#we should’ve destroyed that thing easy

[goldensunset]

*skibby voice* i used to rule the world…

[luvinescent]

Entangled Fates

Pairing: Robb Stark x fem!Targaryen!Reader

Summary: The Targaryen name has brought nothing but misery to Y/N— her half-blood placing a curse upon her. She's observed the toll her presence takes on the people she loves; no longer wanting to form a close tie with anyone. Nevertheless, her heart steered its own course. And it steered towards a certain man.

Warnings: angst. allusion to r*pe and death, nothing descriptive. a steamy make-out scene but nothing crazy. not really book or show accurate but f it we ball. also fluff. also reader has dark hair so just pretend u do if u don't xoxo.

Word count: 10.1K (beginning just has lots of background lore pls bear w/ me)

In life, there are those destined for lavish living and those made to struggle to see their next day. From a young age, Dorea knew she fell into the second category. She grew up orphaned; never knowing the love of a mother or a father. Despite the fact, Dorea was strong willed; she found her own kind of love. Love for herself, love for her friends, and love for her life. She knows that she did not have the best life; her dresses had holes in them, she had to work from dawn to dusk, and she often would need to go days without eating. That ultimately changed the day a close friend of hers had come to her with a new line of work.

“One of the castles maids was executed, so her position is open to take”.

Looking back, she should’ve said no from the way a chill went up her spine. She had heard the rumors of the king having gone mad; but at the time, that was not her problem. Being a castle maid sounded a lot better than being a candle maker. All she had to do was clean the chambers and mind her business and pay would be given to her. The task sounded easy— it should’ve been easy. Dorea had ways of not drawing attention to herself. That is how she has made it this far in her life; from hiding. The peace of obscurity brought her comfort; being anonymous was a safe refuge that protected her from prying eyes and the entanglements of wicked connections. The girl was pure and innocent.

Yet, fate, with its twisted sense of irony, had other plans.

She truly had done all she could to stay out of the eyes of the royal family. She should’ve been more careful, more attentive, more aware of the eyes that followed her unknowingly when she walked the halls. Her foolishness had caught up to her one day when a guard had dragged her to the throne room; thrown to the ground to kneel in front of the king, Aerys II Targaryen. Dorea was ready to open her mouth and beg for forgiveness on whatever crimes she had committed but was silenced in fear. “You will meet me in my chambers tonight”, he said. Dorea could do nothing but nod as she could not go against the kings’ words. The only thing she could do was look to the Hand of the King for some form of help, but they stood muted. Moments later, she was whisked away by some female servants— some of them her own friends— and was prepared for the event. She was washed and dressed properly; never have been so physically clean yet so dirty internally.

Later that night, her virtue and gaiety of life was destroyed when the king came and took her. She had prayed to the Gods that it was only a one-time thing. But the Gods seemed to find her plea a joke. The king would request her presence many more times and many more nights afterwards. Her position as a maid in the castle vanished overnight. Now, she stood as something different; still, she did not know exactly what. All Dorea knew was she felt shame as those working in the castle started to treat her different, with more respect and caution. She dreamt every night for this nightmare to end, but it only continued.

“The girl is pregnant, your grace”. The maestar told the king. Both fear and relief spread through her body. Fear in the sense that the king would have her eliminated to hide such sin, and relief that he might just send her away forever. It had to be one or the other; from what she has seen, the queen is currently pregnant as well and due in a few moons. Furthermore, he already had two children born, why would he need her? Her thoughts were interrupted by the third alternative she had feared the most, “You will continue to stay here. You will have the child”. Later that night, Dorea prayed once more for all this suffering to end. Finally, her prayer had been answered in the worst way possible.

She had heard the talks of the rebellion, but she never thought it would come to where she resigned. The king’s heir was now dead, along with his wife and children. The queen was now dead; dying from childbirth. The middle child and newest member of the royal family had been sent to exile. And the Mad King was now dead as well; stabbed by a member of his own Kingsguard.

Death and misery surrounded Dorea everywhere.

For her own safety, and her chance once again at freedom, she did what she knew she had to do. She ran away.

Dorea took refuge in a small village that resided in the Reach. Selling all the gifts and jewelry the king had bestowed upon her; she and her unborn child were set for life. A few moons later, Dorea gave birth during a warm summer night. As she held the newborn in her arms, she thought the Gods had finally decided to take pity on her and grant her some kindness. For starters, she had given birth to a girl. Dorea was thankful in the sense that the child would not be seen as a threat to the line of succession of the Iron throne. Additionally, the babe had no features of a Targaryen. Caressing the small amount of hair on her daughter’s hair, she was given hair as dark as night instead of the silvery-gold feature of her biological father. Dorea let out a sigh of relief once the girl opened her eyes— no violet eyes either. Pulling the babe closer to her chest, she gave a quick prayer and smiled down at the sleeping babe.

Dorea named her Y/N.

As time passed, Y/N quickly grew before her mothers’ eyes. Both her and her mother were beloved by the village folks— Dorea giving money to those who were in need, and her daughter who was tenderhearted and befriended all. No one in the village had known about Doreas’ past or Y/N true linage. And Dorea wanted to keep it that way. She, however, knew that one day it would all come back to bite her. Despite having run away, she knew that there were some people who knew of their existence. It did not help her case more when Y/N had begun to show a great fascination with fire; something the mothers of the village made jokes about, but Dorea knew the truth.

“You have dragon blood within you”, Dorea had whispered to her daughter one quiet night. “You are part Targaryen, but you must keep this a secret. I am only telling you this for your own safety. There are people in this world who will want to hurt you, to take you away from me. Do you understand darling?”. At just the age of eight, Y/N was smarter and brighter than her peers. Hearing such solemness in her mothers’ voice, she nodded, “Yes mother”.

Such a topic was dropped and never brought up again— that was until Y/N turned ten. Since Dorea had the funds, she had hired a tutor for the young girl. Y/N’s instructor was a retired tutor who had taught many kids from noble homes before moving to their village. The old man was just supposed to teach her simple things like language, arts, music, and maths.  Without her mothers’ knowledge, Y/N brought up the topic of history to her teacher, particularly the history of the Targaryen household. And that’s where everything started.

It was one calm afternoon in their shared bedroom when Y/N had asked the question. “Mother, am I cursed?”. Dorea, puzzled, stopped brushing her daughter’s hair and turned towards her, “What kind of question is that?”. Y/N looked sheepishly to the side and confessed everything, “I have been learning history with my tutor. Targaryen history”. Before Dorea could respond, the young girl continued, “You say I am half Targaryen, and based upon their history, I must be cursed”. Dorea questioned what she meant and then let out a loud laugh at her daughters’ answer: “I have black hair mother”.

Dorea caressed her daughters face, smiling and shaking her head, “Darling, your hair color does not mean anyth- “.

“But its true mother!” Y/N exclaimed, “It is shown all over their history. Rhaenyra Targaryen’s eldest sons were born with dark hair, and they all died before they could reach adulthood. Rhaenys Targaryen was known as the “Queen Who Never Was” and saw the death of her two children in her lifetime. Rhaegar Targaryen’s daughter was killed in the sack of Kings Landing. Valarr Targaryen was- “.

“What does any of that have to do with you?!”, Dorea shouted out, startling Y/N. The young girl felt tears come to her eyes as she hid herself in her mothers’ embrace, muffling her words, “They were not pure Targaryen. I am not a pure Targaryen, mother. I do not wish to fall to such misfortunes”. Dorea felt her heart break at the sound and thoughts of her daughters’ troubles. Shaking her head, Dorea raised Y/Ns’ head and looked straight into her eyes, “You are not cursed. Their misfortunes are not yours. Do you hear me girl? This is your life, and you control it”. Y/N could do nothing but continue to cry. "It's okay, sweetheart," her mother whispered, her voice a tender melody that carried reassurance. Dorea cradled the young girl, whose sobs softened but still lingered, the remnants of a storm that had raged within her fragile heart. “I will protect you no matter what”, she declared.

Y/N would forever remember that loving moment, amongst the many others she shared with her mother. While Dorea had said she would do anything to protect her, Y/N should’ve said the same thing back. Yet, fate, with its twisted sense of irony, had other plans for the daughter. Not even a month later, Y/Ns’ mother died, succumbing to a mysterious illness that took her in a matter of days. It felt as though the moment she acknowledged the said “curse”, her world only came to be filled with hurt.

Being only ten years old and now orphaned, the people in the village were kind enough to take the girl in. Specifically, it was a family of three that consisted of a father and mother and a son her age who took her into their home. The boy, named Tomas, had always been a close friend of Y/N. The two would spend many days together, playing and running around in the meadows. He would pick flowers for her and in return she would do the same. There was even one early morning when the two stood by their village’s lake and shared a kiss with each other. Despite still being a child, Y/N felt as though she was feeling the love that was described in the fairytale stories her mother used to read to her.

Sadly, that love was taken from her as well. At the young age of one and three, Tomas had somehow fallen and drowned in that same lake. Y/N had never heard such a devasting scream as Edith, Tomas’s mother, held her dead son in her arms. The village was both in mourning and in query; Tomas had been taught to swim at the age of four, how could this have happened? No explanations were thought of, but Y/N had her own belief.

I’m cursed, she would toss in turn in her bed at night, I am cursed.

Two more years would pass by, and no other unfortunate incidents would have occurred. But there is always calm before the storm. One day, something within Y/N had made her go explore the small forest that was near her village. It was nothing out of the ordinary; she had done it many times before. Yet, she stayed exploring for hours before that same voice within her told her to return. Upon seeing her village within the distance, Y/N should’ve never listened to that voice. She wishes she could’ve stayed back and continue being ignorant of everything. Her village— the homes, the crops, the trees, everything, was up in flames. Running down the dirt paths, Y/N did not have time (nor did she want to) to acknowledge all slaughtered men, women, and children that laid on the grounds. A small amount of hope had sparked within her when she saw that her home was not ablaze. That hope died upon entering the residence— Y/N crying out in distress at the sight of Edith, the women she had come to see as her second mother, dead on the ground. Her sadness was turned to fear when she spotted a large man in the corner, angry and hungry for blood. Before the crazed man could run at her, he was tackled to the ground by Lance— Edith’s husband and her adopted father. He was clearly injured; covered in blood from head to toe but still had the strength in him to scream at Y/N, desperation laced in his voice, “Run girl! Run and do not look back!”. Y/N, not wanting to witness his clear end, quickly listened to his order and ran out the door, trying her best to stay out of sight of all the other savage men as she made her way out the village.

She must’ve ran for hours before she knew she was no longer in danger. A day or two of traveling passed by before she took residence in a small city. That same night, under a dirty bridge, she finally acknowledged all hell that had occurred to her within the past forty-eight hours. The dams broke as she cried and screamed out in sorrow and pain. She cried, and cried, and cried until she had no more tears to let out; now consumed by numbness. Her mother, her first love, her caretakers, her childhood friends, her home; had all been taken from her. What had she done to deserve this? With her heart broken into millions of pieces, Y/N decided that she wouldn’t live like this. Never would she fall in love and never would she form a deep connection with anyone again. She wasn’t going to let herself be tied to the Targaryen name, to its blood, nor its curse. She wasn’t going to let this curse win and see her suffer again.

And so, she did; well, she tried her best at least. With the little money she had on her, Y/N jumped from village to village, city to city, and made sure not to socialize with anyone. There were some instances of people trying to get to know her, boys trying to court her, but she wouldn’t stay very long and would be gone the next day. It was a lonely life, a life she despised but knew she had to endure. That changed a bit when she came face to face with a woman with a fair complexion and silver hair.

Daenerys Targaryen. The “Mother of Dragons”. Her older half-sister.

Daenerys had always known about her half-sister’s existence; her older brother one day rambling that the throne belongs to a true Targaryen and not the current usurper, nor the “Targaryen-bastard filth” their father left behind. At first, Y/N was wary of the girl but soon found herself becoming fond of her presence. Daenerys felt the same way; with no family left on either girl’s end, they quickly found solace in each other— treating one another as the sisters they are. It was strange at first for Y/N; getting used to now having family once again and the companionship of dragons that came with it. Initially, she was terrified at the sight of the foreign creatures but quickly came to love them and their beautiful nature. She became quite close with the one called Rhaegal, favoring the dragon over the overs. Rhaegal doted and protected the girl the same; but still recognized Daenerys as its’ rightful mother. Y/N could say she just held the title of “favorite aunt” now amongst the creatures.

The thought of the curse still weighed heavy in the back of her mind, but Y/N hypothesized that whatever superstition was out to get her would not harm her sister; a true (and last) Targaryen. Y/N immediately recognized Daenerys as her queen and vowed to help her reclaim her throne. For some time, Y/N felt happiness once again entering her life as she spent more time with her sister and her allies. That bliss, however, turned out to be false hope.

“When the time comes and I reclaim my throne, I will legitimize you as a Targaryen”, Daenerys spoke to her one night. Y/N wanted to decline right away; she was content with not having a household name and did not want to be associated with the Targaryen name. Before Y/N could speak, Daenerys looked shamefully down while holding her sister’s hand, “There is a reason why I came looking for...”. Y/N felt a chill run up her spine and quickly encouraged the Mother of Dragons to continue. “I am unable to have my own children. When the time is right, I will need you to find a man, any man of your choosing..”, Daenerys sternly said as she looked into Y/N eyes, “I will need an heir to inherit the throne and continue my family name. Do you understand sister?”. Daenerys felt guilt creep up inside her as she finally confessed her true intentions from the start of meeting Y/N. She was asking too much of Y/N but, she, however, was on a mission to reclaim her birthright no matter what. Y/N stared agape at her, no words coming from her mouth. She wanted to decline even more— but, looking into Daenerys eyes, she saw the graveness within them and the true tone behind her words. She was not asking this of her as her sister. She was commanding this of her as her queen. And Y/N would do anything for her rightful queen.

“Yes, sister. I understand”. Y/N now found herself tied to the Targaryen name. Something she vowed never to be but couldn’t escape.

As time passed by, Y/N kept her promise and stood by Daenerys side as she continued her conquest; now finding herself at Dragonstone, her sister’s ancestral home. The preparations and campaign for Daenerys claim to the Iron Throne was in full effect but was interrupted momentarily.

“The King in the North?”, Daenerys questioned one of her advisors who came bearing news. “Yes my Queen. He sent a raven— detailing that he wishes to speak with you”. Y/N, standing off to the side, expressed her thoughts and question, “I had heard that the King in the North was dead”.

“As did I”, Daenerys said sharply. The man before them nodded his head, “Yes. There was an incident that had occurred that made everyone believe he was dead. But he is very much alive”. Daenerys raised her eyebrows up, skeptical about this so called “King in the North”— “And he trusts me with the information of his false death?”

“Well, according to his letter, yes.”

Y/N and Daenerys turned, staring into each other’s eyes, speaking with them. Not much emotion was shown behind Y/N eyes, but she was able to express with them, “What harm is there in seeing what he wants”. Sighing, Daenerys nodded her head and agreed with her sister.

“Send a message back. Invite him here and let him know I agree to speak with him”.

A few days later, Y/N stood on the shores, waiting to welcome her guests on the request of Daenerys. Once she saw the boats pull up on the beach, she made her way but stopped in amazement. Out from one of the boats came a large, thick furred animal— a dire wolf. She had only ever heard about the mythical creatures and now she was in close distance with one. Dragons and now dire wolves; she held a small smile on her face at the uniqueness that was the world. Clearing their throats, the two guards behind her had snapped her out of her daydream, reminding her of the task. Standing tall, Y/N put on her best welcoming smile and stood in front of the party, “Welcome to Dragonstone. I have been sent by our rightful Queen to give our greetings”.

Y/N voice had started loud and clear, but slightly quieted down towards the end as she made eye contact with a man. A very handsome man to be exact, she thought to herself. He stood tall and strong, a lean build with dark curls and blue eyes as blue as the water behind them. He smiled at her and before he could open his mouth, the older man next to him spoke up. “I present Robb Stark. Heir to the Stark household and King of the North”. Y/N raised her eyebrows at the discovery of the handsome stranger being the King in the North. Turning to him, she held a sort of mischief but harsh attitude in her voice, “Is the King in the North unable to speak for himself?”

The men in front of her were clearly taken back. Except for Robb Stark who let out a small laugh. “Forgive me, my lady, I am very capable of speaking. I am Robb Stark”. He held out his hand and was charmed when she firmly grasped it and shook it; opting out of giving her his hand to kiss.  

“I am not a lady. Please, call me Y/N”. Robb was preparing himself to compliment her name but was cut off by the same man next to him. “She’s the Targaryen bastard, your grace”. Though it was meant to be a whisper for only Robb to hear, Y/N was in close enough proximity to have heard it as well. Robb swiftly turned to his advisor next to him, giving him a crude look before turning back to the girl, “Forgive the rudeness of- “

“No, it is quite alright” she waved her hand, “It is all true anyway. I am THAT Targaryen bastard”. Robb nodded, gulping as he tried to ease the tension, “I have heard a lot about you...and your sister too, of course”. Y/N wanted to let out a chuckle at the sight before her; a gorgeous man trying his best not to insult her. “And I have heard very little about you,” Y/N voiced, “Other than the fact that you were supposedly dead, which I can see you are very much alive”, looking him up and down with her eyes. Robb smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head, “It is a long story”. Y/N let out a “hmm” sound, looking off towards the side to the dire wolf. “Is he yours?”

“Yes. His name is Grey Wind. I’ve had him since he was a pup”. Y/N nodded once more, noticing just how well behaved the wolf was, “He’s very beautiful”. Robb thanked her for the compliment, grinning widely, “I can see you are fond of animals. Do you have any of your own?”

Y/N laughed softly, shaking her head, “No. I have children.”

Robb was clearly taken back by her words, a stuttering mess as he questioned her statement. “O-oh? You have children?”. Y/N could sense some disappointment in his voice towards the end as it cracked. Smiling, she shook her head. “No. But I do consider them children. Just not mine. I am just an aunt”. All the guests in front of her were puzzled by her words but ducked down in fear at the sound of a roar from above. Looking up, she smiled at the sight of Rhaegal and Drogon patrolling the skies.

