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fic-heaven · 2 months

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Ghost x witty! Reader x Price

Jealous much?

You spent too much time with Price.

Of course it was on purpose, if anyone asked you'd agree, after all, you are no liar. But who could blame you? It was so much fun to piss Ghost off this way.

Since the day you first paired up together in your first solo mission you were like finger and nail, deadly separate but even deadlier together. Your partnership bloomed into a friendship so rare even the captain couldn't believe it at first... The big bad Ghost willingly attached to a sassy clown like you? Wasn't Johnny the closest thing to a friend Ghost had? Obviously no, because the way he'd joke, train, protect and tell you everything that reached his ears spoke volumes of his deep attachment to you.

You knew this, of course. And although you felt just as close to him that didn't stop you from forming other friendships of your own and Simon was indifferent of this until he wasn't.

He'd wait wait for you on your room's door, respectful of your space and privacy but you never open, so him being worried decided to let himself in only to see you were already gone, to later be informed by Soap that you are having breakfast with John Price.

That happend THREE times in a week.

Ghost would wait for you on the stairs closest to the gym eager to spar with you and enjoy the funny remarks you did about anyone who crossed you or just pretty much hear whatever the hell you wanted to say without him having to saying much in return. Because that's your routine, so where the fuck are you? He sees you carrying a stack of papers laughing with the captain only giving Ghost an apologetic face before returning to your riddles. That happend TWICE.

See, Ghost is a patient man specially with you being a walking headache, but this? You knew he wouldn't hold it any longer. And you were eager to see how he'd explode.

His last straw was during a mission where you had to rescue a number of hostages. You two behaved with the same professionalism as always with a non so professional comment here and there, all normal, until you met with the captain and Ghost felt you instantly untangle yourself from his presence. Like Price's dry comments and even dryer humour was more interesting than Ghost's.

You were well aware the lieutenant wouldn't say a word about his obvious discomfort because what reason would he have? You were just attentive to your captain instead of your lieutenant, woops. Also considering the way Ghost is, he would never admit he has a crush on you unless he's provoked too far. So you'll use Price to give him a little push on the right direction.

Out of pure entertainment obviously, not because you loved that bastard too much to confess yourself. Yeah...

Simon didn't have a good enough reason to be pissed so that any person would understand without thinking he's jealous until you gave him one: At your captain's command, you two launched an ambush to the enemies corralling them dangerously close to the hostages, once they were eliminated, you three made a quick work of gathering the hostages out of the boat they were previously captured to wait for the rescuing helos to land while keeping them as far as possible from the bomb the enemies had planted. The moment you rushed inside the boat, Price had to tackle Ghost to the ground so he wouldn't run after you, it didn't take long when you trotted back to them with a few files in hand and a couple of minutes later, the boat exploded. Price smiled proudly, praising you with enthusiasm. "I knew you could do it, hon. Well-fucking-done! This calls for a celebratory drink, don't ya think?"

Ghost didn't speak to you for the whole flight to the base, his eyes were glaring daggers at your form while you discussed the content of the files with Price, seemingly careless about Ghost's state. Of course you were worried about him when Price said the tall brit tried to go after you, you asked if he was alright but the brief "m'fine." he gave you seemed to be enough answer for you to turn around and chat with the captain.

During morning drills, Ghost sat on a chunk of grass near the fences. His imposing presence did wonders making the soldiers around focus on their training, chores and other tasks, Price deeply thanked him for it because apparently he was busy with other matters of his own, surely with you. He sniffed trying to focus on finishing painting the mask he was holding and totally not thinking about you and Price alone somewhere far from him.

How dare the captain confide in you to gather important Intel he could had easily ordered Ghost to pick quicker than your short legs could carry you?

How dare Price spend more time with a stupidly annoying Sargeant instead of his loyal lieutenant?

How dare you enjoy Prices' presence more than Simon's? Was it because he was more handsome? Because he spoke much more than him? He surely didn't tease you the same way Simon did... Right?

He saw a flash of light from the corner of his eye, raising his gaze up without moving his head an inch he saw your dog tags dangling on your chest reflecting the light of the torching sun almost blinding his him.

The moment you spot your lieutenant you giggled and it irked something ugly in him. Were you mocking him?

You shot Ghost a challenging look he was soon returning with a tilt of his head as to say "oh really? I'll show you." He dropped the mask he was holding to the grass, abruptly standing so fast some passerby yelped in horror, Simon rapidly approaches you from the other side of the training field aggressively bumping into other operators who didn't see him but turned white at the sight of the angry lieutenant glaring ahead, a few rookies looked at the scene about to unfold in fright, some ran to find the captain thinking this would end up bloody.

-"What's got your face like a teapot funeral, lieutenant?"

-"Who do you think you are hiding crucial information of the mission from your superior!?"

-"We were reading the files on the ride here. You chose not to read them, Sim-"

-"Don't fucking call me that! I'm your lieutenant! Got it!? If someone farts I hear it first, if Price has something on his mind I'll be the first he informs, if Intel must be gathered I'd have to know."

You listened with humour all over the face, he was getting so frustrated he looked like an angry two-meter tall pitbull. "My my, if I didn't know any better I'd say you're jealous."

-"I will rip you apart. Hang your corpse on a pole for everyone to see..."

-"That a promise? I'd make a beautiful flag~"

Ghost was on your face huffing like an angry bull, his shoulders heaving with the force of his huffs. He was frustrated as hell with your enchanting wit that did nothing but enamour him further and the fact that he could literally intimidate anyone but you. It was driving him crazy.

You sighed "Are you really THAT mad, dear? I mean come on. You know you are the Captain's favorite but I deserve some of his time too."

He opened his mouth, his skull mask looming over you so close he did you the favor of shielding your face from the sun until "HEY!"

Price stepped between you, but you rose your hand to stop him with a serene look. "No need to baby us, cap. We were just having a peep talk."

Ghost took your arm dragging you away to a quieter place after you calmed your captain but John wasn't so convinced sprinting to you and stopping Simon by gripping your other arm. In that moment they looked like two kids fighting for a toy. You couldn't help but laugh out loud your head falling back not breaking the increasing tension among them.

-"Lieutenant Riley, you are out of line-"

-"I'm out of line? YOU are out of line! Fraternizing with this sargeant, giving her additional support and exposing sensitive information to her like she's ranks above her current one!"

-"Watch your accusations, you won't like the repercussions, besides you are no saint either threatening the life of this Sargeant in front of the others. This is unacceptable behavior from a lieutenant!"

-"OH wanna talk about unacceptable behaviour!? I've kept quiet for far too long. You wanna fuck this woman so bad you risk your position as our captain, it's pathetic... I never expected something like this from you Johnathan."

Your half lidded eyes shot to Price waiting for an answer, the wide smile you held slightly turned downwards at your captains silence. He looked stoic but there was a slight hint of nervousness that manifested in the way he pursed his lips and glared at his lieutenant.

"For real?" You asked. Ghost tsked, Price's hand never wavered from his position gripping your left arm, Ghost didn't either.

"Wanna know something funnier?" You asked, and finally they both broke the eye contact to look at you. "You two wanna fuck me so bad it's getting too obvious. So I suggest something: Do whatever you planned for today, come to my room at night TOGETHER and make up by doing whatever you planned to do to me."

Ghost's eyes widened and Price looked down trying to come up with a replay clearly as stunned as Simon.

"Think of it as a... Hmmm... A bonding exercise! Also a way to make peace. We will all benefit from it, and afterwards we won't have to talk about it if you don't want to." The way you spoke, so sure of yourself made the two men rethink whatever the hell they wanted to spit.

Ghost finally spoke lowly "And if we want to talk about it...?"

Your smile widen, your hands softly took the arms that gripped them making them both shiver as if they had been electrocuted for a moment.

"Then I'm sure we can come up with a deal." You looked back at Price who still had his blue eyes firmly planted on the ground. "Captain?"

"I have a meeting with Laswell at nine o'clock." Price finally rose his gaze to your face, his cheeks were dusted pink in embarrassment accentuating the beautiful constellation of freckles on his face "I'll cancel and skip dinner."

Ghost nods at his captain's decision, you look at the masked brit waiting for his own response "I had to be with Johnny and Kyle somewhere t'night. They'll be well off without me."

"Fantastic! My room at nine, then." You chirped until Price stopped you.

"No-" He abruptly interrupted. Ghost and you looked at him in surprise, nervousness lazed on Price's voice after he shook his head and recomposed himself "My office. We'll go there, that way people will think we'll be addressing the matter of Ghost's public outburst."

Ghost growled out "Public outburst?" But you nodded enthusiastic "Perfect plan! Also it wouldn't be far from the truth at all, am I right fellas?"

By that point the two men had let go of your arms but kept a closer distance to you, their previous angry expressions had softened seeking your eyes with desire, the voids of their pupils were so dilated you could see your smirk reflected on them.

"This will be quite the experience."

Who should I write next ;) ? Requests open!

#simon ghost riley #ghost x reader #call of duty modern warfare #call of duty #cod #john price #john price x reader #price x reader #ghost x reader x price #price x reader x ghost #witty reader

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ja3honey · 1 year

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Day 19 : Double Penetration : YunGi

「Title」 : Three Is Better

「Word count」 : 2.0k

-> Genre: Smut, College Au

Paring: (Mingi & Yunho) Boyfriend's YunGi x Reader

[Warnings] : Making out. Hickeys. Big dick Yunho and Mingi. Light-hearted sex. Poly relationship. Swearing. Pet names. Praise from Yunho. Mingi is a moaning mess. Multiple orgasms. Protected anal sex. Unprotected sex (Mingi didn't wrap it. Woops) Let me know If I missed anything

February Filth Fest Event Day Calendar

"Please, please. Please." You sounded like a broken record. One that had been broken by none other than the infamous bad boy Mingi and his best friend, Yunho. You were the good girl in school. You weren't popular by all means, but you weren't an outcast either. You had friends, and you did what every normal college student would do. You lived a normal life.... well, that was until Mingi, the deep-voiced boy from your musical art class, started to take interest in you.

Everyone wanted him and his friends. They were the idols of the school. But none of them were interested in relationships or flings or even hookups. Girls would lie, saying they'd been with them, but in truth, the boys were untouchable, and that made them even more desirable. Heck, they didn't even like human interaction with anyone other than their friend group. But yet when Mingi saw you, he knew he wanted you. And so did Yunho.

It became a game of cat and mouse. But in this case, it was two very large cats cornering one scared little mouse. You wanted it, though. As much as you fought it at first. You wanted the pleasure you knew they would provide. But part of you wanted to keep your dignity, not wanted to be plastered as a whore in the school. But Mingi and Yunho's reassured you that no one would come to know your dirty secret. And yet, no one would even believe it anyway if it were to get out.

So here you stand, with two large bodies holding you close in between them. Mingi's fingers were paced fast as you high came ripping closer and closer. Yunho's tongue lapped the bright purple marks on your soft skin, the ones he created so he could show others you were taken without anyone knowing who exactly gave them to you. They were both possessive over you. Learning more and more things about you and your body every time they had you in these situations.

"Mingi I..I.." You gripped his biceps, nails digging into his flesh as you could feel your orgasm approaching. Mingi just chuckled, going faster while Yunho snaked his hand from behind you to place a finger on your clit, circling it quickly in time with Mingi's thrusts.

"Fuck fuck fuck.." you swore, knees buckling, you fall into Yunho's arms, making him keep you up while they continue. Your orgasm comes quickly, Mingi letting out a chuckle at his work. You were so fucked out already and they hadn't even started yet. Yunho swopped you up, laying you on his bed while Mingi takes this time to undress, finally making you not the only one naked in the room. Yunho kisses your forehead whispering how good you were, making your heart jump at his words.

“Yunnie.” You shakily place a hand on his cheek, bringing him close so you could kiss him on the lips passionately. Yun’s hands snaked down your body, gripping your breast, giving them a squeeze. You moan into his mouth making him smile. The noises you made were always music to his ears.

“So Me or Yun first, baby? Since we chose last time.” Mingi rubbed your ankles as he stood by the end of the bed. You sat up, looking at your lover. A hard gulp ran down your throat as your tried to prepare yourself to answer him. You recently found you wanted to try a new thing but became unsure how to ask. No better time than the present, right?

“I…I want both of you..” You glance over to Yunho, “At the same time.” Mingi and Yunho could feel their dicks twitch at the idea. don’t get them wrong, they both fantasised about taking you at the same time but they didn’t want to scare you away with the act. But hearing the thought roll off your tongue, god it made them go feral. Yunho jumped up, ripping his shirt off while he jogged over to his dresser.

“Rock, paper, scissors,” Mingi shouted with a huge smile. You tilted your head in confusion as you watch Yunho strip down while he hold his fist out.

“Deal.” Yunho smirks, throwing the lube on the bed next to you before also placing his fist out. They swung, Mingi getting scissors, and Yunho getting rock.

“Fuck!” Mingi swears with a whimpering tone. Yunho laughs smugly walking over to you with pride. He lets his hand out for you to take, so he could pull you up off the bed so you can stand on your wobbly legs. Did they really just play rock, paper, scissors for who fucks you in which hol-

“Oh god….” your cheeks run a blush in a similar shade to Mingis pink hair. Yunho twirls you so you face Mingi and he could stand behind you. He kisses your neck from behind, rubbing your ass slightly before letting his hand land a smack on your soft skin.

“Next time Min. But right now, this ass is mine.” Yunho chuckles to himself.

He lathers himself up with lube and then coats his fingers again. With one finger he begins prodding at your ass before slipping it in slowly. It’s a foreign feeling and it has you squirming under his touch. He murmurs something in your ear you can’t quite make out but it’s all a blur anyways when he begins sucking at your neck. He adds another finger and he has to hold you in place. It’s almost painful but the lube is a blessing.

Mingi is suddenly in your sight, grabbing your chin to look at him. “Keep your eyes on me, I wanna see your face.”

Mingi cups your core, chuckling slightly at how wet you still were... He’s able to slip two fingers in easily and the noise that comes from your lips is something that you wouldn’t imagine. They go at two different paces and you can’t think. You forget that you’re meant to be looking at Mingi and you focus on him. Yunho has to hold you up as your knees keep wanting to give way. You have never felt this much before in your life.

“I...I feel weird..” The tingle in your gut was growing differently than any other orgasms you’ve ever experienced before. You lent more into Yunhos body, while Mingi got down on his knees so he could be face to face with your dripping pussy. His tongue licks a long strip, making you gasp out, gripping his short hair. His fingers got faster while Yunho stayed at the same pace, making your brain shortcircuit. Before you could tell what was going on, you were cumming all over mingi’s face.

“Fuck our baby just squirted,” Mingi said in amusement while Yunho chuckled against your ear, making you blush even more than you were prior. They both pulled out making you whine. You left dizzy, unable to register what was happening. All you could do was watch Mingi disappear for a second before reappearing with a towel, wiping his face clean with a smug smile plastered to it. You could hear the sound of a wrapper being opened behind you. You glanced over your shoulder, seeing Yunho rolling a condom on his thick length. He had a sweet smile but you knew this man had a dark side. He was going to enjoy ruining you.

“Okay, Min, lay back and let our baby ride you.” Mingi does what Yunho asks, laying down on the bed so you can straddle his hips. You guide his cock to your entrance and sink down on him, watching his face contort as you squeeze his length. He fills you perfectly, hitting spots inside you that make you see stars. Fuck, you swear every time you feel his cock it gets bigger. From behind, you suddenly feel Yunho’s fingers, slick from the lube, slide against your ass like he had done before. You shiver at the feeling but welcome it, angling your hips so he has better access.

“You feel so perfect squeezing me,” Mingi moans from below you, hands reaching out to grope your breasts in order to distract you from the discomfort you might feel soon enough.

“Isn’t she tight, Min. Always so good for us ?” Yunho grins, pressing a finger into your ass. You hold your breath at the feeling, but Minigi just whispers calming words to you. You relax into them as Yun slowly moves his finger. One finger becomes two, and you ride Mingi a bit harder as you warm up to the feeling. He grips your hips and guides you on his large cock, working the pleasure from you.

“Please, Yuyu, please,” you beg, leaning back up against his chest. He kisses your neck and smiles at your neediness.

“You ready for me, Darling?” he teases, thrusting his fingers at a quicker pace.

“Fuck yes, Yunho, I need you so bad.” Yun pulls you into a bruising kiss as he removes his fingers and replaces them with the tip of his cock.

“You’re doing so good for us, baby. Now be a good girl and take a deep breath.” Yunho keeps kissing you as he presses his cock further and further inside of you. Mingi helps you relax, but you can tell it’s difficult for him too. His strokes are getting messy as you get tighter around him. His release to coming quicker than he expected. Only a thin wall now separates Yunho and Mingi’s cocks, and that just turns them on even more. It turns you on even more.

They pump into you simultaneously, finding the perfect rhythm that makes your heart stutter. You’re at mercy to them, putty in their hands while their thrusts become different pacing, making it near hard to breathe. All you can do is moan and beg, your brain becoming jelly the harder they fuck you. With their stamina, they seem to last so much longer than other men. It was like they were some type of super soldiers They bring you to orgasm after orgasm, pleasing you seems to be their only goal.

“I’m gonna come,” Mingi whimpers from below you, fingers digging into your hips with bruising force. “Please, I’m gonna come.” Yunho leans over to bite your shoulder, pumping into your ass with deeper strokes than ever.

“You gonna cum Doll? You want Min to cum inside you?” Yunho’s fingers wrap around your neck, giving it a tight squeeze.

“Oh my god, Mingi, please give it to me. Please come inside me,” you moan through your strong high, gripping onto Yun’s arm. Mingi comes on a long, drawn-out moan, sending Yunho over the edge right after. He thrusts into you a few more times before he becomes too sensitive, then they’re both pulling out.

The three of you fall into a heap on the bed, panting and sweating for a moment. Yunho kisses you deeply before shifting to give Mingi the same treatment. Yunho gets up to grab a washcloth while Mingi holds you tightly, pampering your face with sweet kisses. They take care of you sweetly. Ensuring not to irritate your sensitive skin, Yunho cleans you up, and together you and Mingi care for Yunho. Once you are all done, you flop on the bed with Yunho on his back and you half on top of him. Mingi cuddles up next to you, wrapping his arms around your waist while nuzzling his face into your shoulder. it was silent for a moment, the only things that could be heard were your bumping hearts and breathing that finally began to slow down. It was peaceful until Mingi opened his big, smug mouth.

“Ready for round two?”

You have never wanted to slap him so much as right now.

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hihhasotherfixations · 3 months

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Wedded - Dragon! John Price x Reader | Chapter 1

When you are mistaken by a dragon as his promised bride, you unexpectedly need to learn how to live with your new husband. After all, the dragon made a deal, and he wants his end of the bargain - you.

Current | Next Chapter

The results of the poll were clear. Dragon Price is first to come up and be written. This was also the only option who’s fic had multiple chapters sooo, woop woop! Hope you all enjoy :3

CW: f!reader, dragon Price, violence in future chapters

Word Count: 3028

Walking into the town, your eyes curiously looked around, an excitement blooming inside you – one you always found yourself in any time you got to a new part of the land, finding cities and villages you never knew existed.

This time, you’d made it to a village just south of the roaring mountains. A range that spanned the border of the land near the east. It was a relatively small village, and as you walked through to the marketplace, you immediately became aware of how close-knit the community was, as everyone seemed to know everyone.

Making you stick out like a sore thumb.

Still, your travels hadn’t gotten you this far if that was something that scared you off. And without further thought, you stepped up to one of the market brokers. The man was a botanist, obviously, selling herbs and wildflowers, your keen eyes curiously scanning around.

“Hello, madam!” The vendor perked up, giving you a once over, noting the large bag slung over your shoulder, as well as the leather-wrapped stick you were leaning on. “New to town?”

“Good morning.” You smiled politely. “Yes I am. It’s very nice.” You said, though as you looked around, it was evident that a scuffle had recently taken place. Broken wood and scorch marks riddling the buildings around.

“Can I help you find anything?” He asked, that typical salesman smile on his face.

Giving a small smile back, you shook your head. “No, I’m just looking for now.” You declined.

As you perused, you recognised most of the man’s wares. Within your own bag that was currently slung over your shoulder, you kept several exact specimens like the ones laid out before you.

After all, you’d been collecting them.

For the last three years, you’d been scouring the land, finding and testing herbs and wildflowers for their potencies and effects. What was once a hobby had become your life, with you abandoning your old one in the process. Yet not a day passed where you regretted your newfound freedom.

“Say, you seem very knowledgeable in this.” The vendor suddenly spoke up and you glanced at him, tilting your head in curiosity. Seeing that, the man explained. “Your eyes zero in on the rarer plants and skip over the common ones. Not many know them like I do.” He complimented.

“Oh, yes.” You smile. “I’m… well, a researcher. I’m writing a field guide on the plants of this continent and their effects.” You said, slight pride in your voice. Though it wasn’t a secret per se, saying it out loud was not something you often did. But giving the man’s profession, you figured it was worth a shot. “I’m looking for some rarer plants and I must ask, what is this one?” You questioned, pointing at a flower to the right. It had white, pointed petals that slowly turned blue the closer it got to the core, yellow spore marking the centre while the stem and leaves itself were green. Nothing like you’d ever seen before.

“That? Oh, that is a mountainscale lily.” He smiled, picking up the dried specimen. “Very rare. Found only in caves high up in the mountains.” As he said that, he turned and pointed to the looming mountain behind the village.

“I’ve never seen them before.” You mused, leaning in to get a better look.

“They’re native to this region. Only grow under very specific circumstances.” He explained and you nodded, curious.

“Is this in a place I could reach?” You questioned, making the vendor frown.

“I would not advise-“ “Ah! Hold on!” A woman suddenly interrupted, sliding in beside the merchant, her hand on his arm. The man looked a little startled, glancing at her in confusion, to which the woman nudged her head in your direction with an easy smile. “Look at the lady, she’s well equipped! Don’t be underestimating her now.” She teased, bumping her hip into his before squeezing his arm to get his attention and sending him a pointed stare, one you felt you shouldn’t be witnessing. At it, the man glanced from her to you – who was standing there confused – before grunting as he looked away from you, muttering under his breath.

Confused, you turned to the woman who turned to face you while smiling wide.

“Sorry about that. I couldn’t help but overhear.”

“That’s… okay.” You hummed, shifting your hiking stick to your other hand, a little put off by her sudden appearance. “So, am I correct in saying you think I could get to where the flowers grow?” You questioned, the woman seeming to light up.

“I am positive! In fact, I would like to ask to make a deal with you. Hire you, if you will.”

That was both intriguing and concerning at the same time. Anyone could take one glance at you and see you weren’t exactly a mercenary for hire.

“Darla, no-“ The man started, placing his hand on her shoulder, but the woman just shrugged it off.

“Hush now, I’m sure it will be no problem.” She smiled, keeping her eyes on you, to which the man grabbed her elbow, forcefully turning her to face him.

“Don’t. This is our problem. We must bear the consequences.” He said pointedly, but Darla scoffed and yanked her arm free.

“We have a perfectly capable young woman here.” She spoke, glaring at him.

“I’m sorry, what’s going on?” You asked, confused and before the man could say anything, Darla stepped in.

“These flowers. They have a healing capability. About a month ago, our village was raided and our supply stolen.” She spoke, a resentment sounding in her voice. “It was supposed to last us through the winter but now new flowers need to be plucked. The problem is that gathering them requires skill and knowledge. No one but my husband can do it, but he injured his leg during the raid and hasn’t been able to make the trip.” She said while gesturing to him.

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear.” You frowned in sympathy, looking at the vendor who had a defeated look, sitting down on his stool behind his stall. When looking around at the village, the evidence of a scuffle was clear. And not a small one. Not only were there the ruins and scorch marks around you, some houses were even burned down on the outskirts – which you’d seen when coming into town.

“Listen.” The man spoke up, catching your attention again. “The mountains aren’t easy to traverse, especially with an injury. It’s not a safe road. Think about this.” He warned, looking at his plants, avoiding your eyes.

Your brows creased together in thought as you then looked at the woman. “So… what is it you want?”

Darla perked up, her eyes landing on you before turning pleading as she walked around the stall, grasping your hands and holding them up between you and her. “We will tell you how to find the flowers. And in return, I beg you to retrieve a satchel full of them for our village. We cannot survive winter without them.”

Blinking in surprise, you looked from her, down to the pressed flower laying on the wood of the stall. You’d never heard of a flower which had capabilities such as that.

