mood, she’d decided to sit out by Kenny’s pool and soak up the last vestiges of summer while she still could.

But, so far, it hadn’t worked.

Her phone chirped next to her on the lounger, and she picked it up and unlocked the screen. She had a text from Trent.

Hey loser. You have plans today?

She rolled her eyes, but a smile tugged at her lips as she typed back. Not really. Why?

She hit “send,” but instead of setting the phone back down she opened up Instagram. She clicked on Jay White’s story and let it autoplay through a couple more people before it unexpectedly came to Cash’s story. It was a Boomerang video of an indoor go-kart track. Alex recognized it; he’d taken her there one of the first weekends she’d stayed with him in Orlando.

A banner appeared at the top of her screen with Trent’s reply. Because Sam is in town if you want to come hang out.

That caught her off-guard. Sam, the boys’ friend who she’d first met five years ago. Alex had had no idea she was going to be in Jacksonville. Had one of them told her and it’d slipped her mind? But she didn’t think too much of it as she opened the text and sent her response.

Idk. After yesterday I kind of just feel like being a hermit today.

She went back to Instagram and refreshed the page—and her eyes widened at the first picture that popped up.

Callie, a bright smile on her face as she posed in a helmet at the very same indoor go-kart track from Cash’s story.

“Are you shitting me?”

“There you are.”

Alex nearly dropped her phone on her face at the sound of Kenny’s voice. He gave her an amused look. “You alright?”

“Yeah…” she started. But she thought better of it and huffed, “No.”

Kenny cocked his head in concern as he sat down on the edge of the lounger next to her. “What’s wrong?”

Alex let out a sound that was half sigh, half groan. The last thing she wanted to do was to complain to Kenny about Callie and Cash, of all people. But if she couldn’t talk to him about it, who could she? “I’m just frustrated with the whole Callie situation,” she breathed.

She glanced at him from underneath the bill of her baseball cap. He frowned sympathetically at her. “I know, baby. But you didn’t hit her on purpose. If she doesn’t believe that it’s her problem.”

“It’s not just that,” she interjected. “According to Instagram she’s in Orlando with Cash right now.”

His brow furrowed in confusion when she said that. Alex knew exactly what he was thinking. “I don’t give two shits about Cash,” she assured him. “He can do whatever and whoever he wants. Honestly, I expect bullshit like this from him. But I don’t get where Callie’s head is at. Where the hell does she get off blaming me for ruining her relationship with Adam while she’s off driving fucking go-karts with the guy who stabbed him in the back? It hasn’t even been two weeks since she left him!”

“Because it’s what Callie does,” Kenny blithely returned. “She thinks she’s blameless in everything and doesn’t take accountability for anything. This isn’t the first time she’s shown you that’s exactly the kind of person she is.”

“But we were friends, Kenny! Somehow, we got over all the bullshit and became friends, and then fucking Adam…”

She trailed off, her voice growing thick with emotion, and looked to the ceiling. She didn’t want to get upset. But it was hard not to. She felt betrayed. That was the only word for it.

“Hey.” Kenny put a hand on her bare leg, drawing her eyes back to his. “Do you want my honest advice?”

She nodded.

“Stop wasting your energy on Callie and Adam. They’re not worth it, Alex. You’ve given them so much of your time and effort and what have you gotten in return?”

A tear rolled out of the corner of her eye and she quickly wiped it away. She didn’t need to answer him. They both knew the answer. “I know,” she softly agreed. “You’re probably right.”

A corner of his mouth quirked up. “Of course I am.” He leaned over and kissed the side of her head. “I was thinking about ordering sushi for dinner tonight. That always makes you feel better.”

She perked up a bit at that. “Can we get sake, too?”

He nodded. “Yes, I’ll get you sake, too.”

She smiled. “Okay.”

He gave her leg an affectionate squeeze and stood. “Well, I’m gonna go get a workout in. Wanna join me?”

Alex couldn’t help herself. “Is that a euphemism?”

He grinned. “No, despite how much I want to take that bikini off you right now.”

She just playfully rolled her eyes in response.

“Come on,” he said, holding out his hand. “Endorphins will make you feel better, too.”

Alex emitted a dramatic groan as she put her hand in his and let him pull her to her feet. “Not if you try to kill me like you did last time,” she argued.

“But I always take good care of you afterward,” he said. “That was a euphemism, by the way.”

She returned his smirk. “Yeah, I got it.”

* * * * * * * * * *

To Cash’s credit, the go-karts had been fun—but Callie was more than happy to take the lead on the rest of the day. She’d picked out a restaurant on International Drive for lunch (Cash had groaned and said that was where all the tourists went, to which she’d cheekily replied that she was a tourist), and afterward he’d convinced her to ride the Ferris wheel at ICON Park, where he’d pointed out some of the different areas of the city to her (Callie, who was afraid of heights, had kept a death grip on his arm the entire time). Then, at Callie’s request, they’d driven around some of the neighborhoods so that she could get a better feel for them (“Obviously, I recommend my neighborhood,” Cash had said). Overall, it had turned out to be a good day after all, and Orlando was looking more and more like the place Callie wanted to move.

But, the more time she spent with him, the more she started to wonder how much of that feeling was due to Cash.

“What’re you craving?” he asked as they sat on the couch in his living room.

“You pick,” she returned. Pawla lounged between them, and she reached down to scratch her behind the ears. “I’m honestly still stuffed from lunch.”

“Chinese it is,” he decided, and he pulled out his phone to order. Callie did the same, but to open up Instagram—and she found that Alex was the first person in her stories queue. She stared at the little circle of her profile picture, hesitant. But she was too nosy not to look, so she angled her phone screen away from Cash and clicked.

There were only two pictures in her story. The first showed her in sweat-drenched workout gear lying face-down on a gym room floor with the caption, “@/kennyomegamanx tried to kill me again.” The second was of her smiling in satisfaction in front of a takeout container of sushi. “He made up for it,” the caption read.

“I guess Alex and Kenny aren’t hiding their relationship anymore.”

She froze and glanced at Cash out of the corner of her eye. That was the second time that day she’s put her foot in her mouth. “I’m sorry,” she apologized. “They’re probably the last two people you want to hear about.”

But Cash shook his head. “I don’t care. They can have each other.”

Callie frowned. She wasn’t sure how to respond to that, but he spoke up again before she could.

“Do you prefer beef and broccoli or chicken?”

She thought for a second. “Beef.”

A few more clicks and he finished putting in the order. “It says it’ll be here in thirty-five minutes,” he said as he stood from the couch. “You want a drink? I have a bottle of The Rock’s tequila, it’s really good.”

Callie’s nose scrunched up. “Do you have vodka?”

“Yeah. You want it on the rocks or mixed?”

“Mixed please.”

He nodded and disappeared into the kitchen. Callie occupied herself with petting Pawla until he returned with their drinks a few minutes later. “Here you go; vanilla vodka and Coke Zero.”

“Oo, that sounds good,” she said as he handed her the cocktail. She took a sip. He’d made it just right, not too much vodka, not too little.

“So, what’d you think of Orlando?” he asked as he sat back down. “Did I convince you to become my neighbor?”

His choice of words made her stomach flutter again. “I think so. There’s more to do here than in Jacksonville, and a two-hour drive to work is a lot better than a cross-country flight.”

He nodded. “Yeah, I like it. Dax is planning on moving back to Asheville, but I think I’m gonna stay here. It’s grown on me. Plus, I like Disney and Universal Studios too much.”

“Yeah, I definitely want to check those out,” she returned.

“We should plan a weekend,” he smirked. Callie took a sip of her drink to hide her blush.

They fell into silence, and they both turned their attention to the random show Cash had put on the television. But there was something hanging in the air; Callie could feel it. She was about to speak up when Cash beat her to it.

“So, we’ve avoided the topic all day, but I kind of feel like I have to ask now.”

There was no need for him to clarify what he meant. “Matt?” she guessed.

He nodded. She shifted in her seat. “What about him?”

“Well… are you two not together?”

He sounded almost hopeful. She hesitated to respond.

“That was the rumor backstage,” he added.

She rolled her eyes. “Of course it was. But I guess, yeah, at one point it was moving in that direction. But… I actually told him last night that I think we rushed into things.”

“Oh,” Cash said. It was obvious that he expected her to continue, but her confusion over Matt was the last thing Callie wanted to get into right now. So, she deflected.

“There’s something I need to ask you, too.”

Cash arched his eyebrows as he raised his glass to his lips. “That doesn’t sound good,” he joked.

But Callie wasn’t joking. “Why’d you do what you did to Adam?”

He paused to cock his head at her. “What do you mean?”

She shot him a flat look as he took a sip of his drink. “I mean when you stabbed him in the back, Cash.”

Cash made a noise as he swallowed down the tequila. “Damn, not pulling any punches, huh?”

“You didn’t with Adam.”

He looked back at her in surprise. She didn’t waiver. He breathed out again.

“Alright, look,” he started. “I don’t have anything against Adam. I’ve known him a long time. But he and Kenny had what we wanted, and we did what we had to do to get it.”

She rolled her eyes again. That was such a canned response.

“What?”

“You did not have to do what you did,” she returned. “You didn’t have to manipulate him the way you did.”

His eyebrows arched. “Manipulate him? Callie, all we did was point out that Kenny and the Bucks don’t give two shits about him. He did the rest himself.”

“What?”

“I swear.”

“So you didn’t tell him to sabotage Matt and Nick in the gauntlet match?”

“No! He did that because he was upset about you and Matt!”

Callie’s brow puckered in confusion. “What?”

“Yeah,” he confirmed. “He told us at the hotel bar that night that he found out right before the gauntlet match that you were staying with Matt in California, so he retaliated by sabotaging their title shot. Dax and I didn’t have anything to do with that, I promise you.”

The room grew silent as his words sunk in, stunning her. That was exactly what Alex had surmised when Matt had confronted her immediately after the gauntlet match. But Callie hadn’t wanted to believe it, and after FTR had turned on Adam she’d assumed that they’d been the ones to put the idea in his head.

But if Cash was telling her that they hadn’t, then it meant she really was to blame.

“Hey,” Cash softly beckoned. She looked back up at him. His eyes were earnest. “It’s not your fault. I didn’t mean to make it sound like it was. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Callie stared down into her drink, tapping her fingernails on the glass. She appreciated the sentiment, but she didn’t agree. Not really. “Well, technically I walked out him, so…”

She trailed off and took a long drink. She felt like such a bitch. I shouldn’t be here.

“And?” Cash returned, drawing her out of her thoughts. “I’m sure you had good reason to.”

Callie didn’t answer right away, nearly draining her drink. Once she’d had enough, she looked down at Pawla and scratched her head again. “Let’s not talk about it anymore,” she said.

“Done,” he said, and she sent him a tight, grateful smile. “So what do you wanna do? Watch a movie?”

She nodded. “Yeah, that sounds good. I just have one request.”

“What’s that?” he asked.

“Anything but Mean Girls.”

* * * * * * * * * *

When Matt arrived at Daily’s Place on Wednesday, he had half a mind to go to Tony and tell him to cancel the mixed tag match. He had no desire to wrestle a match with Callie anymore. To be frank, he didn’t want much of anything to do with her at the moment.

He knew she’d been in Orlando with Cash yesterday. He’d seen her Instagram photo at the go-kart track and hadn’t thought much of it. But not long after, Kenny had texted him.

Hey, did you know Callie is in Orlando with Cash right now?

It had caught him completely off-guard. No? he’d responded. Who told you that?

He’d been more on-edge than he cared to admit while he’d awaited Kenny’s reply. Alex. I guess they posted photos from the same place on Instagram or something.

A quick search for Cash’s Instagram profile—Matt didn’t follow that asshole—had confirmed the claim to be true. It wasn’t a photo, but a Boomerang video on his story that gave it away. It was unmistakably the same indoor go-kart track from Callie’s picture.

I just thought you should know, Kenny had followed up. Matt hadn’t responded. He’d tried to put it out of his mind ever since, but he couldn’t. He kept going back to what Callie had said to him the last time he’d seen her.

This all happened way too fast.

He didn’t disagree; they had moved fast. But what confused him was that Callie had been the one to set the pace, not him. He’d thought she’d wanted everything that had happened between them.

But the way she was acting now made him feel like nothing more than a regret.

“Matt.”

“Hm.” He looked up from his phone at Brandon. He, Nick, and Kenny all stared expectantly at him from across the EVP room.

“Do you want me to film the mixed tag match for BTE?” Brandon asked. His tone that conveyed he was repeating himself. Matt obviously hadn’t heard him the first time.

“Oh, no. Sorry,” he replied, and he looked back down at his phone. He saw the three of them exchange a wary glance out of his peripheral vision. Thankfully, they just left it alone.

“Alright, I’m starving,” Nick announced as he stood from his seat. “You guys coming?”

“Yeah,” Brandon agreed.

“No,” Kenny wearily returned. “I got that interview with JR.”

There was a pause. And then, “Matt?”

He looked up again, this time at his brother. He shook his head. “No. I’m not hungry.”

Nick let out a breath. “Alright,” he said, and he and Brandon went out the door, leaving Matt and Kenny alone. The silence in the room was deafening. But it didn’t last long.

“Have you talked to Callie at all?” Kenny asked. “About the match,” he quickly clarified.

Matt shook his head again. “No. I haven’t talked to her period. Not since Monday.”

There was another beat of uncomfortable silence. Again, Kenny was the one to break it. “Look, about yesterday. I wasn’t trying to—”

“Don’t,” Matt abruptly cut him off. He knew exactly what he was going to say, and he didn’t want to hear it. “I’m glad you told me. Let’s just leave it at that.”

He raised his palms in surrender. “Fine,” he said, and Matt hoped that really was the end of it.

But then Kenny added, “But I think you owe Alex an apology.”

“What?” Matt cut his eyes at him in disbelief. “For what?”

“Oh, come on, you know exactly for what. For the whole reason the mixed tag match is happening in the first place.”

That confused him even more. “The mixed tag match is happening because Trent can’t mind his fucking business.”

Kenny rolled his eyes. “Oh, okay,” he sarcastically returned.

“What?”

“You called Alex a slut, Matt!” Kenny burst. “That’s what led to the mixed tag match! You accused her of putting Hangman up to sabotaging your title shot and you called her a slut for being involved with both me and Cash. But where was Callie yesterday? In Orlando with Cash, even though she’s apparently with you. So yeah, I think you owe Alex an apology.”

Matt sat back, physically stung by Kenny’s words. They hurt because there was more than just a grain of truth in them. But, at the moment, he was too stubborn to hear it. “Oh, so Callie’s the slut now? Is that what you’re saying?”

Kenny expelled an exasperated breath. “No, that’s not what I’m saying.”

“It sure fucking sounds like it is.”

“I’m saying she’s making you look like a fucking idiot.”

They were thrown into silence again, their arguing replaced with quiet, palpable hostility as they sat opposed on either end of the room. Matt’s eyes turned dark. He didn’t need this. Not now. Not from his best friend.

“Fuck you, Kenny,” he spat. He stood and stalked toward the door, and as he gripped the handle he turned back, a cutting remark on the tip of his tongue. But in a moment of clarity, he decided it was better left unsaid. The shoe was on the other foot now. So he just went out the door, suddenly glad that he did have a match. He needed to hit something.

* * * * * * * * * *

“Are you guys going out for Jim’s match?”

Alex glanced across the locker room at Trent, looking for him to answer Chuck’s question. He met her gaze before responding.

“I don’t think so,” he said. “We’ll probably stay back here and focus on our match.”

Chuck nodded. “Yeah. I wish it wasn’t mixed tag rules. I’d like to see Alex hand Matt his ass.”

“Oh, she doesn’t even need to touch him to do that,” Trent returned. “Didn’t he train Callie?”

Alex knew he was asking her, but she didn’t look up as she rummaged through her suitcase. “I think so.”

Trent smirked. “So then kicking Callie’s ass will be kicking Matt’s by proxy,” he said. Chuck blinked at him.

“Wow, you actually used that correctly.”

He sucked his teeth. “Fuck off. I know big words.”

“‘Proxy’ is a five-letter word.”

“You know what I meant.”

“Spell it.”

“Are you serious?”

Alex smirked to herself and let them continue to argue while she grabbed the top to her gear and a pair of joggers and went into the bathroom to change. Truth be told, she didn’t want to talk or even think about the match against Callie and Matt. It was a complete one-eighty from a week ago—she’d been aching to kick Matt’s ass then. But now, she just wished the entire situation would go away.

She finished changing and returned to the main area of the locker room. Chuck was still challenging Trent to spell different words. “I’m going to hair and makeup,” she announced over them.

“What gear are you wearing?” Trent asked.

She turned to face him as she pulled on her zip-up hoodie. Her top was a sparkly dark silver-purple with black trim. “This gear. Why?”

“Because we should try to match. I knew I should have brought the gear from Fyter Fest…” he trailed off as he dug through his things and pulled out his dark gray tights with the blue and pink designs. “Do these work?”

Alex gave him a soft smile. “Yeah, those work. I’ll ask Stella to do a blue and pink eye look,” she said, and she went out the door.

Unfortunately, she didn’t get ten steps before she ran into Adam.

He slowed to a stop when he saw her. “Hey.”

“Hey,” she returned, and her brow puckered with concern as she looked him over. He had his ubiquitous glass of whiskey in hand, but he at least looked better than he had when she’d seen him at the hotel on Sunday. “Going somewhere?”

He looked confused at that. “No… why?”

She awkwardly fidgeted with the sleeve of her hoodie. “Well, you just look dressed for TV and I didn’t see you on the card tonight. I wasn’t even sure you were here.”

Adam hadn’t said a single word to her since she’d texted him to ask if he was going to the Labor Day party. But she hadn’t said a single word to him since then, either. Because the more she’d thought about it, the more she’d realized how right Kenny was. It was exhausting putting so much effort into a friendship where she wasn’t getting the same effort in return.

“Oh,” Adam regretfully said as he looked down at his pale blue button-up. “Yeah, I just had an interview with Schiavone.”

“Oh,” Alex repeated. “About—”

“Where I go from here,” he interjected. “I said I was still open to tagging with Kenny if he was.”

He laughed wryly to himself and took a sip of his drink. Alex frowned and looked away. Kenny was not open to tagging with him again; she knew that for a fact. But judging by the look on Adam’s face, deep down he knew that, too.

“Where are you headed?”

She looked back up at him. “Oh, hair and makeup. For the match tonight.”

Realization dawned in his eyes. And then, sadness and hurt. “Oh, right. You have the mixed tag against Matt and Callie.”

“Yeah.” Alex fidgeted and glanced away again. She couldn’t bear the look on his face. But then she wondered: did he know that Callie had been in Orlando with Cash yesterday? Should she tell him?

No, she quickly decided. It’s not your place or responsibility.

“Well, I should get over there,” she said, gesturing in the direction of hair and makeup.

“Oh, yeah,” he nodded as she started walking. “Good luck tonight.”

“Thanks,” she said, and she turned and hurried off as quickly as she could.

* * * * * * * * * *

In the years since she’d started wrestling, Callie had never felt as much of an outcast as she did now. As soon as she’d arrived at the arena with Cash, she’d realized she had nowhere to go. The EVP room was out of the question, and she didn’t want to go back to sharing a dressing room with Britt—she was the one who’d blabbed her business all over Daily’s Place to begin with. Cash had offered for her to share with him and Dax, but she’d turned him down; she could only imagine the rumors that would start if people noticed her sharing a locker room with FTR. No, she needed to keep a low-profile, and so she’d found an empty room away from everyone else. Now, she sat in one of the lounges watching the show as she awaited her match, alone.

Orange Cassidy had just beaten Angelico with the Orange Punch. Callie had expected Best Friends and Alex to be at ringside for the match, but they weren’t. She looked away from the TV and down at her phone as Bryce Remsburg raised Orange’s arm in victory, but a commotion a moment later redrew her attention. Santana and Ortiz had attacked Orange from behind. The assault didn’t last long, however, as Chuck and Trent ran out and chased them off like a pair of guard dogs. Callie couldn’t help but roll her eyes as Trent angrily paced the ring, shirtless in his skinny jeans. She sincerely hoped Matt would get a quick pin on him in their match.

Chuck grabbed a mike to speak, but Callie’s phone buzzed in her hands and she looked down at the screen. It was a text from Cash.

Are you free? I need a favor.

Her pulse picked up a bit as she unlocked her phone to respond. Yeah… what’s up? she typed back and hit “send.” She watched as the typing bubble appeared and, soon after, his answer.

Don’t laugh. I can’t decide on a shirt.

Despite his request, Callie couldn’t help but let out a little laugh. But she couldn’t blame him too much; FTR was having an in-ring celebration in honor of their championship victory at All Out that night. He probably wanted to look his best.

Usual room? she asked as she stood to leave.

Usual room, he replied, and she headed off in the direction of FTR’s dressing room.

The door was slightly open when she arrived, and she knocked to announce herself before she let herself in. Cash stood alone in the middle of the room in a pair of dark navy slacks and socks, shirtless. Callie’s mouth went suddenly dry as he looked over at her.

“Okay, I can’t decide between these two.” He motioned to a pair of dress shirts hung up in the cubby behind him—one white with tiny blue dots, the other with a subtle blue and white checkered pattern. She walked over and pulled them both out of the cubby so that she could hold them up next to him. He smirked at her as she studied them. She did her best to ignore it.

“This one,” she decided, handing him the checkered shirt. But she frowned as she returned the white shirt to its place. “Are those the only dress shoes you have?” she asked, nodding at the pair of black square-toed loafers on the floor.

“Yeah…” Cash slowly returned. “Why? Is something wrong with them?”

It took every fiber of Callie’s being not to blurt out with, “Yes, they’re hideous.” Instead, she said, “Just brown would look better with navy, is all.”

“Oh,” he realized. “I guess I should have asked your advice before we left this morning.”

She smirked. “Is that all you needed?”

“Yeah, thanks,” he answered as he pulled on the shirt. Callie watched as he fastened the buttons, and she realized she was staring. She fidgeted and looked awkwardly away, but Cash didn’t seem to notice. “Are you ready for your match?”

She drew in a deep breath. “Physically, yes. Mentally… not at all.”

He snorted. “Make Matt do all the work. He’s the one who dragged you into this.”

Callie anxiously bit her lip. He wasn’t wrong; of the four of them in the mixed tag, she was the only one who hadn’t been present when the match was made. But even so, she couldn’t do that to Matt. “No, I don’t want to do that. And besides, Matt didn’t ask for the match, either—Trent did. All because he didn’t like Matt mouthing off about Alex.”

Cash rolled his eyes as he tucked his shirt into his pants. “That doesn’t surprise me. I think he has a thing for her.”

She scoffed. “You think he does? Please, it’s obvious he does,” she said. And then she muttered, “It seems like everyone has a thing for her.”

“Not me,” Cash abruptly announced. “I’ve moved on.”

Callie looked up at him, but he turned away to grab his suit jacket. She wondered if he had more to say—it felt like he had more to say—but before she could ask the door to the locker room opened and Dax walked in. He halted when he saw her.

“Oh, hey, Callie. I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”

He glanced between her and Cash. They both quickly shook their heads. “No, I just asked her to come help me pick out a shirt,” Cash said.

“Ah,” Dax nodded. Callie didn’t miss the little smirk on his face. It was her cue to go.

“Well, I’ll go so you can get dressed,” she said to Dax as she started to leave.

“Good luck if I don’t see you before your match,” Cash returned, and she gave him a tight smile and went out the door.

