#seriously staff c'mon | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ryin-silverfish · 2 months

Text

Into the Erlang-verse: Li, Zhao, Yang

-This is something I wrote for fun and reference purposes, back when I was starting to seriously get into Chinese mythology. As such, there is no citations, and is meant to be more of a general introduction to Erlang Shen in pre-modern writings.

(Emphasis on "pre-modern", because, as much as I love the Lotus Lantern + Prequel TV series, it's just a little frustrating to see people taking the shows' version as the end-all-be-all of such a complicated deity, y'know?)

-Anyways, much like Nezha, his Archery Accident Bro, Erlang has what I'd refer to as his "Pop Culture Form": Handsome three-eyed warrior god wielding a three-pronged spear, accompanied by his doggo Xiaotian Quan(Literally "Skyhowler"), going by the surname "Yang", jade emperor's nephew, etc.

-However, The Second Lad is an even messier amalgamation of deities worshiped in different parts of China, even in his supposed "home domain", Sichuan. Here, I'm only gonna talk about the most well-known and significant Erlangs.

(Not even gonna go into the possible Zoroastrian influences and the Dujian thing...)

1. Lord of Sichuan, "Li Erlang"

Key words: Hydraulic engineer, based on a historical official and his son, fierce competitor with Zhao Erlang for the Lord of Sichuan title

Weapons: Knowledge

Power: Can turn into a bull/dragon

Pets: N/A

"Who's Yang Jian? I've been watching over Sichuan since the Qin dynasty."

Li Bing was a pretty typical case of famous historical figure being worshiped as gods posthumously; born in the Warring States era, this official was put in charge of the Shu Prefecture (modern Chengdu) by King Zhao of Qin, and he was known as the creator of Dujiang Yan, an ancient irrigation + flood control project.

Later Tang legends deified him with a bunch of traditional "Flood-control hero" tropes taken from Yu the Great (heads up JTTW readers, SWK's staff is originally his extendable ruler), mostly the "hero turn into a giant animal" and "fight and subdue local water demons" aspect.

Though he wasn't yet known as an Erlang, or gained a son called Erlang as later folklore would have it, Li Bing's worship began in the Eastern Han dynasty, and he had a long tradition as Sichuan's guardian deity.

Even as later versions of Erlang began to populate, in the Qing dynasty, people of the province were still like "Our Lord of Sichuan is Li Bing/Li Erlang, not Yang Jian, as the novels would have you believe!"

What made Li Bing and his likely nonexistent son into "Li Erlang" could be traced to the two "warlord states" that occupied Sichuan after the fall of Tang dynasty: both states tried to use the Lord of Sichuan worship to strengthen their own legitimacy, and passed decrees that 1) said Erlang was Li Bing's son and 2) granted both father and son honorable titles, as mentioned in Song dynasty records.

However, due to the association of Erlang with previous warlord states, the first emperor of Song had reassigned Li Bing a lesser title and taken away his son's title altogether, reducing him to just "God of Guankou", and worshippers were quite disgruntled by the change; there was even a rebellion using the Guankou worship rituals to legitimize itself, a decade after said emperor's death.

Fun fact: when I went to the Two Lord’s Temple (of Li Bing and Li Erlang) in Dujiangyan, even though the god worshipped in the main hall was supposed to be Li Erlang, the plaque next to it still said something like "Li Erlang, also known as Yang Jian"...

Which really shows just how influential FSYY is on popular worship, to the point of overshadowing older incarnations of certain deities.

2. Immortal Master of Illustrious Sagacity, "Zhao Erlang"

Key words: Chief of Jiazhou Prefecture, dragon slayer, No.2 violator of archery safety (first place goes to Nezha)

Weapons: A scribing tablet, slingshot, sword, bow and arrows

Power: Supernatural strength, monstrous giant form

Pets: unnamed white horse, hunting hawks and hounds

"C'mon, my aim isn't that bad! What happened in the Zaju was a one-time thing!"

The prototypical Taoist Erlang, his name, "Zhao Yu"(赵昱) first appeared in a Song dynasty source. At this point, the story of Erlang was mainly defined by two traits: 1) was, or was related to an official in charge of Sichuan in bygone times and 2) Did heroic flood control stuff, probably through dragon-slaying.

One notable strand of local worship was the "God of Guankou"; historical records mentioned that people sacrificed hundreds and hundreds of goats to him, as well as a regional festival in Sichuan where people played out his confrontation with dragons. It coexisted and entwined with the "Lord of Sichuan" worship, until the Song dynasty.

In typical Song dynasty fashion, the officials decided to give their own official title to this...Erlang/Lord of Sichuan/God of Guankou guy, bringing our titular "Zhao Erlang" into existence.

Also a deified official from the Tang dynasty, his image was more heavily influenced by Taoism (historically popular in Sichuan) and centered around one of its holy places, Mt. Qingcheng, which just happened to be quite close to Dujiang Yan.

Though in the Northern Song dynasty, the state-recognized Erlang was still "Li Erlang", the Taoist Zhao Erlang had proven himself to be a strong competitor by the Southern Song and Yuan dynasty, thanks to a massive amount of opera plays.

First we have SJSSDQ (三教搜神大全, Yuan Dynasty), an encyclopedia of Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian gods, where his traditional backstory as an ascended mortal official was combined with the dragon-slaying feat to nudge Erlang toward a more warrior-esque image, a hunting god who appeared on a white horse with his entourage of hunters.

-We also got the first mention of what would become his six/seven sworn brothers; the "Seven Sages" who jumped into the water to assist him in the dragon fight.

Then we have two Yuan-Ming Zaju plays, "Erlang of Guankou Slays the Jian-jiao"(灌口二郎斩健蛟) and "Erlang Drunkenly Shot the Demon-locking Mirror" (二郎神醉射锁魔镜), in which many traits associated with JTTW's Yang Erlang could already be seen: first, his three-pronged weapon, seven brothers and bow/arrows, second, the naming of his brothers as the "Seven Sages of Mt. Mei" and his ability to shift into a "true form", aka the monstrous giant form he used in JTTW.

(The plot of the second Zaju is exactly like it sounds: Erlang and Nezha had a drunken archery competition, accidentally broke the Demon-locking Mirror and released the Bull Demon King + Hundred-Eyed Demon, and spent the rest of the play doing damage control.)

3. The Little Sage, "Yang Erlang" (JTTW)

Key words: Jade Emperor's nephew, cleaver of Peach Mountain, SWK's true equal in battle

Weapons: Three-pronged, Double-bladed Spear, slingshot, bow and arrows, axe

Power: transformations, Cosmic Body, divine sight/Phoenix Eye(?)

Pets: a celestial Xiquan, literally "Thin Dog"

"First time we met, and that monkey made fun of my origins as a conversation opener. Could you believe it."

The Man, The Myth, The Legend! As I said before, a lot of his traits were inherited from "Zhao Erlang", including his Taoist title, his temple at Guankou, etc.

However, Erlang being Jade Emperor's nephew seemed to be mostly popularized by JTTW: the only other work that might have given Erlang this backstory was The Precious Scroll of Erlang, previously dated to the 1560s, though a Chinese paper published in 2018 proposed a later creation date (1620s).

Much like JTTW Nezha, his backstory was somewhat barebones: we knew from SWK's taunt that his mother was the Jade Emperor's sister, who got chummy with Yang the mortal, gave birth to him, and was presumably locked under the Peach Mountain for that, bc Erlang then rescued her by cleaving it in half with an ax.

(Sounds familiar? The same backstory would later be copied over to Erlang's nephew, in the Lotus Lantern legends)

His other notable feats include falling 2 phoenix with his slingshot, as well as slaying the "Seven Demons of Mt. Mei ''. Out of pride, he chose to remain in Guankou instead of associating with his heavenly relatives, and did not answer to general summons to court from the Jade Emperor, only taking special assignments (听调不听宣).

Apart from his famous fight with SWK, Erlang also appeared in JTTW chapter 63, where, together with his sworn brothers, he helped the pilgrims fight the Nine-Headed Wyrm, son-in-law of Bibo Lake's dragon king. His dog continues to be the MVP in this fight, biting off one of the demon's heads, leaving it wounded and fleeing toward the north sea.

Though the description of his battle with SWK implied that he did have some sort of supernatural sight, at this point in time (Ming dynasty), Erlang wasn't yet depicted with a third eye in artworks and literature.

There are a small amount of evidence that suggest the third eye thing might have shown up in statues of this period, though.

4. Master of the Ninefold Mystic Way, "Yang Jian" (FSYY)

Key words: Disciple of the Taoist sage Yuding, veteran of the Investiture War, Nezha's comrade-in-arms

Weapons: Three-pronged Spear, slingshot

Power: Ninefold Mystic Way, 72 transformations, invulnerable to physical attacks, Samadhi Fire (in FSYY it's on the same level as a D&D wizard's Fireball spell)

Pets: Howling Celestial Dog, unnamed white horse

"I fought a transforming monkey demon too!"

Fun fact: the guy whose name was most often taken as Erlang's "real name" by pop culture was never actually referred to as "Erlang" in his debut novel. Could ya believe it.

Quick, dirty summary of FSYY: kinda like the Chinese Iliad, about the overthrowing of Shang dynasty and its tyrannical King Zhou by King Wu of Zhou, with a dash of Taoist infightings, and almost everyone who died in the fight got revived as gods and became part of the celestial bureaucracy, thus "Investiture of the Gods".

Under the order of his master, the Taoist sage Yuding (literally "jade tripod"), Yang Jian makes his first cameo in chapter 40 to assist his senior, Jiang Ziya, in the fight against the Four Generals of Clan Mo.

A master in the arts of the Ninefold Mystic Way and 72 transformations, he has the same divine title as Zhao Erlang and is considered "A Sage in Flesh" after the end of FSYY.

As such, he's able to survive getting eaten by a monstrous weasel, a metal whip in the forehead, graphic disembowelment, etc. and used his transformation skills for some SWK-style "beating people up from inside their stomachs".

On one very notable occasion, he transformed into a beautiful palace consort to dupe Tu Xingsun ("Earth-traveling Son") and capture him.

Oh, and also, on his way to get Tu Xingsun's master, he ran into this random demon in a lake, who led him into a cave. After he got inside, the demon just disappeared, leaving him with the Three-pronged Two-bladed Spear, as well as some nice bling.

Then two kids burst in, accused him of stealing the bling, and...instantly became his students after learning his name? Yeah that was a weird sidequest.

However, Yang Jian's most iconic battle is probably his fight with Yuan Hong, the White Ape of Plum Mountain...who also practiced the Ninefold Mystics, used an iron cudgel, and were sworn brothers with six/seven demon kings.

Only with the help of Nvwa's magical painting, the Shanhe Sheji Scroll, was Yang Jian able to capture the ape, and subsequently, let Jiang Ziya decapitate him with Sage Luya's Immortal Slaying Flying Knife.

When the Three Demonesses were caught and executed at the end of the book, he was the one responsible for slaying the Nine-headed Pheasant Demoness, which is a neat parallel with JTTW.

His Howling Celestial Dog appears in chapter 47, and is even more of an MVP in fights: 12 immortals and demons have been bitten by this dog, which was "as large as a white elephant and as swift as an owl".

Funnily enough, every time Yang Jian summoned his hound, it is described in the same way as, say, other immortals may summon a flying sword, and my mental image is just him yeeting his giant monster dog at the enemy like you'd throw a Pokeball.

(A list of everyone Xiaotian had bitten in FSYY: Zhao Gongming, his sister Bixiao, Xinhuan, Deng Chanyu, Zhou Xin, Hua Huan, the Winged Immortal, Yuyan, Lv Yue, Yu Hualong, Dai Li the dog demon, the Nine-headed Pheasant Demon.)

Conclusion:

-The way I see it: Li is the Erlang of regional worship, Zhao is the Erlang of Zaju plays, and Yang is the Erlang of vernacular novels, who becomes super popular and overshadows his two predecessors.

-And Erlang's depiction in premodern Lotus Lantern tales is what we in the business call "a whole new can of worms". But that's a series for another day.

#erlang shen #chinese mythology #chinese folklore #journey to the west #investiture of the gods #fengshen yanyi #xiyouji #yang jian

27 notes · View notes

vivwritesfics · 2 hours

Text

Jester Stole His Thorny Crown

Chapter Eleven

He never had a choice in his life. His dreams were nothing more that that. Dreams. But then he met a lounge singer at his brother club and everything changed.

Mafia!Au

1.3K

warnings: Smut, p in v, unprotected, guns, ambushing (i suppose)

Series Masterlist

Although the private plane was a nice touch, it was unnecessary. It was a luxury she didn't need, but it was still nice.

They had the whole private plane to themselves, but Charles pulled her into his lap, holding her as they took off.

