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writingandengineering · 4 years

Text

trust in me

hello!! here is my mando piece, it took me a while to figure out but i really like it and i’m super proud of it! i tried a lot of new thing in this one, like writing fight scenes. i hope you enjoy this, i did!

(this is also one of the longest things i’ve ever written; like this is longer than most of the papers that i submitted for my IB diploma)

word count: 2314

The first time you met Mando, you had the same reaction as everyone else; shocked to see the actual living legend in the doorway of the cantina. You remember your horror when he made his way towards you; you hadn’t done anything to warrant a bounty on your head. You started to sweat when you noticed that he was definitely walking to you at the edge of the room and no one else in the cantina.

When he called out your name and asked if that was you, you bout shit yourself but nonetheless looked up, “Am I in trouble?” Kind of a dumb question for a bounty hunter; you’re always in trouble.

“Need you for a job. The Guild recommended you.” The imposing figure stated blankly, ignoring your remark.

Sweating less now that your life no longer appeared to be at stake, you blink and answer, “Alright then; what is it?”

And that was the beginning of your partnership with the stoic Mandalorian. After that first job with him, you and the beskar clad man worked together quite often. They were some of your most successful jobs.

What you didn’t expect out of this on and off partnership was you growing fond of the seemingly emotionless man. You even had the crazy thought that he might’ve liked you back.

He made you feel competent and independent but still showed that he cared for you well, at least as a coworker. The Mandalorian was sweet in the most subtle ways; it was the extra mug of caf that he brought to you when you were working together. It was him checking on you whenever he could, even in the middle of a job. It was him always having your back. You were admittedly enamored with him and maybe he was for you?

Why else would his touch linger on your back when you walked through busy streets? Why else would he take you into consideration for everything the both of you did with each other? For a man covered in beskar, he was pretty soft.

Even now as the both of you headed to some outer rim planet for a high stakes bounty on a spice lord that kept too much of the Hutt’s money. The cockpit was silent, like it always was when traveling with Mando, him piloting and you sitting passenger. Going through hyperspace was as cold as ever, but there was something tranquil about it. Sitting in the cockpit, watching the stars pass by, your eyes began to close as you lulled to sleep in your chair.

Mando turned in his chair to find you asleep, head propped up with one hand, mouth agape with a little drool coming out the side. In the light of hyperspace, you looked absolutely beautiful. In that moment, Mando’s heart felt so full with just the image of you.

His feelings for you had grown significantly the more time that you spent together. You were reliable, good at your job, and patient; but you also respected Mando and were strong to your own moral code, which Mando could really respect. After being on his own for so long, it was nice to have someone around. In fact, Mando didn’t mind the thought of you always being around.

As Mando stood up from his seat, he watched you curl into yourself, like you were cold. Without thinking, Mando left the cockpit to retrieve a blanket from his barely used bunk. With a blanket in hand, he returned and gently draped it over your sleeping form. Mando made sure to tuck the blanket over your arms before returning to pilot the Razor Crest.

Mando is enamored by you.

After a few hours, you finally started to stir awake. Something was different, you felt warm? Like, physically warm. Opening your eyes, you look down to see a gray blanket; ah, that made sense, the source of warmth. How did that get there?

Inspecting the blanket closer, you deduced that it must have been Mando’s; also it smelled like him (because you totally know what he smells like).

Wow. He gave you his blanket? Your heart fluttered at the thought.

It took you a few moments to notice that the Crest had landed and that Mando wasn’t in the cockpit either. Why didn’t Mando wake you up? Folding the blanket, and moving to exit the cockpit, you find Mando in the cargo bay.

“Mando, why didn’t you wake me up when we landed?” you ask, blanket in hand. “Is this your blanket?”

Mando turned his attention from the crate his arms were in, to you. “You looked tired.” Your face heated up, Mando always took good care of you.

“Well thank you, that was thoughtful of you.” You say gratefully, setting the blanket down onto one of the crates in front of you. “Any idea which direction we need to head?” You turn away to retrieve your bag along with your blasters. You hear a modulated sigh.

“My scan didn’t pick up much besides the trading town. There’s some life forms about 5 klicks north.”

“Well, that’s worth a shot, isn’t it? Maybe that’s our guy?” you reply, turning back to face the Mandalorian. He hums back in response and steps around you towards his weapons storage. You fiddle with your side blaster, checking over it. “I heard this guy was rich enough to hire some extra guns, we need to be careful. We should probably set some charges around their camp in case things go south, you know?”

“That could work; scope out the place and we can plan.” Mando closes the doors to the storage. “We can get some speeders from the town.”

With that, you and Mando set off into town in search of speeders. The town isn’t too busy, the market being the busiest part. Walking through the market welcomes the stares of many locals to you and Mando. It probably wasn’t too often that these people had seen a Mandalorian, a heavily armed one at that. At the edge of the market, there is a garage with speeders lined up in front. You walk up to the salesman and haggle prices, although it’s not as difficult as one would think, especially with a Mandalorian standing behind you.

The speeders are good for an outer rim planet, you and Mando are able to make it about a klick away from the spice lord’s settlement. The two of you continued on foot, to an overlook on a hill; it offered a good view of the entire settlement.

“Well, they’re definitely well armed.” you turn to Mando. The camp had several mercenaries patrolling the perimeter. The camp was large with six tents surrounding one big tent in the middle. “That middle one has to be where he’s at.”

Mando nods in acknowledgment, “My scan says that there’s about twenty of them. We’ll need to pick them off quietly.”

“I can get them from up here while you set the charges and cover you.” you suggest. “This is a pretty good vantage point.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Mando sneaks down to the edge of the camp, watching for the patrols. You quietly pull out your sniping rifle with a silencer, watching Mando’s surroundings through the scope. As Mando approaches the first tent, a patrol of two men come up from the left. You swiftly take out one while Mando takes the other.

The two of you make a pattern out of this; you take out some of the patrols and watch Mando’s back while he takes the other half of the patrol and sets the charges. The task is done efficiently and quietly, leaving no one to suspect a thing. At each of the surrounding tents, there are two chargers set, just in case things go south.

Mando comms you to join him outside the large center tent housing your guy. Running down the hill, rifle on your back and blaster in hand, you rejoin Mando at the entrance.

“On my count.” Mando whispers. You nod and stand across from him on the other side of the entrance. Mando counts down on his fingers before the both of you barrel in through the door at the same time. Mando calls out the spice lord’s name while you hold up the bounty puck in one hand and blaster in the other.

Looking around the tent, there’s your bounty and three other men which you and Mando quickly dispatch as they bring their blasters up at you. Now with only your bounty left you move towards him. He sneers at you when you point your blaster higher at his face.

“We can take you in warm, or we can take you in cold.” Mando recites the line with such an intimidating demeanor it takes you back. Mando’s line caught you so off guard, you looked at him out of the corner of your eye.

And that’s where it went wrong.

Taking your eyes off of your bounty was a huge mistake because with a speed that rivaled both you and Mando, he was able to snatch your blaster out of your hand and pulled you towards him. The bounty put his arm around your neck, almost choking you, you brought your hands up to claw at his arms until he brought your blaster up to your head.

“How much are the Hutts paying you for this job? Surely not enough to deal with this. I mean if you want your partner alive, you will leave me and tell the Hutts you couldn’t find me.” the spice lord throws out. Mando tenses and tightens his grip on his balster. You stop struggling against the spice lord and look at Mando in his visor and give him the smallest nod. In that moment an unspoken plan was formed.

You could get yourself out; you wouldn’t be a very good bounty hunter if you couldn’t. In your unspoken plan with Mando, you needed him to distract the spice lord enough for you to turn the situation around.

“You don’t have to do this,” Mando tries to reason, and that was your que. You lower one of your hands down to your waist where you keep a vibroblade.

The spice lord sneers again, “Yeah, I don’t have to but I’m gonna.”

“This won’t end well for you.” You pull out the vibroblade and quickly jab it into the spice lord’s thigh. He cries out in pain and loosens his grip, you take the chance to pull out of his hold. Mando acts fast and shoots him but not before the spice lord is able to get a shot off. The shot hits you in your side and you yelp loudly and collapse to the ground, clutching your side.

In that moment you can see Mando hesitate between going to you or going to cuff the bounty. “Get him! I’m fine!” you manage to get out, clenching your teeth. You struggle to get up as pain shoots up your side but you stand regardless. You watch as Mando knocks the bounty out with the end of his blaster and cuffs him.

He turns to you, concern in his voice, “Are you alright? You need to let me take a look at that.”

“I’m fine for now, let’s just get back to the Crest first.”

Mando drags the bounty behind him as you hobble behind all the way to the speeders from earlier. The pain in your side only gets worse but you ignore it, even when you pull your hand away to see it red with blood. You can only repeat a mantra in your head, almost there, to keep yourself grounded as your group makes the trip back to the Crest.

Mando periodically peers behind him to check on you, how sweet, you think as the blood loss begins to get to you. You slow your speeder to a stop as you reach the outskirts of the town.

“Hey Mando? Uhh, I don’t think I’m doing so good right now,” you slur, black creeping into your vision. You start to slump off of your speeder and everything goes black.

You wake up in the Crest, in a bed. When did that happen? You start to sit up when the sharp pain on your side makes itself known once again. Lifting your shirt, you see that your wound had been treated with bacta patches and wrapped up. You grunt, trying to sit up in a way that doesn’t warrant the same reaction when Mando walks in.

“Good, you’re up,” Mando starts, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Why didn’t you say you were losing blood sooner?”

You look up at the beskar helmet, “I was fine until I wasn’t, you know?” Mando shifts a bit and takes one of your hands and squeezes it.

“You can’t do that, I care about you too much.” he says, bringing his head down to gently bump into yours. You soften and come to the thought that this was your chance to tell Mando how you felt.

“I care about you too much too.” you say back, pushing your head back against his. You hear him breath out a little.

“Do you want to, just, stay with me? We can work together more permanently, if you want to?” Mando throws into the air, uncertainty laced into his words. He pulls back to look at you.

It takes absolutely no time for you to make your decision. You reach forward to pull Mando’s helmet back to meet your forehead. “I would love to, if you’ll have me.”

At your words, Mando pulls your entire body to him softly. There was no questioning that you had his heart, and he, you. Your mutual trust in each other can only grow as you formally start your romantic partnership with the Mandalorian.

#the mandolarian #the mandalorian x reader #star wars #star wars x reader #fanfic #din djarin #din djarin x reader #pedro pascal #pedro pascal characters

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acdeaky · 4 years

Text

nice to meet ya | II

warning: fluff, alcohol consumption,

note: hi, yes, you're reading the title right: i finally wrote the second instalment of nice to meet ya which no one has asked for, but here she is anyway! i'm beginning to fall back in love with this idea and storyline, but (unfortunately) there are no promises that part 3 will be uploaded soon. anyway, enjoy!

word count: 1.5k

catch up here!

“i’m ben,” he smiled, holding out his hand for you to shake. “nice to meet ya.”

“what’s ya name?” ben asked, his hand falling from yours after you gently shook it.

“im Y/N, and i have a funny feeling that you followed me from the rock bar all the way here; is that true?” there was a hint of teasing in your voice, a smirk playing at your lips. ben noticed this, mirroring your body language and facial expressions before replying.

“if i said that i did, would you refuse a drink if i bought you one?”

“that depends.”

“on what?”

“what drink you're offering.” ben couldn't help but smile a little. he shook his head, staring at the ground quickly while trying to not embarrass himself. without saying a work, he called over the bartender, letting you order your own drink before he ordered one himself.

“just put it on my tab.” ben smiled kindly at the bartender before he walked off and turned back to you with a smirk on his face.

the bar was almost too loud. it was quiet enough to still hear one another, but loud enough for the need to shout; not the ideal place to get to know a person. but before ben even spoke, you knew he was kind and gentle. just the look he gave you, the way he interacted with you, the bartender and even the way you had seen him interact with his friends had led you to this conclusion. even with his deep voice and boyish charm, you knew you could quickly (and easily) fall for him and his kind nature, but the idea of seeing him grovel and work for you would make the wait worth it.

“do you wanna go outside? it’s a bit loud in here” he chuckled, using his thumb to point to the door over his shoulder.

“erm, yeh, sure.” you agreed, your only worry being the cool september air outside even with your jacket on. ben grabbed your hand and gave you a small smile before turning to the doors, keeping your front close to his back. just before you left the tavern, you spotted hollie, meghan, sophie and isobel at the table, all winking and raising their glasses to you as you smiled back at them.

outside wasn’t what you thought it would be: the air wasn't as cold as it could have been, it definitely wasn't as crowded as inside and the open area was filled with barrels being used as tables and only a few other patrons.

“i thought i'd never see you again,” ben spoke, admiring the fairy lights and lanterns hung above your heads.

“neither did i. was kinda hoping i could call you the one that got away.” you giggled as ben put his full attention back on you.

“and how would you have described the one that got away?”

“as a charming, devilishly handsome, kind...” you rested a hand on his forearm, “and gentle young man with the most beautiful green eyes i've ever seen.”

“sounds like a decent bloke.” ben commented, taking a sip from his drink and placing it down on the barrel.

“i hope so.” and, almost instantly, you and ben began talking about anything and everything. both of your drinks were discarded on the barrel, and neither of you were bothered by any of your supportive (and drunk) friends. for you two, the drinks stopped flowing, but nothing much else did.

there was never a dull moment in the conversation, no awkward pauses or much time to think of anything else. and as the night sky got darker and the air cooler, it wasn't until the eight of your friends stumbled out of the door together, each of ben’s friends with one of yours on their arms.

“and it looks like i need to get these idiots back to the hotel.” you smiled towards ben, giggling at the others.

“and it looks like i need to do the same.” he smiled back at you, watching as he noticed how your eyes twinkled in the low light of the fairy lights. you pulled away first, turning to grab sophie off of joe’s arm, thanking him in a teasing manner before winking at her friend. the other girls did the same, unlatching themselves from the other lads before looking at ben and then back at you.

“so?” isobel started in a slightly hushed tone, “is he as dreamy as he looks?”

“even more so,” you replied in the same tone, quickly stealing a glance at him as he was surrounded by his friends. there was no doubt in your mind that he was being asked the same questions, inquiring about the mysterious girl who he moved bars for and whisked away the first chance he got. “come on, girlies, lets go.”

“has he got your number?”

“are you gonna see him again?”

“but did you say goodbye?” or some variation of those questions came from the four girls around you as you begun to walk down the alley back towards the main road, desperate to get your friends in bed safely.

“wait! Y/N!” you heard ben’s voice call out. just as you turned to meet his eyes, you saw him push his way through his friends, lightly jog over to you and grab your hand, pulling you away from the prying ears of the others. “i want to see you again, i want your number tattooed on my arm in ink, i swear, so i don't lose it. can't have you slipping through my fingers again, can i?” ben just smirked, the hand holding yours slipping around your waist and pulling you closer to him.

“hum, i don't know,” you ponder, one hand holding onto his forearm and the other trailing up his bicep. “it depends.”

“on what?”

“are you free tomorrow night?” you asked, your eyes finally meeting his. god, it was like he was holding the world in them. “not for drinks, just a nice meal at a quiet restaurant, just up the road from here actually.”

“ye-yeh, i'm free tomorrow.” he beamed, smiling down at you even wider than he thought was possible.

“okay, mr ‘i'm free tomorrow’, here,” you grabbed a pen from your bag, pulling one of ben’s arms off from around your waist and tugging up his sleeve, “is my number, on your arm in pretty permanent pen. unfortunately, i don't know any tattoo parlours that are open at this time, but it should still be there tomorrow.”

“i'll just have to make sure that it lasts until then.” he whispers, taking his hand from your grasp and laying it gently on your cheek.

“i guess you will.”

“Y/N! come on! the boys are going to take us to kelly’s cellars!”

“no, they're not.” both you and ben whispered to each other, giggling shortly after. ben let go of you, allowing you to spin around just in time to see each of the boys latch onto their respective girls again. you didn't get far as ben had already grabbed your hips with his hands, pulling you close so your back hit his front.

“the only place you ladies are going is back to your hotel.” ben spoke before you could, giving his boys a stern glare.

“why'd you have you pick the most un-fun guy in ireland, Y/N?” meghan exaggerated, holding onto josh’s arm as he held her waist, trying to keep her stable.

“i don't think you're an un-fun guy.” you whispered, turning your head slightly to see ben’s face flushed with amusement.

“why, thank you.”

“i'll see you tomorrow,” you spoke, pulling out of ben’s grasp and turning around, “at 7 o’ clock,” planting a kiss on his cheek before joining your girls once again, “at coppi in saint anne’s square. wear something sexy.” you winked, grabbing sophie and hollie’s hands before walking back down the alley to the main road.

it was a short walk up to the high street, but quick nonetheless. isobel called an uber while you all stood by the side of the road, looking around for a place to be picked up. just like the other girls, your head was still swimming with thoughts of your belfast boy, the one you were having dinner with tomorrow and the one you were definitely going to kiss tomorrow.

***

“you picked the most fun girl in ireland, benny.” joe quipped, smiling as he thought back to his time in the whites tavern with sophie and the other girls. he began to join the other lads as they walked the opposite way to which the girls had just done, but ben stayed a minute, looking at the hand full glasses he and Y/N had left from a couple of hours ago.

“ben, mate, come on.” mark called back to his costar after realising he was no where in sight. ben allowed his attention to be taken by mark before beginning the walk back down the alley. just like the other boys, his head was still swimming with thoughts of his belfast girl, the one he was having dinner with tomorrow and the one he was definitely going to kiss.

TAGLIST: @spacedustmazzello @roger-meddows @stassasurus @unassumingviking @kill4hqueen @radiob-l-a-hblah @freelyinwonderland @roger-taylors-car @seven-seas-of-gay @strawberry-blondie @catch-a-deak @warriorteam1924 @someone-get-a-medic @hatemylifesofuckingmuch @dinosbabu @secretpeachoperapeanut @danigirl57 @cgikeanu @deathbythousandolivias @princezzoftheuniverse @painkiller80 @jonesyaddiction @spideybrie @cnco-babes @alliwantfromyouistomakelovetome @everythingfandoms @margxtrbbie @borhapqueen92 @boherahpsody @laurentaylor-hardy @hazelstyles94 @marygut1407 @eleven-forty-four @onceuponadetectivedemigod @milanosaurus @eggs-whiskey-snipes @itsametaphorbriansblog @loveandbeloved29 @miamideacon @whenthe-smokeisinyoureyes @marytbad @adrenaline-roulette

#ben hardy #ben hardy imagine #ben hardy series #ben hardy fic #ben hardy x reader #NTMY #ntmy #nice to meet ya #niall horan #acdeaky

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diredigression · 4 years

Note

hey yo can I get an order of "temperance" with Sole aaaand surprise me with who she's with wink emoji

temperance: communication, healing, moderation;

“I’m here for you. You can talk to me.” possible AUs/settings/ideas: comfort, deep talks, hugging, woundtending

Finally got this out! Hope it’s worth the wait!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It was just a raider den-clearing like any other. Sole needed to get out, clear her head, kill some jackasses, and Hancock was all too happy to oblige. She’d had time to cope with her experience inside the Institute, and this felt like a step back towards normal. She’d picked off a couple sentries from cover, then she’d then charged into the fray swinging as the rest realized they were under attack. Hancock was there at her back, blasting away any that tried to jump her from behind.

They’d missed one, apparently. A little smarter than the others, this one must’ve hung back, avoided the rush, sniped from a distance.

Sole goes down with a bullet to the thigh.

She lurches back to her feet, pain and rage fogging her head. She’s not at her best, but she’ll be damned if she’s gonna let one bullet stop her. She vaguely hears pained roaring and shotgun blasts as she struggles to return to the rhythm of the fight. She swings at the raider in front of her, screaming with the effort, and he crashes to the ground. Her head swings wildly, glaring back and forth, but the only figure she sees is the familiar red shape, oddly out of focus. “Hancock! Any more?”

“All finished.” His voice is hoarse. “Still with me? We're gonna wanna take care of that. C’mere.”

The red shape is now pulling one of her arms around his shoulders with his arm hooked around her middle, hauling her away. She tries to pry him off—”I’m fine, I can walk, let me go—” but is frustrated to find that, actually, neither words nor walking are coming easily now that the adrenaline rush is fading. She resigns herself to his help, and he half drags her towards shelter. All of her attention goes to her feet, on keeping them under her, on not stumbling and pulling that leg again on a broken piece of concrete, and to her hands clinging to the heavy cloth of his coat like a lifeline. After far too long she’s lowered with some difficulty onto something kind of soft, a bedroll, must be the raiders’ sleeping area. She tries to prop herself up against the wall, but she’s not angled right and that damn leg is useless and every stress renews the searing pain. She closes her eyes, forcing herself to relent, sagging into the cushioning, letting awareness recede behind the roaring of her body.

“Sole? Hey, come back to me. You gotta get these pants off so I can get to that wound.”

She manages a slight facial twitch in lieu of a frown. She doesn’t want to deal with the outside. Why can’t it just fix the problem without her?

“I know you like these pants. Don’t make me cut them off ya.”

She groans. Forces her awareness through the surface of the fog, just enough to push her eyes open and verify the situation. Yes, that’s still Hancock, kneeling at her hip with an expression she can’t interpret. Yes, there’s a lot of pain in that leg. Pants probably have to go. She forces her arms up, fumbles with the pants, gets them off with some assistance. With the effort returns a bit of clarity—a shot to the thigh, yeah. Could be bad. Forces herself upwards to examine the wound. It’s hardly the first time you’ve been shot, get with it, you’ve got to take care of yourself. Doesn’t look like the artery’s been hit. Of course, if it had been hit, she probably wouldn’t be conscious by this point anyway.

“Lie down, let me take care of this.” His hands are pushing hers away from the wound. A fragment of consciousness spares a moment to note the grounding, almost hot grip of his fingers.

“Just another shot. Gimme a stim.” She’s still struggling with words, and her attempts to grab in the general direction of supplies probably aren’t helping her case.

“It went through your thigh, you need help. You can barely even lift yourself.”

“S’not bad. Got it myself.”

“Just shut up and let me do it.”

Something in the ghoul’s voice gives her pause. Then another thought hits her. “No joke ‘bout gettin’ my pants off?”

A beat, then a chuckle that doesn’t quite manage to sound casual. “Oh, now you miss my jokes? Didn’t ya threaten my life last time?”

“What’s wrong?”

“…this is gonna burn.” And burn it does as he pours alcohol on the wound. Luckily, the burn at least helps numb it a little to the following stabs of the stimpak. He works with practiced efficiency and she finds herself able to let go a little more easily. Soon enough he’s put away the supplies and sat back. She looks up to find him shrugging out of his coat. He drapes it across her exposed legs.

“What’re you doin’? We gotta get back. Get me clean pants and we’ll go.”

“No, you’re stayin’ right there. You gotta rest.”

“What’s the problem?”

She looks back up at him. The stimpak is doing its job and the pain is fading from her brain, freeing space for consciousness. And, strangely, she finds that as she watches him her rage begins to fade as well, replaced with…concern? Is that it? He sits next to her, knees pulled up to his chest, arms folded around them, staring at the coat across her legs. He looks so slight without it, in just the white shirt and vest. The ghoul is so naturally larger-than-life, she always forgets how small he really is.

“I thought I was gonna lose ya.”

“From one bullet to the leg?”

“Not the leg. When ya left for the Institute.”

She snaps her mouth closed. His dark eyes flick to hers for an instant.

“Look, I…you know me. I been runnin’ from myself my whole life. And I know you done a lot a’ that too. So you and me runnin’ together, it worked out well to start, huh? Get in some trouble, keep each other distracted—”

“Wait, stop, where are you going with this?” Fear has begun to creep into her stomach.

“I know how you are and I’m not gonna stop, I need to say this and you’re gonna sit there and listen, okay? No running away this time.” He turns the full weight of his black eyes on her.

Her stomach backflips and objections die in her throat.

“I know ya haven’t told me everything goin’ on with you and the Institute. That’s alright, I don’t need ta’ know, I want to know but I’m not gonna push. The thing is, when I watched you enter that teleporter, all cold fire and vengeance…” He relents and drops his eyes again. “Of course we were all worried if you’d make it back. If they’d let you go, if you’d end up in the middle of a room full of Coursers, if the teleporter would even work and hadn’t just disintegrated you on the spot. But out of all that, I could only see that look on your face. That look that said if you didn’t find what you were lookin’ for…you’d try to take them down with ya.”

Sole’s eyes begin to burn. She drops them from Hancock’s face to the wall at her other side. No. You don’t owe him a response. You don’t owe him a piece of you.

“I been runnin’ from everything good in my life, but as soon as you vanished, I realized I was terrified that you were gonna run from me. From all of us that care for you. I know the hell that kinda anger can wreak on a person, and I know you been hurtin’ from it. Just…you got a lotta good here. Whether you include me in that or not. Course I hope you do, I mean, throwing in with you has been the best decision I’ve ever made. I’ve got your back and that’s not gonna change. I just don’t want you to make the same mistake I did and run from it all…don’t you leave us behind.”

Avoid. Deflect. Definitely avoid that little lump of warm vulnerability. “You're not going soft on me, are ya, Hancock?” The statement doesn’t come out nearly as clear as she’d like.