“Seven hells!” she heard one of Robbs’ men yell out. Turning back, she playfully spoke “My children. Beautiful, aren’t they?”. None of Robbs’ men were able to agree or speak; still in shock. Robb, still looking up to the sky, laughed earnestly, “Well, they sure are an eccentric sight to see”. Y/N smiled more at his honesty, clapping her hands together, turning and speaking to the entire party, “Well. I believe that is a sufficient way to welcome you all here. Now, I must welcome you into the castle. Please come, the Queen is curious to known what it is you wish to speak about”.

Upon greeting the Queen, Robb Starks’ words and terms were clear to her. He wishes to ally with her in her conquest to take the throne and create a fairer and just realm. “We both have a clear enemy,” he spoke, “I want the Lannisters dead for what they have done to my family, and you want them off the throne entirely”. Every so often, Robb would cast his eyes off to the side to look at Y/N; something she tried her best to hide her reddening face from. “My men, though small numbers, will be yours to use. We ask that in return, once you take your rule, you allow the North to maintain a degree of self-rule. We will recognize you as the rightful Queen, but we wish to keep the North the way it is”. Daenerys nodded her head, asking her advisors for their views on the matter, and taking Y/N by surprise when she asked her as well. “As I perceive it, the North is biggest land piece in Westeros. It would be better to keep them as allies instead of fighting them off. They recognize you as Queen, and the Stark household keeps the North in check for you, sister”. Daenerys responded with another nod, showing to be clear in thought at all the opinions given to her. The Queen stood up, still not fully convinced, but could not deny all the positives of the compromise, “Very well. I will continue to think about the matter. I will let you know that my thoughts are leaning more toward yes than it is no. For now, your men must be tired. Allow my people to escort them to rest”.

Later that night, Y/N made her way down the dark halls to the one place in the castle that brought her peace. She almost let out a small scream at the tall shadow that appeared around the corner, “My lady?”. Placing her hand to her chest to control her tachycardic heart, she saw that the dark shadow was Robb Stark. “Your grace. You almost scared me to death”, Y/N laughed, “And please, I am not a lady of noble birth. Call me by my first name”. Robb returned her laugh with his own, apologizing for scaring her. “Forgive me, my lad- Y/N. I was just curious as to why you are out so late”. She nodded her head in the direction she was originally heading in, “I can not sleep so I was heading to the library to bore myself with some reading” she joked, “Is it not late for you to be awake as well?”. Robb gave a similar answer; unable to sleep and practically full of energy. Y/N looked down at the ground for a mere second before glancing into his eyes, “Would you like to join me?”. He agreed to her invite, thankful for the darkness of the night hiding his blushed face.

Dimly lit by flickering candlelight, the shelves towered, laid with books that held centuries of knowledge and wisdom. Robb made himself comfortable at one of the chairs available while Y/N opted for the window nook. “Do you come in here often?” Robb asked. Y/n offered a silent yes, trailing her fingers against the rim of the book she had chosen, “I have not been here that long, but yes. I come here every night; I tend to have trouble sleeping”.

“Why is that?” Robb questioned.

“Nightmares”, Y/N replied. Her dreams were always filled with visions of her dead loved ones.

After a pause, Robb gave a “hmm”; silently admiring the girl for not being afraid to show vulnerability. “That’s something we both have in common” he gave a warm smile. Another quiet pause passed by until Y/N looked up at him, “You say that you being alive is a long story— can I listen to it?”. Robb gave a slight nod, standing up to sit next to her in a close but comfortable proximity.

“I was to marry the daughter of someone who I thought was my ally. I agreed initially but something within me told me not to carry out my word”. He slowly reached over for the book that was in her hands, both hands brushing slightly as he took it out of her grasp, now distracting himself with it. “The wedding still went on; I supplied another man in my place. But, there was bloodshed, and I was betrayed. I barely made it out alive, along with a few other men of mine”. Inhaling sharply, he continued with his outpour, “And I’m thankful I did. I have sources that tell me that even if I went along with the wedding, I was to be killed no matter what. The Lannisters long ago forming allies with the people I thought I could trust”. Coming close to a finish, he looked into Y/N eyes, softly smiling, “I guess it was fate that saved me somehow”.

Breaking eye contact, Y/N scoffed at his words. “Fate” she said with repugnance. Her reply caught him off guard, raising his eyebrows in surprise, “You do not believe in fate?”.

Y/N took in a long sigh, shaking her head, “No I believe in it”, she gently whispered the last part, “We just never have seen eye to eye. My fate only brings me bad luck”. Robb took in her words, trying to calculate what he should say next. “I believe fate can bring both good and bad luck”, he began with, “One can say it was my fathers’ fate to have been killed, or my sisters’ fates to be held captive”, Robb swallowed thickly before continuing, “But, it is my fate to avenge and save them. It is fate that has brought me this far; that has brought me here and to you”, he slowly spoke while staring deep into Y/N eyes. She quickly looked away, hoping her face wasn’t red and was successful in controlling her facial expression. Clearing her throat, she spoke firmly, “You must be confused; I believe you are trying to woo the wrong sister, Stark. Is it not my sister who you need as your ally?”.

Robb let out a low laugh, grinning widely, “That may be true, but”, he slowly scanned the room in a playful manner, “I believe that I don’t see your sister in here at all. So, no, I am not confused. I am speaking to the right sister”. A third pause passed by as the two continued staring, wating for one of them to speak or do something. Y/N was the first— standing abruptly, she moved her hair behind her ear and let out an awkward ahem. “I believe I must retire for the night. It was nice speaking to you Stark”. Before she could make her way out the door, he called out to her.

“It’s Robb”. Turning, she questioned what he meant. Smiling, he spoke, “You can call me Robb. You say you come here every night?”. Y/N nodded her head. “Would you allow me to see you here again tomorrow? Or even spend some time with you come morning?”.

Y/N wanted to say no. She needed to stop whatever friendship (or relationship) was forming between the two before she got too close. Before her curse got to him. He had already suffered enough. Despite the fact, deep down, her own selfish desires won over. She hadn’t felt like this in forever— she wanted this feeling to last forever.

“Yes. Of course, Robb”.

Come morning, they spent the entire day together, including the night. The next day was the same. Daenerys had granted Robb and his men a longer stay as there was much to discuss. It was late in the morning that he and Y/N were walking along the shores, discussing the most random of topics. Both were making a great effort to make the other one laugh: sprouting different jokes and funny stories. They both loved hearing the sound of laughter coming out of each another’s mouths. A gentle breeze roamed the air, blowing through Y/Ns’ dark hair. Robb stood silently still, stuck in a daze and awestruck by her appearance. Swiftly, he removed his fur cloak and placed it upon her exposed shoulders. Robb gestured to the area around them as Y/N looked at him in confusion, “I thought you might be cold”. She let out a small chuckle, shaking her head but not returning his cloak back. It provided her with a sense of ease. “No,” she confessed, “I don’t run cold that easily”. Resuming their walk, Robb gave her a look of admiration, “You would do great in the North then. Have you ever been there?”.

She answered with a clear no, stopping in her path to match Robb’s sudden cease of movement. Slowly, he placed his hands upon the cloak, further wrapping it securely around her. “I believe you would love it there. Maybe one day, you can come with me to Winterfell. I would love to give you a tour and introduce you to my mother, and hopefully my sisters too. I’m sure they would love you”. No further sounds were made; the distant sound of crashing waves serving as the only soundtrack to their wordless communion. Y/N leaned slightly into him — his closeness felt like a forbidden sanctuary, a place where she found solace and belonging but knew she shouldn’t enter. Y/N only response was a gentle nod and smile.

Many heart-fluttering moments continued to happen between the two. Stolen glances from across the table, hands brushing as they took their walks, laughter and smiles shared in the dark of night. There was an occurrence in the library when Robb had urged the girl to go to bed; taking notice of her eyebags forming from their long night of talking. “I can’t go to sleep that easily. And even if I can, I just have bad dreams I can’t wake up from”, she disclosed. They sat intimately close, sharing an intense gaze, both their features illuminated by the light of the candles in the room. Y/N could see every detail, every pore, every small scar that graced his beautiful face. She was caught by surprise, her breath hitching when he gently grabbed her hand, drawing small patterns into it.

“You can sleep here if you wish. I will watch over you and wake you at any sign of discomfort”. She wanted to decline, but there was something in his eyes that was persuading her. Y/N then found herself in his warm embrace, laying her head gently on his chest. She could hear every breath he took, every beat his heart made. Sealing her eyelids, he was the sole occupant of her dreams. She had never slept better.

Daenerys was no fool to what was happening before her very eyes. Sharing a private dinner with her sister, she brought up the topic.

“So, you and the Northern have been spending some time together”. Y/N nodded; not being able to lie since there was clear evidence in front of Daenerys. “He is a good man,” she smiled, “Very kind to his men, to his wolf”, she smiled even further at the memory of Robb introducing her properly to Grey Wind. She could still hear his laughter and the concern that replaced it when Grey Wind had tackled her to the ground with wet kisses. “We don’t want to get that pretty face all slobbered up now, do we?” fondness had colored his expression as he helped her back up. The smile upon her face slipped away, a frown and more serious look taking over.

“He’s very kind to me…I don’t think I will be spending much time with him anymore though”, she held her fork tightly in her hand. Daenerys questioned what she meant by her words. “Personal reasons”, Y/N said in a somber tone, “He will be leaving soon, and I plan to stay by your side”. Daenerys nodded her head, a part of her knowing that Y/Ns’ excuse was not the full truth. It’s not an exaggeration— Daenerys wasn’t a fool. She was well aware of Y/N’s standoffish attitude; practically a hermit as she kept to herself, or Daenerys. She saw the reasoning behind it— having an understanding of her past hardships. Additionally, Daenerys once tried to comfort Y/N during a nightmare of hers, hearing the word “curse” coming out of her mouth every few seconds. She badly wanted to comfort her sister, let her know that she was not cursed— life was just not fair to everyone. Daenerys, however, said nothing. Y/N was the only family she had left, and she did not want to lose her so soon, especially to some man. Forcing a smile upon her face, Daenerys tried to hide the distaste she felt towards her own selfishness. “That is good. Family must stick together”.

As the hours slipped away, Y/N and Robb were spending their last night together in the library. Robb and his men were set to leave tomorrow— all discussions and plans made with Daenerys were finalized. Robb, sitting across the room, was enamored as Y/N read to him out loud. It was a couple nights ago that they created this little routine; Y/N would read to him, and he would give his input at certain scenes. Right now, however, he was not paying attention to what was happening in the story. He was trying to memorize her gentle sweet voice, the way her lips moved with each syllable she said. Finishing a passage, Y/N put the book down to ask Robb his view.

“I can not lie to you. I was not paying attention”. Mouth agape, she pretended to be upset, throwing the small pillow she had next to her. Robb caught the cushion, letting out a hearty laugh that rumbled deep within his chest. Standing up, he walked across the room to her, placing the pillow behind her back. He knew she liked to read in comfort. Y/Ns’ smile was warm, spreading even more across her face at the words Robb spoke next, “You have a pretty voice”. Shyly looking down, she quietly thanked him. Robb’s compliments towards her only continued, “And a beautiful face”.

Biting her lip, she was readying herself to change the topic, but he only continued more. “I remember when I saw you for the first time”, he sat down beside her, sharing body warmth now, “I truly thought I had never seen a more beautiful woman before in my life”. Y/N chuckled, rolling her eyes softly and replying in a joking matter “And then you saw my sister and I was the second most beautiful woman you had seen in your life”. Her heart quickened up when she looked up at him, no humor present on his face, only showing seriousness. “No”, he whispered, “you were still the most captivating and breathtaking beauty I’d seen”. Silence filled the room. Without a word, he reached out, his fingers interlacing with hers. “I leave tomorrow”, he spoke of the one thing they both had refused to acknowledge. “That you are”, Y/N said, her main focus placed upon their hands. Drawing small comforting circles into her skin, he asked her what she had planned for her future.

“My future is a mystery”, Y/N sighed heavily, “Regardless, I will continue to stand by Daenerys and be with her when she retakes the throne. She told me that she was going to bestow the Targaryen name upon me, but I’m not sure that is what I want”. Confusion etched Robbs’ features, questioning her meaning. Her face gave away a gloomy look, “I have never really been fond of my Targaryen blood. Daenerys is the only good thing that has come out of it”, she said truthfully, “I’ve gone long enough without a household name, so I don’t see the point in having one”. A smile graced her lips as she looked at him, “I won’t lie, it is a small yearn of mine. To belong somewhere and become a part of something special”.

A pregnant pause filled the room. The only sound being heard was the burning of the fireplace. Y/Ns’ laughter echoed through the room; Robbs’ next statement finding humor within her.

“You can become a Stark”.

Shaking her head, almost wanting to wipe the imaginary tears in her eyes, she continued her fits of giggles. “And how can I do that- “

Robbs’ next sentence caused all laughter within her to cease, her breath getting stuck in her chest. “By marrying me”, he said.

Another pregnant pause. Y/N stared at him in shock, becoming a stuttering mess, “R-Robb, I…”. Before she could finish, he cut her off, taking both her hands into his now, “I plead that you allow me to speak first”, he smiled but looked ready to cry, “I have never felt the way I have when I am with you. You truly have stolen my heart, and I don’t plan on asking for it back. Come with me to Winterfell— become my wife, my queen”. With affection, he raised her hand and placed a gentle, lingering kiss on it, “Grant me the wish to spend the rest of my life with you”. Robb had poured his emotions out into his speech, mistakenly only imagining what he wanted her reply to be. He was not prepared for what Y/N said next.

“No.”

Furrowing his eyes, he dropped one of her hands but still held the other. Shaking his head, he began to apologize profoundly, “I-I’m sorry. I thought maybe there was something between us. Did I ask too soon?”, he looked desperate in front of her, “I can take back the proposal. I can court you properly if that is what you wish – “

“No. No, Robb”, Y/N let her hand drop from his, both now becoming colder by the second, “I can’t marry you”.

The tension crackled in the air as Y/N words hung between them, heavy and unresolved. The room felt suffocating, each second stretching into an eternity. Robb’s jaw clenched, his gaze fixed on the ground, struggling to contain his emotions and appear unaffected, “Can I ask why?”. Y/N bit her lip, her own emotions consuming her, never wanting more than to cry. “Robb,” she sobbed, “marrying me— being with me would only bring you hell”. Shaking his head, Robb grabbed ahold of her face, staring into her eyes, “What nonsense do you speak of? That can be far from the truth”. Y/N wanted to push his hands off her but was brought warmth by his touch, “But it’s the truth. My presence alone carries a curse. All those I have cherished have been harmed and taken from me”, he delicately removed the tears that were dropping from her eyes, “I’m not supposed to fall in love with you”.

Robb didn’t know what to say, how exactly to comfort her. His only reply being, “there is no such thing as a curse”, which angered her to some extent. Standing abruptly, she screamed out in sorrow, “Yes there is! My mother, my first love, my home— everyone suffered because of me!”, she started hyperventilating, burying her face in her hands, sobs echoing through the room, “You have suffered enough Robb. I do not wish to cause you more misery”. Robb sprang up quickly and encircled her with an arm, drawing her in for a reassuring embrace. As she cried, he felt her body quiver against his chest. He rubbed her back in gentle circles, giving her a feeling of comfort and safety. “Shhh…”, he tried soothing her, “Even if there is a curse, I won’t let it get to me, or you. I will protect you with entire life; you will never be subjected to such pain”, he leaned down and placed a tender kiss on her head, “I can’t let you go— living out the rest of my life thinking “what if?”.

Shaking her head, she gently pushed him away, “No, Robb”. Y/N stared at him, her eyes reflecting her inner sadness, “This is for my protection and yours. I would not have the strength in me to live if something happened to you”. Walking swiftly towards the door, she ceased her movements when Robb called out to her.

“Y/N. You deserve better”, he spoke truthfully and with sorrow, “You can’t live like this. Someone as extraordinary as you deserves to be happy. To be loved”.

She gripped the door handle, almost hurting her own hand from the pressure. Turning her head, she offered him a pained smile, “Maybe you’re right”, she opened the door, “But such fine things were not made for me in this lifetime”. And she was gone.

Y/N was unable to sleep the rest of the night, tossing and turning in her bed. Come morning, she mentally prepared herself for a conversation she knew she had to make. Standing in front of the chamber rooms Robb occupied, she knocked. A few seconds later, he opened the door, clear surprise on his face at her presence.

“Hi”, she spoke softly. Robb did not verbally reply to her greeting; opting to nod to her instead. “May I come in?”, she asked, and Robb moved to the side to allow her to enter. Looking at him, his tunic was unlaced— a clear indication she had interrupted him in the middle of dressing up. Y/N was informed that Robb and his men were to leave early morning; all they had to do was suit up and prepare their ships, and then he would be gone.

Facing him entirely, she gestured to his packed supplies in the corner, “I came to wish you a safe journey. I enjoyed our time together”. Robb registered her words, taking a deep breath, “Thank you, my lady”. She didn’t have the strength to correct him. All the while, Robb was struggling to tie up the last laces of his tunic. His hands were shaking. Walking slowly to him, she reached for his hands, moving them away to replace them with hers, “Allow me”.  Robb felt a fire ignite inside him as her gentle touch sent a chill down his spine. Focused on her work, Y/N laced up the complex pattern, her breath quickening as her fingertips touched his bare chest. Finishing up the last lace, she patted his chest and smiled up at him, “There. All done”. She only took one step back before Robb wrapped his arm around her waist, pushing her back to him. Y/N gaze softened, a silent acknowledgement passing between them. Slowly and hesitantly, she placed her hand upon his cheek, caressing him. Stretching her neck, she placed a small kiss on his lips, pulling away in mere seconds before either of them could comprehend it. Robb did the same; the two now sharing their second kiss.