“I-“ You glanced up at her again. Her hand was holding yours tightly.

“You can take this one for free.” She then quickly spoke, grabbing the pressed flower and pushing it into your hand.

Frowning, you looked down at it, briefly studying the colours and make before sighing, looking at the vendor again, who was still looking down. While the thought of a flower having such potent capabilities was hard to believe - not without it having some sort of addicting feature – the opportunity to study it was too good to pass up. “Okay.”

At your simple word, Darla lit up, grinning wide, though it was almost scary as she then turned to her husband and hugged him. “We’re going to be alright!” Before you could say anything, she moved back over to you, gripping your shoulders. “You will save every young maiden in our village from a terrible and ill fate.”

Letting out a bit of a confused chuckle, you leaned back a bit. “Why, does the flower not affect men?”

At that, Darla cackled a laugh – a surprisingly pleasant sound.

“Come, let me give you a map and explain how to get there.” She smiled, placing her hand on your backpack, gently pushing you with her, leading you across the market.

And in the haste of her offering you a place to stay at her impressively lavish two-story house, food, a map into the mountains and all the instructions that came with it, you failed to realise that the herbal vendor never came to the house, nor that neither him or Darla wore wedding rings.

- - - -

Leaning on your stick, you paused at the edge of the trail, huffing and puffing.

Since the early hours of dawn you’d been walking, resting periodically to make sure you’d be fit to continue.

According to Darla, the hike to the nearest cave containing the wildflowers was ten hours – on top of the hour you’d already travelled by horse together with the woman.

She had been incredibly helpful, sticking close to you and repeatedly thanking you for being willing to do this. Hell, it almost felt like she was glued to your hip until the moment you reached the foot of the mountain, where she was all too eager to send you off on your way, taking the horses back home.

Not that you blamed her.

Walking over to the rocky face of the mountain, you leaned against it, staying away from the trail’s edge, not to keen to fall down it. Shifting down to sit, you pulled your backpack off your back, digging in to get your journal where you flicked to the most recent entry.

Opening the page, you carefully picked up the pressed mountainscale lily, turning it in your hand. Before parting ways with Darla, you’d asked her many questions about the flower’s properties. She’d seemed a little flustered, almost unwilling to talk about it.

Glancing down at your notes, you pulled out the charcoal pencil from the spine of your journal, drawing a line down from the drawing you made of the flower.

Hunching forward, you scribbled a single word before a loud thud suddenly echoed through the forest down below, making you snap your head up, looking over the sea of orange-leafed trees before you. Far in the distance, birds rose to the air, making you hum curiously.

Glancing back down at the journal, you placed the flower back between the pages before closing the book, getting back to your feet again, ready to pass the next few hours mulling over your new hypothesis, that one word echoing in your mind.

‘Addictive?’

- - - -

Pulling your coat tightly around yourself, you shivered, tying the strings directly under your chin. Even with the sun shining fully in the sky, the air was frigid – a cause of both the height you were walking at, as well as the nearing of winter.

You’d long since pulled out your woollen hat, keeping yourself as warm as possible, your hands feeling like ice.

Holding your map tight, your eyes glanced from the parchment and up the trail you were currently on. It was small, a goat’s path more than anything and one misstep would result in you plummeting down onto rocks far below.

Yet as you looked right, you couldn’t help but be in absolute awe by the view.

As far as your eyes could see, the forest stretched. Along the way, a wide river shimmered in the slowly setting sun, everything bathed in a gorgeous light, enhancing the golden leaves of the autumn trees. If you weren’t at threat of losing the light, you’d have sat down to draw it.

Looking back at the map, you breathed out, exhausted. Your feet hurt, every step making you question whether or not this was worth all the hassle. Yet as you grasped onto the brittle rock on your left and rounded the bend, you saw it.

A large opening sat in the side of the mountain, a plateau in front of it providing plenty of space. The cave opening alone must have been the size of nearly two houses beside each other.

And about ten meters in front of you, you saw it.

A mountainscale lily gently flowed back and forth in the breeze, the petals gently moving.

Firmly pushing off your stick, you began walking towards it, crouching beside the flower.

It was small, incomplete and evidently not growing in ideal circumstances, too exposed to the wind.

Leaving it where it was, you kept going. The cave sat about thirty meters ahead and your heart began thudding in excitement.

Every herb and wildflower you’d documented so far was one you either already knew, or had vaguely heard of. All of them were known, most likely researched, used in experiments until every purpose was exploited. But this one? You’d never heard of a flower like this. And the thought of you being the first to properly document it? It filled you with an eager excitement.

Reaching the cave, instantly you saw the lily’s on the edges of the opening, blooming in the dirt-like ground that littered the plateau you were standing on, the forest behind you and far below.

Taking off your backpack, you moved over the left, crouching by a cluster of the flowers. Digging into your pack, you pulled out your journal and knife, carefully starting to prod at and study the flower, carelessly scribbling anything of note down.

Your mind was only focused on a single thing, yet as you inspected the flower, you noted that even in its alive state, the colours were less bright than the pressed flower the vendor had given you. Even these flowers weren’t sufficiently growing.

“Is it the cave?” You mumbled to yourself, setting your items down and getting to your feet.

Slowly, you started to walk in through the massive opening, your body casting a tiny shadow in the large circle of light.

For a minute or so, you moved. Yet the further you went, the more you walked, a dread slowly started to settle in the pit of your stomach.

Something felt off.

Stalactites hung from the ceiling, ominous and casting shadows onto the top of the cavern.

The light from the entrance was pale, limited. And as you walked forward, you slowly got to the cap of it. Daylight reached into the cave in almost a halo. A safe circle of pale light, ending where you stood now, right at your feet.

Normally, you didn’t feel like this. Normally, you’d step into the shaded part of a cavern without trouble but in this moment? You couldn’t.

There was something about this place that wasn’t right. Unnatural.

…Warm.

The cave was warm.

It was subtle, not immediately noticeable until you focused on it, but still your eyes widened in realisation of that fact. Despite climbing high up, damn near into the mountains to get here. There was no frigid cold. The difference from the moderately chilly air outside and in here was noticeable. And it definitely didn’t come from the watery sun outside.

A breeze suddenly picked up, a gust of wind so fast you had to snap your hand up to hold onto your hat, your eyes closing on instinct as your clothes billowed and ruffled.

Clutching the strap of your bag with one hand and your hat with the other, you dared to peek an eye open. Yet as you did, your heart sunk, watching as the sun that had been shining on your back was blocked, a shadow sliding in and covering your body.

The gust of wind passed, your heartbeat thudding harshly in your chest as you could hear every breath you took, your eyes wide as you stared at the unnatural shadow currently cast over you. A shadow that shouldn’t be there. A shadow that wasn’t a second ago.

Slowly, as if a thousand weights hung on you, you turned your head around. And the clench of your jaw slackened as a terror fell over you.

Sitting there, sprawled across the opening of the cave, hung a dragon.

With scales a deep green, its eyes were fixed on you, unblinking while it sat. Hanging on the rock, its massive form blocked out the sunlight, small slivers only escaping near the corners of the scaly creature, the light almost casting it in a halo. Or hellfire.

You’d never seen a dragon before, only heard stories of knights or travellers, regaling the terror and power they could wreak.

You didn’t dare blink or move, just stuck in a staring contest until for the first time, it made a noise as a billow of smoke escaped its maw, a rumble echoing through the cave as it shifted, muscle rippling and scales glistening in the light.

With a deliberate and slow movement, it flexed the joints of its wings, stretching them slightly and blocking out even that last bit of sunlight that was on your body, fully encasing you in its mighty shadow.

With barely anything else to do, you turned your body around to face it like your head was, and as if on cue, that made it move.

Slinking down from the large cave entrance, the dragon landed on the rocky ground, front paws thudding down before the rest of the body followed, moving towards you.

Terrified, you stumbled back, wanting to run, though your heel hooked behind the uneven ground of the cave, making you fall onto your back harshly.

With the wind knocked out of you, you’d barely opened your eyes before you found the dragon’s maw hanging right above you, an amusement dancing in the crinkle of its eyes.

“Please-“ You whispered, only for the dragon to not hear as it instead spoke.

“Finally made the decision to show up, did we? You’re four hours late.”

I’ll try to get the next chapter out as soon as I can! Please let me know what you thought and if there is interest for a tag list for future chappies ❤️

#john price x reader #captain john price #captain john price x reader #price x reader #john price #cod x reader #dragon john price

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callofdudes · 3 months

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Happy National Women's Day (yesterday, woops) Celebrated with a platonic story for y/n, Laswell, and Farah.

Readers gender is not specified. This isn't beta read because my eyes really hurt today for some reason.

You had just gotten back from a mission followed by Farah's forces and accompanying assistance of one Alex Keller. After getting back the guys were pretty tuckered out. Price and Simon going for a smoke and Johnny going for a long snooze in his bed. Missions usually left you exhausted.

However, this was the week that Laswell got a much needed break from her work and she wanted to spend it well.

She was sat on the couch, watching you and Simon quietly talk. Farah was cleaning her goggles, frowning over a small scratch in the top corner of the lense.

She could see the stress on Farah's face, and just from your posture she knew you needed a break as well. So when Simon got up to use the bathroom she leaned forward.

"What do you two say we get out of here for a couple days?"

You looked up curiously. "What do you mean?? Get a hotel or something?"

She shook her head. "Camping. My brother has a cabin up in the mountains where his buddies and him go climbing. We could go spend some time out there."

"Would it be quiet?" Farah asks.

"Most likely, it's not a big place. The spot we usually go isn't touristy either."

Farah looks to you. "I've never been camping outside of missions."

"If we can get a place with room for three and not get eaten alive by mosquitoes and the like, then yeah."

Laswell nods. "It's a cabin, so I don't think you'll have to worry too much about mosquitoes. But it'll just be the three of us." Laswell stands, stretching and grabbing her coffee. "We'll head out tomorrow after you're packed."

So the next morning you and Farah brought out your backpacks to Laswell's car. She only had a small vehicle but it was enough to fit all your supplies. Laswell brought her climbing gear, and enough food to last you a week at the cabin.

Once you were all ready to go there was one person you had to say goodbye to.

"Simon it's ok, I'm not going to be gone that long, only a week."

"A week... What am I supposed to do until then??"

"Hangout with the guys, take some time off to relax your feet. Read your book. You'll be ok."

Simon grumbled and looked over at Alex who was staying with them. To Simon's dismay.

You smiled softly, and fixed his sweater hoodie. "Only a week." You wrap your arms around him and he hugged you back, squeezing you for good measure.

Soon enough you packed in and set off on your journey. Farah plugged her phone in and played music from the passenger seat. "Any song requests??"

"Remember that one song you played the other day? With the guitar solo?"

Farah smiled and put the song on, and you jammed away in the backseat. Laswell put her son blocker down and set you off to the nearest coffee shop. Because what's a road trip without coffee?

She took the tray from the man at the drive through window and handed Farah her iced coffee and you your drink. “There you go.”

“Thank you mom.” You smiled and leaned back.

“Of course. Now, it’ll be a bit of a drive.” But you guys were ready for that.

You drove for the rest of the day. As you got closer to the mountains, Farah and you both pointed out a fair bit of wildlife you saw along the roadside.

Farah’s entire day was made by seeing baby ducklings going for a dunk in a small pond with their mom.

Laswell pointed out a few deer on the way, and soon you reached the place. Driving up the road and parking in front of a rather nice little cabin. It was old, with a couple swinging shutters and the frame would need some repainting.

“This is nice.” Farah looked around the grassy area behind the cabin that led up into a large hill. A small fire pit set up around some trees and a stone pathway up to the stairs.

“How did you get this place again??”

“My brother rents it most of the summer for his rock climbing. They come every few weeks.”

“Cool.”

Laswell nods, opening the car door and putting her park pass in the window. She tossed you the keys. “I'll go tell administration we’re here so they don't freak out. You two and get the first pickings.”

You and Farah smiled at each other softly. “Thanks laswell!” You called and grabbed out your stuff. You unlocked the house and you two headed inside. In the small entry way was a couple buckets full of wood and a shelf of paper and some lighters.

A tiny kitchen area and a gas stove. It was a cozy little place. Heading into the next part of the cabin there was a small bench, a cabinet with some games and a bed tucked against the opposite wall.

The back bedroom was separated by a curtain, inside being another two beds.

You and Farah looked at each other. “you can have either, I don't mind.” She said softly.

You were quiet for a moment. “You want the one by the window??”

“I'd like that.” She admitted.

You nodded and tossed your stuff on the bed in the corner, and let Farah have the bed next to the big window looking out at the field.

Laswell came back with a bag of some firewood and her climbing equipment. Taking dibs on the bed in the other room and getting comfy.

After which she promptly started on some dinner because she was starving. Until then you two opened her tray of fruit from the cooler and snacked away.

“So where do you usually go rock climbing, Laswell?” Farah asks.

“We usually go up one of the old trails. There's an open section of land that shows off this huge rock face. It's the perfect climb. I think it'll be easy enough for you two.”

“We’re capable Laswell.” You chuckle. You could smell the food waft through the cabin. She plated up, and came over to set down two plates for you two. You moved over on the bench allowing Laswell to sit down, and you all dug in.

Talking and laughing as the sun starts to go down on the field, the food being quickly devoured. Laswell brought out brownies as dessert.

You gasped softly. “Are those….”

Laswell smiled and ruffled your hair. “She said they're all yours.”

You eagerly popped the lid off and snatched one to dig into. “Oh Farah, you gotta try one. Her wife makes them the best.”

Farah smiled softly and reached in and took one out. “What's in it, Laswell??”

“Hm? I have the recipe list here if you want to look at it.” She took it from her bag and passed it over. Farah read through it before biting in, humming happily. “Oh, oh these are good.” She took another bite.

“Can I just…” She slid the recipe back toward herself and Laswell nodded. “All yours”

Farah tucked it into her pocket and you two devoured the brownies. Laswell’s wife was the best, always asking what sweets you guys would like best and sending Laswell out to work with a box or two for you guys.

Eventually you all headed to bed. You crawled into bed and rolled over, falling asleep.

Farah pulled the blanket over her shoulder, and opened the window to look out at the darkness. The cool breeze on her face.

She sighed softly, and closed it. Flopping down and rolling over again. She looked into the darkness, trying to arrange the blanket to try and get comfy.

When she couldn't, she leaned over and grabbed the flashlight off the nightstand, flicking it on low. She went over to you, standing at the edge of the bed for a bit before poking you.

“Y/n?” She whispered. You mumbled softly and opened your eyes. “Farah?”

“I'm sorry… I can't sleep.” She whispered.

You smiled softly, and rolled onto your back. You pulled the blanket back to allow her in. “Come on.”

She pursed her lips and flicked the light off. But she crawled into the bed. You gave her some more blanket and closed your eyes again. Farah laid next to you, sighing and slowly closing her eyes.

She held out her hand and you linked your pinky with hers. Helping her relax and fall asleep.

The next morning Laswell was up first. She got dressed and needed a coffee. She pushed the curtain to the second room open and smiled softly when she saw you and Farah curled up, pinkies still linked.

You two could sleep in.

She tied up her hair and went to the kitchen to put hot water on the stove and look through the food bag for what to make for breakfast.

The sound of the kettle woke you up, slowly rubbing your eyes and sitting up. Farah felt you stir and also opened her eyes. “Hmm…??”

“It's ok, you can keep resting if you want.” You assure, and crawled out around her. You scratched your stomach and headed out to the main room.

“Well good morning.” Laswell greeted you.

“Mornin…”

“Coffee??”

“Please.” You nodded.

You sat down at the bench, and heard the curtain shift. “I'm gonna change.” Farah gave you the heads up.

Laswell handed you your fresh coffee. “What do you feel for breakfast??”

“Eggs??” You gave her the innocent best child ever look. “Please mom??”

“Tell you what, find the carton in the cooler and I'll see what I can do.”

Farah filled up her water bottle as Laswell made breakfast, checking her phone. She snickered a little from across the table.

Without further incentive you rushed to the cooler and dug around for the eggs, bringing them to her.

She chuckled and saw Farah come out from the back room soon.

“What are you chuckling about?” You teased softly.

Farah turned her phone and showed you a photo of Alex around a corner with a blurry Ghost in the background.

“You think he's dead yet??”

“Knowing Simon and Johnny… maybe.” You snickered.

“Those three are going to kill each other.” She fully smiled briefly before looking down at the accompanying texts.

“Well, he's still alive but accidentally took some of Ghost’s gummy worms it seems.”

You cringed a little. “Ooh… ouch. I'll have to talk with Simon to make sure he didn't hurt Alex too badly.”

You both have a chuckle over it and Laswell brings you your eggs.

And without hesitation you dig in, humming happily to have your stomach full of food and happy.

“How long is the hike to the rock face??”

“Not long. Fifteen minutes at most. And I've got all the gear for you.”

“Awesome.”

“Now that you've got some fiber in you, let's get going.” Laswell fills her water bottle and grabs the bag of equipment.

“I can carry it for you??” You offered, but she shook her head. “I got it.”

You headed out down the road and hiked up the trail into the mountains. Seeing the tall trees and smelling the fresh air. Feeling the gentle breeze on your warm skin.

Laswell led you up and off the main path to a small outcrop. And there it was. A tall rock face up the side of the mountain with clearly outlined passages and handholds from how much it had been traversed.

Laswell secured her hair and handed you your gear. You and Farah got snug and comfy. Laswell set up the ropes and pegs in the ground to hold you three.

Chalking up your hands.

“You ready, princesses??”

“Hey!” You huffed, rushing after Laswell. Farah chuckled under her breath and found a small ledge to slide her hand into. And you three started to climb.

Farah scaled it fairly easily, though it definitely felt easier when under the pressure of a mission.

You found another handhold and pushed your foot up, feeling around until you could find a spot to slot your shoe in. Securing the tie on your belt.

“You doing ok Farah??”

“A little sweaty.” She wrung her wrist out.

“Let's pause for a minute.” You secured your line and tugged it a couple times before taking your hands off the rocks, keeping your feet in place to keep you from spinning.

Farah did the same, wringing out her wrists and wiping her sweaty palms on her hips.

“Need some more powder??”

“Yeah, thanks.”

You grabbed it off your belt and handed it to her, letting her resupply, and you did the same.

“I bet Laswell is already at the top.” You chuckled.

Farah looked around, trying to spot her. “Oh she probably is.”

“Let's catch up then, hey?”

Farah nodded, and you continued to climb until you reached the top.

And as you suspected, Laswell was already at the top. “You're fast.” You pushed yourself up, shaking out her legs, looking back down at where you came from.

“Oh.” You wobbled a little, stepping back. “It's best not to look down for a minute.” Laswell tipped and looked out at the edge of the cliff. The sun showed out from behind the clouds. It casted down over the lake and reflecting off of the water.

Farah took out her phone and got a picture of the view. Motioning you and Laswell to get close.

You wrapped your arm around her, keeping your hand just off her waist as she attempted a simple smile. Catching the moment with you three.

“Now I'm gonna tell Alex about the fun we’re having.” She chuckled, and put her phone away.

“Maybe I could bring Simon here.” You wondered aloud. You threw sat around the cliff on a small blanket, drinking from your water bottles.

“Hey, I just remembered.”

Farah and Laswell looked at you curiously.

“Happy National Women's Day.”

The two smiled. “That is today, isn't it?” Farah said, and Laswell nodded.

“It is. I almost forgot.”

“I mean, we got the Barbie movie.”

Farah smiled. “I got to see it with some of the girls from my group. Their families said I could come with them.” She fidgeted with her water bottle. “We want to go with Miss Farah.” She remembered them saying.

Laswell looked out at the cliff. “I remember dragging John out with my wife and I.”

You snickered. “Uh oh, how did that go??”

“Oh I think he fell asleep.” She snickered. “It's not his typical movie. But hey, he gave a kicker of a review afterward in the car home.”

You looked down at your hands, looking at all the roughness to your hands. Your battered knuckles and the dirt under your fingernails.

“Do you guys ever feel pressured to look or act a certain way??”

A moment of soft silence went by, letting the breeze drift between you three. “Yes. I think it comes with the territory… but even though I have respect, I still feel mentally challenged a lot to prove myself.” Laswell said.

“Like some of the men in my charge can't understand how I could be as smart as them or understand how to handle pressuring situations.”

"But... Recently a lot of the pressures and beauty standards have been pushed by other women. Which, is sad, considering a lot of them think we need all this stuff done to look pretty or be wanted. But it just isn't true."

You nodded. “Yeah…”

Farah sighed softly. “It feels pressuring every day, to have to dress and act a certain way. Follow a certain code or I won't be respected. I had a man tell me I wouldn't ever have a voice if I didn't have a husband to speak for me.”

You frowned, but nodded. Farah fidgeted a little. “But you know what? I did find my voice. And a voice for many other men and women who couldn't speak before.”

She smiles. “And for every bad person I meet, I've met ten more amazing men I know I have in my corner.”

Laswell nods. “I second that.”

You smile more, happily raising your water bottle. “To the women, and all those who support them.”

You clinked your water bottles and took a large sip. “I'm glad I get to spend the week with you guys. I know it's gonna be awesome.”

“We’re going swimming next.” Farah says quickly.

Laswell and you laugh. “Swimming is next on the list then.”

#call of duty #happy national womens day!#national womens day #kate laswell x reader #laswell x reader #kate laswell #farah karim x reader #farah karim imagine #farah karim #platonic x reader #platonic relationships #readers gender not specified #cod fic #cod mw3 #cod modern warfare #cod mw2 #cod x reader

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one-idea · 2 months

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Shanks raise ASL part 9

First - Previous

Luffy made his way to Makino’s bar. It’s was late enough in the morning that the villagers were milling around. When Luffy made it to Party Bar he was almost surprised to not see any members of the Red Hair Pirates in there drinking yet.

“Luffy! What are you doing here so early?” Makino greeted the little boy when she saw him walk in. She was surprised to see Luffy but it wasn’t a bad thing. She was more surprised that he was here without either of his brothers or Shanks with him.

“Morning Makino! Me, Ace, and Sabo went hunting this morning! We wanted to catch something for Shanks and the crew. Did you know we’re going with him!” Luffy told her all about his morning and his plan, full of excitement for the future. He did so without any thought to how Makino would react to him leaving with a group of violent pirates.

Makino to her credit wasn’t to surprised or concerned. While she wished Luffy would wait until he was older to leave, she always knew he and his brothers were too big for their sleepy island. And she knew Shanks would protect the boys with his life, no questions asked, the boys would be as safe on the sea as they could be. Garp won’t agree but he had lost this argument long ago, these three boys were made to be pirates, not marines.

Just then the door to the bar was violently thrown open. A group of rough men walking into the bar. Makino recognized their leader almost immediately.

It was Higuma. He led a rival mountain bandit crew to Dadan’s and he was not fond of Curly Dadan or her family. He also had a hatred for Shanks after the last time the red haired pirate was in town and drank the Party Bar dry. He hadn’t been back since and Makino had hopped it would stay that way.

“I heard those weak pirates are back in town.” Higuma stated as soon as he walked into the bar his men spreading out. “I thought we’d pay them a visit but it seems the weaklings aren’t here yet. All the better I’d hate to kill the red head in here and dirty your floors when he’s not alive to clean them up.”

Makino had moved to try and put herself between the man and Luffy as soon as he entered but she wasn’t quick enough.

“Shanks isn’t weak!” The little seven year old bellowed, drawling the bandit’s eyes right to him. “Don’t you dare mock him and his crew. He could kill you without even trying”

“Oh I remember you, you’re the little brat who hangs around with the pirates.” Higuma stated as he moved closer to the little boy.

“Hey boss, I think I’ve seen him running around with Dadan’s brat as well.” Called out one of the bandits. Makino cursed the man in her mind.

“Curly Dadan huh, well looks like we’ll kill two birds with one stone.” The man said before he back handed Luffy across the face.

“Luffy.” Makino cried out running to the little boy.

“Trash the place boys!” Higuma called out to his men. They cheered and started flipping the tables and breaking the stools.

Makino looked at the destruction occurring and quickly grabbed Luffy. “Luffy lets go.” There was no way they could stop these men.

“No Makino! They can’t do this!” Luffy struggled against her as she tried to get him out of the bar. Higuma saw them trying to escape and blocked their path.

“Now where do you think you’re going?” He asked as he reached for Makino. With a scream Luffy launched himself at the bandit.