* * * * * * * * * *

Alex’s hands were clammy as she stood at Gorilla with Trent. The mixed tag match was next. Unfortunately, it was right after FTR’s joke of a tag team championship celebration. She did her best to tune out Dax’s egotistical blathering as she rolled her neck and loosened up. She needed to focus. A match was a match, and even though she wasn’t looking forward to this one, she still wanted to do her best.

“You ready for this?” Trent asked.

She looked up at him and nodded. “Yeah. Are you?” she meaningfully returned. She still couldn’t believe that he and Chuck had challenged Santana and Ortiz to a parking lot brawl next week. On top of worrying that they’d murder each other, she was concerned that Trent’s focus was no longer on their match.

“Yes,” he assured her. “Don’t worry about me.”

Alex smirked. “Man, have I got bad news for you next week.”

He gave her a crooked smile; but then his eye was drawn to a spot just past her shoulder. She turned to look. Matt and Callie had arrived.

Trent scoffed. “They don’t match at all. Losers.”

Normally, Alex would have laughed. But it was obvious even in the dim lighting of Gorilla that Matt and Callie’s gear wasn’t the only thing off about them. Callie in particular seemed unsure of herself. Her eyes met Alex’s. She turned away without a second glance.

Back in the ring, the “celebration” came to a screeching halt when Jurassic Express dumped a cooler full of beer cans over Cash, Dax, and Tully’s heads. Thankfully, they returned backstage a different way than through the entrance tunnels.

Alex drew in a breath and shook out her arms and legs as the show went to commercial. But it seemed like no time had passed at all when she heard the distinctive beat of the Best Friends theme song sound throughout the arena.

“Let’s do this,” Trent said as he held out his fist to her. She bumped it confidently with her own, and they walked into the tunnel together.

* * * * * * * * * *

A boulder settled in the pit of Callie’s stomach as she watched Alex and Trent disappear down the entrance tunnel. She didn’t know why she’d expected Alex to be just as nervous as her. On the contrary, she’d looked laser-focused; her and Trent both had. It was glaringly obvious that they were ten times more prepared for this match than she and Matt were. The two of them hadn’t even walked to Gorilla together—they’d just happened to get there at the same time.

“I’ll start the match,” Matt said. “I’ll try to keep your ring time to a minimum.”

Callie looked at him in hurt and confusion. “Why would you say that?”

“Because it’s obvious you don’t want to do this,” he breathed. “So I’ll just make quick work of Trent and get it over with, alright?”

“SUPERKICK PARTAYYYYYY!”

The opening of the Young Bucks theme interrupted before Callie could say anything. Matt didn’t so much as glance at her before he walked into the tunnel, and she had no choice but to follow him out.

The crowd offered a mixture of boos and cheers as they walked out onto the stage, but Callie couldn’t hear them over the music. She stood awkwardly next to Matt and waited for him to do his signature pose, but he never did. He just glared into the ring at Trent, who glared right back.

BOOM!

The cannons on the side of the stage shot fake $100 bills high into the air, making Callie flinch. She looked back into the ring as the paper money floated down around them. Alex rolled her eyes in annoyance and turned to say something to Trent.

She stood stiffly at the top of the stage until Matt moved, and they made their way down the entrance ramp. Trent started jaw-jacking, but Callie tuned him out as she took her place on the ring apron. Matt, however, took the bait; Aubrey had to push him back as they yelled at each other. Eventually, Trent scoffed and turned back to Alex.

“You wanna start?” Callie heard him ask.

But Alex didn’t even get the chance to open her mouth before Matt yelled, “No, we’re starting the match!”

Alex and Trent exchanged a look, but she stepped through the ropes and out onto the apron next to the turnbuckle. Matt removed his leather jacket and tossed it to the floor. Aubrey called for the bell, and the match started.

* * * * * * * * * *

Alex didn’t know if Matt was ignoring Callie, if Trent just wanted to beat the shit out of Matt, or if it was some combination of both. But whatever the case, the match had been going on for nearly ten minutes now, and neither of them had even tried to tag in her or Callie. It was aggravating, but at least it worked in her team’s favor. The match had effectively become a singles contest, and Trent had far more experience wrestling on his own than Matt did. That, and his cardio was better. If it continued like this, it would only be a matter of time before they won.

Matt tried to whip Trent toward the ropes, but he reversed it and pulled him into a side headlock. He pivoted toward a corner and charged, running up the turnbuckle to hit a float-over DDT. He went for the pin—but Matt kicked out at two. Afterward, both men remained still on the mat, taking what chance they could to catch their breath. Alex eagerly stepped up onto the bottom rope and banged on the turnbuckle. She wanted in.

“Trent! Tag me in!”

She leaned into the ring, reaching as far as she could, and he looked over at her. But just as he pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, Matt hit him with a clubbing blow to the back. He grabbed him by the hair and jerked him into a chinlock. It wasn’t a move that Matt typically did. Alex knew it meant he was getting tired.

The crowd started clapping in rhythm for Trent, and Alex stomped her boot on the ring apron in time. Trent wrenched at Matt’s fingers, prying them away from his face. In response, Matt pulled him to his feet and swiftly maneuvered to hit a float-over DDT of his own. Alex bit down on her jaw as she watched him hook his leg. Trent got his shoulder up at two.

Alex stepped back up onto the ropes. She was tired of this. “Why don’t you tag in your partner, huh, Matt?” she taunted. “Worried she can’t beat me?”

Matt glared daggers at her as he climbed to his feet. “I don’t want to subject everyone to having to watch you wrestle,” he spat.

But Alex’s wit was just as quick. “Oh really? You look awfully lost without your little brother out here doing all the work.”

That needled him. She knew it would. But what she didn’t expect was his response.

“Please, you wouldn’t even have a contract if you weren’t on your knees for Kenny every night.”

For a second, Alex was stunned into silence. But then a white-hot rage bubbled up inside her. She ducked through the ropes and charged toward him.

“What’d you say to me?”

“You heard me.”

“Why don’t you say it again.”

“Get out of the ring, Alex!” Aubrey ordered.

“Matt!”

At Callie’s warning cry, Matt instinctively whirled around and dodged—and what happened next seemed to unfold in slow motion.

Trent flew toward Alex like a bullet. He crashed into her and knocked the wind from her lungs, sending her violently back into the turnbuckle. She felt a pop in her right shoulder, and then nothing but searing hot pain.

* * * * * * * * * *

When Trent realized what he’d done, he felt sick.

He hadn’t known Alex was in the ring. That DDT had left him dazed, and he’d been oblivious to his surroundings until he’d spotted Matt with his back turned to him. So he went for a spear. But Matt dodged at the last second. Trent had absolutely no chance to stop himself or correct course, and he rammed full speed into Alex.

He watched in stunned horror as she writhed against the turnbuckle. She clenched her right arm, her face screwed up in pain. She was hurt. He’d hurt her.

“Alex—”

Smack!

He was abruptly cut off by a superkick to the jaw. He crumpled to the mat. Matt dragged him by the ankle further into the ring and pinned him. The count sounded distant and faint.

One.

Two.

Three.

The bell rung. Trent felt Matt throw down his leg as the music started, ringing in his ears. He stared up into the lights, unblinking, while Matt’s arm was raised in victory. He’d hurt her. He’d hurt her and then lost the match.

“Alex,” he said again as he rolled over onto his hands and knees. She was still huddled against the turnbuckle, clutching her arm as Aubrey checked on her. He felt sick all over again.

“Alex.” He crawled over to her and put a hand on her knee. She looked up at him. Unshed tears shined in her eyes. It broke him. “I’m sorry.”

She shook her head. “It was an accident—”

“Alex!”

Suddenly, Kenny was in the ring. He practically pushed Trent out of the way as he knelt in front of Alex. “What’s wrong?” he asked her.

“I think it’s dislocated,” she winced.

Trent looked at her right shoulder. It hung visibly lower than her left. His heart dropped into his stomach.

“Let’s get you to Doc,” he said as he tried to move toward her again.

But Kenny blocked him. “I got it,” he bit. Trent didn’t have it in him to argue.

He watched as Kenny helped her to her feet and ushered her to the ropes; he held them open for her so she could gingerly duck through. As she stepped to the other side, Alex looked back. For a brief second their eyes met. But then Kenny put his arm around her, and she turned away and disappeared into the back.

* * * * * * * * * *

Callie couldn’t stay out there a second longer. She was horrified by what she’d witnessed. The way Matt had taken advantage of Trent’s awful mistake, how he hadn’t hesitated to kick him in the jaw—there’d been a viciousness in his eyes that she’d never seen before. And she didn’t want any part of it.

She stormed off before Aubrey could even raise his arm in victory, marching quickly up the ramp. Kenny nearly bowled her over on his way down to the ring, and she turned to watch as he ran to Alex’s aid. But then she saw Matt coming after her, and she turned back around and hurried through the entrance tunnel.

“Callie!”

She didn’t stop or even glance his way. She just kept walking.

“Callie! What the fuck?”

That got her stop and face him. “Me what the fuck? You what the fuck, Matt? What the fuck was that out there?”

If looks could kill, she was certain she would have been dead on the spot. “Are you serious?” he spat. “I won the match and you just ran off!”

Her eyes darkened. “Well, I didn’t want to be a part of it anyway, right?”

Matt bit down on his jaw. There was nothing he could say to that. She gave him one last glare and turned her back on him again, praying that was the end of it. She just wanted to leave. Alone.

“I want your shit out of my house by the weekend.”

Callie halted. His words were like a knife in the back. They hurt. And suddenly, she wanted him to hurt, too.

She turned around again, her head held high. “That’s fine, because I don’t want to move back to California anymore.”

She held his gaze in defiance. But Matt just laughed, cruel and low. “Let me guess, Orlando with Cash?”

She faltered. He knew about yesterday. But she steeled herself again. “No. I want to move to Orlando for me.”

He scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Okay.”

“That’s the truth!”

“Was all this just a rebound to you?”

If his previous words had been a knife to the back, those were a blow to the gut. Tears sprung to the back of Callie’s eyes. Her voice came out strained. Apologetic. “No. I care about you, Matt. So much that it scares me.”

He laughed again and looked away. “Coulda fooled me.”

She took a step toward him. “Matt—”

“Have fun in Orlando,” he cut her off, and that time it was him who stormed off and left her behind. Alone.

#aew fanfiction #kenny omega fanfiction #cash wheeler fanfiction #matt jackson fanfiction #trent beretta fanfiction #the elite fanfiction #young bucks fanfiction #best friends fanfiction #adam page fanfiction #hangman page fanfiction #hangman adam page fanfiction #ftr fanfiction

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hyunrun · 4 years

Text

Dream SMP/Batfam

This is my reasoning for connections between Dream SMP members and the Bats. This was all just for fun, but feel free to give feedback if you’d like! And do say if I’ve made a mistake. I haven’t done everyone, so if there’s anyone else you’d like me to do, lemme know! Please read, I spent a good while on this :D

Batman (Bruce Wayne)/Technoblade: Technoblade's Dream SMP origin story starts with his parents dying, so the backstory fits. He swears to kill all orphans because of the way they killed his parents (Similar to the way Bruce wanted to stop crime from running rampant in Gotham). Techno is also, technically, an orphan as Bruce was. I've always imagined Bruce's voice to be kinda like Techno's, especially that monotone tone he uses, and especially when he's Batman and not Bruce Wayne. Bruce Wayne is -Bat-man and Technoblade is a pig, need I elaborate? Both of them seem to stay up till ungodly times of the day, and I'm sure their sleep schedules are never on the same clock as anyone else's, Bruce's because of his vigilante lifestyle and Techno because... well, he's a Minecraft YouTuber. Both of them have a father figure, although not biological. They also have a friendly rivalry with a fellow content creator/hero (Cough Dream/Superman cough). We say Dick/Wilbur is dramatic, but you can't possibly mean to tell me Batman/Technoblade isn’t subtly more dramatic. They practically invented being dramatic in their respective businesses.

Alfred Pennyworth/Philza Minecraft: Is the father figure to Batman/Technoblade. Is really a force of chaos but everyone pictures them as a soft, loving dad because we all have parental issues and we need more father figures. Both of them are very badass in their own ways. Old and British. Here's a parallel I thought was pretty cool. Philza had been building up his hardcore world for 5 years before he died. It was like his home disappeared in front of his eyes as he fell away from his life. I'm not sure which continuity/arc this is from (Please do not hate on me, I am but a small child) bUT I do know that Alfred died of a heart attack/stroke at the same time the Wayne Manor was destroyed. His home was destroyed as he died. Just as Philza's had been.

Damian Wayne/TommyInnit: Is never really loved by anyone at first glance (From the fandoms). Tommy's the loud, annoying one, Damian's the grouchy, haughty one. But everyone eventually gravitates towards their characters later on. Their families were wary of them at first but grew to love them. Both of them are the youngest, and generally angriest child. Both are not American, Tommy being British and Damian, Arabic. They both have ICONIC mothers. MotherInnit is a queen, we all know this. If she can handle Tommy, she can handle absolutely anything. Talia Al Ghul has a reputation of her own right, and while she hasn't quite the pristine repertoire, she definitely strikes a strong mark on people. Now, this is a dumb connection between the two, but hair!! Tommy’s seems nice and floofy while Damian's is generally drawn spiky, and I think that's a cool contrast. Their love for pets is also important to note. Tommy's the one that's known for starting wars over the deaths of his pets, and it's easy to know that Damian wouldn't hesitate to hurt someone if they did anything to Titus or Batcow. It’s been shown on multiple occasions that he loves his pets a lot.

Jon Kent/Tubbo_: Best friends with Tommy/Damian. Do not try to argue that Jon and Damian aren't best friends because come onnn. And PLEASE do not take this as a dumb excuse to ship Tommy and Tubbo, as I know people ship Dami and Jon. Both are the embodiment of chaos wrapped in kindness, and both are definitely the more stable of their friendship with the other gremlin children. I am confident that both would probably refer to their parents as mother and father dearest. You cannot convince me otherwise. Tubbo has already done so, and Jon would never disrespect his parents, so this would obviously be the next best alternative for when he is upset by them. Jon’s powers fluctuate upon shifts in emotion and he can’t really control his powers, like the shifting of Tubbo’s alter egos. We never know when Toob or Big Law will creep out of the shadows.

Dick Grayson/Wilbur Soot: (Second) most dramatic in the family, though perceived as the drama queen because of their boisterous personalities. The one that was probably a theatre kid in school. The lighthearted one that keeps everyone cheerful, but also the one with the easiest path to a horrid descent into madness. They have a flair for drama, the glitter and sparkles to Batman/Technoblade’s sombre smoke and haze, which is why they work together so well. The closest family member to Tommy/Damian. Their little brother/big brother dynamics are just impeccable. Both are the most simped for by their respective fanbases (from what I’ve seen). The token pretty boys. Both artistically talented in different ways, with Wilbur’s music and Dick’s acrobatic skills. Also the ones that get constantly shipped with every woman they literally even look at. They also express their dramatic tendencies through their clothes, Dick with his jazzy Discowing suit and Wilbur’s dramatic L’manburg outfit.

Superman/Dream: The OP gods, need I say more? Friendly rivals with Technoblade/Batman. Very often perceived as ‘Perfect’ which they are not, but many refuse to accept that. A funny parallel I drew was the fact that both of them are famous in their own rights, but can just walk around and not get recognised despite millions of people knowing their online/superhero identities. Both are technically not human.

Stephanie (Batgirl/Spoiler)/Sapnap: Both of their names start with S! Not my only reasoning, but I’ll take it into account anyway. Both are basic looking in my head (Blue eyes blonde hair for Steph?? There’s at least 3 other girls that look EXACTLY like her in the nearby DC universes. And Sapnap blends in with every other white boy, though I love him regardless.) but both also have immaculate personalities to make up for it. They’re the most normal people out of all their co-streamers/superheroes in my eyes, also my favourites. (I didn’t realise as I put them together that I loved them most but here we are). They’re both great at dumb banter. They don’t have huge, hilarious bits often or any constant jokes that are pulled on time and time again, but their general atmosphere makes everything seem like a joke. They may not be the best at what they do in their friend groups but are actually really good nonetheless and do not get due credit for their effort and talent sometimes. Has a warring relationship with Damian/Tommy (Sapnap over the pets and Steph and Dami didn’t have the most friendly relationship at the start)

Jason/BBH- Same but opposite but same. Exists to cause chaos. I wouldn’t have associated these two with each other till the Badlands became a thing… but then the Badlands became a thing and I had to. Now, I know that technically Bad doesn’t have a grudge against Techno, but Jason would totally set up a whole empire just to mess with Bruce’s plans, just to get in the way, to instigate, to fan the flames of the fire till he’s driven Bruce to his breaking point. Bad isn’t exactly trying to do that, but he’s only around for the chaos. He’s only here for his own benefit, and he’s only here for that because of the hurt caused to him by the nation he came from. A parallel being Jason causing havoc because of the pain Bruce caused him. Besides, both have a cool red and black colour scheme, and both wear jacket!! Both are also technically not alive (If we're considering BBH as a demon).

Roy Harper/Skeppy: I have absolutely no explanation for this, but it just Fits. Besides, they have cool opposing colour schemes and are best friends with BBH/Jason!!

Aaaand last but not least

Jason/Technoblade: Now you must be thinking But Kaly you already spoke about them! And yes, I did, and they do go really well with their respective characters but I couldn’t simply ignore the connection between these two, so I thought I might as well write about it. Technoblade was an English major (If I remember correctly) before he dropped out to pursue his youtube career. Jason, though this may not be a well-known fact, was a definite literature nerd at school before he met his demise. Their cut off education in English is an interesting parallel to me. Both of them also have destructive tendencies, with Technoblade being an anarchist and Jason periodically running an underground empire to make sure he can do whatever the hell he wants to. They don’t generally care who they hurt on their way to reach their end goal. Jason’s reckless shooting and killing clearly shows this, as he continuously justifies his actions by saying he’s ending crime rather than just making it wait in line for its turn to pop up again, while Technoblade’s release of the withers and excessive use of his firework crossbow clearly shows that the deaths of the residents of L’manburg do not matter to him as long as he abolishes the government.

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joon-ipersgirl · 4 years

Text

O7 - “the promising proposition”

genre: mafia!au, angst, fluff, slow burn, mystery-thriller

pairing: namjoon x reader (f)

word count: 5.1k

warnings: cursing (if i miss any, let me know!)

summary: charismatic. beautiful. fearless without question. the ambitious team of seven young men in charge of spiral, downtown district’s hottest new club go above and beyond to provide 100% satisfaction to their clients.

after an eventful night out, you have no choice but to join the team for property damages greater than your intern salary. challenging a series of events that can no longer be left to coincidence, secrets threaten to burst at the seams as your professional and private life collide, and another - more sinister - debt is added to your total.

how far are you willing to go to pay back your pound of flesh? remember, nothing is ever as it seems...

a/n: it’s been a minute but we’re back! winter break is here and i’m determined to write so here’s part 7 as i still work on my tae halloween fic (whew) and some more holiday related scenarios/oneshots. thank you all for being so patient and i hope you enjoy this next part. i only have one more pre-written part for this story so updates may be even slower lol. as always, send your reactions as they make me super happy lmao. thank you vi for beta-reading this and enjoy everyone!

full masterlist // series masterlist // previous // next

The four of you sit in Manager Kim’s office, tense. Well, three as Paul had ruined his chances during last week’s meeting but you know he can feel the heaviness in the air as you wait for Madeline’s decision. She sits comfortably behind her large desk after calling you in to tell you who’d be assisting her on the Cavallero project. Her large, black fedora is propped on her head at a dangerous angle as she has her feet kicked up on her desk, her signature steel toed boots accentuating her full black outfit. You’d spent the previous days in the breakroom trying to figure out what made this project a higher priority than the rest of the contracts you’d acquired and who would be the lucky winner.

“Lovely of you all to join me, though Paul you were not really needed.” He tries his best to hide behind Laura from Manager Kim’s disappointed stare, but to no avail. “I know you all have been eagerly anticipating which one of you lucky interns will have the privilege of working with me on the first part of the Cavallero contract. You’ll find out shortly as his assistant will be dropping off the final notes on what he expects to see at the event; I’ll send one of you down to fetch him. We’ll have a brief meeting afterwards and then get to work. The rest of you will work under that person, following their orders diligently. Now, I need updates on the rest of our projects. Where are we?”

You barely listen as James rattles off what he was able to accomplish with the Emmerson’s engagement party. You think his design is doable, chic for an event planned in spring, but lacking in some of the finer details you know the future Mrs. Emmerson would appreciate; she’s a woman after your own heart with her love for champagne, meals created by chefs with Michelin stars, and exquisite fine china. Of course Madeline would pit you against each other for this job though. Not that you mind, you’re more than capable of fighting for what you believe is mine. It’s just less work when it’s given to you nicely packaged. Like the gifts you’re sure future Mrs. Emmerson would like to receive from her future husband’s wealthy friends.

“Y/N?” You focus back on Manager Kim who’s waiting expectantly, her glasses slipping down her nose. “The Williams’? What’s going on there? Or have you not made any progress?”

“The Williams have signed off on the zoo theme for their son,” James interjets before you can gather your thoughts. “We’re looking into finding the best face painters in the city and we’ve almost secured a catering contract for the 150 vegan cupcakes Mrs. Williams ordered. The invitations are currently being designed based on the chosen theme and will be ready for client approval next week.”

“Very good, James. Please send me a copy of your notes to be added into the file. Y/N, I expect better from you. That’s everything I have for today. You’re all dismissed,” she finishes with a wave of her hand, her glasses sliding down her nose once again as she searches for one particular document on her desk.

You don’t wait for the rest of them to follow as you make your way back to the tiny cubicle-like room you share. Manager Kim normally never calls you out in front of the rest of them and you’re fuming. Tossing down your legal pad, you whirl around as the three of them enter the room.

“What the fuck, James?!” you hiss as he calmly sits behind his desk and resumes typing on his computer.

“Looks like the Princess is upset,” Paul stage-whispers to Laura as he too sits down. You ignore him. He’s just as irrelevant beforehand as he is now.

“What do you need, Y/N? I have to send the notes from the meeting to Manager Kim,” James responds, not looking up at you. Your face further sours.

“You read my fucking files?! That wasn’t your event to handle and you know that!” you yell.

“Well, you took too long to respond -”

“I had barely opened my mouth -”

“- and Manager Kim needed a response, so I responded,” he finishes, ignoring your outburst.

“Y/N, please calm down. We don’t want to make a scene,” Laura pleads.

“Calm down? Laura, he made me look incompetent,” you argue.

“But you are, Y/N.” You pause and turn to James once again. Disbelief is written across your face as you stare each other down. You were the imcompetent one? “You should be ready to answer any question about any event J&M has going on whether it’s your’s or someone else’s. It’s not my fault that you were never taught the basics of efficiency in a company. The job has to get done and I completed the task. Simple,” he finishes. His incessant typing is all you hear as you stare at him. James had never been this bold before. Especially not with you.

“Watch your mouth, James,” you tell him coolly.

“Furthermore, your failure in that meeting shows that you’re incapable of handling bigger projects. I mean, you couldn’t recall the most straightforward details of a birthday party for a six-year-old child. Why should Manager Kim trust you to work on the coveted Cavallero contract? You’ve given her no reason to. All you’ve done is eliminated yourself from the running, effectively leaving Laura and I. Which is no challenge because - no offense Laura - you’re not really competition. I just hope you guys can maange when my hands are full with this project.”