But then they were in the sky and Charles was kissing her neck and pushing her legs apart. "Charles," she gasped through a whine. "We can't fuck in your brothers private jet."

"Yeah, we can," he mumbled, lips hardly leaving her neck to speaks. "C'mon, chérie." He stood and pushed her forward, pushing her back against the seat opposite.

Charles kissed her, tongue exploring her mouth. He pushed at her, pushing against her hips, holding her against the chair. A whine left her lips as she wrapped her hands around his neck. "You wanna join the mile high club?"

She pulled away and stared into his eyes. "I can't believe you're being serious right now," she whispered and twirled her fingers around his the hair at his neck.

"Seriously? You can't believe I'm being serious? You seriously can't believe I'm being serious right now?"

Okay, he had a point. A breathy laugh left her lips and she wrapped her legs around him and pulled him as close as possible.

Charles wasted no time. He felt her through her shirt, and reached his hand beneath to touch her tits. "Charles," she gasped, legs squeezing around him in such a way that it had him grinding against her.

The two stayed as clothed as possible. Charles reached under her skirt and pulled down her underwear. He hastily freed himself from his trousers.

He disappeared beneath her skirt, pushing into her. Her eyes squeezed shut and she gripped him tight, finger nails digging into his shoulder. He held her tight as he rocked his hips against her. "Gotta keep quiet, chérie," he whispered.

She buried her face against his shoulder, muffling her sounds. But it wasn't like the staff didn't know what was going on. Before Lorenzo had met his wife, he'd brought a multitude of women to this plane, fucking them as he flew where he needed to go.

Charles couldn't hide his grunts as he rutted into her. It was easy to feel it when she tipped over the edge, teeth sinking into the meat of his shoulder and cunt clenching around him. With every snap of his hips after that she whined out, sounds pathetic but oh so beautiful.

He clenched his jaw as he came, spilling inside of her. He held himself up, arms shaking as he caught his breath. "Is that us officially in the mile high club?" She whispered as she touched his jaw.

"Yes, chérie," he said as he pulled out of her. Charles flipped her skirt up, watching as he dribbled out of her. He placed the skirt back down, picked up her underwear from the floor and pocketed them.

Charles sat back in the seat opposite her. He watched her for a second as she fiddled with the hem of her skirt. "You okay over there, chérie?" He asked.

On shaky legs, she walked over and climbed into his lap. His arm immediately wrapped around her as she settled against his chest and promptly fell asleep for the rest of the plane ride.

***

Italy was beautiful. A car was waiting for them, a loan from the Ferrari Family while they were in Italy. They would have provided a driver, too, but it was no secret that Charles liked to drive himself.

Sunglasses sat on her face as she sat in the passenger seat of the open roof Ferrari. As Charles drove, a wide smile on his pretty face, he rested his hand on her thigh, thumb brushing over her skin, occasionally squeezing.

God, Italy really was fucking beautiful. It wasn't beautiful in the same way Monaco was beautiful. Monaco was beautiful in it's wealth, Italy's beauty was older. She admired everything they passed, every gorgeous building, every tree, every bush, every plant. The roads, the landscape, everything.

"This is wonderful, Charles!" She called under the roar of the wind.

He simply smiled wider as he drove to the apartment in the city. The apartment itself was a gift from the Ferrari family, something that was apart of the deal that they'd struck with the Leclercs.

(Now, dear reader, let me explain something to you. The Ferrari family was both a car manufacturer and a family, much like the Leclercs or the Verstappens. The family is more a car manufacturer, and when the Formula One team began driving in the Monaco Grand Prix in 1950, they struck a deal with the Leclerc family. Now, the Leclercs and the Verstappens were the only ones who really knew the details of this deal).

Charles drove into the parking garage beneath the apartment building. His parking was horrible, just like it was in Monaco. But it had her laughing as he pulled the door open for her and took her hand as he led her to the elevator.

"How are you finding Italy?" Charles asked as he held her close, the elevator taking them up to one of the highest floors.

She let out a content sigh, her head against his chest. "I love it, Charles," she said and reached up to kiss him.

There they stood, snogging as the elevator took them up to their floor. His hold was her on tight, refusing to pull away until the doors slid open. Even then, he hardly noticed it.

Grabbing his hand, she pulled away and pulled him out of the elevator. Charles tucked her into his side as he began leading the way, leading her down the hall, towards the Leclerc apartment.

"Who was the last person to use the apartment?" She asked out of nothing more than genuine curiosity.

Charles thought about it. "Hmm, I think Joris," I said as he they turned the corridor and walked to the end of it.

But, as they got closer, Charles stopped her. "Chérie, wait," he hissed, pushing her behind him.

Charles pulled out his gun. She didn't even know he had it on him as he wandered towards the open door of the apartment. It shouldn't have been open; the Leclerc family hadn't been to Italy in near a year. The apartment hadn't been used in nearly a year.

No matter what, the door shouldn't have been open.

"Hold onto me," he whispered as he slowly approached the door.

Her hands fisted the back of his suit as the two of them walked into the apartment. It was dark, too dark for the middle of the day in the Italian summer. The shades were drawn, hiding the stranger in the apartment in the darkness.

Charles clicked the safety of his gun off, the sound audible. He said something in Italian, something she couldn't understand.

It was all very dramatic, the way the lamp turned on. The blonde man with the freckle on his lip sat there, one leg crossed over the other. "Hey, Charles," the man called in accented English.

Suddenly the door was blocked men with guns much bigger than Charles blocking the door. "Fuck," he hissed under his breath as he spun around. "Your dad set a fucking trap, Max?" He shouted as Max stood up. "Why? What the fuck couldn't be settled with a meeting?"

The men in the door, members of the Verstappen family, pointed their guns towards the couple. "Put it down, Charles," said Max as he pushed himself out of his seat.

Suddenly, she was pulled away from Charles. A cry left her lips as Max pulled her back, pulled her away from him. "Don't do this, Max," Charles said, voice strained as he raised his hands to his head.

"You know I haven't got a choice."

If you enjoyed this, please feel free to buy me a coffee

Permanent Taglist (CLOSED): @biancathecool

@rewmuslupin

@prettiest-at-the-party

@hellowgoodbye

@minseok-smaus

@formulaal

@hiireadstuff

@urfavnoirette

@goldenharrysworld

@andydrysdalerogers

@raikkxz

@llando4norris

@evlkking

@lilymurphy03

@hollie911

@customsbyjcg-blog

@honethatty12

@nikfigueiredo

@darleneslane

@not-nyasa

Series Taglist (OPEN): @ninifee1802

@booksandflowrs

@ashy-kit

@weekendlusting

@annispamz

@watermelonworries

@spideybv28

@janeholt03

@barcelonaloverf1life

@ver-lec

@shobaes

@jaydensluv

@bingussthirdtoe

@a-beaverhausen

@doofenshmirtzevil-inc

@charlotte1697

@iamkaku

@arrowheadleadingushome13

@pretty-angel333

@styl1shl1v

@sltwins

37 notes · View notes

banditthewriter · 2 years

Text

In Time - Billy Russo

And here we have the 2022 Halloween Fic! I want to thank everyone for supporting me and helping me get to the point where I was able to write this this year. I honestly wasn’t sure I’d be able to do it. And a very special thank you to @dragon-of-winterfell for sending in the idea that sparked this thing!

Summary: It’s time for the annual Purge. The reader usually hides in a bunker with Billy, Frank, Karen, and the Lieberman family. This year, things are going to get bloody.

Warnings: Torture. Writer has never seen Purge movies so don’t expect me to be too true to those stores. But seriously, the reader is tortured. Some things happen explicitly, but most are just described afterwards. Also writer barely edited this so...my bad.

Enjoy!

*gif is mine*

------

The chime above the door to Slice of Heaven made you look up from where you were balancing the books. An older couple came in and waved at you as they went to their usual booth. One of your waitresses was at their side a few moments later, chatting happily.

The diner had been left to you by your parents and you took a lot of pride in the environment that had been created. No such thing as a stranger, you treated everyone who came in as regulars. Of course this meant a lot of them did become regulars. Your staff was the same way.

A group of rowdy college boys were in the far corner goofing off. It was mid afternoon, not exactly your busiest time, but the laughter and excitement that poured off of them made the diner feel small.

Or maybe it was because you could hear what they were discussing.

"C'mon, what about going to like Ithaca or something? Smaller areas are less protected."

"Nah, that's why we need to stay near the city. We don't want to be away from all of it."

"Yea! It's gonna be wild. We could pick a small borough to stay near though."

Your skin prickled as you listened to them plan. A group of six guys all discussing the pros and cons of where they should settle down made you uneasy but you couldn't exactly kick them out. Even if a few of them seemed a little uneasy at the thought of being in the city.

A clatter from the kitchen had you turning away from the guys. One of the waitresses had dropped a tray of dishes. Thankfully nothing looked broken, but she was ashen as she bent down to pick them up.

"Let me help you," you offered softly as you knelt down beside her.

Emily was your newest waitress. Putting herself through college, she was a sweet and devoted worker. Her dream of coming to New York City for college hadn't been dampened by the laws, but you knew she wasn't looking forward to her first year here.

"It's going to be okay Em," you promised as you scooped the dishes back onto the tray. "You have your plan, right? It's been verified."

Her hands shook as she picked up the last few pieces of cutlery.

"I know. I went over it with the people you got me in touch with. I just…" Her eyes cut to the left. Even though you were both crouched on the floor in the kitchen and couldn't even see the dining room, you knew she was looking towards the college boys.

You took the spoons and forks from her hands. Then you helped her stand and pulled her into a hug.

"It's going to be okay Emily. I know you're worried right now, but it's going to be okay."

You desperately hoped you weren't wrong about that.

—

The soft chime of your cell phone made you look over from where you were wiping the counter. It was turned to a weird angle so you couldn't clearly read the name but the familiar picture of your best friend made you smile. Rag in one hand, you reached out and snagged the device with your other.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Billy Russo snorted in amusement.

"You're ridiculous. I always call you when you're closing by yourself."

You rolled your eyes at that, but it was out of fondness. You tucked the phone against your ear as you went back to cleaning.

"Nothing is going to happen to me, you know that."

"Some of us still very clearly remember what it was like before…"

Before. You remembered what it was like before as well.

Your eyes went to the picture of your parents in front of the door to Slice of Heaven the first day they opened it. They were from before as well.

A shudder ran through you at that. You shook away the memories and focused back on the conversation.

"Thanks again for helping Emily with her plan. I really appreciate it."

"Frank and I are happy to help. This time of year is our busiest for consulting, but Anvil is equipped for it."

"I know it is. I also know you don't charge my referrals like you're supposed to."

Billy snorted again. You heard a faint creak, most likely from his office chair as he readjusted his position.

"Your referrals are usually your employees. I know you pay them better than most but I also know most of them are either working multiple jobs already or putting themselves through school. They qualify for the friends of a friend discount."

"You also didn't let me pay when I had you guys consult for me."

"Because we didn't help you plan for what you were going to do. We just told you what you were going to do."

You laughed at that, but it was tinged with a little sadness.

"Can't believe this is the fourth time this is happening."

When the law had passed, you'd thought it was impossible. Who in the hell thought that making all crime legal for twelve hours would actually help the crime rate? And while the numbers seemed to support it, that didn't change the fact that it meant devastation for the people who couldn't afford to turn their homes into Fort Knox knock offs.

"There's talk about reversing the law. Maybe this will be the last one."

Your fingers clenched in the rag before you tossed it onto the counter.

"They've talked about that since it was put into effect. It's just a way for them to shut us up from complaining."

This was a constant worry for people even though it only took place once a year. People spent all year preparing for this. Most of them prepare to survive but some like the college kids from earlier were preparing to participate.

"Just remember to get to the bunker by 6:30, okay? You'll be safe with us."

That was putting it mildly. The bunker that they used was impenetrable and protected by so many counter measures that it would take an army to get through. It had been Frank's hideout at one point and then reinforced and updated with Billy's tech and money.

It would be their friend David "Micro" Leiberman and his family, Frank's girlfriend Karen Page, her friend and coworker Foggy Nelson, and you. Your first year had been spent alone and terrified, but since then you've been sequestered with them.

Frank and Billy sometimes started the night there, but usually they stayed out in the city. So did Matt Murdock, the blind lawyer with heightened senses who fought what little crime there was during the rest of the year. Frank and Billy stayed out to protect people as best they could.

Billy changed the subject to talk about something he had seen on television but your mind still strayed to what was coming in just a few days.

The fourth annual Purge was almost there.

—

Five Hours Until Purge

—

The atmosphere in the diner was different than it was every other day of the year. Most of your staff didn't work on the day of the purge, but you stayed open for a few hours. You provided a good meal to anyone and didn't charge. It had been your routine since the purge started.