“Go get help Makino.” He called as he knocked the bandit over. Makino hated this. Hated the idea of leaving Luffy with these men, but she couldn’t fight them. If she stayed then no one would come to help them. So she ran. Ran as fast as she could to Woop Slap.

Higuma quickly threw Luffy off of him. The little boy landed roughly, groaning as he bounced off the ground. Luffy started to push himself up but wasn’t quick enough to avoid the kick Higuma aimed at his stomach. Yet to Higuma and the bandits’ shock instead of the boy being sent flying by the kick, his body streched with the impact.

“What the?” Higuma cried as Luffy’s body snapped back to normal. He reached down and grabbed Luffy’s cheek stretching it out and letting it snap back into place. “Devil fruit.” He whispered in awe.

“Hey boss we could get a lot of money from selling this kid.” Called out one of the bandits.

“Ya I heard some Celestial Dragons were going to be visiting the island soon. Maybe they’d buy him. I heard they love exotic things.” Another tacked on.

Higuma smirked as he bent down and grabbed Luffy by the neck, picking the struggling boy up. “That’s not a bad idea.” He said as he started to lead the bandits out of the bar.

Luffy tried to struggle out of his grip but nothing was working, so he did the only thing he could think of. He spat at Higuma. The man paused wiping the spit from his face, huffing out a breath of a chuckle. Before he slammed Luffy into the ground. The little boy cried out at the impact. He started to push himself up when Higuma stepped in the boy’s head.

“I’m not going anywhere with you!” Luffy shouted at the bandit.

“You need to watch yourself kid, no one who’s made me mad has lived to tell the horrifying tale.” Higuma said as he reached for his sword.

“Wait stop!” Woop Slap yelled as he and Makino arrived on the scene. “I don’t know what he’s done and I don’t intended to fight you over it. If you accept I’ll even pay you for it but please just spare the poor boy’s life.”

“Mayor!” Luffy called out intent on telling the old man to stop.

“Sorry but this rotten boy’s already made me angry.” Higuma said as he drew his sword.

“You’re the rotten one!” Luffy yell back. Never standing down from a fight.

“And your a lost cause which you can regret in the next life.” Higuma said placing his sword at Luffy’s neck. Both Makino and Woop Slap begged him to stop. But everything stopped when they heard a voice behind them.

“I was wondering why the bar was empty on such a fine day.” While his tone was light and jovial his eyes were hard, trained on Higuma and Luffy. He learned a long time ago to act as though nothing bothered him so that his enemies couldn’t see his weak points, but with a sword at Luffy’s throat it was hard to remember that. “So it’s the mountain bandits again.”

Shanks had been tracking the boy’s haki all morning. He’d noticed when Luffy separated from his brothers, when he crossed paths with Mihawk, and when he ran into the bar. He had also noticed when the multiple dull presences entered the bar after his son had. He didn’t hesitate to get the crew together and head over there. Something was wrong. He knew it. If he was right, hopefully they would get to Luffy in time, and if he was wrong well, drinks on him.

But he wasn’t wrong. This lowlife was back, but this time he had attacked Luffy. He and his men wouldn’t live to see the sunset.

“Shanks.” He heard Luffy gasp out from around the man’s shoe. His fist tightened at the sound wanting to remove this man from his son as quickly as possible. But this was delicate as Luffy was too close to the man. They would have to be careful.

“Pirates, just now showing your heads? Have you spent all this time scrubbing the village?” Higuma taunted but Shanks ignored him. He wasn’t going to rise to a weak man’s bait, especially when said man had a sword tip so close to his son’s neck.

Instead he focused on Luffy. “Luffy didn’t you say earlier that your punches were stronger than pistols?” He made the question light. Luffy’s response would allow him to gauge how hurt his boy was. If Luffy didn’t respond or only grunted then his boy was desperately injured and they’d have to act fast.

“Shut your mouth.” Luffy responded with his regular fire. Good he wasn’t hurt to badly then. Shanks was still going to kill all of these bandits for even trying to hurt him.

Shanks start to calmly walk towards Higuma and Luffy. “Listen I don’t know what you’re doing here but you might want to leave.” Higuma obviously didn’t know who Luffy was to Shanks. Good that would make this far easier if he thought this was a stupid pirate butting in and not a father protecting his son. “You wouldn’t want something bad to happen.” The threat was empty. Shanks could tell, as Higuma’s sword hadn’t moved any closer to Luffy. “And I I have just the man to deliver the message.” Higuma finished his threat as one of his men swung his pistol to be level with Shanks’s head.

Oh. He was trying to threaten Shanks. He was dumber than he looked. But Shanks stopped moving forward with the gun pointed at his head. He wasn’t worried. He was making a point.

“I’ll blow your head off if I have to, but that’s up to you my friend.” The bandit taunted and the men around them laughed. Just as Shanks excepted, all talk. He wondered how many weaker souls had fallen for this bluff. He could see the confident smirk on Higuma’s face and the fear in Luffy’s. This was Luffy’s first time seeing Shanks and his crew in a fight. He understood the boy’s worry, but it was misplaced. After today Luffy would know not to worry in situations like this, would understand men like this were not a threat. Yet a part of Shanks mourned the innocence Luffy was about to lose.

“Would you risk your life?” Shanks asked not looking at the man, but hearing his noise of disbelief. “Now that you’ve drawn your pistol are you willing to use it?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” The man asked in shock. Shanks finally turned to look at the man, his face would be the last this man ever saw. He could see Lucky Roux starting to move.

“I’m saying guns aren’t for threats they’re for actions.” And with that statement, Lucky’s gun went off. The bandit dropping dead.

Shanks kept his head down, silently hoping Luffy could forgive him one day for introducing this violence to him. He knew Luffy had fought before, had rescued him and his brothers from the Bluejam pirates, but killing someone so coldly was different. It was a violence that would have touched his son eventually as they traveled out to sea, but to have it happen in Luffy’s home village felt wrong.

He could hear Makino and Woop Slap’s horrified gasps and Luffy’s shocked breath, but he couldn’t focus on them now.

“You! You’re a dead man!” Cried one of the bandits.

“These guys fight dirty.” Called another.

Shanks could feel his crew moving closer around him, offering strength, if you fought one Red Haired Pirate you fought them all.

“Dirty?” Yasopp asked almost sounding confused and affronted by the word.

“Who did you think you were dealing with?” Benn asked, picking up were Yasopp left off. “We didn’t claim to be saints or anything.” His statement meant for the shocked towns people as much as it was for the bandits.

“You fellows are staring down a crew of pirates.” Shanks said taking in the fear from the men in front of him.

“Shut up!” One called. “We just want the boy not you.” That was the stupidest thing he could have said to Shanks. As if Shanks would ever let them hurt his boy.

“Listen up bandits.” He somehow managed to keep his rage out of his voice, keeping it calm and collected the whole time. “Whether I’m sprayed with alcohol, doused with booze, hell even if I’m spit on, most of the time I’ll just laugh it off and forget about it.” His head snapped up to look Higuma dead in the eye. His voice finally darkening. “But if you hurt a friend of mine, you’ll pay for it regardless of your reason.” It was a true statement, Shanks would set an island a blaze for any of his friends, but for his sons, he’d burn the world.

And this man was still. Touching. His. Kid.

Higuma just laughed. “So we’re going to pay? Lousy pirates kill them all men!” He ordered as all the bandits screamed and rushed forward.

Shanks didn’t move as Benn step forward on his right, his hand already on his gun. “I’ll take care of this. Shouldn’t be a big deal.” Benn didn’t want his captain wasting his time on these lowlifes. Plus they had hurt his nephew, he wasn’t letting them leave here breathing. He drew his gun, his movements were faster than these men could track, lining up his shot and firing. The bandits hadn’t realized one of their own had dropped before his next shot was fired. He decimated the whole gang in under a minute, lining his gun up with Higuma’s head. “You shouldn’t get to cocky. If you really wanted to fight us, looks like a battleship or something bigger would have been more useful.”

The man stood there in fear and shock but Shanks ignored him, his eyes tracking to his son’s slack faces. He was ready for there to be fear in his son’s eyes but instead Luffy was looking at Benn in awe. A quiet “Wow.” Leaving his lips.

Higuma panicked, finally removing his foot from Luffy’s face. “Hold on it was the kid who attacked us.” He cried out.

Shanks wasn’t about to let an adult blame a child for their actions. “I thought you were a wanted man.” This man was dying today.

Higuma, realizing there was nothing he could say to save himself, let out a cry and threw something on the ground. The thing exploded and for a heart stopping second Shanks worried the man decided to blow himself and Luffy up rather than fight them. But then the smoke started billowing out at them at a rapid rate.

“A smoke screen.” He growled. What a coward. When then the smoke cleared Higuma was there, but that was expected. What wasn’t expected was that Luffy was gone to. “Luffy?” Skanks called shocked that his son wasn’t where he last saw him. For a second he hoped the boy would pop out, maybe he ran away from the smoke.

But when that didn’t happen ice filled Shanks veins again. His hand flew to the sides of this head as he yelled out, “Oh no I let that guy take him!” He quickly turned around to face his crew in his panic. One of them had to know what to do. “What are we going to do?!” He screamed looking at Lucky Roux.

“Boss calm down! Stop freaking out we’ll find him in no time.” Lucky Roux tried to reassure him. They all knew just how important Luffy was to Shanks. They also adored the little anchor themselves. They’d spread out and search the whole island for the boy if they had to. Higuma wasn’t getting away from them, and he certainly wasn’t going to take Luffy from them.

The Red Hair Pirates took off to search the town. All eager to be the one to find Higuma and put an end to the man who thought he could take Luffy from them.

Shanks was about to run off as well when Benn grabbed his arm. “Captain I know your worried but,”

“No Benn! I can’t wait I need to find Luffy now!” Shanks head was consumed by worry for his son. He couldn’t believe his first mate would be the one to slow him down.

“And is there anything you can do that might help you find him faster?” Benn said giving his captain a pointed look. It took Shanks a second to understand what his first mate was getting at. Oh, his observation Haki. In his panic he almost forgot. He sent out a wave looking for his boy.

There. He could feel Luffy being taken away from the village, but he wasn’t heading in land. No he was heading out to sea.

“I found them. Come on Benn.” Shanks called as he took off running.

“Right behind you Captain.” Been called as he chased after the younger man.

#one piece #monkey d. luffy #portagas d. ace #fire fist ace #one piece ace #revolutionary sabo #one piece sabo #asl trio #asl brothers #mishanks #dracule mihawk #shanks is such a dad #shanks is luffy’s dad okay.#shanks #I’m sorry this took so long I had to go back and rewatch episode 4 #it’s coming the sea king is coming #next time we will check in with Ace Sabo and Mihawk. and we will see what happens to shanks and Luffy

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arianeemorythethird · 2 months

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underrated aspect of rexwalker that has been filling my brain completely lately: they're clearly prep nerd 4 goth nerd, as per the classic alignment chart. which means that I am completely confident that rex and anakin spent a significant proportion of their canonical time together absolutely geeking out about the most random shit.

meant to be planning to lift a siege in another sector next week -> a couple hours of actual planning -> intense 2am argument over whether general zy woops of the mandalorian empire could have actually beaten general beans in the battle of sarda 2000 years if the mandalorians had access to modern blaster charger tech at the time

literally did not speak to each other for three days afterwards because they're both so salty about modern blaster charger tech and/or general beans

Generations Of Military Historians Are Wrong And It Would Have Been Totally Possible To Lift Exar Kun's Siege of Coruscant With The Resources The Republic Had To Hand. no, listen, general, hear me out!

Generations Of Military Historians Are Wrong, But In A Different Way From What You Suggested Yesterday, Rex. no I'm not just suggesting this to be contrary! you just didn't spend enough time thinking about hyperdrive engines! unlike me, who can and will spend all day thinking about hyperdrive engines.

yes, but you didn't spend ENOUGH time thinking about blaster charger tech, sir. :(

one time anakin accidentally on purpose went three hours out of his way on leave so he could visit the site of the battle of morlan dai

the battle happened 1200 years ago. now it's literally just a field with some crappy concrete buildings at one end. it's a field.

...that was what fives said when rex dragged him out there with them. rex and anakin still almost cried about it.

anyway I think it would be very on brand for anakin to have initially won rex's respect (and romantic interest) by sharing all his jedi access codes so rex could borrow from the military history section of the jedi archives.

the first time rex got access they were on leave for three days and cody legitimately thought he was dead.

#star wars #clone wars #rexwalker #anakin skywalker #rex #i was going to change all my stupid fake star wars names to stupid real star wars names before i posted this #...nah #life's too short etc #fic bits

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buckys-little-belle · 1 year

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Mafia Au (Part Three)

Mr.R

Mafia!Stucky x Little!Reader (They/Them pronouns used)

Warnings - Sad reader, crying, eating of goldfish, mentions of 'stalking', just the boys being fluffy

Notes - IDK if I like this one, it's gone through a few re-writes, but I'm putting off other writting and my ADHD took that as a cue to get back on this instead, so I hope you enjoy!

SFW - Please keep all interactions with this post, and this blog, SFW

+ + + + + +

“Boss!” A loud voice boomed, Steve and Bucky both waking up with a start, their necks strained. “Boss!” The voice called again, though this time closer. “Boss!”

“Wha’s going on?” Y/n mumbled, sitting up slightly.

“I don’t know yet, Little Dove.” Bucky turned to them, Steve standing up to address whoever woke them.

“Boss!”

“Peter! Do not repeat yourself.” Steve said sternly as he opened the bedroom’s door, a weary Peter on the other side. “Have you ever heard of a phone call?”

“I have.” He said timidly. “Which is why I called you twenty three times before barging in.” His words got more confident as he continued.

“Right.” Steve sighed, his phone in his room, Bucky’s too. “Okay. Okay, what’s going on then?” Steve asked, his hands whipping down his face, trying to get rid of his tired expression.

“It’s about, about, you know.” Peter tried to keep the conversation light in front of Y/n.

“No Pete, we don’t know.” Bucky chimed in, turning the corner, Y/n in hand.

“It’s about R U M L O W.” He spelled the name out.

“Oh! R U M L O W that’s how you spell our last name woop woop!” Y/n sang a little jingle and did a little shimmy, Bucky smiling at them, as Steve looked to Pete with anger in his eyes.

“Very good little dove.” Bucky cooed, swinging their hand a little.

“Why don’t we take this to an office?” Steve asked Peter, his arm gesturing for them to leave the room, Y/n frowning as she saw the two begin to leave.

“Wai’ Steve!” Y/n called out unexpectedly. “Don’ wan’ you t’leave me!” They broke free of Bucky’s grasp, rushing to Steve instead.

“We have to go talk business, My Dove.” He softly smiled, bending down slightly to give them a forehead kiss.

“Righ’.” They frowned and let go of him, walking back to bed without another word.

Bucky and Steve both watched confused, Y/n’s shoulders curled in slightly, yet no crying or protesting in sight. “We’ll meet you in my office, Pete.” Bucky cut in. “Close the door Steve.” He said as the boy walked away, the two men realized that something was definitely wrong. “Dove?” Bucky questioned, him and steve both standing in the archway, Y/n curled up in bed, a stuffie in hand.

“Is th’ business over?” They asked hopefully, perking up slightly.

“Not yet.”

“‘kay, I promise I’ll wait really good.” Y/n nodded their head, curling up even tighter.

“You don’t have to stay in bed, Dove.” Bucky shook his head, his heart breaking at the sight in front of him, something that seemed to happen too often.

“Yes I do.” They said, confusion lacing their words. “‘Babies stay in bed while the big boys talk’” They recited in a monotone voice.

“Buck, I can’t.” Steve whispered, unable to stay calm, Bucky nodding his head knowingly, taking control of the situation instead of it being a joint effort.

“I didn’t think you would want to sit in a business meeting, Dovey.” Bucky admitted. “We don’t have any toys in our offices yet.”

“I don’ wan’ toys, jus’ wan’ yous.” Y/n teared up. “‘m jus’ scared.” A sob broke through. “I don’ know the house, or anyone here, an’ I jus’ ‘m really scared, and I wan’ go home.”

Steve couldn’t help himself, he climbed into Y/n’s bed and scooped them up sitting them in his lap, their head in his neck as tears fell down their cheeks, little hiccups could be heard. “You can’t go home, Little Dove, It’s not safe.” Steve said, his words soft and comforting. “Why don’t you sit with us in our meeting? And then after breakfast we can go to that little toy store you used to pass.” He offered, knowing that maybe adding some more of their past life into their day to day could help the sudden transition.

“Really?” They pulled back, whipping their tears with their hands, hope splashed across their face.

“Pinky promise.” Steve smiled, the two sealing the deal. “But let’s find you a sweater, it’s cold upstairs.” He stood up, Y/n in his arms.

“‘Buck, I can’t’” Bucky teased under his breath as the two walked past him.

The sight was yet again one that the Mafia bosses usually wouldn’t have been found in before today, Y/n sat on Steve’s lap, green sippy cup in hand, Bucky next to them holding a bag of goldfish, handing a few to Y/n here and there, and sneaking a few for himself. “Hi Peter!” Y/n whispered, waving to the familiar face.

“Hi.” He whispered back, already loving the addition to the group.

“Pete.” Steve’s voice was loud, everyone in the room listening intently the moment he spoke. “What’s going on?”

“Right, right.” Pete was fidgeting slightly, hating being the one to break the news. “Well, Mr.R was seen on the property’s cameras last night.”

“What?” Bucky sat up straight, Y/n looking to him, worry in their eyes at his sudden moves, though the conversation was going straight over their head.

“He was seen taking pictures of both the front, and back of the house.” Sam finally cut in, handing a few photos to Bucky, who showed them to Steve, the man’s hand covering Y/n’s eyes as he looked them over, Y/n’s giggle at least lightning the mood. “We’ve upped the security, both inside, and outside the house, plus there are extra men posted in our territory, we made sure to call anyone we could to keep.” He cleared his throat. “To keep the bird safe.” His words hiding the true meaning. ‘To keep your new found little, who was and is in need of a safe place to live, unharmed from their brother.’

“Thank you, Sam.” Steve nodded, knowing he was right to appoint Sam as head of security, his skills clearly proven to be efficient and helpful, even though they are the result of a hiccup.

“I suggest you three go up to the lake house, no one knows where it is, you can let the bird settle in without a bunch of our men watching their every move.” Sam added, his words quiet knowing that the suggestion was the opposite of what Steve and Bucky wanted. Dove was supposed to be able to grow comfortable with them in their forever home, with the newly made bedroom, surrounded by every day life, and yet a bump in the road made all of those things almost impossible.

“Thanks Sam.” Bucky said clearly agitated.

“Anything else, Pete?” Steve asked, hoping to change the subject to something more hopeful, and to stop the insanely petty staring contest both Bucky and Sam were participating in.

“Nope, nothing else.” Peter smiled, though he hoped to be allowed to go soon, the conversation stressful and boring.

“Everyone’s dismissed.” Bucky said in return, a handful of goldfish outstretched to Y/n, them picking a few goldfish up, waving as everyone left the room. “How are you feeling, Little Dove?”

“‘m fine.” They answered, looking back and forth at the two men. “We go to the toys now?”

Steve sighed, looking to Bucky before speaking. “We’ve got to eat breakfast now.” He convinced himself it wasn’t a lie, he was just withholding the truth a little.

“We did!” Y/n giggled, holding their hand up to Steve, a few goldfish left.

“Crackers aren’t breakfast!” Bucky said in a dramatically silly tone, Y/n placing their hand on his head as they nodded.

“Yes, i’s breakfast!”

“We’re going to have some waffles, Dove.” Steve interrupted, a smile plastered on his face at the image, two people he loved being silly with one another, something he would get to see for the rest of his life.

“Wha’s a waffle?” They asked, puppy eyes out, mouth open in excitement.

“It’s like a pancake with little walls for your syrup.” Bucky explained.

“What’s a pancake then?”

“Dove.” Steve said in a more authoritative tone, wishing the silliness away.

“What?” They asked. “I don’, why’s you mad?” They asked, hands in their lap fumbling with their fingers.

“Dove, look at me.” Bucky asked. “Have you ever had a pancake?” He spoke with a genuine tone, Y/n shaking their head ‘no’ in response. “Okay, that’s okay.” He smiled, though it didn’t reach his eyes, his chest suddenly heavy, realizing that maybe his Dove really did think crackers were for breakfast. “I think you’ll really like them.” Bucky picked Y/n up from Steve’s arms.

“I’ll be down in a second, I have some things I need to do.” Steve was clearly seething, about to do something regarding someone all three of them knew, Y/n all too well.

“Don’t do anything rash, Steve, just take a few breaths.” Bucky tried to sooth him, rubbing circles on Y/n’s back to keep them calm too.

“I should have been rash months ago, Buck, I can’t just sit here and pretend like this guy hasn’t ruined people's lives.” Steve was on his phone, no doubt calling in backup for whatever plan he had coming.

“Does Steve’s rash hurt bad?” Y/n whispered to Bucky, him smiling at their words, reveling in the softness they exuded, and the pure kindness that radiated off of them.

“It does, Dovey, but he’s going to fix it.” He walked out of the office, Y/n snuggling closer.

“Good.” They whispered.

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eddies-house · 9 months

Text

Ch. 1 | Ch. 2 | Ch. 3 | Ch. 4 | Ch. 5 | Ch. 6 | Ch. 7 | Ch. 8 | Ch. 9 | Ch. 10 | Ch. 11 | Ch. 12 | Ch. 13 | Ch. 14 |

Smoke Signals

Chapter Four - Boiling Point

W/C: 7.4K

Eddie x Fem reader - Grumpy!Bartender!Eddie x Shy!Reader

Warnings: Mentions of vomiting, slight SA (groping), drinking (if I missed anything please let me know)

A messy night and several unfortunate events.

A/N: This one got a little long but it was so fun to write, chaos is really fun to coordinate but my poor babies are taking the brunt of it all woops

Masterlist

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Working nights had flipped your entire sleeping schedule upside down. Two weeks had passed since that first evening where you worked an entire shit show and you still weren’t accustomed to resting in the afternoon in preparation for the night shift. It didn’t seem like such a big deal seeing as the bar thrived around three nights a week and remained quiet to steady the rest of the time but with a staff of only four, the workload piles up. Tossing and turning on the couch, you groan, longing for a peaceful sleep that would energize you. The bed wasn’t doing you any justice which is why the couch sounded that much more appealing but as it turns out they both had the same effect.

Keeping you awake.

Now, there wasn’t anything remotely wrong with either one however, you just couldn’t seem to get comfortable enough to find that blissful sleep you were yearning for.

You were restless.

What didn’t help was the incessant shredding of an electric guitar next door. The high pitch clawed at your ears and echoed throughout the canyon your house was settled in. You could either suck it up and muffle the sound as best as you could with a pillow, or you could confront your noisy neighbor and politely let him know you were trying to sleep in order to fuel yourself to run his bar. Confrontation was not your specialty and you would avoid it by any means necessary. But it couldn’t hurt to just ask him to stop. The worst he could do is laugh in your face and slam the door.

And that would be enough to turn your blood hot, not in rage, but in shame and embarrassment. Maybe it was best to tuck your sweaty and fidgety body back into the couch for long enough that the imprints of the rough fabric would show up as indentations on your skin. Hopefully the shrieking of the guitar would eventually fade away and become background noise in your dreams.

It never did stop.

–

“Jett, could you please toss me that rag? Major spill at table four.”

It was 6:00 PM, Friday night. Just about every table and every stool was occupied, a competitive game of pool provoking many men to yell at the top of their lungs, causing your ear drums even more grief than the endless guitar solos you had to endure earlier. On top of it all, drunk people on a Friday night were not easy to clean up after, several spills inevitably happening on your watch, with more than enough evidence to back your claim up.

“I’ll get it, you go on your break.” Jett advises.

The Bourbon was nearly at capacity, a majority of the town’s regulars seated along the bar and even more of its residents engaging in their pre-weekend activities. The people of Knife’s Edge were rambunctious or at least, that’s the only side of them you’d seen so far. Most likely because they were all getting hammered. Maybe you should get out more? Then you could see their personalities sober and not glazed over with the confidence of alcohol.

“You sure?” You ask sincerely.

Jett didn’t even have a second to glance up at you from the beers he was collecting, a whole round of them for a table of five men roaring with laughter.

“Yeah, if you don’t take it now it’s only going to get busier and you never will.” He yells over the booming music.

“Okay.”