You laugh as Laura cowers. You weren’t sure whether it was from the sound or James’ particularly harsh words, but the atmosphere in the room was much worse than in the meeting. Biting back the words you really wanted to tell him, you heed Laura’s advice and decide to not cause a scene. This is a professional establishment and you need this job. There are goals you want to accomplish and you wouldn’t let a slimy bastard like James Carter distract you. He’d finally shown his true colors - what he really thought of you - and you’re only grateful the others had been around to witness it.

“Alright, James. It seems like you’ve been holding back on us. Just remember: a word once let out of a cage cannot be whistled back again,” you tell him as you resume your duties at your desk. Flipping open a new page of your legal pad, you write neatly at the top: Emmerson Engagement. If James thought he had bested you, he had another thing coming.

“Are you okay, Y/N?” Laura asks as she joins you in the staff room for lunch.

“Never better,” you reply, sipping on your iced coffee as you warm your leftover lasagna in the microwave. Gods bless your sweet, sweet roommate.

“What James said to you this morning was pretty harsh,” she says as she makes herself a steaming cup of green tea. Always the health conscious one that girl.

“James seems to be tired of our shit,” you chuckle. “I’ve heard worse though, Laura. Don’t worry about me. He said some pretty harsh things about you, too.”

She nods. “I didn’t think he could be so mean! And counting me out?! I worked really hard on my designs!” Laura’s voice doesn’t sound too sure, but you nod in agreeance.

“Your bridal party design last spring was very well done,” you tell her around a mouthful of lasagna.

“Exactly!” she says in a huff as she plops down across from you, nearly burning herself in the process. “And your event was really good too! The one you did a few months ago,” she trails off. You laugh.

“Which one was that?”

“You know, the one for the family with that really fancy theme? And lots of people came...”

“Oh, the Winter Wonderland scene on the ice rink?”

“Yes, that one!” she exclaims.

“That was Marie’s project before she got transferred to Jenson’s team,” you say with a laugh. Laura almost chokes on her tea as you wipe your mouth clean. “No need for you to try and make me feel better by pretending to remember something I’ve worked on. I’m honestly fine,” you chuckle again.

“Y/N, I’m so sorry -”

“Y/N?” James stands in the doorway looking quite displeased. You raise your eyebrows at him in response. “Manager Kim would like to see you in her office. Please make it quick as I’m going to get Mr. Cavallero’s assistant soon.” You laugh loudly.

“Of course, James. I’ll be sure to let Manager Kim know you’d like her to rush her meeting for your convenience.”

He scowls as you brush past him, your half-eaten lunch and coffee in hand. Mercury must be in retrograde for James to think that he can make demands of you any type of way. It seems that you need to put him back in his place; he’d gotten too comfortable with the little office jokes you all shared. Grabbing your legal pad and pen, you smooth down the little flyaway hairs and your white button down shirt; you couldn’t receive another lashing looking unkempt. Knocking on the door, you wait for Manager Kim to answer before you enter.

“You asked to see me, Manager Kim?”

“Yes. Please take a seat, Y/N. I’ll be with you in a second,” she replies as she finishes typing on her computer. You sit gingerly in the unoccupied chair as you’d done this morning and wait for her to rip into you. “Right. Let’s get to it. What was that this morning?” You inhale deeply.

“Honestly, I was thinking about James’ event and mentally noting changes I would make as possible suggestions to him when you called on me. I wasn’t dozing off because I was bored,” you answer.

“Hmm. And what changes would you have made?” she asks curiously as she gives you her undivided attention.

“Well, the future Mrs. Emmerson is a woman of prestige. Class. While roses are a classic choice, white tulips are pre-on-trend and I think she would enjoy being a part of that group. He also chose the Dom Perignon champagne, but I thought Veuve Clicquot would be the better option. High price doesn’t always mean high flavor. I do agree with his choice of venue though. The high ceilings will look great in the low afternoon light and the white lights in the evening will make for great photos,” I finished. “But of course, the client is always right and if this is her chosen design, we’ll go with that.”

Manager Kim stares at you until you start to feel slightly uncomfortable under her gaze. You know you hadn’t overstepped and she had asked for your honest opinion, but when sitting in front of one of the best event designers in the game, second guessing yourself is inevitable.

“You didn’t think to say anything earlier in the meeting?” she asks.

“I wasn’t aware that giving opinions on other people’s events was ideal during a regular updates meeting.”

“You should speak up more. Your ideas aren’t as bad as you think they are,” Madeline says as she leans back in her chair. “How else do you expect to lead any major project?”

Just as you’re going to respond, a knock sounds at the door. “Come in!” Manager Kim yells.

“Should I leave? James did say he was going to collect Mr. Cavallero’s assistant,” you trail off, getting ready to stand.

“No. No, you’re fine,” she says with a wave of her hand. “Ah, Mr. Carlisle - oh! And Mr. Cavallero! What a surprise! I didn’t know you would be joining us,” Manager Kim says as she stands and you follow suit.

“I happened to have some free time and decided to tag along as Lewis was dropping off the notes. I hope you don’t mind. I thought it would be helpful to have me here in case you had any questions that needed direct attention,” Mr. Cavallero responds. “And please, call me Jonas.”

Mr. Cavallero, or Jonas as he would like to be referred to, is dressed in his typical big spender suit: a deep navy blue suit with a pristine white buttoned-down shirt and pre-released Versace patent leather monk strap shoes. His aura fills the entire space, though he only stands in the doorway of Madeline’s office. You can practically feel the gel between your fingers as you look at his salt-and-pepper slicked back hair; the sheen is almost as bright as his shoes.

“And Miss Y/L/N, yes? What a pleasure to see you again. Will you be sitting in on this meeting as well? Lewis could only sing your praises after you left,” he asks. You struggle to keep your face neutral as James’ searing gaze washes over you. You know Manager Kim’s ears must be red as her secretive meeting is foiled by her best client.

“Actually, I was just -”

“- going to bring the file for the event as you were previously suggesting. Right, Y/N?” Manager Kim says as she turns to you with a stiff smile. “You are our chosen intern, afterall.” You can barely contain your gasp as she says the words. You had gotten the contract?! James does not try to hide his shock at her statement as his eyes widen and his mouth nearly falls open.

“It’ll be a pleasure working with you again, Miss Y/L/N,” Mr. Carlisle says with a smile.

“Of course,” you reply with a deep head nod. “I look forward to working with you both as well. I’ll be back with your file shortly.”

“Thank you, Y/N. And thank you James for going to get them. You may leave now,” Manager Kim adds as she turns her attention back to her guests, inviting them to sit and make themselves comfortable.

You walk calmly, though you feel anything but that, across the room as James holds the door open for you. Pleading with the gods to be on your side, you race ahead of him to the breakroom for fresh, new bottles of water - a sight to see in a knee length pencil skirt and the infamous 4-inch stilettos that are apparently still required in this day and age. Your office is filled with hushed whispers until you round the corner and enter the small room.

“You got the Cavallero project?!” Paul exclaims. “Holy shit! You’re better than I thought, Y/N!” You laugh as you search your desk for the copy of the previous plans you’d developed from that day’s secret meeting.

“Congratulations, Y/N!” Laura cheers, bouncing up and down. “Your first real major project. Isn’t that exciting, James?”

“Sure. If you can be happy for someone who fucked her way to get the position,” he says biterrly. “Lewis could only sing your praises after you left?” James scoffs. “Sounds like you worked really hard in that meeting.”

“James!” Laura gasps.

“Oh it’s fine, Laura. If you think that James, I can’t stop you,” you say with a shrug. “But I’ll be happy to discuss my scandalous sex life with you after I meet with our coveted client.”

You prance out of the office with a smug smile on your face. Of course James would resort to a low blow because he didn’t get what he wanted; he was worse than the six-year-old child he had reprimanded you about. Tucking the fake file under your arm as the real one is still in Madeline’s office, you carry the bottles of water back to the meeting. After passing the bottles to your clients, you stand diligently behind Manager Kim with your notepad at the ready.

“Please Miss Y/L/N, take my seat,” Jonas says, standing.

“Oh no, I couldn’t.”

“I insist. I do my best thinking standing up.”

“He does this often in his office,” Lewis agrees. Glancing at Manager Kim, you gingerly sit down on the end of the chair after thanking Jonas again.

“You had mentioned that you enjoyed the designs Y/N had developed, but as you know these are drafts and can be changed as you deem fit, Mr. Cavallero. Are there any things that come to mind or can we work on finalizing these details?” Madeline asks. You watch as Jonas strides around the office, seemingly in thought.

“You proposed hosting the event at one of the upscale hotels downtown, but I was wondering if you had any other options. We want the environment to feel lavish, but not over the top,” he replies. “I was actually thinking of something -” he pauses “ - more intimate.”

Writing down his wishes, you rack your brain for places that fit his description. Most clients of his caliber wanted something extravagant, but Jonas was proving to be a very different man. Quite the surprise that you were not expecting. “Would you like something with more modern architecture or classical?” you ask.

“I have always been a fan of French architecture; the European style also seems to be popular among our own clients. Most of them come from European backgrounds,” Jonas answers.

“They might find the interior design reminiscent,” Madeline thinks aloud and jots it down.

“It could be very good for signing contracts, sir,” Lewis adds.

“I may have a suggestion. Chateau’s is a little outside of the city, but the view is magnificent. It’s family owned so that may benefit you with your clients as well. It also has a rooftop that would look great in the afternoon sun as well as the late evening should the event last longer than expected,” you suggest. “I’ve also read great reviews saying that the food is well prepared too.”

“This could lower your costs for your first event and more money can be reserved for the benefit gala you’re also organizing,” Madeline sneaks in. She’s right, of course. A benefit gala planned by Madeline Kim would require much more than what Mr. Cavallero had said he was okay with spending, but he didn’t need to know that right now.

“Hmm,” he ponders turning around. “This sounds doable. I’d like to see what you can come up with for designs for this new place as well as scheduling a visit to see it for myself. All of this can be done before the initial deadline of securing a venue, yes?”

“Absolutely,” Madeline responds and you keep your composure as you review your mental calendar of events knowing this would be difficult to pull off. Brunch is scheduled a month and a half from today’s date meaning you had to somehow convince Chateau’s to take on your client, create an acceptable menu, and allow you to make any decorating changes within two weeks to make the deadline. Madeline is batshit crazy, but it would have to get done to secure the benefit gala - the whole reason for the company even accepting this contract.

“I can have all the details typed and sent to you within the next week. I’ll also keep the downtown hotel as an option if Chateau's is unavailable for your intended date. I’m sure we can use the rooftop of a hotel to create an intimate setting that your guests would enjoy,” you add. “I would also like to request the location of the benefit gala. I understand this is a very important event for your law firm and I would like to begin drafting plans for your approval at the earliest convenience.”

“Yes, of course. We use the Finca Corte as they have the best grand ballroom in the city. Lewis, please send Miss Y/L/N the past itineraries of the event so she may have a better understanding of the atmosphere we wish to create for our guests.” Lewis nods and makes his own notes, before his wrist watch alarms.

“Ah, Mr. Cavallero. Your 4pm meeting is on time this afternoon. We should leave now so you aren’t late,” Lewis warns. Jonas nods and you all stood to say your goodbyes.

“Please, if you need anything, reach out to Lewis and he’ll get in contact with me so I can answer any of your questions,” Jonas says with a smile as he shakes your hands.

“Of course, Mr. Cavallero. Please feel free to do the same,” Madeline replies though you can hear the tightness in her voice and for the third time, you wonder what her relationship is with Jonas. They had to have had some history for her to always seem on edge in his presence.

“Let me walk you both downstairs,” you offer. J&M isn’t as large as Hastings and Lewis, but there are many twists and turns on each floor that guests could get lost in.

You don’t turn your head as you pass your tiny office space and head for the elevator. You wouldn’t give any of those fuckers your attention in the presence of high quality clientele. It’s cramped inside but not uncomfortable as you ride down from the fourth floor. Jonas turns to you once again as you stand in the lobby.

“Again Miss Y/L/N, if you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask. Lewis would be happy to answer any of your questions if you can’t get in contact with me,” he says and hands you his business card.

“I actually did have one question before you go. Well two actually. Finca Corte - it isn’t a chain, is it? Just one location?”

“Right. On 17th and Main near the Grande Theatre, but the next block over,” Jonas replies.

“And there’s no need to call and reserve the date? The notes Lewis had given us hadn’t mentioned anything about the date or a deposit,” you state.

“No, the firm takes care of those details. The benefit gala is always reserved for the third Saturday in May every year,” Lewis responds. Three months from now, you think.

“Oh, wonderful. I know you have to get going so I’ll email you any other questions, Lewis. Thank you again. Please return to the firm safely,” you say cheerly and wave. They return it and you wait for them to get into their sleek town car before you let your face fall into a frown. You’d never been to or heard of Finca Corte before, but why did the location seem so familiar? You try not to dwell on it too much as you head back upstairs. There are more pressing matters at hand, like putting James back into the roach-infested place he’d crawled out of. You grin as you head off the elevator.

Rosalia greets you as you enter the old two-bedroom apartment you share. Slipping off your heels that you’re sure has blood crusted into the toes from excessive wear, you scratch behind her ears as she purrs. She’s one of the better things to happen to you in your life and you’re grateful for her little pieces of affection even though you’re positive she had made some attempts to smother you in your sleep so she could have your bed.

“You’re home?” Amaya calls out from her hidden position on the couch.

“Yeah! Did you make dinner?” you ask as you follow your nose to the kitchen where a large pot stews on the stove.

“Of course I did. We all know you’d starve if I didn’t cook,” she says as she bumps you out of the way to check on the food. You mock her as you sit down at the antique metal table that you rarely ate at, choosing to have your meals in the much more comfortable living room on the sofa.

“I could survive!” you yell, trying to defend yourself, but Amaya isn’t having it.

“You couldn’t. Was the lasagna okay today, though?” she asks, changing the subject.

“The best. You should really consider opening a restaurant and forgetting all this computer engineer stuff,” you tell her seriously.

“Ha! As if that would pay off these loans. Either way, this is an investment. Once I’m done with this degree, I’ll be able to program computers to make these dishes for me and rake in a ton of money to get us out of this place,” she says with determination.

Amaya is a third year computer engineering student at Oberman University. Surprisingly smaller than you, she carries as much kick as you do, the two of you getting into numerous instances of mild misdemeanors. Amaya had actually hacked a few systems after she had found out that you weren’t really registered for classes at the University so you could get some credit; she’s a computer genius. Thanks to her, you technically have an Associates degree, but of course Oberman would never grant it to you unless you actually re-enroll. Amaya doesn’t take anyone’s shit though she looks like she’s 12 with her big green eyes and short blunt bob, the bangs a little too long and falling into her eyes.

“Thank you for including me in your plans for world domination, Aya,” you say while taking your hair out of your bun.

“Of course. You know you’re family to me, even though you leave your fucking dishes in the sink,” she replies while placing a piping bowl of beef stew and white rice in front of you. You thank the gods for her as you tuck in, burning your tongue in the process.

“I love you. So, so, so much.”

“Are you talking to me or the stew?” she asks with a laugh as she blows her food to cool it down. You laugh in response. “How was work? Oh my gosh, did you get the project?!”

You grin and nod. “I did!” She squeals in delight and claps her hands. “Though James was extremely displeased. He actually called me incompetent -”

“Hold on. He called you incompetent? Has he seen his progress report? And wasn’t he the one that forgot to submit his file that made that whole project you did a few months ago late?”

“Right. He was so shocked when Madeline announced it was me, even insinuated that I fucked my way to get the position. Kim was heated that Jonas mentioned our meeting while he was in the room though because it was supposed to be a secret,” you explain.

“Of course he would say something like that.” She rolls her eyes. “There seem to be a lot of secrets happening around you. Speaking of which, when do you head back to Spiral to snoop?” Amaya asks. “Do you think you can find anything in the hallway? Maybe you should break into Suga’s office or something,” she suggests.

“Friday night and I don’t think Suga would leave anything lying around like that for me to see again, not after I’m pretty sure he caught me reading his papers a few weeks ago,” you reply, pushing the rice around the plate. That had been extremely careless and might have killed a lead to your mini investigation before it had even begun.

“The one with all that information right? Gosh, I wish you had my photographic brain, that way you could have written down what you had seen and we could solve this whole mystery,” she groans.

“Oh no, Aya. I don’t want you getting involved with this. It seems way too dangerous and you -”

“- have my whole life ahead of me. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. But I want to know where this guy went. Like what if he’s still out there and looking for you?” she questions.

“I know, I know. I don’t want you worrying about it though. I can handle it,” you promise. “I feel like I’ve seen the address before though, but I can’t figure out where.” You rub your forehead as if you could magically make the numbers appear in your mind again. Aya’s photographic memory really would have come in handy.

“What about the date?” Amaya asks. “Or the name? You said the name was weird, unusual.” You nod. What had it said?

“There was a date, a location, and a name with an amount of money. Like a contract or something,” you sigh. “It looked really similar to the ones we have at work. Fuck. I don’t know. Between this and planning the benefit gala, my brain feels like it’s going to explode.” Amaya laughs as she finishes her dinner.

“Please don’t hurt yourself. It’ll come to you,” she says, giving your shoulder a squeeze. “Well, I have Calc 3 homework to finish and these theorems won’t do themselves so I’ll see you in the morning. Wash your fucking plate,” she finishes and pointes her finger at you. You hold up your hands in surrender as she leaves hers in the sink for you to clean. It’s the least you can do as she made all your meals.

Grabbing your purse and lugging it behind you after washing the dishes, you head to your room, Rosalia following in tow. Surprisingly, your bed is still intact which means that Amaya had made sure Rosalia hadn’t gotten into your room. Bless her. Not that there was much to get into as you the minimum possessions a person could have: a bed, a few photos, and enough clothes to last you a few weeks without doing laundry. You place your files and notepads onto your bed, eager to go and take a shower before organizing your notes in preparation for the debrief you would no doubt have to give to the rest of your colleagues tomorrow.

“Was your day as long as mine, Rosalia?” You scratch her head as she hops up on your bed and makes herself at home between your papers, a few of them scattering to the floor. “Apparently not as you want to make mine even longer,” you murmur as you bend to pick up the loose sheets of today’s meeting notes from the Cavallero project. You pause.

Jonas. That was the name that was on top of the paper in Suga’s office. What would be the odds that the Jonas on the paper would be the Jonas Cavallero you were working for? If that Jonas was the same Jonas, then was the location on the paper one of the events you were working on? How would Suga have that information? You sit against the side of your bed. Unless -

Yanking your phone out your purse’s side pocket, you google “Hastings & Lewis benefit gala”. Just as you’d suspected, the information is public knowledge: the third Saturday of May at the Finca Corte. There is no way in hell that Spiral is catering that event; they weren’t ritzy enough to be hired by the likes of one of the most expensive hotels in the city for one of the biggest events on the city’s calendar. Something is going on and you just know all of this is connected somehow. You just need proof. Maybe Maya is right. You’d broken into a few places before. How hard could it be to get into Suga’s office?

full masterlist // series masterlist // previous // next

#bts fanfction #namjoon x reader #namjoon fanfic #bts mafia au #bts fanfic #fic: double entendre

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four-loose-screws · 3 years

Text

FE8 Novelization Translation - Chapter 8

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I call this a “section” because it is not a separate part of the chapter in the book, but divided from the rest of the chapter by a scene break.

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Chapter 8: At Port Kiris

Frelia was blessed with fertile land.

As Eirika’s army traveled away from the capital city, the beautiful countryside came into view, allowing them to enjoy the sight of blooming grains signaling that the harvesting season would soon begin.

Along the well-maintained main road stretched many small towns and villages. They traveled the main road heading east, with Carcino as their goal.

The Republic of Carcino was a developing nation east of Frelia. It’s origins differed from the other countries, as it had not been founded by a hero. Instead, a group of merchants from the other countries had each started a guild in their line of work, and Carcino’s beginnings traced back to a plan to boost their business profits.

At first, the guilds only just barely managed to scrape by together, but as their businesses developed, they gradually gained more and more power, until they were eventually able to exert influence over the other countries’ economies and governments. That was when Carcino finally declared its independence as a nation.

All of that meant that Carcino had no king. Each guild elected an elder, and the elders ruled the country as a counsel. They currently shared an alliance with The Kingdom of Frelia, and at the beginning of the war had immediately declared that they were siding with Frelia because of it.

The first leg of Eirika and her allies’ trip went smoothly. Unlike the last journey, they saw no signs of war along the way.

Those traveling with her from the last campaign still called themselves "Eirika's Guard," however, it basically felt like they were on a pleasure trip. Everyone was happy that they were able to travel at Frelia's expense.

It was of vital importance that they reach their destination, however, Eirika at least wanted her companions to enjoy a taste of what it would be like to go on an actual relaxing sightseeing tour.

The most excited of them all was Colm.

"This is gonna be my first time goin' to Carcino! I've only heard rumors, but it sounds like there's tons of rich people there! I bet there's villas all over the place, with treasure sleepin' deep inside 'em…” He looked ecstatic, however, Neimi seemed worried, so he immediately added, "Uh, um, I mean, that has nothin' to do with us! I was just thinkin’ that we could go sightseein’ and walk around a huge estate, or that it would be a nice sight for our sore eyes, or somethin’!”

"It's too bad, Colm!" Franz called out to him. His brother having joined them on this trip put him in a cheerful mood. "We won't have time to relax in Carcino. We must quickly board a boat at the port, and head towards Rausten."

“What’s the rush? C’mon! Let’s just stay two, or maybe three nights…”

“We cannot. Lady Eirika said that she is responsible for a very important duty.”

Colm clicked his tongue in disappointment.

Eirika felt bad, but knew she couldn’t give in this time. Even if this was an easy trip, it wasn’t really for fun.

Prince Innes had left before them and should have traveled the same road, but according to what the townspeople in one of the roadside towns said, his army had already passed through several days ago. He was so impatient that he probably had his army marching so quickly that they did not even have time to look around. Eirika and her army weren’t moving that slowly, either, but the difference was still clear.

“...Huh? Hey, hold on a minute!” Colm stopped and called out to Eirika.

She halted her horse and turned around. “What’s the matter, Colm?”

“Somethin’s comin’ this way!” Colm was looking up at the sky, and came frantically running from within the group of their allies.

His sharp senses had sensed danger many times already, and proved very helpful. Their chances at encountering any enemies was extremely low en route from Frelia to Carcino, but if Colm’s ears picked up on something strange, then they couldn’t brush it off.

However, he instead burst out laughing. “Oh, we don’t gotta worry. It’s not an enemy. Look, they’re flyin’ this way!”

Colm pointed out a lone figure in the sky. As it got bigger and bigger, they could make out that it was a pure white pegasus.

There was also someone riding on its back.

Eirika realized who it was from the pegasus’ body before she could even make out the person’s face. “That’s Achaeus! So that must mean that the person riding him is…”

They next heard a voice. It was addressing Eirika’s army, and shouting, “Wait!”

Achaeus softly landed in a field along the side of the road, then Tana jumped off him and waved as she ran over. “Wait, Eirika!”

“Tana… what are you doing here? Did I forget something…?”

“No, that’s not why I’m here! Eirika, you’re so mean! You left without saying anything to me!” Tana balled her hands into fists and pouted.

“Huh…? But I’m pretty sure I told you we were leaving for Rausten…”

“I didn’t think you’d leave so soon! You and Ephraim had just come home from fighting some really difficult battles, after all!”