For a while, they stood in each other’s embrace in silence. Robb took the next step, closing the small distance and cupping her face in his hands. With a mixture of yearning and desire, she leaned into his touch, gazing up at him as her heart ached. Reaching down, he kissed her with longing and tenderness. Y/N reciprocated right away, moving her mouth with his to match his rhythm. This kiss was longer, both wanting to savor the moment a bit more. The kiss had started off slowly but quickly came alive as they both deepened it. Robb fingers wove into her hair, pulling her closer to him; despite being as physically close as possible. Y/Ns’ body felt on fire; Robb’s touch both gentle yet firm as he traced her body with his other hand. Gasping into his mouth, she was taken by surprise (but did not fight off) at Robb picking her up by the thighs— walking to the small table in his room and dropping her on it. Opening her legs widely, he stood between them, both breathing heavily as they’re lips continued pressing together. Y/N did not know what to do with her hands, moving them all across his body and landing upon his hair, tugging slightly at his roots. Robb was the same; still opting to trace his hands across her thighs and up her breasts— igniting a moan out of her moth that he swallowed with his. Both their lips parted slightly, allowing them to slip their tongues into each other’s.

The room was heating up by the second. The only sounds that could be heard were their muffled groans and heavy breathing. Parting away, Y/N went to work to unlace his tunic— undoing her work. There was some urgency in the way her hands moved, Robb staring at her, intoxicated by her face contoured in rapture. He went straight for her dress, moving the fabric down to expose her shoulders, planting kisses on her. Y/N let out a loud whimper; the feeling of Robb biting into her neck sending a jolt of pleasure and goosebumps over her body. Grabbing his jaw, she returned her attack on his lips; their kiss now getting sloppier by the second, teeth almost clashing against. Y/N was readying herself to further pull her dress down but was interfered by Robb pulling away. Almost desperate like, she chased his lips but was denied.

“No,” Robb spoke, almost sounding to be in pain. His breath was ragged, chest moving up and down and fist clenched to his side, “Not like this”. Y/Ns’ common sense returned, slightly embarrassed that her hunger for him had taken over her completely. She was thankful that Robb had the strength and respect to keep her virtue safe. A few moments passed and their breathing became stable once again. Y/N watched as Robb gazed down at her, his lips red and bruised. Taking a hold of her face in his hand, Robb placed his forehead against her, “I love you”. Y/N could do nothing but nod, wrapping her arms around his torso, “I know”.

He smiled sheepishly at her, caressing her cheek, “Write to me at least. Please. Write to me about anything…even if you have nothing to talk about. I will always send a reply back. I promise”.  She gave him a tight-lipped smile, kissing his hand lightly, “I’ll try”. Robb knew she was lying. As they held each other’s gaze, time appeared to stop and the outside world became less significant. With one last kiss to her temple, Robb picked up his belongings and went out the door.

Y/N waited a decent number of minutes to pass before she exited the room— making sure there were no prying eyes around. She was hurrying towards her own chambers; wanting to be alone and allowed let all her tears fall free. She didn’t make it far, stopping in her movements at the sound of someone calling her name.

“Y/N”, Daenerys called out at the end of the hallway. Approaching her, she offered her sister a happy smile, “I was looking all over for you. I came to see if you wanted to bid the North men a goodbye- “, Daenerys stopped talking momentarily. Her eyes taking in Y/N disheveled appearance, and the obvious love mark on her neck. “But I can see you must’ve already given your farewell to the King in the North”, she teased.

Y/N nodding, staring down at the ground with her hands picking at the skin around her nails, “Yes, I have. So, I have no need to bid them a further goodbye. If you excuse me, I will retire for the day”. She was barley able to turn her body around before Daenerys grabbed hold of her forearm. “Hold on”, Daenerys said letting out a low chuckle, “It is still early morning. Why would you retire so soon- “. Her amusement dwindled into silence, fully grasping the emotions displayed on her little sisters’ face. “What’s wrong? What happened?”, she inquired anxiously and hastily, “Did that Stark boy do something to you?”, now anger appearing in her voice. Y/N was quick to deny her accusations, “No. He did nothing. It’s what I’ve done to him”. The queen placed a comforting embrace around her sisters’ figure, soothing her hair. “He offered me a marriage proposal, Dany” she sobbed into her shoulders, “And I told him no. I broke his heart”. Daenerys said nothing to the information given to her.  A short interval of silence ensured; disrupted by Daenerys taking in a deep breath.

“Do you love him?”.

She hadn’t expected such a direct question from Daenerys, especially about something she had been trying to conceal. Y/N hesitated for a moment— deciding there was no use in denying it, “I do”.

The older sister pulled away, smiling down lovingly at her, “Then why not go be with him?”. Y/N furrowed her eyebrows, stumbling over her words, “Because I promised to stick by your side. To help you,” she defended. Staring back at the floor, Y/N inhaled deeply, “Because I am cursed- “

“That is a load of shit”, Daenerys cut in. Y/N gaped at her older sister in disbelief for her vulgar language directed at her. Daenerys persisted with her speech, “You are not cursed, Y/N. Our history might show that our ancestors without the inherited Targaryen traits suffered greatly, but that does not mean all of them will”. Putting both hands on her shoulder, she reassured Y/N, “I know that in their lives they were still able to experience contentment and love. And you should too”.

Whispering softly, Daenerys hold on her sister tightened, “You've gone through a lot, and life has made it difficult to look past your own suffering, I won't deny that. But you need not forget the positive impact that you have on others around you. You undoubtedly brought happiness and love into the lives of your mother as well as those from your pas, and me toot. I'm even more positive that you introduced that into Robb Starks' life as well”.

Daenerys took a moment to recover after her extended address; watching Y/N register every world she spoke. Placing a gentle hand on her face, Daenerys gave her final say, “So, why not go be with him?”.

Y/N expression mirrored her surprise at what she heard. Shaking her head, she repudiated, “B-But what about you? My promise to you- “. She was cut off once again. “I’ve been thinking it over”, Daenerys began, “And I’ve asked too much from you. You are my only family and I wish to keep you by me, but your life is not mine. You control it”. Y/N held her breath, a small tear forming in her eyes. A sense of déjà vu had come to her— those were similar words her own mother had told her. Daenerys smiled widely at her, taking both her hands into her own, “If I am to be a good queen and rule with fairness”, she gave her hand a gentle squeeze, “I should let you live your life. As your queen, I give you the order to go live a life of happiness with the man you love”. She sustained the cheerful curve of her lips, “Go to him— go be with him in the North. A change of scenery can be good, don’t you think?”.

Y/N didn’t answer her question; instead, she sprang and encircled her sister in a warm hug. “Thank you, Dany,”, she expressed her heartfelt thanks. Daenerys words had opened her eyes; Y/N was not brought into this world to fear it— she was brought in it to appreciate its gifts. The gifts being family, happiness, and love. Daenerys suppressed a laugh that wanted to escape her lips. Pushing the girl slightly, she encouraged her further, “Now go and tell him. Rhaegal will be sad but he’ll live”. Y/N was quick to turn and follow after Robb, but stopped abruptly at Daenerys calling out to her.

“Don’t marry him too soon”. Panic coiled in the pit of her stomach at the thought that Daenerys was taking back what she said. The older sister waved her hand, shooing the girl away, “I just meant that I wish to be present at the wedding. Now, go”.

Robb stood beside a couple of his men and advisor at Dragonstone’s port. He watched his men load up the ships, trying to listen to what his advisor was saying but his mind was elsewhere. He came here to acquire the Dragon Queen as his ally— and now he leaves with that success and a broken heart. He traced back the memory of their times together, the warmth of her hands completely enclosing his, the way her eyes sparkled with every grin. A longing buried deep in his chest arose with every thought of Y/N. It was a bittersweet anguish. His advisor next to him cleared his throat, grabbing his attention when he nudged Robbs’ side, “Your grace”. Following the direction of his advisor’s eyesight, his own landed on Y/N— clearly out of breath and showing urgency.

“Y/N”, he called out. Robb was quick to grab ahold of her forearms, inspecting her body for any signs of injury, “Are you okay? Is there something wrong?” he asked, concern shown deep in his eyes. Y/N nodded her head, calming down her breathing as she watched his men leave to give them privacy. Staring up at him, she confessed, “I will not write to you”. Robbs’ brows drew together in a frown, feeling as though she was taking a jab at his sorrows. A normal reaction would be to spit fire back, but he was too in love with her.

Swallowing thickly, he responded, “I figured that already- “

“No, let me finish” she interrupted him, “I will not write to you…because I am coming with you”. His eyes widened in disbelief at the statement— not given time to properly respond once again. Swallowing the lump in her throat, her palms grw clammy, “Robb…I love you”. At last, he managed to respond, "You do?" with a tone that hinted at both surprise and joy. Y/N nodded, vulnerability showing in the blush of her cheeks and grabbing a hold of his hand, “Yes. I should’ve told you from the start and I should’ve said yes to your proposal- “, she sucked in a trembling breath, “I care about you deeply and I’ve never felt this much love for anyone”. Y/Ns’ heart raced as her words lingered in the crisp morning air. With a subtle shake of her head, she redirected the conversation. “Though I’ve come to see the foolishness in it; I still don’t know if my curse is real or not. All I know is that I wish to spend every minute— every second of my life with you”. Biting her lip gently, she broke eye contact with him, “It is a big risk, I kno- “.

“A risk I am willing to take”, Robb finally cut her off, “I would do anything for you.” In their moment of confession, they wrapped each other in a tight embrace. With their foreheads resting against each other's, a warm yet hesitant smile spread across Y/N face. “So,” she spoke shyly, “is that tour of Winterfell still up for grabs?”

Robb reciprocated her smile with his own, gently lifting his hands to touch her bottom lip. “Yes. It still is” he breathed out, “And my proposal too”. With a gentle tilt of her head, Y/N moved in closer, “Then I say you take me to Winterfell and make me your wife”. Their lips meet in a tender and heartfelt kiss— all their troubles now resolved. A quiet vow of eternity was spoken as their lips moved in rhythm. A familiar roar was heard; Y/N breaking the kiss and laughing as she took notice of Rhaegal in the sky. Robb found himself smiling even more at the sight of her joy; pulling her closer to him.

A cheeky grin formed across her face, “I think Lady of Winterfell has a nice ring to it, don’t you?”

Robb chuckled, caressing her face, “I think Queen of Winterfell sounds nicer. I also think the title of “Robb Starks’ Wife” suits you even more”. Y/N jokingly jabbed her elbow into his side, slightly squeaking as Robb reclaimed her lips in his. They both were filled with excitement and anticipation for what their future together awaited.

[dawn-moths]

Wriothesley x Female Reader

word count: 1,200+

18+ content! minors dni! smut, dubcon, minimal/no prep, rough sex, sub/dom dynamics.

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In the soft, yellow dimness that floods the room of his office, Wriothesley lets out a hiss through clenched teeth. His hips are pressed into yours, sharp hipbones pinning you against the surface of his desk, every slip of paperwork and sharp-nibbed pen swept away and sent clattering to the floor in his haste to get you exactly where he wanted you.

You let out a soft mewl as his teeth scrape across the rise of your throat, tracing down to one of your collar bones and landing at your shoulder as his grip around your wrists tightens to keep both your hands pinned above your head.

The Warden lets out a cold chuckle, nakedly amused by your struggle as you feebly attempt to break free of his hold. “Ah-ah,” he chides, flexing his grip around your wrists hard enough to bruise the flesh and grind the bones, earning a whimper and a wince from you as you go still beneath him. “I thought we agreed you’d take your punishment without a fight?”

He raises his head, looks you in the eyes, that glacier’s stare of his sending a shiver down your spine, the scar curved beneath his right eye shining faintly as it catches the artificial glow of dim light through the damp, industrial dark. He presses his clothed cock, which has become painfully hard, firmer against your sensitive core, skirt bunched around your waist, leaving only a thin layer of soaked lace between you and so much pleasure.

Shamelessly, as if testing him, you attempt to grind harder against the bulge in his trousers, chasing friction as you whine out a pitiful little, “C’mon… You know that’s not fair…”

Wriothesley smirks, swishes some of that tousled dark hair from his eyes. “Given your offense,” he says, “I’d say this is far more generous than you deserve, sweetheart.”

You open your mouth to protest— to tell him that the only reason you’d snuck into his office (broken into, more like, given you’d had to pick three sets of locks along the way) was to win a bet and most definitely not to procure your release forms three months early despite already having your sentence reduced on grounds of good behavior, impatient to step out into the sun again after so much time spent underground. But you suppose you’d gotten a little too cocky. And, besides, you really should’ve known better.

Thievery had been what had gotten you sentenced to two years in the Fortress of Meropide in the first place.

“But I’ll cut you a deal…” the Warden offered, his lips pressed close to your ear, cool breath wafting across your neck, the chill a welcome reprieve from so much heat that had been building between your two bodies as he teased you to damn near torturous lengths. “You just admit what we both know is the truth, and maybe I’ll let you off easy, hm?” You exhaled a shuddering breath, feeling the burden of forbidden desire hazing through your brain, making it hard to think. “So what’ll it be?” He asked, each syllable of his ultimatum laced with condescending manipulation.

You knew, both from first hand experience and the warnings you’d heard passed around by others, that the Warden was particularly fond of playing these kind of mind games.

The best thing to do, especially in your case, was to just count your losses and admit defeat.

“Alright…” you sighed. “Fine. I was breaking in to steal my release papers and forge your signature to get out early. There. You happy now?”

To answer your question, Wriothesley grinded down, mean and harsh against you, eliciting a needy moan from your throat, destroying any and all of your prior obstinance as arousal coursed thick and pleading through your core.

“Gotta admit,” he said, his voice a little more strained than before as he tried to subdue his own desires, “you’re pretty brazen to think you’d get away with it.”

In truth, you didn’t think you’d get away with it. A piece of you had secretly hoped he’d find you. Had secretly hoped he’d back you into a corner and pin you against a wall or a table or a bed like he was doing right now.

But you couldn’t tell him that.

What fun would that be?

“But a deal’s a deal,” he concludes, easing off of you only enough to undo his belt, silver buckle clacking against itself and serving as the bell to toll your fate. He pulls his aching cock free, the sight of its blushing red tip causing your next breath to catch. He’s bigger than you were prepared for, and you shudder at the thought of it bullying its way inside you.

Wriothesley slightly cocks his head to one side and inquires through a crooked smile, a dangerous flash of teeth, “Though, you don’t really want to be let off easy, do you?”

You still beneath him, eyes widening a fraction as you try and subdue the thick swallow that threatens to bob in your throat, exposing your fear.

Cracking a nervous grin, your voice only trembles a little bit as you reply in what would’ve been a smooth coo, if not for the runaway pulse hammering beneath your ribs, “Knew all along, did ya? Well… I guess I have to work on my acting skills then.”

Wriothesley slips two thick, calloused fingers in through the side of your panties and tugs the slick fabric aside. His touch makes your body jolt, your blood humming with trepidation.

“Nah…” he breathes against your neck, leaning in close again to keep your view of what he has planned for you blocked, trapping you in even more suspense and keeping you at his mercy, just where he likes you. “Your act was actually half decent…”

He waits until you exhale your next breath, then buries himself inside of you down to the hilt in one quick, sharp thrust, punching what air remained from your lungs before a startled gasp clipped off onto a yelp punctuates the quiet room.

It takes a moment for him to regain his composure, though feels a sick sense of pride when he pulls back to take a good look at you, admiring how small and helpless you are under his control.

Finally, he speaks again, and when he does it’s a teasing statement of, “Next time though, let me in on it beforehand so I can make sure and let the guards who patrol this area take an early lunch break.” He lets go of your wrists, allows you to grip both his biceps in your trembling little hands, desperate for something to anchor yourself to. “Wouldn’t want anyone to start a rumor I give special treatment to my favorites…”

He covers your mouth with one hand, muffling your next moan as he begins to move, slow and savoring. Sadistic in the way he’s spurred on by the mist of tears welling in your eyes, your tight little hole struggling to accommodate the sudden fullness his cock provides, the sting of the stretch making you fear you’ll end up being split in two by the time this is over.

But it doesn’t matter how rough he wants to be. You’ll take what he gives you and be grateful for it.

And, who knows, maybe, when the time comes, the Warden won’t want to let you out early on good behavior after all.

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[misrepresentedmorallygrey]

PROPAGANDA

Rose Quartz Propaganda

"We saw her character arc in reverse!! We first saw all the good she did and then learned of her terrible actions in the past. If her story was told the other way around, it would have been a great redemption arc. Yes, she did some terrible things, but she had no choice. She did everything she could to stop the colonization of earth peacefully buy nothing worked. Blue and yellow diamond just didn't listen to her and when they did, THEY were the ones who made the zoo and shit. Rose wanted to free them but couldn't get to them after the war! And with the corruption, there's no way she could have known that'd happen. There's so many things she wanted to do but just couldn't. And with spinel, yes it was shitty to leave her alone for so long, but again, between running her court, running the rebellion, dealing with earth, she likely wasn't a very high priority and like with the zoo, there was no way to get to her after the war since the galaxy warp was destroyed. And don't forget, she was practically a child around this time. You're saying you didn't do any stupid, selfish, or harmful things as a kid? She learned from her experiences and grew, we just saw that growth in reverse, leaving us as viewers with a poor perception of her."

"Rose Quartz is Steven Universe’s dead mom. Initially, she’s set up as sort of an ethereal perfect figure who everyone misses and compares him to. Later we get to see more of her backstory and discover that she’s actually like, a person, with flaws, who has done some bad things, but she did those bad things largely in the course of trying to escape an abusive home life and save the people and planet that she fell in love with. It’s very clear that despite her flaws she was trying to do the right thing and that she deeply cared about others. Unfortunately, a woman who was not a Perfect Martyr was way too much for the Steven Universe fandom to handle. She pretty much set off the wave of SU crit blogs because these people were furious either that she had taken violent measures to solve her problems, that she hadn’t taken violent enough measures to solve her problems, or both somehow. Lots of “Why didn’t she just murder her abusive parental figures?” Lots of “She was evil for having a baby even though she knew she’d die in childbirth!” Lots of “She should’ve been able to protect everyone from a magic nuclear weapon with the power of love somehow.” Lots of “She shouldn’t have rebelled (even though not rebelling would’ve meant the destruction of Earth) because her abusers retaliated and that’s her fault.” LOTS of people drawing her as stick thin even though she was fat in the show. People treated her like she was on the same level or even worse than her abusive parental figures who were also the main villains of the show. It was unbearable to witness."