Tensions always ran higher near the purge, but it was nothing like the day of. Everyone seemed to be walking on eggshells, careful not to tip the balances in case the stranger you interacted with was someone who would want to hunt you that night. Many people probably thought that's why you didn't charge for serving day of.

Except you had a very different reason. You saw these people come in for a meal and recognized that for some of them, it was either going to be their last meal or the last meal before their lives changed irreparably. You wanted to take some of that stress away for them.

Billy thought you were insane for working the day of the purge but as long as you closed early, he wouldn't push the issue. The purge started at 7pm so you always closed by 5 at the latest.

Your phone rang as you handed one of your three customers their food. With an apologetic smile you stepped away and pulled it out of your pocket.

Speak of the devil.

"It's only 2pm. You're early."

There was a stretch of silence on the other side that made you groan.

"You need to wrap up early today."

There was a seriousness in Billy's voice that made a chill run up your spine. You waved at your lone waiter Enrique to let him know you were going to step in the back for a second. Once you were in your office, you sat down on the edge of your desk.

"What's the matter? What's going on?"

One of the things you had learned about Billy was that there was always a reason for what he was doing. He was a very particular person that way. And even when he was serious about things, when he talked to you, it was always with a lightness in his voice. That lightness was gone.

"I mean it. Close up now and come to the bunker."

A sense of foreboding went over you as you listened to Billy's deep breaths.

"Billy, you're scaring me. Tell me what's going on?"

It wasn't your plea that made him sigh; it was you saying he was scaring you.

"The person that…the guy that Frank and I dealt with overseas…he's made some threats about this purge. Just, please, come to the bunker."

You rubbed your hand over your bare arm. You didn't know much about the guy himself, but you knew what he was referring to. Agent Orange as he was known while they were overseas, someone high up in the government who made Frank and Billy do things they regretted. If he was making threats, something had to have happened recently.

And it wasn't like they could handle it themselves. Sure, some crime happened during the rest of the year, but nothing that large. And higher up government officials were some of the only people off limits during the purge.

"The purge doesn't start until 7. I have plenty of time to get there Billy. I promise I'll close at five on the dot and I'll head straight there."

He swore, your name mixed in the middle. Then you could almost imagine him gathering himself before he spoke again.

"Get here as soon as you can. Promise me."

The ice that had gathered around your heart at the seriousness in his voice melted.

"I promise Billy."

—

Two Hours Before Purge

—

The sign on the door was flipped around to read that the diner was closed. Normally you opened up at 7 in the morning but you would be closed tomorrow as well. The diner had been covered in graffiti before, windows broken and some stuff stolen, so you always pushed back reopening for a few days so you could clean it up. Thankfully your insurance covered purge related damages.

You finished your locking up and made sure everything you cared about was in the safe under the floor. Then you checked your purse for the bank deposit which you'd drop off in the morning.

The mental checklist you had for the purge was mostly complete. Just needed to grab your bag which you'd already brought to the front and you could leave. You'd pull down the metal gate and lock up before you would head to the bunker.

The bell chiming over the door made you spin around. Then you cautiously poked your head out of your office.

Three men stood in the middle of the dinner. They looked normal enough, jeans and long sleeve shirts. One was wearing dress shoes as he looked up at the menu over the counter.

"HI, sorry guys, I'm closed for the day."

The one closest to you spun around to face you with a confused look.

"The door was unlocked and the sign said open?"

You glanced at the door and sure enough, your sign was turned around. Unease settled in your stomach as you stared at the lock on the door which was obviously unlocked. But you remembered locking it and flipping the sign.

"Must have slipped my mind, sorry about that. We are closed though."

The guy in the dress shoes smiled and pressed his hands onto the counter.

"C'mon, we just want some coffee. Gonna be a long night."

That unease grew as the three men stayed standing on the other side of the counter. Your eyes darted to the clock on the wall.

"I already emptied the pot," you said as you clutched your bag a little tighter.

"Fresh pot sounds good to me," the guy you assumed was the leader said before he pulled down a stool to sit. The others followed suit.

Shit. Okay, well you'd make some coffee and put it in to go cups. You almost wanted to lock the door again but with them in there, you weren't about to do that. Instead you walked out into the dining room and flipped the sign around. Then you grabbed your bag and carried it back to your office. You tucked your duffle and purse in a corner behind a cabinet before you headed back to the counter.

You kept one eye on the three of them as you started a new pot of coffee. They talked quietly amongst themselves, loud enough for you to hear they were discussing some sporting event they had gone to recently. A little of the unease let up but you didn't drop your guard.

The melody of your ring tone made you jump. As you pulled it out, you saw at least one of the guys sit up a little straighter.

You didn't even look at the phone to know who it was.

"I haven't left yet," you said immediately, phone to your ear.

God how slow was this coffee pot?

"It's after five, you should have closed. Leave the cleaning until later."

You made your way into the kitchen. When the swinging door shut behind you, you sighed.

"Had some stragglers want some coffee."

Billy's voice was cold when he spoke.

"Fuck 'em. Tell them to get out. You're pushing it right now and you need to get out of there."

You moved to the side so you could see through the small window on the door. The men were all still talking but you had a feeling they were all on alert.

Red flags shot up and made your hands shake.

"Billy, I think…I think they may be…I might be in trouble."

You heard a swear. Then in the background you heard another voice. It was obviously Frank even if you couldn't make out what he was saying.

"Yea, I got it," Billy said to Frank. Then to you, "Go back out there and talk to me. Make it loud but not obvious. Talk like you're talking to your boyfriend or husband, okay?"

You didn't want to go back out there but you had to. As much as you wanted to leave out the back door, you didn't want to leave them in your diner.

With Billy's steady voice in your ear, you stepped through the swinging door and went over to the coffee pot. Then, a little louder than you normally would have, you began to talk to Billy.

"Don't worry babe, I'll be finished here in a few minutes. I'm grabbing the to go cups now."

You grabbed the thickened Styrofoam cups and started to pour the coffee.

"Good, good. Alright, now I'm coming to you okay?"

"You're coming here? I thought I was meeting you there," you said loudly, half so they would hear and half because you were surprised.

"Not anymore, not with you in danger. I'm leaving the bunker now and I'm speeding all the way."

The bunker was about 30 minutes away. You glanced up at the clock. Almost five thirty.

"Okay, I'll see you in ten minutes," you said nonchalantly as you finished off the last cup.

"Good girl, lie through your teeth. I'll be there in fifteen. Act like you're hanging up and put the phone down but don't disconnect. You're not going to be alone, okay?"

"Okay Billy, I'll see you in ten. Bye."

You pretended to hit a button on the screen and then locked it so that the light went away. You placed the phone face up. Then you grabbed the three cups and lids and carried them over to the guys.

"There's cream and sugar on the counter or by the door. I really do need to close up though."

The one who had done all the talking grinned and raised his hands after he dropped some bills on the counter.

"We know when we're not welcome. Thanks for the coffee."

They grabbed a few packets of sugar and creamer and all made their way to the door. You watched it close behind them and sighed out gratefully. They really did just stop by for coffee.

You grabbed your phone and put it back to your ear.

"They left."

"Lock the door and get your stuff. I'll be there as soon as I can."

Your heart skipped a beat. Even with the immediate danger being gone, you didn't want to be alone.

"Please don't hang up."

"I'm not going anywhere sweetheart, I'm still on the phone. Go lock the door."

You sighed gratefully. Then you scurried to do as you were told. You locked the door and peered through the blinds.

The street was abandoned. The other stores you could see already had their gates pulled down. No cars were on the street, no people walking this way or that. Completely empty.

You hurried back to your office and grabbed your bags again. You leaned against the wall and sighed.

"Next year I'm not opening day of," you said as you closed your eyes and tried to slow your racing heart.

"No shit," Billy said sarcastically with a little relief in his voice. "I'm locking you in the bunker at 7am the day before. You have no idea how terrified I was when you said you thought you were in trouble."

You thought about the threats he had mentioned. Yea, you imagined he would have been scared.

"I know that you're scared they might go through me to get to you, but–"

"I'm not worried about myself. Just like Frank isn't worried about himself. He worries about Karen and I'm worried about you."

Your heart skipped a beat for a very different reason.

"You don't have to worry about me Billy. I'm okay."

You heard him sigh over the low hum of the engine of his car.

"I can't help it. That's what you do when you lov–"

Billy's words were drowned out by glass shattering in the other room. You let out a scream and jumped away from the door.

"What? What is it?!"

"I don't know. It sounds like the window was shattered or something."

That low hum of his engine increased.

"I'm almost there, okay? Just stay in your office. I'm almost there."

You opened your mouth to say you would, that you knew he'd be there soon. Instead all you could do was start to cough.

Some sort of smoke was filling your office. You coughed and tried to wave it away from your face.

"There's smoke…" you said as you coughed, trying to let Billy know what was going on.

"Smoke? Is the diner on fire?"

You opened your mouth to say no, it didn't smell like that kind of smoke. But your eyes drooped shut and you felt your body folding in on itself.

Your last thoughts as you distantly heard Billy yell your name was that this wasn't supposed to be happening yet. It was too early.

—

There seemed to be a marching band performing in your head. Deep thudding and loud crashing, over and over. You squeezed your eyes shut as if that would help block the noise. Then with a groan you reached up to block your ears.

Well you would have if your hands would move. You frowned and opened your eyes, a process that took forever. Except…no, your eyes were open. So why was it so dark?

You took a deep breath out of fear. A cough erupted from your lungs from the force, but it didn't make it past whatever was in your mouth.

Everything came screaming to a halt as it all came back to you. The men in the diner. Them leaving. The glass shattering in the front of the diner. Smoke filling your office. Billy telling you he was on his way.

Billy. You'd been on the phone with you. He would have heard, wouldn't he? He had been close to the diner, he said he was almost there.

Slowly you become aware of your body aching. Your right arm was stretched above you, tied to something with no slack. Your left arm was tied to something else that was lower but still tight enough you couldn't even wiggle them. Your legs were under you, bound at the ankles it felt like. Then you focused on your face. A blindfold and some sort of gag were on your face, keeping you disoriented and silent.

And there was something heavy around your neck, resting on your sternum. You lowered your head to poke it with your chin. Metal, bulky.

"Wouldn't do that if I were you," a voice said from your left. When you jerked, they chuckled. "Welcome back to the land of the living. Don't start messing with your necklace, okay? Unless you aren't interested in keeping your head attached to your neck."

You froze. It was some sort of device, whether a bomb or something even more nefarious, and it was primed to hurt you.

"Is our guest awake?"

A second voice. You forced yourself to clear your mind of the fears that were growing. A sense of calm fell over you. Then you turned your remaining sense to the task at hand. You listened as the two men spoke.

"She's up. Grab that for me, will ya?"

You heard something clang which made you jump. Then there was pressure on your arms. Whatever you were tied to started to adjust until you were standing, both arms outstretched. Your shoulders ached from the angle and the way your body was being lifted.

With your ankles tied together, you probably would have wobbled or been unbalanced, but the mechanism holding you up bore most of your weight.

"Did you grab the…ah, there. Let me see. Shit, locked. Hold on."

You felt something touch your right hand and you tried to flinch away. When that didn't work you forced your fingers inward.

That didn't stop the man from prying your fingers open. When you tried to do it again, he yanked your pointer finger backwards to the point where you felt it pop. The scream you let out was muffled through the gag as pain washed over you from what was probably a broken finger.

"Stop moving, jeez."

The nonchalance in his voice made your blood run cold. Then something was pressed against your newly broken finger making you cry out again but you forced yourself not to move.

"There we go. Aaaaand…there!"

Your phone. That was the thing they had, the thing that was pressed against your pointer finger. They needed it unlocked.

Not that you had any idea what he'd done with it.

"I almost feel bad for her," the first voice said without a shred of sympathy in his voice. "Innocent bystander in this."

"No one is innocent. Remember that. And especially not–"

Whatever he was going to say was drowned out by a noise in the distance. It took you a minute minute recognize the sound.

It was the siren that marked the beginning of the purge. Your blood ran cold even as you felt the heat of fear rush over your skin.

"Ah, perfect timing."

Hands came to your head but you didn't move, frozen in fear. It didn't matter because all that happened was that your blindfold was removed. You blinked a few times to get your eyes adjusted to the dim light above you and take in your surroundings. Some sort of warehouse. Two men in front of you.

One was one of the guys from the diner. The other was a shorter bald man who you didn't recognize. You'd definitely remember someone with a glass eye.

"Let the games begin," the man with the glass eye said as he smiled at you.