“I’m sorry, Tana. This is very urgent business, so we were in such a hurry... even though we should have taken the time to say goodbye.”

“That’s not it! I didn’t want to say goodbye, I wanted you to take me with you!”

“What…?” Eirika couldn’t help but take a step back.

Once she finally got a good look at her, she could see that Tana wasn’t wearing a long dress like usual, rather, she was wearing light clothing more similar to that of men’s styles, and appeared fully outfitted for travel. “You can’t Tana. Does King Hayden know?”

“Of course not! If I told him, he’d be totally against it! I left without saying anything. ...Oh, but don’t worry. I left him a letter!”

“But, still… King Hayden will surely be…”

“I’m just so worried about you! And I hate living carefree all by myself when everyone is coming together to fight! Brother told me that I’m still a child, but I’m not! I’m a pegasus knight!”

The look in her eyes was just as powerful as her words, sending her message loud and clear: ‘I want to fight too!’

Eirika remembered Tana’s close encounter with danger when Tana went to greet her at Mulan Castle.

Though she may still look childish on the outside, she had shown unimaginable courage and decisiveness. She also took a lot of pride in fulfilling her dream of becoming a pegasus knight. After Innes had told her that “A war meeting is no place for a child,” she’d looked so upset… when Eirika thought of it that way, she couldn’t say no.

“I understand, Tana. You can come with us.”

“Thank you, Eirika!”

“But you must promise me not to push yourself, or do anything reckless…”

“Hey, that’s my line!” Tana said with an innocent laugh, immediately welcoming her into Eirika’s group of allies.

It was no surprise that everyone was happy to welcome a friendly and cute pegasus knight.

They felt bad for King Hayden, who would probably be filled with despair once he saw the letter, but they didn’t have to travel very far to make it to Rausten, and they wouldn’t pass through enemy territory. He would probably lecture her once she got home, but it might also make for an opportunity to rethink who his daughter truly was.

Eirika was optimistic as her horse continued down the road.

As Eirika’s army traveled further, the wind carried the scent of the ocean towards them.

The first to notice was none other than Colm, but it wasn’t long before everyone else picked up the unique smell.

The realization slowly made everyone more and more excited. There were many people in the army who had never seen the ocean before, and the anticipation lit up both their footsteps and conversation.

Before long, they arrived in Kiris, a large town that prospered as a trade port selling wares from all across Magvel. From Kiris, their plan was to board a ship, then travel by sea for roughly ten days before they reached Rausten.

The contrasting ages and clothing styles of Eirika’s army couldn’t help but draw the attention of people in rural towns, however, that was not the case in Kiris. Men and women of all skin and hair colors were rushing about, and none of them were even the slightest bit alarmed by them. For Eirika, who did not like to flaunt her social status, it was a great place to be.

As nearly everything she saw was strange and unusual to her, her eyes darted around restlessly, until she saw a face that stood out amongst the crowd. She stopped Seth, who was trying to find a boathouse, and whispered, “Please wait, Seth! I think we’ve met that person over there before…”

Worried that the person might be an enemy, the color drained from his face, but the moment he looked over where Eirika was, he relaxed his shoulders.

A familiar group of three people was walking around. In front was a girl carrying a long staff, and behind her was a bearded giant and a young man with a cold expression.

Seth raised an eyebrow, wondering if this encounter was truly just a coincidence, and whispered, “They’re the people we met in the Za’ha Woods, correct?”

“Yes. The woman’s name was Miss L’Arachel, I believe…?”

While they were still frozen in bewilderment, L’Arachel noticed Eirika. Her face lit up, and she walked over to them. “You’re the people who defeated the monsters in the Za’ha Woods! What a strange coincidence it is that we meet again!”

“Yes, it really is!”

“Do you have business here?”

“We’re en route to The Theocracy of Rausten, and are currently searching for a ship that will take us there.”

“Oh, that’s too bad…” L’arachel sighed and shook her head.

“Did something happen?”

“You mean you don’t know? There aren’t any.”

“What?”

“I was also just about to return home to Rausten. But I was told that there aren’t any ships going there right now.”

“Why…?"

“Word has it that a ghost ship appeared on the ocean. Ships started sinking one after the other, so all passenger and merchant ships have postponed their voyages.”

Eirika looked around the area.

Up until that moment, she had been fascinated by the new sights of the port town, but when she took the time to look around carefully, there were people scattered throughout the crowd talking with panicked looks on their faces, and others yelling at sailors. It really did seem like there weren’t any ships sailing.

Though they'd been optimistic that this would be an easy trip, something unthinkable had happened after all.

L'arachel noticed that Eirika was panicking and said, "But you don’t have to get so down about it! If you can't go by sea, then you should go by land."

"By land…? Wouldn't we have to take an extremely roundabout route in that case?"

"Yes, but it is a test given to us by the gods. Let's go, Dozla! Rennac! Fare thee well, travelers! If fate wills it, then we shall meet once again!"

"We'd follow you anywhere, Lady L'arachel!"

Exactly the same as before, the lord and servant left in a hurry. Rennac also followed after them just as defeated as before.

Eirika turned to Seth.

He didn’t seem to be very good at interacting with people like them, as he was standing a few feet away.

“Did you hear what they told me, Seth? We’re in a really difficult spot now.”

“Yes, we are. But if the ships will not leave under any circumstance, then all we can do is go by land…”

Because they would have to pass through Carcino, it wouldn’t be dangerous to travel by land, however, it would take several days. Since they wanted to reach Rausten right away, it pained them to have to take such a roundabout route.

Still, it would be a waste of time to hang around in Kiris. The fastest way to travel would be for Eirika to ride Achaeus with Tana, and go by air, but in the off chance that something were to happen, they wouldn’t be able to protect themselves alone. Such a plan was too reckless.

Because Eirika was so deep in thought, she did not notice the strange thing happening around her.

The people bustling around seemed to start to disappear, but then it became clear that they had sensed danger, and were circling Eirika’s army from a distance. Many of those watching warily from the shadows of the surrounding buildings also sensed it.

They were all trying to get away from a man approaching Eirika. Anyone could see his villainous expression, even from afar.

He narrowed his eyes at her and said in a hoarse voice, “Ain’t you the princess of Renais?”

“...Who are you?”

The man did not answer, instead laughing greedily. “It's nothin’ personal… But if I turn in yer head, I'll get a huge reward! You'll die here!"

The man drew a weapon he'd been hiding behind his back. It was a large, showy axe.

The crowd of people that had been watching with bated breath all shrieked. Those who’d been curious all ran off in different directions.

In their places, the group of men encroached upon Eirika's army, each carrying their own weapon.They had nowhere to run.

The battle started without any time to gather any information, like if the men had been hired by someone. Since Eirika's army hadn’t thought Carcino would be dangerous, they'd let their guards down, but that did not change the fact that they were used to battle. They shifted into their standard formation with little chaos.

The cavalry unit went first, and the lightly armored sword and axe infantry who could move swiftly rushed in to fill any gaps in their formation. Behind both of them were the mages and archers, then Moulder and Natasha waited on standby wherever it was safest for them.

The men did not seem to be properly trained soldiers, however, they were still on a higher level than a ragtag group of ruffians. Based on what they’d said, they seemed to be hired to work for money, but… Eirika could not think of anyone aside from Grado that was targeting them.

Had Grado been tracking their movements again? She regretted letting her guard down, but it was already too late.

Suddenly, a tiny figure came into Eirika’s field of vision, taking her completely aback.

A young girl was walking around right in the middle of the active battlefield. Was she perhaps a local who couldn’t run away fast enough? From her current location, she was sure to get involved in the fight sooner rather than later.

Eirika rushed over to her in a panic. “Excuse me, miss? Please run away!”

The girl jumped back, startled. She was blonde, energetic, and looked to be about a year younger than Eirika.

“Please go hide somewhere! These men are chasing after me. You should get away from here as quickly as possible…”

It was at that moment that Eirika realized the girl was holding a lance. She had been holding it loosely, and not in a battle stance, so it did not cross Eirika’s sight until they were up close to each other.

And when Eirika looked at her more closely, she could also see that the girl was wearing armor. She was so small that Eirika thought she was just an ordinary citizen, but upon further inspection, she did look like a soldier.

“I, um, I’m a Grado soldier! P-Prepare yourself, princess of Renais!” The girl yelled, her voice cracking, then thrust her lance with a grunt.

Eirika was taken aback, and instinctively swung her sword. The thin lance repelled the attack, but went flying through the air. The girl watched her lance land with her mouth open wide, then looked at Eirika in fear.

Eirika felt bad for her opponent. No matter how you looked at her, she didn’t seem used to the battlefield at all. This might even be her first time.

“...It’s dangerous here. It’s no reason for you to throw your life away. It would be pointless for you to fight like this. Please run away.” Eirika picked up the girl’s lance.

She took it back with shaking hands. “...Huh? You’re completely different from what I was told…” The fear and nervousness disappeared from her face, and in its place appeared an innocent curiosity as she stared up at Eirika. “My commander told me that Princess Eirika of Renais is a cold, heartless person who does not shed neither blood nor tears…”

“Who, me?” Eirika laughed out loud. She certainly might seem that way to the Grado Army. “Well, there’s nothing I can do about that right now, though I hope the day comes when we can clear up any misunderstandings between our sides. Until then, please be careful, and don’t get yourself gravely injured.”

Eirika started to walk away, but the fresh recruit shouted, “Please, wait!”

Eirika turned around.

“Um… You’re probably going to think of this as really weird of me to say, but…” The girl raised her lance and fixed her posture. “Will you let me go with you?”

“...Huh? But you’re a Grado soldier…”

“Do you know of a man named General Duessel?”

A totally unexpected name flew out of her mouth. Eirika nodded. “Yes, I do. He is a very honorable soldier. My brother learned spearmanship from him.”

“Really? But why? He’s the prince of Renais!”

“It was at the request of my father. He said that if Brother is going to learn spearmanship, then he will learn from the best. And the best was none other than General Duessel, so he went to the Grado Empire to study. There are generals in other countries, but as both a man and a soldier, no one else is as great as him… my brother still respects General Duessel from the very bottom of his heart to this very day.”

“Me too!” The girl chirped, but quickly realized that might have been rude, and corrected herself, “Ah, of course, I can’t compare myself to the prince of Renais… and I’ve never met General Duessel personally… but I know just how honorable a general he is! If there’s ever a village in trouble, he takes the initiative and comes to help all on his own. That’s what my mother said. When my village was struggling during a flood, he came in a flash! And at His Majesty the Emperor’s lance tournaments, there’s no one who can best him!”

The girl was so excited as she spoke that it was as if she was retelling the story of a hero.

Her genuine sharing of her feelings made Eirika smile.

She then blushed and added, “Sorry, I haven’t introduced myself yet. My name is Amelia! I enlisted in the Grado Army because of my admiration for General Duessel. But I only learned afterwards that… the general said he is against this war.” Amelia’s shoulders drooped.

Her words pained Eirika’s heart. “Really? He is against it…?”

“It’s just a rumor, but supposedly he’s warned His Majesty to stop the invasions many times already. When I first heard that, I didn’t know what I should do. And you don’t seem to be a bad person, so… I want to learn. Why Grado and Renais are at war.”

Eirika looked down at Amelia’s unsure face.

She’d found yet another person questioning this war… that thought encouraged her. She didn’t know how long the fighting would last, but she felt that she could see a ray of hope.

However, this was not a decision that Amelia could make lightly. This was a matter of the girl’s fate.

Eirika warned her, “Please think carefully. If you go with us, you will be betraying the Grado Army. Are you prepared to do that?”

Amelia had a pained look on her face, but she nodded with confidence. “I know. It’s really difficult to do, but I’m okay with it. This doesn’t mean I am abandoning Grado. I will still return home after the war.”

“Alright, then, let’s fight together! If we combine our power, we’ll be able to end this war quickly!”

Eirika took Amelia to the rest of her allies.

Most of the enemies had already been defeated. Seth had just stabbed the leader with his lance.

“Who hired you to go after Lady Eirika!?” He questioned a man sitting on the ground.

The man laughed out loud. “Ha! I won’t squeal. I may be rotten, but I’m still a mercenary. I’ll never spill a word of my contractor’s secrets!”

Seth did not flinch as he raised his lance. The tip touched the man’s throat.

He screamed and shuffled backwards. “Wait! W-Wait, I’ll talk! It was Carcino!”

Seth pulled back his lance, and asked in surprise, “Did you say Carcino?”

“Yes! Do you know a man named Pablo?”

“The elder of the Republic of Carcino?”

“He’s the one who hired us!” The man sneered at Seth.

Eirika couldn’t believe it.

Carcino had an alliance with Frelia, and swore to ally with them. Did this mean that they were plotting in secret with Grado?

Now that he was far enough away from the lance, the man’s bravado had returned in full. “Any way you look at it, you fools don’t stand a chance! Carcino probably knew that and sided with Grado! It is a wise decision…”

Seth glared down at him, and he started shivering again. His words were much quieter as he continued, “I mean, the other elders did seem against it, but Pablo is a coercive guy… He hired us for five thousand gold coins.”

“You may go.” Seth set him free.

The man scampered off.

“Seth… do you think what he was saying is true? Could Carcino really have done this…?”

“We were too careless. We let our guards down.” Seth crossed his arms and scanned the area.

Seeing that the battle was over, people had started to return. They would likely gradually begin to act as if nothing had ever happened, and the street would return to its previous liveliness, as the people of this town were already used to violence breaking out in the area.

“Carcino is a country of merchants. Their history is short, and their relationships with other nations are still shallow. Of course they would decide to act in their best interest. The Grado Empire is strong. It is only natural that they would join the most powerful side. We should have anticipated that.”

Eirika remembered something terrifying, and swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. “Innes… He was going to pass through Carcino on his way to Jehanna! Since we thought Carcino was safe, he didn’t take many soldiers with him…!”

“Eirika!” Tana shouted.

She turned around to see Tana pointing at the sky.

“Look! It’s a pegasus!”

Just as Tana said that, a black shadow appeared above them. It slowly became larger and larger, then landed on the stone port town street with a clop that echoed through the air.

The person who dismounted the pegasus was a messenger that Eirika had seen before. She must have gone with Innes to relay messages.

She did not even give herself time to breathe, immediately kneeling in front of Eirika.

"Please forgive my sudden intrusion!"

"What happened? You went with Innes, correct?"

"Yes! I am here by Lord Innes' order. He is in a skirmish with the Carcino Army, and fighting alone in the fort on the Tiraz Plateau. We request reinforcements!"

The outcome they feared had happened quicker than they'd expected.

The messenger went on to say that she had decided Eirika's army would be closer than Frelia, and searched for them instead. She traced their whereabouts by asking the people within towns along the main road about them, and finally found them in Kiris.

She felt that it was cruel to the exhausted soldier, but Eirika ordered her, "I'm sorry to do this when you are so tired, but please return to Frelia immediately. You must report this news to King Hayden as quickly as possible."

"But, Lord Innes is…"

"Please leave his safety to us. We will help him."

"Yes, Your Highness!" The messenger shouted with all of the energy that she could muster, then got back on top of her pegasus. She soothed her mount with a soft “You can do it!” then kicked her side.

The pegasus moved so softly that it did not seem like she was tired at all, and lifted herself back into the sky.

#fire emblem #fe8 #sacred stones #fe #nintendo #gba #game boy advance #japan #japanese #translation #novel #light novel #fe8 novelization translation

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extremelyblackandwhite · 4 years

Text

timeless - 05

PAIRING: medieval!james “bucky” barnes x reader

WARNINGS: mentions of wounds (bleeding)

A/N: today the only highlight of my day was spin class and whenever i get upset i just write, as hamilton would say, like i’m running out of time. enjoy xx

NEXT CHAPTER

Y/N decided that the best way to get her mind off her delirious daydreaming which would surely throw her straight into the deepest and darkest hole in Hell was to go and visit her mother. After all, she was almost sure she would still be upset over Odette throwing her out and Y/N would never dare to make her mother unhappy. Therefore, with a basket holding a few left over treats from the breakfast she had run off from, she made her way to her mother’s living quarters. Once she came in, unlike other times, her mother merely stared her down as if she was a misbehaving child, eyes so glossy and cold one would believe she were dead were it not for the misty fog coming out of her nose every time she breathed.

- Mother... - Y/N started but Lady Catherine quickly interrupted her.

- What did I clearly said when we left Arendelle? - she looked down at her daughter, eyes so cold and icy it could kill anyone who looked directly into it, something Y/N didn’t dare to do, choosing instead to look at her feet. - What were you not to do? Why could you not obey?

- Mother, I am ...

- What have I been to you? What would you have me be? - she dismissed her child’s pleas, instead returning to sit on her chair. - Ah, but I’m old and ugly and I embarrass you.

- Mother no. - Y/N held her hands tenderly. - You could never embarrass me.

- You’re ashamed of me. You are ashamed.

- No. - Y/N shook her head violently. - But I ... I want to see the world by myself, have my own experiences.

- The world ... - the woman sighed, almost disgusted at the word. - You don’t know what’s out there in the world and someone needs to shield you from the world. Men like the one who seems to caught your eye waits in the world but you must know what masks they wear for the world.

- I know, mother. I know I was just being polite.

- Oh darling let’s just return with home. Stay with me who could love you more than I? No one can love you more than I and the world is dark and wild for someone like you. The world has nothing that I cannot supply. - Lady Catherine combed through Y/N’s locks with her fingers. - Stay innocent to the dark things of the world while you can.

- But I promised I would stay with Odette to help her throughout the engagement. I gave her my word. - the young woman looked up to her mother, the conflicting of interests clearly fighting in her head. - I ... We ... we can return after the wedding.

- Oh, darling ... - Catherine cupped her face, a soft smile on her lips. - You know all I do, I do to shield you from the bad things of the world.

Y/N merely stared at her feet as her mother combed through her hair. She felt guilty, no, guilt couldn’t even describe how she felt. It was almost as if a weight was placed on her consciousness. She remained still in her seating position as her mother continued with her “you don’t know what’s out there in the world” mantra. It was true, Y/N didn’t know what was out there in the world but she wanted to see it yet something always stopped her. Her mother. If Y/N left, she would have no one left and Y/N would feel way to guilty to leave.

Time seemed to stop whenever she was around her mother so the guilt seemed to linger and somehow kept lingering as she returned to the Princess’ quarters to help her prepare for the tournament. Between hair braiding and helping with the picking of the dress, Y/N was lost in her mind. Maybe her mother was right, maybe she needed to be shielded from the world, after all whenever she was left alone in it she had way too many ... perverse thoughts.

- You’re quiet, Y/N. - Eliza mentioned, eyes glued onto the mirror as she applied more rouge to her cheeks. - It’s a tournament, get excited.

- Y/N hates tournaments. - Odette had a cheeky smile on her face. - She thinks they’re blatant demonstrations of toxic male virility.

- Maybe you’ll change your mind, after all Duke Barnes is participating in the tournament. - she put her tongue out, a little childish like wonder in her face. The princess’ face however tensed and with a low tone she asked Eliza to leave her and Y/N alone. - I’ll see you in the boxes.

The two nodded as the silent embraced the room birthed by the sound of the door closing. Odette sighed, getting up from her setting position with a tense face, every line clearly creased and marked on her normally beautifully young plump face which seemed to make everyone around her smile. Yet, now, it just looked ... worried even.

The princess pointed at the chair she had been sat in, an unspoken request for having Y/N take her place which she did without much question. Grabbing the silver brush from the side, she started to brush her hair, pulling it up in one of the flower like hairstyles.

- Rosaline mentioned Duke Barnes went after you after you cut your finger. Is there anything you want to tell me? - she carefully pushed some hairs in front of her face to rest on top of some lilies resting on her hair.

- He’s just being polite, Odette.

- Y/N, you know I adore you like a sister and as such I don’t want to see you hurt. Duke Barnes has never, never shown affection towards anyone and the only person whom he seems to trust is Rosaline. I’m afraid that he might try to take advantage of you. - she settled down the brush, placing her hands on her shoulders before lowering down. - You don’t deserve heartache and disrespect.

- I think you might be too kind to rule Genoa. - Y/N tried to break the atmosphere which seemed to work as Odette laughed.

The two ladies took to starting to walk to their own box, outside in the rainy nature of Genoa. She looked down from her box, seeing the swarm of men interested in showing their abilities, willing to woe as many ladies as they could, yet Y/N seemed unfazed by it. However, her attention quickly shifted as James walked the field dressed in dark burgundy clothing with his sharpened long sword in hand. Had she been paying attention to anything else, she would’ve heard Odette’s warnings yet every single warning, every shred of common sense seemed to vanish into thin air whenever she looked at him. There was just something about him, a warmness, a sense of belonging, like seeing a very old childhood friend and while she couldn’t exactly understand it, she didn’t know if she wanted to understand it.

Just like Rosaline had said before, he was a skilled swordsmen, defeating his very first adversaries without breaking a sweat or even trying and she was completely enchanted by him. The way his body moved, how his perfectly tied back hair would come undone, she kept wondering what it would feel to brush her hands through it and as she lost herself more and more in him, the scent was back. The white rose scent.

The scent itself was enough to throw her off her glare on him, instead turning around to try and find someone with roses in their hair but nothing. Lilies, baby’s breathes, tulips, but no roses. She had first thought that he wore some cologne with that scent but it would be near impossible for her to smell it with him being that far.

Her mind was so wrapped around the white roses she didn’t realise that he had started to struggle. Standing against one of the king’s men, she noticed how he would overpower him by kicking sand into his eyes and her heart started to beat faster. Hands clutched at the stone of the box as she watched the match, the loud sound of swords making her eyes tear. Yet, she didn’t know pain until the clinging ceased and instead a loud grunt was heard. Things seemed to stop, go incredibly slow, the way his knees hit the ground, the dust that settled and her getting up, only being stopped by Odette putting a hand on her stomach.

Her breathing speeded up before completely stopping for a few minutes, time running slower and slower until it speed up as he got back on his feet, disarming the man of throwing him into the ground which sent the crowd into a frenzy of applause. Y/N’s heart seemed to return to beating as the maidens presented the Duke with a crown of blue hyacinths. However, unlike other tournaments, they didn’t seem to crown him with it, instead handing it to him.

- Why didn’t they crown him? - she asked Eliza, a hand in front of her mouth as not to call for much attention.

- It’s a Genoan tradition. They don’t crown the winner, they allow him to pick a woman of the crowd whom he believes to be the Queen of Love and Beauty. Rosaline tends to get it whenever Lord Barnes wins.

- Queen of Love and Beauty? Don’t you think it’s a bit childish? - she smirked as she saw him walk towards Rosaline.

- It makes the Princess happy. - she shrugged and Y/N nodded, it wasn’t her place to judge their traditions.

Her eyes lingered back to James who was standing in front of the King’s box where Rosaline was sat. Yet, instead of slowing down his pace, he continued to walk much to the crowd surprise until he stood in front of her box. Every single person seemed to watch intently, expecting the Duke to crown the guest, Odette, as the Queen of Love and Beauty.

Y/N smiled, happy at the thought of her friend receiving the honour but instead, without much thought, the noblesman’s arm stretched to place the crown on her lap.

tag list: @lookiamtrying @kmuir1 @anxiousdreamersworld @tinymalscoffee @navegandoaciegas @cinnabanuxoxo

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doubleshotofsomething · 4 years

Text

Needy

[This is my submission for @sourpatchkidsandacokecan ‘s Little Darlin’s Mystery AU challenge. This is a three part soulmate au inspired by the song “Needy” by Ariana Grande, the prologue does not count as part one.]