Mahiru Propaganda

"They got unfairly voted guilty in the first round and keeps getting blamed She never meant to hurt anyone and the only reason she did was cause she couldn’t read social ques"

"Mahiru Shiina is the most traditionally feminine character in Milgram, and she’s very in love with the idea of love. That makes her an easy fandom target. In Milgram, we are introduced to ten murderers. It quickly becomes apparent that not all of these murders are conventional. By the time we are introduced to Mahiru, we already know most of these unconventional murderers. Mahiru’s first music video depicts her going on various dates with her boyfriend, even though he is not shown in the frame. At the end of the video, Mahiru wakes up, turns to the camera, and has a horrified expression. Whatever happened, she didn’t want it to happen. And then a lot of the fandom accused her of being a stalker. Was that what got her a 55% guilty/unforgiven vote? I don’t know. I wasn’t there. But she heard what the fandom said. She heard these voices saying she couldn’t be forgiven. Saying that she was a stalker or that she didn’t really love her boyfriend, even though that wasn’t true. She was beaten to near-death by Kotoko, a vigilante who was forgiven by 67%. Fuuta, who also sustained serious injuries from Kotoko, calls out the audience surrogate, saying what we did with our verdicts would have made us the same as him if Mahiru had died. And yet Mahiru doesn’t blame either us or Kotoko. Mahiru’s second music video shows that she was indeed in a proper relationship with her boyfriend. She smothered him with her love. The video slowly revealed the toxicity in their relationship. She asked why she can’t do anything right. The fandom perception was better in that she was safely voted innocent/forgiven. Still, there are issues. Some infantilize her or say that she’s delusional. Yes, she had a sheltered upbringing and has difficulties reading social cues, but that doesn’t take away her agency. On the flip side, some have theorized that she kidnapped her boyfriend and wasn’t in a proper relationship with him. (Not sure what to say about that, but this is a series about sympathetic murderers.)"

[undertheorangetree]

How to Improve HOTD S2

This is truly just me feeling frustrated with the second season and screaming into the void. Feel free to ignore it I wrote it at 10pm in a hater spiral and probably have some information wrong

1. Shift away from the Alicent vs Rhaenyra thing and highlight Aegon vs Rhaenyra. It would be hard when zero relationship had been established in season 1 but after Jaehaerys’s murder it would have been SOOO easy to shift the focus of Team Green on to Aegon and make him really want to take Nyra down.

2. Speaking of Nyra I’m begging them to give her some agency. Her son was MURDERED. She spent TEN DAYS SEARCHING FOR HIS BODY. She should’ve been ready and raring to go to war at the end of episode one!! She should be doing everything she can to destroy those who took her baby boy from her!! Instead they had her crying about going to war and no one taking her seriously for 5 episodes. Let her be morally grey I’m begging you she is not a saint nor should she be

3. Introduce Ulf and Hugh WHEN they claimed their dragons. No one cares about their lives yet. Regular viewers don’t know who they are. They can talk backstory once you’ve shown why they’re important

4. While we’re introducing characters GIVE US SOME TIME WITH DAERON. Non book readers have no idea who he is. Establishing his place in Oldtown, the fact that he has a dragon, the dichotomy between himself and his brothers all would have been GREAT to see before they started throwing his name around.

5. More screentime for the younger generation! Helaena lost so much of her arc due to them removing her fall into madness (which I’m not mad at btw) but showing her grief would’ve still been nice. Baela is ride or die for house targaryen and that’s about all we’ve seen from her, plz give my girl some agency. Rhaena is angry about being cast aside and that’s got so much meat for character motivations but EVEN THE WRITERS ARE IGNORING HER AND GIVING HER ONE 30 SECOND SCENE EVERY OTHER EPISODE. Jace is also being done dirty, they should be establishing reasons why we should care about him and why he’s such a good heir before the battle of the gullet (which in an ideal world would’ve been where we ended season 2 but).

6. ENOUGH WITH THE HARRENHAL ARC!! The first few scenes were fine but now it’s just repetitive. Daemon wanting to be king in his own right came out of nowhere and will have zero consequences when we all know Nyra is just going to take him back when he’s done pouting. He’s literally just wandering around Harrenhal like a freak. That arc needed 3 episodes at the absolute max to establish the castle and Alys and the river lords and then he should’ve come back. I hate him but they’re wasting his character.

7. Aemond turning into a super villain?? After we established he regretted what he did to Luke?? Trying to take out his own brother for power is fine and I support you if that’s what you want king but maybe give us some more context other than “brother bullies you in front of his friends”?? Maybe my sister was just mean but that’s an average sibling experience as far as I’m concerned. It would have made more sense with the characterization they had already given him if Aemond had been given no choice but to burn Aegon in order to save him and take out Rhaneys and Meleys. The 180 into anime villain felt way too abrupt (like dany going mad sorry)

8. Alicent and Cole………… as much as I fly the Alicent is gay flag it could’ve made sense if they didn’t just immediately beat us over the head with it. We were immediately thrown in the deep end of them having a sexual relationship with zero context other than “everything you feel for me… as your queen” PERHAPS GIVE US SOMETHING MORE. I actually would have loved Alicent reclaiming her sexuality after 20+ years of having to fuck her rotting old husband but they went about it the wrong way.

9. Speaking of Alicent, I feel like they truly do not know what to do with Alicent. They took away every ounce of agency she could have had in order to make her a victim and now they don’t have anything for her to do. They just keep taking everything from her in a way that just shoves her character in a box while also trying to maintain her as one of the main characters?? It’s just all very odd to me

10. In that same vein, I feel like they don’t really know what to do with ANYONE honestly. Game of Thrones also had a big cast following multiple locations but somehow juggling between them all felt much cleaner than it does here. It’s as if they lose track of their characters and forget about them so they throw in a quick 30 second scene to be like “btw they’re still here!!”

11. I need more character interactions. Aegon/Helaena. Daemon with his children. Just people you expect to have some kind of relationship. I don’t think any of those characters have ever actually had a significant interaction with each other which feels absolutely WILD to me but

12. STOP WITH THE TEAMS!!! STOP IT!!! There is no good guy and bad guy here and there shouldn’t be. It’s a monarchy, a whole ass empire that has its roots in an even worse empire. None of the Targaryens are good. They aren’t gods. Rhaenyra has been completely screwed over due to the patriarchy but being a victim doesn’t make you a good person. She’s still sacrificing the country for her birthright. Let her be evil, morally grey, ANYTHING is better than her pushing against common sense in order to seem like a good guy. Aegon and co as well shouldn’t be portrayed entirely of super villains and victims. They’ve also done a shitty thing but at the very least give us some nuance no one is entirely good or bad.

13. This is nitpicky so it’s at the end but it’s called house of the DRAGON. I wanna see more rider/dragon interaction. I shouldn’t be introduced to a dragon the same episode it’s maimed (Sunfyre). You shouldn’t be telling me one of the main characters has a dragon when we haven’t so much as heard her speak about it (Dreamfyre). If a bond is so important between a dragon and it’s rider I want to see that bond

• IN THAY SAME VEIN why was vermithor letting nyra and daemon get all up in his grill?? They’re bonded dragonriders they’ve got their bestie, he doesn’t. Shouldn’t he have lit them up for that?? What makes them so special?? He’s barbecuing Targaryen bastards left and right but these two get a pass?? Why??

And now for some general overall complaints🫶🏼

1. Fix your pacing I’m begging you. They could have made 8 episodes work if they had let us move through the plots faster but instead there’s so much dead air. After Jaehaerys was killed we should’ve been FLYING through plot points. Two child murders are enough to declare a war started, but we still hadn’t seen any battle until episode 4 and then it stalled out again. Harrenhal doesn’t need this much screentime. You don’t need to hint at Rhaena claiming Sheepstealer for 3+ episodes. We don’t need to hum and ha about going to war for 4 episodes. There should be fewer long shots of the actors faces simply reacting and more SPEAKING. More PLOT. MORE OF ANYTHING TO MOVE THE STORY FORWARD

2. Stop repeating information. Characters constantly beat you over the head with the same information over and over again. One character will tell a person something then a second character tells that same person almost the exact same thing an episode later it’s like no one proofread the script.

3. Why are you having your actors use giant words in order to sound more period accurate?? You don’t need to repeat lickspittle every five seconds. You don’t need to use gainsay or comportment. I promise your audience knows it’s a medieval setting, put the thesaurus down you sound like an idiot

4. It’s almost totally inaccessible for non book readers. I watch with my mom and sister, neither of whom have done any research about ASOIAF but have seen GOT, and I’m constantly explaining shit to them. The showrunners rely too much on people having read them that they don’t explain anything. I know Helaena has a dragon, but they don’t because NO ONE HAS MENTIONED IT BEFORE!! BY THE SECOND SEASON!!

5. This is just a me thing but I would’ve LOVED more regional costuming. We got a hint of it with Sabitha Frey wearing a headpiece when treating with Jace and I love the idea of each region having their own specific fashion trends. The costumes are fine, some are even great, but most are lacklustre and feel too fantasy to me. I’m a history girly I want to see more hoods and headpieces and different shapes in the dresses etc etc.

Despite all this there are still some great scenes!! Aspects of this season were awesome and I think the first two episodes in particular were really strong, there is just so much lost potential this season and it has been really disappointing. I’m still gonna be sat for the finale this week but I hope that they really up their game in season three

[neos127]

WHY HER? — SIM JAEYUN (chapter fifteen)

pairing. idol!jake x fem!fan!reader synopsis. in the most cliche way, jake falls for a fan of his. y/n just has to decide if she’s able to handle being apart of his life. notes. super angsty…sorryyyy

“How are you feeling?” Jake asked, sitting down next to Y/N. It had been a couple weeks since the album in incident and Y/N’s eye had healed well. Unfortunately during a recent concert of Enhypen’s, Y/N had someone spit on her shoes. It angered her sure, but the tip of the iceberg was the trucks sent by engenes, encouraging a breakup between Y/N and Jake. The girl had passed by them the other day and had never felt so humiliated in her life.

Or maybe the last last straw was someone ‘accidentally’ bumping into her at a cafe and spilling an iced americano all over her outfit. Y/N wanted to believe that it wasn’t intentional, but the soft giggles from the girls and the enhypen photo cards dangling from their bags said otherwise.

Y/N hated to give up, she never wanted to admit defeat. Jake was hers and she was his, it shouldn’t matter what anyone thought. But her dignity was slowly being destroyed and constantly looking over her shoulder became tiring. She just needed to focus on school and not on the possibility of being injured worse than an album to the face.

“Better.” Y/N mumbled, not being able to meet Jake’s gaze. She hated the words that were about to leave her mouth, but maybe it was for the best. Or maybe she should’ve slept on it more, going over the pros and cons in her head. But Y/N wasn’t thinking straight and she was extremely stressed out. Her judgement was a bit clouded.

“I think we should take a break.” She whispered, finally looking up at Jake. The silence was deafening and the way Jake’s expression dropped made Y/N wince. The girl sighed, already feeling tears come to her eyes. She had been dreading this conversation.

“Did I do something wrong?” Jake asked, his voice cracking. Y/N held back a sob, allowing tears to fall down her face.

“No…no you didn’t and that’s what sucks about this. Jake, you’re an amazing boyfriend, really really amazing. You’ve done everything for me and more so it’s not about you.” Y/N explained, turning to face him once more. That was a mistake since the look on his face only made the lump in her throat grow more. Y/N had never seen Jake this upset before, and of course she had to be the one to cause his pain.

“Then what is it about? We can fix this, there has to be some kind of solution.” Jake replied, grabbing Y/N’s hands with his. She let out a shaky sigh, a sad smile on her face.

“But there isn’t one, Jake. You’re too popular, engenes love you but they don’t love you with me. I’m being humiliated and dumped on by these people, and I don’t know if I can take it anymore.” Y/N said, watching as the boy sighed and anxiously ran his hands through his hair. Jake had always felt guilty about what Y/N went through to be with him and suddenly wished he had talked to her earlier. Had he been neglecting her mental health? Was he really as good of a boyfriend as she said?

“I’m sorry that this is happening to you, you know how shitty I feel. But they won’t do this forever. They’ll back down when they realize that you’re here to stay.” Jake was practically begging her now, already feeling Y/N slipping away from him. He felt nothing but panic in the moment, trying to say all the right things so she wouldn’t walk out of his life.

“Back down? In what, a few years? Jake, I don’t know if this is worth it!” Y/N exclaimed with frustration. Jake stilled at her words, looking at her with teary eyes. The boy didn’t want to cry in front of Y/N, but he wasn’t sure if he could hold back his emotions anymore.

“So I’m not worth it? What, did you think this was going to be easy? You knew what you were getting into Y/N how could you do this do me now?” Jake raised his voice, tears spilling into his face. Y/N rubbed her hands over her eyes, already feeling overwhelmed by the conversation.

“No…that’s not what I mean. It’s just…it’s really hard for me to have a nice relationship with you when these crazy fans exist.”

“So ignore them! They don’t matter to us!”

“Jake, you’re not listening to me—”

“Y/N I love you.” Jake interrupted. And suddenly as if Y/N’s tears were held back by a dam, it finally broke. She wished that their first ‘i love you’ could have been under better circumstances, but of course life had a way of playing cruel games.

“Why would you say that to me? Now? Are you fucking kidding me?” Y/N sneered, trying to get her words out in between sobs.

“Because I don’t want my favorite girl to leave me. I don’t know how I’ll be able to go on with my life without you in it. And I mean— I’m so in love with you that it hurts. Like, I can physically feel how much I love you and it can be overwhelming but it’s also the best feeling in the world.” Jake cried while trying to wipe away the stream of tears coming from his eyes. It was hopeless, he felt as miserable as Y/N did.

“Oh my gosh.” Y/N mumbled, head in her hands as she continued to cry. Jake’s confession only made her feel worse, her stomach twisting uncomfortably. Why did he have to be the most precious person she had ever met? Why did this have to be so hard?

“Please, Y/N. I love you so much don’t do this to me.” Jake begged, his bottom lip wobbling as sobs threatened to escape from his mouth. Y/N shook her head before standing up from the bed and gathering her things.

“I can’t…I can’t do this anymore. I’m so sorry, Yun. I’m so sorry.” Y/N said, ignoring Jake’s desperate pleas and heading straight towards the door. She tried to convince herself that it would be for best, that Jake’s career would thrive better without her. But as she walk down the hallways of the apartment building, she felt as if she left her whole world back in that dorm.

It’s for the best…It’s for the best…

Jake stared at the door, tears silently streamed down his face as he replayed the conversation over and over in his head. She left and that was it. The relationship was over. She was leaving for New York in a month, Jake would probably never see her again.

The boy began to cry even harder, feeling as if his heart had physically broken into tiny pieces. Heeseung and Riki, who had accidentally eavesdropped due to the thin walls, immediately ran to the living room. Heeseung brought the boy into a hug, rubbing his back in a comforting manner. Riki observed the two with a heavy heart, wishing that he didn’t have to see Jake in such a state.

“I’m so sorry, Jake.” Heeseung mumbled, really wishing he hadn’t sent that text in the first place.

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taglist. @junityy @super-amberlynn @jvjsssnaa @dreamiesformula @deepdeancloudspy @syazzzlisa @nnana2 @hkkbrosdienagge @iheartjayke @chappellraon @yelshin @yunville @4xiaojun @ramenoil @desistay @mandoscyare @nikiswifereal27 @mitchii @eternallyhyucks @bgomtori @woninluv @theyluvfrankocean @iilwji @herebyaccident0 @geombyu @vixensss @oldjws @moon4moony @kimsunoops @sainthoma @rosas-in-the-garden @shiikan0iin @skz8love @lycxee

[smilesrobotlover]

Ok this has been bothering me all day. I saw a post talking about how Rauru and Sonia did more for Zelda than Rhoam did and… I’m once again going to defend Rhoam, cuz that’s a very unfair thing to say and a horrible comparison to make.

Rauru and Sonia helped Zelda with her time powers and learning about the secret stone. Rhoam didn’t help her with her sealing power. Why? Cuz he has no magic and he clearly wasn’t the one who had it. Her mother was the one who had the power and was the one to teach her. Rhoam had no idea what he was doing, he didn’t understand the magic, and he hoped that if she dedicated her life that it would awaken so that the calamity wouldn’t destroy their home.

Well he should’ve tried to help her anyways right? Well, yes it’s easy to say that, unfortunately Rhoam was put in a very bad position of being king with the looming threat of the APOCALYPSE!!!! I think it’s implied that Rhoam married into the family, since his wife had the sealing power from the blood of the goddess or whatever, and seeing how he’s Hylian, he wasn’t a prince from another kingdom since all other kingdoms in this world have small round ears. For all we know, he was a prince consort who was never raised to be king. We don’t know what he was doing before, but with his wife’s sudden death and the responsibility of protecting his kingdom, he didn’t make the right choices. Which isn’t an excuse, but in his position, it’s an explanation. Rauru and Sonia didn’t have an apocalypse threatening to happen, in fact, they were in an era of peace and the future seemed bright. Of course they had time to hang out with Zelda and have tea parties with her. They seemed to be relaxed and having fun, which makes sense seeing how there didn’t seem to be much of a threat to their kingdom, minus Ganondorf, but I don’t think either of them saw him as a huge threat, seeing how they were absolutely blindsided by him.

It’s implied in AOC that Rhoam shouldered all of the responsibilities of the kingdom, and it seemed that he was under a significant amount of pressure during the calamity. And I feel like he mostly did that so Zelda could focus on awakening her power. She didn’t seem to have many responsibilities as princess save for awakening her power and helping out the champions. She is barely 17 so it makes sense that she’s not ruling the kingdom, but I do feel like Rhoam did all that stuff so she could focus on the calamity itself. And I’m sure in his stress he grew frustrated whenever Zelda focused more on the machines than awakening her power. Which was not the right thing to do, but come ON the world is literally about to end and the ONLY piece of the puzzle they need is Zelda!!! Some people forget that she HAD to awaken her powers otherwise the world was going to be destroyed! And it almost was cuz they were awakened too late! They were in such an unfair situation! And it’s not fair to compare him to Rauru and Sonia who were not in the same situation he was in, who were lying around in the grass and drinking tea because the calamity wasn’t there.