His chuckle cracks, betraying him as well. “Hey, everyone's entitled to some softness. For me, it's pretty much everything below the eyebrows.” He clears his throat. “So, yeah. Guess I got a little overprotective, hence the leg. Just needed to get that out.” Turned back towards him, she sees his eyes shifting, looking anywhere but at her, hands fidgeting. He’s about to stand.

Her hand grabs his. For a moment she sees her terror reflected in his scarred face, but then she realizes it’s less terror, more wonder, as he stares first at their hands, then into her eyes. She didn’t plan this. Didn’t intend it. The warmth and strength of his hand is almost overwhelming. She has to say something.

When all else fails, the truth. “I can’t promise I won’t. But if you…feel so strongly…about me…then I’ll try.”

His face softens further, a small smile appearing. “That’s all anyone can ask for.” They sit there, hand in hand, a few breaths longer.

Then Hancock shakes himself and stands. “One clean pair of pants comin’ up. Unless you’re thinkin’ about some sorta no-pants party, in which case—”

“Hancock.”

He winks and flashes her a grin. Perhaps a softer one than usual.

#ask dire #thanks for the ask!#dire's sole #sole survivor #fallout oc #hancock #fallout hancock #fallout 4 john hancock #sole can have a little comfort #a little woundtending #as a treat

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maluminspace · 5 years

Text

Genre: Fluff

Pairings: Calum Hood/ Luke Hemmings

Word Count: 2.2k

Requested: anon

hufflepuff!luke getting hurt during a qudditch match and boyfriend slytherin!cal loosing his shit especially at the other team and leads to soft cuddles and Calum peppering kisses all over him in the infirmary

Includes: Mild sexual references

Trigger Warnings: strong language, bullying, minor head injury, minor facial injury, brief reference to homophobia,

A/N: I may not have stuck quite as close to this brief as I should’ve, but I really hope you’ll like it anon! Also, this is my first ever fluffy cake fic, so enjoy!

***

Match days were always Calum’s favourite. He didn’t even really care if he was playing or not, as long as he was somewhere on the quidditch pitch or in the stands surrounding it, he was happy.

Today was extra special, though. It was the first time Calum got to watch his boyfriend play since they’d finally given into their feelings for one another a couple of weeks ago. The days of exchanging shy glances across classrooms and barely disguised their flirting beneath talk of homework and Hogsmeade trips, were over. They could walk around the castle holding hands now, blow kisses to one another during breakfast and best of all, make-out unashamedly outside of the changing rooms before one of them had a match.

Unfortunately there were a few idiots that didn’t really approve of a pureblood Slytherin like Calum dating a muggle-born Hufflepuff like Luke. There were also a few people that hated their relationship for other reasons, like homophobia and jealousy etc. Neither of them had let it bother them too much, though. All that really mattered was that the two of them were happy together, and that couldn’t be more obvious to Calum.

If he was entirely honest with himself, Calum was still reeling from the kiss he’d shared with Luke an hour or so before the game had begun. He was still grinning to himself as he watched his boyfriend weave through a couple of Gryffindor chasers.

“Your boy’s got some skills!” Ashton beams, his hazel eyes fixed intently on the game overhead. “I’m actually scared he’s gonna get some goals past me when it’s our turn to play Hufflepuff in a few weeks.”

“Don’t sound so surprised…” Calum smirked, nudging his fellow Slytherin’s shoulder playfully. Unfortunately the slightly older boy was caught off guard and he stumbled sideways into an already grumpy Michael.

The blonde boy scowled, hugging his mixed bag of Honeydukes sweets closer to his chest. “Watch it, idiots.” He mumbled irritably. “If you make me drop these, I’ll hex you.”

Ashton rolled his eyes, far too used to the younger boy’s grumpiness on Quidditch match days. “Oh lighten up, Cliffo.” He sighed, “Can’t you just get onto the spirit of quidditch for once?”

Calum couldn’t help but laugh. His two best friends were always like that, forever bickering and sniping at each other. “Honestly, when are you two just going to confess you’re in love with each other and stop this whole ‘we barely like each other’ act.”

“Fuck off!” Michael grumbled as his cheeks and ears reddened from embarrassment. “I wouldn’t touch Irwin, even if he was the last person on earth.”

Ashton clutched his chest in mock distress. “Oh no, my plans to wipe out all of humanity so that you have no choice but to live out your life with me are ruined!” He fake-cried into his Slytherin scarf.

“I’ve had it with you two!” Calum giggled, “If you don’t end up hate fucking in our common room or something, I’ll be massively surprised! Just don’t do it in our dorm when I’m trying to sleep, okay?”

Both of his friends fixed Calum with a sneer, but he would never stop believing that their petulance towards each other was only to mask some deeply buried attraction.

Choosing not to rile them up any further, the youngest friend turned his attention back to the quidditch game. It took him a moment to pinpoint Luke amongst the flurry of yellow and red blurs streaking across the sky. Once he managed it, Calum made an extra effort not to lose sight of his boyfriend again. He was vaguely aware of Ashton and Michael still bickering beside him but he tuned them out, focusing purely on Luke as he swept towards the goal hoops with the quaffle after making a spectacular catch.

The pride filling Calum as Luke scored an incredible goal, was so overwhelming that he cheered loudly enough to earn himself several surprised glares from the people around him. Just as he was about to retaliate against Ashton’s and Michael’s grumbles about how loud he was, Luke chose that moment to lock eyes with him and everything else kind of melted away. Calum’s heart threatened to burst with how beautiful and happy his talented boyfriend was as he lifted his hand to blow him a kiss. Before his lips even touched his finger tips, Luke’s beaming expression melted into one of pure panic as bludger was sent hurling at his head.

All Calum could do was watch as the nasty little ball collided with the side of Luke’s beautiful face. The crowd around him drew a collective gasp but Calum remained silent, frozen to the spot as Luke began plummeting towards the unforgiving ground.

It was Ashton’s quiet, yet terrified voice beside him uttering “Oh fuck…” That finally snapped Calum out of his shocked state. He immediately forced his weak legs to move, trying to shove anyone and everyone around him out of his way. The scared Slytherin was vaguely aware of his friends following him, something he faintly thankful for as he elbowed his way across the stands until he reached the stairs.

Calum took a second to check that the referee had been quick enough to slow Luke’s fall with a levitation charm before bounding down the steps, taking them two at a time in an attempt to reach his boyfriend as fast as possible. Everything was a huge blur until the moment he ran out onto the pitch. A teacher tried to stop him but ultimately allowed him past when they realised who he was.

A little crowd of Hufflepuffs had gathered around the spot where Luke had been gently lowered to and a separate group of rather worried looking Gryffindors were grouped a few yards away from them.

“Luke!” Calum yelled, pushing through the Hufflepuff players before dropping to his knees beside his motionless boyfriend. He cupped the uninjured side of Luke’s face gently, fighting back tears as the referee aimed her wand at the unconscious boy’s forehead, uttering the ‘Enervate’ spell to help bring him round.

Luke groaned he slowly woke up, blinking his beautiful blue eyes a few times before they settled on Calum’s extremely worried brown ones. “Cal…” He whimpered weakly, “what happened?”

In all honesty, Calum didn’t really know. “I’m not sure, sweetheart.” He replied, stroking Luke’s cheek softly with the pad of his thumb. “I think I distracted you, I…”

“It wasn’t you, Cal.” Ashton growled from somewhere to Calum’s left, his voice full of anger. “It was that little prick, Leland Magnus… He hit the bludger at Luke.”

Unfortunately, Ashton hadn’t bothered to keep his voice low enough to stop the gaggle of Gryffindors from overhearing.

“Well that’s the whole point of the game, Irwin.” Magnus sneered, taking a step away from his teammates to attempt to intimidate Ashton. His vicious intent was clear in his dark grey eyes. “Not that I’d expect a keeper to know anything about that.”

“Only when the fucking quaffle’s in play, you sneaky little piece of shit.” Ashton retorted, taking a measured step towards the smug Gryffindor beater. “You deliberately waited until he’d scored before you aimed that bludger at him…”

“That’s enough, Mr Irwin.” The referee warned once she’d finished taking a look at the nasty cut and bump on Luke’s forehead. “I won’t tolerate that language.”

Ashton had never been good at controlling his temper, especially when he was trying to protect his friends. That fact was widely known throughout the students of Hogwarts and Leland knew exactly how to push Ashton over the edge. It only took one smug little smirk behind the referee’s back to tip the scales. Despite Michael’s genuine attempt to hold his friend back, Ashton stomped forward, pulling his wand from his robes ready to hex the Gryffindor into oblivion.

“Mr Irwin!” The referee scolded, stepping in front of Ashton before he could cast the spell purchd on the tip of his tongue. “Put that wand away this instant. I understand that you’re upset by Mr Magnus’s actions, but all you have done is earnt yourself a trip to the headteacher’s office with him.”

Ashton’s face fell and he was about to argue before Michael stepped forward and touched his arm gently. “C’mon, you big dope. Don’t get yourself into any more trouble. I’ll walk with you, okay?”

At any other time, Calum would have happily gloated that the fond look his two friends shared in that moment, was living proof of their hidden feelings for each other. He’d most definitely discuss it with them later, but right now, Luke was important.

As a professor came to escort Ashton, Michael and Leland away, Calum gently helped Luke into a sitting position. “How are you feeling, sweetheart?” He asked, a concerned note flooding his voice as he studied Luke’s face carefully.

“Like I got hit in the face with a bludger.” Luke replied dryly, holding his head tentatively.

A weak laugh escaped Calum as he pressed a kiss to the end of his boyfriend’s nose. “Well at least you haven’t lost your good looks or bad sense of humour.”

Luke’s blue eyes sparkled as he focused on his boyfriend. “Are you sure about that first part? It feels like my eye is swelling to the size of a melon.”

“Well you’ll have quite a shiner but it doesn’t affect how gorgeous you are, not one tiny bit.” Calum smiled softly. “I can’t promise that Magnus’s face will remain unbroken for much longer, though.”

“That’s enough of that, Mr Hood!” The referee scolded. “Any more that that you’ll be joining your friends and Mr Magnus in the headteacher’s office, instead of taking Mr Hemmings to the hospital wing.”

“No…” Luke protests, his voice taking on a whiny quality. “I don’t need to go and get checked out, I’ll be fine.”

The referee fixed him with a stern glare. “I’m telling you to go to the Hospital wing, Mr Hemmings, you’ll be wise not to disobey me.”

Never having liked getting into trouble, Luke conceded with a sigh. “Fine, can Calum come with me?”

The referee nodded, “As long as you both hurry up and get off my quidditch pitch.” She huffed before turning her attention to the rest of the players. “That goes for the rest of you as well. This match has been postponed and you have Mr Magnus to thank for it.”

Calum chuckled as he helped Luke to his feet. “I bet Magnus is gonna get chucked off the Gryffindor team for that.”

Luke shrugged, allowing Calum to steady him by wrapping a strong arm around his waist. “I’m just mad that he made me look stupid in front of you.” The Hufflepuff confessed. “I wanted to impress you so that you’d whisk me off to make-out with me after the match. Instead you have to walk me to the hospital wing to get my mangled face fixed.”

Rolling his eyes, Calum pulled Luke closer into his side. “I’m just glad you don’t seem to be seriously hurt.” He explained fondly, pressing a kiss into Luke’s golden curls as the younger boy rested his head on the Slytherin’s shoulder.

“You see!” Luke whined, “I wanted you to be more like, ‘wow you were so amazing up there’ and then I dunno, slam me against a wall or something…”

Calum wasn’t sure who blushed more at the thought of Luke’s suggestion, but he forced out a tiny life. “Well there’ll be plenty of time for that when you’ve been checked over.”

Luke lifted his head slightly to give Calum a hopeful look. “Yeah? You still want to kiss me even though I look like a troll?”

“You know that I still want to do a whole lot more than just kiss you, Luke.” Calum replied lowly, checking that no one else was around as they made their way past the quidditch stands. “But only when I know you don’t have a concussion or anything.”

The Hufflepuff stopped walking before straightening up and gently taking hold of Calum’s wrist to stop him too. “I don’t think I’d notice if I did have a concussion.” He admitted, pulling Calum closer until they were almost nose to nose. “You always make my head spin.”

The cheesy line would usually have made the Slytherin cringe, however, he was pretty sure Luke could say anything and make it sound romantic and heartfelt. Unable to resist any longer, Calum pressed a firm kiss to Luke’s lips, stroking a stray, blood soaked curl from the younger boy’s face as he did so.

When they finally pulled apart for air, Luke sighed contentedly. “I hope I get more than that when they give me the all clear!”

Laughing, Calum gave his boyfriend a light, reprimanding tap on to arm. “Come on you big hoe, lets go get you all fixed up.”

Luke pouted as he allowed his boyfriend to lead the way across the fields towards the main castle. “But I need at least six more kisses to make it all the way to the infirmary.”

“Well if you can control yourself for a while I promise I’ll kiss more than just your lips later.” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively as he snaked his arm back around Luke’s waist.

The hufflepuff blushed a deep shade of crimson but nodded eagerly. “You sure you’re ready for more than hand stuff?”

Calum confirmed it by allowing his hand to drift lower before squeezing one of Luke’s ass cheeks. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”

Tag list: @clffrd @byxthexway @afuckingunicornn @painkillerash @moonchildsblack @calumbbyyy @h0tsos @loveroflrh @sexgodashton @megz1985 @myfalsedevotion @aulxna @honeyedlashton @tea4sykes @ghostofmashton @fairyintheglass @cashworthy @cashtonasfuck @opheliaaurora23 @5sosnsfw @wildmichaelflower @myloverboyash @loverofcashton @irwinkitten @cxddlyash @wildmalumflower @cashtonasff5sos @iovehemmings @kindawannacryx @pinkbubbles-and-bigtroubles

Cake Masterlist

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tonystarktogo · 5 years

Text

In celebration of my birthday *yay, I’m getting old*, here’s the second part of An Unwise Murder (An Inconvenient Survival). It’s only half of the chapter, but once I’ve finished it (which will hopefully be tonight although no promises cause I’m spending a lot of time with my family today) I’ll post the full version on AO3 as well.

Part II

Tony pours himself a glass of lukewarm coca cola on autopilot. It tastes disgusting, but that doesn’t stop him from swallowing it all down in one go. He should probably put the glass down afterwards, except that’s easier said than done when his hands clutch the fragile cup so hard, his fingers ache. Still better than watching them shake and tremble though.

Maybe it’s a remnant of being raised as the heir of the leading company in one of the most cutthroat industries. Maybe it’s just a byproduct of being the son of Maria Carbonell. Either way, Tony has learned the value of good pokerface early in life. It’s going to take more than some stranger appearing out of nowhere with ominous declarations to shake his composure. Particularly considering Mystery Guy has the guts to introduce himself as James.

James. Of all the fake names he could have picked, seriously. The least he could’ve done is put a bit of effort into the pretense. Tony wants to snort, make a stupid James Bond quip, except—

Steve is dead.

Tony doesn’t know what to do with that information. His mind is racing into five different directions at breakneck speed and simultaneously shies away from the terrible, inevitable conclusion that rests at the center of it all. The implications of what Wannabe-Bond [who, by the way, is glowering suspiciously at Tony from where he’s leaning against the wall on the other side of the kitchen, the best vantage point to keep an eye on all windows and the door, and is apparently incapable of understanding why Tony might need a goddamn minute] has oh so casually announced — and, more tellingly, what he hasn’t said — are staggering.

"Want some?" Tony gestures jerkily towards the open bottle of coca cola. Never let it be said that his mother didn’t drill some basic manners into him, whether the situation calls for it or not.

00-Copy-Cat shakes his head, which suits Tony just fine. He’s not in the mood to share.

Officially, Tony barely knows Steve Rogers. [And fuck, it’s knew now, isn’t it, no, no, don’t think about it—] They ran into each other twice, once accidentally, once on purpose. Both times they spent more time arguing than agreeing on things. Both times left Tony feeling raw and tired, a little bit like he’d just barely escaped a violent death.

Officially. Such a nice, convenient, little word, isn’t it? The grounds you can cover with that kind of safety blanket are truly astonishing.

Tony takes a sip from his drink, is reminded that the glass is already empty, and promptly grabs the whole bottle instead. Lukewarm cola is disgusting, but it’s still sugar and caffeine — the magical combination, in this case. Tony has no illusions about his odd visitor: He’s going to need all the energy he can get if he wants to make it through the next forty-eight hours intact. That he’s got what is quite possibly a real-life assassin watching over his shoulder, screaming murderous aggression from his every pore, is doing wonders for Tony’s ability to stay calm and focused.

Not.

Anyone asks about me, don’t trust them. Anyone searches for me, lie. Don’t say anything, don’t admit anything, don’t imply anything. If they don’t think you useless, they’ll convince themselves you’re a threat. Do you understand? Steve’s voice whispers into his ear, low and serious and so irritatingly commanding that Tony wants to turn around and punch him in his stupid, white teeth.

But since he’s currently in the company of a more volatile version of Steve — something Tony didn’t know was possible — who looks like he might eat aspiring serial killers for breakfast, that’s probably not his best idea.

“Alright,” Tony says eventually, mostly to himself. “Steve’s dead. Shit happens.” Move on and adapt, is what is father used to tell him. These circumstances probably aren’t what the old man had in mind, but Tony has underestimated Howard before. The man has his fingers in a lot of pies, some of which the general public doesn’t even know the existence of. If Tony was three years younger and two times more paranoid, he’d suspect this to be another attempt by dear old dad to show him "the error of his way". Although not even Howard Stark would kill off Steve Rogers just to prove a point.

Probably.

Tony turns around and looks Wannabe-Bond straight in the eyes. [He’s lied to Maria Stark’s face, okay. This is nothing.] They’re a very pretty shade of blue, there’s no denying that. That doesn’t change the fact that it would really suck if those eyes were the last thing Tony ever sees though. He’s too young to die. He’s got things to do, people to annoy. Not to mention Pepper would murder him if he got himself killed before the whole mess with his inheritance is sorted out.

“That doesn’t explain why you’re here." As far as questions go, it’s an implied, roundabout way of asking. The kind that raises Tony’s hackles — as well as the spiteful child inside him — and makes him snipe back viciously in response. Despite that Tony can’t bring himself to ask the far more direct 'Why are you here?' out loud.

It helps that he really, really doesn’t want to know.

Wannabe-Bond stares at Tony with a blank expression that gives nothing away. It’s creepy as fuck, Tony’s not gonna lie. Like staring at a lifelike puppet and half-expecting it to start moving any moment now, even though you know damn well it shouldn’t.

Double-0-Leather takes a measured step towards him. Then another. “How much do you know about Steve?” he asks in that gravely voice that makes Tony want to lecture him on the dangers of smoking. Totally not helpful right now, but it’s always good to know that, despite all evidence to the contrary, Tony has been listening to Pepper’s lectures.

Not that he actually lectures Mister Tall, Dark and Murderous. Tony has some sense of self-preservation, thank you very much.

“I know seven different Steves. You’re gonna have to be more specific."

Alright, maybe not that much. In all fairness though, everyone who knows Tony knows he doesn't handle fear well. He just doesn’t. His fight or flight response is broken beyond repair — or so Rhodey likes to mutter under his breath when he pretends to be the reasonable adult he definitely isn’t and Tony has done something Improbably Stupid™ again — and it’s moments like these when it shows.

To his surprise, Wannabe-Bond snorts. It might have been a trick of light, but Tony could’ve sworn he sees the beginnings of a grin there for a second. Huh. Are assassins allowed to have a sense of humor?

“Fun as this might be-” Wannabe-Bond takes a hold of both of Tony’s shoulders, looming straight into his face now, and, nope, Tony doesn’t like that at all, he’s fond of his personal space, okay, this totally isn’t cool because he’s made Steve a promise and Tony keeps his damn promises — no matter what stupid, self-righteous Steve might think — and Tony really isn’t sure how well he’s going to hold up under torture, that is so not his specialty.

“Are you even listening?” the Man in Black snaps suddenly, in the middle of what is undoubtedly a lengthy, well-delivered threat. It’s the impatience in his tone more than the words themselves that jerk Tony out of his internal rambling.

“Not really?” he blurts out, then immediately regrets it when Double-0-Lame-o’s expression darkens even more.

“Listen carefully!” the guy grinds out between his teeth with the barely restrained violence of a panther on the prowl. "I don’t have the time or patience to play nice right now. This isn’t the time for games. Because I’m not Steve and no one’s gonna look twice if some mouthy civvie disappears." Tony does not shrink into himself — he’s been trained better than that, and it’s not true anyways, Pepper and Rhodey would raise hell in the wake of his disappearance— but, damn it, he really, really wants to.

“We’re compromised," Agent McGrizzly continues with glacial calm. "Someone from the inside betrayed Steve. And you’re going to find the rat. I don’t care how, you’re gonna get it done or I’m gonna use you as a demonstration for what will happen to them when I catch them, got it?”

Tony swallows. Wannabe-Bond hasn’t raised his voice even once. Has spoken barely louder than a heated whisper. Somehow that makes him all the more terrifying.

“And how exactly—” Tony croaks, immediately clears his throat and continues without pause, "How exactly am I supposed to do that?"

Because even when he ignores every command Steve has given him — and there’s a certain delight in that knowledge, not gonna lie — even if he believes this stranger with a handsome face and murder instead of tears in his eyes, even if he wanted to — which he doesn’t because Tony Stark doesn’t help people out of the goodness of his cold, black heart — that still leaves him with a grieving madman sprouting conspiracy theories and nothing else to go on.

Tony expects many things in response to his very legitimate question. The USB stick Suit-Without-The-Suit throws at his face isn’t among them. Luckily, he’s got fast reflexes. Evading DUM-E’s claws whenever he’s trying to help because he’s fallen in love with yet another car is one hell of a training exercise.

The stick is unremarkable in all the ways that matter. A black, plastic casing. Nothing to see there, it screams at anyone who might care to listen. Tony stares at the small, outdated piece of technology in the palm of his hand for a long moment. Then, slowly, like a cat stretching before its next nap, he smiles.

"You should’ve led with that."

Sleep is for the weak anyways.

(tbc)

#ReRe writes #WinterIron #Tony Stark #Bucky Barnes #Secret Agent Bucky #Secret Agent Steve #Mechanic Tony #Hacker Tony #That AU I should've finished six months ago but didn't #An Unwise Murder (An Inconvenient Survival)#fic #wip #MCU #AU #James Bond AU #Tony loves his nicknames #I put a lot of effort into those to keep them from getting too repetitive so appreciate them

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shireness-says · 5 years

Text

Swan’s Seven (1/?)

Summary: After two years behind bars, Emma's out, and she's got a plan in mind. Now to put together the perfect team... Let's stage an art heist. (A CS Ocean’s 8 AU) 1.9K. Rated T for language. Also on AO3.

~~~~~

A/N: Thanks for joining me for another MC! It’s going to be a fun one. Turns out, I hate posting schedules when I’m the one being scheduled, so these will be up when they’re up. Hang in there.

Thanks to my wonderful beta, @snidgetsafan. Love ya bunches, babe.

Tagging: @optomisticgirl, @spartanguard, @profdanglaisstuff, @captainsjedi, @thisonesatellite, @thejollyroger-writer, @let-it-raines, @teamhook, @kmomof4, @snowbellewells, @searchingwardrobes, @winterbaby89. Shoot me a message if you want to be added/taken off the list.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

~~~~~

It feels odd, changing back into regular clothes after two years in a prison jumpsuit. Not bad, obviously - orange was never really Emma’s color anyways — just… odd. The black leather dress still fits like a glove, she’s pleased to note, and her arms are looking better than ever. That little tidbit is almost enough to keep Emma from slipping her treasured red leather jacket over the top — almost. A girl’s got to have her armor and a signature piece, after all.

“You gonna behave yourself, Ms. Swan?” the guard posted at the release desk asks as she hands over the last of the possessions Emma was arrested with - a pitifully small handbag. Emma resolves to burn it as soon as possible — less for the bad memories, more because it barely holds two cards and a hundred dollars cash.

Not that she’s been blessed with such a generous sum. “Don’t I always, Marcie,” she chuckles darkly. “Besides, how much trouble can I get into with $32.17?”

$3.17 of it is in change. She’ll be lucky if she can get a cab to a train station with that kind of money.

“That’s what I’m worried about,” Marcie grumbles. She looks like she’s suppressing a smile, though; she always was one of the guards Emma got along with. “Get out of here, and don’t let me see you next year.”

“Yes ma’am.”

The sunlight feels different, too, as Emma walks out the front doors and down the path to the parking lot. It’s not that she hasn’t been outside in two years; even in New York, they get time in the prison yard, so that’s obviously not the case. But knowing that she can enjoy the sunlight in longer than one-hour spurts is a different thing altogether, and wholly intoxicating.

She’s so busy soaking in the sunshine and her new-found freedom that it takes Emma a moment to notice the figure waiting where the fence gives way to cars and asphalt: lean, dark haired, dressed to kill. Regina.

