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souliebird · 5 months

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[[and then I met you || ch. 13]]

Series: Daredevil || Pairing: Matt Murdock x Fem!Reader || Rating: Explicit

Summary:

A one-night stand years ago gave you a daughter and you are now able to put a name to her father – Matthew Murdock. Everything is about to change again as you navigate trying to integrate your life with that of the handsome and charming blind lawyer’s and Matt realizes he needs to not only protect his new family from Hell's Kitchen, but from the world.

pt: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12

Words: 5.7k

ao3 link

banner thanks to the wonderful @theradioactivespidergwen

The base of your skull pounds as you try to keep focus on the things going on around you. It is almost impossible, as you just want to close your eyes and block out everything.

You had woken up with a stiffness in your neck and shoulders that had quickly spiraled into the beginnings of a migraine. You hadn't had one since you were pregnant and now that you had a toddler, spending the day in bed and hiding under covers was not an option.

The gods seem to have smiled down on you, though. It is Saturday, which means it is Daddy Daughter Date Day and Matt is more than happy to keep Minnie’s attention on him. You don't have to watch her like a hawk. You can just sit and wait until your ibuprofen kicks in.

If it ever does.

You know drinking water will probably help, so you shakily reach for your glass.

Beside you, your daughter is none the wiser to your distress. Last night, a new toy arrived in the mail, and she was insistent it must be brought to lunch so she could show her Daddy and play with him. It is a friendship bracelet making kit - the type that has beads of all different shapes and colors - and it is a hit. Minnie and Matt have been making each other bracelets as you wait for your food.

“Can you please find me another ‘O’?” the nearly perfect man across from you asks your sweet toddler. “Like in ‘Octopus’.”

“‘O’ for octopus!” Mouse quickly confirms. She sets down her string of multi-color shapes and pulls the little box of beads closer to her. She picks up the discs that have letters on them, proudly showing off her ability to identify them by stating what each letter is until she finds the one, she's looking for. Once it is found, it is carefully passed across the table. “‘O’ for octopus!”

You have not been paying attention to the letters Matt has been collecting and thus have no clue what he intends to spell, but you're guessing it won't matter much to your daughter. She's going to be thrilled either way. You have a hunch that the feeling is mutual with Matt - whatever Minnie gives him, he'll proudly wear. Right now, the bracelet in her hands is a mixture of pink hearts with purple and yellow plain beads. There isn't a method to the madness beyond that.

Your table falls back into silence. Mouse is enthralled with her task of threading and Matt is equally quiet. You think he is aware of your headache, as he's been soft spoken since you met up and hasn't been trying to make your little one laugh and squeal with glee. You're incredibly thankful for that.

You resist the urge to close your eyes and instead find a scratch on the table's surface to stare blankly at and wait for time to pass. Hands pass through your field of vision to collect different beads and you hear farther-daughter talking, but you don't process any of it. All you know is the pain creeping around your skull. You are aware of how your eyes sit in your head and it is a very weird, unsettling feeling that helps nothing.

You pray this outing has enough stimulation for Minnie, so that when you go home, she'll go down for a nap easily and you can join her.

You don't know how long you sit there, spacing out while the world moves on without you, but eventually Linda drops your plates in front of you. You fall into autopilot, saying, “Thank you, Miss Linda” in chorus with Matt and Minnie. After a quick cooing over how sweet your little family is, the waitress leaves you be, and you turn your focus to your daughter's plate.

It's chicken strips and french fries today and you know she needs her ketchup and mustard. Before you can start to reach for the bottles at the end of the table, Matt is already taking them and addressing Mouse, “You like it with more mustard than ketchup, right?”

“More mustard!” She happily replies as she lays her napkin across her lap.

You watch with slightly parted lips as he starts squeezing the condiments onto her plate. You aren't used to anyone taking over this responsibility and you don't know how to react - it is nice to have the help and to see he's learned so much about Minnie's habits, but your mind can't help but chastise you for letting him do this menial task. You know he's her father, but it feels like something you should be doing.