You’re reluctant to leave him alone but you trust his judgment, seeing as he has no issue making that call. And customers seemed to love him, joking back and forth until he practically dragged himself back behind the bar. They hadn’t seemed to take that kind of liking toward you quite yet and the only compliments you received were gross comments from older men that slurred their words, you respectfully dismissing yourself to tend to other customers just to escape.

Quickly, you make your way toward the back through the narrow hallway that leads out to the alley. The bar had become stuffy, too many humans populating the small space, prompting a much needed break for a breath of fresh air. Almost reaching the door, a haven that would relieve your sweat coated skin with a crisp breeze, you collide into something firm, a deep grunt coming from the source.

“Watch it, Bambi.” Eddie barks, glaring down at you. He holds an unopened bottle of tequila, knuckles white as he tightens his grasp.

“I-I’m sorry.” You stutter, taken back by his stern voice. It was for the most part, always stern but this time it was especially disapproving.

“Where are you going?” He asks, brows furrowed.

“My break. Jett just–”

“Your break? Now? I need all hands on deck right now, take your break in like thirty when it calms down.”

A vein in his neck looks as if it’s about to pop, stress evident in his entire demeanor. Even his lips are bitten and red from what seemed to be constant tugging from his teeth. Maybe he needed a toothpick to chew on instead? Maybe that’s why he chewed on them in the first place?

“Well I–Jett just sent me on break.” You reason.

“Jett?”

“Yeah.”

He breathes in deep, head tilting toward the ceiling as he exhales through his mouth, clearly trying to maintain his calmness. Although it always seemed like he was going to blow up and cause a scene when he got like this, he never did.

“Jesus Christ, kid’s gonna give me an aneurysm.”

Walking down the hall toward the commotion of the bar, he shakes his head, curls bouncing and that famous frizz framing his head like a halo. You keep your movements halted, feet glued to the floor in confusion as to whether you’re meant to follow him or actually go on your break.

“So do I–do you want me to take my break or–”

“Just go.” He calls back, this time a calmer tone detected in his voice.

If you were meant to do the opposite in some sort of reverse psychology moment, you didn’t. The cool air called to you and you were going to use all ten minutes to bathe in it, and reset your nervous system. Eddie could sweat in your place for the time being.

Things had been easier since that first shift; the cook, Randy, had returned and said that he left in the heat of the moment, explaining the following day that he lost his cool and was so certain he was going to quit. Then he came back to his senses and realized how unrealistic that was and that he was in no position to be searching for a new job right now. He was on the verge of begging for his job back but what you’d heard from the back office was Eddie telling him not to ‘pull that shit again’ and to ‘get back to work’. No further discussions or arguments on the topic ensued since that day.

The chilly Autumn air brushed against your cheeks upon stepping out the door, not too much of a bite to it yet but enough to warrant a slight shiver. The sun had already set just over an hour ago, darkness already enclosing the surrounding world. It felt empty and devoid of life, but not in an apocalyptic way, but rather in a serene kind of way. It was quiet except for the whisper of leaves of the birch trees in the wind.

This place still felt so far from home and your loneliness was still as prominent as ever. You worked, went home, slept, woke up at around 10:00 AM, fixed breakfast, attempted to go back to sleep, failed and sometimes visited Donnie at the supermarket, and repeated. The routine was sad and you might as well have been a grouchy old woman that no one spoke to or went near, not a twenty something year old who should be making the most out of her life. The locals weren’t unfriendly, you just couldn’t seem to fit in. Jett was the closest thing you had to a ‘friend’, although he was your coworker and some may see it as mandatory that he remains friendly with you. Outside of work you had little to no interaction with others, usually opting to stay in and clean or watch reruns of some shows you had pre-recorded on a collection of VHS tapes. It’s not to say you didn’t enjoy your nights in, you just wished you had the option to call someone up to hang out or make plans every now and then.

Ten minutes flew by like it was seconds, the door leading inside swinging open unexpectedly and smacking against the concrete wall, Eddie’s head poking out in search of you.

“Excuse me, do you work here?” He asks sarcastically.

You control the urge to roll your eyes, having a better sense of his antics in the past two weeks and knowing that no real consequences would apply to you under these circumstances. You still maintain the need to react to his dramatics and remind him that you were helping him out just as much as he was helping you. But you push it down and straighten your posture.

“Yes.” You reply, eyes staring up at him with a hint of resistance.

“Could’ve had me fooled.” He snaps, ducking back inside.

Following him, you finally give into the urge to roll your eyes behind his back.

“I timed my break just right.” You notify him, glancing at your watch. “I was about to come back.”

“You’re a minute late.”

Instead of allowing you a chance to argue with him, he jumps right back into action and starts clearing off a vacant table. The rush hadn’t stopped all night, table after table being cleared only to immediately seat a new party.

After he strides off with a pile of glasses and a few plates, you get to work on wiping everything clean. It was a newfound system, a plan that hadn’t been agreed on by either of you but was understood regardless. With how understaffed the bar was, it worked like a charm.

Jett’s main role was behind the bar but every now and then he would catch onto whenever you and Eddie were running behind and he would swoop in to take care of a table or two. Recently, you learned that the other bartender, Pete, had quit and skipped town about a week before your arrival, making it that much harder to keep up with the demand of the customers who regularly chose The Bourbon to decompress at. So now it was only you, Eddie, Jett, and Randy running the whole place. It turned out not to be too bad of a gig, weeknights were slow enough and Sundays the bar was closed, leaving Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays as the busiest nights of the week. The tips were decent enough as well.

Especially from those creepy old men which was an unfortunate situation you could do without but hey, it helped pay the bills. If you ignored their advances and didn’t completely reject them, they’d leave behind a nice tip. It felt icky, pocketing the money but the more you thought about it, the more compelled you felt to take their money. If they were going to waste your time, you might as well be compensated for it.

One man in particular had been lurking at one of the corner tables, purposely opting out of the bar seating to instead have a higher chance of you waiting on him. He must have been in his sixties and had an unnerving stare that just made you want to hide back in the kitchen. You failed to inform Eddie, simply because he didn’t need further reason to see you as dainty or incapable of holding your own.

So you gulped down your fear and put the blinders on as best you could.

Just take his order and get it over with. Then you can move on with your night and hopefully he’ll be out of here soon.

And right off the bat, his disgusting mouth started running. Something about ‘can a pretty little thing like you get me a drink?’. Then a few more unsolicited nicknames with a smirk and some remark about how good your body looked. Something you didn’t care to hold onto in your mind, you only felt the need to take a shower.

As you rounded the corner of the bar and got to work making the pervert’s drink, you found yourself lost in thought. Thoughts about if he found out where you lived, you may be done for. It was a small town after all and it wouldn’t be difficult.

“Hey, you good?” Jett asks, shaker in hand, concern obvious in his knit eyebrows.

“What?” You’re pulled out of your mind, shaking your head as if to lure yourself back to reality. “Yeah, I’m fine.” You assure him.

He nods but his expression shows that he’s not very convinced. You finish off the drink you’d been absentmindedly making, a scotch on the rocks while offering Jett one more reassuring smile before making your way out from behind the bar.

Like you were throwing yourself back into the lion’s den, you approach the man’s table, hoping to quickly drop off his drink and be on your way. If only life were ever so kind to you.

“Thank you, sweetheart.” A disgusting grin paints his face and just before you can mumble an ‘mhm’ and rush off, an unwelcome hand gropes your ass, sliding down, down, down. You can’t see his face but you know he displays the most revolting smirk following his actions.

With a yelp followed by a gasp, you freeze. Paralyzed, you aren’t sure how to move forward, how do you recover from being reduced to a piece of meat? Flesh to be gawked at and held onto without permission. An object to be handled.

“I-I’m sorry but—“ You begin to stumble over your words but never get the chance to say much more when the sound of a chair screeching against the wood floors, arguably worse than nails on a chalkboard, is heard behind you.

Upon turning around, you’re met with the sight of your boss shoving the repulsive man toward the door by the collar of his mustard stained shirt. Eddie's strength shows despite his lean figure, appearing to have no trouble in maneuvering the man where he wants him against the door.

“What the fuck was that?” Eddie bites, nostrils flaring as his cheeks seem to heat with a hue of red.

“Listen—“

The man’s hands are thrown up in surrender but it’s apparent that wasn’t the true intent behind his actions. An excuse was on the tip of his tongue before Eddie cut him off, not an ounce of patience left.

“What. The. Fuck. Was that?” He repeats, grip tightening on the shirt collar, face inching closer to the man as a means of intimidation.

“Just a little flirting, she was into it.”

You can’t help but grimace at the pathetic attempt to cover up what had actually happened. And it seemed that Eddie didn’t take too well to that answer either, further pushing the man into the door if even possible. The scene had drawn the attention of almost the whole bar, a sea of eyeballs glued to the altercation about to happen, your very being flushed from embarrassment from the mere idea of being the source of all of it. Had you walked away quicker, it would’ve gone unnoticed and you could’ve gone on with your night, leaving everyone else undisturbed.

“Yeah?” Eddie cocks his head to the side, his chest heaving. “Didn’t seem like she was into it to me.”

“She was—“

“I wasn’t fuckin’ asking. She wasn’t into it.”

If looks could kill, the guy would be erased from existence with no trace of life left behind on Eddie’s account. His big brown eyes showcased pure rage, a distinct difference from the annoyance and the fiery glare he’d cast on you every so often, especially when you would forget to pile up the dishes his way. No, this was far more devastating and should you one day be the recipient of his aggressive stare, you’d be reduced to tears on the spot.

“Now you’re gonna get the hell out of my bar. I never wanna see you again—“

“Listen man, I’m not—“

“I’m fucking talking.” Eddie growls. “You get the hell out of here and never come back, you hear me? And you better fucking hope I don’t catch you pulling some shit like that again, I will kick your goddamn teeth in.” He promises.

Confrontations like this were not something you were familiar with, always running off before things got too far. You suppose that’s why people feel it was okay to use you as a doormat. It always feels easier to drop it and walk away, ‘be the bigger person’ or whatever they say. Even if it actually meant making you feel like the smallest person on earth.

All the back and forth and frequent swears with intention of aggravation had labored your breathing, your chest struggling to allow movement, feeling like a straw was delivering air to your lungs. Just when you’d attempt to swallow a big enough breath of air, it would all go to waste and only provide just enough oxygen to get by. A cold sweat threatened to spill from your hairline, your palms clammy to match. The murmurs and whispers of witnesses had your eyes darting from person to person, suddenly all too aware of the life you were living.

Too human.

You don’t remember another word exchanged between the two men and you certainly don’t remember how you managed to claw your way to the bathroom amidst the turmoil. But here you were, staring into the dingy mirror with no purpose other than to escape. And it wasn’t working. Suddenly the lights were too bright and the room was too small, but it was secluded and that's what mattered. Having some kind of an episode in front of the entire bar would be far worse, having an episode alone where prying eyes cannot dissect your every movement and reason for being is the better option. It wasn’t often that your mind went to this extent when being faced with a challenging situation but when it did, you didn’t find it easy to come out of.

You heard your name floating somewhere in the bleach scented air but couldn’t quite bring yourself back enough to recognize who required your attention. There was a head peeking in at the door after some frequent knocking and though you kept insisting you were okay and just to give you a few minutes, the individual seemed to have reason not to believe you.

“Hey, Ed!” He called behind him. It was Jett. A sweet and scared out of his mind Jett from what you could decipher through squinted eyes and blurred vision. He was obviously being faced with unfamiliar territory, I mean who is ever prepared to talk someone down from an anxiety attack in the middle of a shift? Panic was evident in his voice just as much as it was evident in your whole body.

“Eddie, I need some help!” He yells again. “Hey, you okay? What happened? Do you need–”

“Move over.” You hear Eddie mumble before the door swings open, the hinges squeaking painfully. “You’re asking too many questions.”

With a swift shut of the door, Jett hurries back to attend to the several customers awaiting service.

“Listen to me, Bambi. You gotta breathe.” His voice is smooth, a huge contrast to what you’d just heard moments ago.

When your legs begin to feel wobbly, as if you were a calf taking its first steps, you slowly lower yourself to the ground, a sturdy hand wrapping around your upper arm to support you.

“In.” Eddie inhales, though you can only hear him since your eyes are shut so tightly, your eyelids might rip. “Out.” He exhales. “C’mon, breathe in–”

“Is she oka—”

“Jett, fuck off for a minute. Please.” Eddie begs, clearly fed up before returning to his newfound gentle tone. “Can you look at me?” He diverts his attention back to you, Jett taking the hint and shutting the door, leaving you and Eddie alone.

Eyes squeezed shut, you shake your head. Your body shakes involuntarily, the anxiety becoming even worse when you try to contain it, like it wants to jump out and strangle you.

“Okay, okay.” He attempts to soothe. “You wanna get some air?” He asks just above a whisper.

“I-I dunno. ‘M sorry.” You manage to choke out, sniffling.

“Okay, no big deal.” He sighs, running a hand down his face, not out of irritation but more so exhaustion. “Let’s get you outside, it’s too hot in here.”

Before you can protest, he’s wrapping an arm around your shoulders and supporting the majority of your weight against him, walking you out of the bathroom and out the door into the alley. The chilly air bites at your skin and thankfully, reality slowly starts to return again.

“Try breathing again, in and out.” Eddie encourages.

You nod, jaw locked tightly both from the cold and from the paralyzing anxiety coursing through your veins. Your teeth feel as if they could crack at any second, the pressure from you biting down too immense but you can’t bring yourself to unhinge your jaw.

“In.” Eddie coaches, exaggerating a large breath, his chest rising with the motion. “Out.” He exhales through his mouth, his breath visible in the air.

He continues the breathing exercise a few more times, you following carefully as things become clear again. And from all that had just happened, all you could gather was that you were a huge baby who couldn’t handle a rogue customer. You weren’t capable of holding things down when it got rough.

Pathetic.

“I-I’m sorry, I don’t know–I don’t know what happened–” You try to make sense of it all, failing miserably.

“What happened was some pervert copped a feel and we don’t play around with that shit here.”

Anger is obvious within his expression, even more so when he pulls out his pack of cigarettes and lights one hastily.

“Did you…”

The question is on the tip of your tongue however, you won’t let yourself say it at the risk of sounding even more like an injured bird.

“What?” He asks, kicking around a few pebbles, the cigarette hanging from his lip before he brings his fingers up to grab it and inhale. His brows are knit together, still beyond bothered by the dispute that just occurred.

“Nevermind.” You mumble.

His gaze meets yours, lashes casting perfect shadows just over his cheek bones in the warm lighting of the street lamp and once again, among all the darkness that pools in those chocolatey irises, there is a twinkle. Barely noticeable but still there.

“What?” He urges again, voice monotone.

“Did you…did he…?”

“Did I fuck him up?” He asks, brows raised.

You nod bashfully, a hint of fear flashing in your eyes.

“No.” Eddie scoffs. “I should’ve though.” He flicks the ash from his cigarette toward the ground. “Motherfucker.” He mumbles.

“Why didn’t you then?”

It was too forward and you had no business asking. Really, it just tumbled out, off of your tongue, barely a thought behind it before it was too late. Now you were just asking for a reaction, not a good one at that.

“It was either that or let Bambi suffocate in the bathroom. Gotta pick your battles.” He gestures toward you, shrugging.

It wasn’t the reaction you were expecting, you were bracing for a bigger explosion. Waiting for him to tell you to get back to work and to stop asking questions. But he didn’t. He just continued to kick little pebbles around on the pavement, his boot scuffing along the surface as he smoked. He looked relaxed for once.

“Oh.” You reply, staring down at your own shoes. “I-I’m sorry.”

“Is apologizing like…your hobby?” He questions, shoving his other hand into his pocket.

“Well–uh no, no–”

“I love that you’re out here having bonding time but I’m a one man show in there and I need some supporting acts.” Jett interrupts, the door creating a gust of wind and then flooding you with temporary warmth from the air inside. “I at least need Eddie.” He pleads.

Nodding frantically, you begin to make your way back inside, Jett already speeding off to resume his duties.

“Hey, you okay to go back in there?” Eddie asks, dropping his cigarette and stomping it out. “You can take another minute–”

“I’m fine.” You insist. He didn’t need further evidence that you were frail and incapable. Whether it was intentional or not, he had bruised your sliver of self-confidence.

–

The rush was finally over, the last of it being a party of ten which left a table full of dishes to be delivered to the kitchen for washing. Each plate was stacked in your palms, piled high as you worked one hand out from underneath to add on a few cups, cutting down on the amount of trips you would need to make. You’d blocked out the vile events that occurred earlier in the night, at least until you had time to cry about it to yourself which when working at The Bourbon, there was never time for that. So it would have to wait until the drive home. Maybe you’d even save it for the shower where you could truly release all of your emotions in peace, no judging eyes or risk of a car accident.

Successfully stacking a few cups among the tower of plates, you spin on your heel, making your way toward the kitchen as the others cleaned up, Jett wiping down the bar and kicking out the lingering drunks, and Eddie cleaning up the mess that the pool table had become. It was 1:00 AM and if everyone did their part, you’d be out of here by at least 1:30. Tensions had been high all night, one inconvenience after another occurring, only adding onto everyone’s stress and only giving more incentive to clean quicker and go home. A broken glass here, a messed up order there.

The kitchen door is just in reach and when you push into it with your shoulder, all of your calculations fail, the pile of plates collapsing as they hit the door frame rather than dodging it like you intended. Each plate crashes against the floor, shattering into pieces, a few of the cups also breaking on impact. It was the icing on the cake of a bad night, the final straw and your reason to burst into tears and yet you don’t.

Not yet.

Not here.

A total of four eyeballs watch in shock, two more joining in as Randy, the cook peeks out from the kitchen door. Though the tears didn’t burst from your eyes quite yet, they did sting, they stung horribly. You could feel them brimming at your waterline, just a centimeter away from trickling down your cheek and exposing you as the biggest crybaby in the world. If it wasn’t already apparent.

Do not cry.

And if it wasn’t already bad enough, Eddie seemed to completely reverse his gentle attitude you’d become suddenly accustomed to earlier.

“What the hell.” He glares, slowly approaching as he sets a few glasses back down on the pool table. “Do you watch where you’re going? Do you have eyes?” He asks.

You don’t dare answer, frozen in place as your nerves tingle in panic once again. You don’t feel real. You feel as if your spirit has risen from your body and is watching over the conversation playing out.

“Now I’m out what–ten or so plates? Do you know what it costs–”

“Eddie.” Jett tries to take control of the situation, taking notice of your watering eyes. And unfortunately so does Eddie.

“What–oh, you’re gonna cry? What did I tell you? I told you this job wasn’t for someone like you.” Eddie snaps.

He was bitter, unpleasantly bitter like a shitty cup of coffee.

“Eddie, stop it.” Jett tries to defend you, though you wish you could defend yourself so you didn’t seem so pathetic.

“I told you I can’t babysit you–”

“I know.” You manage to quietly sob, bending down to start collecting the broken pieces. There’s an awkward moment of silence, the air thick with tension and anticipation of more insults. All you can do is wait.

“Just leave it, just–leave it.” Eddie sighs, running a hand through his bangs. “Just go home.”

The demand isn’t necessarily an insult like you’d imagined but it still feels backhanded. Like he was telling you ‘I told you so’ and rubbing it in your face. As if he gave you a chance with the means of preparing for this moment, the moment you fucked up even slightly.

“I’m gonna get the broom.” Jett says, eyes wide as he scampers to the back.

Staring up at Eddie, large pieces of plate collected in your hand, all you can make out in his eyes is outrage. Downplayed outrage that hadn’t fully escaped yet and you didn’t want to hang around long enough to witness it. He was capable of much more than he was letting on.

“If you can’t handle–”

“You know Eddie, you’re just mean. You’re being mean.” You declare through a frown, internally screaming at yourself to keep it together, to not let a tear spill over. He didn’t deserve the satisfaction of watching you cry.

“Did you know you never even asked for my name?” You swipe underneath your eyes, catching any tears that longed to trail down your cheeks, displaying your distress, instead wiping them on your apron.

His unkind stare lets up, eyes softening ever so slightly.

Too late.

“I’m not a person to you.” You drop the shards from your hands, standing up to head toward the back for your things.

“Wait–”

If he kept talking, you didn’t stick around to hear it. You scooped up your bag from the rusting lockers toward the back of the kitchen, tucked away in a corner before striding to the front, toward the bar. If he thought you were some kind of an entitled brat that needed babysitting then you were going to give him more than he bargained for. Granted, you weren’t thinking straight either, the stress of the night only adding up and creating an outburst you would otherwise bottle up.

Grabbing a shot glass from under the bar, you reach for one of the nicer tequilas, something smoother that wouldn’t burn as much. Tequila always put you in a good mood and never gave you a hangover. Filling the shot glass, you don’t even bother looking over at Eddie or Jett, who was now sweeping broken plates into a dustpan.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Eddie hurries over, staring you down. All you offer him in response is a shrug before tossing the liquor back.

Refilling the glass, you sneak a glance over at him from across the counter, his jaw dropped in shock and his face red and flushed with anger. Steam was nearly shooting out of his ears. The second shot is thrown back and your muscles begin to relax, anxieties melting away even at the basis of creating more problems.

If that wasn’t enough for him, you finished it off with a third shot, hoping it wouldn’t be too much all at once. You were brave enough to look right into his eyes, daring him to say the wrong thing.

“What are you doing?” He asks again, calmer but still heated.

“I’m just acting how you think I should.” You answer, a fake smile painted across your lips.

“I’m not comping those.”

His focus burns into you, lips in a tight line as he watches. If looks could kill. For the second time that night. Except this time, you were on the receiving end and had you not been three shots in, it would’ve terrified you and had you apologizing profusely.

“Well, I’m not paying for them.” You say, pouring yourself one more for good measure, swallowing it like it was water.

As you go to make your big exit, you’re faced with a harsh reality. You’re definitely drunk, or at least very close to being drunk as the alcohol consumes your body, and you’re definitely not driving home like this. You did not think this through. But you kept walking anyway through the kitchen and out to the back just to lean against the concrete wall pathetically. You were starting to wish that you’d gulped down some water before leaving to aid in sobering up.

If the sight of you leaning against the wall behind a bar at 1:12 AM wasn’t sad enough, tack on the fact that you had finally let the waterworks flow, your drunk self especially susceptible to your muddled emotions.

“Bambi, what the fuck. You gonna drive?” Eddie emerges from the kitchen door leading outside, seemingly cooled down but you still don’t trust it.

“Don’t call ‘m Bambi.” You slur.

“What are you doing out here?” He ignores your protest.

“‘Jus gimme a few minutes.” You whine, eyes shut as if it would make him disappear.

“No, not a few minutes. You’re not driving.”

You never intended on driving but you were finding it difficult to fight him off in your discombobulated state, willing to say anything to get him to leave. Obviously he had the upper hand at this moment, clearly able to outsmart you.

“I know.” You wail, tears on full display for him.

“I’ll drive you, let me get my keys.”

“Nooo, wha ‘bout Jett?” You ask, wiping away your tears, mascara coating your fingertips.

“Jett doesn't live right next door to you, you’d just be making him go out of his way for no reason.”

Snot dripping from your nose, you glare up at him, earning an expectant stare from him. All you can do is roll your eyes, too drunk to care anymore. You still preferred having Jett go out of his way, at least he respected you as a person. But the argument was lost among gargled thoughts and a short term memory.

“Still mean.” You insult, finger poking at his chest harshly. It doesn’t do much.

It feels like hours that you two are staring at each other, likely due to the alcohol running through your system. He hesitates in running back inside, even if just for a few seconds to grab his keys, his eyes looking you over in concern. A muttered ‘be right back’ is heard and then he’s gone.

The stars catch your attention, drastically brighter than they would be back home, many more of them too. A few stand out, gleaming in the sky and making them that much more admirable. Your mind drifts off to thoughts of the Milky Way, swirling around the universe and ultimately making you feel infinitely smaller and more insignificant.

What was your place?

Eddie steps back out, keys twirling around his fingers, straight-faced, not an ounce of amusement in his handsome features. Glancing at him briefly, you then tilt your head back up toward the sky, dazed and almost in a trance. If you weren’t careful, you could’ve been staring at him like that. But you weren’t that drunk.

Or so you thought.

Thinking about it, you must have been the spitting image of insane; mascara smeared across your face, tears glimmering in the moonlight, and your bottom lip set in a perfect pout like a child waiting to get their way. Your bag was twisted around your body in the most uncomfortable way but you couldn’t find it in you to untwist it and realistically, you should be wearing your jacket but instead its clutched in your fist, the cold pricking at your skin and eliciting goosebumps up and down your arms. The chattering of your teeth interrupted the silence and played as the soundtrack of your hazy daydreaming.