“Hot date?” the other woman drawls, not even bothering to look up from where a perfectly manicured thumbnail navigates her phone. Emma wouldn’t expect anything less from her partner in crime. Emma and Regina met six years ago while both attempting to con the same mark, and had been criminally inseparable ever since (and she’s still particularly proud of the fake charity cons they used to run on wealthy, pervy men, happy to toss a few thousand dollars their way without checking their credentials too closely in hopes of getting into Regina’s pants). In all that time, Emma’s never seen her look anything but immaculately put together in perfectly tailored garments, expertly paired with that air of casual boredom she’s perfected. Beneath the cold exterior, Emma knows, lies a terrifying loyalty, however. It’s probably not a coincidence that that fucker Neal Cassidy wound up arrested mere months after setting up Emma to take the fall for his crimes, still landing her an accessory conviction after his stupid watches were found in her trunk despite the police’s inability to put her at scene of the crime — and indeed, surveillance video proved she hadn’t been the one breaking into cases. But Emma went to prison, and Regina… well, Emma wouldn’t be surprised if Regina got a little payback, even if she’d never admit to it.

“I don’t know, depends on who’s at the insurance convention you’re attending,” Emma shoots back. The perfectly matched trousers, blazer, and vest certainly suggest business more than a casual afternoon; an uninformed bystander would certainly be forgiven for thinking Regina was Emma’s lawyer instead of a fellow conwoman.

Despite the teasing introductions, Emma still doesn’t hesitate to wrap her friend into a tight hug. “Missed you, Reg,” she whispers.

“Me too,” is the barely audible response, before Regina pulls back to briskly brush at her precisely creased pants. “That’s enough of that. I thought prison wasn’t supposed to make you go soft, E, control yourself. I’ll still give you a lift into the city, if you want.”

“I’m counting on a lot more than that,” Emma comments as they climb into the black Volvo — nice, but not flashy, hovering just below the radar. Just the way they both like it. Emma idly wonders who stole it. “I’m gonna need a place to crash.”

Regina shoots her a sideways glance, full of skepticism. Regina Mills doesn’t do confusion. “Not running off to see brother dearest and whatever disgusting fairy tale he’s living in backwoods Maine?”

“Not yet.”

Regina hums in sudden understanding. “Ah. You’ve got a job in mind.”

“And I don’t want him involved,” Emma finishes.

“What’s the job?”

“I’ll tell you when we get back to your place,” Emma promises. “You’ll like it, though, it’ll be a fun one. And besides, it’s a favor for an old friend.”

Most of the rest of the 90 minute drive into the city passes in silence — not that Emma minds. It gives her a chance to run over the plan in her head again before she has to tell Regina. Still, they’re pulling up in front of the warehouse space that always manages to look just this side of abandoned. Regina had the business savvy at some point to buy up the building with some of the money she’d accumulated over the years, and last Emma heard, it was a thriving nightclub. Poison Apple. Terrible name, in Emma’s opinion, but she’s not the one running the place.

The inside is the same as always, full of exposed metal beams and carefully cultivated rust. Emma knows that at night, when this place is packed with revelers, the lights (what few of them exist) illuminate in bronze and gold shades, really encouraging the steampunk fairytale feeling in here. The unusual wishing well on one side of the room helps with that too, as does the apple tree growing under the grimy window panels that make up the slant of the roof. Emma finds those touches just as ridiculous as the name, but you can’t deny that there’s a theme going. And anyways, they can make good money pulling change out of the wishing well after the end of the weekend.

The apartment upstairs is much the same, minus the ridiculous fairytale decor. It’s been shined up, however, in a way that the club hasn’t been. Regina’s taste has always tended towards the luxurious and ornate, in a way that should be anachronistic against the metal and brick, but isn’t. The scrolled and gilded furniture is more comfortable than the minimalistic metal and leather Emma would have expected of an industrial space anyways, so Emma doesn’t have much space to pass any judgement.

“There’s a spare bedroom upstairs,” Regina says, tossing her keys onto the kitchen counter. Dark wood, white granite. Nice. “Make yourself at home.”

“What, with all my baggage?” Emma snorts.

“Fine, don’t then,” Regina snipes back, opening the fridge to toss Emma a beer. “Don’t come whining to me later about how I’m not being hospitable or some shit.”

“I’ve got a drink, what else do I need?” Emma collapses onto the couch. It feels good to finally toe her heels off, even if she can’t kick them across the room with a polished wood coffee table in the way that definitely cost more than the $32.17 in her wallet. God, what was the Emma of two years ago thinking with these torture devices?

Oh. Yeah. Horribly in love, planning to maybe use the heels to coax her date into a wild night of sex. That’d explain it.

“Oh, well, now that you’re here, what about that explanation? You said you had a plan in mind for some job?” Regina, of course, has somehow managed to conjure up a glass of wine for herself. Beer is for the peasants or something.

“The job of the century,” Emma promises.

“Yes, that’s great. The details?” Nothing is more entertaining than an impatient, pissed off Regina. It’s probably a miracle they haven’t killed each other yet.

Emma savors the moment for one more sip of her beer before finally spilling. “Zelena West. You know her?”

“Personally? No,” Regina snorts. “But Zelena West, pharmaceutical titan and socialite? Yes, Emma, I know of her. You’re the one who’s been in prison, not me.”

Emma ignores the jab. “You’re aware about her art collecting, then? The gallery she runs for the public?”

“Again, I haven’t been living under a rock, E.”

“And you know about the upcoming collaboration between the West Collection and the Big Apple Ballet? Big exhibit in BAB’s gallery about the intersection of dance and art?”

“Yes…” Regina trails off as the details finally sink in. “You’re planning an art heist.”

“Bingo.”

“A classic, certainly. Seems a bit of a risk, though, especially since you’re fresh out of prison. Why would you want to go after such a big fish right away?”

“Like I said, it’s a favor for an old friend.” She takes another swig of her beer. “It’ll be fun, besides. And it’ll work.”

“Yes, well, that’s left to be seen,” Regina grumbles. “Tell me everything, start to finish. Every motive, every step, every player, or so help me god, Emma, I won’t lift a finger to help you with this. I don’t intend to be caught attempting a fool’s gambit.”

So she does. Emma’s had a lot of time to think through this, and has run it in her head countless times. She knows every inch of this plan inside and out — and by the time she’s done speaking, Regina does too.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this… but I think it might work.” The wine has long since been consumed in the course of their conversation, but Regina sounds like she needs another glass after being conned into that admittance. “You’ll need a crew though. This isn’t something we can pull off on our own, I can tell you that now.”

“Oh, I know that,” Emma readily agrees. She’d been prepared for this. “We’re definitely going to need a xerox, a code wrangler, and a can opener. Maybe a fairy fingers, for good measure.”

“Never know when you’re going to need a good fairy,” Regina agrees. “You’re going to need a good garage sale, too.”

“For sure. Someone who’s already tapped into that world.”

“So five, plus you and I… you really think we can pull this off with seven players?”

“I really do.”

“I’ll put out feelers tomorrow, start collecting resumes.” Regina stands, carefully straightening out her pants. “It’s good to have you back in the game, Emma. I was worried that once you got out, you’d run off to live some boring Rockwell life with your brother.”

“Not me. Once a con, always a con,” Emma toasts before finishing off her beer.

And that’s the truth of it, really — this is in her blood. The one thing Emma Swan is better at than anything is conning people out of their money. It brought her a family, and a purpose, and a challenge to face every morning. She’s not sure she can imagine any other kind of life, or that she’d want to. Day after day crammed into a cubicle just isn’t for her.

“Let’s go stage an art heist,” it’s easy to declare, easier than riding a bike, almost easier than breathing.

Emma Swan is back in the game.

#Captain Swan #cs ff #my writing #Swan's Seven #Ocean's 8 AU #the razzing on David will continue #because it's kind of fun

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woofools · 5 years

Text

Hey, you guys wanna read something weird and rambly and way to long that literally none of you asked for?

Nah??

Understandable, but guess what you’re getting anyway.

In the interest of being transparent, I’m gonna mark this thing with a PG-13 rating for depictions of (adults!) drinking, and implied drunken mistakes.

She hadn’t come.

Yo told himself she must have mixed up the date. Or maybe she’d gone to the wrong restaurant, and they could both have a laugh over it and reschedule.

Never mind that they’d confirmed both the time and place hours before they were supposed to meet. Never mind that as he’d sat anxiously waiting at his booth, he’d noticed a woman walk into the restaurant out of the corner of his eye. She’d taken two steps in before she started digging in her purse like she’d forgotten something, then left and didn’t come back.

A little voice in the back of his head had warned him against using that old photo on his profile page. He’d argued back that no one would respond if he’d used a current picture. And anyway, once they actually met he’d be able to prove looks weren’t everything, right?

Not if she catches sight of you from the door and leaves without even talking to you, you liar.

He had ordered munchies as he waited, and tried to look like his evening was going as planned. He was pretty sure the wait staff knew what was actually happening, though. And the people in the tables near his, too. Heck, it felt like the people across the street knew.

At the hour mark, he threw some money on the table to cover the cost of his finger food, and stood to leave. And though he knew it wasn’t the case at all, he felt like the whole restaurant was watching him go. Like a mini- walk of shame all the way to the exit.

He sat in his car for a while after finally getting to it, wondering what to do. In spite of his best efforts, Yin and Yang had found out he’d brushed the dust off the joke- dating profile Yang had set up for him. How they’d managed to do that he wasn’t entirely sure; he mostly chalked it up to them being nosy little snots. Well, that and they both understood computers a lot better than he did. He thought he’d managed to deflect their questions at first, but that didn’t mean they hadn’t gone back and hacked the thing to find out what site he’d been on. Yo missed the days where if you’d gotten a message you didn’t want others to see, all you had to do was light the stupid thing on fire or eat it or something.

The point was, they knew what he was out doing tonight. And he knew that if he went back home right now, they would know that – one way or another – things hadn’t gone well. What good date only lasted one measly hour? He went through his mental rolodex for a convincing lie he could tell – she had to get up early the next morning, she got food poisoning, he got food poisoning – but he stopped short. Even if the kids believed him… he’d know. More than anything, he really didn’t want to talk or think about any of this right now.

Best way he could think to do that was to stay out until it was a reasonable time for his “date” to end, then go home and say things had been fine.

…where did lonely old people go when they needed to kill time?

Yo pondered for a solid fifteen seconds, then let his head fell forward, bumping it against the steering wheel as he groaned.

He thought he’d be able to make it his whole life without living this particular cliché…

Sitting up straight and telling his dignity to clench its buttocks and brace itself, he put his car in drive and headed off in search of a bar.

*****

The bar he ended up at wasn’t the bottom of the barrel, at least. He took some comfort in that. It was decently clean, at any rate, and the patrons all looked normal enough. The lighting could be a little better, but all else aside that was a pretty minor complaint.

So here he was. An old guy drinking all by himself at a bar. On a Friday. At… pellets, he shouldn’t have looked at the clock, it was way too early to sit drinking all alone. Now he felt even more pathetic.

He slid onto a stool near the far-end of the bar. Ideally, he would have sat at the very end, as far away as he could get from the people happily enjoying their Friday night, but someone was already there. Oh well. He ordered his drink and sat back to wait.

The group further up the bar sounded like they were having fun… Yo wondered how long it had been since he’d had the chance to spend a night out with friends. He really didn’t need the wave of depression that came with the realization that he couldn’t actually remember. Kraggler was the closet he had to a “friend” these days, and he could barely manage to stay awake during the day. An evening on the town was definitely out.

A second wave of depression hit as the bartender slid him his drink. He downed it in two gulps, and ordered another.

He drank his second glass more slowly, surreptitiously people-watching to distract from everything going on in his head. The group of friends further up the bar looked to be late-twenties to early-thirties. They weren’t doing shots or anything crazy; they just seemed to be catching up over drinks.

There were some other kids in the table somewhere behind him, and Yo guessed these ones where in their early-twenties. Mostly because these ones were doing shots, and at the rate they were going he could only assume they were afraid the alcohol would disappear if they didn’t drink it fast enough. (Enjoy it while you can, kids.)

The guy at the end of the bar was dressed all in black, wearing a baggy old sweatshirt with the hood pulled up. He was thin, and even though he was curled forward over his drink Yo got the sense he was pretty tall. Eh, taller than him, at least. Which wasn’t saying a lot (pandas were never known to be giants), but still.

The guy tipped back the last of his drink, then waved down the bartender. “One more.”

Yo promptly choked on his rum and coke.

The guy’s voice was deeper than what he would’ve expected coming from someone as rail-thin as he was. That wasn’t what had made him snort his drink out his nose and back into his glass, though. What had made him choke was that when the guy talked, his voice came out in layers.

Yo knew that voice.

Before Yo could do anything (before he could even think to), the guy turned to look at him, attention drawn by his sputtering.

The Night Master liked strawberry daiquiris, apparently.

Now see, if circumstances had been ideal, Yo could have said any number of dramatically appropriate things, or at least offered him a good glare. But things weren’t ideal, because really when were they ever, and instead he couldn’t stop coughing.

The Night Master (well, not really, but if he had an actual name Yo didn’t know it, and calling him “the former Night Master” was too much of a mouthful, so) had a lot of emotions swirling across his face. Or… eh, more like three, actually: surprise, confusion, and utter irritation. But considering Yo had only ever seen the guy use a grand total of two previously – anger and gloating – it was an impressive range, by his standards.

“What are you doing here?” he hissed.

“Me?” Yo choked. His nose was still burning from the alcohol he’d snotted through it. It wasn’t helping the tears his coughing had brought to his eyes at all. “A-ain’t you supposed to be—” hack, cough, “banished in a dark void right now?”

This might have been the wrong thing to say, rubbing salt in an already very PO’ed bat’s wounds and all, but Yo stood by it. Out of the two of them, he had way more right to randomly be at a bar than a past master of all evil did.

The Night Master bared his teeth in a snarl. “I was let out early for good behavior,” he sneered, sarcasm-levels hitting critical. “Now you. What’s a ‘Woo Foo master—’” (the tone and air-quotes were unwarranted and annoying) “—doing at a bar? Are you drinking to forget what abysmal failures your pathetic students are?”

Yo glared. “Those ‘f-failures’ kicked your scrawny butt,” he sniped, slowly getting a hold on his coughing. “What’s that make you?”

The Night Master’s expression twisted further, and within the span of a heartbeat he’d crossed the space between them and seized the front of Yo’s shirt. (He’d tried to look nice for his date, for all the good it’d done him. His own anger spiked when it was gripped hard enough to threaten tearing.)

“Listen here you—”

“Hey!” the bartender suddenly snapped, making both of them turn their heads. “No fighting. You wanna brawl, take it outside.”

Her face was a mask of ‘I don’t get paid enough to put up with this and I have nothing to lose.’ There was a beat where they looked at her, another where they turned back to glare at each other, then with a disgusted growl the Night Master shoved him away.

“Useless fool,” he spat under his breath, returning to his seat.

Yo glared again. “Has-been,” he shot back, not bothering to keep it under anything.

The Night Master’s head snapped back in his direction. “I’m the has-been?! When I know for a fact you spend every free moment you have sinking farther and farther into a ratty old armchair?” (Note to self: punt Coop down the road for spying crimes of days past.) The Night Master sneered. “Bit of a far cry from the ‘great hero’ you once were, wouldn’t you say?”

If he hadn’t been so against the idea of paying the bar for breaking their glasses, Yo probably would’ve shattered the one in he was holding. Or thrown it at the bat’s stupid head, one of the two.

“Oh yeah, and you keep so busy?” he returned. “We all thought you’d died.” He looked away, taking another swig of his drink. “Turns out you were just sulking and gettin’ drunk. Who’da thought.”

Yo’d been aiming to get a rise, and boy did he get one. The Night Master bristled, hackles visibly raising, and his expression was suddenly so dangerous that even without dark powers or the overlord garb, it was clear how he’d managed to become a Night Master in the first place.

“Do you think I want to be here right now?!” he snarled, looking livid. “Do you really think that if I had anywhere else to be, I’d choose here?”

“Well since you’re having such a rotten time, how ‘bout you leave and let me have a drink in peace, how’s that sound?” Yo returned, unphased.

“I was here first!”

The conversation was starting to get loud. The guys further up the bar had stopped talking to watch them warily, and the bartender was looking increasingly fed up. (The kids in the back were still barking and cheering as they did their shots, either none the wiser or just not caring.) Yo ignored them.

Before he could respond, the Night Master went on, “Where else do you expect me go, exactly? I have no lair to stay in, no minions to talk to, and if I spend one more second in that accursed suburban prison I am literally going to lose my mind!”

(Yo wanted to make a comment about the Night Master apparently being forced to live in suburbia now, but couldn’t think of a way to phrase it that would properly convey his scorn. He said nothing instead.)

Apparently done with his rant, the Night Master looked down to glare hatefully into his daiquiri. After a moment, he bit out, “You ruined my life.”

Yo continued to watch him stonily, not speaking. This all coming from the guy who’d banished all his friends and made the whole world think the art he’d practiced his entire life was a complete joke…

Eventually, he grumbled, “You ruined mine first,” and tossed back the last of his drink.

He ordered another.

*****

“What are you dressed up for?”

Yo looked up. The Night Master was staring at him dispassionately, elbow resting on the bar, head resting in his hand. They’d been drinking in silence for the last twenty minutes, both stubbornly trying to pretend the other didn’t exist. At least, that’s what Yo had been doing.

When he didn’t immediately answer, the Night Master gestured at his outfit vaguely, specifying, “You usually look like trash. Why don’t you now? This bar is trash, you’d have fit right in.”

…charming.

The Night Master apparently noticed the bartender glaring at him for his comment about the bar, because he turned to her with a glare of his own. “Oh, don’t give me that look, this place is a hole. Just spit in my next drink and move on already.”

As she moved away, still scowling, he turned back to Yo expectantly.

The sober, reasonable part of Yo’s brain didn’t want to even think about why he was dressed up, much less talk about it. Much less with this guy.

…but unfortunately it was the alcohol-soaked part that was doing the driving at the moment, and that part wanted to vent. Even if it was to a former Night Master.

“I had a date,” Yo muttered, taking another swig of his drink.

The Night Master tilted his head, then swiveled on his seat to squint up at the clock on the wall behind them.

“What kind of date ends before 10:30?” he asked.

The sober part of Yo’s mental facilities managed to wrestle the controls away from the drunken part just long enough for him to regret saying anything. Sinking into his stool and trying to hide his expression with his glass, he mumbled, “The kind that doesn’t show up.”

There was a short pause as the Night Master processed his words, followed by vindictive snickering.

“Too bad,” he said, insincere and delighted. “I can’t think of a single reason why anyone would ever want to stand you up.” Then, sounding positively gleeful at the prospect, “Was it a blind date? Do you think she came in, saw you, and left?”

Yo felt his face getting hot as he sunk further in on himself, shoulders hunching.

The silence didn’t go unnoticed. The Night Master laughed again.

Yo grasped for anything he could use to defend himself. He settled on disinterest. “Could’ve been worse,” he said, forcing his shoulders to un-hunch so he could shrug. “Could’ve had an ex show up. Could’ve had Edna show up.”

The Night Master’s sadistic grin faltered a bit. “‘Edna’?”

“Obsessive ex,” Yo supplied, flailing for the last strand of his self-esteem. There was at least one woman on the planet that thought he was worth something. Even if that woman was… eugh, Edna. “Crazy old dragon lady. We went out a couple times and she won’t let it go. I wouldn’t put it past her to make a fake dating account to try to meet up with me.”

“Crazy old drag…? Wait—” The Night Master’s eyes lit up. “Do you mean that— that annoying little ant conqueror’s mother?”

“Uh… yes?”

The sadistic joy returned to the Night Master’s face full force. “You used to go out with Barbecue-Breath??”

Yo’s face felt hot again. He hadn’t counted on the Night Master actually knowing who he was talking about.

To his dismay, the bat moved several seats closer. He was now sitting right next to him, apparently intent on prying every last sordid detail of the story out of him. “How did you end up dating a villain, precisely? And why did you break up? You seem like you’d be a perfect fit for each other, conflicting moral alignments aside.”

Yo grunted, leaning as far back as he could without falling off his seat. “Remember when we were ignoring each other? Wasn’t that nice? Can we go back to that?”

The Night Master grinned in a way that plainly conveyed no. No they couldn’t.

(Apart from being annoying and intrusive, Yo couldn’t help but find the bat’s sudden curiosity more than a little unnerving. Apparently while alcohol made him stupid, it made the Night Master unbearably chatty.)

Hoping to put the matter to rest, Yo snapped, “I didn’t date her because I wanted to; she was wearing a Broach of Irresistibility!” He huffed. “Once the broach came off, the relationship was over as far as I was concerned.”

Rather than dissuade his amusement, like Yo had hoped, the Night Master looked still more delighted. “You weren’t even dating her by choice!” he crowed. “You got magically volunteered!”

Not appreciating the mockery (though, admittedly, he now wasn’t sure if the Night Master was mocking him or Edna at this point), Yo glowered. “So how do you know her, then?”

The Night Master smirked. “Same as you, though I wasn’t stupid enough to get tricked into actually dating the crocodile.”

Yo blinked. “Wait, so then how is that the same…?”

A scoff and an eyeroll. “She used to pop up at Evil Cons to try to flirt. She seemed to think that because her son had made a villainous name for himself, that meant that she had a reputation too.” The Night Master’s face twisted at the memory, momentarily looking like someone had just force-fed him shower cleaner. “She dropped the phrase ‘power-couple’ more than once when she came to talk.” Then, smirk returning, “You took up the mantle for me after I left, it would seem.”

Now it was Yo’s turn to pull a face. “Yeah, you’re welcome.”

The Night Master offered another round of sadistic snickering in response.

Feeling more than a little embarrassed and exceedingly annoyed, Yo snapped, “Okay, so you know why I’m dressed up, how come you’re in here lookin’ like a hobo? Did you just give up when your tailor went AWOL?”

The mirth withered and died on the Night Master’s face. His ears suddenly went flat against his head, and Yo was vindictively pleased to see he’d gone slightly red underneath his scowl.

“I can’t exactly afford to draw attention to myself at the moment,” he said tightly. “My preferred choice of fashion tends to turn heads.”

“Uh, yeah, ‘cause it’s pretentious and godawful,” Yo said dismissively. “Still, you used to at least look like you cared. Guess now that you don’t have anyone to impress you’ll just throw on just about anything, huh?”

The Night Master’s face went still redder, his ears pressed even tighter to his scalp, and Yo took no small amount of satisfaction to see his shoulders hiking up this time. He looked away, glaring, and didn’t respond.

“Aww, what’s wrong?” Yo asked, tone decidedly unkind. “The game’s not goin’ how you wanted so now you don’t wanna play anymore?” Yo turned back to his drink, expression twisting. “Well ain’t that just typical.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” the Night Master snapped, looking back to him.

“Whaddya think it means, genius?” Yo asked, gesturing widely. “The forces of evil love getting a rise outta people, love making everyone else feel miserable. But the minute the tables turn and the shoe’s on the other foot, you either throw a tantrum or back out. It’s typical.”

“And the forces of good play victim and pray karma when those tables don’t turn,” the Night Master shot back. “Choice of evils.”

After a long moment of glaring at each other, the Night Master looked away again, muttering, “No pun intended.”

Yo realized, after another long moment, that he didn’t have the energy or the sobriety to debate this much further. Instead, he just grumbled, “Seems like a pretty easy choice to me, but whatever,” and took another drink.

The Night Master, who was in the process of accepting another daiquiri form the bartender, grumbled back, “Seems like a clear choice to me, too.”

Yo watched him for a second. “She probably did spit in your drink, y’know,” he warned disinterestedly after a moment’s consideration.

The Night Master held the daiquiri up slightly in mock, unenthused jubilation. “Cheers,” he said flatly, and downed over half in one gulp.

Yo rolled his eyes.

*****

Another span of silence passed. The guys further up the bar had left, and the kids behind them were slowly sinking into an alcohol-induced stupor. The Night Master was still seated beside him, having never moved back to his original seat. Yo wondered distantly, abstractly, what he might be thinking about as he stared unfocusedly across the bar, but then just as distantly decided he didn’t care. He did wonder what exactly had brought him here, though. Like, to this bar specifically, not “here at this moment in time.”

“You said you live in a suburb now, right?” he blurted.

The Night Master flinched, then turned to glare at him.

“What’s it to you?”

Yo shrugged. “You did say that, right?” At the Night Master’s stiff nod, he asked, “Is it nearby? It’s gotta be, right? Why else would you be here right now?”

The Night Master snorted, rolling his eyes. “I like the pleasant company,” he said, jerking his thumb in the bartender’s direction. Who saw and heard him, by the way. She was literally going to punch him in the mouth if he didn’t shut up soon. (Yo fell bizarrely compelled to keep him talking, all of a sudden.)

Again, he asked, “What’s it to you, panda? Are you planning an attack? Should I be flattered you still consider me worth your time?”

Yo shrugged again. “Just think it’s funny, that’s all.”

As the Night Master glared daggers, a grin suddenly tugged at Yo’s mouth, and he propped his elbow against the bar to stare at him.

“Didja have, like, a housewarming party when you first moved in? You workin’ a 9’ to 5’ now?”

“Shut up,” the Night Master said.

“You yell at the neighborhood kids when they end up on your lawn?” Yo went on, unbothered. “D’you have yard sales—?”

“Shut up!” the Night Master said again, louder this time. Yo was pleased to see he’d gone a bit red again.