The world is a big place and not everyone gets to meet their soulmate. You’re lucky enough to find the man you’re bound to. There’s just one problem. You’re not the one he wants.

…

Summary: And this is why we can’t have nice things.

Pairings: Bucky x Reader, Thor x Reader

Warnings: Angst... angst? anGST?? [idk what other warnings I can put], definitely no fluff. Everyone is still an idiot, more so than ever.

Prompts: soulmate au. song prompt.

----

Prologue Part One

----

Part Two: [But all that I know is I need you close]

Soulmate.

That's what he called it. That's what you were to someone else, to another man. Their soulmate.

Bucky's soulmate.

"Uh—" Thor blinks. He was having a hard time processing the information. "You're her what?"

It was laundry day. He was in the middle of separating the colours from the whites, like you taught him, to lessen the load for you, when there was a knock. You were supposed to be back in a few hours - today was the day you had the least work hours - to finish the task of throwing each load in the washer. He never could work that thing.

He had let Bucky in as soon as he opened the door, offered him a beer and scrambled through the drawers for a clean shirt to wear. Turns out you were the only one that didn't mind him walking around in a pair of sweatpants.

Both men were confused at first, finding each other on opposite sides of your apartment’s door. Thor assumed there was a mission he was needed for, so he had a paper and pen in his hand and was halfway through scribbling a note for you - something along the lines of 'work emergency'. Bucky assumed he had gotten the wrong apartment; Sam hadn't been particularly useful in helping him locate you.

If she wanted you to find her, she wouldn't have moved, were his exact words.

Bucky knew he was right. But he still had to see you. He hadn't felt the bond in a few weeks, and it was honestly starting to worry him. The least he could do was make sure you were okay, right?

Imagine his confusion when he found out that yes, this is Y/N's apartment and yes, I'm staying with her and no, she's at work, why are you asking?

"Soulmate," Bucky repeats himself, leaning against the kitchen counter as he eyed Thor. "She seriously didn't tell you?"

Thor shakes his head, mouth slightly agape as he stared back at his co-worker. You would have mentioned having a soulmate, that's something people generally tell each other before they make plans to buy a couch big enough for both of them—

"Are we talking about the same Y/N?" He knows that they're both talking about you, because it is the only thing that makes sense. Of course, you would be soulmates with an Avenger, he was just hoping that he was lucky enough to find an unmatched woman like you.

Bucky nods solemnly, taking a sip from the beer he had been cradling as he continued to lean against the counter.

"And you're matched?" Thor asks, hoping the answer is yes.

Because if you're matched, then it's fine. If you're matched with Bucky, his co-worker and friend, then being in love with you was absolutely fine. He could still have you, you could still be his, he could still slice up the peppers for you like you had asked - like you had shown for tonight's dish - and he could still help you make that dish without worrying about—

Bucky shakes his head, eyes scanning your new apartment again. "Mated." He mumbles, frowning slightly at how much smaller it was than your first one, too small for two.

"Mated..." Thor breathes out, and he stares at the man that was made for the woman he wants.

Because that's so much worse. Because he can't have you now, not when you were made for someone else.

It shouldn't surprise him, that you would be a matebond. He thought it was odd for you to not have a match or a mate. The universe could never create such a being, soft and sweet and right, and not have made her for someone like Barnes, rough and edgy and in need of the love you could provide. Fate would never have it.

But it did. It honestly surprised him. You hadn't mentioned having a mate or that he was Bucky. And Bucky had married another woman. And you lived in an apartment that was made for one, when your entire nature was to nest for two, prepare for two, exist for two.

"You're married." is the only thing Thor can seem to say, the only thing his mind can force out of his mouth and he narrows his eyes at Bucky. Your habits were definitely contagious.

Bucky nods, his face neutral as he looks back at Thor. "I am."

"You were made for someone, literally made for her—" he doesn't mean to get angry, to let the thought of losing you get to him, but it does. "—and you married someone else?"

Bucky grimaces, putting the bottle down. He hates that he has heard those words before, hates it even more that it's always from people involved with you in some way, from people in love with you - as if they even knew you like he does.

Steve. Sam. And now, Thor.

"Yeah," he sighs, "I married someone else. That's part of the reason I'm here—"

"—You're here to do what?"

How do you do it? How do you keep on getting his friends, his team, to love you like this? To bat for you like this.

He had barely gotten on good grounds with Sam, then you showed up and ruined a potentially great friendship.

Steve had broken laws, disobeyed orders, took on Hydra countless times, because of their friendship. But, one look at your pretty little face and that annoyingly contagious smile, and he couldn't even leave his best pal alone with you. Not when he had seen that look on his face before. Not when he came back from being with Peggy for you.

And now, Thor, a man who had left Asgard – and came back to help the team – on his quest to win Jane back, was in your kitchen. In sweatpants. Doing laundry.

How do you keep making everyone love you?

How do you keep finding ways to hurt him like this?

"I'm here to fix things, Thor." He shouldn't hate the way it makes him feel, but he does. "I can't feel her, not like before, and that's not right. It... it didn't used to be like this, ya know?"

Thor doesn't. He was made for a throne, and royalty could never have matches or mates. A kingdom could only ever prosper if the ruling party was unmatched, historically speaking, and Kings had to be able to marry whomever was fit to rule beside them - without the prospect of a soulmate intervening.

He didn't know what it was supposed to be like. He had always wanted to know, wanted a soulmate, having loved the notion of it all – having someone made for you. A person so intricately made for another, that it was impossible to be with someone else. So, how could you both be with other people, when you had already found each other?

The weather outside had changed, a darkening sky and a flash of lightening somewhere in the distance. Thor didn't mean to let this upset him, but all he could think about was how he would have to let you be with someone else.

"Thor—"

"Leave, before—" before the temperature drops, before the weather worsens, before it starts to storm—

Because all he could think about was that short-sleeved shirt you wore to work and the jacket you didn't take and the umbrella that was still in the coat closet, because he had said it's going to be a good day, you won't need the jacket and now it wasn't.

Because you were a matebond.

What you had, the type of soulmate you were, was called a bond – or a mate. It was a rare type, but not uncommon. While most people grew up with matches or were unmatched, you were part of the minority with a mate.

Matches are actual soulmates. It is decided, unchanging. As a match, you live your life knowing that you are just a half – that you have another half somewhere out there. A match's instinct to want their half cannot be fought or changed or challenged. It is inevitable.

Unmatched are as common as matches. They are born from matches who breed with non-matches. The world is a big place, and only 30% of matches ever find their soulmates.

Mates are only ever born because of certain events. Nothing specific, it could be major or minor, an earthquake or the parent of a mate nursing a wounded animal back to health. There wasn't any science to prove the specifics or the nature of the events, only that fate chose which event was significant enough to give parents—matched or unmatched – a mate for a child.

You, along with Sam, were a mate. The science called your kind a bond, because of the biology that linked you and your mate. The stories, folktales, myths, called your kind matebonds, because of the unsettling similarities to the bond’s werewolves had with their mates.

Matches were their own people, regardless of being halves. They could do as they pleased, whenever they pleased. That is why unmatched can only ever come from matches.

Mates, however, could only ever do what their bond to their mates allowed. Everything about a mate was made to correspond with their significant other. Your biology was made for your mate, only him, and vice versa.

You couldn't feel their emotions, like some matches, but your bond - your closeness to each other - could accelerate their healing. Your blood mixing with theirs, your presence near theirs, your smell, everything about you was made for them. You can't feel their pain, but you can feel their presence and them. The bond pulls you towards them - always.

Only 30% of matches ever find each other. But mates will always find each other.

Bucky could never really reject you; it could literally kill you both. He could never be apart from you for too long, it would make him unbearable to those around him. He would constantly need you near, around him, within arm’s reach, because that was his biology.

He would need you, always, and you would always be ready for whenever that was. It was your biology.

When you arrived home and found bags by the door, and Thor waiting for you in the kitchen, a part of you knew why.

He was dressed in the same outfit he was in when you had hit him with your car, stormbreaker placed on the kitchen sink and out of the closet you had insisted it be kept in. His arms were folded across his chest and his expression was one of disappointment. And you didn't need to look into those clear blues to know he was disappointed in you.

You walked into the kitchen cautiously, body shaking slightly from how cold you were – the rain had caught you on your way back to the office from your lunch break, and again on your way to your parking spot across the street – and your hair was drenched.

"He came, didn't he?" You whisper, eyes assessing the giant of a man standing in front of you.

"Your mate?" He hisses.

An actual hiss, directed at you, and not at the waitress who had gotten your order wrong, or your neighbour who could never lower his music and was too scary for you to ask, or the caretaker who would give you a hard time whenever he had to fix something that Thor couldn't.

You hate what that does to you, what his stare does to you. You could take Bucky's angry glare and his temper tantrums, but not Thor's. You couldn't have this with him too, you couldn't survive it.

"Uh..." You don't know what to say. You can't deny it, because he's not wrong. But Bucky hasn't been your mate since... ever. He hasn't been what a mate should have been. "It's not—"

"It's not what? True?" He's leaned back against the sink and, even though stormbreaker is behind you on the counter, you don't like how intimidating he looks. "Please tell me it's not. Please tell me that Bucky is just an ex-boyfriend that's still attached, or that he got the wrong address, and that you're not the girl he's trying to fix things with—"

"—he wants to fix things?" You didn't mean for that to come out as it did, as hopeful, as slightly excited.

But it did, and Thor's light blues darkened so quickly that they nearly remind you of Bucky's.

"You let me into your home and into your life, knowing, knowing who I was and what you were, and you didn't bother to—" he doesn't mean to yell, he really doesn't, but he's angry and he feels betrayed and you have a mate. "What was your plan?"

"Thor—" you're trembling and it's no longer from the cold, "—calm down, please, I can explain."

He scoffs at that, rolling his eyes. "You're not denying it."

"I'm not gonna lie to you!" Your voice is shaky and high-pitched, and you don't mean to escalate this into a screaming match, but it's too late. "Just—I promise it's not what it seems—"

"It seems like you belong to another man!"

"He's not mine!"

"Neither am I, dammit!"

That shouldn't have hurt you. That should not have hurt you. You have heard it so many times, seen it in so many different ways, that it shouldn't have hurt.

But it did.

It hurt more than it should, you had never thought of Thor as yours, but you were beginning to care deeply for him like he wasn't made for anyone else. And, to make it worse, it took this moment, right here and right now, it took the look of disappointment and betrayal, it took the darkening of his eyes, for you to realise that. To realise that this man, this being that had done nothing but give instead of take, had somehow managed to make you fall—

"We're not even together, he and I." you say softly, wrapping your arms around your waist and looking away from him. "We've never been together."

He seems to find that funny because he laughs. It's a bitter laugh, cold and humourless, and you hate how it sounds nothing like his actual laugh.

"You're mates, Y/N." He says, as if you don't already know that. "What you haven't been doesn't compare to what you will be. I can't do this."

"Do what?" Your eyes widen as you look up at him, gaping at him, at what he was trying to say. "Do what, Thor?"

"I can't do this. I can't be with you—"

"Because of Bucky?"

"—because of you. Because of what you are!"

"What I am?" There's a crack in your voice when you say this.

You're shaking and it's his fault. He knows it. You're easily frightened, and you have never liked yelling, or loud noises, or fast movements, as they always seem to set you on edge. He knows this.

He hates this. He hates that this is your conversation right now, that your first fight together will be your last, that he can hear your heartbeat and it's beating too fast for you to still be standing.

He hates that he wants to hold you, and forget about all of this, because he can't. He hates seeing you like this, hates it even more because he's the reason.

Most of all, he hates that you were made for someone else, when everything about you seemed to have been created for him.

You weren't his, but his entire being responded to all of you like he was yours.

"You are made for—"

"I am made for a man who is programmed to want me dead!" You yell, even though you hate it. You yell because Thor isn't Bucky, and there aren't any holes in your walls or shattered glasses around your feet. "This isn't fair—he can't kill me; his biology won't let him but that hasn't kept him from trying! You can't—we can't—he doesn't get to do this again. You can't leave me— please."

His stomach shouldn't churn the way it is, you're not his.

His anger shouldn't be trying to consume him, because you're not his.

You're not his. You're not his. You're not his. He doesn't get to be enraged by—

"Kill you?" He all but growls, the rumble of it mimicked by the thunder that followed.

"It's not fair—" You don't hear him though; your ears are ringing, and your racing heart seems to be louder than your own voice. "—he doesn't get to do this. No!"

"Y/N!"

"No!" When had your life turned into this… "You don't get it. I want this, I want you. I know I can't give you anything-- I don't have anything left to give. But I want you and I want what we have, okay? Because this is good, this is great. We can have this."

You know you can't. That's why you kept your soul-type a secret. With nothing to show for it, no signs or birthmarks, you could be passed off as an unmatched. Until Bucky shows up... and he always shows up.

But you're hoping that this time, it's different. That he isn't like everyone else, like Bucky.

You're hoping that, this time, your reasons are enough for him to want to stay. That you're enough for him to want to stay.

That you're worth the decision to stay...

"The bruising around your neck..." He trails off and you visibly stiffen. "That's why he can't feel you right, isn't it? That's because of him."

"Say you want this too." You say, choosing to ignore his question – as rhetorical as it may be. "Say you'll stay."

He doesn't.

He doesn't say that, and he doesn't stay.

And, once again, you're left to deal with the mess that Bucky created.

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equalseleventhirds · 4 years

Text

real quick rundown of Thoughts:

things which were Very Good:

mikaele asking to be called mikaele instead of mr salesa, be still my HEART and yes i will be calling him mikaele and not just salesa for the rest of my liFE

camera thing hell ye

mikaele continues to be morally gray, which i can vibe with (and i maintain that after All The Shit he put up with he has earned the right to take care of himself alone. like he watched a bunch of his crew die i think... he can chill. his goal also is to eventually die? like can he just have a normal time.)

recorders? allowed in a space where the eye cannot be?? s... sasha...? (no i KNOW they’re not gonna be sasha’s ghost but........... i can hope................)

annabelle as A Weird Roommate who just wandered in one day that’s the good shit

that phone call rly WAS just about getting martin to stick with jon i KNEW it annabelle looked at martin ‘well now i am doing the thing’ blackwood and said oh i can press those buttons easy

annabelle and mikaele both have got JOAKS

martin and mikaele teasing jon for not having eye powers.. the laughing... it’s a lil mean but it’s SWEET (from martin) and i think jon got that... boyfriends.......

martin got tea :)

things which were meh:

annabelle still being in the sorta housekeeper role... i know (and i’m glad) mikaele said she’s mostly been a vaguely absent roommate for him, but APPARENTLY she’s been bringing jmart food and clothes and stuff... ehhh. i mean ok it’s nice to be helpful but mmmmm. bad trope for a black woman in a fancy house to be taking care of two (race not given, but also played by white men) men.

god i’m tired of ‘old guy In The Know has realized the Consequences (usually the Personal Consequences) of an apocalypse, starts prepping for it’ like that can be cool to a certain extent but we had it through ALL of s4 (adelard (the only cool one), peter, simon to an extent, smirke even, jonah... pls a bitch is Tired and having mikaele join the doomsday preppers? i wanted him to be! idk! different! like he could’ve just picked up that camera so he could retire in peace without any of his old clients/enemies finding him! pls!)

i hate to say jonny is wrong (this is a flat-out lie i love 2 say jonny is wrong) but mikaele’s like... grandstanding? showing off? abt how he did not care for anyone but himself? hm. incorrect. i’ll grant he probably came to enjoy the challenge of dealing in Artifacts, altho i feel like he should have felt at least a little apprehensive about it due to what he says about his past with leitner and how he resisted getting involved in that. but he has been shown, both in his own statement and his old crewmember’s statement, to CARE for his crew and to CARE when they died and to GRIEVE when that happens, and maybe he didn’t give a shit what happened to the rest of the world but i have to believe at least that wore on him, and that he’s still worried about his crew in the apocalypse. maybe not looking for them, but WORRIED for them. previous characterization from multiple sources painted him as self-serving but not entirely self-absorbed, while this episode painted him as... entirely self-absorbed. felt bad babes.

actually to this point: given that what he said in his archives statement was under the influence of the eye, and what he said this episode was NOT... i am choosing to believe he was taking full advantage of the fact that He Can Lie now. not to like, deceive them about the facts. just about his own feelings. bcos pride is a thing. (this also is totally in line with his apocalypse plan to... drink himself to death, or kill himself if he runs out of alcohol. like that’s not what u do when ur Happy. i think he is havin a FIB about how pleased he really is.) that’s it that’s the only way this episode can make sense to me thank u and good night

...ok OR the camera that shields him from the eye also has. an Effect on him. (because everything magic always has a price, doesn’t it?) and it’s fucking with his own memory/sense of self/feelings. that would ALSO be real fucked up and i could accept THAT.

still no fear soup... mikaele made it very clear he adheres to the 14 fear model............. i am SAD jonny. i am hungry for soup. feed me.

things that made me UPSET but not in a writing way just in a ‘this is emotionally upsetting’ way:

JON. FORGETTING. WHAT HAPPENED. WHAT THE FUCK, JONNY.

i’m also just... so sad abt how jon was SO excited about this house and the mystery of it and it hurt him? it let him rest but it hurt him??? like, ow! ow!!

#tma spoilers #i have MANY THOUGHTS & FEELINGS #not a fear soup statement ep (wellllll sorta in that mikaele has had dealings with so many fears but not like... a one-time soupy experience #bUT STILL I HAVE THOUGHTS #alcohol mention under cut #suicide mention under cut #little a... discourse under cut. i enjoyed a lot of this ep but was disappointed in other parts. jonny do better actually.

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vgckwb · 3 years

Text

P5R: Rebel Girl (A FeMC Story/P5R Rework) Chapter 42: A Woman, A Child, A Sinner, A Monster

The day after the park clean up, the thieves met up at Madarame’s exhibit after school to look out on the effects of the calling card they sent the previous evening. Madarame had shown up, but a guard was always with him. When he had some free time, he pulled the guard aside and asked “OK. What’s this about?”

“I’m sorry sir” he said. “I was told I had to wait until Captain Ogawa got here.”

“WHAT?!” Madarame screamed.

At that moment, Kosuke walked in and walked up to Madarame and the guard. “What’s going on?” he asked.

The guard was somewhat hesitant. “Well, uh, early this morning, we found these scattered throughout the exhibit.” He took out a copy of the calling card. “We think whoever did this might make a move against Madarame.”

“WHAT?!” Madarame said.

“Did you see who placed them?” Kosuke questioned.

“All the security footage we looked through only showed a black cat” the guard responded

“I see. Do you know who sent it?” Kosuke asked, matter of factly.

“Well, it’s addressed from those Phantom Thieves we’ve been hearing about in the news recently” the guard answered.

“Phantom Thieves, pah” Madarame dismissed. “Why would they go after me?”

Kosuke seethed a little, not enough for it to be noticeable unless you were really paying attention. “Well if you’d like,” the guard spoke, “you could read what the card says.”

“Let me see,” Madarame said, ripping the card from the guard’s hand. He began reading. “‘Sir Ichiryusai Madarame, the egregious sinner of vanity. You pretend to be a noble and kind light in the world of art, when in reality we know you’re anything but. You take students under your wing and abuse them without mercy and steal their art to claim as your own. Then you leave them destitute once you believe they no longer serve a purpose. You also use your immense influence to prevent people from speaking out about it. We are not alone in noticing this. Someone wishes to purge you from your perch and watch as you fall face down into the roaring flames of Hell itself. We cannot allow that to happen, nor can we allow you to continue on your path of destroying people’s hopes and dreams. To prevent both, we will steal your desires and make you confess your sins. From, The Phantom Thieves of Heart.’”

Madarame ripped the card in two. “What rubbish! Slander is what that is!”

“Uh sir?” the guard said.

“What?” Madarame said forcefully.

“Um, it’s just, people around the museum are already talking about it” the guard informed him.

“Well, none of this is true, right?” Madarame insisted.

“Right, uh, sir” the guard said, panicking.

Madarame sighed. “Now I have to figure out THIS PR disaster,” Madarame said.

“But what about the Phantom Thieves?” the guard asked.

“What about them?” Madarame chded. “You don’t believe they exist, do you?”

“Well, uh…” the guard began answering.

“This is just a fairy tale meant to try and scare me and stir up trouble” Madarame said.”Well it won’t work!”

The world flashed, and we see Madarame’s shadow clearly frustrated. “Heh. Those thieves think they can steal my treasure? My security is state of the art. And when it comes to art, no one is better than me.”

It flashes back to reality. Madarame walks off in a huff, pondering over what to do next. Meanwhile, Kosuke had been essentially frozen this entire time. “Uh, Captain Ogawa?” the guard asked.

Kosuke smiled. “Don’t worry,” he said, placing his hands on the guard’s shoulders. “We're the best, right? I’m sure whatever threat these thieves may or may not pull, we can take care of it with ease.”

The guard nodded. “Thank you sir.” He rushed off to prepare for what might come next.

Meanwhile, it flashed back to the darkness with Kosuke’s shadow, visibly upset, but grinning. “You think you can destroy my masterpiece like this? All you’ve done is given me a happy little accident to work with.” It flashes back to reality, and Kosuke walks off.

The thieves conversed among themselves. “Well, it looks like the message got through to them both,” Yusuke noted.

Jose nodded. “Yup. Now all we have to do is follow through with our plan.”

“Is everybody ready?” Morgana asked. They all nodded. “Good. I don’t need to remind you that this is our only chance. I believe we can do this!”

Ren nodded. “Let’s go!” she called. The thieves left the exhibit and went to Madarame’s palace.

At the entrance, Ann lamented “We’re not going to have a short route like last time, are we?”

Ren shook her head.”However, we know the ins and outs of this place. We should avoid detection fairly easily.”

“She’s right,” Morgana said. “We should conserve our energy until we make our play. Now let’s move!” The thieves began sneaking through the palace to get to Madarame’s treasure room. Once there, they all got into position.

Outside the control room, Ryuji was psyching himself up. “OK. You can do this.” He banged on the door. “HEY! There’s an intruder here!” He then bolted.

“What?” said the shadow. They opened the door to try and track Ryuji.

Ann crept out of her hiding space. “You can do it Skull.” She snuck into the control room and went straight for the light panel.

In the treasure exhibit hall, Madarame was standing there with a plethora of guards patrolling. One of them was shot. “WHAT?!” Madarame called out.

He and all the remaining guards look up to see Jose holding his sniper rifle. “Hi,” he said. He fired another shot, taking out another shadow.

Most of the guards tried to confront Jose. However, one took Madarame aside and said “You’re not safe, we must go!” Madarame nodded, and the two walked off. Jose made a break for it, dodging all of the shadows.

Once Morgana was in place, Yusuke gave the signal. Ann shut the lights off while Ren lowered the crane. Sumire kept watch to make sure no one came in that wasn’t supposed to. As Morgana started to head up, Jose used his grappling hook to latch on to lose the guards chasing him and meet up with the rest of the group.

When the lights came back on, the guards were confused. They decided to investigate the control room. Fortunately, Ann had already left, and was making her way to the crane control room. Ryuji lured the guard chasing him away and took care of them discreetly. After he finished subduing the guard, he made his way over there as well.

“Alright! Success!” Morgana cheered.

“Way to go, Mona-senpai!” Sumire compliments.