Of course, you are the only one having conflicting feelings. They are having a good time - Matt makes two piles of sauces and Minnie instantly starts swirling them together with her food, a big grin on her face. You try to offer a smile back, but you don't know how sincere it is. Your head hurts so much, and your anxiety is spiking.

You are shaken from your daze when Matt says your name. You look up to see his head tilted just slightly, the slightest frown on his face. Guilt courses through you.

“You sure you don't want any coffee? The caffeine should help with,” he motions to his head, and it just confirms for you that he is always hyper aware of everything, and that Minnie must be too.

You need to get your act together. You can't just zone out because you don't feel well - you're a parent and you are out in public. You can't just dump all your responsibilities onto Matt because he is here now.

You shake your head, even if it makes you dizzy, “No, I'll be okay.”

The truth is the idea of coffee makes your stomach turn. You don't want anything that tastes too strongly, which is why you have opted for a Cobb salad for lunch.

The man across from you gives you a doubtful look. To keep him from worrying over you, you stab a piece of tomato and eat it. It tastes like nothing and that is fine for you. This earns a frown, but the gods smile on you again and your daughter causes a distraction by starting to play with her food.

Mouse picks up a chicken strip and begins to make it hop around the plate before dunking it into her now orange mixture. “Oh no, you're all messy now,” she says to herself, “I gotta clean you.” She then proceeds to lick the sauce away with exaggerated sounds. Matt makes a face of pure disgust.

“Sweetie, what are you doing?”

“I'm a kitty!” is her proud response before repeating the process.

You know this game well but it's the first time he has experienced it. He knows you allow her to play with her food as long as she's not messy and actually eats it, but you can tell he wants to ask her not to. You are open to him making suggestions and asking Minnie to do things, and he knows that, and you wonder what direction he will take. You can see the wheels turning in his head.

“I thought you were a mouse,” is what he goes with.

That stops Minnie dead in her tracks. She considers this statement, a pout forming, before bringing her chicken strip to her mouth and beginning to nibble at it - like a mouse with a piece of cheese.

The rest of the meal is subdued. You manage to eat a third of your salad through sheer force of will - having an empty stomach will only make things worse - and Mouse only needs her face wiped a handful of times. It feels like the minutes crawl by before Linda is back at your table to take away plates and hand over the check.

Packing up is quick and easy. There are no loose beads on the table, so you just need to snap the case shut and store it into your bag, along with anything else that was brought out for Minnie’s needs. As you do this, Matt finishes off both bracelets by tying the ends together and once he is done, you stop what you're doing to watch the exchange.

He returns the bracelet Minnie made for him to her and she hugs it to her chest.

“Daddy, yous gotta put out your hand. I have something for you,” she says like it is any sort of surprise.

But of course, Matt plays along. He does as he is told, holding out the hand not holding the bracelet he made, “You got something for me?”

Very delicately, like it's going to break, Mouse places the bracelet into his palm. Only when she is fully sitting in her seat again does he begin to run his thumb over the beads, feeling what she made for him. His lips twitch up into a smile before he starts to bite his lip. You've learned this means he's trying to not get overly emotional, and you completely understand.

Having Minnie’s love is the only thing keeping you going some days and you've cried multiple times when she's given you something she's made for you.

“I love it,” he whispers, his voice breaking a tiny bit. “Thank you so much, sweetheart.”

You and Minnie watch as he slips the bracelet on, and it settles next to his watch. The bright colors stand out against his muted palette, but you doubt he cares about that. Your daughter absolutely beams when he holds up his wrist to show off his new piece of jewelry.

“You're welcome, Daddy! Do you have a present for me?” Mouse asks, jutting her hands out, palms up.

You can't help but huff in amusement, even if your headache is making you feel cold and detached. You know she isn't being greedy or rude, she's simply an eager toddler. You can't fault her for that.

Oh, so carefully, Matt sets the bracelet into her waiting hands and once you finally realize what he wrote out on it, your heart clenches at the sweetness. The bracelet is mostly made up of lettered beads, with the words separated by different colored hearts. Minnie quickly brings it right up to her face to inspect it and instantly starts trying to figure out the mystery in front of her.