“That a ‘yes’?” he sing-songed.

“So what if it—?!” but he clapped his hands over his mouth before he could finish, looking horrified.

Oh, no way. “Wait, what?” Yo asked, grin growing exponentially.

The Night Master yanked his hood back over his head and turned away, apparently trying to go back to pretending Yo wasn’t there.

Yo burst out laughing.

“Why is that so hilarious?” the Night Master demanded. “Other people do those things their whole lives, I don’t see you laughing at them.”

“Uh, other people are normal?” Yo said. “Other people don’t make a whole thing about how big and bad and evil they are?”

The Night Master huffed. “Well, when you’re good at something…”

“Yeah, ‘cept you’re apparently not, considering you ended up living in—” Yo broke off laughing again.

The Night Master bristled. “I was doing just fine until you and your brats decided to—”

“Hey whoawhoawhoa,” Yo said, holding up his hands defensively (and still thoroughly enjoying the bat’s embarrassment and frustration, but that was beside the point). “Don’t get mad at me because your choice of careers came back to bite ya.”

“How is something a choice when it’s your only option?” the Night Master snapped.

Yo’s grin dissipated. The Night Master didn’t look at him, instead putting all his focus back on his drink. Finally, Yo said, “You’re really gonna try to play that card, huh?”

“Yep,” the Night Master said, tone clipped.

Oh you gotta be…

“After everything you did,” Yo clarified, patience abruptly starting to fizzle, “all the— the years and years and years of being completely horrible, you’re literally gonna sit there and try to sell some ‘oh, it was the only choice I had in life, woe is me!’ –story?”

“‘Woe is’ nothing, I enjoyed every second of it,” the Night Master spat. “But yeah, that’s what we’re going with.”

Yo stared at him, the amusement he’d felt a few seconds ago feeling very far away.

“Go to hell,” he finally said.

“Been there, done that,” the Night Master returned. “I call it life.”

“You’re unbelievable,” Yo breathed, taking another swig of his drink. Maybe if he downed enough it’d dull the flames rising in his chest…

“Did you ever try to do anything other than this?” the Night Master asked suddenly, gesturing at Yo.

(Yo took “this” to mean “being a Woo Foo knight.” He made a noncommittal noise, wanting to see where he was going with this before giving away any kind of answer.)

“Was it nice, being able to slide into whatever you want, and not be made to feel out of place for it? I’ve got a secret for you, Yo: Bats? Or anyone people define as a ‘creature of darkness’? We’re not liked. We walk into a building and half the time a manager will come over going ‘now we don’t want any trouble, but we’re going to have to ask you to leave,’ and then we have to stand there and try to explain we just want to buy groceries. That suburb I’m stuck in? Do you think they want me there? Do you know how often I get indirectly, passive-aggressively told I’m bringing down the neighborhood’s property values just by being there?”

“Wow, people aren’t all that inviting to people who proudly identify as evil, can’t imagine why that would be,” Yo said sarcastically (though he had to admit his indignation had waned a bit).

“None of them know!” the Night Master burst. “That’s the whole point of me living there! None of them will rat me out to someone who might have a grudge because none of them know what I used to be!”

He growled, pressing the palms of his hands into his eyes and rubbing agitatedly. Yo was suddenly confronted with just how tired he looked.

Glaring back over at him, the Night Master went on, “Point of fact is that my life was infinitely better when I was spending it making everyone else’s worse. No one seems to care about fighting the stereotype, so why not benefit where I can by leaning into it?”

Yo didn’t have an answer for a moment.

“There are plenty of bats who don’t try to take their problems out on the whole stinkin’ planet,” he finally insisted stiffly.

“I can promise you every single one of them has thought about it at least once,” the Night Master shot back. “Hardly my fault I’m the only one who decided to try.”

They sank back into sullen silence.

*****

“I did kind of do something besides this—” Yo said some time and many drinks later, making small gesture at himself, “—when I was younger.”

The Night Master observed him grumpily, but waited for clarification.

“I was in a band,” Yo finally supplied. He very nearly went into the whole thing, ‘it was called Pandangerous, we were kinda big, you might’ve heard of us,’ but he found he couldn’t bring himself too. He was actually suddenly kind of embarrassed he’d brought it up at all. This was the Night Master, he didn’t care.

“…what did you play?”

Yo blinked, surprised. “Uh… bass?”

The Night Master cocked his head. “Hm. Would’ve taken you for a drummer.” There was a small pause before (sinking in on himself a little, Yo couldn’t help but notice) he mumbled, “I’d always kind of wanted to learn violin.”

Yo stared for a second. Yeah, violin did seem to fit with the whole… dark and brooding –thing he had going. Rather than comment to that effect, he asked, “Why didn’t you?”

The Night Master shrugged morosely. “My grip is too weak. I couldn’t hold it right.”

Yo had a sudden, very violent flashback to the last time they’d fought. At one point during, the Night Master had taken him by the throat and held him off the ground. His windpipe had felt like it was being crushed by a steel trap.

“Hey, uh, I dunno who fed you that load, but you might wanna get a second opinion. Your grip seemed fine last I checked,” he said, rubbing his throat absentmindedly at the memory.

The Night Master looked at him curiously, but then he must’ve remembered the incident Yo was indirectly referring to, because he shook his head. “I caught you with my good hand then. My other one’s messed up, and that’s the one I’d need to hold the strings.”

“Why’s it messed up?”

The Night Master began to answer, then looked like he’d had a realization of some sort. Perhaps something to the tune of ‘oh, wait, enemy, why am I telling him this?’ He curled further in on himself, took another sip of his daiquiri, and muttered, “My wing got snapped when I was six. It didn’t heal properly.”

“Ah…” Yo thought for a second, then tilted his head, a discrepancy occurring to him. “But wait, if your wing’s so messed up that you can’t even use your hand right, how do you still fly?”

“How do you?”

Confused, Yo was about to point out that he didn’t fly, but then the pieces clicked into place.

“…you don’t fly. You just use magic to float around.”

“Got it in one. Congrats.”

“…you, um. You don’t have your magic anymore. So ever since our last fight you’ve been basically—?”

“Yeah,” the Night Master said curtly, cutting him off.

“Oh,” Yo said. “I’m, um… I’m sorry.”

(Yo was surprised to realize he genuinely meant that, and wasn’t just saying it to follow the script for polite conversation.)

The Night Master looked at him, cranky and skeptical, but to Yo’s surprise he only ending up grumbling something indistinct and taking another drink.

There was a short silence before Yo, spurred on by awkwardness and alcohol, asked, “How come your folks didn’t get your wing fixed? Or, y’know,” he made a small hand gesture, “patch it up so it wouldn’t heal weird?”

The Night Master didn’t answer, and Yo noticed his fists clench.

“…yeah. I didn’t have any of those either.”

The Night Master looked at him.

Yo fidgeted for a second. “M-my folks died around when I was born – I mean, probably. My mom definitely did, but whenever I’d ask about my old man people would change the subject, so I think he mighta just left. I was taken in by Masters Chai and Ti, but I don’t really remember them too much. They left me at the Dojo one day when I was… four? Mmmmaybe five? To fight Eradicus, and they never came back. So I was kinda raised by the other students that hung around. They didn’t always… I mean, none of them really wanted to waste their time taking care of some annoying little kid that wasn’t theirs, y’know?”

Yo was really regretting all the rum and cokes and whiskeys by this point; he was probably waaaay over the threshold of oversharing here.

Coughing awkwardly into his fist, he tentatively asked, “H-how ‘bout you? If you didn’t have folks, did you have siblings, or like – a group like I did, or…?”

The Night Master was silent. For so long, in fact, that Yo began to assume he just wasn’t going to answer. Then, quietly, he said, “I stayed with someone unrelated for the first chunk of my life. He died when I was fourteen.”

“Oh,” Yo said. Then, again, “I’m sorry about that.”

As the Night Master shrugged, Yo prompted, “D’you, um, miss him?”

The Night Master’s fists clenched again, and once more didn’t answer. But Yo had caught the expression that had flitted across his face, regardless of his swift smothering of it.

No, he didn’t miss him, and he didn’t like thinking about him, either.

Yo felt something akin to guilt, though he couldn’t quite place why.

“Hey,” he suddenly said, probably a bit too forcefully. “Stop me if you’ve heard this one—”

(The Night Master, taken thoroughly off-guard by his outburst, stared at him alarmed and confused.)

“—two guys walk into a bar, the third guy ducks.”

The Night Master snorted, then blinked. Apparently he was as surprised as Yo that he’d actually found that funny.

Smiling for reasons he couldn’t quite discern, Yo said, “I got more, if you wanna hear ‘em.”

The Night Master stared at him for a second, seemingly disoriented, before slowly nodding, albeit in slightly resigned and wary fashion. “Sure. Why not…?”

*****

“Okayokayokay,” Yo said, “one more, one more. I got this from a Redneckistanian a while back – I think his name was Jeff – I dunno, anyway:

“So this guy’s mother-in-law’s been living with him for a while, right? Well, he comes home one day and she’s on the floor, so he calls an ambulance and they take her to the hospital. The doctor comes out after a while and says ‘I’ve got good news, and I’ve got bad news.’

“The guy goes, ‘gimme the bad news first.’

“The doctor says, ‘well, your mother-in-law had a massive stroke, but she survived. In fact she’ll probably live another forty more years. The problem is it’s made it so she can’t speak, she can only make a screeching sound like a parrot now. It’s also disabled her arms, so for the next forty years or so you’ll have to feed her baby food three times every day. Also, it’s made her incontinent, so you’re gonna have to change her diapers and clean her up every time she goes to the bathroom.’

“The guy goes, ‘oh my god! What’s the good news??’

“And the doctor goes, ‘I’m just kiddin’ with ya, she died!’”

The Night Master promptly began giggling so hard he had to fight to keep from snorting. Given how far he usually held a stick up inside himself, Yo felt remarkably accomplished.

(Yeah okay fine, the guy was pretty sloshed by this point, and drunk people weren’t exactly hard to amuse, but still.)

“Okay, now you,” Yo prompted. “C’mon, whaddya got?”

The Night Master, still giggling, shook his head. “The only jokes I know are either really dirty or Woo Foo jokes.”

Yo paused, and then – because he couldn’t not ask – slowly repeated, “‘Woo Foo jokes’?”

The Night Master nodded. “They’re making fun of you,” he clarified. Then, after a moment’s thought, “Not you specifically, but. You know, people who practice.”

Yo cocked an eyebrow. “‘Making fun’ like how, exactly?”

“Like—Like— oh, do you just want me to tell you one?”

Already regretting his decision, Yo said, “Yeah, fine. Hit me with your best shot.”

The Night Master grinned, adjusting himself almost excitedly in his seat. “Alright, so: a group of villains kidnap a stink aardvark, a tree person, and a Woo Foo knight. They plan to kill them all by firing squad.

“They bring the stink aardvark out in front of the firing squad and ask it, ‘any last words?’

“The aardvark yells ‘tornado!’

“The villains all turn to look for the tornado, and the aardvark gets away.

“Next they bring the tree person out in front of the firing squad. They ask it, ‘any last words?’

“The tree person yells ‘flood!’

“The villains all turn to look for the flood, and the tree person gets away.”

The Night Master began giggling again. “Finally the villains bring the Woo Foo knight in front of the firing squad. They ask them— th-they ask them—hold on—” he needed to pause, because his laughter was starting to cut him off. He composed himself enough to continue, “They ask them, ‘any last words?’ And the Woo Foo knight— the Woo Foo knight says—”

The Night Master was leaning against the bar at this point, fighting to finish his sentence through his laughter. Finally, he said: “The Woo Foo knight says, ‘fire!’”

And with that the Night Master collapsed back into his hopeless fit of giggles.

Yo looked away, biting the inside of his cheek. Whether because of the Night Master’s reaction to his own joke or because he was also pretty darn drunk, there was a laugh threatening to bubble out from the back of his throat.

“That was horrible,” he said to cover it.

The Night Master – who was wearing probably the dopiest grin Yo had ever seen – reached over and poked him in the cheek. “You’re smiling,” he jeered.

Yo batted his hand away, trying to force down the grin that was indeed plastered across his face. “Only because of your stupid laugh, not because your dumb joke was funny.”

The Night Master, still grinning sloppily, propped his head up on his hand. “Aww, you like my laugh?”

Yo blinked, but rather than let himself answer he gave a muffled snicker of his own. “Wow, you are really drunk.”

The Night Master gave a carefree shrug. “I could talk myself out of something if I needed to.”

“Pfff, I doubt it.”

The Night Master gave him a brief look, then straightened in his seat. His expression slid seamlessly into an unamused, very alert scowl, all traces of drunken joviality gone.

“I assure you,” he said, tone icy and deceptively steady, “if I didn’t want people to know I was inebriated, no one would.”

As Yo blinked, alarmed, his posture suddenly went slack again, and his dopey smile was back in place.

“How the footoodles did you do that?” Yo asked.

Again, the Night Master shrugged. “Practice,” he said, then pointed at himself. “Former Night Master, remember? Couldn’t show weakness at any given moment. Came with the job.”

“Huh.” Yo paused, thinking for a second, then asked, “Why’re you letting me know you’re… uh, ‘inebriated’ then?”

A small, giddy grin. “What could you possibly do about it? You’re just as drunk as me.”

Yo snickered again. “Touché.” A moment’s consideration, then, “M’not looking forward to the hangover later, I’ll tell you that.”

“Oh, it’s going to be murder, absolutely,” the Night Master agreed, nodding.

Yo grinned, picking up his glass. “To future regrets, then?”

The Night Master beamed back, lifting his own glass. “Wholeheartedly.”

They clinked their drinks together before simultaneously tipping them back.

*****

“I don’t know what I was expecting from tonight,” Yo confessed.

The bar was empty, save for them and the bartender. Yo wasn’t sure what time it was anymore. The Night Master was resting his head on his crossed wings on top of the bar, looking up at him.

“Probably not this,” he slurred.

“Well, no, but I mean…” Yo shifted, trying to pull words out of the sloshing barrel of booze that was his brain. “I don’t know why I thought seeing someone was gonna turn out this time. Dating doesn’t work for me. It just doesn’t. It never has. Even back when I was—” he faltered, before gesturing weakly at himself. “Not… this…”

The Night Master’s ear twitched, his brow furrowed, but he didn’t say anything.

Yo went on, “I’d meet a girl and she’d be… fine. Like she’d be nice. And we’d go on dates, and they’d be fine, and really all the girls I went on dates with were pretty, but then just. That’d be it. They’d all be pretty or funny or sweet and I wouldn’t feel… anything, basically. And so I’d stop seeing them, because I didn’t feel anything, which was really just me being a jerk, but if I told them that they didn’t make me feel anything then eventually people would just think I was…”

He paused. The Night Master still looked up at him, and was still silent.

“I kept telling myself that I’d find the right girl eventually. I’d find a girl who made me feel everything I was s’posed to, and then we’d fall in love and get married and that’d be it. I’d actually been excited when I started going out with Edna, because I thought I’d finally got it. But it’s… I don’t… I don’t really think that’s gonna happen anymore. I used to be able to get girls no problem, but now they don’t want anything to do with me and— and I can’t really blame ‘em, but the only way I can even kind of find interest if is they’re really good-looking, and anyone who’s good-looking is way out of my league now. And even if I do manage to score a date I still don’t feel anything.”

He was staring into a now empty glass. He’d finished it a little bit ago, but he hadn’t asked for a refill. Just as well, it was probably time to stop. He couldn’t stop rambling. His throat felt like it was closing and his eyes kind of burned. That was probably an effect of all the alcohol, right?

“I think I might be broken,” he finally muttered.

The Night Master still looked up at him. Then, slowly, he sat up, leaned over, and rested his head on Yo’s shoulder.

“You’re not broken,” he said quietly.

*****

Yo wasn’t a stranger to alcohol. He’d been a rebellious youth once. More to the point, he’d been a rebellious rock star. Safe to say he’d built up more than an adequate tolerance to the stuff. As such, despite by no means going light the night before, he hadn’t blacked out.

(Obviously. He wouldn’t have considered going to a bar if he’d thought that’d been a risk. Depressed at getting stood up or not, he couldn’t exactly get blackout drunk when he had two kids to come home to.)

Point being: when he woke up in his bed the next morning, he wasn’t hit with the standard “where am I how did I get here what happened last night who’s lying next to me” –questions that made most people panic.

What was making him quietly panic was that he knew exactly who was tucked under his arm, currently trying to bury their face into his neck to escape the light that was now streaming in through the window.

#[head in hands]#I'm already appropriately filled with shame no worries #yyy #yin yang yo #I speak

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verai-marcel · 5 years

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Reversal of Fortune (RDR2 Fanfic, Arthur x Fem!Reader, 18+, DubCon)

Hey guys, just posting some of my older fics to tumblr. This is the Captured Hearts series, part 1 of 4.

Summary: You’re a good bounty hunter, but you’ll be the first to admit you’re not the best. So to get better, you gotta catch some bigger prey. However, just because a man has 3rd billing on a bounty poster, doesn’t mean he’s easier to catch; in fact, he may be the most dangerous man you’ve ever hunted. Will you become the hunted one instead?

Author’s Notes: No joke, there’s some dubious consent here; definitely trigger warning for that. This also might be considered Stockholm syndrome, so keep that in mind. You are legal, I imagine in your 20s, but you are visibly younger than Arthur, so he uses a lot of “girl” terms for you, so be aware of that too, just in case. Also this is a darker, more morally ambiguous Arthur. If these warnings don’t turn you off, then please enjoy my dark, twisted fantasies.

Tags: low honor Arthur, DubCon, smut, rough sex

Word Count: about 4300

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You shivered under your heavy coat, the bandana around your face keeping your breath from giving away your location in the cold forest. Pulling out the wanted poster you had grabbed back in Blackwater, you looked again at the face of your next bounty. Arthur Morgan, wanted dead or alive.

You were a good bounty hunter, but only because you were a great sharpshooter and could take out your opponents from far away easily. You never made much money because you usually brought them in dead, but you weren't about to face off with certain men in a fist fight. You knew where your skills lay, and you knew you couldn't stand up to more than a few well placed punches. You had learned that the hard way when you were first starting to hunt, and have the scars on your body to remind you.

Ahead in the forest were horse tracks; you followed them through the afternoon, tracking down your target until dusk, where you spotted smoke. You changed course, going up a hillside to get a better vantage point. Leaving your horse a ways away, you hiked up the hill until you found a nice flat spot with good cover. Hiding behind some rocks, you pulled out your binoculars and looked at the makeshift camp.

A small fire, the horse you had been tracking, and a small tent were all you saw for a few minutes. Then from the tent crawled a man, a big man. From your vantage point, you couldn't quite see his eyes under his worn out hat, but you saw his jawline, the shadow of a beard, and his jacket stretched across his broad shoulders.

Too strong to take on face to face, you thought. You'll have to snipe him. You decided to wait for the sky to grow a bit darker before you made your move. If you did it now, other hunters might be alerted and steal your kill; wouldn't be the first time. For now, you would wait and see.

You watched from afar as it looked like he was just cleaning his weapons. After about an hour, he got on his horse and wandered away from his camp, veering left up the mountain, away from you. Looked like he was going hunting. You let 15 minutes pass, then decided to quietly make your way down the hill to follow him. It was dark enough. Maybe you could catch him unaware while he was hunting for food, and get this bounty done and over with.

Although it was dark, you were a pretty good tracker. You tracked him for a couple of miles through the forest, past some big rocks and an abandoned cabin. However, when the horse tracks ended at a small river stream, you cursed because he could have gone anywhere at this point. You decided to turn back to the cover of the forest; you were far too open here.

You heard a rustle behind you. You slowly looked behind you in the twilight and saw the gleam of a rifle in between the bushes on the hill above you. You quickly dodged back towards the trees as a bullet exploded the dirt where you had been.

Shit, either he found you, or someone else was stealing your kill!

You started running, hunched down behind trees and rocks, trying to get a lead on this guy. You pulled your rolling block rifle from your back holster and got it ready as you ran, trying to get as far away from the stream as possible. You could hear him coming down the mountain, and your adrenaline spiked. If he caught you, he was going kill you.

Running seemed to be your only option at the moment. So you tried to run, quietly as possible, downhill towards the rocky area you had seen on your way up here. Then maybe you could hide in the rocks and take him out.

Another shot whizzed past your shoulder, and you turned quickly and starting zig zagging through the trees. Branches exploded around you, and you covered your head from the splinters as you kept running, every breath feeling sharp with the cold of the night. A shot grazed your shoulder, but you kept running. You could bandage yourself later.

Finally, after what felt like too long, you saw all the tall rocks and weaved into them, disappearing into the shadows and sneaking as far away as you could. He wasn't being very discreet, you could hear his spurs as he caught up to you and started making his way through the rocks.

“Don't make me more angry, I'm already gonna kick the shit out of you when I find you. Come out and maybe I'll let you live.”

Hell no, you thought. You crouched down and peered around your rock. He was walking perpendicular to your location. Perfect, when he passed the next rock, you could pick him off. You brought your rifle up and looked through the scope.

You aimed as he walked out from behind the rock. Let out a breath.

Fired.

What should have been a clean head shot had instead hit the rocks beyond. You pulled back your rifle to see him crouched down and running in your direction.

You scurried away around the rocks again. Keeping an ear out for his spurs, you snaked around corners with ease, thinking you had lost him.

Until, that is, he came barreling out of nowhere, smashing you into the ground. His full weight was on you, and you couldn’t get a weapon out to defend yourself. You struggled, so he quickly punched you in the stomach, which knocked the wind out of you. As you lay still trying to catch your breath, he quickly flipped you over and hogtied you. Hoisting you up over his shoulder, he walked past where he left his spurs on the ground, picked them up casually, and carried you all the way to the stream where his horse was quietly waiting. None too gently, he put you on the back of his horse and rode to the abandoned cabin.

You stayed silent through all of this, furiously thinking of a way to get out of this. Better than giving into the despair that was threatening to swallow up your heart. He remained deathly silent as well, but you could sense the anger coming from him in waves.

Once at the cabin, he carried you inside like a sack of potatoes and dumped you on the floor near the dead fireplace. You finally made a noise as your grazed shoulder hit the ground, and he paused to look at you for a moment. You knew your noise was high pitched. You always tried to fake being a young man in your hunts; being a woman doing a man's work didn't get you anywhere in this world.

He eyed you suspiciously for a few extra seconds before going outside to grab some firewood, and starting a fire. Minutes passed as he quietly stoked the fire, your apprehension growing with each second. Once the fire was going well, he finally turned to you. Now you could see him close and clear, and despite the fear flowing through your brain, you noticed his steel blue eyes, a good looking face, a very well built body, and thought that if you had to die, at least you got to see a handsome man.

Arthur reached down and tore off your bandana.

“You look real young, boy.”

You stared up at him and sighed. Of course, you looked like a boy. You had cut your hair to your shoulders and tied it back so it was a short ponytail. All the bulky clothing you were wearing was hiding your curves. But it made it easier to get your bounties at full price when they thought you were just a young man trying to make a name for yourself, rather than a woman trying to make ends meet.

Arthur suddenly pulled you up so you were kneeling, and started unbuttoning your jacket.

“What are you doing?”

“This is a nice jacket. I think I’ll take it.”

“No, wait!” you exclaimed, fear lacing your words. If he took off your jacket, he would definitely see that you were a woman.

“I know some nice people who need it more than you,” he snarled at you.

Once he got your jacket off your shoulders though, he noticed what you were wearing underneath; a red union shirt that stretched across your chest.

“You’re a woman?” he said, mostly to himself.

You froze. This was bad.

He stopped trying to take off your jacket and stood up, looking you up and down. You swallowed. You had a faint idea of what might happen next, and you started shivering even though you weren't cold. You weren't even sure if it was fear or anticipation that was making you shake, and that thought made you wonder about your sanity.

“So why’re you huntin’ me?” he asked quietly. “Your answer will make up my mind on what to do with you.”

Your heart pounding, you decided that truth will probably get you the least amount of pain. That, and with his intense eyes staring, you felt like he would see through any lie you could come up with.

“I was trying to get the bounty on you. I… I need the money.” That was technically the truth. You were running low on funds, and needed a big score to get some more ammo and upgrade your guns.

He kept staring at you, and you didn’t look away; part of you knew that if you looked away, he would assume you were lying. Another part of you felt like you were trapped under his blue gaze.

“Well, you’re pretty brave, trying to get that bounty on me.” He got down on one knee in front of you so he could look at you straight. “And such a pretty young thing too,” he said in a low voice as he caressed your cheek. Your eyes widened. He inched closer. His eyes turned predatory.

“It’s dangerous, you know. For a woman to be out here all alone,” he murmured, his lips so close to yours that you could feel his warm breath on your skin. “There’s bad men everywhere.” He reached out and ever so slowly wrapped his hand around your neck.

You swallowed again, feeling his thumb gently rubbing circles near your jugular. Your eyes never left his, and you felt hypnotized by him, his deep voice lulling you into a strange state of immobility.

“You know what bad men do to someone like you?” he asked.

You shook your head slightly, his hand still around your neck.

He leaned closer to you, his lips caressing your earlobe. “Oh, I think you know,” he whispered.