—

7pm

—

You'd never seen a shark up close but you imagined it looked a lot like the man with the glass eye that paced back and forth in front of you. There was something so unsettling about the man as he stood in a button up shirt and slacks. His attire wasn't threatening, his features weren't either. It was something else, something under the surface. Some animal instinct that made you sense that this was a predator and you were the prey.

The second man came over and undid the knot that held the gag in your mouth. He pulled it away and you immediately took a deep breath. Your chest hurt, a byproduct of whatever gas they used to knock you out, but you didn't cough this time.

"Rawlins, here."

Something was passed to the man with a glass eye. You caught a glimpse of your phone case before he slid it into his pocket.

"You're in for a long night. Don't bother screaming for help. No one will hear you."

They kept you blindfolded and gagged before the start because if you somehow got away, you wouldn't be able to describe them. But now it was fair game. Except…

"You kidnapped me before the start," you said, your voice shaking a bit.

The glass eyed man walked up until he was in front of you, his breath fanning against your face.

"That will be our little secret."

Because you weren't getting out of here alive. No one would know you'd gotten kidnapped before the start because there was no one around and you'd be unable to tell anyone after it was over because they were going to kill you.

Billy. You'd been on the phone with Billy when it happened. You almost said as much, wanted to tell them they wouldn't get away with it, but you bit your tongue. You didn't want him to be a target.

What did think when he got to the diner and saw that you were gone? He'd be worried, frantic. He'd probably try to find you, to bring you back.

Maybe he'd avenge you. Like Frank did with the loss of his wife and kids. The first purge, he went after the people who killed them. Part of you thought that that's why he and Billy kept going out during the purge. To keep anyone else from going through the pain that Frank still carried with him.

Then you thought about Billy. The phone conversation before the attack.

You'd told him he didn't have to worry about you and he'd said he couldn't help it. The next part had been interrupted by the attack, but it'd sounded like he was going to say that's what you do when you love someone.

You straightened your spine and stared straight at the man that had taken you. Pain radiated from your finger, your head was pounding.

You weren't going to give in without a fight. That's what Billy would do, what Frank or Karen would do. It's what your parents would want you to do.

This man could break your bones and your body but he wasn't going to break your spirit. If there was a way for you to survive, you'd find it. If there wasn't a way, you'd make him regret ever targeting you.

Let the games begin indeed.

—

8pm

—

You had been mostly left alone. Every now and then someone would come in and take a picture of you with their phone, but you hadn't seen Glass Eye since the first confrontation.

The delay was probably part of the torture. Being constantly on edge was making you paranoid of every noise in the distance. The lack of distraction also meant your finger was hurting twice as much. You could just barely see it from your position but you didn't want to look at it.

Now that you didn't have people in the room with you, you looked around to get your bearings. It was definitely some sort of a warehouse. Your arms were strung from pieces of equipment that hung from the rafters but you didn't recognize any of it. There was a stale smell, like it hadn't been used in a while.

You couldn't move around much because you didn't know anything about the contraption around your neck, but you could turn just enough to see a clock on the far wall. The hands were moving and it seemed to be correct. You watched the minute hand tick and tick from 8:05 to 8:10 to 8:15.

The door opened and someone came in. It was the leader of the group that you remembered from the diner. He grinned at you as he raised his phone to snap a picture of you.

"Why are you doing this?"

He was as surprised as you were that you spoke. Then the question sunk in and he shrugged.

"It's the purge. We can do whatever we want."

You shifted a bit, internally wishing your legs weren't tied together because you wanted to stand your ground.

"And this is what you want? To kidnap and torture a stranger who has never done anything to you?"

He walked a little closer to you, looking you over. There was nothing sexual in his eyes, just a clinical once over. When he met your gaze again, you had a brief moment to think you might have misjudged him before he spoke.

"I don't care what happens to you. I don't care about what happens to anyone. In the morning I'm getting paid a hefty sum, no matter if you're alive or not. That's all I care about."

The cold detachment in his voice made you shudder. Then he gave you that same grin from before as he turned to leave you alone once more.

Your eyes went to the clock and you watched the minutes tick by. At 8:30 the door opened and someone else came in to take a picture of you. You didn't engage this time, just waited until they shut the door before you looked at the clock again.

Once more at 8:45, another picture. Every fifteen minutes. You wondered why they'd be doing that if they weren't doing anything to you. It wasn't like you were changing much just hanging here.

Unless it was going to become some sort of sick flipbook of your twelve hours of captivation, you could only think of one reason that they were taking pictures of you like this.

Proof of life.

—

9pm

—

After the picture at 9, you decided you needed to do something. Hanging here and waiting wasn't working for you. You were just about to start wiggling your left arm to see if you could work the ropes loose when the door opened again.

Glass Eye walked in. He didn't immediately head over to you. First he went over to a table that had some black cloth on it. When he pulled back the cloth, you wanted to recoil. Laid out were different kinds of instruments. They all probably had legitimate uses, but in this room, you could think of only one.

He pushed the table over so that it was closer to you. Then he stepped back and raised a phone. It took you a second to realize he was holding your phone still. He snapped a picture and tapped away for a second before he stepped back and took another photo.

The table. He was making sure the table was in view. What had been pictures for proof of life were taking a turn. This was more a threat of what was to come.

"Won't be long now," he said as he slid your phone back into his pocket.

Then he turned and started away from you. Anger and fear rose in you until you blurted something out.

"Just do something you asshole!"

The outburst made him pause. He turned to look at you over his shoulder. Then he turned to face you fully. Your body began to shake as he walked towards you. A sigh of relief almost passed your lips as he bypassed the table, but it was turned into a groan as his fist came flying and slammed into your stomach. Another caught the side of your face and made your head jerk sideways. Another in your stomach again.

As you doubled over as much as your arms would let you, you tried to catch your breath. You saw a movement and then flinched backwards as his hand grabbed your chin to raise your face.

Your phone was in front of you for a second before he pulled away. Then he turned to leave without a word.

The pain in your stomach was mild compared to the pain in your face. You felt something slowly dripping from your cheek and realized he must have split the skin over your cheekbone. Hell with that much pain he might have shattered your cheekbone.

Taunting him obviously wasn't the way to go about things.

You glanced at the clock and sighed. 9:12. Someone would be in soon for the next picture. Until then you'd close your eyes and wait.

—

9:56pm

—

The door opening made you look up in a rush. After Glass Eye had used you as a punching bag, no one had come in for the routine pictures. While you hadn't let your guard down entirely, you'd relaxed a bit to try to conserve energy.

From the angry look on Glass Eye's face, you had to think you'd definitely need that energy.

He moved over to the table and let his fingers run over the handles of various instruments before they landed on what looked like a scalpel. Your eyes narrowed as he picked it up and tested the sharpness on the pad of his thumb.

Then he turned towards you with it.

"You can scream if you need to. I won't let it disturb me."

You swallowed thickly as you stared at the item in his hand. You had a feeling you would definitely need to scream.

—

10:42pm

—

A flash made you squint your eyes. The sight of your phone disappearing in Glass Eye's blood stained pocket would have made you frown if you had the energy. Instead you just hung limply as you watched him leave.

A glance at the clock told you it had been almost an hour. There were dozens of cuts and stabs all over your body. Nowhere that would kill you or make you bleed out. He was careful about that.

Tears ran over your face and mixed with the blood there. You weren't sure how many cuts he'd made in your face as you'd passed out at some point, but blood had dripped into your eyes. He'd taken a washcloth and cleaned your eyes because he wanted to make sure you could see him.

Your eyes shut and you let yourself cry even though it hurt. The pain was too much. The scent of blood mixed with the vomit where you'd gotten sick at some point.

In and out of the daze you found yourself in, you thought about the bunker. If you were there, you would all be settling in in the bedroom. There were cots and couches in there now so people could rest. Micro's kids would sleep but the adults would never fully give in to the need. Not until the siren went off again to say the purge was over.

You wouldn't even close your eyes until Billy and Frank walked back through the door. Until you could personally check Billy to make sure he wasn't injured.

You thought about all the times you tried to convince yourself--and sometimes Karen--that you weren't in love with Billy. The number of times you told yourself you were just friends. The number of times you tried to ignore the fact that Billy always looked for you first in a crowd, that when he got to the bunker he immediately went to your side so you could look him over, that he put your safety before everything.

The fact that you would die before you got to say those words to him hurt you worse than anything Glass Eye could do to you.

—

11:27pm

—

"You've lasted longer than I expected," Glass Eye said as he dropped another of your fingernails onto the table. "Only passed out once that time."

You swallowed thickly to hold in more bile. Your lips were split from his punches and your teeth as you bit them to keep from begging him to just kill you.

"I can see what Russo sees in you."

It took a moment for that to sink in. You blinked the tears out of your eyes and turned your head a bit to look at him.

He met your gaze with his one functioning eye, your blood splattered on his face and shirt.

"Did you think this was random? That I just felt the urge to torture some random diner owner? My job means I can torture anyone I want to. No, I picked you on purpose. You're close to him and I…I want to hurt him."

Your eyes moved over his face as you thought about all of this.

Hated Billy. His job was torture. Someone had called him Rawlins. Glass eye.

Glass eye. It came to you slowly, a story from long ago. Back when Billy and Frank first told you and Karen what had happened overseas. Frank punched Agent Orange and shattered his cheekbone, ruining his eye.

Glass Eye was Agent Orange.

"I can see the wheels turning now. I guess I should be flattered that Russo would tell you about me."

He shook his head as he put the pliers down on the table. You waited to see what he would pick up next. Instead of anything on the table he reached into his pocket and grabbed your phone. You looked up at him as he was getting the camera ready.

He looked surprised as he stared at you. You weren't sure why until he spoke.

"Why are you smiling?"

Were you? You probably were. Only because a very important thought had come to you.

"Billy is going to kill you."

The words felt like sandpaper in your throat from the screams, but the sentiment soothed your soul. Billy would avenge you and get his revenge all at the same time.

Rawlins shook his head. He snapped the picture, tapped a few things in the phone before he put it back in his pocket.

"I'm high up in the government. I'm untouchable."

You remembered that now. You'd heard Billy and Frank lamenting that fact sometimes.

But now? You look at the pile of your nails on the table, the amount of blood you'd already lost. Felt every wound he had inflicted. Then you raised your gaze back to his.

"You won't be untouchable once Billy gets his hands on you."

A flash of something like fear went through Rawlins. For the first time since this all started, you had gotten under his skin.

It was small compared to everything he had done to you, but you still felt like you won this round.

—

12:04am

—

In and out of consciousness, your mind drifted away from your body. You tried to imagine arriving at the bunker like this, but your mind refused. You couldn't see yourself with your friends again.

You were going to die here. It had been your fear when you first realized you were kidnapped before the purge officially started, but as your entire body ached from the torture, you knew it was inevitable. Rawlins wanted to make Billy suffer but you had a feeling right now he was just playing with you both. The endgame was death; yours and Billy's probably. But yours would happen first.

The door creaked open but you didn't look up. Not until you heard Rawlins speak.

"Someone wants to talk to you."

It took you a moment to register the words. Then it took another few moments to register he was holding a phone out towards you. Your phone.

Since you highly doubted that he expected you to grab the phone, you just swallowed and tried to speak.

"H-hello?"

Seconds later you heard a voice that made you want to cry. Billy. He said your name once, then again softer.

"Are you okay?"

You thought about everything you'd been through since you'd been taken. The pain you were in, the blood you'd lost, everything. Then you let out a small laugh.

"I've been better," you hedged instead of being honest.

"Now you know she's alive, what about my terms?" Rawlins met your gaze as he said the next part. "You for her life. Turn yourself over to me and I'll release her."

You could see it in his eyes that this was a trap. He had no intention of letting you go. He never did. You felt the heavy weight of the device around your neck, felt every ache as it resounded through your body.

You weren't getting out alive but that didn't mean that Billy had to suffer. He could stay safe, plan. Avenge you.

"Wait, wait, please," you begged, your face a mask of fear that wasn't exactly faked. You needed Rawlins to believe you were about to plead for your life so he would let you speak.

And it seemed like it worked because he gestured for you to speak.

"Billy? Can you hear me?"

His voice cracked as he answered, "I can hear you."

You swallowed and closed your eyes, begged whoever was listening for the strength to do what you needed to. Then you opened your eyes and looked Rawlins in the eye.

"Don't turn yourself in. He's going to kill me either way."

Rawlins looked like he wanted to hit you but he didn't give in to the urge. Instead he shifted a bit on his feet as he waited for Billy's response.

"Rawlins. You've spent these years protected because of your position. That's the only reason that Frank and I haven't gone after you. You were untouchable, safe. But you made a mistake. You took someone else that we care about. You hurt her, you tortured her. You spent years safe in your anonymity but you came down to our level just to get to me. It means you're not untouchable anymore."