Rhoam is such a well written character that acts the way you’d expect someone in his situation to act. And he has so much regret over some of the things he’s had to do to protect Hyrule. You can read it in his journal where he finally gives up and desires to act more like a father to Zelda, you can see it when he takes Terrako away from Zelda, and you can see it when he’s a ghost 100 years after everything is destroyed. He’s so guilty but he did what he thought was best so that Zelda could not have a throne to nothing, so that Hyrule will be safe. And there’s a lot of things he could’ve done better, but people don’t act rational under that much stress. Like come on, would you? Don’t lie you absolutely wouldn’t.

And this post isn’t meant to diss on Rauru and Sonia, I like them in their own ways. But it’s kinda dumb whenever people love complex characters and then turn around and hate on characters like Rhoam and make them completely one-dimensional when they’re not. Y’all are completely unfair to Rhoam.

[miyooree]

Attack on Empire

𝚂𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚢: The Empire set its sights on another planet. It should’ve been an easy harvest; the planet wasn’t technologically advanced, nor did it have any special value to the Empire. The only thing of note would be the strength of emotion the inhabitants of the planet had.

And yet, this planet would prove to be the Empire’s greatest threat.

- AO3 link !

Thanks to KaiyoAzuma+ all the people in discord who took part. Kaiyo, legit, my dude, you are a genius.

Taglist: @food-lover9000 , @thenyxsky , @norieoncrack , @xcerizex , @xbalayage special mention: @celamoon , @41lobsters

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞

The first attack was sudden and utterly unexpected. In the midst of a perfectly peaceful day, the sky darkened and destruction rained down upon the cities of Earth. People cried out in despair in the face of a foreign invasion, pleading for their lives; pleading for mercy.

But to the Empire, this fleeting desperation was merely a footnote in their long journey to collect energy from other planets to expand. To them, this was a routine occurrence – the planet had nothing special to offer, no unique material nor capability that would prove useful in the future, save for the strong emotional power the inhabitants had. Thus, the planet would be harvested; sucked dry, and destroyed.

Yet amongst the rubble and destruction, in the face of this unknown danger, it wasn’t so unknown to a certain group of people.

***

BASE: LBC-0428

Trip of Inspiration

***

“Move it, people! We need to get all the personnel files out of here, and then get ourselves out of here, ASAP!” In an underground base, an authoritative voice rang out.

Traveler ID: 0067437579

MazaRin

Communications Department

Commander of LBC-0428

MazaRin’s voice cut clear above the clamor of papers, slammed filing cabinets, and rush of people darting back and forth to clear out the base. Above, a distant explosion sounded, and the base shook as yet another bomb detonated within the stone walls. Rhythmic footsteps echoed through the halls as the Empire’s robotic soldiers entered one by one. Despite the sound of gunshots, each person moved with purpose, calm and never panicked.

Watching over the evacuation was a woman bracing a gun as she peered around a corner to spot any approaching enemies.

Traveler ID: 0033950733

Mayee

Combat Department - Trainee

Upon seeing the first soldier turn into the hallway, she aimed and quickly released a round of bullets, ducking back behind cover as the robot was destroyed. Behind her, the noise started to lessen as the other members of the base made their way out.

The air outside was crisp, with a faint smell of gunpowder lingering in it. Once she determined that everyone else had evacuated, she backed up and defended them from getting snuck up on by the encroaching soldiers.

Up in front of everyone evacuating, MazaRin raised a hand to the communication device by her ear.

“Yeah, we’ve got all the papers; we’re outside now. Got any directions?”

“You should head down towards the river and regroup with Rozuliette at Seasonal Hunt,” The operator on the other side of the line responded. “From what our observers are saying, they’re trying to surround the base and trap you all in, but cutting across the block should let you avoid most of them.”

Traveler ID: 0486872070

cressie

Communications Department

cressie, one of the most talented, and persuasive members of the Communications Department, provided MazaRin with the details. MazaRin nodded, taking note of what cressie said. Gesturing to the people behind her, she silently guided them down the route recommended by cressie.

“You’ve got a few robots about 500 meters ahead of you, right around the corner at about a 60 degree angle.” cressie said. “You can probably snipe them from a good angle, there aren’t any other robots close enough to interfere.”

MazaRin held up a hand, telling the people behind her to hold still. Creeping through an alley, she braced her sniper rifle against a dumpster, the five robots in the street easily visible from her position.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Five quick shots, and they were all taken care of. MazaRin gestured everyone forward, the small group moving as a well-protected unit with MazaRin in the front and Mayee bringing up the rear. Seasonal Hunt wasn’t too far away, but it was still quite a distance for a group to travel on foot while trying to avoid enemy attention.

The group was about halfway across the road when cressie suddenly spoke up, alarm in her voice.

“Hold on- there are a lot of robots coming your way- find some shelter quick-!”

The warning came too late as smoke bombs exploded around them, cutting off their vision and causing some people to choke on the smog.

“Everyone, get down! Stay low!” MazaRin called out, trying to sweep away the smoke. The sound of gunshots rang out as Mayee and the other Combat Department members began trying to shoot out into the smoke at targets they couldn’t see.

“Hang in there, I’ve sent reinforcements your way, they should get there soon!” cressie relayed amidst the chaos.

MazaRin was about to respond, but her words got interrupted when a shadow lunged for her out of the corner of her eye, barely managing to avoid the robot that tried grabbing her throat. A swift roundhouse kick and a bullet put it down, but that left her open as another robot tackled her to the ground, restraining her.

The sound of clanking metal echoed, announcing the arrival of more robots. The screech of metal on metal and sound of gunfire died down as various thuds, groans, and exclamations of pain announced that the other Combat Department members were taken down as well.

When the smoke cleared, the group was on the ground, outnumbered by the several robots encircling them. Guns were pointed at them in clear threat as some robots began to collect the papers in the hands of the party. Once collected, the robot holding MazaRin hauled her to her feet, dragging her away from the rest of the group.

“Keep the leader. We don’t need the rest,” one of the robots ordered. The clicking of guns echoed in the barren street.

However, that wasn’t the only noise. A humming noise in the distance was steadily getting louder, approaching the combat site. The robots paused, evaluating the new potential threat. Seeing the robots distracted, MazaRin took the opportunity to throw her weight to the side, kicking the robot at its legs. It did not let her go, but it did get stunned by the sudden movement. Detecting the movement, the other robots turned their head towards MazaRin, preparing to attack. At the same time, Mayee brought up her gun, taking advantage of the diversion of her captor’s attention.

Bang! Bang!

The two robots who were holding them were downed with a bullet directly at their core. The other robots aimed at the two, but stopped as they heard the soft rumbling of an engine coming from above. They all looked up, and the sound of an engine revving grew ever closer. The robots held fire for a moment, waiting for the new enemy to show up.

The next moment, a motorcycle crashed down on a robot from above, as the driver of the motorcycle turned the bike sideways to ensure maximum area of impact in the collision against the ground. The robots switched their targets to the two newcomers, while MazaRin and Mayee smiled to themselves.

Traveler ID: 0218562825

Iacie

Support Department - Transportation

As the bike skidded across the ground, Iacie revved the engine, sending the motorcycle speeding around the group to avoid the gunfire from the robots.

“Never fear, the cavalry's here!” Sam cheered enthusiastically as she shot down a group of robots with her M4A1. The sound of mechanical firing rung in the air as the bullets dropped to the ground one by one.

Traveler ID: 0101261071

Sam

Combat Department

She then jumped off the motorcycle right as lacie brought up the front tire to wheelie a robot and swiped out her Renetti, dual-wielding both her firearms. Loud blasts of gunfire echoed through the streets, along with the constant beeping of the robots accompanied by the zapping noises of their guns.

MazaRin sat up, her back pressed against a building, watching as the group hastily collected the paper strewn across the street. Mayee collected a handful of the papers and put them in a file, before she scurried off towards MazaRin.

“Are you alright, Commander?” Mayee asked, a subtle tone of jest present in her question.

MazaRin understood that, she rolled her eyes before replying, “Besides the bruised ankle, I'm fine, Mayee.”

Mayee nodded and looked at the duo which were still shooting down the robots. Sam shot down the robots one after another; the continuous sound of bullets hitting against the metal mixed with her boisterous laughter almost made her seem like a madwoman – and an efficient one at that. Meanwhile, Iacie calmly assisted Sam. Iacie’s shots were precise; smoothly hitting the robots’ central processor – taking them down with a single shot.

“MazaRin, do you copy?” The familiar voice of the operator rang out again.

“Yeah, yeah, copy that, Lobster,” MazaRin replied with a soft sigh.

“Hope there aren't many casualties, MazaRin! Did the reinforcements reach you?”

Traveler ID: 0033949701

lobster

Communications Department

Enthusiastic as ever, lobster screamed into the microphone. MazaRin had to wince after hearing that message from him.

“Yes, they did, lobster,” MazaRin chuckled. “Don't worry.”

The sounds of gunfire receded, and a loud exclamation followed–

“Woooo!!” Sam exclaimed, laughing soon after kicking out the decapitated head of a poor robot. “That was fun. Wasn't it, Iacie?”

lacie softly hummed in approval. “Where's the Commander?”

Sam pointed towards the direction where MazaRin was and walked over to her, and Iacie followed. “Evening, MazaRin. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I'm alright.” MazaRin tried to stand up, her hand on the lamppost beside her, trying to balance herself. “Aside from the slight injury, that is.”

Iacie noticed the injury and added, “It's alright. Just a small bruise.”

“Yeah, hop on the motorbike, we'll get you to the base,” Sam replied.

“Thank you, guys. But what about the others?” MazaRin pointed towards the other members.

As the Commander of the base, it was MazaRin’s task to look after all of them. And that's what she did. All of the members looked up to her as a mother figure; caring and kind, but also practical and calculative when it came to making any moves. And, being the Commander, it was almost natural for her to womder how Iacie would be able to transport all of them to the Seasonal Hunt base.

“Let me call for some extras,” Sam said, putting a hand on her communication device. “Yeah, we need some transport backup, please!”

“Damn, didn't cressie already send some backups?”

Traveler ID: 0487003662

Norie

Communications Department

“Yeah, but we need more to transport the others as well,” Sam added.

“Alright, fine, don't worry,” Norie replied. “Gonna ask cressie to send some more…”

“Thanks, Norie!” Sam put her hand down and looked at MazaRin. “Extra backups are on their way! But first, let's get you and Mayee to the base.”

lacie helped MazaRin get on the bike, then Sam hopped on. MazaRin looked at Mayee for a moment, ordering her to stay with the members before the backups arrived. And with that, the three of them drove through the abandoned streets.

MazaRin watched the scene nearby. Broken buildings scattered around the city, ruins of cars and vans remained ignored on the sidewalks. A cold air blew past, wafting the smell of gunpowder and asphalt. The countries across the world were destroyed within minutes of the arrival of the Empire – leaving no traces behind. Despite causing a ruckus across the world, they didn't manage to destroy one city; the city of Luxmond Bay, where the “Resistance Army” resided.

Compared to the heavy, professional armies the other sovereign nations had, the Resistance was nothing. They didn’t have powerful weapons; the ones they had now were simply foraged, or gifted by anonymous assisting organizations. The only reason they had survived until this long in combat was sheer luck. Every time the Empire launched an attack on them, they simply scurried from one base to another, like a little mouse escaping a cat’s deathtrap. It was only a matter of time until the group would fall into the Empire’s trap; it was inevitable, and they knew it – yet, they tried their best to keep their world from falling into the Empire's hands.

After all, each and every single one of them had protected other worlds from the Empire as the “Main Character” of a game, and they, too, wanted to keep their home safe.

That game was also the one thing that got them this far. It was their common ground; the basis of their first communication, their greatest defense, and the ultimate secret to keep from the Empire.

The motorbike reached another desolate part of the city. The moss and vines growing in the cracks and on the walls of the ruined buildings gave off its seclusion. The bike took a turn, entering a dingy alleyway. It bumped against the cobblestone pathway and endeavored forward until it reached a dead end. The pathway ended at a cliff, overlooking the vast desert beneath. The nearby river provided a much-needed source of water, and a cover of noise.

Sam got off the bike and helped MazaRin get down, though she insisted she was fine and could walk in by herself. lacie parked the bike near the alleyway, to avoid any suspicion. Then, they walked by the edge, over to a building covered in vegetation.

Walking in, their footsteps echoed throughout the empty, abandoned place. They came to a stairwell covered by a signboard reading “Under Construction”, but ignored it, and continued downward. The further they went, the louder the sound of chatter, clamors, and mechanical typing got.

[explodingsilver]

Book review: Nightbane by Alex Aster

Lightlark…2!

I’ve already made my thoughts on the first book quite clear (read that review first if you haven’t already; I don’t feel like rehashing all the context), and were I a bit more sensible, I would have stayed away from its sequel. I am, however, somewhat of a literary masochist, so of course I borrowed this from Hoopla the day it was released (November 7th, not too long ago). Very pleased that I was able to write this review much faster than the first one, though this review is shorter, at only 2,100 words long. Was the experience worth it? I don’t know, you tell me.

(There are spoilers ahead, on the off chance that you care)

The plot and style

After the events of the first book, Isla is trying to learn her several powers as well as get a hold of this “leading two different realms” thing while trying to move on from getting betrayed by four different people she used to love. At a celebration for a Wildling holiday (in which no Wildlings other than herself are in attendance), Grim magically crashes the party from afar and announces that the Nightshade army will destroy Lightlark in thirty days. The other realms start preparing for the invasion, and Isla tries to recover all her lost memories of being with Grim in hope that they will reveal what his goal is and how to stop him, especially after receiving a prophetic vision of him standing in the ruins of a village he destroyed with his powers.

Put simply, if the plot of the first book is split between “Isla and Celeste search for a MacGuffin” and “Isla and Oro search for a different MacGuffin”, this book is split between “Isla and Oro do basic defense building stuff” and “Isla remembers the time she and Grim searched for a third MacGuffin”. There’s also a subplot about a rebel group trying to capture Isla, but this is inconsequential and could’ve been dropped entirely.

It feels like there was an attempt to address some of the criticism of the first book, but not nearly enough of an attempt. On the one hand, metaphor usage has improved to the point where it actually feels like it was written by a human being and not a neural network (no throbbing and raw glaciers this time around), the book acknowledges that no longer having a power no one else had in the first place is less bad than having a maximum lifespan of 25, and Isla realizes that Grim let her win the duel in the first book and that she did not win against a 500+ year old army general on the strength of her own skill. On the other hand, it does not address questions like “how does Starling society even function if none of them ever live to 26?” or “if Oro always knows when someone is lying, why didn’t he call bullshit the moment Celeste said ‘Hi, my name is Celeste’?”

Speaking of that last thing: I didn’t mention it in my review of the first book because it didn’t really feel relevant to anything, but each ruler has a ‘flair’, a special power that is unique to them. Oro’s is that he can always tell when someone is lying. Grim’s is that he can teleport. This book reveals that Isla’s is that she is immune to curses. Glad to finally have an answer to one of my biggest questions of the first book (checks notes) 75% of the way through the second one, when this explanation should’ve been given the moment we learned the original stated reason does not apply.

Wildling elixir and its (lack of) consequences

Much of this book centers around the presence of the Wildling elixir from the first book, a potion that is super effective at healing wounds. As you might imagine, this kills a lot of the tension. Used in conjunction with Isla’s magical teleportation device, “teleport away, use Wildling elixir, teleport back” becomes an easy way to recover when the characters get their flesh ripped apart. And indeed, they do this all the time! The book tries to nerf this strategy by stating that the elixir is rare due to the flower used to make it being rare, but 1) this is at odds with Isla’s very liberal use of it, and 2) aren’t the Wildlings the “make flowers grow instantly” people? Why can’t they just use those powers on it like they do for every other plant?

There was a bit of potential for an interesting theme with these flowers: Isla eventually learns that while the Wildlings use them to make the healing elixir, the Nightshades use those exact same flowers to make the titular nightbane, which is basically fantasy heroin. I was intrigued by this motif (I like it when things have a dual nature like that), but unfortunately this doesn’t really go anywhere, other than some vague gesturing at “wow, just like Isla”. Speaking of Isla…

Isla

This time around, Isla is clearly traumatized by the events of the last book, trusts very few people, and is aware that she is in over her head with leading two realms full of subjects she barely knows while also being the king’s unofficial consort. Not a bad start for a character arc, but in effect, she has gone from naive and impulsive to naive, impulsive, and guilty about those things while making little effort to amend them. It feels like her attitude towards leadership is basically “I’m allowed to call myself a bad leader but nobody is allowed to agree with me on that.”

Much of Isla’s internal conflict in this book is based around her Nightshade heritage on her father's side. She is convinced that there is an inherently evil part of her because her father was from the Inherently Evil Realm. This may not come as a surprise, but I do not like when stories have such a thing as an Inherently Evil Realm. Not only does Nightshade fill this role, but the book never even gestures at pushing back against Isla’s conviction that her heritage taints her, and in fact ends up affirming it.

This book really told me to my face that Isla is the first person in millennia to have both Wildling and Nightshade powers. I do not buy that even for a moment. Maybe my disbelief is because the series discarded the “only one realm’s power set per person, even if their parents are from different realms” thing in the same book it was introduced, and I would expect there to be Wildling/Nightshade couples way more often than once per few millennia. But no, that highly plausible thing can’t happen because then Isla won’t be the most special person currently alive!

The other characters

Sadly, the rest of the cast did not improve, and in some instances, got worse.

Oro going from "world weary, distant king" to "official love interest" has unfortunately sanded down all his interesting aspects, and everything I liked about his character in the first book now takes a backseat to being overly protective of Isla and making stock Love Interests threats to kill anyone who hurts her. I swear, he turned so generic that some of his lines were indistinguishable from something Grim would say. But hey, if nothing else, he at least didn’t get character assassinated like I was sure he would!