Then he let go of your throat and pushed you down onto the ground. Losing your balance, you fell onto your butt, and in a daze you watched as he took out his knife and cut your legs loose. Regaining some semblance of sense from being knocked on your ass, you tried to scramble away, but he tackled you back down, flipped you onto your stomach, and straddled you, your legs caught between his. With your face on the floor, you felt him cut the rope around your wrists. He pulled off your jacket completely, tugged off your suspenders, and turned you back around. You immediately tried to hit him, but he grabbed your wrists together.

“Stay still,” he growled. You growled back and tried pulling your arms away from him. He grabbed you by the throat again and dragged you by the wrists and the neck towards the bed in the back of the cabin. He dragged you up onto the bed and starting tying your wrists to the bedpost with your own suspenders. You couldn’t even kick him because he had wrapped his strong thighs around yours, trapping you.

He finally leaned back, and you tugged at your wrists experimentally. They were tight, but not painfully so. You looked up at him, and he still had that look in his eyes that made you feel like a rabbit cornered by a wolf. A very hungry, very angry wolf.

Without taking his eyes off you, he peeled off his jacket, slid his suspenders down his wide shoulders, and took off his shirt. You took it all in at a glance: the fine chest hair, the scars from gun shots and knife fights, the fact that he was all muscles but not overly bulky. It had not occurred to you to move until you realized he had noticed how you were looking at him.

“Like the view, girl?”

Flustered, you growled and tried kicking him, but he just wrestled you back down again.

“Looks like you need a lesson,” he rumbled as he grabbed your pants and pulled them off. You kicked and twisted, but he grabbed your knees and spread you open, putting his knees on your thighs to keep you in position. You stopped moving.

“Good girl,” he said huskily as he leaned over you, putting his weight on his arm near your face, his other hand unbuttoning his pants.

You should have been scared. You should have been crying, screaming, begging for mercy. Instead, you were getting wet and incredibly turned on. Your breasts were aching to be touched, and you just wanted this man to fuck you senseless.

You wondered what the hell was wrong with you.

Apparently, so did he.

“You ain't cried yet. Don't tell me you're enjoyin’ this?” He reached down to slip a finger into you, and you moaned and arched into his touch.

“Damn,” he whispered. “Guess you do wanna get punished,” he said as he slid a second finger inside. You writhed under him, and he smiled in satisfaction as he kept slowly pushing in and out of your tight channel. Your breath caught when his thumb flicked your clit a few times, and then he started to rub it in circles, making you pant. You felt like a whore, but you couldn’t stop your reaction to his touch.

He moved forward until his face was an inch from yours. “You like this with all men?”

“No!” you exclaimed breathlessly, feeling somewhat affronted. “I don't know why I'm like this with you.” You paused, trying to think past the lust clouding your mind. “I don't know what's wrong with me,” you finally said helplessly.

He hummed thoughtfully at your answer.

Then he suddenly lifted up your shirt and pulled it over your head and up your arms. You were completely exposed to him; your torso had one particularly long scar from your right hip to a point about a hand’s width away from your left breast.

Arthur looked at your scar and something changed in his eyes. Was it pity? It might have been a moment of softness that passed over his eyes before they turned dark again.

Your breasts were modest, and seemed even smaller as Arthur palmed them, running his calloused fingers over your skin. He leaned down to lick and play with your nipples, making you gasp with pleasure. You felt him reach down to free himself from his pants, and felt him nudging your opening. You were so goddamn wet that he slipped in an inch without much resistance. You tightened up when your mind caught up with the situation. He must have seen the panic and hesitation in your eyes, for he reached up to cup your cheek as he leaned in to nuzzle your neck.

“S'okay, just relax. Let me in,” Arthur crooned in your ear, and slowly, as he stroked your body and kissed your neck and nibbled your earlobe, you relaxed and let him thrust deeper into you.

Feeling every inch of him as he filled you, you whimpered until he was all the way in; the rough fabric of his jeans rubbed against your inner thigh and your skin was more sensitive than it had ever been in your life. He moaned into your ear, probably the most erotic sound you'd ever hear.

Then he grabbed your hips and started taking you, hard. The sudden intensity of it all took your breath away, and you struggled for air. Or maybe it was because he had grabbed you by the throat again and was muttering in your ear.

“That's right, take it all, sweetheart. Be my li’l fuck toy tonight.”

His words in that low tone almost made you come. After a while you almost saw stars, and he let go of your throat and pulled out of you. You cried out then, feeling abandoned and empty, and tucked your legs in. He tugged at your legs and you tried to squirm out of his grasp.

“Be good, or else,” he threatened as he rolled you over. He slapped your ass, enough to sting. ”Up,” he commanded.

You got up on your elbows and knees, feeling humiliated by this position. But when you felt his hand bury into the base of your ponytail and tug roughly, forcing your back to arch, you felt yourself getting wet all over again. He grabbed your hip and slid his cock around your wet folds, teasing you. You wanted, no, needed more.

“Please,” you barely whispered.

“Hm? If you want something, you better speak up.”

You stayed silent this time, your mind racing back and forth. You had always prided yourself on being an independent woman. Yet here you were, tied up and taking a stranger's cock in an indecent position. And it felt so good. But damn, you knew how wrong this was. Maybe you deserved it for getting caught so easily.

A hard slap to your ass brought you out of your self-pity.

“Tell me what you want,” he growled.

“P-please, take me,” you said a little louder.

“Oh no, I think you know what you need to say,” Arthur said in a coaxing tone. “Say it like my fuck doll would.”

You wanted to cry. It was so embarrassing, but as he reached down to caress your clit, you let desperation push the words from your lips.

“Fuck me, please!”

“Please what?” He tugged your hair when he said this, growling the question at you and forcing you to turn your head to look at him. You suddenly knew what he wanted you to say.

“Please...sir…”

Arthur smiled at you then, and you had a fleeting thought that this man was dangerous in more ways than you knew.

Then he slid inside of you, and all thought was lost as you gave into his fast and heavy rhythm. He took you selfishly, roughly, grabbing your body and bruising your skin with his strength. You felt him bend over you, his arms caging you in as he fucked you from behind, biting your neck and putting more weight on you. You tried to stay up for as long as your body could handle, but he was a large man, and you finally collapsed onto the bed under his weight. He continued to pound into you as you lay there, biting your lip and trying not to cry out at his relentless use of your body.

Smoothly, he flipped you over again and lifted your knees over his shoulders. He didn't give you a chance to adjust as he forced himself inside you once more. Gasping at his swift entry, all you could do was hold onto the bed post as he rocked into you from this new angle, hitting you deeper than ever.

After a while, you’re not sure how long, he began to slow his pace. You caught your breath for a brief moment before he grabbed your jaw, hard enough to bruise. Then he kissed you. It was a full blown kind of kiss, with his tongue invading your mouth. In his grasp, you could only lay there, feeling like a helpless rag doll under him.

Just when you thought he wasn't going to let you breathe, he let go and pulled back. You took in a shuddering breath.

Then he moved again, this time slow and deliberate, to remind you that he was still rock hard and wasn't done with you yet. He let your knees drop from his shoulders.

“Wrap your legs around me,” Arthur commanded. You were too slow to respond right away, and he slapped your thigh. “Now, girl.”

Your legs wrapped around his waist. “That's it, just like a whore,” he said as he started driving into you again. “Now tell me, you like it when I fuck you?”

“Y-yes!”

“C'mon, say what you like,” he said softly.

This was embarrassing. Your cheeks burned. But you felt his hand go around your throat and you quickly said, “I like it when you fuck me!”

His hand stayed around your neck and he hummed encouragingly.

“I…” Wracking your air-starved brain for something else to say, you choked out, “Violate me, please don't stop.”

He let go of your neck and fell on you, one hand reaching behind your head to pull your hair again. His thrusts were more erratic now, like he was getting close.

“You my good li’l fuck toy?”

“Yes, yes, I'm yours, all yours.”

“Good, so good… “ he trailed off as his breathing hitched, and you felt him give a few strong thrusts before he moaned loudly, coming deep inside of you.

He reached down then and played with your clit. You were already hovering on the edge, and with a few caresses from his fingers, you came hard around his cock. Arthur didn't stop moving inside of you as you came, heightening the sensation for both of you.

The last thing you felt was him pulling out of you before you passed out.

***

You woke up to warm hands on your skin. You turned and saw your bounty half naked in bed with you, and quickly wondered if you were hallucinating.

“You feel alright?” he asked.

“Um, yeah.” Other than some soreness and probably some bruising at your hips and neck, you felt fine. Your wrists had been untied at some point while you were passed out. You noticed him looking you over before he continued petting you. This was a strange way to wake up after last night's violation; it was almost as if he were a different man, like he had purged all of his demons the moment he came inside of you.

Arthur gently traced the scar on your stomach with his fingers. “Who did that to you?” he muttered.

“Another hunter. Trying to steal my kill,” you say quietly.

“What happened to him?”

You’re puzzled as to why he’s suddenly asking, but answered him regardless. “I got my gun back from him and shot him dead.”

“Good,” he said.

What a strange man.

“Listen,” he finally said after a few moments of silence of him watching your face. “I was trying to scare you off, but, well…” He trailed off as he gestured at the clothes scattered around.

“And I can’t bring myself to kill you now,” he continued. Then he breathed a deep sigh. “But I can’t have you goin’ after me either. So what should I do with you?”

“Just let me go, I'll find some other bounty. But don't let anyone else catch you. You're too easy to track,” you teased.

He chuckled at your banter. “Alright, deal. I won't let anyone else catch me.”

“Besides, if anyone's gonna catch you, it should be me.”

“Is that so? And what happens then?”

“I'd keep you for myself,” you replied, half-jokingly. At this point, you'd be a bit sad if he got caught by anyone else.

He looked at you, a whisper of a smile on his lips. It looked like a thousand thoughts ran through his mind.

“That don't sound too bad,” he finally mumbled.

After a while, you both got dressed in silence and he gave you a ride back to your horse. He held you in front, his arm wrapped around your waist, and you didn't want this to end.

When you saw your horse, you sighed and knew that you had to face reality. A bounty hunter and an outlaw? And you barely knew him. And he just violated the hell out of you. Couldn't you have been attracted to a normal man? No, you had to crave the touch of a dangerous outlaw who was sexy as sin and loved to use your body like a plaything.

But he had held you close, taken care of your needs in a way no one else had, and you couldn't deny the pull he had on you. The hell was wrong with you, you wondered.

He let you down and you trudged towards your horse. You climbed up on his back and patted his neck. Poor fella, left him for too long, you thought.

You looked back up at Arthur, and he was watching you, a mysterious look on his face.

You had to swallow back your first thought, which was “come with me.” Instead, you just casually waved at him. “Catch you later,” you said with a half-grin.

He moved his horse up so he was next to you, reached over and grabbed you behind the neck to pull you in for a scorching kiss.

“Promise me,” he said.

“I promise,” you said shakily. “I promise I'll catch you someday, Arthur Morgan.”

He smirked, let you go, and turned his horse around to gallop into the morning fog.

Against your better judgement, you hoped you'd see him again as you made your way down the mountain.

---------

End Notes: I was contemplating going darker, but I had already written this sappy ending. I don’t know.

#arthur morgan #arthur x reader #dubcon #fanfic #writing #lemon fanfic #nsft #arthur x fem!reader #captured hearts #old fanfic

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purplepersnicketywrites · 6 years

Note

Kiribaku + Coffee Shop AU!!!

there are So Many things you can do with a Coffee Shop AU. the universe is vast, infinite, brimming with potentialahem

so, i’ve technically sort of done a coffeeshop au before (Everybody Knows That Cats Are Independent), though the coffee shop isn’t totally totally focused on all that much, haha. and there’s the daemons thing.

SO FOR THIS

a less oft seen version is Coffee Shop Coworke- NO NO WAIT

COFFEE SHOP RIVALS

they work…. for different Coffee Shops. on the same road in a busy shopping district, just on opposite sides (i’ve seen this in real life with a couple of ice-cream parlours. can’t help but think what kind of WAR that is)

*cracks knuckles* y’all want coffee puns???

Kirishima works at Fourth Grind

and i’m bringing it back because it made me ugly-laugh when i came up with it:

Bakugou works at Best Beanist

so i figure there’s probably like, some of the class working at one, some at the other. for maximum chaos it’s not all bakusquad at one and dekusquad at another. probably some of the class as customers from other local shops who’re there for the Drama to be Regulars at different places. class B? ehhhhhhhhhhh maybe. okay let’s see:

Fourth Grind crew:

Kirishima

Mina

Kaminari

Deku

Iida

Regulars:

Jirou

Aoyama

Satou

Ojirou

Hagakure

Best Beanist crew:

Bakugou

Asui

Uraraka

Sero

Todoroki

Regulars:

Shouji

Tokoyami

Yaoyorozu

Kouda

Anyway yeah, they’re RIVAL SHOPS

So what happens is, Kiri and Baku are really into the rivalry, and no one else is that invested but they let them do their thing. They yell at each other across the street as they’re opening up.

Baku: EAT SHIT, FOURTH GRIND EXTRASKiri: SORRY, WE DON’T HAVE ACCESS TO YOUR BEAN STORAGE

and so it goes.

They start seeing each other in The Wild. Bakugou nearly walks into Kirishima in their local supermarket and they stare at each other with the kill bill sirens going off in their heads, but they don’t want to make a Big Scene in the supermarket by like, brawling or something.

Bakugou accuses Kirishima of having poor taste in coffee. Kirishima says that the taste doesn’t matter as long as it’s quick to make and can buy him extra time. They seethe.

And they keep running into each other, getting into petty squabbles, and going back to their coworkers to Complain. Everyone else is like ‘good, keep your arguments out of work hours’.

The thing is, the further they stray from Coffee Opinions, the more they seem to actually agree on? It’s like they have similar interests or something. How deplorable.

They’re sniping at each other at the supermarket again when some other guy comes up and starts a different argument with Bakugou - probably a rude customer from the coffee shop - and the thing is that Kiri and Baku have the same opinion on that, and they argue from the same side for once and crush the guy.

He leaves, defeated. Kiri and Baku nod at each other and continue doing their own things, minus the sniping.

Now, meanwhile, all the other Fourth Grind and Best Beanist employees? They’re friends. They hang out together. They all earn minimum wae doing basically the same job and they’re gonna have a party to try and get everyone to de-stress a little.

Baku: ew socialising? with the ENEMY?Uraraka: the company is our enemy, BakugouSero: yeah! rail against the corporate scumbags! not the other beleagured workers like usBaku: i can do bothTodo: are you afraid of a party?Baku: wtF NO i just hate partiesTsu: there will be free foodBaku: …I’m in

Kiri: hey i need to find the Worst Possible Outfit, MinaMina, over the phone: this is to annoy Bakugou, isn’t it?Kiri: i’ve never PLANNED to be in the same place as him before. i gotta go all in. it’s gotta be memorable. which pair of crocs should i use?Mina: just ask him out alreadyKiri, spluttering: WHAT NO I DON’t- WHAT- I- NO MINAMina, sighing: i’ll be there in five

So the party is happening. everyone’s chilling. there are some other people some of the workers have invited, it’s a relaxed atmosphere.Bakugou and Kirishima are staring daggers at each other from across the room

Baku, internally: WHAT IS HE WEARING WHAT THE FUCKKiri, internally: Mina is a LIAR I do NOT have a crush on him,,, that’s ridiculous we are EnemiesBaku, marching up to Kiri: ARE THOSE FUCKING CROCS?Kiri, noticing suddenly that Baku is wearing Relatively Nice Party Clothes instead of work uniform or random casual clothes: forgets words for five whole secondsBaku: OI ARE YOU DEAFKiri: NO I’M GAY

Kiri’s panicking internally. Why is Mina always right? But Bakugou just loses it laughing. Kiri is… extremely mega triple gay.

Baku, still amused: well i guess that explains your whole outfitKiri: thanks, i put it together for youKiri, internally: i did not authorise that sentenceBaku: fuckin hell, you want me to tear my eyes out?Kiri: that was the aim, yep.

They actually manage to hold a pretty civil conversation after that. Kiri might have been flirting a little (by accident) but he kept it subtle.

After the party, he goes into Full Gay Crisis Mode and complains to Mina at work. She consoles him. And rolls her eyes.

Kiri: what do I do? ? ? we’re COMPETITORSMina: i can ask Tsu for his numberKiri: why does your girlfriend know Bakugou’s numberMina: Mina: Asui TsuyuKiri: …FROM BEANIST?Mina: WHY DON’T YOU KNOW THIS? Kami: why doesn’t he know what?Mina: that i’m dating a Beanist, apparentlyKami: oh lmaoKiri: IT NEVER CAME UPKami: why forKiri: none of your-Mina: he likes BakugouKami: huhDeku: who likes him?Kami: Kirishima, apparentlyMina: it’s trueKiri: unfortunately…..Deku: you like….. Kacchan. Blond Kacchan. Angry Kacchan. Kiri: yes and it sucksIida: WH Y ARE YOU ALL IN THE BACK IT’S NOT BREAK TIME???

Kiri goes through like, three crises after learning that Mina's girlfriend is from the Other Coffee Shop. he declines asking her for Baku's number, and says he'd prefer to get it himself

things continue on mostly like before except now when Kiri and Baku see each other and find something to argue about, it's no longer as hostile. they're just bickering because they enjoy bickering, and Kiri keeps flirting with Baku (mostly by accident at first)

the problem is - he can't get a read on the other guy. is he reciprocating? is he oblivious? is he ignoring it?

meanwhile Bakugou goes home every time they meet and frantically googles stuff like'i hate this guy but i don't want to punch him any more''what does it mean when you want to see someone so you can fight with them when you don't actually want to fight with them''is seeing a colour and being reminded of someone psychic warfare''what stage of anger affects the heart and stomach''why am i happy to see my arch enemy'

Google: i diagnose you with Crush

Bakugou is Furious that google could come to such a conclusion. So furious, in fact, that he rants about it to his coworkers, who all sort of look at each other with resigned expressions.

Uraraka, Todoroki, Tsu and Sero: ...you have a crush on Kirishima?Baku: NO I JUST SAID THAT I DON'T AND GOOGLE IS WRONG(Tsu, texting Mina: Bakugou has a crush on KirishimaMina: oh sweet)Ura: it's okay to have feelings, BakugouBaku: SHUT UP I DON'T HAVE ANYTodo: i find that hard to believe.Baku: YOU DON'T HAVE FEELINGS YOU REPRESSED BASTARDSero: oh so you're not repressed, Bakugou?Baku: OF FUCKING COURSE NOTSero: so you DO have feelingsBaku: FUCKTsu: alright Bakugou, you don't have a crush on Kirishima.Baku: ExactlyTsu: but you do look forwards to seeing him and spending time with himBaku: ...Tsu: you think about him in a variety of unrelated situationsBaku: ..I...Tsu: and your stomach goes fluttery when you doBaku: .........fuck

So Baku has his own Gay Crisis to work through.

The next time they see each other in the wild, Bakugou's like: okay. act normal.

Baku: HEY KIRISHIMAKiri: BakugouBaku: ....Kiri: ....Baku: ....Kiri: uh what's up?Baku: NOTHING I HAVE TO GOKiri: ...???Baku, internally: nailed itBaku, internally: wait no i didn't wtf happenedBaku, internally: I HAVEN'T MOVEDKiri: dude are you okayBaku: i'm fine.Kiri: ... are you?? leaving?????Baku: i changed my mindKiri: oh okay.Baku: ...Kiri: ...Mina and Tsu, who happened to be on a date, saw Bakugou stomping up to Kirishima and decided to watch from a bush Mina pulled them into: wow they're bad at this

It’s the most awkward interaction they’ve ever had, because both parties know about their own feelings and they’re trying to work out what the other thinks and they’re just. Staring at each other.

Bakugou decides to bite the bullet.

Baku: KIRISHIMAKiri: ah! dude, i'm right hereBaku: date meKiri: whatMina and Tsu: !!! oh he just went for it okayBaku: Date. Me.Kiri: what. I mean, YES but? ? what? ???? ?

They exchange numbers and just sort of... grin at each other for a few more minutes. Idiot boys. Then they part ways and start textin each other and arrange a date.

It goes really well. They actually do get on when they’re not trying to find things to pick at each other about. And Kiri is definitely flirting and Baku is flirting back and it’s just an all-around success. Baku walks Kiri home and they smooch outside his door.

They show up to work the day after the date both of them are like 'hhhhhh' the whole time because the date was so fun and they’re both still pretty giddy about it.

Bakugou is noticeably less crabby and actually tells Uraraka she's doing a good job at one point

Ura, crying slightly out of fear of the unknown: who ARE youTsu: Kirishima's boyfriendBaku: not yetSero: but soon?Baku: fuck yeahTodo: so you DO have a crush on him.

meanwhile Kirishima is sparkling all over Fourth Grind. like, beaming. radiant. clearly head-over-heels.

Kami: what happened?Mina: Bakugou asked him out and they went on a dateDeku: sorry did- did you say Kacchan asked him? not the other way around?Mina: yeah i was there it was hilariousIida: please,,, please wait until your breaks to discuss these things i can't hold the line all by myself

and the rest is just mushy happily-ever-after stuff. they bicker about their tastes in coffee, of course, but the rivalry has turned into Competitive Flirting and now they yell sappy things and stupid pick-up lines at each other when they’re opening up instead of insults

#kiribaku #bakushima #reply #anon #ask meme

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neverwatchedonepiece · 6 years

Text

479-480: “The Scaffold at Last! the Way to Ace Has Opened!” and “Each On Different Paths! Luffy Vs. Garp!”

Right there with you, Luffy! Never thought I’d be so glad to see a scaffold. xD

Another two solid episodes, with a daring rescue courtesy of Mr 3 at the end! @supramp9000 asked me for a prediction to what he was doing, sneaking away and I GOT IT!

Sort of. I mentioned Mr 3 moulding wax inside a lock to create a key copy. I thought he was going to open a gate somewhere and let all the escaping pirates out (because who would guess Hancock’s key would snap?). Never thought he’d mould a skeleton key while falling. Oda and those damned curve balls. Always ruining my predictions.

Also, I want to watch more episodes a week (I haven’t done the math but if I don’t pick up the pace, Luffy will find the One Piece before I’m caught up). The last entry took me three hours to put together and, to be honest, it was way too long. Folk would have sprained fingers scrolling down on the app, so I’m going to try and shorten the entries a bit. I was too obsessed with trying to catch every little detail (so I could say, “Ha, I predicted it!”) but if I miss something, I miss something. That’s why you guys are here. :)

Conqueror’s Haki Fallout and Perceptions

Now I know Luffy didn’t execute a Shanks-scale mass fainting, the hype from 478 is not as strong. In a way, that’s better because it means Luffy has room to improve (which makes his development more interesting to watch, story-wise).

The reactions to it were interesting too.

Akainu and Ivankov both noticed Luffy’s use of it was unconscious. The law of shounen dictates he must train to now use it consciously. I’m in the middle of Boku no Hero Academia right now and it’s interesting that Luffy’s situation is the opposite to Midoriya’s. Luffy has all the natural talent and has to work to consciously use it, while Midoriya is very conscious of figuring out how to handle the unnatural power he’s been given and has to work to use it unconsciously. I’m guessing shounen heros fall into one of these two categories. But where would you place Gon from HxH? Is he both? (I’m a sucker for shounen anime. It’s an addiction. halp!)

Kizaru was surprised Luffy had so much power. As soon as he realised this, he ordered his soldiers to take out Strawhat nao, damn it! Does this show an increased level of respect? Will Kizaru stop shit-talking Luffy?

True to form, Aokiji didn’t say much at all (what is this man’s game?) Whitebeard didn’t say much either but you could tell he was surprised - and maybe pleased?

Whitebeard’s Legacy

It’s hard watching Whitebeard, who is the loveliest pirate ever to sail, suffering so much, though he would hate me for saying so because his Sea Dad Pride is strong.

Luffy’s haki seems to be a turning point. Once he saw that, he ordered his men to back up Luffy “with all your strength!” and said to himself, ”You have the middle initial D. Show me how the world will be in years to come.” Oda reinforced this by having Ivankov notice and say to Luffy, “The strongest pirate in the world his putting his hopes in you.”

After the haki, Whitebeard has faith in Luffy. I’d hesitate to say he’s passing the torch because if Ace does get out of this, Whitebeard cannot have placed his hopes in two people. He’d back Ace for Pirate King out of loyalty to his son. Luffy ain’t a son. But still... maybe this is a sign of Whitebeard’s respect for a new, Shanks-style rival who will take the Old Ways into the New Era.

Love how Jimbei disobeyed and defended Whitebeard. That fishman’s loyalty is unbreakable. Yes, he is there to defend Luffy, but his ultimate loyalty is to Ace and Whitebeard.

Help From Everyone

Now I’m neck deep in Boku no Hero Academia, I can make more parallels. Luffy does resemble Midoriya in a way. He accepts and is grateful for help if it gets him where he needs to go. I think Luffy, though, being on the grey side, would accept it from (almost) anyone. Maybe Midoriya is more honourable. Can’t make that judgement yet, as I’m only 29 episodes in.

The help list for 479 includes:

Crocodile and Daz Bones: cannot believe Daz Bones deflected Mihawk’s swipes. Even though he had to be bailed out by Crocodile, that was impressive. He’s stronger than I thought.