Rawlins swallowed thickly. He looked like he was trying to compose himself but there was an underlying anxiety that was coming out of him.

You heard Billy release a breath and you realized you'd heard it before. That noise was one he made when he was centering himself.

"Hey Rawlins? You look a little pale."

You understood the comment seconds before Rawlins did. He immediately started towards you, pulling a gun out from where it was tucked in the back of his pants. He didn't even get it raised before there was a loud pop. You'd been to the shooting range with Karen before so you recognized the sound of a gunshot. In the second after the sound you expected pain but none came. Instead you watched Rawlins spin around and clutch at his shoulder where you saw a darker blood spot blooming.

"HE'S HERE! GET IN HERE!"

The other guys flooded in, somewhere between six and eight in total. You forced yourself not to close your eyes as gunshots exploded. The shot came through a window to the side and they all fired in that direction. Except you doubted they'd reach him.

Billy was a sniper. He didn't have to be nearby.

The lights shattered as they were shot out. You bit back a scream as the sounds of the gunshots got more chaotic. You could imagine from various grunts and hollers that the other guys were getting struck, but you forced your attention to Rawlins as he approached you.

He reached up and undid the rope that held your left hand up. He held his gun to your forehead as he worked on the second rope on your right hand.

You couldn't walk because your legs were still tied together, but there was a relief in not having your body being held up by your arms. And it seemed you didn't need to walk because Rawlins threw his arm around you and started to drag you sideways.

You didn't get a chance to fight back because before Rawlins had pulled you three feet from where you'd been held captive for the last few hours, you felt your body being yanked to the side. Then you watched as a dark figure struck out at Rawlins. The gun went off but the bullet missed its mark as his arm was struck.

The blanks were filled in by your hectic mind as you fell to your knees and dove for the dropped gun. The dark figure that was fighting Rawlins was Matt–Daredevil currently.

Gun in hand, you crawled backwards until your back hit a piece of equipment. Gunshots lit up areas of the room, enough to see that there were people in the room fighting, not just shooting at each other. You recognized Jessica Jones, the alcoholic PI who also had super strength, and Luke Cage, the invulnerable man. Seeing all of them made you realize the scale of this rescue mission.

Someone came to your corner and you raised your gun. Hands flew up, one holding a small pen light. It gave off enough illumination to realize it was David.

"Micro," you exclaimed in confusion.

"I heard there was a need for IT support," he said with a gesture towards your neck. "Just keep that gun handy and shoot any unfriendlies that might come our way."

He knelt down beside you and started fiddling with the device on your neck. You kept your gaze on the rest of the room while he worked, barely letting yourself think that this might still end with you dying after all.

You caught a familiar sight coming through the door. Frank and Billy marched in wearing dark tactical gear. They both went over to where Matt was fighting Rawlins but you thought you saw them both look your way first.

"Only one missing is Karen," you muttered as you cooked your head to the side to give Micro more room.

"She's driving the getaway car and has a rocket launcher for protection," he offered through teeth clenched around the pen light.

A rocket launcher? Jesus.

A yell made you look forward once more. It looked like someone was down and was surrounded. Your stomach flipped until you realized who was still standing. Matt, Jessica, and Luke were on one side, Frank and Billy on the other. There were lumps all over the ground, the other men that had been keeping you captive. That meant the person on the ground was…

Frank knelt down beside the man and started to slam his fists into his face. Over and over and over.

Then you couldn't see it anymore. Instead you were looking at legs. The person that was standing in front of you knelt down until you could see their face.

"Billy."

Your eyes had adjusted to the dark enough to see that he was looking you over. Since you could feel every bruise, abrasion, and cut on your face, you imagined what he was seeing wasn't very good. You gave him a smile that was probably more of a wince.

"Shit. Are you…"

You didn't think he was going to finish that sentence. It was obvious you weren't okay. Instead you took a deep breath and tried to ignore the pain that that brought.

"You came for me."

He did a double take at that. Then he reached out and placed his hand gently on your knees which were bent at an odd angle.

"Of course I…we did. Of course we did."

He pulled a knife from seemingly nowhere but you knew he usually kept one stashed on him. When you flinched, he clenched his jaw. Then he slowly moved the hand with the knife until he could cut the bonds around your ankles and knees.

"Aaaaand done!"

There was a click that accompanied Micro's words and then the device around your neck released some of the tension. He gently removed it from your neck and shoulders and stood up with it in his hands.

"This is a diabolical piece of hardware. If it had gone off, it would have been…I'm going to go…get rid of it."

You furrowed your eyebrows at his weirder than usual antics. When you turned to look at Billy to see if he noticed, he was glaring at Micro.

Ah. That made sense.

Frank came up to the two of you a moment later. Even though his suit was black, you could see the slickness of blood on him. You knew without a doubt Rawlins was dead. At this point they'd probably need to do DNA testing to get a positive ID.

"Shit, how did you survive that? We need to get you out of here."

You tried to give him a smile but the reality of being safe meant that the adrenaline that had carried you through the events of the night was disappearing. All that was left in its wake was exhaustion and pain.

"I don't think I can walk," you admitted as you tried to force yourself to stand.

"I've got you. Just…I'm sorry, it's going to hurt."

Billy lifted you up, his arm around your waist. You winced but held on as tight as you could. Once you were upright, he ducked down and lifted your legs up in his other arm. Fully in his hold, you turned your face into his neck and closed your eyes.

"You're safe now," Billy whispered into your ear.

You tried to stay awake and aware, but exhaustion swept over you. The feeling of being safe overwhelmed you and you slowly drifted off.

—

1:12am

—

You woke up in the back of a car, your head pillowed on someone's lap. You squinted into the front and saw Karen in the passenger seat beside Frank. And Frank was…raising his gun out of the window?

And so was Karen. And so was whoever you were curled up on. You followed the arm above you to see Billy's face. He looked tense as he pointed the gun at something outside.

"You don't wanna do that kid," Frank said from the front seat. "This is not the car for you, you understand me?"

Oh. Someone must have been threatening to carjack you guys. Even if it wasn't the purge, you had a feeling that the reaction would have been the same. A few moments later you felt the car start moving again.

Billy didn't drop the gun but his free hand lightly rested against your wrist. You reached up with your hand and covered his.

"I'm right here sweetheart," he whispered down to you as he soothed his thumb over your wrist. "It's okay."

You closed your eyes again and nodded.

"I know it's okay. I'm safe with you."

The thumb paused and then continued to rub back and forth until you fell asleep again.

—

2:30am

—

"All done," Curtis said quietly as he pulled off his gloves.

You peered up at him from where you were on a table in a secluded corner of the bunker. He'd met you all at the bunker and immediately started to work at patching you up. It had taken most of the first aid materials that were stored in the bunker before he was satisfied.

"It'll take a few months for the nails to grow back," he said as he gestured to your wrapped fingertips. "The broken finger should heal in a few weeks. Everything else will take a few weeks but…you'll probably always have the scars."

You reached up and touched your face where you could feel various butterfly bandages. Curtis covered your hand and gently lowered it back down.

"Not just those. The mental and emotional scars of your ordeal? Those are going to stick with you for a long time."

You nodded and closed your eyes. The moment you did, you saw Rawlins’ face. It made your eyes immediately pop back open.

"I'll send Billy in."

With that Curtis went around the wall that separated this area from the rest of the bunker. You were alone for only a few moments before the anxiety fully gripped you. You slowly sat up on the table. As you started to swing your legs over the edge of the table, Billy came around from the direction Curtis had disappeared.

"You shouldn't be getting up alone. Here. Let me help you to one of the cots."

He went to your side but hesitated. You sighed and tucked your hands against your stomach.

"I'm sorry," you whispered.

Billy nearly jumped away from you at that.

"What in the hell are you apologizing for? You didn't do anything wrong."

"If I'd just closed earlier, none of this would have happened."

He swore at that.

"You think this is your fault? You're an innocent bystander in all of this. You didn't deserve this. Rawlins only took you because he knew it would hurt me." He pressed his freehand on the table near you. "If either of us are to blame, it's me. Me and Frank are the reason…"

You reached out and covered Billy's hand with yours. He hesitated before he covered yours as well.

"How about we just agree that he was a monster and the fault lies with him?"

Billy laughed at that. He bowed his head down and shook his head.

"Have I thanked you for saving me?"

His head shot up and he met your gaze. You watched as he seemed to fight with himself for a second before he leaned in and pressed a very gentle and chaste kiss against your lips.

"You never have to thank me for that. You are one of the few people I actually care about. It's my job to protect you."

You thought about the words that he had almost said before you were kidnapped, the words you longed to say back to him. Then you leaned in and pressed a slightly longer kiss to his lips.

For now you would keep the words to yourself, but not for long. You knew for a fact how short life could be.

—

7am

—

The siren sounded in the distance, a voice saying the annual purge was over. You heard the soft sighs of David and his family. Karen rubbed her red eyes and leaned a little heavier against a freshly showered Frank. He kissed her forehead before he looked over at you and Billy.

"It's over."

This year. You didn't want to think about that so instead you nodded. Billy's arm around you tightened.

"Same routine as usual. Stay here for another hour to make sure everything is done out there. Then we go home and try to rest."

You thought about your diner, wondered if it was even still standing. As if he was reading your mind, Billy pressed a kiss to your temple.

"We'll check it but then I'm taking you home. I want to keep an eye on you for a few days."

"No complaints here," you said quietly as you leaned against his shoulder.

You met Karen's eye across the room. You knew that this has been a big deal for everyone. Not just your kidnapping although you knew they all cared about you. Also because this was the final revenge for both men. Frank got to kill the man that caused the death of his family and Billy apparently got to put a few bullets into him to start with.

The purge was over. Maybe things would change and it would be the last one. Hopefully. If not, you knew next year you'd do things differently.

Billy would see to that. He would keep you safe.

You felt him press a kiss to your temple again and you smiled in spite of your pain. It wasn't exactly a happy ending, but it was a good one either way.

Thank you for reading this year’s Halloween fic! I hope you enjoyed.

#billy russo #billy russo x reader #billy russo imagine #billy russo fanfic #my writing #stay don't go #halloween fic

262 notes · View notes

suns-out-sleeps-in · 2 months

Text

Don't know why I just thought of this but I kinda want the next Halloween event in twst to be The Three Musketeers? I mean full Disney looneyness like in the movie. I don't know who would be the SSRs, SR and R cards but I do want one of the SSRs to be Leona just because I'm delusional and he's the only house warden to not have a Halloween SSR. (Seriously twst team he's one of the most popular characters and he's the ONLY house warden left? Weird but okay) Maybe to be extra delulu it could be Crewel and Sam? (my 3 faves) I mean we just got a Crowley Jacket card on JP so the other staff HAVE to be in the pipeline at some point but c'mon it'd be so sick to see a Sam SSR Halloween card in the Mystery Shop.

#twisted wonderland #twst #twst leona #twst crewel #twst sam

10 notes · View notes

shadowmaat · 3 months

Text

Mullet Wig, the Llama King

New drama just dropped!

I think we've all noticed that our favorite hellsite has some... issues when it comes to moderating toxic groups: Nazis, transphobes, TERFs, extremists of every stripe, etc.

In fact, there seems to be a trend where the victims of those groups are more likely to suffer consequences than the perpetrators themselves. Even in my tiny little mud puddle among the tumbleweeds I've heard things.

So when Our Kitty of Hacking, who has the bonus of being a reliable source, shares a story of a trans woman being banned from the site, I go digging.

In THIS corner we have a trans woman buckling under the weight of harassment and stalking. She's made multiple appeals to the mod squad for help and been continually ignored.

In frustration, she makes a post wishing for cartoonish violence to happen to Our Supreme Overlord... and gets banned.

In THAT corner we have Our Supreme Overlord, who bought a site that has never been profitable, couldn't turn a profit, and decided to shove it in the corner.

Under a deluge of complaints about the banning, he feigns having the high ground and cites the reasons why he's totally right and everyone else is wrong.

Point the first: "We have queer folks on staff, so we can't be queerphobic! They've never complained!"

Having queer peeps on staff doesn't mean much. For most companies it's just a checkmark to show how cool and inclusive they are. It doesn't mean they're treated well, it doesn't mean their concerns are listened to or addressed, and it doesn't mean that they speak for the entire community. Also? Just because they don't say anything doesn't mean they don't have objections. "fear of losing your job" is a hella big reason to keep your mouth shut.

"There was unmarked sexually explicit material and that's against our TOS!"

There's a difference between "showing off results of surgery while fully clothed" and "sexually explicit material" you absolute corncob.

"There were threats of violence!"

A Looney Tunes-style threat, especially one couched as "I hope" rather than "I'm going to" is not something to be taken seriously.