“D-A-D-D-Y,” she spells out loud, “L-O-V-E-S. Y.O.U.” Her little brow wrinkles up at the words and you wait to see if she needs help figuring them out. They aren't unknown to her, but it's usually a flip of a coin if she can connect the dots. The only word you are confident she recognizes is her name.

She spells it again, then tries her best to sound it out, “Duh..Ahh duh duh…why. Duh-ah-du- Daddy! It says Daddy!”

You rub her back, silently trying to communicate how proud of her you are, “That's right, it says Daddy. Do you know the other words?”

While she considers her answer, you look at Matt.

He hasn't shaved in a few days. It emphasizes his good looks, and you can see the hints of red - and grey - in his grown-out scruff. His charming and sweet appearance is only enhanced by his heart - you didn't know someone could be so full of love. He radiates it when he's around Minnie and it's like he can't help but pour all of his affection into her and he can't believe how much of it is returned.

You wonder if you were put on Earth to give him Minnie - and you wouldn't mind if you were. It would give you some sort of purpose.

“Mommy,” your precious angel says, thrusting the bracelet into your face, “you read it.”

You feel your face heat up - and throb - at the way Matt turns to you. Your insides pang and you can't help but feel like you're ruining this moment for him. You clear your throat, and tell Minnie, “It says ‘Daddy loves you.’”

Her eyes go wide, and she gasps like it is breaking news, “Daddy loves me?”

“Daddy loves you,” Matt instantly confirms, “always and forever. And you'll have this to remind you.”

The sentiment stirs so much in you, and you let your headache push it all away and instead of getting emotional, you help Mouse put on her new bracelet. She rips her arm away from you as soon as she can to mimic her Daddy and holds up her wrist to show off her bracelet.

“I love Daddy, too!”

The little anxiety and self-doubt demon stirs in your chest. You love to see them bond, but you can't help but yearn for your daughter to shout she loves you, too, and you want your own bracelet. You know, you know, you are going to be overflowing with bracelets soon enough, but these ones are special. They have meaning and memories and -

And you remind yourself you can't do this in public, especially not around Minnie. You can't ruin their good time - if you haven't already.

Instead, you gently pat her back and ask, “What do you say to Daddy for the gift?”

“Thank you, Daddy!”

“You're very welcome, Mouse.”

Your daughter looks at her new piece of jewelry in amazement, turning her wrist so she can see all angles. With her distracted, you move to finish packing up by going to get the stroller, and by the time you have it popped open and your bag secured in the under pocket, Matt and Minnie are joining you by the doorway. Your little one needs no help buckling herself in and you can tell how happy she is by the way she kicks her feet.

As you get in position to start pushing the stroller, Matt steps to stand beside you so you can guide him as you walk. He waits until you leave the diner to address you.

“We don't need to go to the park,” he says in a soft voice.

You are shaking your head before he even finishes his sentence, “It’s fine, Matt. It's just a headache.” It isn't just a headache - your medicine hasn't kicked in and your head is just pulsing, but you will survive.

He very gently squeezes your elbow, saying your name, “you know I can tell that isn't true. You should be -”

“FROGGY!”

Minnie’s excited scream drowns out whatever he was going to push for.

On the corner ahead of you, waiting at the crosswalk are Foggy and Karen. They look like they are on a shopping trip - both carrying bags from different boutiques. They turn in unison towards you and Foggy breaks into the biggest smile once he spies your little group.

“Well, if it isn't my favorite little buddy! And her charming and beautiful parents. Wait,” he looks to Karen and gasps, eyes getting comically big, “is this the famous Saturday brunch?” He whirls around dramatically and points to Matt, like he is accusing him, “You're going to the park.”

“We're going to the park,” he confirms, his own grin starting to form at the antics and at the same time, Minnie exclaims, “we're gonna watch the duckies!”

“They are going to watch the duckies, Karen. Do you know what that does to my heart?” Foggy asks as he puts his hand on his chest. Karen shakes her head fondly and completely ignores him to address you.

“We've heard so many stories about the ducks. He gloats every Monday.”