Boa Hancock: I love how cleverly she’s balancing helping out Luffy and retaining her status as a Shichibukai. More than any of the others, she has an entire nation relying on her, whom she has to protect. If she discards her status, a Buster Call might descend on her island. She’s found a way to protect Luffy and her people. Nice. Also, random observation: I know she can’t do this in battle because it would reveal her motives, but can Hancock turn the Kumas to stone?

Inazuma and Ivankov: Ivankov’s hair is like Mary Poppins’ bag except instead of hatstands, he pulls out revolutionaries. That moment when Inazuma cut a ribbon of concrete and made a path for Luffy was awesome. With Ivankov guarding the path below, Luffy had a clear run.

Grandpa Garp

Except Grandpa Garp stood in the way. Cannot lie, this was a tense moment. I wondered whether Garp would go full Lawful Good and actually fight his adorable, rubbery grandson. If he had, he would have lost character points from me. I mean, if he had, I would have understood why, but still... he’s Garp. Don’t think I’m hypocritical, though. If Luffy had killed Garp, he would have lost points too.

At it was, Garp did put on the show. He did try to steel his resolve. “I’ve been fighting pirates since before you were born! If you wanna pass through here, you’re gonna have to kill me first - because of the path you have chosen to live!”

That was the cliffhanger point, so I was left in suspense for a while. Must have killed manga readers who were caught up at that point. I can only imagine the mess of speculation on the forums.

Then, in 480, came the flashbacks. It was basically Garp’s Monkey Training Camp and Garp’s Gorilla Training Camp, wherein Garp worried if Luffy hated him because he was an intimidating Grandpa. Nah, Garp. Luffy has never hated you. You could see the fear in his eyes at the thought of having to kill or hurt you to reach Ace. Plus, you swiped food from the Marines to give him a post-training feast and carried him on your back when he was too sleepy to walk. Luffy knows you love him.

And he’ll definitely know now that you looked him in the eye and could not go through with your threat, choosing to take that punch rather than harm a hair on Luffy’s head. Sengoku noticed too. I hope he doesn’t blame Garp for it. (But in a way, I kind of hope he does. I’m holding out for a Monkey D. Family Revolutionary Reunion!)

And then... finally...

Luffy reached the scaffold and Sengoku lifted a finger! There was a point when Luffy grabbed onto the platform where I thought, Sengoku, if you kick him off I will flip a fucking table... But no! He actually revealed his power. Or a bit of it, anyway. I have no clue how it works. He stole rivets from the scaffold to aid his transformation into a bonafide massive gold Buddha. Enel would have been very interested in Sengoku, haha.

Funnily enough, Kizaru was the one who really hampered Luffy’s rescue effort. He sniped the key from a distance (that guy is hyper competent) and Luffy was left floundering for a moment.

Then Mr 3 stepped up. That was a masterpiece twist. I was not expecting him to appear, so I legit cheered. I liked how Oda gave him a motivation to help Luffy. Mr 3 is doing it for Bon-chan, whose friendship with Luffy never wavered and who never ran in the face of adversity. Now I come to think of it, Mr 3 and Bon-chan must have been pretty good friends, as Luffy and Mr 3 were the ones who were really left mourning on the ship post-Impel Down. Good for you, Galdino. Be inspired by Bon-chan. He’d love it if he knew.

There was a large KABOOM at the very moment of rescue. Then a moment of tension, obscured by fire and a smoke.

That moment when Ace, Luffy and Mr 3 emerged from a pillar of fire was worth the watch. Will Ace cut loose and fight his way out? How will the Whitebeards escape? I don’t think for one minute that Sengoku will let them walk away.

I KNOW, RIGHT?? ^_^

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thegrimllama · 7 years

Text

problematic powers

AO3 - PT2

If you asked Kara Danvers about her most problematic superpower, she’d lie.

It wasn’t that she wasn’t grateful for her abilities, how could she not be? The allowed her to save countless lives on a daily basis. It was just… Sometimes super-hearing could get a little awkward.

Usually Kara could block these things out. She could just… tune into a nearby radio or television. She was still following the problematic relationship between Eric on the third floor of her building and his boyfriend Dwayne, honestly they really just needed to sit down and have a conversation rather than sniping at each other over kale smoothies.

Unfortunately for Kara, her ability to block these things had severely diminished over the last few weeks.

It started innocently enough. Kara subconsciously zeroing in on Lena’s heartbeat before she fell asleep. To be fair, she didn’t even know it was Lena’s, just that it was familiar, steady, and left her feeling warm and full.

After a week, she finally clicked as to where the sound was coming from, her focus slipping slightly as the sound of bare legs on silk sheets tweaked at the edges of her attention span. She quickly put a stop to that thought, knowing exactly where her mind would go, it had been nearly eight months since her last relationship, and her best friend was hot. There was no denying that.

Somehow, her brain had decided that Lena’s heartbeat was the perfect thing to focus on when everything seemed too much. Which wouldn’t usually be a problem, a steady heartbeat was a solid grounding device for Kara. It reminded her that Lena was safe, Lena was alive… And now it was telling her that Lena had an elevated heart rate.

The first night she’d noticed it, she’d been relaxing in front of netflix, a little earlier than usual, when she noticed the rhythm slowly changing, elevating at a gradual pace. Maybe Lena was at the gym. That was a plausible explanation.

Only Lena had messaged her earlier, on the way home from the gym…

Kara, poor innocent Kara… She decided that Lena’s safety was paramount, so she focused that extra little bit, pausing the movie, only to hear the familiar slip of skin against silk and a soft sigh fall from her best friends lips.

Oh.

Kara nearly dropped the remote in her haste to hit the play button, forcing her attention back to the television, her heart racing.

Kara wasn’t a prude.

Not at all.

She just knew that what Lena did in the privacy of her bedroom was none of her business. And if Kara happened to be entirely too worked up to fall asleep later that night? What she did in the privacy of her own bedroom was her own business.

***

It got worse.

Worse, as in Kara accidentally putting her hand through Alex’s front door, when she realised that she was once again invading Lena’s privacy.

Worse, as in snapping three pens during a fifteen minute CatCo staff meeting, spraying James in blue ink because Lena was attempting to offset a stressful morning.

So it wasn’t surprising, to Kara at least, when, just four days after the pen incident, Supergirl was caught on camera, seemingly losing concentration, and flying straight into a building.

Alex was out of her mind with worry. She’d immediately demanded Kara fly to the DEO for a once over.

It was awkward, sitting in front of Alex, pleaded that she was fine while her sister switched on the red sunlamps and began to prep the ECG machine.

“Alex, I’m fine!”

Alex rolled her eyes, “You always say that. Kara, you just hit a building for no apparent reason!”

Kara felt her face flush, hoping that Alex wouldn’t notice the redness blossoming across her chest, “I…”

“Kara?” Alex folded the cords and tucked them back into the holder, she rounded on Kara, arms folding across her chest.

Crap.

“Alex?”

“Wanna tell me what happened?” Alex switched of the sunlamps and took a seat next to her sister, picking up on her embarrassment.

“Not really.”

“Tough. You’re not leaving until I know why the DEO now has a $40 000 repair bill.”

Kara huffed, “Lena.”

Alex stopped, her hand landing on Kara’s arm, “What did she do? Kara…?”

Kara spluttered and jumped away from Alex’s hand, “Alex… She didn’t do anything to me… She… She was…”

Alex must have been able to sense Kara’s discomfort from across the room, “She was what…? Did you accidentally see her naked while flying past? Is that it?”

“Rao, I wish that was it…” Kara slapped a hand across her mouth as Alex’s eyes widened, “No! Not like that! I’m just… gonna say it. Sometimes when I’m really relaxed or just zoned out… My hearing locks onto her heartbeat. Sometimes she might be relieving herself of certain urges, sometimes… I might hear her… doing that and I just… It’s done, I’m sorry it happened… Can I go home now?”

Kara looked up to see her sister staring at the ceiling, attempting to control her breathing, “So… you’re telling me that you heard Lena… servicing herself… and crashed into a building?”

“Yes. Yeah, okay! That’s exactly what happened. And now I can’t stop thinking about it, oh my God…”

Alex laughed. A full blown, stomach clutching, belly laugh. “Oh my God!”

“Alex, please…” Kara screwed her eyes shut, embarrassment still warming her face. It was bad enough that Kara was being unintentionally pervy, but telling her sister about it? That was a dumb move on her part.

Alex sucked in a breath, “Okay, I’m sorry. Wait… does she… know? About you?”

“God, no and I hope she never finds out because I swear to Rao that I won’t be able to look her in the eyes again.”

***

It got worse.

As in… Kara waking up to the sound of Lena’s quiet moans, the sound of Lena’s body moving against the sheets, the slick movements of Lena’s fingers as she brought herself closer to release.

Kara let out a gasp at the throb of heat that raged through her body before she had a chance to drown out the sounds that had woken her. Why was it so hard to drown it out? Kara lay staring at the ceiling, the wet fabric between her legs taunting her as she steadied her breathing.

This needed to stop.

***

For the second time in the space of two weeks, Kara had woken up, face flushed, underwear drenched, her hand between her thighs. She groaned, removing her hand as soon as she realised what was happening. She could still hear Lena, still hear the quick, solid thumps of her heartbeat… Fuck Kara, stop it! Kara crossed her legs, hoping to relieve some of the pent up pressure that was still teeming inside of her. She ground her teeth, Lena’s moans still loud and clear. If Kara tried, she could probably imagine Lena, hair splayed across the sheets, face shining with… NO!

Kara sped out of bed and into the bathroom, stripping out of her clothes. She stepped under the shower head, turning the cold water on fully.

***

It was a week before Kara was comfortable being face to face with Lena. She knew that Lena needed to know, and she needed to know sooner rather than later, because the longer Kara dragged it out, the creepier it seemed.

She created the plan. She was going to execute the plan and Lena would hopefully not hate her for listening in on her…

Lena had texted Kara, earlier in the day, asking her if she was free for dinner after work. Kara had promptly agreed to dinner and told Lena to be at her apartment for takeout and netflix.

When Lena agreed, Kara dialled Alex’s number and told her the plan, “No Super business… For the love of Rao, just one night off.” Kara could hear Maggie cackling in the background and suspected that Alex had already filled her girlfriend in on Kara’s predicament.

By the time 6 o’clock rolled around, Kara was completely ready. She’d psyched herself up, practiced her I-Am-Supergirl speech and picked up a bag of Lena’s favourite donuts, as well as an assortment of chinese food.

Unfortunately, Kara had overestimated her readiness. Lena was five minutes late, due to traffic, and every minute that Kara waited, her resolve waned.

Her hands shook with anticipation as she followed Lena’s heartbeat, listening to it speed up as she got out of the car.

Lena seemed nervous.

Kara was already waiting by the door when Lena knocked. She barely waited a second before swinging the door open and pulling Lena inside.

“Hi!”

“Were you waiting by the door?” Lena asked, toeing her heels off, and leaving her coat on the chair. Kara shrugged and placed Lena’s bag down on the bench.

“I just… I missed you this week.”

Kara wasn’t sure if it was a trick of the light, but she was pretty sure Lena blushed.

***

It had now been nearly two hours since Lena had arrived and Kara had still not spilled her secret. She looked down at Lena, sprawled against Kara’s side, smiling at the jokes being made on the television. Kara reached over her and grabbed the remote, hitting the pause button, leaving Lena looking slightly confused.

Kara steeled herself, “I have a confession to make.” She felt Lena rearrange her body, so she could see Kara’s face. She nodded, encouraging Kara to continue. “I’m an alien.”

Lena’s face stayed blank, her defense face, the one she used at L-Corp, “You’re telling me now because…?”

Kara sighed, “Because I want you to know. I don’t want to have secrets from you, if I have to fly off mid…”

“Wait… Fly off?”

Kara shrugged, “I’m Supergirl?”

She watched Lena’s face blanch for a moment, “You don’t sound so sure about that.”

“Oh, I’m definitely sure…” Kara blushed. “Are you okay?”

Lena chuckled slightly, taking it in stride, “Now that I think about it, I’m not surprised. Not at all. And I appreciate you not wanting to keep secrets.”

***

She didn’t tell Lena.

The Girl of Steel chickened out.

And now she was lying half awake in bed, listening to Lena finish her evening routine. She’d almost fallen asleep when she heard the zip of Lena’s dress drop, followed by the soft sound of fabric hitting the floor. Kara felt her body respond immediately to the thought of Lena in her underwear.

A few seconds later, Lena was sliding into bed, and before Kara knew it, Lena’s heart was beginning to race. She could hear Lena getting herself into a comfortable position, the silk sheets slipping down her body as her hand… The sounds Lena made…

Oh Rao...

Kara could hear it all. She knew there would be no stopping her if she continued to listen in, so she panicked and picked up her phone. She heard the familiar ringtone, and an amused grown from her friend.

“Yes, Kara…”

Kara sucked in a breath, her voice a barely restrained whisper, “I know what you’re doing and I need you to stop.”

She heard Lena shift slightly, as if she was sitting up, her heartbeat still fluttering. “And what is it you think I’m doing Miss Danvers?”

“I can hear your heartbeat. It’s… almost frantic… I can hear everything...”

Kara heard Lena slip out of bed, the click of a latch soon followed. “Everything?”

It was overwhelming, how aroused Kara was, she was horrified at herself for even entertaining the idea that this phone call might end in anything other than Lena hanging up in disgust.

“Kara? Still with me?”

“Yeah…” She let her head hit the pillow as Lena climbed back into bed, “I can hear your legs against the sheets… You’re not wearing pants.”

“Hmm… Can to take a guess at what else I’m not wearing?”

Kara bit her lip, stretching herself out as quietly as she could, “I heard you undress. That scrap of fabric you call underwear is on the floor, next to your bed.”

Lena’s laugh was taut, desperate even. “Come over?”

#supercorp #SupercorpWeek2k17 #grims fics #there is another 400 words of this currently in hiding because I'm too awkward

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ashtail-scribbles-blog · 7 years

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Found: One Stray, No Tags (Chapter Three)

Summary: Alfredo wants very few things in his life after his last gang falls apart. He wants a quiet life with his plants and his games. To make some connections. But Los Santos is a grinder, it takes people like him and twists them, bends them to its will.

He makes a mistake. He crosses the wrong people and now he has to serve in the most feared crew in an effort to avoid a harsher punishment. But in a world where magic is in half the population and there’s a family in the crew who holds his leash, maybe he can find a something a little better than debts paid.

Rating: M

Tags: GTA AU, Magic, Crew as Family, Found Family

Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence

At ten to ten the next morning, just as the orderly was settling Alfredo's arm in a sling, there was a knock. "Come in." He called out and a there was a brief hesitance before it opened to reveal a runty looking kid in slacks and a polo.

"I'm your escort this morning, Mr. Diaz. Are you ready to go?" Alfredo looked towards his orderly who nodded.

"You're as good as you're going to be, dude. I've put the pain killers and antibiotics in your pack. Caleb will be by nightly for the next week for some spot healing." He turned towards the escort and handed him a manilla envelope. "These are his care instructions. They're to go straight to Mr. Ramsey or Ms. Pattillo, whichever you see first." The escort nodded, though Alfredo swore he saw his face crease in annoyance for a minute before it smoothed back out into a mask of professionalism.

"Of course. Now, right this way Mr. Diaz. The boss is expecting us by ten-thirty and there's a little backed up traffic on our route." Alfredo grabbed his little pack of medical supplies and medications and followed the escort out of the facility to a sleek black SUV. It took a little bit of doing, and the escort was no help, but eventually he made it into the SUV and settled himself in.

He was seldom on this side of the city, so he tried to enjoy the sights of it, even as nerves built in his gut. While he knew he wasn't being driven towards his death, he was still understandably nervous. He was restricted in his activities for the next week, Caleb had said as much, but as soon as his spot healing was done, who knew what kinds of things they'd make him do.

"We're here, Mr. Diaz. You'll go in the front and the building secretary will let you up. I need to get the car put away and find someone to hand these documents off to." Alfredo sighed and grabbed his pack, shimmying out of the vehicle carefully. He hissed as his chest twisted a little. God this was so annoying. He felt like a kid waiting for his first day at a new school. Except with a lot more guns and explosions.

The lobby of the building was all sleek glass and silver metal and he felt out of place in his scrubs and looking beat up. Luckily, the front desk was easy to find and the secretary was warm and welcoming. She compared his face against an image one of the bosses had given her and then handed him a paper badge. It would get him in the penthouse elevator today, until a more permanent solution was settled upon.

And at last he was on his way up, the glass elevator giving him a fairly spectacular view of the city. Ten floors, twenty, up and and up and up until it dinged on the 70th floor. The penthouse. He swiped the badge and the elevator slid open, revealing a hallway. A very nice hallway. Soft cream carpets and dark wood paneling and various plants lent it a very nice look, and one would never guess that it was the entryway to the home of one of the most feared crews in the states. Scattered about were pairs of shoes and jackets, little touches that made it look lived in.

"You must be Alfredo!" He would never admit the noise that left him as he startled at the new voice and his head whipped in the direction of the voice. The woman the voice belonged to was reasonably tall, curvy, with long red locks falling around her shoulders. It took his brain a minute to put a name to a face.

Jack Pattillo, second in command and ace pilot of the FAHC crew.

"No need to be scared." At Alfredo's incredulous look she chuckled a little. "Well, not so scared anyway. Geoff had to deal with a last minute problem, so I'll be handling introductions today. Come on in for now. I just put breakfast on the table and the others should be waking up shortly." She turned around and started in, obviously expecting Alfredo to follow.

So follow he did. He paused just long enough to toe off the sandals the hospital had given him and then padded in after her. The penthouse was just as neat and modern as the hallway, but definitely looked lived in. It was open and bright, the carpet underfoot sinfully soft. Scattered around were books and games and hoodies and other odds and ends. It was a home. Did they all live here?

"It's nice, isn't it? Took a while to get everything right but we make it work." He nodded and followed her into what he guessed was a dining room. The table was dark wood and practically groaning under the weight of all the food that was on it. Eggs, bacon, toast, waffles and more. At his surprised look Jack laughed, the sound echoing in the bright room like bells.

"Geoff invited B-Team over as well, so you can meet everyone in one swoop. Even without them though the lads eat enough for double the people and Ryan's no slouch either." She settled herself comfortably at a seat to the left of the head chair and gestured to the chair next to her. "Help yourself while it's fresh and the hoard hasn't gotten to it."

He placed his bag under the chair and grabbed the plate. He was still on soft solids, would be for another week thanks to the combination of injuries and medications, but in this case he wasn't limited overmuch in his options. A piece of the lighter toasted bread with butter, a scoop of eggs and a smaller waffle drenched in syrup were placed onto his plate. He deliberated over a few other things before deciding against them. No sense in eating himself sick.

"You don't want anymore?" Alfredo shook his head. Even without his restricted choices, his appetite had always been weird when he was on anything stronger than tylenol. Instead of pushing it, as he feared she would, Jack merely smiled at him gently and dished her own plate. They ate in surprisingly comfortable silence, and while it didn't completely do away with his apprehension, it was nice.

Slowly, people began to filter in through the door. Most only spared him a glance before descending on the food and some not even that. By the time the table was full, lacking only Geoff and Trevor, Alfredo had been coaxed into a cup of tea by Jack and was watching as everyone slowly came alive. Conversation flickered to life around the table, never breaking a quiet murmur but there was a feeling of burgeoning chaos in the room, like they were just waiting for the thing that would set them off.

Finally, as most people were finishing eating, Jack sat forward in her chair. Instantly everyone's attention was on her and, by default, him as well. "So, as everyone knows, we've procured ourselves someone for the crew." That was...a nice way for putting it. "Everyone, this is Alfredo. Once he's healed up, he'll be driving and sniping for us, as well as some day to day errands." The table murmured greetings and Alfredo nodded, trying to look more confident than he felt.

"Alfredo, going around the table starting next you is Matt, Lindsay, Mica, Andy, Larry, Michael, Gavin, Jeremy and Ryan. You've met Geoff, Trevor and Caleb already. Matt, Mica, Andy and Larry are B-Team. Lindsay runs B-Team and they handle the minions, security and minor deals." He waved with his good arm and got assorted waves and grins back.

"Jeremy, Michael and Gavin do their own thing outside of heists, and they handle a lot of the mid-teir and high-end deals, especially with our subordinate crews. Ryan handles information and day-to-day enforcement." Alfredo figured he also handled gathering that information, using whatever means required but he wasn't stupid enough to do more than think that.

"Ryan's requested your help starting next week. You'll be helping me in the meantime, and we'll use that time to get you an ID for the building and get you geared up." As Jack was talking the others were leaving. Michael, Gavin and Jeremy hovered for a bit before Jack sent them a sharp look and they scuttled, all without saying anything. Ryan leveled him with a blue gaze, black hair cascading around his shoulders.

And then he smiled.

Alfredo startled again in his chair and Ryan's gaze turned amused and warm. This was the Vagabond. Why was he smiling at him?! Ryan rose from the table and started gathering up the dishes. "I'll handle this. You look exhausted. You should rest while you can. The Lads are...excited you're here and they won't be so easily cowed this afternoon." The man set about his work with a contented easiness and Jack seemed to agree with his sentiment because she grabbed his bag and began to usher him out of the dining hall.

"Caleb warned us you'll be easily tired for the first week, so this week is gonna be nice and easy. And he's right. I love those boys but they're not gonna be content until they've cornered you for a while, so the more rested you are the better." Cornered him? Oh he didn't like the sound of that really, but he doubted there was much he could do.

The hall split off in a couple directions. "Down the left and right halls are the bedrooms. You'll be on the same sides as the Lads, since it's the larger one. Down the center hall is the office, the planning room and a small armory. We own this entire building. On the floor below us is the gym and the entertainment area. Your pass will get you there as well, so feel free to come and go in your free time."

Her hand was gentle but firm on his back. They passed three doors, two across from each other and one by itself. Each had a sign painted on it, an emblem. There was the bear on one door and across from that the door was painted with a golden eagle. Down the hall a pretty decent way, almost startlingly so, was a door painted with a monster truck. The door across from the monster truck was blank but there they stopped.

"You'll need to pick an emblem eventually, but this is your room. There's some clothes in the en suite if you need them. Someone will wake you when they want you." Here she smiled, and it filled him with a lot of warmth as she handed him his pack. "I know there were some...concerns about your apartment, but I think you'll like this." She patted his shoulder and wandered off out of sight.

Alfredo didn't move at first, almost afraid to. What was he going to find behind the door? There was really only one way to find out, and he could already feel tiredness dragging at his body. He just wanted to lie down somewhere and sleep it off. He was due another dose of medication as well. Steeling himself, he opened the door and stepped in.

He stopped in surprise. The room was...nicer than he expected? He had been expecting something spartan, a place they would have him close at hand for when they needed him, but he hadn't expected them to do much beyond provide him a place.

The floor had that same sinfully soft carpet as the hallways in a soft slate gray and there were touches of seafoam and grass green and white in the bedding and the couch. It was bright and warm and he felt...not safe, because he didn't think he could ever feel safe this deep in enemy territory but, settled maybe? Less like he was under the gun and more like he was protected enough for the moment to wind down.

He looked around a little more, trying to get the lay of the land. His plants were here! Settled around the room his lovingly cultivated ivies and ferns were vibrant splashes of color, his little cactus sat on the bedside table and his succulents were in pride of place next to a sturdy looking desk where sat his laptop and the unmistakable shapes of his sketchbooks. There was a reasonably sized TV across from the couch and his game collection was neatly shelved.

It was all his stuff. Everything that had made his apartment home was here. Had they done this? Why? To make him feel welcome? Or to lure him into a false sense of security? Were they playing a long con here? Make him feel welcome, like he was part of the crew, one of them? What would happen then? Would Geoff call his debt paid and he'd find himself out on his own again, bereft of the people he had to come to-what? Protect? Call his own? Love? The trinket on his wrist tinkled as he tugged at his hair angrily. He pulled his arm down to look at his wrist and disgust, hot and suffocating, pooled in his chest. Collared. Like a fucking dog. This had to be a mockery of their tattoos, letting everyone know who owned him now, but making it obvious it was only temporary.

He groaned aloud and fished into his pack for his medicine and a bottle of water, with a handy flip cap for one-handed use, and he took his dose and growled softly to himself. He was so tired, and his chest was beginning to throb in time with his heartbeat. The bed looked amazing, huge and soft, with plenty of pillows. It was obviously going for welcoming, but all it did was cause Alfredo's head to churn with distrust. He stood there for a minute, oscillating between heading for the bed or the couch or even the floor but eventually exhaustion and pain and medication won out and he trudged towards the bed. He peeled back the covers and slid underneath, an involuntary happy sigh leaving him as he was cradled by plush blankets

He'd done this before, in the time before he clawed his way up the ranks of IGN. Been at the mercy of someone stronger than him, in a higher position of power than him. It was simple, when it boiled down to it. Keep his responses to "yes sir" and "no sir", eyes down, prepared to roll over and show his belly if it made his life easier, kept him out of danger. Back then it had been a matter of getting fed, of keeping himself out of the basement or the ring when the other kids couldn't or wouldn't cooperate. Now it was a matter of keeping himself alive, but the principal was the same. He could do this, just had to find that frame of mind again.