It also let Eddie know that he needed to either force you to put your jacket on, or get you in the car. And he knew he wouldn’t win that first battle so ushering you to the passenger seat it was.

“C’mon.” Is all he says, huffing out a breath.

You vaguely recall being helped into the passenger’s side but you don’t remember walking a few yards to actually reach the car or if you were even able to do so on your own. From what you could tell in your state, his car was a beaten up thing, kinda old but it smelled like those little pine tree air fresheners.

Once the scenery outside started to move, all thoughts subsided, the only one left was solely to keep yourself from vomiting all over your boss’s car. You would stoop as low as to drink his most expensive tequila but vomiting all over his carpeted floor was another low you wouldn’t dream of wishing upon anybody.

Trees zoomed by and you were sure you were going cross eyed from trying to keep up with each and every one. Some metal song plays through the speakers but in your own little world, you hardly hear it, still subconsciously bobbing your head to the fading beat.

One minute you were sitting content in your dream land, the next Eddie was shoving something into your hands while urgently pulling over. Your mind hadn’t caught up to what was happening yet however, you could vaguely make out Eddie yelling at you to aim for the bag while you stared directly into said bag. When you glanced over at him, everything felt as if it were in slow motion and again, he was panicking while yelling at you to ‘puke in the bag!’.

The perfect cocktail of a situation for an individual so reserved and so inexperienced with this much attention. At least most of it would be a blur by morning.

–

“There you go, just grab my–shoulder! Ow!” Eddie complains, your fingers a bit too comfortable with digging into his skin through his cotton shirt as you attempt to hoist yourself up into a standing position from the passenger seat.

Home was only steps away and then you could collapse wherever you pleased. Forget about this stupid night. At least until you awakened as your regularly anxious self. You’d have a few hours of drunken bliss to forget about life but that’s all you were allowed. Then you would need to face your consequences, whatever they may be. Come the morning, you most likely wouldn’t have a job anymore, Eddie would probably come knocking at your door and let you know that you blew it. And he’d probably laugh in your face at the fact that you proved yourself to be too weak, too dainty, as he so adamantly proclaimed before.

“Oh no.” You mumble, feeling yourself wobbling, knees giving out underneath you.

“Whoa, whoa, okay! You’re fine, you’re fine.” Eddie stabilizes you, arms around your waist.

Your limbs might as well be Jello at this point, rendering you a useless human unable to even stumble to your destination. It dawns on you that you can’t remember if you even actually puked in the car or not. Was it coating his interior or had you shoved your head in the bag just in time to spew your guts? Or did you bravely swallow it down? Whatever the case, Eddie doesn’t seem to currently have any grievances or any trouble touching you so you must have been somewhat responsible about it.

Your weight depends on him, leaning into his chest as he practically carries you toward the house. Your eyes flutter repeatedly and—your question of whether you had already puked or not is quickly answered as the contents of your stomach spill out and onto his shirt before you’re able to aim for the ground. Humiliation was starting to look like your middle name.

As you dry heave and allow a long string of saliva to drip from your mouth while hunched over in the dirt, you hear Eddie muttering several curses. You think for sure he’s going to ditch you for creating such a stir up throughout the night until his boots come into view in front of you, his hand pulling the hair away from your face as you finish emptying your stomach.

“Okay.” He sighs. “Puke it out.” A hesitant hand smoothes over your back, the lightest touch.

The smell of putrid vomit invades his nose, nausea threatening to take over him as well if he didn’t hold his breath. Try as he may to ignore the chunks of god knows what on his shirt, it was still all that was on his mind. He didn’t even want to chance looking down if there was the slightest possibility that it had also gotten in his hair. Even being covered in your sick, he knows he should be fuming. But he’s not and it's all so puzzling.

You marched your ass behind his bar and consumed more tequila than you could handle which in turn forced him to drive you home and then you vomited all over him. If that’s not enough reason to be pissed beyond belief then he doesn’t know what is. Yet he remains calm and collected, running his hand between your shoulder blades as he soothes you throughout your dry heaving and gagging.

“It won’t–oh god–it won’t stop.” You sob, looking up at him, a mixture of snot, tears, and saliva coating the lower half of your face.

You look repulsive and yet he can’t tear his eyes away from you. The prettiest definition of repulsive he’d ever seen.

“Don’t hold it back, let it all out. You’re only gonna feel like shit if you hold any of it in.” He instructs, kneeling down to meet your eye level.

With a few sniffles and hiccups, you nod. Only now you’re hyper aware of being watched. It was a sobering experience, puking right in front of your house, not able to even make it to the nearest toilet while your boss spectates and–oh.

It hits you that the front of his shirt is caked in your puke, bile soaking the fabric while remnants of your late lunch displays itself on his perfect black shirt. You would never live this down and you would certainly never work another shift at The Bourbon again. Even if he did scream at you for no good reason, you took it a few levels too far.

“Y-your shirt, oh no–”

“Relax, okay, Bambi? I can handle a little puke, now where’s your key?” He asks.

It’s not that he could handle a little puke, he had to. Because what good would it do if the two of you were both throwing up in your front yard?

Attempting to answer him, the rest of your stomach interrupts and unexpectedly spews all over his combat boots. As if the night couldn’t get any worse.

“Shit.” He mutters under his breath.

“‘M sorry, ‘m so sorry.” You whimper, glassy eyes staring up at him with regret. “I din’t mean it, I swear, m’ just–”

“I know.” Eddie exhales. “You done puking, is there anything else left in there?”

Shaking your head in sorrow, a few more hiccups escape your lungs but there are no further signs that you’re going to be sick again. Even if you were, it didn’t matter anymore, Eddie was already well acquainted with your vomit, what harm would a little more do at this point?

As you start shuffling through your bag and patting at your pockets, panic settles in and you can only recall that the last place you’d seen your keys was at the bar, where you set them down to spitefully gulp down as much tequila as you could. Now it was biting you in the ass, hard.

“Left my keys at the bar.” You pout pitifully.

Eddie glares at you, rightfully so. The man was covered in foul smelling vomit, kneeling on the ground, taking care of you.

“Fucking christ.” He mumbles.

~end~

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tags - @gravedigginbbydoll @ohauggieo @spicysix @lunatictardis @ali-r3n @batkin028 @mrsjellymunson @witchwolflea @emma77645 @emxxblog @eddiemunson95 @angietherose @lottie-90 @sheneedsrocknroll92 @pullingattheroots @avalon-wolf @vintagehellfire @cryingglightningg @foreveranexpatsposts @winchester-angel @mmunson86 @witchwolflea @kurdtbean@micheledawn1975 @tlclick73 @erinekc @hazydespair @whenshelanded @corrodedcoffincumslut @ms1oftheboys @lma1986 @uglypastels

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson fic #eddie x reader #eddie munson smut #eddie munson x fem reader #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson angst #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson x you #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson au #stranger things au #stranger things fic #stranger things

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have-kake · 2 months

Text

Big Brother [3/3]

Three instances of big brother instincts within the chain. [Ao3 Link]

[Part 1: Wind] [Part 2: Twilight] [Part 3: Warriors]

The chain had been traveling aimlessly until a portal dumped them back in the middle of Hyrule field. Legend groans loudly at their surroundings. It feels like every time they decide to go to a town, a portal gets in their way.

"I think this is mine," Time says, a faint smile on his face.

Hyrule instantly perks up. "Does that mean we get to see Miss Malon again?"

Time grins at him. "If you don't mind the farm work."

Wind woops in response much to everyone's amusement.

"Welp, I guess it's settled," Wars says patting Time on the back "We're off to see the Missus again!"

Malon greets them all warmly. She spends time hugging each of them as she welcomes them home. She even introduces them to her father who's home this time. He's a portly old man with deep crows feet and laugh lines around his mouth. Much like Malon, he's able to instantly identify Twilight as a farmer.

Time tries to put them to work but quickly gets overruled by Malon and Talon. Wars won't admit it, but he's grateful for their intervention. Farm work is hard. Last time, he felt muscles he didn't even know he had ache!

Some of the group still insist on working, though. Twilight bullies his way into helping Malon clean the cow stables. Sky is more than happy to herd cuccos. And Four finds his way to the farrier.

Wars grins as Time shuffles around the house for a few minutes. He's completely changed out of his armor into stiffer clothes. "Heading out to help too?" Wars asks.

Time pauses in his search to look up at him. "Hm? Yeah. I'm gonna help Talon weed the crops."

Wars' grin widens. He glances around making sure the others aren't around. "You know," he starts off innocently. He tries not to laugh at the look Time gives him. "I'm glad I finally get to meet my little brother's old man. He must have a well of Patience greater than the expanses of time itself to deal with you."

"Just because I've told him about you doesn't mean he believes it."

"Malon believed you. Besides, it won't be too hard to convince him."

"You're going to be insufferable aren't you?" Time asks drily.

"Oh, absolutely," Wars replies without hesitation. "It's only fair."

The weary sigh of defeat he gets is music to his ears.

Wars sits on the porch as Wind, Hyrule, and Wild all run around in circles. He won't pretend to know what game they're playing, but it's nice to see them relax.

"Aren't there nine of you boys?"

He smiles at Talon as the old man takes a seat in the other chair. "Legend's inside taking a nap," he says. "He gets cranky when we're on the road for too long."

Talon laughs. "I'd've thought a Hero would be used to the road."

Wars startles. He knows Time tells Malon everything and she believes him, but he made it seem like Talon never did. It's jarring to hear him speak with the same candidness Malon does, but Wars is glad Time has people he can talk to. "Legend's been through more adventures than any of us," he explains. "All in just a handful of years... He deserves the rest."

"You boys are all so young," Talon says quietly.

Wind shrieks in delight when Hyrule picks him up and tosses him to Wild. Hyrule's accompanying laughter is carefree, and even Wild's smile is easier than usual.

Mask was bitter when he first stepped through the portal. It had nothing to do with the horrors of war. He was already haunted by pain and loss long before he ever set foot in Wars' era. He was so young; about the same age as Wind at the time. Yet the two are as different as night and day.

Sensing his mood, Talon starts to get up. "What d'you say to helping me get started on dinner, boy?"

Wars follows him with a quiet chuckle. "I know an order when I hear one, sir," he grins, "but fair warning: I'm a terrible cook."

He's surprised by how well Talon directs him around the kitchen. It's not the ease with which Time and Malon function with each other, or the ease Wild finds in any kitchen. But it's nice.

Time enters some time later and pauses at the sight of them. He raises a single eyebrow when Wars spots him.

Wars shrugs in response.

"What happened to letting the boys rest?" Time asks.

"I know a man in need of a distraction when I see one," Talon responds plainly. "See if you can't go help Malon and your boy. Dinner'll be done in an hour."

Time narrows his eyes at the two. Wars gives him a cheeky grin and Time scowls. They're not planning anything, but Time doesn't have to know that.

Talon chuckles at their exchange. "He keeps doing stuff like that, and I'll have to believe him."

"Oh?"

Talon claps him on the back. "I know what brothers tormenting each other looks like."

Wars laughs. "I need to get payback somehow."

"So you really knew him when he was a kid?"

"Only for about three years, but yes."

Talon hesitates for a moment. Wars is instantly on guard. "Has he always been vague about his answers?"

"What do you mean?" He asks carefully.

"Like if you ask him the things he's fought."

Wars instantly relaxes. "Lemme guess," he says drily. "The moon."

Talon nods with a tired look. "He won't explain it either."

"I know what you mean," he sighs. "When he first showed up in my world and demanded to fight, we asked him what the biggest thing he fought was and he said the moon. So we asked him what he meant. And guess what he does?"

Talon points up.

"Yes!" He raises his arm straight up and points. He does his best impression of Mask's scowling face, and with a patronizing voice he says, "I mean the moon! What's so hard to understand about that? If you don't get something as easy as that, why are you even in charge?"

Talon howls with laughter.

"So a few weeks ago I ask him the same thing. Y'know, to see if his answer's changed." Wars grins. "Hey Old Man, what's the biggest thing you ever fought?"

"The– oh ho," Talon wheezes between laughs. "The moon!"

"The moon!" Wars crows. "And he still refuses to elaborate!"

Dinner prep continues on for almost another hour. Wars knew that making food for so many people was a process, but he never realized how intensive it was. He's more than a little frayed by the time they finish. Talon pats him on the back approvingly, and the looks on the others faces is more than worth it.

He spends a little time watching the others as they settle down to eat. Time and Twilight sit on either side of Malon. Wind takes a seat next to Talon and makes easy conversation with the old man.

Wind really is a kid of many talents. He handles a grumpy Legend with the grace of a practiced brother while falling for his bait in equal measures. Yet he's able to hold long and easy conversations with adults and the elderly.

Wars is glad his adventures don't weigh him down. At least, he hopes they don't and Wind isn't just hiding the pain.

"You okay, Cap?" Twilight asks.

"Yeah. Just thinking of the little brother I had for a second."

Twilight and those closest to them grow quiet. "Sorry."

Wars raises an eyebrow before laughing loudly. "It's nothing like that!" He assures to all the sad faces. "It's just what he became to me. He was sent home when all was said and done. I do still miss him to this day, though," he sighs with a hand on his chest. He grins at the way Time snorts.

Wind lets out a loud sound of disappointment from across the table. "Does that mean I'll never get to meet him?"

Sometimes Wars forgets Wind spent a few weeks in his war. It was so late into the fighting, the war was practically over. That and he was far from the main fighting, usually just holding the far lines from any advances. It's just as important for holding the army together as the main lines, but fairly uneventful by the time Wind got there. He's still kicking himself for not making the time to go meet him properly back then.

"Count yourself lucky," Wars teases. "I love him, but he was an absolute menace."

Legend snorts. "Can't be that bad."

"Two words," he says making eye contact with Time. "Mask Duty."

Wind chokes on his juice. After he gets his coughing in control he all but shouts, "Mask was your little brother?!”

He's taken aback by the response. "Yeah?"

Wind scrambles to pull his sleeve back and hold up his forearm. "He bit me!"

Wars' jaw drops.

Talon and Hyrule lean over to get a better look.

Wars turns to Time who's studiously picking at his plate. He rubs a hand over his face with a groan. "Great Three, please have mercy on me. Is that why I was stuck on stable duty for almost two months?"

The others snicker at him.Time uses the noise to mutter a quiet, "No," but Wars knows that tone. It absolutely was his fault.

With a long dramatic sigh, Wars uses his melodramatic voice, as Mask liked to call it. He likes to call it his tired older brother voice. "Wind, on behalf of my little brother, I apologize for his horrible behavior. I ask you find it in your heart to forgive him."

Time glares at him but he has practice ignoring that particular look.

Twilight whistles lowly. "That sounds practiced. How often did he get in trouble?"

Wars resists the urge to smirk. "More times than I can count," he sighs sadly. "But I'm sure you'd all rather hear something else."

Just as expected, the table explodes into commotion. He sends a smirk Time's way and nearly cracks. Time's scowl has turned into a full on pout. Suddenly Wars finds himself look at Mask like he's been caught sneaking into the stables for the third time that week and not an adult ten years his senior with a wife.

"Okay, okay," Wars laughs. "I'll tell you a few stories."

He tells them of the first time Mask appeared on the field and the absolute mayhem it caused. A good portion of the soldiers had their attention split between halting the enemy Lieutenant and keeping the literal child safe. Not that Mask made it easier. He refused to be pulled off the field and even broke the hand of one of the soldiers trying to hold him back.

Wars tells them of the way his heart leapt into his throat when Mask rushed forward. A tiny child with a sword too big to properly carry rushing at a monster three times his size! Only for the little boy to swing the the massive claymore and slice the monster in two.

They still tried to bench Mask after that, of course. No one felt comfortable putting a child in the front lines despite his clear skill. That didn't matter to Mask, though.

It was a particularly hard battle and they were loosing. Impa was out for the count and Wars wasn't advancing fast enough. They would've lost—died—if Mask hadn't jumped in with all the unpredictability of a storm.

"You should have seen the way he yelled at us!" He wheezes. "I've never seen Impa or Artemis make faces like that before. He got his wish, though, and he was put in the main lines."

Malon giggles. "My, he seems like quite the spirited young man." Her eyes shine with mirth as Time's shoulders hike up in embarrassment.

"And very protective of the people around him," he nods. "For as much trouble as he caused, as much as he yelled and terrorized everyone, he loved the people around him."

Sky coos at the story. "He was probably so sweet in private."

Wars laughs. "Hardly! You just had to learn how he showed affection."

Hyrule winces. "Oh gosh, how bad?"

"So a lot of the soldiers didn't like we let a kid in the field right," he says, "so they started acting up. They'd question orders, disregard plans, speak I'll of her Majesty. Mask would absolutely terrorize the poor souls. I'd almost feel bad if they didn't deserve it."

"Wait, so how did Mask Duty start?" Wind asks.

"Mostly from that. Soldiers who questioned Artemis about Mask's presence ended up with the kid in their squads. That eventually evolved to a punishment for any serious offenses."

Wind cackles, surely remembering the fearful whispers of Mask Duty among the troops.

"Surely he wasn't a menace the whole time?" Sky winces.

"Well yeah, he was still a kid," Wars shrugs. "Show him something cool and he'll play with it for days. And he loved slight of hand tricks! He'd even pull on my scarf to get my attention. I'm not paying attention to him, he'll yank until I do. I'm spending too much time trying the perfect a strategy, and he'll yank on my scarf until I stop. I skip a meal, and he yanks until I get something to eat. He has a nightmare and instead of just waking me up, he drops all his weight on to my stomach."

He's completely lost in thought by this point. At the time, Mask had seemed to be constantly harassing him, but the years have given him perspective. Mask was just making sure they didn't crumble under the weight of responsibility.

"There was one particular battle that went horribly. Our forces were decimated. We barely escaped with our lives. Zelda completely closed herself off from everyone," he says quietly. "Not even Impa could get to her. Those were some dark days... But then one day laughter breaks through the silence. Mask had gotten Zelda to leave her tent. She was pale and her eyes red from crying, but she was playing in the mud with him."

He chuckles feeling the sudden tightness in his throat. "I think we'd all forgotten what joy was at that point. For as much trouble as he caused, Mask reminded us all there was still hope."

There's a tug on his scarf and Wars automatically looks down before remembering he has to look up now. Time's face is concerned as he looks him over. "You okay?"

Wars smiles. He pushes back the memories and ruffles Time's hair. "I'm fine, Sprite. Don't worry about it."

The table explodes into a mess of shouts and questions. Wars startles so bad he bangs his knee on the underside of the table.

"You bit me!" Wind accuses.

Time sputters, face pink with embarrassment. He looks to Wars for help.

Wars shrugs. "I told you you'd face the consequences of your actions one day." Time looks so panicked at the prospect that Wars caves immediately.

He helps Time field as many questions and accusations as he can. Eventually the others calm down. Though they spend the rest of the evening muttering amongst themselves and taking turns looking at Wind's bite mark.

Wars shakes his head as Twilight looks at the mark for the third time. "I can believe you bit him."

Time crosses his arms defensively. "He tried to take my Keaton mask."

"That's not an excuse to bite someone!"

Time looks away with a huff.

Wars laughs. He throws an arm around Time's neck and drags the man down at an uncomfortable angle. "Spirits, you've chilled out, but you're still the same little shit I knew," he says fondly. "I can't believe it took me so long to recognize you."

Time growls and yanks on his scarf in annoyance. Wars smirks at the feeling. It's the same way he used try to choke Wars when he was younger.

With practiced ease, and no longer having to hold back against a little kid, Wars wrestles Time to the floor. He grins triumphantly from where he sits on Time's back. "You're gonna have to try harder than that, Sprite," he teases. "Maybe I can give you some pointers."

Time deflates, seemingly accepting his fate.

"I can't believe he's a younger brother," Legend mutters with a frown.

Twilight stands next to him with a truly horrified expression.

Wind nods, seemingly unbothered by Twilight's unresponsiveness. "It almost makes too much sense."

"You're a terrible person," Time mutters.

Wars pats him on the head. "I know."

#linked universe #linked universe fanfic #linked universe fic #lu warriors #lu time #Again. Looking back at this there's a lot of details I would change #Not entirely happy w/ Mask's portrayal but it's not as egregious as it could've been lol #You can tell I wrote this before I unlocked Young Link in Hyrule Warriors. Kid is so damn happy and smiley in the game lolll

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beescomet · 3 months

Text

V E L O C I T Y || PART 1

A/N: WOOP WOOP, finally part 1 is DONE, I've been writing it for so long now lmao. Anyway, I, once again, ask everyone to go and thank @crackedpumpkin for giving me the courage to write this (and also go read their fics, it's literally a masterpiece like 💖). There might be errors as I haven't proof read this yet, so if you find anything lmk please !! Enjoy!! (Also it's 2 am here, and I got a lecture in the morning, so I'm genuinely warning yall, there might be some odd mistakes)

TAGLIST: N/A

The smoke hangs thick in the air, twisting and billowing like ghostly tendrils as it mingles with the sharp tang of burnt rubber and the pungent scent of gasoline. From the haze, You watch as the familiar wave of energy flows all around you and the people present. Gray mist, speckled with red, similar to the mist after a night of rain in your street, the red from the lights illuminating the road. You feel a smile threatening to form as you absorb this energy.

You nearly jump in surprise when a familiar voice speaks through the earpiece you're wearing—a reminder of why I'm here in the first place. "These damn kids and their cars," the voice says, frustration evident. "Can't tell a damn difference between a wrench and a screwdriver even if it slapped them on the face", You let out a breath of amusement from your nose at the complaints . You slowly turn the steering wheel, guiding the car to it's dedicated position for the race. "Behave now D, that's not why we're here. You got eyes on me?"

The atmosphere is electric, charged with anticipation and excitement, sending a shiver down your spine as you drive into the dimly lit space. Around you, the cavernous expanse is alive with activity. Sleek, customized vehicles gleam under the low lighting, their polished surfaces catching the colorful splashes of graffiti art that adorn the walls.

"You know I do, I even got the cameras set up on the track and possible escape routes."

The crowd buzzes with energy, a lively mix of spectators and racers moving in a chaotic dance. Mechanics hustle around, their tools clinking and clanking as they tinker with engines, striving for that perfect performance. Drivers, their faces set in determined expressions, huddle in small groups, discussing tactics and strategies in hushed tones. Onlookers lean against the walls, their eyes wide with anticipation, eagerly awaiting the start of the races.

You watch them all from the safety of your car, the music and shouts muffled by the glass. You recognise a few of the people around, your nerves now on edge. You start to speak, your voice lowered to a whisper, following the group with careful eyes. "They're here"

A crash sounds from the earpiece, followed by a string of curse words. "Wait really? Fuck, you really hit the nail on the head with that one. How many can you see? Ah wait never mind, I got eyes on 'em. Damn that's a lot of screens to look at-"

You tune him out, deciding to focus on the group ahead instead, counting the members. 1, 2, 3. An annoyed sigh escapes past your lip as you rest your head on the steering wheel, muttering a curse. "Three, I was counting on at least four to get enough cash.."

The sound of laughter grabs your attention, slowly lifting your head as your eyes narrow at the sound. "Well about that, you don't need to have more than one person against you in that race.."

You immediately grab your phone, looking at your bank account and checking the balance. You choke on air once you see the number, sitting up straight and nearly hitting your head on the car roof. "Daisuke what the hell did you do! This better not be Amelie's college funds or I swear-"

Another laugh, interrupts your rant, this one louder than the last, your eyes going to glare right at one of the camera's set in the location. "Relax, this isn't my kid's college fund.. it's some of my retirement money my wife and I saved up back when she was alive. It's no use to me right now, so I thought it would help."

You could feel your heart drop, the anger in your eyes quickly replaced by one of guilt. "Daisuke I ca-" You start, closing your mouth as he interrupts you once more. "Don't even try to send it back Y/N, you went through hell for Amelie and I, this is just how I'm saying thank you. Now focus, you need to kick ass and bring the winning money back home!"

A pained laugh leaves you because of his words, bringing your hand up to rub your nose as you sniff. You could feel the tears threatening to fall, but you gather yourself together before you start breaking down.

You step out of the car, reaching for the duffle bag next to you before you do, and start heading to the middle of the room.