“Now all that’s left is to sneak out,” Ryuji said enthusiastically.

“Where are they?!” they heard a guard shout.

“Easier said than done,” Yusuke said.

“We did cause a lot of commotion” Ann noted.

“Spread out!” they heard another guard say. “They couldn’t have gotten far!”

Ren smirked. “I know that look,” Morgana said. “You have a dangerous plan, don’t you?”

“I would have said ‘bold’, but yeah” Ren answered. “Follow me.” She headed up to the rafters, with her crew following her. Ren looked down. “I knew it.”

“Knew what?” Ryuji asked.

“The guards aren’t here because they’re looking for us elsewhere” Ren surmised.

“...Yeah?” Ryuji continued.

“So, we can just jump down and rush through” Ren finished.

“OK, OK” Ryuji said. “Wait, WHAT?! For REAL?! No way, look how high we are!”

“As ludicrous as this sounds, I think that’s our only option” Yusuke pointed out.

“Follow my lead,” Ren said. She jumped, and as she was falling, she tethered herself to one of the rafters to swing gracefully down. She let go when she was close enough to the floor, and then proceeded to hit the ground running. One by one, her fellow thieves did the same.

They continued through the museum, hiding from guards and taking whatever shortcuts they could. When they got to the extremely damaged room just passed the broken Madarame statue Morgana tripped. “Woah!” The treasure slipped out of its covering, only to reveal a crude self portrait of Madarame. The thieves stopped.

Ren picked it up. “What the?”

“Hm” they heard Madarame grunt. “So you figured out my trick.” The thieves all looked at him. He was being escorted by two guards. “No matter. I’ll just eliminate you here!”

“You switched the paintings?!” Morgana yelped.

“I wasn’t going to let you steal my treasure so easily” Madarame chided. “If you had left with that I would have let you live. But now, you must perish!” The thieves began drawing their weapons. “But before that, I suppose you deserve a glimpse of the treasure you so foolishly tried to steal.” He takes out a canvas. “Behold, the REAL ‘Sayuri’!”

The thieves were stunned. The white cloud was no longer there. Instead, there was a portrait of a small child. “That…” Yusuke said. “That’s me…” The other thieves looked at him.

Madarame nodded. “Your mother was the true author of the ‘Sayuri’. It was a portrait of her with her child. Unfortunately, she died before she could make it public.”

The thieves were appalled. “You stole his mom’s art?!” Ryuji yelled.

“And I let her die too!” Madarame said. “She was so weak and sickly, no one would have given a second thought to her perishing. So I intentionally took my time calling the ambulance.”

“Why are you telling us this?” Sumire said.

“Because you’re going to die,” Madarame said. “There’s no point in lying to the dead.”

All the other thieves were furious. Yusuke smiled. “Heh” he chuckled. “I see now. You said that Madarame the artist was a facade. Yet I can see now that Madarame the human being is also nothing more than a facade to you.”

“Well put Yusuke,” Kosuke’s voice rang out. The thieves looked around. Kosuke jumped down to get behind Madarame. One his way down he splashed the two guards with ink. After he landed, he created two knives from his ink and threw them at the guards, destroying them.

Kosuke walked over to Madarame. “I used to think that my opinion of you couldn’t GET any lower. But you’ve proven me wrong, yet again. Taking your student’s artwork and claiming it as your own is despicable. But EDITING it? Taking out the most IMPORTANT PART? That’s just downright disgusting.” Madarame was sweating bullets. In a panic, he dropped his treasure. Kosuke cracked his neck. “And now, it’s time for you to DIE!”

Kosuke raised his fist, ready to take out Madarame. However Yusuke jumped in between and stopped him. “I WILL NOT LET YOU KILL HIM!”

Kosuke backed up. Morgana went in and grabbed the treasure, while Ryuji took the fake treasure, slammed it over Madarame, and proceeded to drag him away as well. Kosuke called out. “You've seen his treasure now! You know what he’s capable of! You know he’s beyond redemption! Why do you insist that he live after everything he’s done?!”

Yusuke smirked. “While it’s true Madarame may be irredeemable, that doesn’t mean I have to be. There’s no shame in doing the right thing. Madarame is truly the worst of humanity, and I aim to be the best. If that means not letting the very worst happen to him, then so be it.”

“Grrrrrr” Kosuke hissed. “Very well. If you wanna play hardball, LET’S PLAY!”

The museum around them started to bleed ink heavier. “It looks like Kosuke’s starting to take over more,” Morgana pointed out.

“I guess we’re fighting this guy now,” Ryuji said.

Ren smirked. “Just so you know Kosuke, we play to win!”

They began battling each other. Kosuke was fairly aggressive, but the thieves were doing a good chunk of damage. After a few rounds, the ink distortion started growing stronger. “What’s this?” Yusuke shrieked.

“What’s going on?” Sumire asked.

“Don’t worry!” Ren said, trying to calm down her teammates. “This happened with Kamoshida too! So long as we keep Madarame alive, everything will be fine!”

“Sensei?” Kosuke’s voice rang out.

“What?” Yusuke said

“This happens too,” Morgana informed. “This a memory Kosuke has.”

“What is it?” Madarame asked.

“Why are there countless copies of the ‘Sayuri’ in the back?” Kosuke asked.

“What were you doing back there?” Madarame returned, anger in his voice.

“I was trying to figure out how to get my name back on the piece of art I made!” Kosuke retorted.

“Heh. Did you forget? I made that” Madarame said.

“Bullshit!” Kosuke said. “I made it! You just stole it from me!”

“I made you the artist you are now” Madarame chided. “So anything you make is mine!”

“WHAT?!” Kosuke yelled.

“As for the ‘Sayuri’, it’s also mine so I can do with it as I please’ Madarame continued. “I can forge it and sell it to suckers who think it went missing.”

“You WHAT?!” Kosuke screamed.

“Now, do go back there EVER again!” Madarame insisted. “Or else I’ll have you arrested!” Kosuke could be heard fuming, and stomped off.

“So this is when he figured it out” Yusuke reflected.

“Tell me you wouldn’t react similarly” the Kosuke in front of them demanded. “When the image of Madarame as he presents himself breaks, you’ll see nothing but a horrid creature, meant for the flames.”

Yusuke sighed. “While it is disappointing to see what Madarame is really like, I cannot condone your behavior here either.”

“Very well,” Kosuke said. “Shall we continue then?”

They went back to fighting for a bit longer before another memory started playing. “YOU STOLE THE ‘SAYURI’?!” past Kosuke yelled.

“What are you talking about?” Madarame threw back.

“The ‘Sayuri’!” Kosuke said, forcefully. “You didn’t make it! You stole it!”

“What do you mean?” Madarame obfuscated.

“I went back into that room and found the real ‘Sayuri’” Kosuke said, seething. “After looking it over, the style, the paint lines, and the subject itself, it hit me. The ‘Sayuri’ has Hoshiko written all over it!”

“Hoshiko?” Ann asked.

“My mother” Yusuke informed her.

A smack could be heard. “I told you never to go back there again!” Madarame shouted. “And as for your insinuation, I’ve told you before: ‘I made her, therefore anything that’s her is mine’! But apparently you don’t listen. You should appreciate me. I took you in when you had nowhere else to go!”

“Did you kill her as well?” Kosuke asked, definitely. “Just to take it?”

“IT’S MINE!” Madarame insisted. “You need to listen! Especially to these next words! Leave here, and never return! And if I see even a glimpse of you trying to make it as an artist, I will have you behind bars so fast, the ink will not even have dried on your first stroke.”

There was a bit of silence. “FINE!” Kosuke screamed. “But someday, this will all come crashing down!”

“I have the art world eating out of the palm of my hand” Madarame said, rubbing salt in the wound. “Just how do you think that will happen?” The voices stopped. However, there were some angry footsteps, followed by a slamming door. “Bah. He won’t bother me again.”

There was more silence on the part of the thieves. “I remember that day,” Yusuke said. “I had only heard bits and pieces, but the anger was clear. The door came off the frame after he slammed it. Despite everything, I felt powerless.”

“I felt powerless too,” Kosuke said. “He beat us, stole from us, and yet WE were the ones who would get in trouble if anyone outside of Madarame’s shack heard anything. For too long, Madarame has avoided any consequences. But not anymore! It’s time for him to pay!”

“I agree,” Yusuke said. “Although I’d rather him pay society than the piper.”

“Heh. So quick witted” Kosuke said. “Let’s see how much longer you can last.” They continued their battle for a bit. After the thieves got a few good hits in, Kosuke chuckled. “Heh heh. You guys are powerful. Lucky for me, I have an ace up my sleeve. RAH!” He slapped his hands to the ground. Ink left them, creating little pools. Out of the pools of ink, copies of Kosuke appeared.

“WHAT?!” Ann shouted.

“Heh” Kosuke laughed. “Let’s see how you can handle an army of me!”

“What do we do?” Sumire asked.

The thieves looked them over. “They seem to be color-coded,” Jose noted. “Maybe that has something to do with it.”

“Good eye, Sunshine” Ren complimented. “I think they correlate to the elemental attacks we can do.”

“So we attack the one that matches?” Ryuji asked. “Seems simple enough.”

“Right,” Ren said. “This match is just about over!”

The bout continued for a little while longer. With some expert coordination, the thieves managed to deal with Kosuke’s clone easily, while also doing formidable damage to Kosuke himself.

After a decisive hit to Kosuke, he yelled. “GAHHHHHHHHHHH!” The ink started to melt off his head and hand, revealing his true appearance. He hell to his knees and started punching the ground beneath him. “GAHHHHHHHHHHH!”

The thieves were shocked. While they were expecting something, this was slightly different than what happened with Shiho. Yusuke walked over to him. “Kosuke.”

“Why?” He trembled. “Why am I never strong enough?”

“I beg your pardon?” Yusuke asked.

“My parents...you...everyone else I met under Madarame...I’m never strong enough to protect them,” Kosuke lamented. “Time and time again, I fail! I’m pathetic.”

The thieves remained silent for a moment. Sumire walked over. “You protected us yesterday,” she pointed out.

Kosuke looked up. “Heh. That is you, huh. Heh heh. I guess I am good for something sometimes.”

“I understand how you feel,” Yusuke said. “I’ve had trouble proving my own worth for quite some time as well. While I can’t relate to what you went through exactly, I can understand why you would want to do all of this.”

“You’re not mad at me?” Kosuke asked.

Yusuke shook his head. “I’m only mad at Madarame.”

“HA!” Kosuke laughed. He laid down on his back. “I guess I was being a bit selfish by only allowing me to get my revenge. That’s why you were always the best of us Yusuke. You always had eyes on the bigger picture.” He looked at Yusuke. “What you’re doing will make Madarame pay for his crimes?” Yusuke quietly nodded. “Good. Promise me this: Once all this is settled, I want you to be the best damn artist you can be.”

Yusuke kneeled down to meet him. “I promise.”

“Good. See you on the other side” Kosuke said, fading away.

Yusuke stood up. “Farewell.”

“Now, about Madarame,” Jose pointed out.

“I got it,” Ryuji said. He dragged Madarame out, still trapped within his fake painting. “Yo. We’ll be taking the real deal. You gonna confess, or do we have to mess you up too?”

“I’ll confess!” Madarame said, worried. “I never thought that darkness would return. But I don’t want to face it any more!”

“Darkness?” Sumire wondered.

“Yeah” Ann answered. “When someone takes over, the palace owner faces a darkness that apparently swallows them.”

“Wait a minute,” Ren said. “What do you mean ‘return’?”

“Huh?” Ann said.

“He said he never thought it would return'' Ren said. She grabbed Madarame “What does that mean?”

“I’ve faced it before,” Madarame said. “As an example of what happens when you cross them!”

The thieves were surprised. “Who is ‘them’?!” Ryuji demanded.

“I don’t know all of them,” Madarame said. “But they tell me they’re using this sort of power to help shape Japan. They said I could be among the elite if I helped them, so I did. They wanted to see how a mental shutdown works, and I volunteered.”

“You wanted to be even greater than you are now?” Yusuke said, raising his voice. “Pathetic.”

“I’m sorry,” Madarame said.

“Tell that to the public,” Yusuke told him. Madarame faced with a horrified look on his face.

There was an explosion. “What was that?” Sumire asked.

“The palace is about to collapse,” Morgana said. “Panther!” He threw the treasure to her. He transformed into a car. “Hop in!” The thieves entered the car and they drove off.

Once they got out, the phone sounded. “Location Deleted.”

“Man, that was something else,” Ryuji said.

“You’re telling me,” Sumire said. “I haven’t done one of these before.”

“I didn’t know the metaverse could break like that,” Jose said.

Ann was still breathing heavily. She looked at the canvas. “Huh?”

“What is it?” Yusuke asked.

Ann turned it around. It was still the real “Sayuri”, baby Yusuke and all. “I’m just surprised because last time Kamoshida’s treasure changed shape once we took it out of the metaverse.”

“Huh” Jose said.

“Well, I guess that shows how much influence the ‘Sayuri’ really has,” Yusuke noted.

“No kiddin’” Ryuji said.

“Are we good?” Ren asked.

“I think so,” Morgana said.

“Good,” Ren siad, sighed. “I’m exhausted.

“Wait, what about that thing Madarame told us about?” Ryuji asked.

“I’d like to know more about that too,” Yusuke added. “As well as a few other things.”

“Me too, but” Sumire began, “maybe that can wait for another time.”

“Yeah today was enough as is” Ann said. “We should probably meet up to discuss this when our heads are clearer.”

“Agreed” Yusuke said.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. I’m beat” Ryuji admitted. “Well, see ya.” He started walking off.

Just as the rest of the thieves were breaking off, Ann stopped Yusuke. “Yusuke.” She handed him the painting. “I think this should go to you.”

Yusuke was surprised. He smiled, said “Thank you,” and headed back home. Ann smiled and she headed home as well.

#persona 5 #persona fanfiction #persona 5 royal #p5r #p5 femc #p5r rework #p5 rework #p5 #FeMC #female ren #ren amamiya #yusuke kitagawa #ichiryusai madarame #jose #Sumire #Ryuji Sakamoto #ann takamaki #morgana

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bluereimovies · 4 years

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The Black Swan and American Psycho Blog Post 2

The Black Swan and American Psycho are both very confusing psychological movies. They begin in any normal way and then you learn more about the characters. The main character in American Psycho is a man named Patrick Bateman who is an investment banker. Later on, as we see the movie progress Patrick becomes more confused seeing things that weren’t happening. At the end of the movie, we see Patrick call his lawyer after he shoots multiple people and claims he has killed multiple including prostitutes and other women. After the call he sees his lawyer the next morning and speaks to him only to have his lawyer assume he is joking, and he didn’t kill anyone at all. Patrick imagined killing all those people and all the people he was “seeing” were imagined as well. The first thing we see about Patrick is that he many underlying mental health issues that could’ve been treated. The main one that is shown is schizophrenia which is why he imagines all the things happen to him. Nina in the Black Swan starts as an innocent young woman who lives with her mother to someone who eventually kills herself due to her insanity. In the end of the movie, we see her perform as the black swan and she eventually becomes the black swan. During the ending of the film, we see her with lily who’s in her dressing room and she eventually shoves lily into the mirror and stabs her with a piece of glass. After her first part performing, she goes back to the dressing room and sees blood coming out of the bathroom area, so she throws a towel over it. Once she does that Lily knocks on the door and congratulates her on doing a good job and Nina stares astonished. When Lily leaves Nina’s dressing room she lifts the towel off the ground and sees there’s no blood and no dead Lily. Nina then looks down to see she had stabbed herself in a psychotic breakdown. We see Nina die when she performs as the white swan killing herself and when the white swan passes in the performance, Nina killed herself from bleeding out. The films endings were both surprising and not expected. Patrick Bateman realizes that nothing he saw actually happened and he becomes self-aware and realizes that society is cruel. Nina becomes so psychotic that she ends up killing herself due to seeing things that weren’t there. The ending of American Psycho could’ve explained what was happening in Patrick’s mind while in the Black Swan we saw everything going on in Nina’s head. Patrick is shown murdering multiple people, but we don’t see the evidence that it doesn’t happen until he looks at the other apartment later in the movie and none of his belongings or the dead women are there. We see Nina’s mental health progressively getting worse the later we get into the movie and we see scenes that prove that what she saw happened did not.

Both of these characters deal with many underlying mental health issues. Nina and Patrick both see things that are not really there starting with Patrick running around naked chasing after a woman with an axe to Nina imagining killing her friend because she thought Lily was trying to take her part in the performance. These characters are very focused on being perfect and not showing any weakness. Patrick becomes jealous while showing off his business cards with his coworkers, while Nina steals items from Beth because she believes it’ll help her become perfect. Their need for perfection leads both of these characters down paths that cause harm to themselves and others. The mental illnesses these characters are very similar. In the beginning of the movies, we see them as normal mentally stable people and eventually throughout the movie we see their mental stability waiver. Both characters then become killers without them realizing what has led them to this state of mind. As I stated before only reason Patrick becomes self-aware is because his lawyer says that his phone call from the night before was a funny joke and Patrick finally realizes what had actually happened. Many people with mental illnesses aren’t shown openly because of the stigma around the illness. Many believe people who are schizophrenic are just insane and don’t know what real and what it not. Untreated schizophrenic people cannot control themselves because they do not know what it is happening, yet when there is someone who has this illness and is medicated you see them as any other normal person. I had an ex who happened to be schizophrenic, and I did not see him as an insane unstable person, he acted as any teenager would. The media depicts these people with this mental illness as insane killers or unstable mentally people who cannot control themselves. Both these characters also have many other mental illnesses such as BPD because you see their moods, or their thoughts change drastically. The films both have very ambiguous endings they went beyond what you would assume to be the ending with making both very unexpected yet brought the viewers deeper into what was happening to lead the characters to act how they did cause the viewers to watch these films over and over to see details that they did not see before. In the scene where Nina and Lily are in her bedroom together and Nina is arguing with her mother, we see that Lily is with her, yet when you look into the mirror in the scene it is just Nina alone arguing with her mother the entire time. Another scene from another film similar to this is in Fight Club when in certain other scenes you see the other main character Tyler Durden very vaguely. You then learn in the end of that movie that the main character imagined Tyler and everything that he believed they made together was just him. I was upset with the ending of The Black Swan because I fully believe that Nina’s character can be treated and helped so she could still be perusing her dream dancing on the stage.

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umccall71 · 5 years

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Chapter 18

Characters: Prince Liam and MC Lady Saige

Rating:Mature content includes profanity, sexual content,talks about depression.

Word Count:3471

Disclaimer:All characters are property of Pixelberry except my OC Lady Saige. The use of these characters are for entertainment only and i am only borrowing them.

Summary:After a summer of a lifetime,Prince Liam thought he could have it all.He was carefree, free, and sharing time with the woman of his dreams.When life was easy, a balancing act between love and duty, he realizes his truths are lies, wrong is right, and decisions do have consequences. Lady Saige never imagined she would be one of his consequences.When an utter act horror throws her world into a tailspin.

Warning: This series contains subject matter of depression,pregnancy, violence, and sensitive sexual content.The story may trigger certain individuals. Please be advised. If you are reading this series you are acknowledging you are 18+.

A/N:Sorry for the long delay.Things have been hectic in my life for a bit.I had to take some time to focus on my health. Thanks for your understanding and support.

Song inspiration for this chapter is Adele, “To make you feel my Love”

@eadanga @ao719 @silviasutton1989 @rainbowsinthestorm @the-soot-sprite @jared2612 @sashatrr @jovialyouthmusic @smalltalk88 @custaroonie @kuladekiwi @whenyourheartskipsabeat @marietrinmimi @furiousherringoperatortoad @gibbles82 @choices97 @fantasy-of-fiction @romanticatheart-posts @drakesensworld @simsvetements @blackcoffee85 @3pawandme @indiacater @hopefulmoonobject @elles-choices @carabethpow

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LIam sat vigil by her bedside as she laid unconscious...connected to monitors… beeping in the background. Hours ticked on as his friends tried to convince him to rest , or eat, or to stretch his legs...the answer was always, “no, I'm not going anywhere.”

Olivia and Drake felt helpless in this time of need, watching what should be the happiest time in their friend’s lives, married, in love, expecting… they had a bright future ahead of them . THey had Cordonia eager to meet the queen and anticipating the royal heir.The couple spent the night curled up with Liv in Drake’s arms . They were so wrapped up in the moment that they had fallen asleep ,no thought to being discovered.This was the most at peace Olivia had been … in years. She allowed herself to lean on Drake in this time of need.

Liam was jolted from his spot early the next morning when the doctor had crept into check on the queen and to give an update. He carefully avoided giving a full prognosis upon liam's arrival. He had to be certain to give any hope, in what would be the first in many devastating days.

The doctor bowed when he noticed liam's weary ocean blue eyes meet his own chocolate specs. “Your majesty, I am sorry to disturb you. May I speak to you once again in private? I need to be sure that you are aware of where we stand and the next hours for the queen.``he seemed nervous as liam gestured toward the door leading to the hall.

King Liam, Liam Rys… who would best receive this news ? Would the solemn,stoic king allow the severity to pierce his armor? Would it be LIam, husband to Saige , an emotional being… listening to the fate of his family that up unto several months ago he never realized how badly he wanted it?

Liam nodded to acknowledge to the doctor to proceed with the news of what was expected. The doctor let out a deep breath, considering his words carefully, “sir, when your wife was bought in , she had swelling, bruising, and blood around her face and… down between her legs. WE ...we found that she had severe tearing around the entrance of her vagina , and traumatic rectal hematoma after she was.. Raped.”, he paused watching the king’s eyes stretch in horror.

“Sir… do you need a moment?”,he wanted to make sure that liam was open to hear everything that needed to be shared. “We can take a moment if needed.”

Liam shook his head as he fought to hide his heartbreak as he advised, “no… go on.”

“Your majesty, the trauma from the violent way she was entered and the act , caused her body to shut down. Upon her ultrasound we discovered that your wife had an empty amniotic sac and a viable embryo. Meaning that the queen was pregnant with twins, but for whatever reason the body rejected the second embryo. She is still carrying a single child.”,he breathed deeply.

Liam paused,wiped his face filled with shock and pain, “Are you telling me that we conceived twins, but only one child survived?”he felt a lump growing in his throat and his mind racing trying to process what he had just been told.

The doctor interjected, “sir, the next 48 hours after the ordeal your wife has been through are crucial...critical to her pregnancy. She lost a lot of blood and there’s the internal tear near her uterus and the area between her vaginal area and her rectum. She will need around the clock monitoring and care until we are certain… that she has made it over the hump.”

Liam bit his inner cheek trying to hold back the overwhelming emotions that were flooding his mind . He briskly shook his head in the direction of the doctor tapped to care for his queen, and learning there was a greater loss than he had imagined. The doctor offered a sympathetic smile as he patted the king on his shoulder and left him to deal with his inner turmoil.Liam leaned forward ,resting his hands on his knees trying to hold himself and accept that this was no dream, or nightmare. He internally tried to prepare himself, “I need to be strong for them, I cannot let her see me ...in any other state, than composed. He was interrupted from his thoughts by Bastien clearing his throat, making his presence known.

“Your majesty, I am trying to locate Travis to determine where he was during the attack and how he could allow anyone to enter the royal quarters. I have a locator out find him and have him deliver answers.”