It took some doing to get comfortable, to get the disgusting amount of pillows present to cradle his injuries comfortably but soon, he was drifting off to sleep, his mind still a jumble and his gut still churning, but medicine and exhaustion won out in the end.

#ragehappy #FAHC #GTA AU #Ashtail's scribbles

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ts-akhmim · 4 years

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Episode 8 | ”Being a muppet is a contagious disease. ” - Ali

omg so?! i need to do a proper long confessional and go through my thoughts because i just got like a tsunami of information but... jake lived?! and idoled out scott who i thought was gonna win?! hello?!? i'm so so so excited because now i get to work with jake and he is SUCH a shield, and me/him/autumn are gonna ride off into the sunset im manifesting it.

what the HELL is going on here first jake pulls out an idol (which i was JUST gossipping with jordan pines about him having it because i know just how he plays and would ya look at that!) i was so ELATED to read he did that, thinking ok, i gave him a fair warning those false beauties we're gonna get us all, and they voted him unanimously so surely he'll take one of them out and ... HE TAKES OUT SCOTT?? i dont even have time to process this bafoonery yet because here i am, minding my business, trying to watch micronesia to heal the hole in my heart left by w*nners at w*r, eating a piece of pizza and then BOOM we merge?? but oh ok! they said we get a nice little break, lemme not stress and go back to eating my piz- NOPE THERE IS SO SUCH THING AS A BREAK IN SURVIVOR GORL I SWEAR I PUT MY PHONE DOWN TO GET ONE BITE, I COULDNT EVEN ENJOY MY EXTRA CHEESE BECAUSE MY TELEPHONE IS BLOWING UPPPP people are spilling tea left and right, i probably dont even have time to write this so i gotta keep it short and sweet; the false beautys are really trying to slide in my pms and sing kumbaya and if they wanna sing with me, bring it on because they are not a songstress like i am, ill riff run and harmonize yall right off this island. PERIOD. ive been REALLY trying to play up this card where im just some dumb bitch, let everyone keep thinking im the mayor of boo boo the foolsville, but i know a lot more than i let on so catch the tea on that

i swear for it being our "day off" this sure has been the most work i feel like ive had in a hot minute first of all fuck the tomb but FUCK this pyramid even more the second it was announced i found the extra link to the slide puzzle on the blog within SECONDS but 1) i suck at slide puzzles and 2) MY COMPUTER CRASHED HALF WAY THROUGH IT SO I HAD TO START AGAIN. literally took me 2 hours to finish, so that was embarrassing, then much like how the tomb had questions, this pyramid has a hashi puzzle to solve in EIGHT MINUTES....which i dont even know what the fuck that is sorry to this hashi man i gave a good effort but didnt get it in time, so im gonna try again tomorrow of course but im sure someone who isnt a dumbass had better luck than me and got it so thats that on that ....also gorl some of these people aka kendall really got the audacity, she messages me today and is like IS JAKEY COMING TO YOU SAYING STUFF ABOUT ME TRYING TO PIT US AGAINST EACH OTHER oh gorl, if only you knew its ME going to jakey saying shit about YOU trying to get him against YOU, because your first mistake was trying to prepare an alliance to vote me out, your second mistake was running around telling everyone i have an idol, and your third mistake was making an enemy of jakey, now there's this angry jakey on the loose and im gonna just try to work my magic to tame him and keep him like a pet dragon on my side to get them out and then deal with whether i think ill be able to trust him going foward, but again, i know i voted him out last game so i cant rule out him trying to target me already, especially if somehow worst case scenerio people try to pick us off first for knowing each other also had a call with augusto which was.... interesting, look, i genuinely like him as a person even though i still feel some type of way about him turning fake on me, so i definitely want to maintain a friendship with him even if it's hard for me to just stomach talking to him because of how stupid he must think i am, keep your friends close but your frenemys closer!! then i just had a call with devon too which was also interesting because, i do like him as a person, but idk how to feel about it!!! after all of them lying to me in the beginning im already feeling PTSD and dont know if i can trust anyone, but he gave me some valuable information even more so just reaffirming them all thinking i have the idol which i know is a crock of bs because DAMMIT IVE TRIED I JUST DONT HAVE IT. I know amir has it, it's so obvious to me, maybe augusto?? but i think amir. apparently devon also just kinda said he think he could see the first vote coming down to me or jakey or even him which.......makes me really nervous, i wasnt planning on fighting for immunity at the auction i wouldve rather had an advantage of some sort, but i think with this cast, and the amount of intertwined relationships going into this first tribal, i want that immunity necklace and im gonna do my damndest to get it OKAYYY this game is going to drive me insane, i feel like ive been running my mouth TOO much and talking to too many people and am gonna get voted out for it but i also simultaneously feel like i havent talked to people no where near enough and, am gonna be voted out for it so ???buckle the fuck up ladies we've officially boarded the confusion express so im just gonna try and sit back and enjoy the ride ig

Welp we are on the bottom... shit. I'm going to be honest, this week has not been great for me. Like my real life is slowly going to shit and now my fake life has been screwed. Thanks Jakey... you dick. All is not lost, because out there in the distance is the iconic duo of Jordan Pines and Kendall Duffy AKA Sarah and Woo. You know, Sarah and Woo. That iconic duo in Cagayan. Remember that one time Sarah walked up to Woo and said "Sup I'm Sarah," and he nodded and said "Woo". And that other time they were sitting on the same log laughing at something Tony said? That is stuff of legends man. Okay so genuinely Jordan meant to say Tony and Woo but he accidentally said Sarah and Woo and now this is our legacy. The plan is to play it both ways. As this isn't going to be a simple Pangonging. Obviously a beauty is going to leave but before we all go, they are going to try to get rid of some of the brawns. The goal is that the beauty isn't me and the brawn isn't Jordan. I know you're legally not supposed to trust Jordan Pines but it's never really been the case for me? IDK maybe it's cause he always gets sniped before I betray him. Maybe it's cause the one time he voted me out it was cause I committed suicide by cop. But for the most part he's a realible ally. Also this would be a shitty and stupid lie right? Like he knows I don't have an idol, literally everyone knows that! Trying to get in my good graces is a terrible fucking idea, Jesus. Right now I'm just going to market myself and the others as a free vote. I know it's not realistic to get Augusto and Amir to the finals but it's all I really want. We've been through shit together. I don't want to be put in a position to get them out. I also believe that either Jakey and Ali has the idol. So this round I'm going to flush it. I'm not going to be able to get him out, I just need him to believe he's going to be voted out. He's a very paranoid individual, it shouldn't be too difficult.... I am not going home tonight. I refuse to.

youtube

okay so i haven't done a good typed confessional in a WHILE and i have thoughts. so i'm basically really frustrated with a lot of this tribe and i don't know how to vocalise it. but first the positives.. the fact that i have an alliance of me/autumn/jake brings me such a rush of seretonin, i love them both and i will fight my hardest to get the three of us to the endgame of this game. i think rn my goal final five is me/jake/autumn/adam/devon, adam because i dont think he is playing this game as well as he necessarily thinks he is, but i also think we have trust and he is someone who is scoop-up-able? and then devon i get good energy from him and his straightforward energy i'd like to see in the endgame. the rest however.... whew. well actually Liam is fine, he is sweet and doing his best. of the rest tho... hmm. kendall's energy doesn't quite land with me, her dry sense of humour doesn't really work with me ha so i feel like we are gonna struggle to gel as allies (especially since we are either side of the weird brawn/beauty divide). augusto is very chatty but its a lot of chatting for... the sake of it, like his social game is to just overwhelm you with lots of messages but its nothing of substance. amir i actually like!! he has me-energy, i would actually like him to stick around (he is a good shield too). duncan i am still sus about from premerge, but i'd love to mend that bond because i might need duncan?! tj and jordan both give snake energy... tj is suddenly back to being non-commital with me and it frustrates me, i wish he would like... talk to me KJLSADF. jordan is the same i always get weird energy from him and he was in that weird alliance during the swap and didn't tell me... feel a f10 boot for jordan ideally. honestly its just frustrating i feel like everyone on this tribe is so cagey and like just thinks talking a lot is social game?! and its... not. but yeah ideally first four merge boots: kendall, augusto, tj & jordan (tho the last two is open to consideration if they stop being shady to me KJSDFA).

I just got immunity in the auction and I feel like I wasted a chance to get some long term for my game. Because I wasn't going anywhere this round (I don't think), but like at least it prevented some other people from getting it which allows me some room to make a couple moves without too many repercussions. In terms of social standing, I truly think I have put myself in a good spot. Jakey and Jordan have both said they want me to be their number ones; Devon also has said the same and has told me that he holds the Double Vote. I know that Autumn and Duncan are both willing to work with me in our alliance with Jordan. Liam and I have bonded quite a bit. And I get good vibes from Augusto, Kendall, and Adam. So the big question now is, my target at the moment is Amir... how do I get him out? I need to break up Amir, Augusto, and Kendall so that I have a better chance of working with Augusto specifically down the line and hopefully Kendall as well. I have a feeling that Adam will push for one of the trio and the trio will push for Adam or Jakey, which should give me plenty of ammo to try and make that move. Correction to my last confessional... the trio can't target Jakey because he's immune. Suck it!

i really... really just got my second idol huh... i cant believe it. i bodied that idol hunt, i sat their trying like six hundred combos for the morse code, got that demonic tile and did that evil hashi puzzle... im so happy hehe okay so ignore my super jaded confessional from yesterday im back in again akdjfsaf im literally on a reign of terror doing harsh confessionals then apologising but askdjfafa we move. so yesterday was a real busy day, we had the auction, i called lots of people and... i got myself a little bit of bling. with the auction first, it was really interesting. i misunderstood the "idol block" so i snatched it up, but then it just blocks hunting for the idol versus playing one, but for my mental health am glad i have that. i also got the vote revealer, which was like a mid-tier thing that im happy to have just got a second thing tbh. then i had like six hundred calls kaljsdfas. i called with devon first, he is really sweet and we had a great talk tbh? i really like him and hope we stick together. i did then go on to have very similar conversations to the one i had with him, with augusto and amir, but i felt best about the conversation me and devon had tbh. augusto is sweet, and very social. like i'd prefer to vote him to kendall, but i like him ha and feel like we have a bond now. i think i could be a good number moving forwards (i wouldn't want him gone 11th/10th). amir is also very nice, we are calling tomorrow, and i just dont think targetting amir is in my best interest rn? like what's the end goal in doing that. so then right now. i think i want the merge vote to be kendall? i feel like if we let that trio slide, its scary, and i have a closer connection to amir and augusto of the three. i think then the brawn tribe can turn inwards, but im eager to push the brawn tribe like "implosion" until after that trio is taken apart (to the style of splitting up alex c/jones/mo from montenegro) also otherwise i got an IDOLLL, or rather my second hehe. i put in a LOT of work to get it, i translated morse code, i did a demonic hashi puzzle, i got the 2048 tile. i earned this idol and im very proud. now i have two idols so have such wiggle room. and i'm building bonds across the tribe... im not saying im set, but... im covered for the time being

okay so im a clown and got frustrated with jordan for telling jake he was hesitant to keep me in... jordan just told me he has been downplaying our connection to people like jake KJLSDAFA so i fully just bought into nothing.

i am starting to feel my standing in the game rise, like im building bonds... everywhere. like im starting to become set to go the distance because i have lots of lowkey social bonds and because im not overtly super strategic i dont think i seem as threatening.

okay so ideal merge bootlist: f4: me/autumn/jake/devon, adam (5th), liam/jordan (6th/7th), amir (8th), duncan (9th), augusto (10th), tj (11th), kendall (12th) and then at the moment the order i would vote for people as a juror (bringing this back from montenegro): jake > autumn > amir > jordan > duncan(?) > devon > augusto > adam > tj > kendall > liam because i think jake has already idoled someone, and to make it to f3 after that is super impressive. autumn is a queen, has real strategic savvy and will have made moves to get to the end. amir is very much like autumn and him making it to the end. jordan is an amazing player and tbh deserves a win. duncan is really in game-mode and id love to see him in FTC (what a role reversal), devon has a real rootable underdog story, augusto is a social king, adam needs to pick it up beyond just targetting beauties to get my vote. tj/kendall are question marks for me, and then liam i LOVE but he doesn't necessarily 100% want to be here so i would be tentative to vote him. but its crazy because i think: jake/autumn/devon/adam/liam/jordan/amir/duncan... all trust me to some extent that's... such a large portion of the tribe. so i need to be careful im not scorning people too much, but this is a real work-able situation i think ahh

Interesting development that both Kendall and Amir want/wanted to call and talk to me. I just finished talking to Kendall (she is so sweet, I enjoy talking to her!) and I definitely see an avenue where we work together, but I am concerned that there does seem to be a guard up, which I totally understand given that we haven't been on a tribe together. We both kind of mentioned that Liam has been flirting with the idea of asking to be voted out which gave me an avenue to not say that the name I would throw out is Amir. I do hope that Liam isn't adamant about going because I truly do care for him and want him to stay in this game. I picked up a great ally in him after the initial Brawn vote and losing him now won't be fun. It does dispel this Brawn alliance people probably expect to be happening, but am I at ease with Liam going to facilitate that? But if that happens, that delays the fight between Adam/Jakey against the trio of Augusto/Amir/Kendall, which in fact would be good for me as it allows me to slide by for another week... ugh, decisions decisions. Why do I feel like this first vote could determine the rest of my game?

So Liam still wants to be in the game, which is good. I can easily work with that. Yes, I feel awful telling Kendall I thought the vote would be Liam, but now that he seems to want to be in the game, I think I can work with Liam possibly staying. I still have to wait it out and listen to what some others think, but I may be back on the board of going for one of the trio. I know Jakey wants to do Kendall, but I don't want her to go just yet. Eventually, yeah probably, but I do want her here.

Whew merge merge merge. Tonight is the first night to play my legacy advantage, i could block a vote but honestly im probably not going to. Id be pretty caught off guard if i was the target tonight and I think id rather let it fester to an idol, whether for me or someone else later tha depends on my game play. Last night was the auction and boy did jordan win big, i got a whole vote steal that im pretty sure no one knows about. I created a believable (i think) lie about what i bid on and spread and thankfully adam came out the gate with a super fact checkable lie about the auction so i think most of the heats on him. For the vote it could be a beauty butpart of me really sees liam going home just cause people are so scared of how many brawn are in the game, and like thats fine i can deal with that. I am slowly building my relationships to the point where i can get the ball rolling enough to do some damage. Ive been biding my time in the shadows for most of this game, but Jordan Pines is about to rise!

this round is what we call a mixed bag like the auction? hated that girl. I saved my money and all I got was a drawing like sis this is the Survivor Auction not an actual auction ;-; but other than that, I’ve felt really good about how I’ve been playing? Like always, I’m trying to be the Belle of the Ball and have everyone want me as a date yknow? Currently, I have my main allies (Amir, Kendall, Devon) but others (Autumn, Duncan, Ali, Jordan, Jakey) have expressed that they want to work with me which is cute! I don’t know who to trust tho ngl but yay? My main priority is getting my footing in the game this first round and hopefully getting out a Brawn. The main two I want gone from the Brawns are Liam M and Jordan Pines. Liam M is the easier sell and I don’t mind that, Jordan Pines is someone I want gone soon though. I also want Adam gone if at all possible sometime soon but we shall see!

i take it back jordan and duncan can go again...? literally like both of them preach up and down that we are gonna work together, then pull shady stuff like saying me and adam are a duo in their alliance chat of gremlins with love of my life autumn and professional robot tj?! literally just because y'all linked up at swap and think you are gods gift to alliances doesnt mean me and adam are a duo? i just talk to him and actually give him a chance in this game unlike like... 99% of this cast. now i cant really defend adam at all or people are gonna try and snap my neck? which sucks... adam was in my endgame but because i see him having a losing finalist arc versus me being a duo with him. so that sucks but well. it just reconfirms to me that i have to trust autumn. which is not hard because i literally love her sm and i want to see thrive in this season. so i am praying it works out. this cast continues to prove that being a muppet is a contagious disease.

im absolutely LIVID right now.... i dont even know where to begin ?? let's start with this: are we playing SURVIVOR or are we playing america's next top CLOWN?? because based on how silly all these people are it doesnt seem like survivor. this is my 3rd time playing this game, and never once have i ever made it to a merge where .... every single person wants to just settle on one name since they're the "easy" vote.... and yet that's all im being told with people wanting to vote liam?? at this point i hope the plan is to vote ME out and everyone is just telling me liam because i dont want to play the game with a bunch of feeble minded school of fish who have no backbone. first of all everyone has wanted to do nothing but play that ANNOYING ass "ooh its been quiet i havent heard a name yet" game for the entire day. We're 3 hours before tribal and all the sudden everyone wants to sing kumbaya and vote for liam??? because he's not around, which guess what it does make him an easy vote but....this is survivor why would you EVER vote that person off in the merge right away, he can literally go next or any other time. I refuse to sit back and just conform to it, ill probably end up having to, but im gonna try to push what to ME makes the most sense, not only for myself but for everyone... to get one of those 3 false beautys out. I've been going to a lot of people and basically saying "Let me break it down for you: one of them 150% has the idol??? and thanks to the suvivor auction, and based on what ive gathered from people they probably have advantages too.....why waste this vote being "easy" because then next round....they're gonna know it'll be one of them and so......they're gonna play all their shit and take someone out, and i absolutely reserve the right to laugh at whoever it is because theyre an idiot and didnt want to wake up and play the game (unless it's me of course oop) I've approached, jakey, autumn, duncan, jordan, ali, devon, tj, pretty much ANYONE who has a brain to just state the obvious.....its stupid getting liam out. literally the stupidest and quite frankly downright embarrassing move to make for a group of players of this caliber. and you know what responses ive gotten? "oh its too soon to rock the boat" "we have to get one of those brawns out" "yeah we just have to go with the brains on this one" ??? too soon??? at merge??????? to play the game of survivor??????????? at this point im about to try and just tell liam with the very slim chance that he has an idol and can use it on himself because how am i supposed to try and play the game of survivor with people who dont want to play its frustrating. **update as i was writing this i just had a call with jordan pines, im not as mad anymore after smoking weed with him for like 20 minutes ahfdd but its BORING LIKE WAKE UP PEARL LETS PLAY SURVIVOR...i probably made a big mistake pushing those 3 to as many people as i just did but whatever hopefully it at least planted seeds with people and people actually try and approach me in the future rounds with that idea again in other news, the auction happened and i got the power to go to the prejuror island and plead my case with them regarding this next vote, no one was even there so that was lovely i felt like i was talking to myself so nothing new there, i peeped connor was online but didnt have anything to say when i showed up, much like how he never had anything good to say in the game and that's why he was voted out, but ANYWAY. im pissed i made a case to them to vote for amir and now no one will even make the move with me. I also bought a challenge advantage which i wanted MOSTLY so i could just tell people thats what i got from it because to me i suck at challenges anyway, so it shouldnt paint as much of a target on my back and i want people to know i dont have one of those really scary ones (and i also want to keep making people think amir or kendall has something good), but ali did confide in me he has the vote reveal which made me trust him a lot more, and i dont plan on revealing to anyone what he told me so anywho, tribal is NOT gonna go my way tonight, i tried to make a move but liam is unfortunately completely unsaveable because he's not around even though i do like talking to him personally, i opened the door to people and it just got slammed in my face but in this game you have to learn when to drop it so im hoping i dropped it fast enough to not be a future target because people could still very well vote me out next because they'd be taking out the only real beauty left!

tj, jordan and duncan are all going home as soon as possible. they really think they are slick and they are not. they think they can badmouth me, my game and my position and it wont get back to me. there is a word for it and it is clownery. one of them is going to get to stepping really soon. maybe jordan.

also i cant be too mad at liam because im voting him but i wish it wasnt like this. well. what can you do. if he plays an idol im playing mine.

Now that we're told the right day... Well, it looks like most people are back on the Liam Train, and damn I really don't want this move to be made. Like, yes, it will set me up well moving forward: less "Brawn Alliance" hype, more battles between Adam/Ali vs. Beauty Babes, and a decent amount of social mobility for me. But this just feels like a giant waste and I don't know how to stop this at this rate.

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First of all: YAASSSSSSSS WE LOVE MAKING THE MERGE!!!! I’ve gotten over my Scott grief and actually am pretty content with him out of the game since he was a big contender to win it all. The time I’ve been able to spend talking to people has been amazing and I feel like I genuinely have a good relationship with everyone on the tribe besides Liam, which is why I’m happy to see him go. He’s a really nice guy but he’s not adding anything to my game. I expect the vote to go 11-1-1 tonight. I could always get idoled out or blindsided and that would suck but you try your best and do what you can! I think I have EXCELLENT relationships with Amir, Jordan and Autumn and that’s like the kingpins of each group so if someone comes after me hopefully I’ll hear about it one way or another. I need to get my head out of Amir’s ass though, I’m most excited to play with him and we called for literally 2 hours and 50 minutes yesterday. I’ve always thought he was cute and intelligent from when I was in the community before and I fangirled getting to play with him. I like to think I’m in a good position in this game so far, we’ll see as the game progresses. One last thing? ADAM!? SIS?!?! EVERYONE IS AWARE YOU LIED TO THEM! YOUR ASS IS GOING HOME NEXT! PERIODT!! (Hopefully I’ll be here to help vote you out lol

Well, here we are? This is where my game was MADE back in Guyana, however, I clearly don't have a solidified alliance I am willing to take to the end at this stage. We have 5 Brawns, three former winners, a person I voted out in Guyana, two people that voted me out, and a person I tried voting out last round all still in the game. Still, I am going to make the best of it. In the short period of time this game has provided, I have been able to make REALLY solid connections. Not all of them are 100% genuine, but the hope is that they're enough to gain trust and information that I can use to advance my game.

if i go home tonight im gonna lose my marbles

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so basicallyyyy jakey is gathering intel from the other sideand apparently theyre all scared of me, grow up??? im literally harmless wtf

HOHOHOHOOGO WHO WANTS SOME TEA ? SO DUNCAN SPILLED THAT back long ago on original hathor, remember when I was losing my mind thinking aj ratted everything to Adam It was THE TRUTH and I’m glad aj has been dealt with. It’s what he deserves .

adam thinks hes so fucking slick running around telling everyone i gotta go and that i have the idol, and then messaging me in my pms trying to call and have a "tea-spilll uwu" when hes just going to use that against me anywayyyy honey u arent as smart as u think u are, and when the time is right, you're getting crucified ADAM CAME TO ME TO BE LIKE "FUCK JAKEY WON IMMUNITY" and im like "ik :( " and he runs to jakey and goes "THE RATS ARE MAD U WON" mark my words if im leaving this game i will blow him tf up on the way out

these people are all rats ALLIANCE: Threats R Us members: jakey ali autumn Source: jakey ALLIANCE: (name unknown) Members: Autumn Duncan TJ Jordan Source: Autumn so autumn ratted on an alliance to me and not the other, which lets me know that she is far more invested in Ali that she is in Duncan. Working with Duncan is not going to save face with autumn, i have to treat her as a separate entity and work with her genuinely if i want safety from ali, like she sold duncan tj and jordan down a river to me so fast i love her so much, i want to work with her but i have to see how far it goes people i want out : adam tj liam ali jordan but rn ill settle for anyone but me cuz no one is talking to me

devon wanted to talk real quick and tellin me that there was a whole ass plan started by adam to get me out, like say the vote is kendall but actually vote for me, and the plan was entertained by brawn, also i told jakey i have the idol, and jakey told me ali has 2 idols a vote reveal and an idol block

#BackWithVengeance

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nanami314 · 7 years

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My thoughts on Fate/Zero

*Looks around* Bit quiet here, isn't it. After a whopping three posts, I managed to forget to write the fourth, kept telling myself I'd do it tomorrow, and then didn't do it. I'm writing this paragraph after everything else in this post, and as of this point, the rewatch I started watching Fate with is long since over. However, I thought I'd go back and write one final post on Fate/Zero, and one on Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works. Afterwards, I have plans for up to the end of December, and I'm gonna be a lot more invested in those, so hopefully there won't be any more points where I'm not writing. I do apologize for that, I am new to all of this, and I'm trying to get things sorted out. However, I have someone helping me with motivation, something I was lacking before, so hopefully that won't be a problem anymore. That being said, let's get to the actual post. So, this post is only going to be about all of Fate/Zero, and I'm gonna make another one that's about Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works. I've also been checking out Fate/Apocrypha, but I don't think I'll make a post on it right away. I might once it's finished, but that's still some time away, and I have other plans for after Fate. In any case, this post contains spoilers for Fate/Zero from this point forward.