Every sound, every sight, adds to the cacophony of excitement that fills the air, creating a palpable tension that crackles like electricity. It's a world unto itself, this underground car meet, where the rules are few and the stakes are high. You get caught up in the whirlwind of activity, feeling the pulse of adrenaline coursing through my veins. You can feel it, all of it —the energy, the anticipation—it's all here, waiting to be unleashed. Your eyes flicker to the metal bracelet on your wrist that had started beeping, a number flashing on it.

17%

A confident smile now on your face, the night is only just beginning. Oh how fun this is going to be.

⋆｡ﾟ ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆

The duffle bag hits the table with a loud thud, silencing the group of people in the area as their attention shifts to you. But you keep your eyes on one man, the gray mist around him thicker than the others around him.

Kaji.

He tilts his head to the side, his smile growing once he sets his eyes on you as he adjusts his stance, leaning on the hood of his car. His grey eyes holds your E/C ones. He tilts his head back for a moment, chuckling. "Well then, look who we have here, the Red Devil has finally graced us with her presence. Come to race against me then?"

An annoyed huff leaves you, crossing your arms over your chest as you glare at the man, raising one brow. He stares back, grinning, a golden tooth glistening under the neon lights. You couldn't help but smile at the sight of the tooth, how can you not? You were the reason he had to get it done in the first place.

"I was planning to, unless you give me the money that I'm going to win anyway, would make this whole ordeal go so much faster" You state, shrugging your shoulders as you hear some people laugh. Kaji growls, standing up and going to the table standing between you two, opening the duffle bag and peering inside. He looks back at you, the scowl quickly replaced by his infamous grin. "That's a lot of money, are you confident you'll win?"

"That damn bastad, why I outta-"

You ignore Daisuke's words, keeping your attention on Kaji as he waves two fingers to the other two goons with him, they bring in three duffle bags, placing them next to the one placed earlier. You glance at them, unfolding your arms from over your chest and reaching to the duffle bags. You open the first and quickly check the cash placed inside to make sure none were fake, repeating the same process with the other bag.

You nod, stepping back as you watch someone (who you assumed would be this race's starter) shove the duffle bags into a locked box, placing the key on a chain around their neck. You turn around and begin heading back to your car, raising both hands as you yell over the crowd who began to gather around the both of you.

"Be at the track in 10, I got more important places to be at later, and I'd hate to be late because of you"

The bracelet beeps once more. Your focus shifts to it.

32%

⋆｡ﾟ ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆

"You sure you want to do this Y/N?"

You snap out of your thoughts once you hear Daisuke's voice from your earpiece, nodding your head for a moment and letting out an affirmative hum. You could hear the sigh from the ear piece, and you can just imagine him in your head shaking his head and rubbing his temple.

"Just stay safe out there would ya? God knows none of us needs anymore loss"

A grin forms on your face, a soft laugh as you nod once more. "You got it captain" You look ahead as the cars pull up next to yours, people starting to gather around the track and the screens mounted on the wal starts to broadcast the race.

Your heart hammers against your chest, causing your breath to come out staggering. This was it, the moment you and Daisuke have been planning for the past year. You close your eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath before opening them again, your hands on the driving wheel as you stare right ahead.

You have to win.

Losing was not an option.

A quick glance to the metal bracelet on your wrist, checking the number.

45%

"Ready!"

The starter started counting down, the sound of engines rumbling, adding onto the excitement that filled the air. You could see the red specks in the mist growing, showing that what happens after would be utter and pure chaos. That was exactly what you needed.

"Set!"

Beside you, Kaji, revved his engine, glaring at you from his car. You roll your eyes, any other time you'd have given him the middle finger, but right now you needed to focus.

"Go!"

Kaji shot forward like a bullet, his car a sleek silhouette cutting through the darkness. The gleam of determination in his eyes was unmistakable, a silent promise of fierce competition to come. You weren't far behind, both your engines growling with power as you both jostled for the first position in the opening moments of the race.

Behind you, two other competitors fought tooth and nail for their place in the pack, their cars weaving and swerving in a frantic dance of speed and skill. The air crackled with tension as the four of you raced, Kaji at the lead, you second, and the kther twi battling it out for third.

You let out a curse, glancing at the rearview mirror as you watch the others separate from behind you. You look at the side-view mirrors, seeing them going to either side of you.

"Watch out, 3 o'clock. He's speeding up, seems like he's gonna try and crash into you."

"Gotcha"

You look to your right, and sure enough, hes speeding your way, eyes on your vehicle as he tries to have you crash into the other one on your left. His eyes meet yours, and you couldnt help the smile on your face as you move your hand, raising the middle finger to him. You see the anger in his eyes as he swerves to your direction, and you quickly hit the brakes, your car slowing down and creating space between you and him faster than he could react. You watch as he barely misses your car, a fleeting moment of eye contact before he crashes into the other car.

A laugh escapes your lips as your foot quickly went back to the gas pedal, your car revving back up to life and going to catch up with Kaji.

Two down, one to go.

"Holy FUCK-! Y/N are you okay?"

"Just perfect! Cant say the same for the other two though" You snicker, glancing at your rear-view mirror to look at the crash site, the two guys getting out of their busted cars and telling at each other. "What's the power at??" You ask, turning your attention back to the road ahead, taking a sharp right and finally Kaji's car is back into your line of sight.

"75% and counting, did you purposely make them crash to suck the energy?”

You didn't answer, so he took your silence as confirmation.

As you hurtled down the straightaway, the neon lights of the underground tunnel flashed by in a blur of color, casting strange shadows upon the sleek surfaces of the racing machines. The pounding of your heart echoed in your ears, a steady rhythm that drove you forward, pushing you to new heights of speed.

"Two laps left"

A curse leaves your lips, your eyes glancing at your bracelet as you watched the number slowly increases. The space between you and Kaji was so small, yet to you it was almost oceans apart. Your teeth grits together as you think, shaking your head after a moment.

"D, What's the nearest shortcut to the front?"

The man at the other end sighs, you can hear him move around from his desk and the sound of him pressing buttons on his keyboard. "Take a left in a minute, you'll be in the market area, after 5 minutes with the speed you're at take a right, you should be ahead of Kaji by then."

You nod, quickly turning the steering wheel as the sound of the tires skidding reaches your ears, you can imagine the confusion on Kaji's face as he watches you disappear from behind him, the thought making you laugh a bit as you continue to drive.

Daisuke was right, you found yourself driving near the marketplace, swerving left and right through trucks and wagons filled with food. You glance at the clock, 2 minutes before the turn.

⋆｡ﾟ ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆

Kaji looks at the rear-view mirror slowing down as he sees you disappear. He looks around him, trying to find any signs you were going to appear but...nothing. He started laughing, pressing harder on the gas pedal, he could feel it, the sweet taste of victory, his victory against the infamous Red Devil.

The finish line was close, it was right there. He couldn't believe it, not only did he just guarantee a win, but he had won thousands from this race alone. He started cheering, hitting the car horn as people started to circle around the finish line.

But just then, he could see something coming out of an alleyway from the corner of his eyes, causing him to swerve as he saw the familiar grey car appear from the shadows. "What the fuck! Where did she come from!?"

You grin at him, giving him a quick salute as you turn the car, you had just stolen first place from him! You laugh, your head thrown back. Kaji never thought he could despise you more than he already did, but clearly he was wrong.

You glance at your bracelet, seeing the familiar number beeping, 100%. "Let's fucking go"

You look at your hands, watching as the energy mist you had been absorbing starts to leave you, your veins glowing gray and some sparks of red. The energy transfers from your arms to your car, you close your eyes, the familiar feeling of your element around you. Pure chaos.

You open your eyes, glancing at your reflection in the mirror, and sure enough, the familiar waves of energy come out of you like waves of an ocean during a storm, feeding more power to your car as it increases in speed.

This was one of the very few perks of being able to control the element of chaos. And arguably, your only favorite.

Cracks had started to form on the ground beneath the car, but it didnt matter, the finish line was right there. And with one final burst of power from you, your car reaches almost unnatural speed, finishing the final lap in a matter of seconds.

You drift your car, shutting your eyes tight as you press on the brakes to get it to stop before hitting the forming crowd, the sound of your wheels screeching against the road before it halts. There was a moment of silence, the only thing you can hear was your heartbeat. Then loud cheers erupt from around you, people running up to your car and shouting your title.

"Holy fucking shit we actually did it. WE WON! Y/N YOURE GETTING OUT OF HERE-"

You flinch at the screaming in your ear, your hand reaching up and muting the earpiece as your eyes looks for the man holding your prize money. You step out of the car, taking deep breaths as you try to ignore the hundreds of eyes on you.

You feel a hand on your shoulder and you jump in surprise, quickly turning and seeing who it was. You visibly relax, seeing the man carrying the three duffle bags and handing it to you.

"Good race there Red, I have to ask though, why did you take that shortcut? It could have cost you the race" He asks, watching you as you throw the duffle bags into the backseat. You shrug, glancing at him from the corner of your eyes.

"I got lucky... Now, if you'll excuse me, i need to be somewhere"

You get back into your car, the crowd parting as you quickly make your way out from the underground parking. You sit in your car in silence as you make your way back to Daisuke's location, every nerve in your body on edge. This was it. You were finally going to leave.

The mechanic shop wasn't that far, so you managed to get there in time. Quickly getting your car into the garage, Daisuke runs up and closes the garage entrance after you. "Holy fuck, we did it, for a second there I thought that was it!" Daisuke yells, running up to you and opening your car door. You step out, handing him your car keys then you grab the duffle bag, setting it on the nearest workbench.

"It's not over yet, I still need to sneak past Kaji's people and reach the city." You remind him, opening the bags as you started to count the money to be able to split them. "Did you get the other car ready? I can't leave with mine. It'll stand out" You ask, glancing at him for a moment before pausing and seeing a familiar set of keys in your face. Your eyes wide and you grin, quickly snatching the keys.

"Daisuke you did not-" The words leave your mouth faster than you can think things through, looking at the otherside of the garage and seeing the car you were meant to take. "You said it would take you months to fix it up!!"

You look at the car, a 1957 Cadillac series 62 painted navy blue. You walk around it, your fingers running over the smooth surface of the car. If it was possible to marry a car, you would have done so already. You pause, realising that he was actually giving you the cat, you look back at Daisuke and you see him smile at you. You move your hand, trying to hand back the keys. "I can't accept this, the money, the car-"

He raises his hand, and you close your mouth, your brows furrowed together in annoyance. He takes a few steps towards you and places his hand on your shoulder, giving you a small smile. "Y/N, you listen to what I say and listen well.."

"I want to give these to you. You've done so much for me and my daughter already, and you still continue to do so when you didn't have to in the first place.” You turn your face away from his gaze, biting the inside of your cheek as you fight away the tears threatening to spill. “Hey, hey look at me-" He gently grabs your chin, turning your face back to him, similar to what he would do with his daughter when he has something important to tell her.

"I'm so grateful for you, Amelie as well. You've come a long way to get to where you are now. Your father would have been proud of the person you became" He states carefully, pulling you into a tight embrace. You wrap your arms around him, burying your face into his shirt as you hold him tight.

"I'll come back for you, all of you, I promise"

He laughs, wrapping his arms around you and patting your hair in a calming manner. "I know you will kid, you're too kind for your own good" he muttered, his voice wavering. You both pull away from each other, looking at each other before you give him a sad smile.

"I'm serious, I'll come back and help you leave, then we'll open up a car repairs shop together and restore beauties like this one" You push, pointing at the cadillac nearby.

Daisuke laughs dryly, shaking his head for a moment before crossing his arms. "Alright alright, I trust you, now you better get going, you need to be out of this goddamn hell hole before sunrise, chop chop!" He urges you back to your new car, opening the door for you and you get in. "I already put your bags in the trunk, Amelie left you some snacks in a lunchbox, but i'm pretty sure it's some form of clay" You laugh at the comment, shaking your head as you think of the little brown haired girl you had grown to love.

"Thank you.. for everything" You state softly, looking at him with a soft smile. Daisuke smiles back, giving you a curt nod as he steps back, opening the garage door once more.

"Don't mention it kid, now go, I'll hide the other car later tonight" You nod, backing out of the garage and into the night, the Cadillac perfectly blending into the darkness of the town.

⋆｡ﾟ ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆

A figure watches from afar, his hand going up to run over his beard. Wu watches as the young girl drives away, a heavy sigh leaving him as he turns to leave. He reaches up and runs his hands over his dragon, carefully mounting it as it soars up into the sky.

"She gets stronger everyday, I fear we may not have enough time to prepare”

#cole brookstone x reader #ninjago x reader #cole x reader #lego ninjago #ninjago #x reader #lego ninjago cole #lego ninjago x reader #cole brookstone #cole ninjago

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subwaytostardew · 3 months

Text

youtube

▽ Subway to Stardew - Emmet 8-Heart Event ▽

This plays after getting at least 8 hearts with Emmet and entering the Railroad between 9AM - 4PM on a Thursday after viewing his 7 heart event.

You recieve this letter when you reach 8 hearts with Emmet!

Commentary and progress under the readmore.

▷ Station Steward Thylak

I DID NOT REALIZE THAT THIS EVENT WOULD BE THAT LONG... I could have sworn it was around 14 minutes max! I was worried that the battle stuff went by too quickly! It's almost 30 minutes long! And that's with me clicking away faster! Emmet really meant it when he said he wanted to spend all the livelong day together...

I thought it was going to be roughly 18 minutes. NOPE. WOOPS. This what happens when you write possibly too much.

We are bad at making short events. Vanilla events are around 1-3 minutes long. A day in Stardew lasts 14 minutes and 10 seconds. I would not recommend trying to play this mod spoiler free on multiplayer because time does not freeze and you will die if you don't skip the events. I wouldn't want to shorten the events either... Cutting down their infodumps would just be wrong.

We had a few requests to have a battle event which made me 😅 because I personally couldn't imagine that going well (truth over ideals...). This event was partially made to shut that idea down. The whole tunnel scene is mostly me trying to write an in-story reason as to why there won't be a battle with the farmer against Ingo... Emmet is competitive! This is not just limited to battles but extends to being your best friend! Behind the scenes... I'm just too tired to write out more battles. I actually really dislike single battle format. I'm not making an Ingo battle event. You already have three games to battle him in. I refuse to make more battle events for the time being.

I say that but there's another half-finished double battle event between submas that I switched tracks from to work on Emmet's 8 heart event... I'll finish that eventually.

Anyways... the creation process did not go by quickly at all either. I sure do have a lot to say on that matter. I do all my coding in google docs (terrible, I know) and so far we have had to make 3 seperate documents becuase things start to break at around 40 pages. The document before Emmet's 8 heart event made it to 64 pages before I abandoned it for a new document.

The longest document we have is around 80 pages along. Which usually contain the draft scripts of multiple events. code documents however take up a lot more since it's basically a giant wall of text. So when Emmet's 8 heart event started to slow down the current code document (the third iteration). We had to give the event its own space.

Emmet's 8 heart event ended up being 36 pages long alone! Also if you didn't know, Stardew's event format doesn't allow for line breaks so I have been staring at a 36 page wall of text for weeks. I plan to upload a video compiling all the different options later because I feel like all of the "good" options for battle... don't quite make sense in the context of the rest of the story. The farmer is supposed to not be good at battle and lose because they got overwhelmed with information. As the one writing out all the battle options though, I can't bring myself to act like I'm bad at battling. The winning options are extra silly just to justify a loss and because I couldn't bring myself to lie about Wild Charge not being a guaranteed OHKO on Archeops either. Especially since Emmet brings out damage calculations in a few of the options.

On that topic, all of the battle options play out accurately in a real double battle! I tested. Every. Single. Path. In Pokemon Showdown between the halves of Emmet's team.

I had nightmares of reliving this same battle over and over because that's all I did when I was awake. Make it stopppppp 😭

The lines about them practicing were references to me actually simulating everything in Showdown! Emmet's frustration is also based on how making this event took over my brain so now I struggle to comprehend how someone who doesn't know what to do in this battle would feel... Thank you Kade for helping me with that part ^^;;;

Your welcome =3

I actually enjoyed the Pokémon Showdown part - when it comes to Pokémon Battles, I have dabbled a little bit into the competitive side of things. Or at least the massive game of 4D Chess... trying to predict your opponent etc. Bait them into making a mistake, etc. There was a good time where we did nothing but Pokémon Battles for a night. And it was fun.

I am in no way good at competitive side of things - (I lose lot but that's okay.) especially in the double battle format. Single Battles I could do. (Though once again, I'm average at best) However I think the most memorable battle I ever had was back in Pokémon X and Y, where I managed to chip away and stall a Mega Aggron with a Umbreon.. And I think Umbreon was my last Pokémon but I kept using Moonlight to keep my health up. My kid self was super surprised and ecstatic that I beaten the odds... but whenever I do Pokémon Showdown I'm either testing battle stuff or making teams. I'm addicted to team compositions and doing a combination of different Pokémon even if it's not the competitive Meta....

I have the choices sorted into good/bad routes in my mind so in most of the routes, Emmet criticizes the player's decisions based on type advantage, STAB, and target. I was torn between the best and worst options for this recording but thanks to Kade's input, you get to see Durant ramming into Emmet instead of him getting mad at you for conducting Shadow Claw on Galvantula.

Battling Emmet as a first time trainer is not going to go well! Not only is he too competitive and he refuses to let you win (unlike Ingo), he pretty much sets you up for failiure. I'm sorry Emmet but Galvantula's stats are not intended for making her a physical attacker (emphasis on the Egg Move at what cost...).

Not to mention... Emmet is a Battle Facility Head. And you don't get to battle the Subway Bosses in the mainline games unless you have a somewhat decent team halfway through the game. Even still! They can both wipe the floor with you if you're not aware that they are using battle items...

Though I interpret Emmet not going easy on someone as him challenging them to push themselves and exceed expectations. Both Ingo and Emmet as characters encourage others in their own way, Ingo through words and Emmet I believe through his actions. Though he also can say some encouraging things.

Not the most encouraging if you compare their quotes pages... Customer service and communication isn't exactly his forte... But Emmet wants you to do your best and win against him! He likes seeing serious battlers like him! He just won't let you win unless if you push yourself to do your best. You'll have to. He doesn't really have the most beginner-friendly approach...

Considering you the Farmer, have no idea what a Pokémon even is. (You're practically learning everything from Ingo, Emmet, Elesa etc.) The fact you get challenged to a Battle because Emmet wants to share his interests with you - to have you better understand Pokémon.

He just struggles with the fact that, he is essentially challenging someone with no real battle experience and it's a Double Battle at that. Controlling two Pokémon at once?! Think about the effort it takes to command one Pokémon. We all seen the Anime and how trainers struggle to connect with their partners because they're new. They're just starting. They aren't going to be Battle Facility levels of skill.

Not to mention that Emmet is a little deprived in the valley and hasn't really battled any other new passengers in quite some time. At most, he battled Iris once when she came to visit, Ingo (who's Pokemon are optimized for countering/pissing him off), and himself (I had the mental image of him sitting in the field practicing for this event like an old man playing chess against himself in a park). He's a little too far gone to fully understand what a beginner would think in this situation other than mayyyybe it would take a moment to catch them up to speed. (I would know... I swear those option paths rewired my brain...)

After inputting all of their data into Showdown, I had actually forgotten that Galvantula and Durant are Emmet's Doubles Line team while Eelektross and Archeops are the Super Doubles Line team when deciding the matchups. (Been a while since they were in the Battle Subway huh...) Story-wise, I was thinking that Emmet should be with his ace and that he wouldn't really trust anyone else with Archeops since... he has higher support needs (depression bird 💔). Eelektross and Archeops are paired up because of Gastro Acid and Defeatist. I was thinking that Galvantula and Durant are a bit more beginner-friendly; they can take a loss a bit more easilly (a little less so in Galvantula's case... she's a hater). The farmer had already met Durant earlier in the 4-heart event so he'd volunteer to return the favor of fighting for you. Once you win his trust, he's more than happy to help. As for Galvantula... She's testing to see if she can trust her clingy child with you.

I'm excited to dive into the Pokémon NPC stories... Durant and Excadrill especially.

Durant was originally going to have Choice Scarf instead of Quick Claw to help narrow down the options. It was a pain reorganizing my notes and options all over again to lump not only move choices but turn order in mind. My notes were a mess.

Durant and Galvantula are a very luck-based combination so it was ultimately easier to write the different option paths with that in mind since Stardew's event format is verrrrrrrrrrrry linear. All of the options need to merge back into the same event (well... besides the option to refuse his friendship/battle which ends the event in the tunnel). Durant has lowered accuracy while Galvantula has higher critical hit ratios, I could write the battles based on their luck which is great because I wanted to force a loss.

I thought it would be a little too... reductive (it sure would reduce the amount of content >.>) and unrealistic for the player to impress Emmet with a victory on their first battle. Emmet sees this battle as a test on if you can follow his train of thought and be a good match for him because he's a little bit dependent on you for emotional regulation. He kind of expects you as his favorite passenger to have twin telepathy like Ingo since that's his standard operating procedure. You won't. Because you're not Ingo. You're just some weird farmer he got attached to. With the setup of a battle, I wanted this event to develop the farmer and Emmet's relationship to show that they aren't exactly perfect for each other (and Will say things that can be wrongly misinterpreted) but ultimately they will put in the effort to communicate and make things work. They won't have the best communication! But it's there.

While Ingo has a proper library confession, this event doubles as Emmet's "confession" of sorts. Emmet is already pretty openly affectionate by this point and I wanted to make it somewhat ambiguous as to whether or not his attachment to you is romantic or strictly platonic. To him, it doesn't really matter, but he does want you all to himself. He's not fond of sharing!

But... While Emmet's event may be more platonic in intent, you can still reject him. It's a lot harsher than Ingo's because refusing to even let him try to be a better friend for you is pretty harsh in itself. Ingo's is mostly the choice of whether or not you want to send him back to 6 hearts for more dialogue variety (it's really easy to miss dialogue when you try to max out their hearts as soon as possible! We're making lines for every day, season, and heart level.) Rejecting Emmet sends you back to 2 hearts and overrides his daily dialogue for the day with him asking if you're still friends, apologizing, and then getting too upset to say anything more.

Anyways!

From the start, I wanted Emmet to be like Nemona; awkward in their attachment, somewhat intimidating in their obsession/competitiveness, and thinks of the player as their savior from loneliness. He wants to be the best friend you have because you're the best friend he has. It's only fair. Best rival for life, favorite passenger, same thing.

The mountain pass events were actually made because Emmet's original schedule included him waiting around near the bushes there like Nemona stalking the player on their gym journey. NPCs actually can't path there so when he did, he was just deleted from the save!

I also stumbled across a bug back when I made the very first introduction event where a question loops unless if you pick a certain option. I kept that with Emmet forcing you to keep battling with him in mind as a slight reference to how Nemona doesn't let you say no to being her "best rival for life". This question also makes SMAPI hate you!

Gotta love Pokémon's false sense of 'Sure you have a choice. Your choice is always YES.'

There's probably a more fitting flower for Emmet outside of poppies. I just looked up every flower in Stardew (some of them aren't real...) and their meanings in flower language to come to the conclusion of poppies. The meanings in Emmet's event refer to the white poppy in particular. White. Rest. Oblivion. It fits. Good enough. It was a bit difficult to find more on the flower language of poppies in English (particularly the "Oblivion" part) so I resorted to Japanese sites for more information.

In English, the meaning of "Rest" seems to precede every other meaning. Poppies are used in death memorials. Emmet and the farmer did accidentally develop a shared theme of dying (overwork exhaustion, slimes, the mines, etc... Emmet can't get a break. I'm sorry.) but I wasn't sure if Kade was okay with the theme of death being emphasized. With that in mind, I was stunned when I that saw that her first battle map draft included a graveyard. The implication that Emmet picked flowers from a memorial site...

In my mind - the area is an old train stop in between the desert area and the forest/mountains that lead into Pelican Town. Also figured there would be an abandon farm - considering how Pelican Town is struggling it makes sense that potentially other places are not in best of shape either.

The graveyard is possibly dead relatives of whatever family or farmer made their life near the rails. Of course a lot of time has passed... So much so that nature has taken back what was theirs in the first place.

I always make up stories when having a location in mind and this area parallels with the tunnel Ingo takes you through to stargaze around 10 hearts. That area being an abandon coal mining operation.... Coal, Wood, etc. was used to powered steam trains so makes sense for there to be a source for it. I'm not the best when it comes to filling up Tiled Maps with decor - but I at least put down enough for Thylak to come in and make it more fitting for Stardew

The battlefield underwent quite a few revisions, one was having the battle area be more centered, and changing the old warehouse/worker area to be more like a train repair station with a water stop. I wanted it to feel like a place where Emmet goes to keep himself busy when he's told to take a break from working on the station.