While Grim actually does stuff in this book, he still has no personality traits other than what's included in the Sexy Villain Starter Pack. Like, it actually upsets me that he's such an absolute nothing of a character. Everything about him begins and ends with “what if the villain…was sexy?”, and there are about a morbillion stories out there that provide more interesting answers to this question. You’d think focusing on him this much would be the perfect opportunity to give him any unique traits at all, but Aster certainly did not take that opportunity, nor did she ever answer the question of why he likes Isla, despite the sheer number of pages dedicated to their relationship.

As for everyone else? Azul, our beloved token gay black man who runs his realm like a democracy, still receives woefully little page time. Cleo, the bitchy ruler who hates Isla for no reason, receives even less, but at least we get to hear about her dead son, I guess. Ella, Isla's Starling assistant, is mentioned so rarely I wonder if Aster forgot she exists. There are also several new average citizen characters introduced, but none of them are remotely interesting. They're all defined solely by whether or not they're on Isla's side. It says something when the best new character is Isla's new animal companion (a panther named Lynx, who rules because he does not give a shit about Isla).

The chili pepper emoji, as the TikTokers call it

Because I must do as the book did and address the topic of sex before I get to the final important bits.

This book is much hornier than the first one, but in a way that makes large parts of it feel like one of those dreams where you're trying to have sex with someone but your attempts keep getting interrupted. I regret that I did not count the number of times Isla was about to fuck someone and then got denied for some reason or another.

There are three times she actually succeeds, and luckily these scenes do not read like they were written by Sarah J. Maas, despite her obvious influence on everything else. This doesn't seem like much of a compliment, but this series needs all the W’s it can get. That's not to say everything is fine, though. There's one scene that's obviously using all the "first time" stuff for characterization, and I can't help but feel this would be more effective had they not already slept together a few short chapters beforehand? Like c’mon, all you had to do was switch the order of those two scenes.

The ending

Shortly before the Nightshade army is set to storm the island and destroy it, Isla learns Grim’s (and Cleo’s) real motivation for doing so: there’s a portal on the island leading to another world, one in which the original founders of Lightlark came from before making Lightlark in the image of the world they left. Grim and Cleo want to open that portal and reach the other world, which will just so happen to destroy the island. They’re not actually trying to kill everyone for the evulz. Isla, in her naivety, accidentally opens it for them before they even arrive.

During the final battle, while trying to steal Grim's powers so she can kill him and save Lightlark, Isla finally remembers the last two important memories: 1) she and Grim actually got married right before he memory-wiped her, and 2) what she thought was a prophetic vision of him killing an entire village was actually a memory of her doing so. Convinced that she'll accidentally kill Oro if she stays with him, she agrees to go with Grim, whom she just realized she is still in love with, in exchange for a promise that he'll withdraw the attack.

I cannot remember the last time I had this strong of an "are you fucking kidding me" reaction to the end of a book. But after some thinking, I decided that it actually makes for some great tragedy material. “Traumatized woman with a supportive partner becomes convinced that she’s too horrible to be with him and goes back to her terrible husband” would make for a good story if this was a more grounded book written by anyone else. Alas, this concept just had to be tackled here.

I also naively thought that because the deal was for two books, that means this would be a duology. But it feels like there will be a third book, and I'm hoping there is, not out of any desire for more (unsure how much more I can take), but because it would be straight-up authorial malpractice to end the series on that note.

Conclusion

This honestly wasn’t quite as bad as the first book, but the problems that persisted outweighed the ones that got fixed, and the severe case of Middle Book Syndrome certainly did not help its case. It’s a very small improvement stylistically, but when the nicest things I can say about it are “there were some concepts that could’ve made for an interesting story in the hands of a better author” and “the sex scenes aren’t atrocious” and “the cat is kinda cool”, then I feel justified in calling it terrible overall. It’s a good thing that Lightlark…3! is presumably a long ways away, because I will need all that time to recover from having read this.

[onceuponastory]

survival tactics - the winter soldier x reader

Part Four of my Ghost Story AU - Find the Series Masterlist here.

Plot: When their worst nightmare comes true, Y/N and Bucky try to make it out alive. Pairing: The Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes x Female!Reader Warnings: Mentions of death, dead bodies, choking, blood, violence, threats, guns, knives, and shooting. Nothing too graphic/gory, but this chapter is definitely more violent than the others, so please use your own discretion! Also mentions of the abuse, manipulation and trauma Bucky faced while under HYDRA’s control. And HYDRA agents being the creepy assholes they are. As always, if I miss any triggers, please let me know. Notes: We’ve reached part four already! Thank you again for all loving this story so much. I hope you like this chapter. Not beta’d, so any mistakes are my own.

1945

He awakens strapped to a table. He can feel things poking and prodding at him, but is too groggy to tell who or what they are. Faces stare down at him, most of them too blurry for him to recognise.

“Sergeant Barnes.” A voice says. 

Who is Sergeant Barnes?

Hazy memories flash through his brain. Memories of flying. 

Or was it falling? 

His body throbs with a dull pain. He twitches, trying to break free, but someone or something holds him down. And somehow, he doesn’t fight it. 

More memories now. Of red crimson on the snow, seeping through it. A beautiful landscape, destroyed by violence. Why so much blood? 

There’s screaming. Screaming that he can’t recognise.

“He’s tense. I’m not sure if he’s stable enough for the procedure yet.”

“The procedure has already started.” The original voice corrects. Another face appears, looming out of the haze. “You are to be… the new fist of HYDRA. Our Winter Soldier.”

19-seventy something.

He’s running. He doesn’t know where he’s going, or how long he’s been running for. He just needs to get away. Away from the base, from all the people touching him, of the pain. He weaves through the trees, a tactic he learnt from years of being a super-powered assassin. His legs pound the frozen ground, and his heart and lungs burn. Despite the pain, he’s never felt so alive.

Just get away. Just run.

As he breaks through the trees, he stops. He can finally see the horizon, vast and never ending. He takes a breath. 

He’s alive.

He’s here.

He’s free.

But as he takes a step forward, something hits him in the leg, and he falls to the ground, landing in the snow. Russian expletives fill the air, and he hisses in pain. Yet, the adrenaline in his veins keeps him going, another burst of energy causing him to rise once more. He steps forward, still hissing in pain. He only makes it a few more steps before being hit in his other leg. He looks down at the bullet hole in his legs, at the blood flowing out of the wounds. Again, crimson seeps into the snow.

They’ve found him again.

Before he can try to get up, or even to crawl forward, two muscular arms grab him, hauling him up. He tries to struggle, but it’s futile. Despite how much he wants to deny it, his wounds have weakened him. And so, he gives up the fight. 

Yet, as he’s loaded back into a van, ready to be taken back to base, one thought remains: He will get out of here. One way or another.

Present Day

Now, as he watches the HYDRA agent, Bucky knows he should’ve known you can never truly outrun your demons. Especially when they’re as all reaching as HYDRA. The man walks around the room, staring at both with a smirk. “Now, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way.”

“Y/N. Run.” Bucky hisses. He knows it’s futile, but there’s still a little hope that she’ll be able to flee there. Y/N tries to run, but he grabs her before she can escape.

“I see you’ve brought a new plaything, Soldat. How generous.” The man shoves her against the wall, and Y/N cries out in pain. The sound makes Bucky even angrier. He tries to stand up, forgetting how tightly he’s been bolted in. “She’ll do nicely. But what to do with her? We’ve been trying to replicate you, you know? Perhaps she can be your replacement.” Y/N squirms in his arms, trying to free herself. “Or maybe… I’ll keep her for myself, hm?”

“Stay away from her.” Bucky demands, his metal arm tensing, flexing against his restraints. The sound of metal grinding against metal fills the air. This whole time, he’s refused to let Y/N see his true self, the true strength and violence he’s capable of. But now, he has to use it. There’s no other choice. It’s for their survival.

So why is he so damn terrified?

“Remain in your cell until the others get here, and then there won’t be any problems.” That’s what they trained him to do. To be obedient and stay locked away for god knows how long. To be their warrior, their soldier, moulded and controlled. That was Bucky’s life for so long. When he escaped, he finally thought he had a chance for freedom, and to live a normal, happy life. To find love. To be Bucky Barnes again.

With Y/N, he found that. Someone to care for him and love him, despite everything. Someone he can laugh with. She’s his entire world, his reason for staying alive. The person he thinks of first thing in the morning and last thing at night. Losing her, losing their happiness scares him to death.

And he’s not letting HYDRA take her away from him, to destroy either of them and the new life they built together. This time, he won’t obey.

The guard looks young, nowhere near as experienced as the HYDRA agents and handlers he’s used to seeing. He’s cocky too, without the same maturity as the other agents. And that, thankfully, means that he won’t have been entrusted with the Winter Soldier’s control words. They have a chance to stop him. Just as long as he can get out of this fucking cell in time. He strains as hard as he can to break free, feeling the metal buckle under his grasp.

“I won’t let you touch him.” Y/N hisses, wriggling in his grasp and hitting the man in the head as hard as she can. “He’s not going anywhere with you.” In response, the man wraps his hands around her neck, squeezing. Y/N groans, clawing at the man’s wrists and kicking with all her might, desperate for survival. An intense rage burns within Bucky. 

“Such a feisty little thing. I can see why you like her, Soldat.”

“His name….” Y/N’s voice fills the room. Soft and strained. “Is Bucky.” Despite the love he feels for her using his real name, Bucky can see Y/N getting weaker and weaker by the moment. The rage intensifies, so hot and strong it consumes his entire being.

Just one more push.

Just hold on, Y/N. I’m coming to save you, just as you’ve saved me. 

“You know what’ll be fun? How about I cut your little girlfriend up… and make you watch?”

Bucky’s metal arm breaks through then, and he kicks the door hard. It bursts open within a second, and he storms out, right towards the HYDRA agent. In an instant, the hand tightly wrapped around Y/N’s neck is peeled off. She falls to the floor, taking in a deep breath of survival. “I told you to stay away from her.” Bucky hisses, his eyes darkening. “You’re not going to touch either of us again.” She’s never seen him like this before, so angry… so frightening. His entire face, once so full of laughter and smiles for her, is contorted by rage. It’s then she realises that this must be what he looked like as the Winter Soldier, and what HYDRA’s enemies saw before they took their last breath. 

The agent’s tough facade soon shatters as Bucky’s grasp on his arm tightens. He cries out in pain, an agonising scream the likes of which Y/N has never heard before. And she never wants to hear it again. As the agent’s body sinks down to the floor, Bucky grabs his gun. 

“See you and your friends in hell.” He hisses, before pulling the trigger.

As the man’s body slumps to the floor, Bucky crosses over to Y/N. In an instant, all the rage in his face is gone, replaced by concern as he checks over her. Already, strong, angry marks are already developing on her neck. Bucky’s jaw clenches angrily. “Scum. Bullets aren’t enough for them.”

However, all Y/N can do is stare at the body on the floor. Whether in horror or a morbid curiosity, she doesn’t know. “He’s dead.” She gasps. She and Bucky watch as a deep crimson seeps out, coating the floor. Just like it did on a cold winter’s day in 1945. “You killed him.” She whimpers. Her stomach churns, and she has to suppress the bile rising in her throat. Of course, she’s not stupid. She knows that this is what needs to be done to stop HYDRA, and they deserve far more than what Bucky gave them. But she’s never seen such a violent death before. Especially not one caused by Bucky.

She should’ve expected this, a voice in her head tells her. After all, all she’s heard since they got to this damn place is how violent Bucky is, the true extent of what he’s capable of. And she didn’t listen, instead believed that part of his life was over, that they were safe. That things were normal. How very wrong she was. But then again, as they grew closer, she never had any reason to doubt that Bucky - the man who listened intently to her family stories, whose eyes sparkle whenever they see her walking into his cell - was anything other than safe. 

And then the tears come, erupting from within as the reality of everything that’s just happened sets in. Immediately, Bucky pulls her close, wrapping his arms around her in a tight squeeze. She buries her face in his chest, inhaling his scent and shielding her eyes from the agent bleeding out next to them. For a moment, Y/N realises how nice it feels to be in Bucky’s arms, and how safe she feels in his tight grasp. He whispers reassuring words in her ear, telling her it’ll be okay in the hopes it soothes her. Even though he doesn’t know if it’ll be alright either. He holds her as she cries, letting her relax and find comfort in his arms. 

“Hey. Look at me.” Bucky orders, gently lifting her cheek up so she’s eye level with him. As she looks into the silvery blue eyes she knows so well, matching her breathing with his, Y/N slowly calms down. Surprisingly, Bucky’s not angry at her hysterical reaction. He’s more sorrowful, upset that she had to see something like that, and concerned for her wellbeing. “I’m sorry you had to see that. But I couldn’t let him hurt my girl.” The words slip out with no thought, and Y/N gasps.

“I’m your girl?” Of course, after being tortured and manipulated for so long, Bucky’s never really thought about his love life, and who he cares for enough to consider his girl. But Y/N has done so much for him, and he loves her so deeply that he knows with no doubt that, yes, she is his girl.

“Of course you are.” He gives her another squeeze, and she manages a small smile. Her eyes flicker down to his lips.

If this was a rom-com, or at least, if they weren’t being hunted by HYDRA agents and didn’t have a dead body bleeding out beside them, this is the part where they would kiss and go in the sunset together to live happily ever after. And that’s what Y/N wants. But life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, especially not theirs. “Y/N.” Bucky whispers. “We have to go find the others. It’s not safe here.” Y/N nods, letting Bucky help her up and lead her towards the cell’s exit.

“How are you feeling, by the way?” She asks. Her voice is unsure, almost as if she thinks asking someone how they’re feeling when their abusers find them again is a stupid question. Bucky doesn’t think it’s a stupid question though. In fact, Y/N caring about him so much, and making sure that she’s alright even after what she’s been through is making him fall even deeper in love with her.

Honestly, he’s fucking terrified. For a moment, he thought he was finally safe from HYDRA. He feels like a complete idiot for even thinking they wouldn’t find him again. And even though he’ll fight tooth and nail to protect Y/N, to protect both of them, he’s terrified that they’re going to find them both, and then he’ll be taken back to the hell they kept him in for so long. But he’s refusing to show it and worry her even more. He has to stay strong, for both their sakes. He has to do what’s necessary to protect them both. He’ll have to deal with his feelings later, when this is all over, like he has done ever since he escaped their grasp. If they ever make it out of here, that is.

As they step out into the hallway, the hair on the back of Bucky’s neck stands up. It’s so… quiet. Too quiet. What was once a bustling hallway, full of guards, is now empty.

“How the hell do we get out of this place?” 

“I know. Come on.” Y/N beckons. Yet when they try to open the door, it’s locked, and Y/N’s attempts to unlock it don’t work. “They must be on lockdown. We’re stuck here.” Bucky can already sense the panic in her voice, and he squeezes her hand reassuringly.

“No, we’re not stuck here. We’ll find a way out. I promise.”

“What the hell is going on?!” Steve demands, bursting into the room. Maria and Nick glance up at them both, brows furrowed.

“Hello to you too, Rogers, Wilson.” Fury sighs. “It seems we’re under attack. We don’t know who from, or why, but-”

“It’s HYDRA.”

“We don’t know that, it’s-”

“It has to be! Bucky escaped and he and Y/N were terrified of him being found and brought back there. And we just sat around like sitting ducks.” He sighs, massaging his temples. “We should never have come here.”

“Rogers. This entire compound is under lockdown. Nobody gets in or out. We have agents already beginning to search the building. We'll find them.” Fury insists, but Steve and Sam aren’t convinced.

“They could be anywhere in this damn building, alone and vulnerable. And we’re not going to let them be taken.”

Meanwhile, Y/N and Bucky try to find their way out of the maze that is the compound. Y/N swears that they’ve gone down the same hallway at least five times, but she’s too nervous to even say anything. They’ve only encountered a few HYDRA agents on their way, but Bucky dispatched them all with ease. 

“I don’t like this,” she murmurs. “You’d think they would have sent more agents to take you back.”

“I know.” Bucky sighs. “They must be planning something. And that’s why we have to keep moving.” The further into the compound they go, the more nervous Y/N becomes. Her heart hasn’t stopped pounding from the moment the ‘guard’ entered the cell. All she wants to do is lie down and never get back up again. But she has to keep going and be strong. For both of them.

She registers Bucky squeezing her hand again, and it’s only then she realises that they’re still hand in hand. Of course, they have brushed their hands together before, but this is different. This is special, more intimate. “My girl.” Echoes in her mind, and something in her stomach flutters once more. In an ideal world, this is when she’d tell him the truth. That she thinks she’s falling in love with him. Of course, in an ideal world, they wouldn’t have been attacked by HYDRA either, but even then�� Y/N’s not sure if she would’ve told him the truth. He’s been through so much already, even before all this. He doesn’t even know what his life is now that he’s escaped HYDRA, or what’s going to happen to him. Her admitting her feelings would destroy any progress he’s made, and force him to make a choice he may not even be ready for. That’s the last thing he needs.

“You okay? All things considered, that is.”

“Yeah.” She lies. “I just never realised how big this place is.” 

As the pair keep walking, the hallway soon splits in to two. “So. Which way?”

“I don’t know.” Bucky steps forward, looking around cautiously.

“Stay here. I’ll go check it out.”

“No! You can’t go. Not alone, not when they’re looking for you!” She insists. Bucky places a reassuring hand on her forearm. 

“I’ll be okay. If need be, I’ll end this on my own. I’ll be back soon. I promise.” And with one last reassuring squeeze, he’s gone.

She doesn’t know how long it’s been since Bucky left. She tried counting the minutes, but gave up after she reached ten. Nervously, she wrings her hands, trying to think of something that won’t make her panic. Bucky’s smart, he’s calculated. They trained him for moments like this. She knows that first hand. Would all his training really be enough to fight off however many HYDRA agents are swarming this place? But she can only think of one thing:

“Why did I let him go on his own?”

Suddenly, she hears footsteps. Relief floods her veins, and she sighs. It’s Bucky. He’s back, and he’s safe. 

“Checking the east perimeter now.” With those words, everything falls apart. That voice definitely isn’t Bucky, and it’s not Steve or Sam either. And Y/N definitely isn’t about to stick around and find out whose it is. She opens a door, diving into the room and closing the door behind her. 