The first thing I want to go over is the ending. Having never seen any Fate series before, the last episode left me confused as to what exactly happened. From what I understand, the insides of the grail have been corrupted, and when it was destroyed, a giant hole formed in the sky, spilling out the destructive contents of the grail, causing a massive fire in Fuyuki City, thus ending the 4th Holy Grail War. The only people left standing at the end, aside from Kiritsugu searching for survivors, are Kirei and Gilgamesh. In other words, the bad guys won. This was a series of ups and downs, tragedies left and right, and of course we don't get a happy ending. The anime ends with Kiritsugu having found a sinlge boy, being so grateful that he even found one person alive, along with Kirei becoming the official guardian of Rin Tohsaka after he killed Tokiomi earlier on. That's it. Everyone except them is dead. All of the Servants aside from Gil died in some way. Even Saber, who after using Excalibah to destroy the Grail, used up all of her mana, which causes a Servant to disappear. Throughout the entirety of Season 2, at least one person died each episode. Oh, and that's not all. The way they died was something else. Though, I'll talk about that while going over the individual characters. Speaking of which:

Masters Overall, all 7 Masters had something that I liked about them. Though, there were definitely some I liked more than others. So, seeing as how I like doing my lists, I'm ranking them from least favorite to favorite. Keep in mind these are just my personal opinions, and I'm also taking how good their character is into account as well, which is why a certain someone ends up a lot higher than they would've been.

7. Uryuu Ryuunosuke

Okay, this guy is just crazy. That's all there is to it. He's a crazy serial killer who didn't even know what the Holy Grail was, let alone the war on it. Not to mention he accidentally summoned his Servant: Caster. He seems very out of place in the Holy Grail War, seeing as how everyone else had some reason for being there, whether it be mage lineage, or something else. Ryuunosuke entered the grail war on accident, and even when he did, payed absolutely no attention to it whatsoever. However, he certainly was entertaining as a character, and I quite liked his relationship with Caster. For those who don't know, you need a catalyst when summoning a Servant. If you don't have one, like our serial killer friend here didn't, then the Servant it summons is random... kinda. The grail summons a Servant that best fits that Master's personality. This explains why he got Caster, who was just as crazy and intent on killing as he himself was, and in turn, they made a good team because of it. One of the better Master/Servant relationships, but as a Master, he's at the bottom. Even his death was lackluster. Though, I gotta admit it was kinda cool seeing Kiritsugu sniping him like that.

6. Tohsaka Tokiomi

Despite making several rather important appearances in the anime, including explaining the entire concept of the Grail War to Kirei back in Episode 1, to me it just seemed like he got the least amount of focus out of all the active Masters (that excludes ol' killer up there). I mean, even Archibald got quite a few scenes on his own, both before and after Kiritsugu blew up his place. Because of that, I never really got attached to Tokiomi as a character. Gil was right when he said that he had an uninteresting Master. However, out of all 7 Masters, Tokiomi might have been the most prepared for the war. Years before it started, he met with Kirei, made the alliance with him, and when the time came, he made sure he summoned literally the most powerful Servant he could've gotten. In this sense, he's the opposite of Ryuunosuke. He's not that interesting as a character, however he spent many, many years of his life preparing for the Holy Grail War. Then there's his death, which I saw coming a mile away. As soon as he got up, I knew that Kirei was gonna walk behind him and literally stab him in the back with the knife that Tokiomi literally just gave him. I feel bad for Rin and Aoi, but other than that, I don't really care all that much about his death. Though, that whole scene was kinda cool with the whole eeriness of it. You could tell something was gonna go down, and boy did it. One of the more memorable death scenes among the Masters.

5. Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald

To be honest, this guy isn't really that likable. His participation in the Holy Grail War was fairly limited as to what he himself did. Instead, he let his Servant, Lancer, do all the fighting. Or well, most of it. Even when Lancer was fighting for him, he never showed his face, and like Kiritsugu, did not care at all about the Knight's Chivalry that his Servant believed in. Not to mention yelling at him despite the fact he did everything he could. As a person, Archibald isn't likable. As a mage however, that's a different story. As far as pure magic ability goes, Archibald is one of, if not the, best in the anime, period. The most powerful of which is his mercury blobs, that can pretty much do anything. He can use them to attack, search for his enemies if they're hiding, automatically shield him if he himself is attacked. It was put to good use in the one fight Archibald was part of, and it was one of my favorite fights not including any Servant. Granted, that's mostly because of Kiritsugu, but also because it's the one fight that puts Archibald's amazing magical ability on display. I don't like him as a character, but my god he's a spectacular mage. Then there's the matter of his death. Despite what he had done up until that point, I actually felt bad for him because of the way he died. Kiritsugu really played dirty with this one, forcing him to command his Servant to commit suicide or his fiance dies. Not only that, the contract he made said he himself couldn't wouldn't be able to kill him, but come on. Using Maya to kill him instead is pretty much the same thing, right? The circumstances were unfair, and while some may say he deserved it, it certainly didn't feel right.

4. Kariya Matou

This guy. Oh, this guy. The only thing I can say about him is that I'm disappointed. I'm very disappointed in what this man has become. If you remember back in my episode 1 post, I said that Kariya was the one Master that I was rooting for most out of them all, simply because of his noble intentions for entering the war. Now, at the time, they were. His sole reason for entering the war was to save Sakura Matou, to set her free from the hands of the Matou family and Zouken's twisted teaching methods. However, by doing so, he had several worms planted in his body that were slowly killing him on the inisde. It also made him go crazy. By the time the War started, he was long gone. And throughout the war, all he could think about was getting revenge on Tokiomi, the husband of the woman he loves: Aoi. That was what drove him forward, and that's what's so disappointing. Kariya is a very tragic character, doomed from the very start. His death was even pathetic. The worms eventually caught up to him, and he expended all of his mana while Berserker was fighting Saber. Fitting end for a disappointing character.

3. Kotomine Kirei

Oh, here we go. I despise this man. I would say he's the only character in the series that I really hate, and he's the "exception" on this list. The reason he's this high up isn't because I like him, because I definitely don't. Instead, he's here because of one reason: He's one of the best characters of the entire anime, and was a spectacular antagonist. They made you hate him by the end of the series for the things he does, and that's what makes him such a good character. This is a favorite list, but to me that goes beyond just liking or disliking someone, and Kirei's placement here proves that. On to his actual character, just, wow. At the very start of the series, one of the first scenes we see is Tokiomi and Risei, Kirei's father, explain to him what the Holy Grail War is and that he's been chosen as a Master. From that point, and based on how we saw Kirei in the first few episodes, and even the first season, I never would've expected him to take on the main antagonist role at the end. Then, he starts talking to Archer. These talks are among the most interesting in Fate/Zero for me, because they explore just how empty Kirei is inside. He has no desire for the Grail, or at least doesn't know what he wants from it, and is now wanting to win the war just to find out what his wish is. Gilgamesh finds this amusing, and decides to help him, and show him the meaning of entertainment, as he puts it. Eventually, we come to find out Kirei's a freaking sadist. After witnessing Kariya almost dying at the hands of Tokiomi, Kirei, in secret, healed him, just so he could later mess with him. And mess with him he did, in a cruel way. But not before literally stabbing his own teacher in the back. Oh, and did I mention, HE GAVE RIN THE VERY SAME KNIFE HE USED TO KILL HER FATHER! This guy's just messed up. Unfortunately, he doesn't die, either. Or rather, he does, but he got brought back to life by the Grail. Well, it's corrupted, it makes sense. I wanted him dead so bad, and that's what I think makes a good antagonist. You're supposed to hate them. You're supposed to want them dead. And that's why Kirei is number 3, instead of the very bottom of where he would be out of only likeness.

2. Waver Velvet

By process of elimination, you now know who my favorite Master is, but before we get to him: Waver. I can safely say that Waver is the only Master I rooted for from beginning to end. Every single other Master, even my number 1, had some point where I rooted against them or wanted them to die because of whatever reason (I'm looking at you Kerry, you know what you did). Not the case with Waver. Aside from Ryuunosuke, who really shouldn't count to be honest, Waver is the least prepared for the War, and wasn't initially supposed to be in it. He "stole" a catalyst that was supposed to go to Archibald, his teacher at the Clock Tower (Mage School basically), and the Grail recognized him as a Master. As for his wish he wants? The only thing he wants is for others to recognize him and his ability. That's it. He just wants to be respected, and in his current state, that's not exactly likely. However, he never gave up. Throughout the entire series, no matter what got thrown at him, he refused to give up. And what made this all so much better is that he got the absolute best possible Servant he could've ever gotten: Rider. These two have BY FAR my favorite Servant/Master relationship in the entire series, period. I'm literally getting goosebumps as I'm writing this, I just love them so much. Throughout the course of the anime, Waver and Rider have several conversations, and despite their Servant/Master statuses, Rider acts as a mentor to his Master. Compared to the other relationships we see, this one is just so enjoyable to watch. By the end of the anime, these two have made a bond that I'm sure will never break. Waver even becomes part of Rider's army. Rider's identity is Alexander the Great: the King of Conquerors, and right before Rider goes to fight his last battle, he asks Waver to part of his army, him having used up all of this command spells so Rider could go off on his own without him, because he didn't feel like Rider needed him. But Rider refused to leave him behind. That's what I love about their relationship. These two are friends to the very end. I can safely say Rider's death is one of the saddest scenes in the series, and the way Waver stood his ground against Gilgamesh just proves how far Waver's come since the beginning. He knew he couldn't win against a Servant. He knew he'd die if he tried to fight him, and his King just told him to live on, so he couldn't go back on that and OH MY GOD I LOVE THESE PEOPLE. Easily one of the best relationships between two people, whether it's romantic or just friendship, of any anime I've ever seen. 10/10 would 100% watch a Slice of Life spin off with these two as Main Characters.

1, Emiya Kiritsugu

Oh man, where do I even begin with this one. Emiya Kiritsugu is my favorite Master in Fate/Zero. Despite that, he's the one who changed positions the most. There are points where he's near the top. There are points where I hated his guts. But, in the end, he's my favorite Master of them all, and very possibly my favorite character as well. In my opinion, he's one of the better characters of Fate/Zero. He can be difficult at times, especially with his relationship with Saber, but in the end, he has a noble reason for wanting the grail: To save the world. He wants to be a hero of justice, and that all relates to his backstory. But before I go over that, lemme set this up. The very first big fight in the anime was between Saber and Lancer back in Episode 4. These two are both knights, and thus, have a great sense of chivalry. Because of this, they want to have an honorable fight. To the point where when someone else attacked Saber, Lancer stepped in to defend her because he wanted to fight her himself. Their fights got interrupted, and finally, in Episode 16, they have their chance to fight unhindered. But, Kiritsugu happens. Because of the way he is, he doesn't care at all about their chivalry, and just wants to win no matter what. He's also known for his dirty tactics being a Mage Killer, using things like guns and other non magical methods. So, while those two are fighting, he takes Archibald's fiance hostage, and forces him to use a command seal to force Lancer to commit suicide, right in the middle of their fight. Oh, and Archibald signed a contract stating if he did this, Kiritsugu can't kill him. Except he has Maya kill him instead. Way to play dirty, Kiritsugu. I can imagine this episode made a lot of people hate Kiritsugu, myself included. But then, they spend not one, but two episodes going over his past. He lived on an island with his father who was essentially a magic scientist. He also had a crush on an older girl named Shirley who worked for his father, and was essentially his best friend. But one night, this girl decided to test his father's research... on Dead Apostles. Which are what the Fate series calls: Vampires. Because of this, she of course started to go crazy, and started eating chickens for their blood. Kiritsugu found her, and she begged him to kill her right there to stop this from spreading. Present day Kiritsugu would've done it without a second thought. But kid Kerry here, was hesitant, and he didn't do it. Within the night, the entire island turned into vampires, and two different groups of people came to the island to wipe them out, and also burn the entire village on the island. As you can imagine, this affected Kiritsugu a lot, especially him only being a kid. Though, there's one more thing. His father. The one whose research caused this. Why was he researching dead apostles? Was he going test it on the island people? And if he was this man was gonna escape. So, a person who found Kiritsugu and saved him, named Natalia, gave him a gun and told him to kill his father. And this time, he did it. He killed his own father. This changed him as a person. In the following years, he was raised by Natalia, who was essentially a mercenary. In other words, what Kiritsugu became. Years later, he was faced with a similar choice that he had before. Kill 300 dead apostles on an airplane along with Natalia, or risk them landing in a huge town and letting them kill thousands. This is a prime example of his kill the few to save the many viewpoint. He fired a rocket launcher at that plane, and took it down. And afterwards, he just broke down. He just killed the one person who's been like a mother to him for so long. A better parental figure than his father that's for sure. He's seen multiple people he cared about die, some to his own hands, and it broke him as a person. These two episodes are actually some of my favorites in both Zero and Stay Night because of this. Kiritsugu may have done some sketchy things in Zero, and while they're not really that justified, at the very least they're understandable. And all of this isn't even taking into account the ending, where he uncovers a boy alive in the rubble that is Fuyuki City after the grail was destroyed. Going against his nature, the man was incredibly happy to have just found even one person alive. The anime itself says it the best. By saving one person, he saved himself. One of the most complex stories of Fate/Zero, Emiya Kiritsugu is my favorite Master.

Servants Now to go over the Servants. Much like the Masters, each of the seven Servants had something that I liked about them, and unlike the Masters, there were none that I really hated or disliked (screw you Kirei). Though, there were definitely a few who stood out more than the others, and I had a hard time nailing down my Top 3.

7. Caster: Gille de Rais

Just like his Master, Caster is at the bottom of my Servant list. He's just a bit too crazy. While he makes a perfect fit for his Master, he's even more insane than him. Especially when dealing with Saber, whom he believes is Jeanne d'Arc, who he served under when Caster was still alive back in his age. Sorry Caster, you're gonna have to go to Fate/Apocrypha to see the real her. But, he goes crazy in his shenanigans trying to get his old Ruler back, and he just won't listen to reason when Saber tries explaining to him that he's wrong. That's a lot of what I don't like about Caster. He goes crazy trying to do something because of a misunderstanding, and won't listen when people try to correct him. The one thing I do like about Caster involves his relationship with his Master, which I already talked about. Also, while Caster himself isn't the reason, I also really enjoyed the 2 episode long fight with him and his monstrous creation to kick off the second season, which lead to Caster's death shortly after his Master's death. Yeah, these two didn't really care about the Grail, and did some terrible things together, so I'm not too upset about them dying.

6. Assassin: Hassan-i-Sabah

I'm sorry, who? Assassin? Who's he? I don't remember him. Seriously though, this guy, or should I say these guys, barely had any importance to anything ever. Sure, they helped Kirei and Tokiomi spy on everyone else, but that's really about it. We never really saw them fight. We never really saw their abilities aside from being multiple entities at once. They never really did anything. Even the way they went out was lame. Rider pretty much killed them all at once with his Reality Marble. However, they're still better than Caster for a number of reasons. One, Caster's too insane. Two, and the bigger reason, is that despite the fact they never do anything, Assassin's design was actually pretty cool. That, and he was technically the first Servant we see in the entire anime. I didn't even know he was a Servant at all back when I first saw him. Though, a cool design can only get you so far, and in this list, it's sixth place.

5. Berserker: Sir Lancelot

Now here we go. This is someone who actually had a purpose. Well, to an extent. He also had a really cool design, too, but that's beside the point. Berseker was the last of the seven Servants to be revealed, and is the only one where his name I would say is a spoiler. Berserker, or Sir Lancelot, did nothing more than just fight others in the entire series, namely Saber and Gil. However, unlike the other servants, Berserker's entire presence is a mystery, and that makes him far more interesting to me than an insane caster and a purposeless assassin. He first shows up in the first major fight, sent there to go after Gilgamesh because of Kariya's grudge against him because he's Tokiomi's Servant. However, as soon as he saw Saber, Berseker switched his target and went after her. Every fight that he was in, he'd always attack Saber, despite Kariya wanting him to attack Gil. Of course, the reason for that is because of his real identity. Now, I don't really know all that much about the story of King Arthur, but I definitely know some names, Lancelot being one of them. I like how they hinted at who he really was all throughout the series by him always going after Saber because of their past relationship. And the fight between him and Saber at the end was intense. He didn't do much except for fight, but even then, he was still made to be an interesting and deep character. Also, one last thing: His dogfight with Gil is one of my favorite fights in the entire series, period. Speaking of Gil...

4. Archer: Gilgamesh

This is one of the fan favorites in terms of Servants, and I can understand why. When I first saw him, I hated him. I just do not like people with his type of personality. I knew he was popular, so there must be some reason for that, but still. It wasn't until he started his conversations with Kirei that I started to actually not dislike him. When he's not acting like he's literally the best thing ever made, he's actually a very interesting character. That, and he's flat out the most powerful servant in the entire Fate universe. Bar none. Seriously, this guy is stupid powerful. His Noble Phantasm, which basically is like an ultimate attack, is the Gates of Babylon, which lets him summon a seemingly infinite number of golden portals that he can shoot weapon after weapon after weapon at his enemies. Not only that, but these weapons are the same ones that other Noble Phantasms are based off of. In other words, if another servant is weak to any specific weapon, they have no chance against Gil. This isn't even everything he can do either. He's just that powerful. He's also one of 4 total survivors out of all 14 Servants and Masters, the others being Kiritsugu, Kirei, and Waver. As far as Fate/Zero only is concerned, I wouldn't go so far as to say I like Gilgamesh, but I definitely don't hate or dislike him like I used to.

I'd like to take a minute to say something here before I continue on. Along with Kiritsugu, my Top 3 favorite servants make up 3 out of my Top 4 characters in Fate/Zero. As such, they are very close to one another, and honestly speaking, any one of them could take the top spot. Keeping that in mind, I'm still going to rank them, yet they're more like 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3 rather than 1, 2, and 3. All of that being said, let's continue.

3. Lancer: Diarmund Ua Duibhne

For the longest time, even up to and after his death, which was ridiculous by the way but I'll get to that later, Lancer, or Diarmund, was number two. It was only after a certain scene from the current number two that I brought him down to three. Even still, I love the guy. Ever since his first fight with Saber, I took a liking to him, and a lot of the reasoning for that is because of the whole knight chivalry thing he has going on with Saber. He's a knight through and through, and genuinely is a nice guy. In fact, after Archibald's fight with Kiritsugu, Diarmund came in to save his Master, and could've very easily taken the opportunity to kill Kiritsugu. He did not on the basis that he wanted a fair fight with Kiritsugu's Servant: Saber. If that's not being honorable, I don't know what is. He also has somewhat of a tragic backstory, involving how he accidentally made the wife of his lord fall in love with him through the spot below one of his eyes. As such, he was never able to serve his lord properly, as a real knight should. His one and only wish when he was summoned into the Holy Grail War was to finally be able to serve under some lord, the very thing he was never able to do in his life. Unfortunately, his Master was Archibald, who wasn't the ideal Master for him. Though, he did the best he could with what he had. He had an honorable fight with Saber which was interrupted, and he even went so far as to defend her when Berserker tried to attack her. He was part of the team that eventually took down Caster, and even broke one of his spears in half just to heal a wound it dealt to Saber that couldn't be healed, just so she could use Excalibur to destroy Caster. And then, later that night, the two of them planned to finish their fight uninterrupted. Unfortunately, Kiritsugu happened, and ruined everything. Diarmund was forced to commit suicide before his fight was finished. Even when he got a second chance, his one wish was stripped away from him. I absolutely hated Kiritsugu for what he did that episode, and is the reason why he might not be my favorite Fate character because other than that he's great. Watching Diarmund's death and his cursing words was not fun. And those eyes. I don't want to have to look at those eyes ever again, it was terrifying. Rest in peace, Diarumund. Rest in peace.

2. Rider: Iskander

Let me just put this simply. This guy has a nickname: Broskander. And it fits him perfectly. Rider is a bro through and through. He's the Servant of Waver, and again, these two make up my favorite Master/Servant relationship in the series. Rider himself is most of the reason for that. If I had to pick someone out of everyone in Fate/Zero to be my favorite character in terms of how they are as a person, Rider would take that top spot by a long shot. His relationship with Waver is almost reverse of what it's meant to be. He acts as a sort of mentor to Waver, guiding him along as they go through the War. He was part of the team that stood against Caster, much like Lancer was. I would also say he's one of the more powerful Servants in Zero. Not only is he huge, but he's got his chariot, along with his most powerful Noble Phantasm, a reality bubble, of which his armies from when he was alive are inside. He's so powerful in fact, that even Gilgamesh respected him in their fight. Speaking of, the fight between Archer and Rider, as short as it was, was by far one of the best moments of the entire Fate series that I've seen. It might very well be my favorite episode of Zero. The entire scene of Rider running toward Gil, getting sword after sword thrown at him and slashing him was so emotional. This scene alone is what put him barely above Lancer on this list. Rider refused to give up. He got hit with sword after sword, and he refused to give up. Against the most powerful Servant in the Fate universe. He. Refused. To. Give. Up. No matter what. That's what I love about Rider. He fought until the very end. The only thing stopping him from getting to Gilgamesh were the chains he used to stop Rider inches away from him. Not to mention the emotional scene with Waver right before he ran into the fight. One of the best scenes, one of the best episodes, one of the best characters. Rider is the best.

1. Saber: Arturia Pendragon

Who better to put at the top than the cover girl of Fate herself, Arturia "Saber" Pendragon. The other contender along with Kiritsugu for being my favorite character (at least in Zero). Of course, them both being on the same team and all, it's easy to see who I rooted for most. Unless of course, one of those two decided to use extremely dirty tactics which may have put the team down a bit. Saber is probably the most popular character, and rightfully so in my opinion. Her true identity is King Arthur, except as a girl, and is only 1 of 3 Servants that I'd actually heard of before. Like I said before, I don't know much about the King Arthur legend. I do know one thing though, and that's that Saber is one of the best characters in Fate. Much like Diarmund, she's a knight, and she will protect those around her at all costs. She basically served as Irisviel's bodyguard, and she did quite the good job at it. Being one of the main characters, she participated in several fights, including multiple against Lancer and multiple defending herself from Berserker attacking her. She also delivered the finishing blow to Caster using what I personally would consider the third most powerful Noble Phantasm after both of Gil's. Eksuuu... CALIBAH! Out of all the Servants, I probably loved watching Saber fight the most. There's just something about her style that I enjoyed watching, especially during her fights with Lancer. By far her most impactful fight though was her fight against Lancelot. She was shocked to discover Berserker's identity, and she started to break slowly over the fight as she didn't want to fight him knowing that. Not to mention the fact that this took place not long after Rider's King's Banquet that he held for all the Kings, who were himself, Saber, and Gil. During that, Rider told her that her way of being King wasn't good, especially after she told them of her wish to bring back England after it was destroyed under her rule. Having Rider talk to her the way he did that night was not good for her, and when she saw Lancelot and his madness, she started to realize what she must've been doing to people. Even Kiritsugu is stale compared to the complexity of Saber's character, and that right there is precisely why she's number one. Saber is a great Servant. She's a great character. She has flaws in her ideals, and even after they were pointed out to her, she kept going forward. Funny, reminds me of someone from the next series.

As a whole, I really enjoyed Fate/Zero. If there's one thing I can really compliment above all else, it's the amazing animation quality. The fights especially were so incredible to watch. This is one of the more action oriented anime I've seen, and boy they did a spectacular job in that department. This is just my personal opinion, but if I had to pick one fight out of all of Zero that I'd say is the best visual wise, it was the dogfight between Lancelot and Gil. It lasted for two episodes, and it was amazing to watch. Lancelot took control of one of the two fighter jets that were sent to scout out the fog that Caster cast over the entire river, and began attacking Gil, who was piloting what looked like an alien spaceship. I honestly had more fun watching that fight than I did watching the others fight Caster. Also, at this time, I wasn't very favorable of Gil, so it was incredibly satisfying when Lancelot took him out of the air with one final attack. That's one fight I would definitely watch again. That's far from the only good fight, though. The whole series is chock full of them. Multiple fights between Lancer and Saber. The game of hide an- I mean the fight between Kayneth and Kiritsugu. Kirei held his own against Iris and Maya quite well. Of course there's the big fight against Caster. But especially towards the end, the fights were beyond incredible. Rider vs Archer. Saber vs Berserker. Kirei vs Kiritsugu, the one fight that was hyped since the very first episode. And to top it all off, even though it's not a fight, the sequence with Kiritsugu entering the grail and seeing his wish come true in a way that he never wanted. Even though I knew they weren't real, it was rough seeing him kill Iris and Illya like that. I also wasn't expecting the grail to be corrupt, nor was I expecting the bad guys to win in the end. I don't believe it was the best anime I've ever seen, but the entire series was phenomenal from beginning to end.

If there's one last thing I can say, it's this: When they say Fate/Zero is a tragedy, they ain't kidding. Like I mentioned before, once the second season started, at least one person died every single episode. Caster, his Master, Lancer, Kayneth, Kariya, Tokiomi, Rider, Lancelot, Iris. Even Saber disappeared in the final episode due to running out of mana. There were 14 Masters and Servants when the series started, and only four of those 14 survived. That's tragic. Not to mention the numerous amount of tragic characters and deaths. Lancer's death was tragic. Iris slowly getting weaker as Servants die due to being the grail was sad to watch. Kariya was the very definition of a tragic character, and he was doomed from the start. Lancelot was a tragic character in his last fight, and when you consider his identity and what he's been doing, that goes for the whole series as well. And then there's Kiritsugu, who's seen numerous people he cares about die right in front of him. His Father, Shirley, Natalia, Iris, Maya. He completely broke apart when he brought down that plane Natalia was on, and was desperately searching for survivors when the fire broke out in the last episode, the scene where he finds that boy being one of my favorites for that reason. The entire series was tragic from beginning to end, and that to me is one of the things that make Fate/Zero as great as it is.

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