Here's the final map! The battle area had to be shrunken down to fit in an event. More grass was added because I kept losing track of Joltik in the dirt. There's more flowers for Emmet to observe the quality of and pick tge best ones as gifts that he's too nervous to give the farmer until they wilt and dry. Poppies by the gravestones, of course!

I also did attempt to make a proper scrapbook sprite for when I eventually have Emmet give you his gift, but I never got around to implementing it properly since... I'm not familliar with adding custom items and its implementation changes in the 1.6 update.

Despite having access to the modding alpha, I've been procrastinating on migrating to 1.6 since HD Portraits isn't supported yet (I know... 1.6 releases in 3 weeks...).

WOO 1.6 WE ARE NO WHERE NEAR READY FOR ALL THE STUFF THAT POSSIBLY GOING TO BREAK. LOL.

Until next time! Thank you for reading!

#subway to stardew #submas #pokemon #stardew valley #sdv mods #Emmet #Kudari #subway to stardew terminal station #events

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oh-surprise-its-me · 10 months

Note

Roy/Jamie prompt: Roy has to fly out somewhere for a recruitment event. When Jamie takes him to the airport they say goodbye, both of them holding back tears. They are absolutely miserable without each other, especially when something happens that delays the event so Roy has to stay for a bit longer. Roy is an even more glowering and grouchy version of himself and even though he secures several new prospects for Richmond, he just can't bring himself to celebrate. He goes to his hotel room just wanting to call Jamie and go to bed, so imagine his surprise when he opens the door to find Jamie Tartt waiting for him wearing nothing but a pleased little smirk and love shining in his eyes?

🚨WOOP WHOOP THATS THE SOUND OF THE HORNY POLICE 🚨

(It’s okay anon we can be bunk mates in jail)

Roy fucking loved zoom calls. He could mute people, he could not talk, he could have Jamie in the room and no one would know.

Fucking in person recruiting. Fucking Josh who got the date wrong so he’s flying in tomorrow. What kind of name is Josh anyway.

He knows he was more of a grouch then usual, but in his defense he had to cancel his 9am flight back to Jamie.

London.

Home.

Jamie.

Whatever the fuck. It doesn’t matter now because Josh made him stick around for another three days.

Josh had better have a foot touched by god and all the fucking wisemen.

Roy slams his room key into the sensor. It blinks red.

Fucking seriously. He slams his way back into the elevator, fuck it might as well call Jamie.

It rings for a good few seconds before he picks up.

“Roy! How’d the extra first day go?”

Roy leans against the wall watching the number tick down. “Hell. I want to strangle Josh but I can’t because he won’t even be here until tomorrow.”

Roy hears their bed squeak, Jamie rolling around. “That fuckin sucks. I miss you.”

There’s a hint of something in Jamie’s voice. He can’t quite tell what. “Did you at least do anything fun today baby?”

Jamie laughs, Roy can picture him perfectly in their bed sheets tossed around, bare skin for miles. He wishes he wasn’t standing in the lobby of a hotel getting a new key.

“Nothing crazy. Bought some new sweats. Planned out a hike to take Phoebe on.”

“I love you.”

He hears Jamie sigh, “I love you too, miss you like crazy. I hate to cut this short but I think Marigold is caught on something I’ve gotta go love you!”

Roy opens his mouth return the sentiment but just hears the beep of the tone.

Christ this key better work.

He slams it into place again, green.

He opens the door and sets the bag down, weird he doesn’t remember leaving a lamp on. Probably house keeping.

He walks into the room.

Jamie.

Holy shit Jamie.

Jamie laughs, Roy must’ve said that last part out loud.

“Baby why are you here??”

Jamie gets up off the bed, Roy now notices Jamie is in fact not wearing any clothing. “Thought I’d surprise you, had Beard deactivate your room key so I’d have a bit of warning.”

“You little prick. How.

“Movie magic baby. But really I’ve got a lot of unused miles and couldn’t take another three days.”Jamie runs a hand across and down Roy’s chest, lightly toying with the waistline of the jeans.

Roy lunges forward, he shoves Jamie back onto the bed, flips him over.

“You aren’t leaving this bed tonight, or in the morning. You are going to fucking limp and look like you belong to me by the end.

Jamie let’s out a moan, “please god Roy touch me.” He reaches back and grabs a handful of hair lightly pulling to try and make Roy go faster.

Roy starts biting his was from neck to ass, he’s not going to miss a spot, they’ve got time.

—

“Roy I can’t fucking stand is this how are we supposed to go sight seeing.”

“Baby you are the sights, keep complaining and I’ll spank you.”

“Ooh honey don’t threaten me with that.”

*the smack heard round the world*

#ted lasso #jamie tartt #roy kent #jamie x roy #fluff #royjamie #thanks for the ask !!#again I bitched out and didn’t write it #but someone else totally could *wink wink*

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oreharuuu · 1 year

Text

To be One (3)

Summary: Avoiding the game went well for you for a few days. But a talk with a friend might change that decision for the better or worst

Warnings: none

A/N: woop woop! Part 3 y'all, hope you like it! I had fun writing this chapter so it's longer than usual. A few of the accounts i can't tag for some reason so im really sorry T-T

Tag list:

@atinytinaa @hoeranghae1117 @yoongiigolden @canadagoose-monbebe @hwal0v3r @kirooz @dream-in-progress @cara-18 @tr3asureyou @babygurl-hoshi @svn-ways2hvn @kpoplover17 @drunk-on-hwa @stopeatread @starillusion13 @honeyymon @potatoe-life @callmesoltera @kuleo26 @lino-se @darkfairy102190 @seongwin

For the past few days, you're trying your best on ignoring the game with work and socializing. Sure you may not be the most social person ever, but you do have friends.

At the end of the week, Irene and Seulgi invited you to brunch near their workplace. Wendy and Joy were too busy so it's only you three.

The anomaly however was Yeri didn't show up.

Hell she didn't even reply to your message when the incident with Hwayoung happened.

You debated whether or not to ask Irene or Seulgi, but your curiosity won over as you cleared your throat before looking at the two.

"So," You started. "Have you guys seen Yeri? Or... talked with her?"

Irene chewed on her croissant as she shook her head, while Seulgi frowned. "Yeri? No updates on her, but Wendy did say that she's busy with work right now so it's probably why she hasn't been active on social media."

"Or replying to your texts," Irene continued. "I invited her to join me for dinner a few days ago but no answer. So she must be really busy."

"Yeah. Probably because of the new game her company's about to launch."

"Give her some space," Seulgi shrugged. "She's always like this when she's in the zone. Remember last time when she blew up on Joy when she spammed her during a meeting."

You grimaced at the memory, remembering how big the fight was that it made Joy and Yeri didn't talk for a month.

"Believe me, I do not want to relieve that experience," Irene sighed.

Soon the conversation shifted from Yeri, from work to relationship problems; you're glad it's taking your mind off the game and Yeri for a while. Irene said goodbyes first when her manager called her, cursing under her breath making you both laugh in amusement. Seulgi left after an hour, promising to take you and Yeri out for drinks when you all have the time.

Walking back to your apartment, you bought some snacks to eat when you're working. Thankfully the project did wonders to your company, so you're only working light tasks with your coworkers whilst waiting for an update from your supervisor.

"—Yeah! And then she stupidly asked me if I still love her?! Ugh, as if!"

You laughed at what your coworker, Yeonjun, outbursts along with another one, Soobin. Both were also in your team when developing the project, and you got along pretty well so sometimes you liked to call them or have zoom meetings together to spend some time.

"Hmm, told you she was delulu. It's like she's in her own fantasy land that she created," Soobin hums as typing could be heard from his side.

"Yeah," You agreed. "Remember when she visited our work to state she's the new intern? Holy shit was that a fiasco."

Soobin laughed even louder as Yeonjun could only groan. "Man, how could I forget that? Supervisor Kim blasted my ear from having him yell at me for hours."

"Not hours," You and Soobin replied together. "It's only like, five minutes," Soobin continued.

"Felt like hours," He grumbled.

Doing your work whilst talking to them made the bad thoughts go away, especially one residing on the corner of your computer, but you ignored it. What you can't ignore is how your computer likes to glitch and freeze when you're working.

Well, not your computer perse, but the programs you're currently running likes to have problems when before that it's totally fine.

"What the—Are you kidding me?" You hissed as Photoshop didn't respond, making you groan as you slumped down on your chair.

"What? What's wrong?"

"My Photoshop is acting up," You whined.

"Ha! What're you doing on Photoshop anyway?"

"Making your ass even more uglier," You grumbled towards Yeonjun, who squaked in offense.

"Awesome. Can you send that to me after you finished it?" Soobin asked as the both of you ignored Yeonjun's yelling.

"Sure. Maybe I'll finish it today since I've finished my part of the work."

"Wait!" Yeonjun yelled. "You're finished making the poster and banner? You've already sent it to Supervisor Kim?"

"Yup, a few hours ago. So relieved I actually finished it since my computer has been fighting me the whole time."

"Soobin! How about you?"

"Actually thanks for reminding me to email my work."

"Am I the only one who hasn't finished yet in the team?" Yeonjun gasped dramatically.

You hum teasingly, before remembering that he was the only one not finished yet. "Actually, yeah. Eunchae and Chaewon finished theirs already."

"Fuck!"

"Honestly, Yeonjun," Soobin teased. "We're only supposed to make posters and banners ideas for the next event. It's easy."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Just say that I'm lazy and—"

Crackling noise from your headphones cut Yeonjun off, making you frown in confusion before clicking back at the call, noticing how it's still going but their voices have disappeared.

"Guys? Hello?"

No answer.

You shrugged before ending the call, whipping out your phone before texting both of them.

You: heyyoo seems like we got disconnected

Soobin: ???

Soobin: wdym

Yeonjun: (name) you're still on the call

You're heart dropped, tension started to rise in your body as you scrambled to text them back.

You: what?? I literally disconnected from the call like a minute ago

Yeonjun: well i mean...could be a lag? You're not talking

Soobin: let's just end the call

Soobin: wanna call again?

You huffed, glancing back at your computer. Shaking your head, you decided to decline his offer, stating that you need to check your computer first if you want it to work properly.

Yeonjun: aight, update us

Soobin: yeah and send me that picture of yeonjun

Yeonjun: TRAITOR

You let out a small smile, sighing in relief because of their antics. You decided to restart your computer, of course after you saved the photoshopped image of Yeonjun. After it turned on, you checked numerous times if it's starting to lag or freeze as you open websites, tabs, or even applications.

Humming happily when you found none, you're startled when a call from Yeri rang from your phone. But the call ended before you could answer, making you stare at your phone in confusion. A text from Yeri seemed concerning enough for you to accept her offer.

Yeri <3: hey

Yeri <3: sorry for not answering

Yeri <3: can we call rn?

You sighed heavily at the reply, your heart easing at knowing that Yeri's actually alive and not dead in a ditch somewhere. Well, that's a hyperbole but you can't help but feel like that when your friends disappeared from the face of the earth.

Waiting for the call to load, you anxiously bit your lip as you waited for her. When Yeri's icon appeared, you quickly turned on your camera, waving sheepishly as you smiled.

"Hey—uh, do you mind turning on your cam? If you don't want to, that's fine! No pressure."

You're only met with silence, but you waited patiently for Yeri to answer.

"Yeah, hold on."

Shuffling could be heard from Yeri's end, before you heard Yeri move around stuff around her desk. She did had a lot of clutter, but the sounds coming from the call seems excessive. You frown hearing plastic water bottles and what you assume to be cans of energy drink fell down, making Yeri curse loudly.

Yeri finally turned on her camera but you realized why she's so hesitant on turning it on in the first place. It's dark in her room, the only light present is from her own computer.

Boy, did she look like a wreck.

Eyebags deep enough to give a hint that she didn't slept for almost a week, hair disheveled like she didn't brush it everyday, her room being a mess like a bomb was dropped.

"Yeri," You whispered. "What happened?"

Yeri looked away as she bit on her thumb, shaking her head as she sniffed. Her eyes glisten with tears as she gasped before looking back at the camera. "I—I tried, I'm working on the game. Alone! My team disappeared when I needed them, and now they're gone!"

You're eyes widen, jaw slack as confusion started to plague your mind. "Disappear? Like, Johnny?"

"Yes! I don't—I don't know where they are right now. I've tried texting them, I've called them, zero! Zero answers! The company's launching an investigation about where my team went, why I'm the only one left!"

You flinched at her voice, sounding loud and angry yet so small. It's obvious it's taken a toll on her, yet you can't do anything except listen to her and try to support her in the best way you can.

"And get this," Yeri laughed maniacally. "The company still wants to me work on the game, alone! Can you fucking believe that shit? They're trying to find people who wants to work on the game but noo they're too busy gossiping about how Yeri's a whore, Yeri's a bitch! We can't work with her because she's too difficult!"

You frowned, yet confused at what she's saying. Yeri seems happy working there, everytime you went out for lunch or dinner she always praises how her company is so good and caring towards their employees, that even Wendy and Seulgi are complaining about how unfair it is.

"Yeri? Hey, what do you mean by that?" You asked gently, trying to calm her down as she's only one second from a mental breakdown. That seems to shut her up, her mouth agape yet no voice comes out, before she's quickly wiping her tears away. You sighed before leaning back on your chair, deciding to not push Yeri further out of her comfort zone. It seems like she's having a hard time, but you don't want to force her.

"No—no, forget about that. Let's just talk, I need your help."

"My help?"

Yeri nodded. "I need you to continue to play the demo game, (name)."

Your heart dropped to the ground, coughing to hide your uneasiness from Yeri. You did sent her the list of glitches, even so far as telling her you don't want to continue playing the game after the last incident. But now you're conflicted.

"I—I know you're hesitant to play it, but I've tried to fix the game as best as I can! Your feedback is actually helping me make things right, and I'm really grateful. But now that I'm the only one working on the game, I can't talk to others people about it to make it good."

Man, she really does know how to pull your heartstrings.

"So...can you play it again, (name)?"

You glanced nervously at Yeri, playing with your fingers as you're having a debate inside your head on what to do.

"Can't you just...send the demo to Wendy or Seulgi? I'm sure they'll be happy to play it. I mean more feedbacks are better, right?" You offered.

Yeri shook her head adamantly, her shoulders tense as she continued. "No! I can't, if the company knows I'm giving the demo to people then I'll be fired. It's supposed to be confidential and I broke the agreement when I gave you that demo."

You groaned, holding your head between your hands. Of course it's not that easy, you didn't even think about the consequences you'll receive when playing a game that's not even released yet. Taking a deep breath, you looked at Yeri before nodding.

"Alright, I'll do it."

You're hoping the game isn't so bad after she fixed it.

♡

Pacing around in your room was not a good thing to do, especially to ease your nerves before playing that damn game. It's already loaded, the cutesy theme song playing in the background as you're having a breakdown before you play it. Yeonjun and Soobin invited you to go have drinks together, but you lied, saying you were busy hanging out with your family.

You felt bad, seeing as they're actually close to you now, but they reassured you that you could always join them on their nightly movie nights next Friday.

You took a mental note, wanting to actually join them because everyone seemed busy with work and other things.

"Okay!" You yelled loudly, punching the air repeatedly before sitting down, clicking the start button as the game loads. "I can do this! I'm not a pussy!"

Day 3

"Shit, it's only day three?!" You hissed.

Not having any time to complain, the game loads you to your dorm, reminding you to take classes to earn more coins and items. Everything seems...fine. Then again, you just started the game, so you're expecting a jumpscare midway playing the game.

Cautiously clicking from classroom to classroom, the task of doing mini games kinda made you relaxed. You're still tense, waiting for Hwayoung specifically to jump and surprise you.

But that didn't happen.

Instead, you're greeted with a new face, well two exactly.

A boy so tall that he could rival Mingi's or Yunho's height, with slicked back brown hair and an easygoing smile. Next to him is a girl you thought is an AI character, straight long black hair with a beauty mark under her mouth.

"Hey, fresh meat!"

The boy's deep voice boomed through your speaker, making you wince as you turned down the volume.

"Did you see a cat nearby? White with black spots and a purple collar?"

You, of course, wanted answered no. Thinking an option will show up, you're surprised the text box from Yunho's encounter popped up, making your hands hover on top of your keyboard instantly to type a response.

No, sorry. I didn't see any cat, just got here |

"Damn, good luck finding it, Karina."

"Oh shut up, Johnny!"

Johnny? Named after Yeri's friend who disappeared? You push the thought away, thinking of it as a coincidence. You've never even see the guy, why act so worried?

"Really sorry to bother you. My name is Karina, this is Johnny. If you see a cat with the same description please call us! We can't let the principal know."

No worries, but why can't the principal know? |

"Because the principal is a loser who doesn't like animals, so he'll call animal control to solve the problem."

"Johnny! Shut up or Seonghwa and Hongjoong will hear you!"

You hummed, curious as to why both of them are mentioned.

Why so scared? I think Seonghwa and Hongjoong are nice people |

"Oh, no one's denying that they're nice. They're just...very strict around what to do here."

"Rules are rules, and for them everyone has to follow it. If not you'll end up like—"

Johnny didn't get to finish his sentence before the game glitches out again, making both of them freeze as Johnny's voice paused every now and then. You anticipated this, trying to hope that nothing scary happened. Thankfully nothing did, as Johnny only continued as if nothing happened. Like his dialogue was cut.

"—Yeah, good guys. But really scary when someone's not up to standards. Well their standards."

You could see Karina rolling her eyes, making you giggle at their cute interaction.

"Whatever. It's nice meeting you, new kid. If you ever want to hangout with us, find us at the club rooms."

Sure! I'll be happy to come by |

"Great! Bye then, (name)."

"Peace out!"

There's the feeling of relief bubbling inside you, the interaction between Johnny and Karina made you a bit relaxed to face off any of the boys right now. Heaving a big sigh, you continued to play mini games and looking around the school.

Not encountering any of the boys, you suck up your fear as you debated who to meet first.

"Maybe I'll meet Yeosang first. I haven't seen him after the first encounter."

Confused as to which place you're visiting first, you picked the library, seeing as you've never actually visited the location before.

Surprise, surprise, Yeosang was actually already there. Surprisingly enough, he's smiling in your direction.

As if he's been waiting for you.

But you brushed it off as a coincidence. Yeosang's character beamed happily when he sees you, waving his hand as he tried to be quiet.

The scene changed as now you're sitting besides him near the window, the light perfectly illuminating his face, making him even more angelic.

"Hey, haven't seen you in a while. You okay?"

The text box popped up again, making you assume that maybe the system could change after a certain encounter. Changing from options to actually typing out the response. Then again, it's really impressive at how fast and human-like the response from the characters are, sometimes even fast enough to make you believe you're actually talking to a human.

Yeah, just...got busy with personal things |

"Well, that won't do. You're new here, relax for a bit. It's not like you have other stuff occupying your life."

You felt like it's a jab to your own real life, but you shrugged it off.

"Anyway, I realized we haven't spend that much time together. So, I was wondering if you want to stay here with me? I wasn't really studying, just wanted some alone time."

Alone time? Then am I intruding? |

"Nonsense, I'm inviting you right now. So, do you accept?"

Of course you agreed, wanting to increase your relationship with him since his percentage was still pretty low when you started. Maybe you'll meet San after this, remembering how the last time the heart didn't pop up for him.

Sure! I have nothing to do anyway |

For the next few minutes, you and Yeosang talked about vague topics, favorite foods, favorite animals; harmless stuff. But every now and then, you had a feeling that a few of the questions are very...weird and invasive.

"Where do you like to spend time out of school?"

"Have you ever dated before?"

"Do you like to sleep with stuffed animals?"

The last question made you glance at a few of the dolls on your bed, before lying to him since your real life persona should be different than the one inside the game.

"Hmm, interesting."

Was Yeosang's only answer before going back to innocent questions like before. The change of questions made your head dizzy as you're typing out what answers would suffice since you don't want to tell things in your real private life.

Yeosang stopped talking after the thirtieth question, seemingly frozen before smiling softly at you. You noticed how his eyes turned blank with no emotions before switching it up in the last second.

"Well, look at the time. I have a meeting with Hongjoong about club developments, so I guess this is goodbye."

No worries, Yeosang. I had a great time with you |

The heart finally popped up on top of his head, you predicting the percentage would at least be more than five percent, but the final number made you tilt your head in confusion.

37%

"Holy shit," You gawked. "From 2% to 37%?! That's wild."

As you're looking directly at the numbers, you didn't notice how Yeosang's eyes shifted away from you, lookinv around as if he could see the room your in. His face still smiling, before his eyes shifted back to you when he noticed you finally snapping out of your daze.

"I'll go now, (name). Goodbye."

With that, Yeosang was gone from the screen, leaving you with an empty screen. Remembering where exactly to meet San, you choose the gym as the next place. The only reason you chose that location is because of how buff he looks under his uniform.

"Can't believe I made that assumption just because of how broad his shoulders are," You grumbled.

Lo and behold, San was actually there. At first you thought he meant the school's gym, as in for sports and other school activities. But your mind is blown away when you notice an actual gym near the school area. And God must be somewhere laughing maniacally to himself as you saw how San is basically drenched in sweat, making the flimsy material of his top clung to his body like a second skin.

"(Name)! Hey, what's up?"

San smiled so brightly that you physically have to look away as if the sun just hits your eyes. "Focus, (name)! Don't be tempted by his cute smile!"

Hi, San! Nothing much, I have nothing to do so I was strolling around. I didn't know there's two gym's, what's up with that? |

"Oh! Yeah, I guess the school wanted to blow some of the money that they have, plus a lot of the students here wanted a real gym of sorts."

Still, pretty fancy for a school to have like two gyms |

"Yeah, I guess you could say that."

Time passed as you continued to have a conversation with San, having a great time as he's always so energetic and fun to be around with. Suddenly remembering of the items you have in your inventory, you decided to use it to San since the heart didn't pop up for him.

Hey, San! I have a gift for you |

It seems like San didn't expect you to say that to him, as his face turned bright red before he smiled sheepishly.

"A gift? You didn't have too!"

You clicked on your inventory, deciding on the cute teddy bear you got on your first day. Dragging the item from your bag, you placed it on San's character, resulting in him smiling widely as he now holds the teddy bear in his hands.

"A teddy bear! How cute, it even has a little bow. Thank you so much, (name)."

Suddenly the heart popped up, squinting your eyes to look closely as the percentage was shown to you.

58%

You let out a shocked laughter. "Damn, I didn't know the items were that helpful." You're conflicted whether or not the items were actually helping that much, or it's just the glitch happening again. In the end, your objective to raise your relationship status with San was already done.

"Um, (name)? Even though you're new here, I feel like you're perfect here. Like...you're the missing puzzle piece."

Weird thing to say after receiving a gift, but you'll go with it.

Come on, I'm not that important for you to call me a missing puzzle piece |

You noticed the pout on San's face, yet you saw how his face darkens for a second, as if your words annoyed him.

"Don't say that! A lot of us say that you're perfect! Even though you feel so far away, there's always a chance you'll be much, much closer to us."

"And it's starting," You groaned. Did the creepy dialogue really had to be amped up after Yeosang? It's as if the game knows these things scare and annoy you at the same time. But curiosity did peek out of your mind, wanting to know why exactly San phrased it that way.

What do you mean far? I'm right here |

"You know what I mean, (name)."

No? I really don't, it's like your saying I'm not physically here when I am |

"It's...complicated. I'm not supposed to even talk to you about this or Hongjoong will get mad. Just know that we're always here for you, and I really do hope in the future, we could be together."

You really do wanted his words to affect you as much as he intended too, but you're still creeped out by his choice of words that you can't help but grimace at the thought. There's a frown on your face as you noticed San looking quiet sad, almost changing from his hopeful expression.

What's wrong? |

"Nothing—just that, you seemed hesitant to be here with us."

Your frown deepened when he said that, as if he could look through your computer screen to see the facial expressions you pull. You glanced away for a while, head disappearing yet your eyes are still looking at him.

You might be hallucinating, but you really thought San's eyes seems to follow your every move, his eyes now off to the side where you disappeared. He's still standing like usual, but you noticed how his eyes are silently trained onto you.

Creepy.

Suddenly, you wanted to prove a theory that just popped up inside your head, actually thinking you're slowly loosing your mind over this game.