Also? The victim you've chosen to vilify was also receiving threats of violence- likely much more realistic and specific- and yet those threats were apparently not found to be in violation. Interesting how that works.

Additional point: You misgendered her. You fucking MISGENDERED HER. There is absolutely no excuse for that and you can't fucking claim you "didn't know" her pronouns. If you aren't sure, you FIND OUT before you go spouting self-defensive bullshit.

You've turned a blind eye to the hate groups and bad actors on here for years. Now, suddenly, when it's all about YOU, you suddenly find a way to moderate/remove anyone who hurts your fee-fees. C'mon, dude. I'll do a whipround to get you some mountaineering gear so you can finally get over yourself.

Just go back to ignoring us, you soggy cabbage.

#drama llama farm

7 notes · View notes

therealloopylupin2099 · 8 months

Text

Incorrect Quotes: Miguel addition #3

Miguel: People always shoot down my ideas and I’m sick of it. Two sentences in and everyone’s always shouting “what the fuck? that’s illegal!” and “you can’t do that!”. Like, c'mon, let me talk!

Miguel: If you see me talking to myself, go away! I’m self-employed and we’re having a staff meeting!

Miguel: Sometimes I wonder if I’m hearing voices. Miguel: Then I remember that’s the last bit of sanity I have trying to get me to fall asleep at a reasonable time.

Miguel, making coffee: This is going to fix everything.

Miguel, bleeding out on the ground:Blood loss? No, I know exactly where it is.

Miguel: Sometimes, I don’t realize an event was traumatic until I tell it as a funny story and notice everyone is staring at me weird.

Miguel, slamming pots and pans together to the rhythm of "Give it to me, I'm worth it": I didn't get no sleep cause a' y'all! Y'all never gonna sleep cause a' me!

Miguel: I’m a multitasker! Miguel: I can disappoint fifteen people at once.

Miguel: I would do anything for money. *later* Miguel, covered in blood: THE STATEMENT STILL STANDS!

Miguel: So, you’ve finally arrived- Miguel: Here to save prince- Miguel: I’ve been waiting for this day- Miguel: Stop skipping my dialogue- Miguel: Seriously, stop- Miguel: MOTHER FU-

Shapeshifter: *transforms to look like Miguel* Miguel: Okay, are you like BLIND? You look nothing like me. First off, I'm way taller. Secondly, I DO NOT look so sleep deprived and lastly, if you could drag comb through that hair you're like a 7 on a good day and I've been told I'm a constant 10.

Miguel: Pros and cons of dating me. Miguel: Pros. You'll be the cute one. Miguel: Cons. Holy shit, where do I begin-

Miguel: If karma doesn't hit you, I fucking will.

Miguel: The shadow realm? No, I’m sending you to Ohio!

Miguel: You were wise to seek help from the world's most deadly weapon. Miguel: It's me.

Miguel: I am so horny and angry all the time.

Miguel: I'm hot, I’m tall, I'm gay, and I'm on my theatre kid arc.

Miguel: I regret getting dragged into your heterosexual tomfoolery.

>:3 the quotes got longer! It shall consume your thoughts spiderlings MUHAHAHA!

#atsv miguel #miguel o'hara #incorrect quotes #funny #how do i tag this

12 notes · View notes

aerodaltonimperial · 7 months

Note

Hi, hello. Prompt: JungleCorpse and a compromising position!

(Dialogue only warm-up! 💚🖤)

"Hey."

"Uh. Hey."

"....uh, you good?"

"Define 'good'."

"What do you... okay. Uh, is something wrong?"

"Define 'wrong'."

"Darby. .... come on, you... I don't even know what time you left this morning, so..."

"Early."

"....okay. Uh, is there... something we need to talk about?"

"Is there.... yeah, y'know, yeah. I can't do this anymore."

"You can't... are we--are we having this conversation here? Back in... okay, no, come on. Jesus. Just... go in here. Yeah, just... Are you... are you breaking up with me?"

"Breaking up implies the existence of something, Jack. And we're not anything."

"Yeah, that's what we decid--"

"That's what you decided. And, y'know, I thought I could do this. I thought I could keep things casual and uncomplicated, and I can't."

"...what do you mean you ca--"

"I can't do this again! This is gonna kill me."

"... Darby."

"I can't, okay? I thought I could, and I can't, and this is gonna fucking kill me when it ends."

"Why... why would it--"

"Because everything does with you, Jack. You've nuked every god damn thing in your fucking life, and I'm next, and I can't. Do it."

"... I didn't..."

"You know what, just... spare me all of this, okay? I just really can't fucking deal with it. I've got a match tonight, and I'm due out with staff soon, and--"

"Darby! Okay, you can't just... you can't just drop this on me and split. That's bullshit."

"It's called self-preservation."

"It’s... god dammit, Darby. You're just... you're just assuming you know how I feel and--"

"Actually, how would I, Jack? You've never fucking said anything, have you?"

"Said anything about what? This was--this was what we decided! What we talked about! So why would I say anyth--"

"Oh my god, I'm done here."

"No! Fuck--Darby! You can't just keep leaving when--c'mere, seriously. What the fuck."

"Don't."

"Hey. Look at me. C'mon. What the hell is going on? You slip out at god knows what hour this morning, say nothing, leave no note..."

"Is that a thing that we do? Leave notes?"

"... I mean, it could be."

"It could be. What a joke."

"Darby. You're not... I think you're... not saying things right now. And it's making things hard."

"Making things hard? Do you know what's making things hard, Jack? This fucked-up thing between us, that's what. This stupid fucking thing we've been doing since April, that's what's making things hard, Jack. And I can't sit around waiting for you to decide to pull the plug like you do with everything else in your life."

"That's.... that's not..."

"It's not what?"

"Darby, you're all I've got."

"And I can't lose this again, do you understand? I won't fucking survive this."

".... lose what again?"

"Everything."

"Darby. Darby, don't walk away--stop. Please. I think there's... you're not saying things. You are, but you aren't, and I need..."

"I don't really care what you need right now."

"Darby! Stop. Just... I need you to say it."

"Why."

"Because... I need to know."

"You already do. This is fucking pointless. You already know."

"I don't. I don't! You have to... I have to hear it."

"You have to hear it? Oh, well, in that case, let me crawl on broken glass to give you exactly what you want, Jack."

"No, I... stop! Don't--don't leave, please don't--Darby! I need you to say it so I can say it back."

".... what?"

"I can't... it gets all sticky in my throat, I can't... I can't be the one to... please. I'm trying, I... I know I'm fucked up, and useless, and--"

"Jack. Stop. You're not..."

"Will you... will you please say it? Even if it's just once? And, then, uh... I've been shoving it down for months because I thought... could you..."

"...c'mere. Just... come here. Hey."

"Hey."

"I'm sorry I crept out this morning."

"Okay. Are you... are you still breaking up with me?"

"No."

"Okay. Okay. Um. Could you, maybe...?"

"How about I tell you tonight. Not here, not... backstage. But I'll... yeah. I'll tell you."

"Okay. I really... okay."

"You wanna go back out there?"

"Um, in a minute. Can we... can we just stay here for a little while?"

"Yeah. Of course."

"... I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For being me, I guess. For making you think I was going to nuke you. For making you think I didn't... well."

"... Jack."

"Just... this is good. Just another minute. And then I'm good."

"Yeah. Me, too."

#tag so you don’t lose this shit

11 notes · View notes

twilightmalachite · 5 months

Text

Love Letter - Mirror mirror 5

Author: Umeda Chitose

Characters: Yuuta, Rinne, Niki, Hinata

Translator: Mika Enstars

Proofer: Kirin

"Ughh, I never want you to call me a chuunibyou ever again…!"

[Read on my blog for the best viewing experience with Oi~ssu ♪]

Season: Winter

Location: Staff Dining Hall

Rinne: Hey, hey, who are ya callin’ cursed?

Yuuta: I said the worst, not cursed… No, both of those apply to you, don’t they, Rinne-senpai?

Rinne: So I’m a man who carries the burden of being the worst and being cursed? What is this, didja catch a case of chuunibyou, Yuta?

Yuuta: Ughh, I never want you to call me a chuunibyou ever again…!

Niki: Now just hold on, Rinne-kun! The employee canteen is a place for eating, so I’d like it if you quieted down.

Rinne: How come there's nothin’ in your hands, Niki? Where's my food?

Niki: How am I gonna serve you anything if you don’t place an order for it. Please use HoldHands and order properly.

Rinne: But I wanna eat your yummy food for free! C'mon, quit your grumblin’ and get on cookin’…☆

Yuuta: Rinne-senpai, how are you not embarrassed extorting food from someone?

You'll spend money on gambling, but spending L$ for a meal is too much for you?

Niki: Ooh, razor-sharp argument there…! You're super right though, the only things I can provide Rinne-kun here are water and seasonings.

Yuuta: Here, help yourself to some seasoning if you want. We have cayenne pepper, tabasco, and death sauce you can eat, or I guess, lick?

Rinne: What kinda infernal line-up is this… Actually, what’re ya doin’ eating even more spicy food, Yuta?

Those rice crackers from earlier were fine, but now even the smell of spice is so strong it’s makin’ my own mouth sting…

Yuuta: Hehe, if you really don't wanna order through HoldHands, you’re welcome to take a bite from my plate, y’know! ♪

Rinne: Naw, hold on… Didja just add death sauce on that before offerin’ it to me?!

Yuuta: Ehehe, oops, you saw that?

Rinne: Hey, Yuta? You know that hurting yourself with spicy food is usually a way to cope with stress, right?

Right now, you’re tryna overload and erase your own pain and stress by overwhelmin’ your senses with spice and more pain, y’know.

Yuuta: Please don’t doubt my love for spicy food. Extra spicy food is my favorite, and that’s all it is. It has nothing to do with my stress—

Niki: Oh! Is the thing you told me ‘bout earlier what’s stressing ya out, Yuuta-kun?

Yuuta: (Shiina-senpai, no one asked…!)

Rinne: Talkin’ ‘bout what earlier…?

Niki: Some argument over 2wink's unit plans, I think. Somethin’ like that, right, Yuuta-kun?

Yuuta: (You're telling him about it, too!? I know you don’t mean any bad of it, so I can’t really get mad at you though…!)

…Yeah. Well, a bit. There’s all sorts of things.

Rinne: Gyahaha! ☆ Ya can't just keep sayin’ “all sorts” like that! ♪ Ya keep tryin’ to play it off, but your face is sooo sour!

Yuuta: ……

Rinne: See, what a great face! I’ve gotten invested in this sibling quarrel of yours. So if ya need any help, I don’t mind helpin’ ya out, ‘kay? ♪

Yuuta: You say that, but you’re just here to use us as entertainment, Rinne-senpai.

The last thing I want to do is accept your help… I mean, who knows what you’ll do, or want me to do.

Niki: That’s right, Yuuta-kun! It’s better to not listen to what Rinne-kun says!

Yuuta: (…Ahh, but… If I do let Rinne-senpai help, I wonder if it’d surprise Aniki. I wonder if he’d get worried about me…)

(Eventually going, “Yuuta-kuns become a bad kid!”, or something. I wonder if he’d be at a loss, or even feel regret…)

(When I said those harsh things to Aniki earlier, he just went silent without a word. He didn’t even talk back.)

(You know why? It’s definitely because Aniki gave up! So he swallowed his words!)

(I wish he would just… Talk back to me without holding himself back! What do I have to do to make that happen?)

Yuuta: ……

Rinne: …Niki, look! I think he’s considering it!

Niki: Come on now, he seems to be seriously pondering over it, so what are you doing making a joke of it?

Yuuta: (…Hey Aniki, you know what I should have told you? If you’re going to keep on sacrificing yourself for my sake, then…)

…*exhales*

Rinne: Ya sure took your time, Yuta. Your food’s probably cooled all the way down by now, huh?

Yuuta: Who do you think's the one making me waste my time? If you want to pay me back, then lend me a hand.

Rinne: Oh?

Yuuta: To be honest, I don't feel good about it. But, I thought it’d be the most effective way to get things done.

I’ll take it, your hand.

Rinne: …♪

Location: Break Room

Meanwhile, in the break room…

Hinata: Ha… Haaaah~….

(What am I even doing…! Didn’t I see Yuuta-kun’s face at the end there?! That's definitely going to haunt my dreams tonight~!)

(Still though, I’d be happy to get to see Yuuta-kun in my dreams… No, nevermind that. What I need to do now is use this time to figure out what exactly I did wrong.)

(I need to cool my head too, not just Yuuta-kun. I need to calm down, and figure out what I should’ve done instead for Yuuta-kun.)

(…Wait, hold on… How come I get the feeling that there isn’t even anything I could’ve done in the first place?