Liam barked in a loud, kingly manner, “ I need more than answers! I trusted him to care for my wife, my family, and he failed on both fronts, “he seethed.” Bastien, no one gets any sleep until the animal that did this to my wife… is in my custody”,his nostrils flared and he clenched his jaw as he tried to pull himself together. ``there is no if, it had better be when we get this monster in custody… just go … handle it… now!” Bastien promptly bowed and took off toward the exit. Within mere moments, the door to the private waiting room flew open from observing the raised voice of the king.

“Li… what is going on?… we can hear you throughout this floor.``Drake walked over standing eye to eye with his best friend, eyes pleading for liam to open up… let him help. “What is it brother? I have rarely seen you get upset, let alone raise your voice.``Drake just stared allowing him time to share what was angering him.

Liam’s blue eyes became clouded with tearing on the brink of breaking free.Drake and Olivia ushered Liam into Saige’s room to speak in private. He shook his no to the location, when they turned and led him across the hall to the private waiting room. The room was colored in a sage green paint, faux greenery on the coffee tables, an off white lamp struggling to emit light, and a polyester couch. Drake closed the blinds to the hall to provide a sanctuary for his friend that was struggling to make sense of the events of the last 48 hours. Liam exhaled a labored breath that seemed to open pandora’s box. The tears slowly tracked down his face. “How… how do I help make sense of what happened , when I have no clue myself?”he spoke through broken sobs and a whisper. “I was just joking and laughing with her the night before she was found in … in our home.”,he became dizzy from the thoughts battling within. “Saige is my life, she is everything I never knew I needed. She epitomizes every possible dream. So why.. Why would someone hurt her so savagely?! We were counting the days until I got home.. Until I got back to them. She shared how she was exhausted and had an early dinner to turn in. She just needed to rest… she was looking forward to her appointment the next morning. She laughed about meeting you, and how you would never leave alone, ``he forced a small smile. “I had even mentioned asking if you would stay with her until I got home… she didn't want you to feel like you were babysitting. She told me you had a life of your own, a home of your own to take care of. She .. she didn't want anyone to feel that she was a burden.Guys she even turned me down from traveling to Italy so she could be a good mom from the start and keep her appointment, `` he rambled on. “Doesn't she know I could have had an army of doctors to travel with us. What is the use of being a king, if you can't protect your own damn family?!”, he turned and punched a hole in the sheetrock wall.

Olivia covered her mouth and turned away from Liam as she too fought back tears for her friend’s loss and expected pain.Drake subtly reached out to touch Olivia’s softly. That tender moment meant so much to her, she turned around, flashing a grateful smile before kneeling down in front of Liam. “Oh Liam… I'm so sorry for you both. You lost a child too, but you can be there for the other baby .”,she quietly spoke gaging his reaction.

“Thanks Liv… thank you both for being here . THis has shown me that you have to hold on tightly to the people that are important in your life. Once we weather this storm, Saige will not go a day without knowing how important she is in my life”,he sniffled. “ You two.. You need to cherish each other.” Olivia and Drake’s eyes both stretched and they launched into a denial . Liam cut them off , “I know that you two are involved… I have known for a few weeks, accidentally of course. I'm happy for you both, just enjoy whatever this is that developing between you.”, liam forced a smile and left the room to return to the bedside of the love of his life.

When liam re-entered he quietly approached the bed, studying the injuries of her face. Each mark telling a story of an abomination that no one should ever have to endure, especially in their home.He softly traced her porcelain skin, darkened by the pigment of the bruises and swelling. He took her left in his own, running his thumb over the set of diamond rings. He grimaced as his red rimmed eyes and heavy heart sat by silently chiding himself for ever subjecting her to this kind of pain. “My love… all I ever wanted was your happiness… hopefully that was with me. I wish that I can away all of your pain, all of the heartaches, all of feelings that I know you will take on. A soul as pure as yours , should never have to face the kind of….torment that you have. I know that what you did… you did for me Saige. If you had your way...you would have remained in the states. You are here...because of me. I want you to feel my love… feel everything we experienced on our wedding day.I don't want these impending nightmares to creep into the corners of your mind.”

Liam fished out his smart phone and thumbed to the playlist that he and Saige found strength in when things were rough trying to move forward. His finger landed on one of their favorite songs. He nodded and locked his eyes on her still form pressing play. The sound of Adele quietly filling the room ,drowning out the beeps of the monitors.

When the rain is blowing in your face

And the whole world is on your case

I could offer you a warm embrace

To make you feel my love

When the evening shadows and the stars appear

And there is no one there to dry your tears

I could hold you for a million years

To make you feel my love

I know you haven't made your mind up yet

But I will never do you wrong

I've known it from the moment that we met

No doubt in my mind where you belong

I'd go hungry; I'd go black and blue

I'd go crawling down the avenue

No, there's nothing that I wouldn't do

To make you feel my love

The storms are raging on the rolling sea

And on the highway of regret

The winds of change are blowing wild and free

You ain't seen nothing like me yet

I could make you happy, make your dreams come true

Nothing that I wouldn't do

Go to the ends of the Earth for you

To make you feel my love

As the melody came to an end, Liam gently pressed his lips to her hand that wore his rings..the symbols of his love and commitment. “Baby, please open your eyes and come back to me. I love you… I miss you so much”,his eyes glossed over as heard a soft knock on the door.

“Come in”. He whispered never removing his glance from her face.

“Liam, we came to check if there is any change.Has she regained consciousness yet?”,Olivia questioned . “It’s been a long time without her waking up. I wish we knew who did this to her. We all know she never deserved something like this to happen.”The anger was bubbling to the surface in scarlett duchess’s voice.

Bastien tapped on the door to alert his king that he was back. “Sir, still no word from Travis. It’s not like him to abandon his post without a word.”

Liam furrowed his brow and ran his hand through his blonde hair, “someone has got to know who did this , and why. Travis has to have answers as to how this transpired in our home ...against my wife.”,his words were stern, but low.

The monitors were low and steady when the silence was interrupted by a barely audible whisper.”He not only knows, he was there ...helping.”,soft whimpers and pained breaths were heard in that hospital room. Saige slowly opened her eyes as she focused on the bodies in her room. “Ow”,she flinched at the sudden awareness of her pain.

Liam turned his gaze back to her and every set of eyes landed on her battered face. “Love...did I hear you right, he was there? Travis was there while you were attacked? God I have never been so relieved to see your gorgeous eyes opened. Was Travis hurt too?”,Liam couldn't stop asking question after question.

Saige stared up at the ceiling as her eyes began to water ,dampening her swollen cheeks and eyes. “No Liam, he was there holding me down as I was being …”she trailed off.

“Love, do you remember what happened? Any detail no matter how small would help us to find who did this to you.”Liam’s eyes darted around the room from Bastien,to Drake,to Olivia, back to Saige..eagerly listening to her gather the courage to share her harrowing experience.

“Liam...you don't have to look very far..the person, the people that did this are in your palace.”,she started to become agitated. “He came back to finish what he started...I tried to stop him Liam.. I tried to fight him,but they held me..they slammed me on the floor.Travis and … and another guard held me down while he did this to me”,she fought through her tears to explain how she lost control that night. “When I hung up with you I tried to go to sleep, but I heard a noise coming from the living area. I thought nothing of it at first since I had said good night to the guard before turning in for the night”,she slowly shook her head in denial as recounted her nightmare. “I walked down the hall and decided to get a snack while I was up”, her breathing became labored as she spoke.

“Saige...you don't have to do this right now,''he tried to calm her down.

“Liam, i never wanted anything like this to happen. I tried, I swear I tried to stop him, but he…``.her hand flew up to her neck instinctively to the very spot that bared the darkened laceration around her throat. “I felt a hand , grab me by my throat in the darkness. I couldn't breathe… Liam.. the baby.. I , I tried so hard to keep him safe, `` her body began to shake.

Liam tried to move closer to console her,to comfort her…”Nooooo, no don't touch me!” The nurse dashed into the room to observe why her vitals were elevated.

“Your majesty... there are too many people in the room and it is causing her distress.”,she advised respectfully. Liam shook his head. “Of course,'' he gestured for the others to leave the room. Bastien and Drake left heading to the hall, Olivia found a dark corner in the room and sat down, cringing as she listened to her dear friend relive this nightmare.

“He hit me Liam.. he hit me and I can't tell you how many times exactly. It hurt so badly. I just wanted him to stop, but he covered my mouth as the guards held me down and spread my legs...I tried to lock my legs,but they were so rough and pinned me to the floor in our residence. He told them to move the top from me… I was wearing your shirt and they tore it from me Liam”,she fought to make him understand that she was by no means a willing participant.He ripped underwear and shorts off of me. Al i could smell was scotch and stale cigars. He scoffed at me as he said that i would feel a real man now… he forced himself into me and I felt a fire, it hurt so bad. He blamed me for your anger..for the state of your relationship.”

Liam’s mind was running a hundred miles aware, thinking who “he” was. He felt his chest tighten as he wanted nothing more than to take her pain away. “Saige, love… please baby, if you remember, please tell me who he is,he pleaded quietly trying to tamper his rage in front of her.

Saige tried to lift her head to look at him , but she turned away ,embarrassed as if she somehow failed him, failed her child ...failed herself. There was not a dry eye in the room as they listened intently,her eyes trained on the window…”your father...it was Constantine”was all she could say.

Olivia watched as Liam encased a fiery glare as he chewed his inner cheek. She recognized the same feeling in herself. She subtly gestured to him that she felt his pain. Olivia knew the internal battle that liam felt after his father had tried to hurt her before. Now..to know that he had succeeded in stealing something precious from her..from them. He had robbed Saige of peaceful nights for months, now... there was no peace to be shared for a long time to come.She stood up and dismissed herself to meet with Drake. She felt as if she were suffocating trying to tamper down her screams, her cries, her fury to rid this kingdom of this animal. Olivia’s emerald green eyes , locked with Drake’s chocolate eyes. She needn't say a word, she leaned into him and stifled her cries until he led her into the private waiting room. The words escaped her ass she wanted so desperately to express the pain, the personal hell that Saige was going through...had went through. She had no doubt that she would relive that hell over and over again. She hasn't learned the worst of it yet. Saige had no idea that she had lost a twin.

Drake wrapped her in his arms and felt days of worry, frustration, and anger flowing from her body as she dropped to the floor crying inconsolably.

Liam dipped down to make eye contact with his wife, “love… I'm here ... we are going to get through this together. I love you and you are so very brave. Your not alone.”, he wiped his tear stained face with the back of his hand. “Give me one moment, I need to speak with Bastien..very briefly.”he was met with silence as she continued to stare at the window. He rose and walked out to the hallway.

“Bastien, I want every available royal guard on this. I need Travis and the other guard picked up immediately! You need to deliver my father to the palace cell personally. I also want you to summon Queen mother Regina to this hospital, this is not my request… this is my command. I don't give a damn if she feels slighted, she will come here ...now.”

Liam promptly turned and went to join his queen back in her room...back in her private hell.

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youllallriseintheink · 5 years

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Defining Memories, chapter 3

I know, these are pretty mundane choices for Allison’s memories when I gave her such a... non-mundane backstory. What can I say except that I hadn’t given her much thought when I’d written this (it was a couple months ago).

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“Wow, So we’re going to see some bad memories, too, eh? That doesn’t have to be all bad. Maybe it’ll help us learn about ourselves and each other,” Jack suggested, smiling but somewhat nervous. Almost everyone in the room was a bit nervous at the idea of having their sins and demons dredged up.

Allison forced a concerned look on her face, but secretly she was interested in what the others might have to hide. The bright light appeared before her, pale yellow. “Yellow means a good memory, right?”

The scene changed to that of a quaint little farm on a summer’s day. Allison was there, looking to be about ten years old. Unlike the previous memories, this one shifted often and didn’t seem to have much of a theme to it. The group saw little Allison gather eggs from the chicken coop, pick raspberries, practice fencing with her little brother (both with sticks in the woods and with actual practice swords in a more formal setting), helping her mother in the kitchen, and feeding and cuddling with some rabbits.

The scene faded back into mist. “Cute,” Jack said. There wasn’t really anything else to say about it.

The light in Allison’s hands changed colours to light blue. “Huh. I guess you were right about everyone getting more than one memory.”

The scene changed back to exactly where it had been before: in the small rabbit hutch. Little Allison was sobbing, and it wasn’t hard to see why. The white rabbit she had seemed so fond of in the last memory was limp and dead in her arms. A man, presumably her father, approached her. “Allie? What’s wrong?” He then caught sight of the dead rabbit. “Oh, sweetheart. You knew this would happen. Y’know, I decided to let you keep some of the rabbits for yourself, I thought you already understood how things were. I mean, you know what we do to them,” he motioned at a larger hutch with more rabbits in it. “You know how rabbit stew is made. And your fencing, you know why that was invented, right?”

His tone wasn’t unfriendly, but that didn’t keep Allison from glaring at him. “This one’s different. She was my favourite. Her name was Snowball.”

“Alright, wrong thing to say. But Allie, it’s time you saw something. Pick your favourite rabbit- other than Snowball- and bring him to the barn once you’re calmed down, alright?”

Allison nodded, then peered into the rabbit cage. Inside was an ash-coloured, floppy-eared rabbit, a white rabbit with black on its ears, nose, and paws, and a calico-coloured rabbit. Her father had allowed her to choose four as a sort of “practice hutch�� to take care of, so naturally Allison loved them all. In the end, she picked up the calico rabbit and ran to the barn.

Her father had the table set up there. “Allison, today I’m going to teach you how to butcher a rabbit.”

The look on Allison’s face was so upsetting that Thomas put an arm around present-day Allison. Although, present-day Allison didn’t seem too bothered.

“Alright. Now, physically, this is no different than a chicken,” the man said, handing little Allison an axe and taking her rabbit from her to lay it out on the table. “But I want you to remember this next time you feel like hurting someone to get ahead. Pain is bad, Allison. And there are times it’s necessary or worthwhile, but you won’t be ready to tell the difference until you’ve seen it yourself.”

“Do we have to do it where the cow can see?”

“The cow won’t care. It’s not smart enough to feel bad for the rabbit or connect it to a threat to its life. Now come on. You’ve got this.”

Her father was holding the rabbit down, one hand on its body, the other on its nose, allowing her a shot at its neck. She swung, and it hit his hand.

Little Allison was didn’t look surprised at all. Had she meant to do that? She wasn’t sure. Nonetheless, she took her rabbit and ran.

The scene shifted. Little Allison was in what appeared to be her room, listening through the door.

“What the hell happened?!” A female voice, presumably her mother. The sound of the family’s first aid kit snapping open and the shuffling of some tools sounded.

“Allison hit me in the hand. I was trying to teach her how to slaughter a rabbit, but apparently she didn’t want to.” The sound of water flowing from a tap as her father washed his wounds.

“Oh, God. What are we gonna with her?”

“Take her out of sword fighting, for one thing. I don’t think we should be trusting her with a weapons like that. What if another kid upsets her?”

“Are you sure it wasn’t an accident?”

“No. She ran off with her rabbit afterwards. She meant to do it. Wouldn’t be the first time she showed signs of being... different. Remember her last track and field day?”

“We ought to talk to her about that.”

“We ought to put her rabbits back in the big hutch for this.”

“No. We aren’t going to cause her needless anxiety like that. There are better ways to punish her. And even if we do take them away, we can punish her by giving the rabbits to her brother. No selling or killing them, alright?”

“I just want her to turn out alright.”

“Me, too. But I think she’ll outgrow this.”

The memory faded back into mist.

“So, uh, what happened at the field day?” Jack asked.

“I‘d rather not say,” Allison said simply. “Until I heard my parents talking, I didn’t know there was anything wrong with me, so I didn’t make the conscious choice to be nice. I didn’t know it was something that I should have to.”

“Then I’m glad, too,” Susie replied. “You’re one of the kindest people I know now.”

“See?” Jack said. “Bad memories don’t have to be wholly bad.”

In that moment, a blue light appeared over Thomas’ head. The scene changed to show the inside of a house, with Allison on the couch, reading a newspaper. Thomas stormed in.

“Hi, honey,” Allison said. “Rough day again?”

“You know it,” Thomas snapped.

“Burst pipe?”

“No.”

“Wally cause you problems?”

“No.”

“Is it-“

“Allie, it’s not something I can talk about! My God, this job is going to kill me.”

The two sat in silence a moment.

“Did someone find out that we’re together?”

“No!”

“I’ll go heat up dinner,” Allison said. “Y’know, you could ask Gent to assign you to another project if it’s that hard on you.”

Thomas sighed. “You know why I don’t do that?” he growled.

Allison looked nervous. “No.”

“One reason I’m staying is because I don’t want to just turn away from this craziness. Someone less astute would just take my place, and then there’d be no stopping him.”

Allison, unlike almost everyone who was watching, didn’t need explained who he meant. “Well, it’s not your responsibility. And anyhow, I think what you’re doing is wonderful.”

Thomas slammed his fist down on the nearby coffee table, then got up to face Allison. “Y’see, that’s part of the goddamn problem! You don’t see the bad in anything! You’ve been working for Joey longer than I have and I’ve even shown you that- that thing! And you don’t see anything wrong with it.”

Allison had fallen silent. Her face was stony, like a teenager receiving the same lecture for the hundredth time.

Thomas began to pace. “Maybe, If you’d done what I told you to do and looked for other roles, I would be able to quit. As is, I’m fucking worried about you!”

“Thomas, you’re getting worked up,” Allison said in a soothing voice. They’d worked on this. “Why don’t you take a break from your paranoia? You’re not at work right now.”

Thomas grit his teeth and got up in Allison’s face. “Oh, for God’s sake! I don’t need a relaxation exercise! I need you to stop hanging out with Joey Drew! And maybe figure out what the hell is wrong with you so we can get out of that hellhole of a studio!”

Until then, Allison had shown no other signs of emotion. With his last line, however, her stony expression fell and she began to to sob into her hands.

“Oh, Allie, I’m sorry.” Thomas tried to brush a lock of hair out of her face, but she caught his hand and brushed it away. I promise, I’ll never take my anger out on you again.”

“You’d better not.”

“I won’t.”

Allison wiped the tears from her face and took a deep breath. “Do that one more time, and you’re going to therapy. Do it one more time after that, and we’re through. I’m always willing to talk about work, Tom, but don’t yell at me, and don’t blame me for your paranoia. Understood?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll go heat up dinner.”

That’s when the scene faded back into mist. Everyone stood in silence a while, trying to figure out what could be said about what they’d just seen. This had not, despite Jack’s optimism, been in any way positive. The only people there that weren’t imagining Thomas as a paranoiac control freak were wondering what on earth Joey had done to cause him so much distress.

Joey Drew wondered at how he could distract the others from Thomas’s suspicions of him. Deciding to start on a pleasant note, he began, “Mr. Connor, it troubles me that you’d be so adamant in hiding your relationship with Allison. I could personally care less that you’re a black man with a white woman. And if anyone else hassled you about it, you could have just come to me and they’d be the one in trouble. What I cannot tolerate, however,” his tone darkened, “is domestic abuse.”

“What?!” Thomas snapped.

“The memory implies that you this isn’t the first time that had happened. Allison, you even seemed bored with it until things really escalated. And really, you thought you could make serious career choices for her because you were paranoid? How do I even know that that’s the extent of it?”

“No,” Allison cut in. “He stopped taking his anger out on me, just like he promised. And I can tell you honestly that he would never hit me. He wouldn’t.”

“It’s true,” Thomas said. “That was my worst memory because it was the closest I came to losing the best thing in my life. Don’t you think that if I’d laid a finger on her, that would be my worst memory?”

“I... guess you’re right. Sorry for the accusation,” Joey said, glad that the distraction had worked.

Suddenly, the light changed to yellow in Thomas’ hands. The scene changed to show Thomas Connor getting onto the infamous Joey Drew Studios elevator. Allison was already there, and she subtly averted her eyes from him. The elevator clanked into motion, then stopped not ten seconds later, trapping the duo between floors. Thomas groaned and rolled his eyes.

Allison stopped averting her gaze and crossed her legs. She knew that a whole lot of men in this studio would kill for a chance like this. The fact that it was a complete stranger didn’t help any. A few minutes ticked past. The stranger, strangely enough, wasn’t doing anything, and she took notice to the fact that it was a ruggedly handsome stranger. Well, she figured, she might as well make this little occurrence a little more pleasant.

“We could be stuck here quite a while, y’know. We might as well talk.”

Thomas looked over at her. “Okay. About what?”

“Well, I don’t know. What’s this elevator keeping you from? I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before.” She was by his side now, leaning towards him flirtatiously. Thomas took a step back.

“Yeah, I don’t work here. I’m from Gent. Here to install some ink pipes.”

“Oh. That explains it.”

“Where are you being held from?”

“Oh, I’m the voice actress for the studio’s heroine, Alice Angel. Which means I get to go through the music department and get flirted with by every man in the room.”

Thomas almost rolled his eyes. “So you’re getting that much attention, and you’re still desperate for mine?”

Allison had the decency to draw back and look somewhat ashamed. “Sorry. I guess I just wasn’t expecting... well, decency from someone stuck in an elevator with me. I’m sure a few of those music department boys would’ve...” she drifted off. “Plus, you’re just my type,” she returned with a chirp.

Thomas gave her a good look over. There was no denying that she was attractive- her body and face were like a model’s. He could care less for the attention seeking, though. She seemed far too used to getting what she wanted. What the heck, he decided. Maybe he could end up shuffling the girl into bed, and it’s not like he had plans that night anyhow. “There’s an art gallery opening tonight,” he suggested.

Allison’s eyes lit up like a cat who’d caught a mouse. “Perfect. What time are you picking me up?”

The scene changed. The couple were walking down the street to the art gallery. They’d come about an hour after its grand opening, so while it was quite busy, the line to get in was fairly short. The man at the entrance offered that Thomas donate to some animal-related charity. Wanting to make a show of kindness, he agreed.

“Please don’t,” Allison cut in. Thomas wondered what her deal was and if she just wanted to make a show of controlling him. Nonetheless, he retracted the donation.

The scene changed to a while later while they were looking at a bizarre, abstract piece. “Modern,” Thomas commented playfully, clearly meaning that it was trash. Allison giggled.

“I bet their best ones are upstairs,” Allison said.

As they were walking, Thomas searches for conversation topics. He had to admit, it had been pretty difficult to keep up with Allison intellectually. Although he didn’t think of himself as all that smart, Thomas hadn’t expected that. “So, what do you have against little puppies, Allie?” was what came out of his mouth.

“What? Oh, you mean the charity. Nothing. The charity’s just a scam. Like four fifths of the money they bring in goes into advertising, and we don’t even know where the rest goes. Gotta research this kind of thing. I could tell you about some better charities if you want.”

“Right,” Thomas said. Truthfully he wasn’t very interested, but he did enjoy learning about Allison at least. “Do tell me about them.” Worst case scenario, he could plan their second date in his head while giving her an opportunity to lead the conversation.

The scene changed again to the two of them standing a very awkward-looking five feet apart at Allison's doorway. "This time next week?" Thomas asked, sounding a little nervous in spite of himself.

"You know it!" Allison returned, tackling him with a kiss on the cheek as though it were no big deal. "See you then!" she said before disappearing inside, leaving Thomas to process what had just happened.

#Bendy and the Ink Machine #defining memory au #allison pendle #Thomas Connor

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sapphires-and-gold-fics · 5 years

Text

Fictober Day 4: “I know you didn’t ask for this”

Fandom:

Game of Thrones / ASOIAF

Characters: Brienne of Tarth/Jaime Lannister

Read on AO3

It had been 11 days since Jaime had last been to see her in her tower cell. He’d promised to find a way to get her out of King’s Landing. He’d hoped to find a way to save his brother as well. The full moon had come and gone.