You silently grabbed your phone, pretending to scroll for a few seconds as you discreetly tried to look back and forth between San and your phone. Nothing suspicious happens, just that San's pout deepened as seconds passed by.

You needed proof. Especially considering what Yeosang said to you earlier.

You pressed Soobin's phone number, turning it on speaker as you waited. You acted nonchalant, tapping your fingers on the table whilst you still glanced at the screen. San's pout was gone, only replaced by a confused stare as he stands there.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Soobin! What's up?"

"Eh, not much. Why you callin?"

"Actually," You moved away, now sitting on your bed. "I wanted to invite you guys to my apartment! Maybe a movie night, you know?" You continued, voice loud enough so your target could still hear the conversation.

"Really? That would be awesome! I gotta ask Yeonjun first though, I don't know if he has plans or not."

You glanced at your computer screen, noticing San now looks tense and furious as he only stands there, as if he's forced to listen.

The change of emotions are really weird, since you haven't touched the game since your call. But you continued, wanting to see what happens.

"That's alright. We could have movie night next Friday, you could stay at my apartment."

"Ooh, like a sleepover!"

You laughed at his enthusiasm, "Yeah, basically like a sleepover."

The conversation continued on, before Soobin excused himself as he wanted to meet his friend in a few hours. Bidding goodbye, you ended the call, walking to your chair before sitting down.

You hummed to yourself, placing down your phone on the table as you typed your reply.

You're acting really weird, San |

You looked at him, hiding your wince as San's face didn't hold his signature dimpled smile. His eyes holds a certain anger, his jaw clenched in annoyance as his hands turned into fists.

"Why did you do that?"

His voice came out gruff, as if he's holding back a growl coming out of his throat. You decided to play innocent, tilting your head in confusion before typing back.

Do what? I just stood here, talking to you |

"(Name), please, don't do that. It hurts us when you do these kinds of things without thinking about our feelings."

A scoff came out of your mouth before you could stop it, feeling annoyed now.

Jeez, I didn't do anything! What are you guys even talking about? |

"Inviting those—"

You waited and waited for him to continue, but nothing happened. The sounds of crackling came out of your speaker for a few minutes, before it stopped. You saw San's desperate face still on your screen, pursing his lips as he looked away. You're wondering what's going on until Hongjoong appeared, smiling as he now stands next to San.

"Hello there, (name)! Funny meeting you here."

Thought you had a meeting with Yeosang about club developments? |

He seems surprised at how blunt you are, but his smile turned into a smug one as he placed a hand on San's shoulder.

"Ah, that. We're already done talking. Seonghwa is handling it now, so I wanted to grab San for a few minutes to...talk."

You frown, already feeling suspicious about how sudden Hongjoong appeared.

"But, hyung! I was—"

"We need to have a talk, San. The others are already waiting for us."

You grimaced at his tone, already feeling uncomfortable at how scary Hongjoong was now.

You guys should go, I need to meet with a few friends anyway |

"What friends—"

"San!"

You jump in surprise, eyes wide at Hongjoong's outburst. San closed his mouth before glaring at Hongjoong, to which the latter only glared back. They seemed to be having a conversation only with their eyes, the tense silence made you uneasy before it broke when San spoke first.

"Bye, (name)."

Yeah...bye |

In a matter of seconds, both if them disappeared from your screen. You groaned loudly at the headache forming inside your head, massaging your head as you closed your eyes.

"Can't this game be normal for one day?"

You quickly continued on day 3, wanting it to end fast enough so you'll be done for today. When night comes, you hurriedly exited the game, closing it before turning off your computer. You sighed, standing up as you walked out of your room.

"I need a drink."

♡

"The coast is clear," Yunho sighed when he no longer felt your presence inside his body, his posture relaxing a little as he sat next to Mingi. "She's gone now."

"San, you almost crossed the line today."

"Almost? He acted way out of line for her to feel suspicious towards us!" Wooyoung screamed.

"Fuck you," San hissed. "Yeosang started first when he asked stupid questions."

"Oh, believe me, I know. I've already reprimanded him enough," Seonghwa darkly answers, crossing his arms as he stared at San. "Now, it's your turn."

"You all can't blame me!" San yelled, standing up from his seat as he slams the table with enough force. "You all heard her! She's inviting other people, other men, to her home!"

"No one's blaming you, hyung," Jongho sighed. "But we need to act normal after she didn't show up for so long. Do you want that to happen again?"

Jongho was only met with silence from San, who looked away as he shook his head. "No...I don't—we don't need that to happen again. I feel empty without her, I can't stand the emptiness. That's why I had to stop her!"

"We all do," Mingi shrugged. "But we have to be patient, especially if we want our plan to go well."

"I just," San sighed, slumping down to his seat. "I don't want her to be with anyone else besides us. We all felt the connection when her face showed up in our eyes. I want her to be here with us."

"We know, San," Hongjoong sighed. "It's not easy to only be able to watch her this way. So far yet so close. It's torture for only being able to see her for only a few hours, even minutes, for just one day."

"Thank God we're able to access her computer freely now," Wooyoung added. "Not interacting with her was torture. But I know I can't just watch her from a far in the long run, that's why we need to stick to our plan."

"Well, if we want to stick to the plan we can't just pinpoint and blame San here," Yeosang frowned. "All of the other trash needs to act as well."

Mingi and Yunho snorted at the way Wooyoung growled, slapping his back teasingly. "What? Got reminded of Hwayoung?"

"After the little stunt she pulled...I can't even be mad at Wooyoung for killing her," Seonghwa shrugged.

"Fuck her for scaring (name) like that! I can't believe she'll corrupt her own data like that," San growled, Wooyoung nodding along with him.

"Less trash to be bothered though, sounds good to me," Yeosang shrugged.

"We still need to keep an eye out on the new ones," Hongjoong hums, looking at a few folders on the table. The names are written on the cover, Hongjoong opening one of the folders, finding a picture of Hwayoung crossed out with a red marker. "They're a risk, but they were essential on pushing (name) back to playing the game."

"Pushing (name)? More like pushing her friend," Jongho laughed loudly, making the others smirk in union.

"Can't believe at how easy she complied to us."

"More like backstabbing. It's obvious she thinks her life is better than our darling," Yunho answered, the pet name slipping up from him making the others tease him.

"Can you blame her? We targeted her remaining friends," San hums. "Then again, she's really fucking stupid if she thinks we could make contact with anyone if they haven't played the game yet."

"Whatever, we'll deal with her later when our darling comes to our arms," Seonghwa huffed.

"Deal how?" Wooyoung smirked evilly, Mingi snickering alongside Jongho as they discussed the best way to torture said girl.

Seonghwa shrugged, yet the corners of his mouth are pulled into a maniac smile. "We'll see later. She's trash anyways compared to our darling."

#ateez #ateez imagines #ateez x reader #poly ateez x reader #yandere ateez #yandere

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otomiyaa · 10 days

Text

Woop woop! It's my baby's bday!! @ticklygiggles!!! While I would've loved to spoil you with a celebration week like you did for me (the bar was very high), I'll be traveling for work soon and will be busy, so it's spam time.....! 😳

I know you'd like to wreck all three of these lovelies with tickles and the game teases you too much. So here are 3 drabbles with them:

1: Lee Zayne drabble

2: Lee Rafayel drabble

3: Lee Xavier drabble

Also, here is the revival of 3 of our collabs:

Reuploads of these collabs with a fresh new epilogue for each written by yours truly. These fics were actually lost and could be saved again thanks to our dearest @wertzunge ^^

1: Remissio - Victuuri

2: Sweet Revenge - Reigisa & Sourin

3: Second Declaration of Love - Hayato x Ryuuichi

Bonus: a little tickly moodboard of a lovely man 🤭

#ticklygiggles #miagirl #happy bday miaaa

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soupandflowers · 2 months

Text

School Dance - Day 1

Made a Tumblr solely for @hongiceweek!!! This is probably all what this will Tumblr contain. I have not written for in years and this is the first that I have so? Please be kind about it. It was really difficult for what I wanted the first half, not to mention I had to cut things out from what I originally planned from my outline. But, I definitely did had an easier time around the second half. Maybe it's noticeable. Or not. Anyways this is set in nation verse. Sorry for the late submission! I'll probably get this uploaded to AO3 when I have a proper account, but please enjoy it here. Tags: Iceland, Hong Kong, Seychelles, Liechtenstein, hurt/comfort, nationverse, school dance, idk how this works Also 3,432 thousand words woops The Gang Joins In a School Dance!

As the group strolls their way down the dusk streets of London, damp lawns are dotted with blooming flowerheads and the clouds reflect the skies’ gradient sunset colors above as if the neighborhood matched the group’s enthusiasm. The friends excitedly babble amongst themselves chatting about the evening that awaits them.

Well, save for Iceland.

As the sounds of muffled music, dancing, and obnoxious teenagers grow near, Iceland doubts swell and he shoots one more look at Hong Kong, who coolly keeps a steady stroll. Now, Iceland trusts Hong Kong, that’s for sure, but what he isn’t sure about is this boy’s ability to abide by the law and not risk himself getting arrested for it, nevertheless to add his friends to the equation.

And added to the equation that Iceland himself has been unfortunately added to. When Hong Kong called and invited Iceland to a questionable plan, he shot down the idea. Determined to change his mind, Hong Kong had spent the next 10 minutes trying to persuade his best friend to go- in which proved to be ultimately ineffective. However, to his dismay, the rest of his Nordic brothers overheard the conversation and, sold by Hong Kong's idea, they too collectively pestered Iceland to go. Outnumbered, he reluctantly agreed.

Fast forward to now, his reluctance still hasn't changed. Iceland, who once again is wondering if this is the best way to spend his little free time, glances warily ahead at the chirpy other three, who are now all flaunting in their best attire.

“Lili! Let me help you out with your bow!”, exclaims Seychelles as she trots behind a flustered Liechtenstein . Hong Kong chuckles in their direction as he strolls alongside them. Hong Kong is sporting one of his best suits from England, while Seychelles nearly trips over her glittery blue long-dress, Liechtenstein fiddles with her rose colored and frilly outfit and as for Iceland… he opted for his world meeting attire.

As they near the high school building, Iceland slows to a halt. At his pause- the rest of the group turns back to look at him in confusion.

"Okay, Leon, are you actually sure about this?", stresses Iceland. "Because getting me to come here is one thing, but do you have any idea how we're actually going to enter?"

Hong Kong only returns a puzzled look.

"I mean, surely these people would realize we’re not actually students, right? That they realize who we actually are and we’re not supposed to be here."

"Yeah and? That's fine.” Hong Kong turns and continues walking. “The worst that happens is that we get turned away. We'll just find some other way to crash."

“What the hell do you mean “crash!?” Iceland catches up next to him with the girls following right behind them. “If we get caught, our bosses are going to give us hell for intruding amongst humans, especially in a private event!”

“Um, he’s got a point..”, Liechtenstein timidly adds. Hong Kong shrugs and passes Iceland, striding forward to the gym entrance.

"No- You can’t just waltz right in...” And then Hong Kong proceeds to waltz right in.

Iceland’s face scrunches in disbelief. He watches his best friend disappear into the crowd.

Seychelles, not wanting to miss out, takes Liechtenstein's wrist and brushes past Iceland, eagerly following Hong Kong’s lead.

Iceland was left dumbstruck and he stood there for a solid minute.

Through the entrance, colored spotlights flash accompanied by blaring party music, as voices of mingling students contribute to the racket.

Iceland cringes warily at the immense atmosphere. He heaves a frustrated sigh and subsides into the crowd to find the others.

—

As Iceland navigates his way through the gym, the music is blaring in his ears and already he feels suffocated by the swarm of people around him. Not even too long into the event and he already feels like all the noise and lights is trying to burst his head open. Hoping to find a familiar face soon, he scans the room as he struggles his way through the crowd. Fortunately, he didn’t need to take very long.

To his left, he spots Liechtenstein in the corner- who is hovering by the food stand and warily looking amongst the party around her.

He pushes his way through the crowd and upon approach, Liechtenstein’s shoulders lowers in his presence. Iceland returns with a polite gesture and glances around Liechtenstein.

He raises an eyebrow, “Where’s Jaqueline? Weren’t you with her?”

Liechtenstein blinks. “Oh, Jaqueline? We were together, but she got caught up in the crowd.. And then I couldn’t find her.”

“Really? I know she wanders off easily, but I didn’t think she would leave you behind like that.”

“I don’t think she meant to do so.”, she sighs. “But regardless I tried looking for her and I cannot find her…” Iceland places a reassuring hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Ah geez. Well, at the very least we can look for her together. In which.. have you seen Leon as well?” “Uhh..”, before she could begin her sentence their conversation is immediately interrupted by Seychelles bursting from the crowd, waving her hand up high and smiling and running up to the pair.

“Lili! Lili, Lili, Lili!”, smiles Seychelles. She runs up to her and takes both of her hands, holding it and starts apologizing profusely. “I am sososososooooo sorry for leaving you behind like that! I tried to find you but I got swept away and I was like freaking out because we got separated and I tried to asking others for help but there was this really mean group of boys who were so rude for no reason and then these girls came along and-” “Yo, Jaque!!”, shouts an unfamiliar voice. A teenage girl in a seafoam dress also emerges as well with 4 other girls trailing behind her. “Where did you go, and-”, Seafoam glances behind Seychelles. ”Oh my gosh, is this your friend who you were talking about? Oh my god she is so adorable!!”

Liechtenstein smiles nervously and blushes, as the other girls surround her and start showering her with compliments and questions about herself and her attire, as Seychelles looks proudly at her best friend.

Meanwhile, Iceland is to the side watching the girls’ shenanigans unfold, unsure what to say, especially not when he didn’t understand the social manners of the opposite gender.

He wouldn’t admit it, but seeing the girls interact and socialize with ease makes Iceland a little bit envious. People is something that Iceland has yet to figure out completely.

“Oh!” Seychelles looks past the girls and finally notices Iceland. “I didn’t even notice you were there!” “Oh, uh- don’t worry about it, it’s fine”, shrugs Iceland, trying to play it off. Seychelles steers off from the group and trots towards Iceland.

“I didn’t actually think you would come join.” “Well, I don’t know”, Iceland’s brow furrows. “I’m only here because I got dragged to it in the first place, alright? Otherwise, I wouldn’t know what else to do with my time.”

Seychelles grins and places a hand on Iceland’s shoulder. “Well, I’m sure happy that you decided to come along, Emil! It’s not very often that we get to hang out, do we?” “I guess so, but I’m still not very sure of this.” “About getting caught? I don’t think it’s been an issue so far.” “No, not that- well, yes, actually you’re not wrong about that but like”- he puts his hand on his chin. “I’m not used to events like these, especially with a lot of people at once.”

“Hm? But there’s always the world meetings and you’ve never had any issues with that?”

“That’s because I’m with my brothers. Outside of you, Lili, and Leon, the only people that I’ve interacted with were out of diplomacy- not for getting to know them.”

“Well…”, Seychelles smiles widen and her eyes meets Iceland’s. “Then why don’t we try helping you with that?”

“What?” Suddenly, Seychelles turns out and cups her mouth with her hands.

“HEY GUYS!!”, Seychelles calls out to her new profound friends who were exchanging accessories amongst each other. “COME MEET MY OTHER BEST FRIEND!!”

Iceland falters back and his face flushes in surprise. It also does not help that Seychelles sudden shouting has also drawn the attention of the other students. The group of girls run over and greet him enthusiastically.

Seychelles steps aside and proudly introduces him. “Like I said, this is my other best friend, Emil! He knows a lot about poetry, can read maps pretty well, and knows super awesome Norse stuff!” As the girls nod in response, Seychelles’ comments pique the interest of a girl in a yellow dress. “Ohhh, really? I study European history too! What do you know?”

Iceland rubs the back of his neck. “Oh, uh- for starters…”

The girls introduce themselves to Iceland and he exchanges the gesture in return. For a while, conversation and different topics ended up being thrown around in exchange, with Liechtenstein and Seychelles tuning in to the group. For someone not used to being surrounded by those unfamiliar to him, especially not all at once, Iceland finds himself starting to think that maybe it was not such a bad idea to come along after all. Although he can’t quite put his finger on it, there seems to be something missing.

Suddenly, the familiar tunes of obnoxious electronic beats and hip-hop come onto the speakers that Iceland and God knows that only one person can enjoy. He looks up to the far end of the gym.

Hong Kong has taken over the DJ System at the front of the stage. He has upped the blaring stage lights to flicker faster and has turned the volume to full max and is furiously headbanging to the terrible rap music that he has put on. He grabs a mic and fist-pumps it into the air. “LET'S HEAR IT FOR GROVELAND HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHHHH!!”

The audience uproars in response and their partying immenses. Seychelles and Liechtenstein beams and cheers at Hong Kong’s sudden takeover while Iceland stands there agape at what he is witnessing.

What the genuine fuck??? wonders Iceland.

Hong Kong spots him in the crowd. They make eye contact. As Iceland's puzzled gaze meets him- Hong Kong only returns with a smirk.

Hong Kong points to Iceland in the crowd. “This next one goes out to my one and only man, Emil!!”

And then Hong Kong proceeds to play a popular track from an Icelandic band.

Hong Kong beams brightly at him from the stand, but Iceland can’t help but feel like a deer in headlights. As the other students turn to look at him, some staring and some giggling, Iceland can only stand there dumbfoundedly in embarrassment at the sudden turn of events against him. Nevermind that he was willing to give socializing a chance; he’s just been singled out with all eyes on him.

Suddenly, Iceland nearly trips over himself as Seychelles drags him and Liechtenstein to the dancefloor, with the newly befriended teenagers joining in. As Iceland regains his balance, Seychelles takes Liechtenstein by the hands and they start dancing together. Liechtenstein is taken by surprise and her footing is off, but Seychelles guides her pacing and soon enough; they’re frolicking and laughing on the dancefloor.

Iceland just blinks, who is once again unsure what to do next. As if the prom wasn’t overwhelming enough, being in the center of it only amplified it. His head is starting to throb. The music is blaring and it's a racket to his ears. The flickering of the lights have only grown more colorful and intensified. As everyone is jumping up and down around him, it’s already making him weary. He tries to exit the crowd, but someone shoves into him. They snarl at him. He apologizes, but he can barely hear himself over the noise.

With this many things to process all at once, he is already weary. He hasn’t been here for that long, but Iceland feels so pathetic for getting so overwhelmed in a short amount of time. To give reaching out a chance, it’s something that he is no longer sure he’ll ever be able to figure out. Sure, that thought sounds irrational, but it’s a feeling he is unfortunately familiar with by now.

Then, he feels a familiar presence appear right beside him.

“You okay?”, asks Hong Kong.

“Huh?”, Iceland slightly falters back and faces Hong Kong. The boy is giving him a concerned look. Realizing that Hong Kong was just on the stage only a couple of moments ago, he turns and squints up at the stage to see the former DJ handling the booth again. His look is frustrated as he figures out how to restore the original playlist. The DJ presses something and all of a sudden, the music amplifies even louder, causing Iceland to wince. From the look of the DJ, it is safe to assume it was an accident.

“I said, are you okay?!”, shouts Hong Kong. Iceland turns back to meet Hong Kong’s gaze and not wanting to look meek in front of his best friend, only responds with a weary nod and squeezes his eyes shut. Hong Kong shoots him a concerned look and grabs his hand, leading him through the crowd.

As Hong Kong navigates him, Iceland’s eyes are still squeezed shut and he presses his palm to his forehead. He squeezes Hong Kong’s hand and feels himself shuffling in between the party goers as they exit the crowd. As Iceland keeps his head down, he thinks about how stuffy the gym is and the mere embarrassment of his social progress only coming up short handed.

The noise gradually grows distant and he hears the opening of a door and shutting behind them. He opens his eyes and much to his relief, they’re back outside with the party now merely muffled behind him. The sun is long gone and it’s already dark. “Thanks”, mutters Iceland. At the warmth of the evening, he removes his coat. Hong Kong clasps his shoulder and steers them to a nearby bench under a tree. They both sit down.

For a moment, it’s still between the two of them. Trying to pull himself back together, Iceland looks amongst the warm lights emitting from the windows of the neighborhood. The warm May breeze parts his hair. The only thing he hears is a distant family arriving home and the bare noise of the school gym.

Other than that, all is quiet, but it’s a pleasant contrast compared to where he was before. Iceland sags forward and rests his head on his fist. He glances over to Hong Kong who is studying him. He watches the street lamps turn on behind him. “Hey.” “Hm?” “Sorry about earlier.” “Ah. It’s alright.”

“Not really? Given the look on your face earlier.” “Well I mean, yeah, of course I wouldn’t enjoy being singled out like that.”, uncomfortable, Iceland looks the opposite way. “But it’s fine.” “Mmm..”, unsure what to say either, Hong Kong leans back against the bench. A moment of awkward silence sits between them.

Hong Kong breathes in. “I’m also really sorry for forcing you into this.” Iceland sighs. “No really, don’t worry about it. But, I’d think I’d rather just stay out here. Don’t you have a party to go back to?” “Sure, I guess, but what’s the point if you’re not even there?” “Huh?” Iceland looks back at Hong Kong, whose arms are now sprawled on the top part of the bench and his eyes are apathetically staring ahead. “Like, I wanted to hang out with you again. Lili and Jaque are easy to pull in, but it’s been a couple of months since I’ve last seen you. Excluding the calls,” Hong Kong nudges Iceland’s arm with the back of his hand. “I’ve missed you, man.” Iceland’s brow furrows. Great. Now he feels like a jerk for even complaining in the first place.

Socializing has never been his forte, but for the past few months, he’s brought himself further away from the rest of the world, secluding himself to the Nordics and the occasional foreign nation for diplomacy, but besides that, he never realized it and it was for reasons he was unsure why. Now, he is dealing with the pang of guilt of realizing that upon his negligence, his friends have been missing him.

Iceland was unsure how to respond, but Hong Kong seems to have already read his mind. “I thought sneaking into some high school prom would help get you back out there. After all it’s just a bunch of teenagers, who are like, waaaay less serious than adults. In which you have been spending all your time around with.”, Hong Kong jokes, but returns back to his concerned demeanor. “But I guess I thought wrong and it upset you. It didn’t work out.”, Hong Kong sighs. “I apologize.” “No..”, Iceland glances back. “You did your best. I can tell you at the very least, you’ve gotten some success.” Iceland gives his friend a lighthearted grin, who returns with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. “Watcha mean?” “I mean, more like Seychelles had more success. Have you seen her? I don’t know how she did it, but she managed to befriend like 5 or so people within like 15 minutes.” Iceland chuckles. “Suddenly, her friends were swarming Lili and then she redirected them towards me, all of them asking about Iceland and history and stuff like a swarm of Puffins and a Herring!” Hong Kong’s grin widens. “Really? I thought I was irrational, but I’m starting to think she is like, way more impulsive than me.” Iceland gives him a light punch on the shoulder. “You still called me out and played fucking Icelandic rock. What the hell is wrong with you, man?” “Hey, I’m still sorry about that.” “Even then, how the hell did you even get up there? I swear to God, there was some guy before and he was not you.” “Gift from Alfred to Matthew to me, the guy’s got like serious fireworks.” “You brought fireworks!?” “Ehhh, just a small one. Got the guy distracted long enough for me to take over.” “You’re so fucking stupid.” “I know.” They both grin at each other and they burst out laughing. As the crickets begin to overtake the grasses and early birds residents dim their lights off for the night, the laughter of two, flawful boys fill their air. Maybe Iceland can’t get around to understanding people just yet, but even then, as Iceland watches Hong Kong’s smile grow, he at least realizes how much people would be willing to try to understand him. Ironically, for that alone, is all that needs his knows to willingly take the first step in reconnecting again. And Hong Kong seems to be his first step. Iceland couldn’t imagine any better option. Abruptly in the distance, a door slams open and the boys whirl their direction back towards the school. They see Seychelles and Liechtenstein bolting out of the gym with a group of teachers sprinting after them. Back at the gym entrance, the students are gathered and the peaceful night air is interrupted by collective howling and cheering for the girls.

“RUN!!! RUN!! THEY’VE FOUND US OUT!!!”, Seychelles screams at the two and the girls run past them. The boys immediately got up and started sprinting after the girls. “Nevermind, I think Jaque is more stupid!!”, shouts Iceland. They both crack a smile and they both burst into another round of laughter as Seychelles yell at the both of them. Despite currently being chased, Iceland feels everyone’s spirits high and he laughs louder with Hong Kong beside him. Then, they run off into the night.

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