(Hey, Yuuta-kun… What should I do for us to be able to have fun, together?)

[ ☆ ]

← prev | story directory | next →

#love letter #event #translation #yuuta aoi #hinata aoi #rinne amagi #niki shiina

7 notes · View notes

welcometothedopeworld · 5 months

Text

Sweet Secret Admirer ~ *Shogo Yamato*

Summary: Shogo has been noticing presents of sweets for the past few weeks. At first he thinks it's just an accident but then he thinks someone could be sending them to him. But who could it be...?

Pairing: Shogo Yamato X G/N!Reader

Genre: Fluffy Drabble

Word Count: 786

Warning: N/A

Masterlist

A/N: You know it's going to be good when my vision is blurry while writing the whole thing.

It all started with a chocolate bar in his duffel bag. Shogo wasn't quite sure where it came from, but Toma told him the label had his name on it. And so, right before dance practice, he ate the sweet chocolate bar and felt energized throughout the entire practice.

Then it was a small bag of caramels on his desk. They were all wrapped up in parchment paper with a red bow on the bag. They melted on his tongue as he cleverly crafted songs for VISTY. Some even had cream in the middle. Still, he wasn't quite sure where they came from. However, he wasn't complaining. He hadn't been that successful in writing in a long time.

A couple weeks later, there was a large lollipop the size of his hand in the recording booth. Kantaro was insanely jealous and asked him to break it so they all could have a piece. But he refused, saying it was meant for him. And while he couldn't finish the whole thing in one sitting, he made sure to keep it hidden from Kantaro, who seemed ever more determined to get a bite.

When Shogo found a gumball machine in his room that was fully stocked with the colorful candy, he finally had enough of not knowing who was sneaking candy to him.

"Alright, seriously." He said, hands on his hips as he confronted VISTY in the common room of their dorm. "Who keeps giving me candy? I'm not mad. I'm just super confused."

Aoi frowned as he continued playing on his phone. "I can tell you right now that it's not me."

He glanced over at Toma who shook his head. "It's not me. And I know it's not Kantaro either. He's been jealous every time you get a new thing of sweets."

"It's not fair!" Kantaro pouted and crossed his arms over his chest. "Why don't I get a secret admirer?"

Aoi glanced up from his phone for a split second. "And what makes you think he has a secret admirer? For all we know, it could be one of the staff taking pity on him or something."

Shogo shook his head. "Regardless. None of you have been giving me candy?"

Again, all three of them shook their heads. Toma piped up. "Sorry. Although whoever is must really like you."

"Like I said!" Kantaro added. "It must be a secret admirer! Who do you think it could be?"

Shogo thought for a moment, trying to come up with a name of someone he thought could be a secret admirer. Of course, as soon as he had one in mind, he blushed and quickly shook his head.

Aoi, always perceptive, laughed at his reaction. "I know EXACTLY who you're thinking of."

"Who?" Kantaro asked.

Toma began to laugh as well. "Oh! He's not thinking of them, is he?"

"Who?!"

"C'mon, who else would he be thinking of?"

"WHO?!"

"I AM NOT THINKING OF Y/N!" Shogo shouted before his face fell at his words.

Commence the teasing in three...

Two...

One...

Aoi snickered. "I never said that name."

Kantaro gasped loudly. "You like Y/n?! Oh that's wonderful! They're so sweet! They're absolutely perfect for you! You have to ask them out now! Please, please, please!"

"You know it could not be them giving me this candy!" Shogo shot back, but even he was having a hard time believing it. They were the only one who knew how much he loved sweets, especially which kinds were his favorite. "Besides, I'm not going to jeopardize our friendship over a hunch."

Toma shrugged. "It couldn't hurt."

"It very well could!"

"You never know if you don't try."

"Please, please, please ask them out!"

Shogo shook his head and stormed off to his room, shouting. "I'm not having this conversation anymore!"

As soon as he entered his room, however, he stopped. There they were, placing the biggest bag of gummy bears on his bed. Instead of looking embarrassed or blushing, like he was, they laughed.

"Guess I was caught in the act, huh?"

"I-" He covered his mouth with his hand. "It was you?"

They nod. "Of course! You've been working so hard, I just had to get something nice for you. I'm glad you've been liking the sweet treats I've gotten you. Sometimes I thought I was going overboard, but seeing just how happy they made you, well, I'm glad I did it."

Before he could stop himself, he smiled and lowered his hand to show you. "You really are sweet, aren't you? The sweetest secret admirer."

"Guilty as charged." They laughed. "Now c'mon, let's share these gummy bears! I don't think you can finish them all by yourself."

"Watch me!"

#Paradox Live #Paradox Live Fanfiction #Paradox Live Drabble #Anime #Anime Fanfiction #Anime Drabble #VISTY #Shogo Yamato #Shogo Yamato X Reader #Shogo Yamato Fanfiction #Shogo Yamato Drabble #Shogo Yamato Fluff #Shogo #Shogo X Reader #Shogo Fanfiction #Shogo Drabble #Shogo Fluff #Drabble #Fluff

16 notes · View notes

moncey-imagines · 2 years

Text

WDW Trip Headcanons | Sans x GN!Reader

Sorry this took so long, Thanksgiving week has been quite busy 🥲 but now it is done and out for all the world to see 🐎🐎for context, the reader is hyperfixated on the disney parks (just like me 😎)

!!THIS HAS NOT BEEN PROOF-READ OR EDITED!!

enjoy!!!

Also I added an intro to lead into the headcanons 😱

It started with a simple statement:

* WHAT?? SERIOUSLY???

* seriously.

This is the first time you found out that Sans had absolutely no idea about the pure magic and majesty of Disney parks.

* You've been on the surface for like a year...how do you STILL not know about Disneyworld...

* idk

* Do you even know about the Disney company at all??? You have to, they are industry giants in like every category of anything ever...

* i think so, are they the ones that have the princesses?

* Which princesses?

* you know, the ones.

* No I don't, you have to tell me which ones.

* the ones with the hair.

* WHAT KIND OF HAIR?

* long hair i think.

* Rapunzel?

* idk

* Okay yeah that's it, we're going to Disneyworld, lemme go book the flights.

* cool

Two weeks later, you and your skeleton boyfriend were off to Orlando so you could expose him to the wonders of Walt Disney World.

Once you two are there and walking around, he'd probably be more focused on you rather than the park. I mean, it's kind of hard to ignore how excited you get over being in the park. The amount of facts that pop up in your brain the second you're in the parks is abundant, so much so that there is no way to stop you excited rambling (not that he'd try, he thinks it's cute).

* Look!! Look at the windows!!

* im lookin.

* It's a tribute to Marc Davis!!

* i...sorry, i dont know who that is.

Expect a lot of Sans not understanding a single thing you're talking about.

* Sans!! Look at the rocks, it's shaped like the Nautilus!!

* yeah?

* Yeah!! That's cause 20000 Leagues Under the Sea was here before The Little Mermaid ride!!

* wow.

* Do you know what any of what I just said means?

* um...not really no, im sorry.

He'll still listen though, he likes seeing you happy and excited.

* i really don't think these guys have the guts to be in here naked

* They're fake skeletons, Sans, but there's a rumor that the skull on the bed in Disneyland if re- wait...they don't have the guts. I just got it.

* took you a minute huh.

* Shut it, bonehead.

* sorry, but a name like that won't get under my skin.

* These jokes suck, you must have left your funny bone at home.

* i know, im just a lazy bones like that.

Everyone around you two have to occasionally either sit through agonizingly horrible jokes or get up and walk away.

* Hey, Sans! Do you think you can solve the murder mystery?

* murder mystery? isnt that a little dark for magic kingdom?

* It's not too dark for the Haunted Mansion, that's what this ride is all about.

* ah, okay. i wont let it rattle my bones then.

* You're such a doofus.

* actually, in your own words, im a bonehead.

* Do you think you can do the puzzle or not? The lines gonna move...

* yeah, yeah, okay.

Sans also seems to really like standing in line to hear what other people are saying.

* people say some wild stuff here, (y/n).

* Like what?

* i just heard a little girl ask her mom what happened to Mickey Mouse when he went backstage and her older sister said that the staff skinned him.

* Oh my god.

* thats not all, after that her mom agreed and told her thats how they make the Mickey ear hats.

* these fireworks are pretty nice.

* Did you know that they have to set them off no matter what? For safety reasons, they can't let old fireworks sit back there unused, even is they cancel the shows.

* so theres technically always a show?

* ...I guess so, yeah.

* ...

* What do you think happens if an airplane flies to close to the fire works?

* what happens?

* It probably becomes a scareplane.

* that one's a stretch

* C'mon, I thought it was funny.

* you were close, but not close enough. maybe next time.

Driving the car to the hotel, you turn to Sans.

* Did you...like today's trip? I wasn't annoying was I?

* i liked it, yeah, and not at all, i thought all your little facts were great. im excited for what you tell me tommorow.

* Alright, I'll stock up on my facts for Animal Kingdom tomorrow.

* you better, ill even polish my humerus.

* I knew you were gonna make some kind of pun, I felt it in my bones.

* what, have you been spine on me?

* Okay, that one was knee-t.

Sans lets out a sigh.

* What's wrong?

* nothing at all, i love you.

I'M SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG AAAAA

also sorry if its more dialogue than headcanons, I've been coding VNs as of late DHFYSGADFh

I kinda wanna make this into a short visual novel...but I cannot at the moment, I must get this fic out DHGFIYFSG

I hope it was good, if anyone wants a part two in another part just send in an ask 😎

#sans undertale #sans x reader #moncey imagines #undertale #☺️#🏃‍♂️#👠

72 notes · View notes

scarisd3ad · 8 months

Text

Promptober day 15 - sneaking into a closed fazbears pizzaria

Pairing - none just a spooky little fic

Warnings - regular fnaf warnings

Promptober ‘23 masterlist

Main masterlist

Taglist

Freddy fazbears pizza was a popular restaurant chain, well at least where I was from. it was popular with kids, parents and even teenagers but for different reasons. But the chain got shut down back in 83 leaving a big, abandoned building with who knows what left inside. When the restaurant shut down back in 83 that when the teenagers in the area started to break in check out the areas meant for staff only and mess around with the animatronics. Thank God for the stupid night guard that would forgetfully leave the back door unlocked before falling asleep in their office.

I stared up at the sign that used to be lit up it read, "Freddy fazbear's Pizzaria'. I grew up at this place even other week on Fridays my mother would take me and my siblings there after she got off. She would get to eat while my siblings and I would run around playing on the arcade machines and interacting the mascots. "c'mon I'm not waiting here all day" I snap out of my trance and look over to my friend Tracy who has a flashlight in her hand as she held the back door open for me. "ri-right yeah I'm coming" I mutter as I walk through the back door and into the kitchen.

there were bunches, and bunches of industrial sized pizza ovens lined the walls. I guess with a thriving pizza business like this one used to be you'd need as many pizza ovens as possible. "You think the animatronics actually move around at night?" Tracy asks as the door slams shut behind her. the animatronics were big chunky things that were probably bolted to the floor there was no way they could move unless they were in costume mode, and there were only few that could do that. the golden bonnie, and Freddy models that I heard were completely phased out after '83 before the shutdown.

we walk through the building flashing the flashlight down the hallways to make sure no one was there. we walk into the main area that had big tables that were lined in big layer of dust and the 3 main animatronics on a big stage that had an equal amount of dust on it. it reeked in here like dead body or something. Freddy, Chica, and bonnie stood menacingly up on that stage. it felt like they were staring at us. "Oh, fuck it stinks in here" Tracy groans as she covered her nose. I wondered why they kept the animatronics here, they could have just thrown them out, but they still sat here like they were just waiting to reopen.

"I wonder why this place closed" I sigh as I reach my hand out as draw a line in the layer of dust on the table. no one knew why the place closed, there were some allegations of the owners going bankrupt, and some of unfit conditions for workers and health department issues. but if any of that did happen the owners kept it all under wraps not mentioning anything to the public. "One of the owners kid got bit here, by one of the animatronics so they closed it" I rolled my eyes there was no way that would've happened I would've heard about it in the new or something. "Seriously Tyler said he was here when it happened, the kids' older brother real bully stuffed his younger brother in Freddy's mouth squeezed those poor kids so hard it pow."

I almost puke at how Tracy describes it. "there's no way that happened" I say as I walk towards the animatronics "Tyler is a liar" I step up onto the stage to get a better look. "Billy also said he was here same story" Tracy said. "They must be making it-…." I'm looking up at the bear it towers over me, but I can still get a good enough look at its face to see the blood matted into the fur. "Holy shit" the blood and is that brain matter stuck in its mouth. "wha-what is it?" I can hear Tracy's sneakers against the floor as she walks towards me. "there's blood on him" I whisper, "holy shit" Tracy laughs as she hops up onto the stage. she gets up on her tip toes to look up at Freddy face. she lights runs her hands on the side of his face near the blood "holy shit" she mutters.