The footsteps get louder and louder, and Y/N dives for cover under a table. She attempts to quieten her breathing, even wondering if HYDRA trains their agents to smell fear, or to notice the sound of panicked breathing or a raised heart rate. When the door opens, Y/N bites her tongue hard, trying to stop the frightened whimper that threatens to erupt. Where the hell is Bucky?

“Is somebody in here?”

Stay quiet.

Stay alive.

As the figure roams the room, Y/N huddles into herself, hoping it makes her invisible. Just like her grandma told her to do when she was too afraid of the monsters under her bed to sleep. “Wrap yourself up, nice and tight… and then the monsters can’t give you a fright.” Her words ring out, clear as day in Y/N’s mind. If only she could’ve known back then just how real the ghosts and monsters that she used to be so terrified of are. But this time, the monsters are so much more evil. 

And then, silence falls. For a moment, Y/N is relieved, hoping it means that the man has finally left and she can continue her search for Bucky. That is, however, until a voice sounds.

“Well, what do we have here?” She’s pulled harshly up then, the tight grasp on her arm making her yelp out in pain. A flash of silver glints in the light, almost at her throat. A knife. In an instant, she’s transported back to her grandmother’s living room, when she first saw Bucky. When she knew that to ensure her survival and avoid being on the other end of those knives, she had to say the right things.

And now, she has to do it all over again.

Bucky though, he was different. He was kind enough to let her go… albeit in his own way. She doesn’t have that advantage here. But she’ll be damned if she’s not going to try.

“Oh.” The man chuckles, closing the gap between them both. “I know who you are. We know all about you. You’re the Winter Soldier’s friend, aren’t you?” She stays silent, a million different exit plans swirling throughout her brain. “Now come on. Where is he?”

“I don’t know.” She finally speaks. It’s not a lie. She hasn’t seen him in god knows how long. Yet the man remains unconvinced. So he asks again. And again, Y/N repeats her answer.

“Come on. You really expect me to believe that?!” He hisses after still not getting his desired response. Before she can even attempt to convince him of the truth, he grins, one that sends a chill throughout her body. “Fine.” He pulls out the knife, bringing it closer to her. The cool metal runs along her skin, her nerves intensifying. He has her life in her hands. One wrong move, and she’s gone. But even then, she still wouldn’t give Bucky up. “If you won’t tell me… I’ll just have to make you.”

Quickly, Y/N shoves him. It’s not hard enough to do much damage, but it’s still enough to knock the man back slightly. She makes a break for the door, but he’s quicker than her. He grabs her, slamming her against the wall and leaving her dazed for a moment. “You can stop this, you know. Save yourself. Just tell me the truth.” She pants, glaring at him. 

“Did you not listen the first few times you asked me? I don’t know where he is. In fact, if he had any sense, he’d be gone, miles away from the risk of being taken again.” It hurts to say that, to think that Bucky would just throw her to the wolves like that, especially after everything they’ve shared. But honestly, she wouldn’t blame him if he ran. Above all else, Y/N wants Bucky to be safe. And she’d sacrifice herself to make sure of it. 

“You can’t stop us. We’ll find him.”

“Not if I can help it. I won’t let you destroy him again.” She hisses.

“You have a lot of fight in you, but we’ll break you eventually. We always do.” He insists. “You’ll be so broken you won’t even remember your name, let alone any of the times you spent with your friends or your family. Just like we did to him.” He’s just trying to scare her into a confession. She knows that. But fear is not the primary emotion she feels in that moment. In fact, she’s full of rage. The way he speaks about Bucky, laughing like the things they did to him and the way they destroyed his life means nothing, disgusts her. As if his trauma, and the things they made him do are just jokes to them. He’s just collateral damage, a pawn in their larger plan.

When she said Bucky would burn the world down to protect her, she didn’t realise that she’d do the exact same for him.

“Go to hell.” She spits in his face. He looks at her curiously for a moment, almost as if he’s impressed by her refusal to back down, and her attempts to fight back. But then, he smirks.

“You really shouldn’t have done that.” In an instant, the knife is back at her throat, almost cutting into her skin. “You’re in for a world of hurt, sweetheart. You really want to test me?” He smirks. The way he stares at her, leering at her as he calls her sweetheart, is enough to churn her stomach. “Do you know what they tell us in HYDRA?” He chuckles. “They say the easiest way to infiltrate someone is through their heart.” He moves the knife lower, pointing it at her chest. Y/N’s heart pounds, so loud she swears it could be heard in the room. “Because once you threaten the people they love… getting them to do what you want becomes so much easier.” He stares at her again, smirking. “So how much does the Winter Soldier care about you, hm? Do you think he cares enough to come running when I hurt you?” Y/N’s blood chills, yet she still scoffs, hoping he can’t see how much his words are affecting her. 

“She’s treated me with nothing but kindness since she found me here.” Bucky’s voice echoes in her mind. She can still picture his eyes, and the way they sparkle. How brightly he smiles whenever he sees her. How he broke out of his fucking cell to save her. The way he abandoned his fucking training and didn’t kill her. He does care about her, he does.

“Do it then. Strike through the heart. But you know what’s going to happen if you do kill me? The Winter Soldier is going to come after HYDRA. And he’ll come for you first.” She promises, hoping that the mere threat of a vengeful Bucky is enough to frighten the man. “And you know exactly what he’s capable of. How he can rip apart entire armies like they’re sheets of paper. Can you imagine what he’d do to you? Do you really want that?” The man pauses, and Y/N takes advantage of this to kick him hard in his shin. 

He grunts in pain, lunging for her, but she brings her arm up, striking him with her elbow. She has no idea which part of his face it connects with, but from the scream of pain that fills the air, she knows it must have hurt. Y/N makes another break for the door, but he grabs her hair, pulling her back. She cries out, a furious call of: “Let. Me. Go!” The mixture of fear, rage and pure adrenaline burns within her, a Molotov cocktail of sorts. With one final push, Y/N shoves the man as hard as she can. He stumbles backwards, falling in slow motion. He hits his head on the side corner of the same table she was hiding under and hits the floor with a thud.

And then the room falls silent once more. Y/N steps forward, warily. Despite how close she gets, the man still doesn’t move. Once she’s sure he’s quiet, she lets out an almighty sigh of relief. Grabbing the knife, she finally leaves the room. However, as she steps outside, the adrenaline wears off, and the reality of the situation hits. For a moment, her legs almost go, and she narrowly avoids collapsing in a heap on the floor. Her heart pounds, her head throbs and she just wants to go to sleep. 

But she has to keep moving, no matter what. Bucky would want her to. So, she takes a few more steps forward, until:

“Y/N? Y/N is that you?” A voice calls. And thankfully, this time it’s a voice she knows.

“Sam? Sam!” she calls, running into his arms. “I’ve never been so glad to see you.” She whimpers, almost breaking down in tears right there and then.

“Likewise.” He chuckles, giving her a squeeze. Almost as if he’s checking she’s real. Suddenly, he takes her in, and his eyes widen. “Are you okay?” 

She glances down, noticing the blood on her clothes. Oh god. He must have nicked her with the knife. The knife that’s still in her hand. It slips out of her grasp, clattering against the floor.

“S-Someone found me. Someone from HYDRA. He tried to take me too, b-but I pushed him and he fell. He hit his head. I don’t know if he’s dead or- “

“Hey, it’s alright. You did good. You stopped him.” He soothes, letting her calm down. And for the most part, it works. Until he asks: “Where’s Bucky?”

“I don’t know.” She sniffles. “He went to scope for more agents, but he hasn’t come back.”

“Hey, hey. It’s okay.” Sam soothes. “Steve and agents are out looking, too. I’m sure they’ll find him.” She nods, hoping to god that he’s right. “Come on. We should head back upstairs. At least the two of us are better than one.” She nods, and Sam leads her throughout the building. Even though she should feel reassured by Sam’s presence, and she appreciates his support, she feels anything but reassured. It’s still so quiet. Too quiet. 

After walking for a while, they round the corner, almost colliding with a figure. Immediately, they prepare themselves for another fight… until the figure holds up their hands in surrender. 

“It’s okay! It’s just me.” Steve gasps. For a moment, she’s relieved. Until she realises that he’s alone. Her heart sinks. Bucky’s still lost, god knows where in this fucking building. But who’s to say he’s even still in this place, that he hasn’t been dragged back by HYDRA? 

“We still have more places to check. It’s alright, we’ll find him.” Steve reassures, almost as if he read her mind. And all she can do is hope that he’s right.

The trio keeps moving, keeping a watchful eye out for Bucky. Suddenly, a door bursts open at the end of the hallway, banging against the wall, the sound reverberating through the air. Reflexively, Y/N jumps. A figure stalks into view. One the trio knows all too well.

“Bucky. Thank god.” She breathes a sigh of relief. Bucky just stands there, watching the three of them. When she attempts to step closer, Steve and Sam stop her. “Guys, what’s-”

But then, he speaks.

“Who the hell is Bucky?”

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[coycorry]

Sinedd’s redesign tw: HUGE OOC (canon sucks)

we all should agree that Sinned’s character is a huge waste of potential and, oh lord, I have so much to say that I don’t even know where to begin…

first of all why his writing is so poor? almost random I must say. he’s a person who just happens to be in all places at all times, making a conflicts happen for no particular reason EVEN WHEN THEY DOES NOT MAKE SENSE FOR HIS CHARACTER. for example in season 2 he runs “the sphere” himself (he obviously shouldn’t have a basic knowledge of how to do that) and writers just saying that his interest in it is money?.. like wtf why should HE care? why should he wants a dirty money like that, if he’s a freaking football SUPERSTAR. he have a reputation to destroy, you know. apart from that, he never appeared to care that much about his finances, even in 1st season when he steals m-ice’s football tickets they never let us know why he does that. if he wanted some easy cash, why wouldn’t steal some cash? so this thing must’ve been something personal, isn’t it? instead he steals those tickets, that are obviously shit and everybody knows that. sinedd could never manage to sold them, because even m-ice (mr. social butterfly who managed to bring tons of people to try Aarches football simulator) couldn’t do that. my point is that sinedd could never risk that much doing something obviously illegal like running a freaking fight club without strong motivation. and if he needed money THAT bad, then why they didn’t show us WHY.

all his 3rd season arc is a complete nonsense: why they ended up with mei? how did they started to date? for what reason? hating d’jok? is that even a reason? I wish I could forget this poorly written “family reunion arc” who just happened to not know that their son is a freaking football SUPERSTAR. and then he all suddenly changes for the “good guys” and becomes besties with d’jok who was bullying him for years (they were bullying each other). unbelievable. also, can you please remind me why they became enemies in the first place? ah, you can’t! because they never showed us WHY. how can I give a single fck about their cute little make up, if I don’t know how and why it went wrong?

I would absolutely love if he just makes a bit more sense in the show, and stop being stupid (not)evil dude for no reason. In season 1 I LOVED how he had a break down because his parents died in a war, and it’s very painful for him, even after so many years. that’s a very important message that writers could put in this character: some things just can’t be undone, but you need to let it go, so you can move on your life…

but sinned can’t, and this is his real conflict. not some stupid money.

he can’t live with his past, but can’t accept it, and as a result he can’t accept himself and how great he’s doing. he’s an orphan that become a football freaking SUPERSTAR. he’s a talented player, a genius in some way, that have mastered 2 fluxes in record time. he made it to final and semi-final of GF. but no matter what he achieves - that’s not enough because he still hates himsel. he’s worst than d’jock. he have no family or friends. he can’t get this freakin cup. and he can’t even destroy it, because he’s a coward… and then pirates strikes Shadows planet and he loses his flux and gets trauma in the sphere, so he can’t even play anymore. imagine HOW MUCH of a damage he got at this moment. like man he should’ve been mentally destroyed.

and I wish we could’ve seen that.

2nd season was the perfect time to show us sinned at the lowest point in his life. he was damaged by his loss in the end of 1st season so got depression. maybe he met a bad company, and he started to run “the sphere” with someone who claims to be his friend. they obviously using him, but he’s following them anyway, because he can’t stay alone with his thoughts anymore. he trying to fill this emptiness in a different ways, and that’s doesn’t help. obviously. until he meets rokket. not like they never met before, but in a new context, where they started spending lots of time together, both depressed and having good/bad time together. they get to know each other and open from a new side. they gain some sort of connection because they are compatible, they understand each others trauma and for the first time in his life, sinedd faces true understanding. then rokket quits, and it feels like betrayal, but the true betrayal only comes when he realises the truth about his “new friend” and “the sphere”

then he loses cup again and guys this is the real drama here, he should’ve been perished by that…

but.

instead he understands that he NEEDS to change. he NEEDS to get some help, because he can’t live like this anymore, and really, he doesn’t want to. that’s why he’s coming back to rokket after final, to congratulate him with his victory and apologise. for the first time in his entire life. if he can change it, it means that sinedd can too! (and rokket is literally the best person to help him with that, because how much empathy and patience he has). and then all the 3rd season sinedd, step by step, trying to change from what he was, but not everyone believes in that, because how much bad he did. but he will do it, by working hard on himself and his mental health. yes he won’t get his family back all sudden, but who knows, maybe after he change he will find a new one?

I changed his hair colour not only because it looks more cyber-y2k-ish, but to the show how unnatural he is in the beginning, and how he’s doing all this way to who he really is, accepting himself. no friendship with d’jok tho, NOW ROKKET IS OUR BEST FRIEND. I don’t want him to make up with d’jok, I want him to let go this childish rivalry and understand that he’s not worse or better, he’s just another. that’s it.

updated uniform for “the shadows”

[a-small-writer-in-a-big-world]

One thing I do like about MW3 (I’m grasping at straws) is that they took control away from Price. If we take away the bad writing (which is hard but bare with me) we see at the end of MW2 2022 that when Laswell shows the picture of Makeover it’s easy to infer that Price is a little more apprehensive about him than anyone else that we’ve seen him interact with.

MW3 spoilers below don’t take this seriously these are just my thoughts

Price knows how bad Makarov can be. He knows the bad shit he’s done and how easy he can achieve it, but Price is also good at stopping bad people from doing bad things. He’s incredibly good at his job, he’s The Captain John Price, so while he knows Makarov is going to be tougher than his usual targets he thinks he can handle it.

But I think he failed to realize that Makarov knows Price too and that’s where everything starts to fall apart for him.

Makarov has ties everywhere and he’s quick, his efficiency is probably what makes him the most dangerous man on the planet. So suddenly he’s too fast for even Price to catch, leaving him multiple steps behind with little chance of catching up.

And now Price is scrambling. He’s control over the situation has been ripped from him and he’s struggling to find a way to get ahead of Makarov just so he can keep people alive.

We see him break his cool multiple times during the campaign. He’s not panicking but the stress of not being able to keep on the tails of Makarov to a point where it matters is getting to him and with the added pressure to get him, the added pressure of the lives that will be lost because of is getting to him.

We see him refuse to play the game, refuse to accept Graves help and realize that even when he’s at his best it’s not enough.

He’s met his match. Makarov is giving him a run for his money and of course he’s not going to give up but suddenly everything is falling apart on him.

I think at the end of the game they should’ve not killed Soap (obviously for many different reasons) but what they should’ve done is done something incredibly devastating.

The writers should’ve made Price lose. They should’ve had Makarov destroy an entire city, they should had him kill thousands because Price wasn’t quick enough. Not only would it leave a bigger impact on the story it, showing truly how bad Makarov is, it would create the downfall of Price’s mental health and then he’d just start going apeshit.

He’d start making drastic decisions, letting the stress break him down until he’s doing everything he can to catch Makarov. He’d be willing to sacrifice probably everything about himself just to get him to stop the carnage that he’d bring along.

Price’s control gets taken away from him and he’d do everything to get it back if it meant that he gets Makarov in the end.

[flowersofstarlight]

Okay so, @themisfitmouse explained what McBasilRocks said and finding out about the Original storyline of Epic Mickey 2, and reposting what the original plot was, I was shocked by the fact that Prescott was supposed to die in the second game, which sounded dark and insane. The Mad Doctor was supposed to be possessed by the Shadow Blot as they transformed into some kind of a monstrous, abomination creature would be interesting. And the fact that Oswald was supposed to gain a heart of his own after he and Mickey defeated the Mad Doctor and the Blot sounds a lot better than the second game’s ending.

While I still love and enjoy Epic Mickey 2 as much as the first game, there are many things that I hated about and wish we could’ve gotten the original plot that @themisfitmouse said. Epic Mickey 2 would have been greater and I think it should’ve been a little darker, not too dark at least from the concept art for both games. It also made me question why they made The Mad Doctor sing the whole cutscene when he’s on screen.

The story in the second game is poorly put together, lacks consistency, and very predictable on who the villain is. It seems like there was no thought put into it and they only did it to get a younger audience, even though most people who played Epic Mickey weren’t little kids. I also feel like the Mad Doctor is kinda pathetic. I feel like him gone for good would be a better ending than in the game. I honestly didn’t care much about the Doctor, so I think the original plot would’ve been better.

I really hate what Disney did to Oswald in the second game. He went from a well developed character to one of Mickey’s dorky sidekicks. They really didn’t take him seriously and made him idiotic. Throughout the game he’s praising the Mad Doctor, saying that he trusts him and instantly believes he’s changed.

But they really made him not learn his lessons or forgot that the Mad Doctor BETRAY him and choose to side with the Blot in the first game. In the cutscene, when he and Mickey find out what The Mad Doctor was really planning, Oswald acted shocked and said “I can’t believe the Doc lie to me.” And I was like, “Dude! He literally betrayed you in the first game and destroyed the Mean Street while singing!” It really disappointed me and I’m sure the Oswald Fans would agree.

I really think they could’ve made Oswald a bit serious, smart, and not trusting the Mad Doctor easily even though he’s giving him a chance. They could’ve made Oswald not trusting him fully, and is suspicious what the Doctor’s up to, to keep in eye on him a little bit and trying to find secrets while Ortensia and Gus create a machine that can transport Mickey back to Wasteland to find out if the Mad Doctor is still a threat. But again, they really made it so predictable in the game, it was really obvious that the Mad Doctor is still evil and lied that he changed. And then Oswald’s only concern is that people aren’t paying any attention to him. Like what exactly did you think this was going to happen when you and Mickey are on an adventure to find clues?