It had been 9 days since Lord Tywin had come to her cell and informed her that she and Jaime would wed. She had said little in response, and less still when he informed her that she would be moved from the cell.

It had been 8 days since Septa Donyse had come to fit her for a gown, and 2 days since the blue silk gown had been delivered to her new chamber.

It had been 3 hours since Cersei’s shadow had appeared in her doorway without warning, a smirk marring her beautiful face.

I understand that my son the king, at the behest of my father, has decreed that we shall be goodsisters soon. It doesn’t look like you’re terribly happy at the prospect.

My father believed that I could have some say in my future, she’d said, but your father doesn’t see things that way.

Cersei had almost chuckled. No, he doesn’t. He never did. I confess if Qyburn hadn’t confirmed your maidenhead already, I would have few reasons to believe you were a woman, but my father’s insistence on controlling you seems to make the case quite evident. He does like to play with people’s lives.

Marriages are arranged all the time, your grace.

The queen’s smirk deepened. Except in your case, one would hardly call it a marriage. A wedding, yes, but a marriage...that requires a willingness to be bound to one another. A desire to do so. By the look on your face, you are no more desirous of that than my brother is. Or perhaps your face simply falls like that. But it matters not. Jaime has no interest in a marriage with one such as you.

I have not spoken with him, your grace. But I don’t believe he or I have a choice in the matter.

Cersei’s glance turned almost warm. You know, I could leave the door open when I leave. You could run now and avoid the entire thing. My father will be upset, so the crown won’t be pleased. But you’ve flitted between loyalties before, Lady Brienne. I’m sure you’ll find another berth soon enough.

Your grace is kind to think of my comfort, but I would not go against the king’s wishes in this.

The warmth was gone. Very well. I don’t expect your… relationship will last long in any case. You’ll leave for Casterly Rock but I wonder at your ever seeing it. Take care, Lady Brienne. I would not wish my goodsister to fall ill on the road. And one never knows what might be preying on travelers.

It had been 155 minutes since the queen had left the chamber, air pouring back into the room in her wake. Brienne had sat gasping on her bed. If only she could speak to him before the ceremony and find out what had happened.

It had been 119 minutes since the septa had returned to help her into her dress. Brienne had almost not recognized her own body in the looking glass. Nothing could hide her height, but she seemed to have more of a woman’s shape now.

It had been 88 minutes since Brienne had entered the Sept of Baelor and met Jaime at the top of the steps, afraid to look at him and see his disappointment.

It had been 78 minutes since he had cloaked her with the Lannister colors. He’d struggled with his gold hand and when he’d secured the left side, the right had begun to slip from her shoulder. It would have fallen except that Brienne had reached across her chest and grasped it just as Jaime had reached and caught it as well. She thought he had whispered his thanks to her back, but it was covered by the susurrus of the shifting fabric and Cersei’s snickers from the gallery.

It had been 73 minutes since the septon had bound their arms with ribbon and Jaime had gently squeezed her hand. She’d looked over to find his face solemn.

It had been 72 minutes since they said the words, and she could barely look at him.

It had been 70 minutes since he had leaned forward and pressed his lips dryly to the corner of her mouth, an action so reluctant and impersonal that Brienne felt assured of Cersei’s assessment of her brother.

It had been 55 minutes since they had arrived at the feast - a small affair even by Tarth standards, miniscule by royal and Lannister standards.

It had been 35 minutes since King Tommen had made the only toast, wishing his uncle and the new Lady Lannister prosperity before taking himself to bed; 35 minutes since Jaime had leaned over and taken her hand, raising it in salute to the boy as the small crowd cheered; 34 and a half minutes since he had pulled her toward him gently so that he could whisper in her ear, his face as grim as ever.

My father will not suffer a bedding ceremony. With Tommen leaving, we may taken our leave whenever you wish.

Brienne had ducked her head, feeling Cersei’s eyes boring into her across the room. If we are not needed here, then I am eager to depart, my lord.

He’d given her a curious look, then glanced at his father who raised an e yebrow and nodded just once. Jaime had jerked his face to look back at Brienne, her hand still in his. Come, my lady, he’d said at volume. Then f or her ears only, Let us rid ourselves of these grotesques.

It had been 32 minutes since he had led her away from the hall. They’d walked quickly, anxious to be away from the melee, and both having avoided the lure of the wine. Their quarters had been readied near the Tower of the Hand - a way, perhaps, for Tywin to keep them within his grasp until they departed for the west.

It had been 27 minutes since Jaime had opened the door and motioned for Brienne to enter. A low fire was burning and the sky was purple, the sun’s rays fading quickly. Jaime had bolted the door behind them and then sagged against it with a heavy sigh.

Wench.

She’d hesitated.

Brienne. He’d reached for her arm and turned her to face him. The dour expression he’d worn all afternoon while not quite looking at her had vanished. In its place, one of exhaustion and relief. Blue is a good color on you, my lady. It goes well with your eyes. Are you alright? I’m s orry I couldn’t come to see you these last few days. I’m even sorrier that you had to get the news of your future from my father. Tell me that you’re well, wench.

She’d stared at him, transfixed by his altered expression. No my lord, I--

--Jaime. These last few days cannot have changed us so much that you’ve forgotten.

She’d licked her lips before responding, and he’d watched the motion before flicking his glance back up to her eyes, steady. Where have you been? The words had come out quieter and with more desperation than s he’d intended and she could see the effect on him, the worry building, a face that he’d shown her and no one else.

My father. Once the terms were set he said I wasn’t to have contact with you until the ceremony. I thought of defying him. I thought of coming to you every day and telling you everything. But I was afraid that he would hurt you or Tyrion. He pushed off the door and stepped toward her. As long as I obeyed, you and my brother were protected. Without that protection, there was no telling what Cersei might do.

Brienne had nodded. She came to see me this morning.

To welcome you to the family?

To warn me, I think. She offered me an escape, actually. But I doubt she had my interests in mind.

No doubt. He’d sighed and taken another step. I’m sorry that happened. I swear it shan’t happen again. We’ll be leaving King’s Landing soon, and then she won’t be able to touch us.

Jaime, she suggested that I watch my back on the road, too.

His face had gone stormy. I swear to watch it for you, wench. She has no power where we’re going.

Brienne had nodded and then looked at him resolutely, summoning all her courage, speaking quickly. Jaime, I know you didn’t ask for this. Neither of us did. And I know that I’m not… not her. But I hope that there is some comfort, that is, I am comforted and hope you are as well, that if this is our fate, that at least we are friends. At least we may lean on one another--

—What makes you think I didn’t ask for this? He’d taken a final step toward her and clasped her arm.

Jaime, you were Lord Commander--

--Aye and what a Commander I was. Jaime had crowded her and forced her to step back as he went on. I soiled that white cloak every chance I got. Brienne, they were going to kill my brother, and as Lord Commander I was expected to stand idly by and let that happen. I couldn’t do it. But there was a problem.

Brienne had felt the backs of her thighs hit the bed just as Jaime stopped moving.

You.

Me?

I couldn’t leave you here. I couldn’t leave you behind. I could have told my father that I wanted you for a guard at Casterly and keep you a maiden, but I knew better. He’d been waiting, you see, for me to change my mind about being his heir. But he couldn’t keep other houses waiting for me, so there were no other highborn ladies waiting in the wings; but you were here. If I’d asked to bring you with me in any capacity other than my lady wife, he would have inevitably turned it into a wedding anyway.

She’d shuddered as he ran his hand up and down her arm, her nerves firing as she tried to keep her breath under control.

So I beat him to it. I told him that I was in love with you, and that I wished to marry, but that i would only do it if he gave me Tyrion.

She’d almost whimpered when he reached up and cupped her face.

So yes, I did in fact ask for this. And I have no regrets about doing so. And I would have told you as much before we said the words if I’d been able to see you. I would have told you everything… I would have given you the option at least - I’m sorry that it couldn’t be that way. I’m sorry that you’ve had no say in being married to a cripple, formerly of the Kingsguard. But I’m not sorry for getting you away from here. It felt selfish but I need you to know that I was thinking of your safety. As it is, I still need to make Cersei believe that this was my father’s doing, otherwise the rest of the plan won’t work.

What plan?

Jaime had actually smiled and leaned closer to her. Wench you didn’t think I would just drag you to the rock and put a babe in your belly and forget all about our oathes like my father would want, did you?

Stunned, she had said nothing.

We’re going to find Sansa and bring her north. We’ll try to find Arya too. He’d been so close that his breath had begun stirring her hair. And when we’re done you’ll decide your future, marriage vows or no.

It had been 51 seconds since their lips had crashed together, his hand gripping the nape of her neck, her hands gripping his tunic; 34 seconds since his tongue had slipped into her mouth; 32 seconds since she had moaned into his.

It had been 3 seconds since she had pulled him down onto the bed with her and he had mentally sworn to keep every vow to her.

In 248 seconds, she’ll remove his gold hand and press his stump to her heart.

In 14 minutes, the blue silk will be balled up on the floor.

In 23 minutes, she’ll come apart with his name on her lips, and her honey on his.

In 29 minutes, she’ll come apart again when he spills inside her, crying her name.

In 17 hours, they’ll sit for their final meal in the Keep. Cersei will demand Jaime’s attention. Jaime will give it.

In 19 and a half hours, he’ll have Brienne pressed against the inside of their chamber door.

In 32 hours, Tyrion will join them as they ride west from the capital.

In 32 and a half hours, Tyrion and Brienne will be fast friends and take to teasing Jaime together.

In 6 days, Tyrion will continue west while Brienne and Jaime turn north.

In 19 days, they’ll be pressed together sheltering from the rain, his mouth on her scars when they finally whisper their love for one another.

In 95 days, they’ll rescue Sansa from Baelish.

In 8 months, Sansa will be safely ensconced with the Night’s Watch.

In 12 months and 1 day, Arya will join her.

In 13 months and 28 days, Jaime will knight Brienne at Winterfell.

In 13 months and 29 days, Jaime and Brienne will fight at Winterfell in the Long Night, and survive. Brienne has decided her future.

In 16 months and 12 days, they will rejoin Tyrion at Casterly Rock.

In 18 months and 3 days, Jaime will tear up a letter from his sister begging for help in the capital.

And in 22 months and 15 days, Jaime will curl up on the bed next to a propped up Brienne and hold his wife and newborn daughter to him while Tyrion watches them fondly from a chair by the hearth.

#apparently i can't write drabbles #fictober #fictober 2019 #jaime x brienne #brienne x jaime #braime #got au #braime au #asoiaf au #not really asoiaf and not really got

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esta-metamorfose-ambulante · 5 years

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Pros and cons of Jane The Virgin over the seasons (in no particular order)

Pros:

An amazingly talented cast.

Overall positive latino representation.

Distinct and interesting characters.

Plot twists that kept the story entertaining.

The Villanuevas bond.

Focusing on the reactions and the human side of the characters whenever something crazy would happen to them.

I’m personally not a fan of Latin novelas because they usually just throw one plot twist after anoter, but JTV used to do a great job showing its characters’ struggles dealing with those events.

Cons:

The love triangle. On season one it was important to Jane’s arc so she could find confidence in being a single mother before marrying Michael, but continuously resurrecting the Michael/Jane/Rafael and Jane/Rafael/Petra was uninteresting, repetitive and tiring to its viewers.

Its representation of black people. Roman Zazo was a killer, who not only killed his own twin brother, but also made Petra have sex with him when he kidnapped her.

Nadine was another neglected character that ended up being killed.

The poor treatment they give to Luisa, who has made terrible mistakes, but is also a metally ill woman that battles addiction. However, she is merely used as comic relief and described as a ‘trainwreck’. If my memories serve me well, the show has used this specific word regarding her, more than once.

Its unreleastic representation of romantic love. In the beginning, Jane was happily engaged to Michael. Then, they broke up and she fell for Rafael. Later, the two also broke up. Eventually, she got over him only to fall in love with both of them in a couple of episodes and almost immediately after she realized it’s always been Michael. Seriously? I don’t think science has a consensus about how someone falls in love, if you can love two people at once or whether you can fall in love with a previous lover after you were over them and in a happy relationship with someone else, but that’s not even the point. The thing is, you cannot trust its own narrative. It’s become repetitive, confusing and incoherent with its previous statements. You can’t even trust on the heart glowing thing, because that happens whenever the characters feel strong emotions with their loved ones. It happened when Jane was holding Mateo after he was born and when the Villanuevas were celebrating Mother’s Day. The only way to have some certainty is based on how the actors’ performances and their declarations, because imo they are even more responsible for developing their characters than the writers. The writers keep moving in circles and the actors need to try to make the best of it and deliver their lines convincingly, but I believe even for them it must be difficult to buy it. Therefore, I take their acting and declarations more seriously, because they at least keep a line of thinking instead of the writers that just go back and forth.

Rose - who used to be an intriguing character - got reduced to a I don’t even know what. She was/is a huge crime lord, but all that potention was thrown way. The show didn’t explore her criminal life at all, only her relationship with Luisa and multiple disguises. Currently, she is back for a mysterious reason, but after four seasons, I believe it’s safe to say she will be neglected as well and whatever she does will be anticlimactic.

The objetification. I don’t get the obsession they have/had with Rafael’s abs and why they would make Petra sleep with every basic/trash white man they introduced. On season three they focused more on Jane managing to have casual sex with Fabian than her book and dream of being a published author. I get that was important for her, but releasing her book was everything she ever worked for her entire life. Ignoring that was disrespectful.

Losing its essence and becoming like every other telenovela: throwing a twist after another, not exploring its effects on the characters and repeating storylines everyone’s sick of.

Not having the characters dealing with their traumas and metal illness or having almost all of it happening off camera. Luisa struggles with alcoholism and an on and off abusive relationship, Rogelio was kidnapped, Mateo was kidnapped, Petra was kidnapped, Petra forced herself to have sex with the man who kidnapped her so she could find a way get out of her captivity, Petra lived with an abusive mother, Petra was freaking paralyzed by her own sister, Petra had postpartum depression, Michael was shot, almost got killed and then he was tortured with eletroshocks until he got amnesia and lost five years of his life and I’m sure there is more that I’ve missed. Still, what do they focus on? Ridiculous love triangles.

Although Rafael is not my favorite character, he and Petra were the ones that had the most interesting potential backgrounds. Petra grew up without a father in Czechoslovakia, Alba always used her as a tool to get by and she left the country running away from a man who attacked her mother. Even in the United States, there is so much they could’ve shown of her before and after meeting Rafael, getting married, pregnant and losing the baby. On the other hand, Rafael could’ve had a journey of self-discovery and found his biological family and finally getting the love he didn’t receive from his adoptive parents. All wasted pontetial as well.

Changing the entire dynamics of the show in order to execute one storyline. To get to a point where Jane chooses Rafael, they had to: ‘kill’ Michael, do time jumps and have the characters almost ready to be together. Rafael basically became a different character, they got rid of Lina so he would be her best friend and even in some scenes that there would’ve made more sense to have an Alba/Jane moment because they both lost their husbands, they made a jafael moment.

Its frustrating depiction of family. I don’t hide the fact I’m a villadero shipper and would’ve loved to see Michael/Jane/Mateo being a blended family. I know I won’t get that, but the twins barely spend time with Rafael. Or they do, but it’s mostly off camera. And that’s not enough. I don’t need fourty minutes of them together or therapy, but it’s important to show that on television. It’s important to show parents giving their kids equal love and attention, just like it’s important to show mentally ill characters getting help. This speaks to the audience and can even change the way somebody acts. Television is powerful. Still, even if Rafael does give the same amount of attention and love to their children, the show doesn’t illustrate that. And that’s one of the reasons why I think Ellie and Anna are basically perfect. So Mateo is the one who is distracted, sad, confused or whatever. And no, I’m not criticizing a kid. But we see Mateo being comforted by Rafael, having Rafael telling him stories and things like that. We get way less scenes from Rafael and the girls and sometimes it is just him saying he will pick them up or something off camera. And I really can’t remember any moment where they were the ones who were vulnerable and Rafael comforted them. Or just them playing and having fun. Not even with him when Rafael was with Jane and Mateo.

Not even between Mateo and the twins. They love to say they are family and I more than anyone know siblings fight, but siblings also love and protect each other. I can only remember one soft scene with the three of them and it was because that was convenient at the moment. But a scene of them playing just for the sake of it, or maybe even comforting or supporting one other would be adorable. Like, have they ever hug? I get that if Rafael and Jane live together with Mateo they will consenquently spend more time together and that’s not a problem. However, the show just executes the stereotype of only biological families being valid and sends the message it’s okay to neglect your other children if you’re not dating or married to their mother.

It also took them FIVE FUCKING SEASONS to show Jane and Petra being friends and having fun. And again, it was only out of convinience. Jane couldn’t decide what to do regarding her situation with Rafael and Michael and no one could give her advice. So she goes to Petra and they drink their asses off and sort of have fun. And that other day when they went to a lesbian bar. They say they’re friends and even family, but certaintly doesn’t feel like it. Do they care about each other? Yeah. Still, it’s like that cousin who lives in other part of the country and you see once a year. Firstly you’re happy, but after they spend a week in your house you realize why you barely see each other or keep in touch when they’re gone. I get they are very different, but everytime they are together they sort of argue. An honest and deep conversation like some that Jane’s had with Lena? I’m afraid it’s never happened or going to.

Total disrespect to their own character, Brett who was generous enough to return while he is part of another show and his fans. Not only they brought him back to play a minor role, but he didn’t even get the respect to have his point of view shown. The man was almost killed, tortured, lost five years of his life, came back to see that everything had changed and felt like a burden, but they don’t actually focus on what he feels? Just as how sad Rafael is? It’s one thing to show both sides, but to only explore Rafael’s feelings as if he’s the one who had it worse is ridiculous and insensitive.

Rafael’s deppression. Again, I don’t want to get technical about it, specially because that’s not my professional area and I could be wrong. The thing is, I don’t think he has depression. I do think he had a lot of shit happening to him and he used to have unhealthy habits whenever he got upset, but there is a difference between getting drunk when you are sad (what almost everyone has or will do once in their lifetime) and having depression. Feeling sad, worthless, suicidal all can be symptons, yes. But there is also not getting any sleep, food or eating/sleeping a lot and more. And I don’t think they show up altogether after one event. Rafael’s had a past drinking when he was feeling low, but that was it. No worthless or suicidal thoughts. No insomnia or sleeping too much or anything else. And that wouldn’t last long. Now I am supposed to believe he has depression? Then actually DEVELOP THAT and SHOW IT TO ME (If A Million Little Things can do a decent job, other shows can too). Don’t get me wrong, I think Rafael might have something, but not actually depression. He sure as hell have reasons to. However, It just seems they threw it so we could empathize with him after the way he treated Jane and root for him. And I bet that will be gone in two seconds once him and Jane reunite. Which leads me to...

The way they insinuated his state was Jane’s fault is disgusting. And I’m sure they will forget this depression storyline once jafael makes up. So yeah, they might have not actually said the words, but the route they took is that it’s Jane’s fault and once they back to their relationship he will be magically healed with their love. Yikes.

Also, the whole Michael x family conflict. That is so LOW. My parents are divorced and their separation was really messy. Despite my personal experience, I’ve seen complicated divorces before and ex-spouses using their children against one another. If Jane ended up with Michael, that wouldn’t make her less of a mother or neglect her family by any means. If anything, Mateo would have a step and godfather who would basically do everything to keep him safe and happy. Mateo would have another person who loves him. Sure, Jane’s priority must be her son, but to give the idea a mother needs to lose her independence because of her child is ridiculous. Mothers are allowed to be divorced, single, marry someone else, have their own time with their friends and even have male and ex-lovers as friends. What makes Jane a good mother is the way she treats her son, the love, attention she gives him. NOT being in a relationship with Rafael. Believe me, I’ve seen some people saying this kind of thing.

Now that Jane and Michael got closure, it looks like he will barely be on the show anymore. Which is wrong on so many levels, because first of all, he was her best friend. Real Jane wouldn’t want him out of her life, but apparently that’s what’s going to happen. And again, it sends a terrible message. She should keep being his friend, talking to him and everything, because being in a relationship doesn’t mean you should lose your (male) friends. And they won’t actually say it, but I don’t see Rafael as the guy that would be okay with Jane being best friends with her ex-husband and therefore we won’t see them interact. Just like we didn’t get Michael to see Jane’s family, that he loved and loved him back. And that’s a terrible message to give to young girls, even if you won’t have it said out loud. Showing it is already enough. The fact some of them are buying it frustrates me.

Also, like, it baffles me the fact Rafael is getting way with all the ultimatums he gave Jane, the fact he showed no empathy when Jane had the scare of thinking she would lose her mother who is fighting CANCER and he kicked her out of their house the very same night. Or that he turned their son against her or did nothing to get him to talk to Jane again until she called him out. She shouldn’t have to call him out. He is a grown man on his late 30s (or early 40s? idek anymore after the time jumps), he should’ve known better. The breaking point was when he didn’t discipline Mateo for running accross the street, something that could’ve KILLED HIM, just because he was mad at Jane. I get Rafael has gone through a lot of shit, but this doesn’t give him a pass to treat people the way he wants to. Everyone on this show has gone through enough and they don’t behave that way. He might have depression, but he knows when he is wrong. And you can actually see on his eyes when he is talking to Jane that he is defying and provoking her. Just terrible.

The fact Jane is choosing him after all of that pisses me off. If he were still zen Rafael and all, I would be frustrated, but not angry. This gives a really dangerous message for anyone who watches it. Abusive relationships start just like that and even though Rafael never raised a hand to her, that is abusive. Rafael is not a bad person, but he has a lot to work on before he could be with anyone else and for me they don’t belong together. Still, he is manipulative and disrespectul with Jane. And I have enough experience with abusive relationships to say that’s how it begins. Then, they have one conversation and sort of a perfect fairytale phase until the next fight. And media romanticizing this kind of relationship is part of the problem.

Last but not least, the fact Jane will have to FIGHT for this after everything turned something that was already bad into something worse. Not only it’s not worth it, but she is supposed to humiliated herself just because she dared to have feelings and be confused when something totally crazy happened to her? Way to go, writers! That’s how you treat you Latin female protagonist and kill your show. The cast deserved way more, but the writers deserves exact rating numbers they are getting.

So to that troll who said Michael fans were racist for dropping it after he died, there are other reasons why we gave up. Those were things that already bothered me, but I still found the show worth it to keep looking foward to the episodes. And after Michael died, I kept watching it, out of respect for its diverse cast and to give it the benefit of the doubt, but I could only do it until the finale of season 3. I just decided not to waste my time anymore because after 10 episodes it didn’t get any better. For many, Michael was vital for the show.

Besides Jane, he was the one who interacted with most people. He was close to Jane’s family, Rogelio’s best friend, Mateo’s stepfather/godfather and a detective. After he lost his job/’died’, the criminal aspect of the show was basically ignored.

One season one, he wasn’t with Jane, but he was there and things were still intriguing. Once he was gone, the show changed completely. Characters were written off, time had passed and it didn’t feel organic. And there were a lot of other stuff that kept people from watching it again. The fact you want to bring race for something that has nothing to do with (breaking news! Rafael is white too! Just because your boy has some tan and speaks spanish he is not a person of color) is pathetic. That’s not being woke. Bye.

#jane the virgin #jtv #jane villanueva #michael cordero #villadero

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