"Le-lets go look for foxy" I whisper as I hop off of the stage, "mhm yeah sure, foxy was always my favorite" Tracy mumbles as she too hops off of the stage, her feet making a loud boom sound as she landed. she leads the way as we walk out of this room and into the hallway. the 3 main band members all shared a room while foxy had his own separate one with foxy themed things. we walk into the dark dust ridden arcade, in the far-left corner foxy's smaller stage stood. the curtains we drawn and there was a little sign that read 'out of order' in front of it. "Cool, I wonder if any of these machines work still." Tracy says as she walks over to one machine that read 'foxy, run, run, run' she grabs the cord connected to it. I slowly walk towards the stage. growing up I was terrified of foxy; I don't know what it was about him, maybe the sharp teeth, or the weird pirate accent, but I was terrified. I hop up onto the uncovered part of the stage before pulling the curtain back. he looks worn, and tattered. his lower jaw is a bit dislocated.

"Is he there?"

I jump as I quickly turn my head towards Tracy. "yeah he's-" I see a figure run past the door. it looked big bulky like an animatronic or at-least the suit. "What was that?" Tracy's brows furrow together "what?" "Out-out there in the hallway, we need to leave" she rolls her eyes as she scoffs, "c'mon don't be a fucking pussy you're probably just seeing shit" I definitely saw something out there. I'm not just seeing shit. "NO! trace let's just leave please" she rolls her eyes again but ends up letting out a defeated sigh. "Alright, alright let's go."

I lead the way as we walk back towards the back door. as I get to the door I turn back and notice that Tracy isn't behind me anymore. "Trace? trace seriously where did you go?" I make my way back into the Pizzaria "Tracy-" then I hear a blood curdling scream. "Trace?" my voice shakes as I begin to walk toward the scream. "Tracy? stop-stop fucking with me" I turn a corner and see blood, Tracy, and bonnie? bonnie the fucking bunny with a knife in his hand bending over a dead Tracy.

"Oh my god" I whisper as I back up, I stumble over my feet and fall to the ground. the robot? man I don't even know what it is, but it turns and its head tilts to the side. "Please don't pl- I-I won't tell anyone please-" I cry out as it begins to walk towards me. he's so close that I can see eyes human eyes staring back at me through the mouth. I can even see the way its chest moves up and down slowly as the person inside breaths. "Please I don't want to die."

"I'm not going to hurt you" his voice is deep, and menacing, but familiar as well. he has a British accent that sticks out like a sore thumb in Utah. "Please I'm-I'm sorry I won't come back please I won't tell." I don't believe him, the way he said 'I'm not going to hurt you' the menacing chuckle afterwards it made a shiver run down my spine. he raises the knife above his head before bringing it down stabbing it right into me. red hot searing pain spreads across my body as he stabs and stabs and stabs.

"st-st-stop…" I cry out as blood gurgles out of my mouth. I choke on blood as I let out weak sobs. it was like he was torturing me before ending me. it was a game for him, and I just wanted him to end it, end me, end the suffering. he bends over pressing his knife to my neck "shhh."

Taglist

@leonkennedylefthand @maexyn @truecobblepot @mfnqueen1 @zoey5252 @nezukos-number1fan @bxbyyyjocelyn @dr3amyk1ng

#fanfics #fnaf #five nights at freddy's #willaim afton #mike afton #freddy fazzbears pizza #freddy fazbear #chica the chicken #bonnie the bunny #foxy the pirate #promptober

9 notes · View notes

itwasthereaminuteago · 5 days

Text

This was the start of a request for a Hydra agent reader making Clint Barton into the Winter Soldier from @thoughtfulmilkshakeface. And well me being me I kinda wanted reader to have a weird kind of sexual shared masochism thing going on with Rumlow.

I started a while ago and I just honestly lost motivation for writing anything and there's lots of Life stuff going on right now so I thought I'd share what I wrote anyway 😌

Apologies for the spacing, Tumblr does that when I paste from Google docs for some reason.

|| Untitled ||

Warnings: torture (not too graphic), sadism, flirting.

At the morning briefing all the agents of that shift are handed out their assignments. It's a pretty routine kind of day and you rise as soon as Rumlow dismisses the room. “Alright that's it for now, fall out.”

You start to leave with the others but Rumlow catches you at the door, his voice like gravel stopping you in your tracks.

“Not you, Agent. Stay behind.”

You feel a light sweat breaking at your temples. You had no idea what he might want with you, what's this was about. You were top of your unit, shadowing ‘fellow’ shield agents when you were first joined, keeping a watchful eye on goings on reporting back to your Hydra superiors, and recently you had been given the responsibility of training new recruits, and you were damn good at it. You commanded respect but weren't an asshole about it. Rumlow, on the other hand, was 95% asshole. You would never admit to yourself what the other five percent was but now you couldn't ignore the sudden heat flaring low in your belly as he effortlessly pushed the door closed and leaned back on the desk folding his thickly muscled arms, effectively blocking your exit. The room suddenly felt a lot smaller with just the two of you in it.

“I've been talking with Pierce about you.” He begins, and you make a conscious effort to steady your shaky nerves.

“Good things, I hope, sir?” You reply, trying not to swallow your tongue.

“Oh yeah, only the good stuff.” Rumlow assures you, his dark gaze openly raking up and down the entire length of your body making you feel naked.

“Your dedication hasn't gone unnoticed, y'know.” He adds, and you feel a little glow of pride creeping in.

“In fact, I think you deserve a reward for your loyalty to the cause.” Rumlow smirks as he pushes off the desk and looms over you, and you're unable to stop the way your heart starts pounding hard.

“How would you like a pet, Agent?” He asks, and you're suddenly confused and thrown, wondering where the hell this is actually leading.

“Uh, ‘pet’, sir?”

“C'mon,” he beckons, tilting his head toward the door. “Fall in and follow me.”

You wind your way down to the lower levels of the compound, where you knew the cells were along with various other rooms that you didn't have authorisation to access. Rumlow stops outside of the thick vault door all the way at the end of the corridor where he swipes his key card, enters the code and turns the huge wheel to open it.

Lab-coated staff give him a nod as he enters and you keep on following past banks of equipment and computers until you reach double doors into a room that has safe deposit boxes all the way around the walls. There is a chair that looks like it came from a dental surgery in the middle, and sitting in it restrained by thick leather straps is a man. A man you recognise instantly.

“Barton.” You whisper under your breath, taking in the array of monitoring equipment and seriously terrifying looking headset secured around his temples.

“He's been wiped, but he's still not compliant… yet. How'd you like to break an Avenger, Agent?”

Rumlow grins as he notices the way your eyes light up at the prospect. He leads you into a nearby storeroom and explains this is where they keep the ‘toys’ that could be used during breakdowns which were carried out in the adjacent, windowless room. Your fingers twitch at your sides as you survey the wall of various weapons and accessories of all shapes and sizes, sharp and blunt, that could be used to assist in the creation of a loyal Asset.

“So, do I even need to ask if you're interested?” Rumlow jokes, and you nod, still partly spacing out at the dizzying array of torturous devices in front of you.

“Yeah, I mean, yes sir, I am very interested, thank you.”

He smirks. “You can thank me later. I'll clear your access to the vault, meet you back here in a few hours to lay down the basics, get you started, but you can pretty much do whatever the fuck you want with him. Just don't kill him.” He roars with laughter and you can't help the small smile that pulls at the corners of your lips.

You were being trusted with an Asset. This could be fun.

You eye Barton as he stands in front of you in the training room. It's purposely cold and you note the shivering and his goosefleshed skin. He's not afraid to meet your stare, his own still somewhat defiant despite the torrent of mental and physical abuse he must have already been subjected to.

“Any particular reason he's naked?” you enquire, absently biting at your thumb.

Rumlow raises a brow. He's still twirling the baton he brought in. “Ain't everythin’ more fun when you're naked?”

He walks slowly around behind Barton, or soon to be known as Hydra's latest Asset. “Why don't you give him an order.”

Multiple possibilities scan through your mind but it's probably best to keep it simple.

“Kneel.” You command.

Barton doesn't move.

“She said kneel!” Rumlow growls as he thumps him in the back of the knee joints with the metal baton and Barton drops to the floor in front of you like a stone with a grunt.

“Ah see? Just needed a little encouragement.”

Together you bind him in the manacles which hang from the middle of the ceiling, having taken out the leather padding to make the metal cuffs more uncomfortable and cut into his wrists. You string him up until he's barely standing on the balls of his feet, struggling to find balance. You take a deep breath and let the slender tail of the whip that you selected run slowly through your hand between your thumb and forefinger, before bringing your arm back and letting it snap across the bare, unmarked skin of Barton's back with an unforgiving hiss. He groans low as you repeat the motion, and every time you do, a sliver of pleasure ripples its way up the length of your spine as a new bright thin line of red appears on the canvas of his shivering skin.

“You think…” Barton gasps, “you can make me work for your shitty cult with pain?” he laughs despite the wash of blood trickling from his wounds.

You leave the whip on the floor for now, and circle him slowly as would a predatory beast, Barton's eyes widening just slightly as you reach to pull out something tucked into the back of your belt. “No, not just pain…” you tell him, dragging the tip of the thick, black silicone dildo along the line of his jaw before forcefully pushing it between his lips. He clenches his jaw shut, snarling, refusing to submit until you produce your knife from your thigh holster and bore the sharp tip of it between his lower ribs, sliding the toy further and deeper into his mouth while he lets out muffled groans around its girth. You smirk, thinking about where to put it next.

You see Rumlow raise a brow out of the corner of your eye. “Looks like you've more than got the hang of it, Agent. Think I'll leave you two alone for a while.” He says with a wicked smile, leaving you to your task.

Later that night, you feel wired. Dreams thick and rich with the taste of blood and the feel of your fingers digging into fresh, slick cuts. Hearing the cries, the begging, the screaming echoing through your mind. You toss and turn in your sheets for around an hour before admitting to yourself that you're not gonna be able to get to sleep, instead slinging on a vest and pants and heading down to the gym.

Thankfully and not surprisingly it's empty. You wrap your hands, warm up and soon start laying into the bag to release your excess energy. It's not long after that you hear the door swish open.

“Figured you'd be here, kid.”

You release another flurry of hits from your fists to the bag. “Can't sleep.”

He hums knowingly. “Yeah, it's a real trip, ain't it? That high, that buzz, it never gets any less y’know.”

“It doesn't?”

“Why d'ya think I'm down here?”

You meet his whiskey coloured eyes. They look as dark and hungry as you imagine yours to be.

“You wanna go a few rounds, maybe I can help scratch that itch for ya?” Rumlow's slightly suggestive tone slinks into your ears and coils low in your belly.

You're not sure you could say no even if you wanted to. You respect him, he's a powerful and impressive fighter, and-

“Sure.” you reply without thinking any further, walking towards the mat where he's casually pumping out a bunch of pushups, the sinewy muscles in his arms very much drawing your attention.

You shortly start to circle, sizing each other up, trying to anticipate when the other would strike.

“You did good today. You're a natural.” He tells you, testing you with a couple of quick jabs.

You swiftly step and duck to the side dodging his punches and hit back first with a jab which he blocks then a hook to his ribs that he grins at. You lash out again and this time he grabs hold of your forearm, twisting it up behind your back. You kick your foot to his shin and as he moves his leg to regain his stance you spin and duck around him and wrench out of the hold.

“just one thing I'm wonderin’...” he drawls, moving around to the right side of you. “See, for some of us that type of work, it's fun, a little bonus, y'know? But for the others… “

You block and counter his succession of kicks but he turns quick and hits you with a hard knee to the stomach that knocks the air from your lungs and makes you stumble back to the wall. “well the others… they get off on that shit.”

You don't get a chance to push back, his large form giving no way out as he crowds you to the wall, as you pant and gasp for breath.

“I ain't gotta guess which one you are.” Rumlow husks, and you feel heat flood your face as he holds you in place with his forearm braced across the top of your chest, pressing hard into your throat making your chest rise and fall rapidly as you try to take in air.

When he lets you go you find yourself missing the pressure as he lifts away with a slight chuckle.

“Get some rest. I wanna see you bright n’early tomorrow, agent.”

“Sir.” You nod sharply, as you try to compose yourself, regain your breath, and fail miserably to rein in the myriad of inappropriate thoughts flashing through your mind about all the ways your commander could order you around.

#gn!reader x brock rumlow #clint barton as an asset #hydra reader #winter soldier au #hydra agent reader

2 notes · View notes