And the other thing that annoys me is the Mad Doctor is the only one singing the whole cutscene while on screen. I really don’t understand why they made him sing instead of just talking like Mickey and the others. I don’t see the point of why singing is necessary. It would’ve been better if he didn’t sing.

While I never played the second game, I did hear that people complain about the gameplay, sidequests and puzzles. I heard that it was tedious, confusing, and too difficult to figure out. The bosses were easy but also tedious.

The only few things I like about Epic Mickey 2 is the animation, the voice acting, Oswald and Mickey’s friendship, and Gremlin Prescott. What I like about Prescott is his personality, his voice fits his character, he has a unique design compared to the other gremlins, and I found his motivation and becoming an enemy is well written and thought out well. In fact, I think he could’ve had redemption after helping Mickey and Oswald defeat The Mad Doctor by dismantling his machines in the final battle while Gus frees Ortensia and the others.

I feel like they could’ve wrote Prescott to be a sad, prideful and bitter character to redeeming himself by helping the duo by distracting the Mad Doctor in the final battle to give them the opportunity to defeat the Doctor. I imagined at first Prescott thinks he doesn’t deserve forgiveness and is accepting whatever punishment they’ll give him, but Mickey sees the good in him and gives him a second chance. Oswald and Gus agreed, and while both of them forgive him, he still needs to atone what he has done and fix the projectors, help rebuild the town, and other things that got damaged by the earthquake that the Mad Doctor caused to bring the Shadow Blot back to life. Prescott would be surprised and may never understand why or how Mickey and the others would forgive him and have faith in him after everything he has done working with the Mad Doctor.

But I also think he would have been a great surprise villain and that would have made him an even better villain than the Mad Doctor. He has the perfect motivation and was tired of feeling under appreciated by Gus and the other Gremlins and wants to prove that he’s better and more intelligent then them, which I think makes him a better villain.

So yeah. That’s all I want to talk about Epic Mickey 2. I’m really excited to see Epic Mickey: Rebrushed! The gameplay and animation looks great, they’re fixing the camera that people complain about in the original first game and I heard they’re adding new skills for the remake that might be for combat and puzzles, which sounds cool.

I’m also wondering if the cutscenes will still have 2D animation like in the original and have actual voice acting in the remake instead of just dialogue. If that’s not the case, then I guess it’s fine. Anyway, to those who are Epic Mickey fans or enjoyed the games, let me know what you think in the comments or reblog it, because I am curious what you’re excited about the Epic Mickey remake and my thoughts about Epic Mickey 2.

[holylulusworld]

Deep Abyss (5)

Summary: The Winter Soldier smelled something divine, and no one would stop him from having his omega.

Pairing: Alpha!Bucky Barnes x Omega!Brock Rumlow

Warnings: a/b/o, a/b/o dynamics, angst, true mates, male omega, hostage situation, implied (unnamed) characters death, dark!fic, fluff (kinda), forced cuddling, scenting

Deep Abyss masterlist

Deep Abyss (4)

Brock slowly chews the food the soldier gave to him. His eyes are on the man, taking him away from everything he has known so far. Whatever the soldier is up to, Brock wants to know about his captor’s plans before he can set his plan into motion.

“Eat up. You need to get your strength back.” Slowly stepping toward Brock, the soldier hums in approval. Brock is eating like a man starving. “I’ll get more food soon. For tonight, we need to sit the rain out. It’s no good for you to go out there, with your lungs still full of the gas.”

“I should go back. You are faster without me,” Brock tries to convince the soldier to let him go. “Maybe I can distract them long enough for you to escape.”

“There is nothing there for you,” the Winter Soldier steps toward the bed to take the empty plate and glass out of Brock’s hands. “I burned it to the ground.”

Brock gasps. He had hoped to go back to his life if managed to escape the soldier. If he’s the sole survivor, he’s branded as a traitor. He clenches his jaw. The man in front of him destroyed his life and wants him to be his obedient omega. Brock would rather die than give in to the alpha.

“Why did you ruin my life? I was nothing but kind to you. Whenever they wanted to let you starve, I brought you food!”

“I saved you because you’re different,” the soldier replies. “You’re my omega, and I couldn’t let them hurt you. I heard them talk about you, and your presentation. They called you a liability, and that they only keep you around, knowing you’re my mate.”

Brock sneers. He shakes his head, and huffs. “I’m no one’s mate. Stop reducing me to my presentation. Being omega never stopped me from beating the shit out of any enemy. I can take you down too.”

The Winter Soldier smirks. He loves the fire in his mate’s eyes. “I never said you’re weak,” he says and brushes his fingertips over Brock’s untouched mating gland. “I only ever wanted to protect you.”

Brock gets up from the bed. “You want to protect me?” He huffs. “You don’t even remember your fucking name. You brain-dead puppet! I’m not some doll you can dress up and play with!”

“My name is—” The Winter Soldier steps closer to grip Brock’s chin with his flesh hand. He tilts Brock’s head to get access to his neck. He sniffs at the omega’s neck, inhaling his scent deeply. “My name is James Buchanan Barnes.”

Brock’s eyes widen. If the soldier knows about his past, he’s done for. Only the brainwashed soldier would’ve followed his handler’s orders eventually.

“You remember. How?” Brock splutters. There’s no way the soldier got his memories back. It should be impossible. At least that’s what the scientists told him whenever he was worried about his safety.

“I told you that not everyone at the base worked for Hydra on free terms. They wanted to make money, and didn’t know what they’ll get themselves into.”

“Soldier, you need to let me go. I’m a high-ranked handler,” Brock tries again to make the soldier say he’s not going to make things easy for him. “Hydra will try to get you back, no matter what.”

“Stop calling me soldier,” the alpha growls. He nips at Brock’s neck, making the omega whimper. “You will call me Bucky from now on, or alpha. We left the past behind. I freed both of us so we can start anew.”

Clamping his mouth shut Brock glares at the alpha. He wraps the blanket a little tighter around his body as he starts to shiver.

“It’s cold.” His teeth shatter. “Where are my clothes and boots?”

Bucky smirks. “I gave you the nice dress. You should’ve put it on.”

“I’m not going to wear a dress,” Brock huffs. “I’m a man, not a doll you can dress up. If you want a woman, look for one out there. You’re free to do whatever you want to do.”

“I don’t want someone else,” Bucky releases a throaty purr. He pecks Brock’s neck before pulling away. “You should get some sleep now. I’ll make my rounds and check the surroundings. We can’t let one of them sneak up on us.”

Brock exhales sharply when the alpha leaves him alone. He still doesn’t know where his clothes are, or how to escape the alpha. All he can do for now is by his time and play along.

The omega turns toward the bed. He yawns and sits back down. If he must stay with the alpha, he must stay healthy and strong.

Brock lies down, he curls into a ball, and wraps the blanket tighter around his body.

“Omega?” Bucky nuzzles his face in Brock’s neck. He can’t believe the omega is finally in his arms.

Brock is wide awake. He stiffens in Bucky’s embrace but doesn’t dare to move or tell the alpha to get away from him. The alpha is warm, and Brock would do anything to get a little warmth tonight.

“You’re safe with me,” the alpha murmurs as he wraps his arms tighter around Brock. “Always.”

Part (6)

Tags in reblog.

[ninjagrace]

what’s ur favorite scenario to dream about with mtsk and death (kou dying, specifically)

YOU. YOU GET ME.

i’m gonna start this off with saying that kou minamoto is literally my favorite character ever so don’t think i’m doing this because i hate him i just think about him way too much and this is where i end up after thinking for too long

i have SO MUCH to say about this but i’m gonna throw it under the cut bc i don’t wanna catch ppl off guard with my insane bullshit

if ur reading this and u get upset it’s ur own fault /hj

alright SO

first off kou definitely should’ve died during the pp arc just for shits and giggles. it would’ve been like a “what the fuck just happened” for every character and the whole fandom and the chaos that would’ve ensued from the death of a major character would’ve been absolutely WILD- like bitch just killed himself. he straight up committed suicide. there’s no way of rephrasing that bc that’s what he did. it would’ve been a plot-shattering moment and really just heartbreaking and awful and aidairo could’ve done so much with it.

for one, mitsuba would’ve been very Not Ok because he would’ve blamed himself for kou dying and he’d definitely try to gaslight himself into believing kou was still alive- that would not work btw he’d just be in insane denial

anyway imma move on from that arc even though i could go into it so much deeper and focus on things that i could see happening just to make the story hella interesting (i’ve been very tempted to write a fic about this so beware)

i think the most likely ways kou would die would either be suicide or being killed by tsukasa. we’ve already seen him attempt to kill himself, thwarted by mitsuba then brushed aside for some reason, and i’m about to do a full ass analysis on why tsukasa should murder our boy :3

reiterating that I LOVE KOU MINAMOTO WITH MY WHOLE HEART HES PERFECT

okay so tsukasa. hes a silly guy. one of his main traits is he loves to fuck with people, right? right yeah whatever get to the point IM WORKING ON IT ok sorry anyway he’s silly right. he thrives off fucking people up as much as possible. since he knows fucking everything i’m gonna assume he knows how important kou is to mitsuba and, given the fact that it’s so easy to fuck with mitsuba, he’d know that messing with kou in some way would make the biggest impact. every way he messes up mitsuba’s (after)life doesn’t emotionally impact him for too long, given the fact that he and kou with it out every time. but what happens when we take out the support system? that’s what we wanna know.

so ofc tsukasa feels all silly goofy and takes out kou just for funzies. mitsuba is absolutely fucking destroyed in every way. he blames himself, duh. this splits off into 2 possible scenarios that i’ve created lol.

possibility one: mitsuba stays in his boundary for god knows how long, refusing to talk to anyone. eventually he goes to shijima, begging for a replacement kou. even if hes fake, it’s better than nothing, right? shijima understood his grief, in a way. so, she gave in. boom. kou copy. the rest was none of her business.

kou copy only knows what shijima knows about him, so let’s go with everything up until the end of the picture perfect arc. he has no idea about anything after, including the aquarium date, the far shore incident, and the supernaturals being banished from the near shore in the first place, and it’s fine that way. …right? well, that means he also doesn’t know that he’s supposed to be dead.

he keeps asking mitsuba when he can leave the boundary and go home, when he can go see senpai, when he can see his brother, and he’s very upset. mitsuba has no idea what to do. he was overjoyed to have his crush best friend back that he didn’t even think of what would happen after… he couldn’t let kou out of the boundary. that was out of the question. keeping kou here would make him miserable and make him hate mitsuba. so at this point they’re stuck in a cycle of shouting matches of wether or not kou is allowed to leave, periods of silence, and occasional truces because they both need someone to keep them sane, and who else can do it but each other?

possibly 2: supernaturals are a thing in this world, so why can’t kou be one too? even though tsukasa is the one who killed kou in the first place, mitsuba begs him to bring kou back, to make kou a supernatural just like mitsuba. mitsuba knows what being a supernatural feels like. he knows that just letting kou go would be so much better for the dumb blonde boy. he knows that kou deserves better than to be forced to live in a world that doesn’t want him anymore. but mitsuba is selfish. so tsukasa makes kou into a supernatural. for funzies, you know? he’d never worked with a human corpse before, so why not try out making one into a supernatural?

the process of making a supernatural is… messy. mitsuba now knows this, as he couldn’t look away from his boyfriend being made into one. it was horrific. i’m not gonna delve into it because i really don’t wanna think about that i’m so sorry my poor baby

just like with mitsuba, tsukasa didn’t have kou’s actual soul to work with, just supernatural parts and kou’s body. it was simply an animated puppet that looked like kou minamoto. “it’s fine,” mitsuba said, “it’s okay, he’s back, that what matters, right?” “it’ll be fine, right minamoto?” and as he looks to kou for support, all he gets in response is a blank look. he realizes, after staring in horror at the jagged scar on kou’s neck, that his vocal chords are absolutely fucked up beyond repair. he’d never hear kou’s voice again.

thanks for reading and i’m so sorry <3

[neoncolorblocks]

you should totally share your 2012 tmnt opinions bc i already know your based af

I don’t know how based my opinions really are but I’ll share some for you. My opinions are based off my experiences as a kid when I watched it so I’m kinda biased to certain things. I’m currently doing a rewatch of 2012 so some of these might change for me later. Some of them are opinions and others are based off my own headcannons. I’ll make two lists.

My opinions

None of the brothers are abusive to eachother I will die on this hill.

Seriously tho Mikey’s older bros like him they just get annoyed sometimes, it’s not even just Mikey every bro got annoyed with eachother at some point.

The show sometimes has a ‘ew feelings’ vibe when emotional development could’ve fixed some of the problems in the show

Splinter tried his best, he messed up but I don’t think he was abusive to the turtles. But overall he dealt with the cards he got the best he can despite losing a child and then gaining 4 more on accident.

The pressure put on Leo to be a leader and eventual caretaker for his family isolated him from his brothers and detrimentally affected him as a teen.

Watching him talk to a hologram of his only adult figure while his 3 same aged bros were outside broke me dude. Probably an older sibling thing but going to people you’ve been taught to look after for your emotional grief is almost impossible tbh

Raph and Donnie in true middle sibling fashion get sidelined when it comes to development sometimes.

Raph obviously struggles with feeling misunderstood and feels isolated, it causes him to lash out. His position as the team defender naturally makes him more inclined to value his bros over himself and it took a toll on his self worth and identity. Slash and Destroy kinda hurts man.

Leo got saddled with eldest daughter syndrome and ascended from big bro to mom. He’s jealous of Karai because she wasn’t shouldered with the responsibility he has but he also wouldn’t trade it for anything either.

Setting the romance arc aside, Karai’s a fun character to watch. Sometimes I’m like “Go girl! Kill them!”

Idk why people don’t love 2012 Casey more, he’s one of the only charming teenage troublemakers I’ve seen written well. Dudes hilarious

2012 April is not that bad, I was fine with the weird admiration triangle thing she Casey and Donnie had. Girl really loved the turtles and Splinter even without the romance subplot.

Leo killing Shredder was justified, it was an act of vengeance and revenge.

Raph, Donnie, and Mikey could’ve also been good leaders but they trust Leo to keep them safe more than the others.

Mikey’s high adaptive ability is overlooked but is a really good trait for a martial artist. Treating Mikey as a defenseless little kid makes little to no sense when he is the most adaptable physically and emotionally and the most intuitive bro. Mikey could take all of his bros if he needed to imo

Donnie’s sass has a body count

I think people forget that the bros are the same age, it’s such a big deal that they’re technically the same age. Like with Rise, we all know Raph’s the oldest and he acts and is treated as the oldest but in 2012 it feels much more like Leo was chosen to be the oldest. Splinter treats Leo as the oldest but the turtles see Leo as the same age and equal to them. It’s so uniquely jarring to have Splinter set Leo aside and tell him he has this responsibility and he has to be a parental figure to people who are the same age as him. And then having his brothers and teammates treat him like he’s a kid like them and openly challenge the principles hammered into him by his dad is too relatable to me lol. Like the power imbalance exists but at the same time it doesn’t, I have so many thoughts about Leo send help

The “rong” scene is possibly one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.

Leo’s leg should’ve been a reoccurring thing, when a joint is dislocated it’s very easy to dislocate it again. One of my sibs dislocated their shoulder fighting, dislocated it again on accident and will need surgery someday to fully repair it.

I enjoyed the farmhouse arc and how it gave the characters more internal conflict and interpersonal conflict. Their dynamics shined in some of those episodes

If Leo wasn’t the leader he’d be the inside man and team medic.

The team is split as such: Leo-leader and strategist, Raph-brawler and defender, Donnie-tech specialist and medic, Mikey- wildcard and team morale maintainer

My headcannons that make the series better for only me

Leo and Raph are the twins ever

Mikey’s actually the most naturally talented martial artist but is too busy having fun to train seriously.

Donatello’s mutagen medicine was faulty because he wasn’t the team medic and never made something like medicine before. Leo was the medic and since Donatello was able to learn med procedures fast and knows their biology he opted to be the temp medic. He’s really well suited to it too despite the pressure and anxiety. He became the official team medic after the farmhouse arc.

Splinter didn’t want his sons to get too attached to him because turtles obviously out live rats by a wide margin and he knew he would only be in a small fraction of their lives. That’s a big reason why he was distant from them.

The other reason being losing Karai and thinking she was dead for 15 years.

Raph and Mikey are smart and reasonable like Leo and Donnie but like annoying their bros with chaos.

Donnie’s not actually a caffeine addict, the anxiety just powers him through anything.

Someone finally sat Leo down and made him understand that the team dynamic in Star Trek is what led to success on the show. Not just the captain.

Getting badly injured by Shredder ramped Leo’s mom protective instinct and self sacrifice to a solid 13. Going through the kind of pain your siblings could’ve went through does things to a sibling. Unfortunately for him, getting hurt so bad ramped up his siblings’ protective antics and now he has to deal with his own antics happening to him.

Donatello could build super villain weaponry but stopped when Mikey kept referring to his rocket launcher as the turtle-gun.

Donnie will definitely develop resentment to splinter later in life. Not because he hates Splinter but because Donatello is one of the more observant and intelligent turtles. When he gets more mature he’s going to realize that things were messed up far more than they ever needed to be.

Raph had a little mob of birds, rats, and cats follow him around in the city for food and pets.

Raph paints as one of his anger management techniques but had to stop when Mikey kept taking his paints.

If he had more confidence in himself Raph would make a decent leader

Leo’s strong moral code is what gave him the ability to kill shredder, earlier in the series he’s very against killing henchmen. Completely shutting it down. But after Shredder had betrayed Splinter, killed his mom, separated his sister from them and abused her, killed Splinter, almost killed his bros and himself multiple times and tried to destroy his home over and over again. Leo finally killed him. He made that choice after all he went through because he had to or it would never end. Of course the other kills aren’t as relevant but shredders kill is so important to the story and the characters. imo of course

I will have more things to say when I’m done refreshing myself on TMNT 2012 canon. Please remember that these are my opinions and headcannons. I’m not out to change anyone’s opinions on the show or cannon. These are just my own thoughts and that’s it.

Thanks for asking anon!