Matt actually pouts at the statement, and you are reminded of a chastised puppy, “I don't gloat.”

“You gloat,” his friends say at the same time.

Minnie, of course, picks up quickly on the new word and kicks her feet as she giggles, “Daddy goats!”

A thought barely crosses your mind before the words are leaving your lips, “You should come with us.”

You can practically feel Matt's initial disapproval of the offer - not from selfishness but from you refusing to acknowledge your headache - but with how both Minnie and Foggy light up, you don't think he'll voice it. And you are right - he gives your arm a light squeeze as he agrees without any disdain, “The more the merrier.”

“I don't think this is an offer we can refuse,” Karen says, nudging Foggy with her elbow. “How can we say no to that face?”

You can't see Minnie’s face from behind her stroller, but you can picture her pleading little face. She has all of you wrapped around her little finger and you suspect she might start crying if they say no.

“To the park we go!” Foggy declares, “and with perfect timing because the light just turned green.”

You let yourself tune out as you start to walk again. Foggy is animatedly telling Matt and Minnie about his quest to find his girlfriend the perfect birthday gift. Apparently, her preferred brand of hand lotion has been discontinued and nothing else is good enough. It is sweet to hear him being so concerned about her needs and wants. He's the type of partner you used to dream about - before you realized that would never be in the cards for you - someone who listens to what you say and doesn't treat you like a glorified maid.

You only had two ‘serious’ relationships in your twenties and both had left you feeling worthless and unloved. You spent most of your time commuting to them and taking care of their needs only to be tossed aside when someone worth their time came along.

You were the type to stay at home and do the laundry, raise the children - be out of sight and out of mind. You didn't get taken out on fancy dates. No one tried to woo you.

No one went out of their way to buy you a gift.

In fact, you don't remember the last time you even celebrated your birthday. Some of your coworkers sent you Happy Birthday emails last year - only because the first one is sent out company wide and you are pretty sure it's automated.

You are fine with it, though. It's not like you celebrated such things as a kid, so you have nothing to miss. You are happy Foggy has someone he so clearly adores, and you hope, when Minnie grows up, she'll find someone like him.

Soon enough, you're at the park and making your way to your designated spot. Despite it being a warm and sunny day, things are relatively empty, and you are thankful there are no older children shouting or causing a ruckus. You just want to sit down.

You can hear Minnie unbuckling herself before you roll to a stop and there is a whirl of motion as you park. She's on the grass before you know it, scurrying like her namesake to get the picnic blanket out of its pocket and spread out. As you wait for her to finish setting up and Karen admires what a nice area you’ve picked, you realize Matt not only still has his hand on your bicep, but his thumb has been gently rubbing in a small circle.

Your heart stutters in your chest and you don't know why he's doing such a thing and now that you're aware of it, it's all you can focus on. Your entire body feels like it is on fire - from his touch, from the situation, from your headache - and you fear making a complete idiot of yourself. Foggy and Karen are here, and you don't want to embarrass Matt.

“Mommy, I need my sunnies!” Your perfect little distraction says from the other side of the stroller and it's the excuse you need to pull away from Matt. You kneel and rummage in your bag until you find the pink Barbie glasses and hand them over to your daughter, then take the time to pull yours out as well.

By the time you get them on and lock the stroller, everyone else is on the blanket. You situate yourself beside Minnie and tell yourself you need to pay attention as she enthusiastically begins to point out ducks to Foggy and Karen.

“That's Moose, he's mean!” She describes to her new friends, while grabbing Matt's hand so she can turn him in the right direction. You aren't sure if he really needs it - you haven't sat down and spoken about his needs since the revelation about his and Minnie’s senses. You make note to do that.

You listen to the back and forth about your daughter's favorite duck characters and story lines, trying to desperately be in the moment. The warm sun feels good on your skin, and you yearn to just flop over and close your eyes. The tension and pain seem to only be increasing. This may turn into a full-blown migraine.

As you start to mentally debate taking more ibuprofen, Minnie cuts herself off from describing how Moose is a food thief and whips her head towards the street, eyes going big. It very much reminds you of a dog that has caught the scent of a prey animal.

Foggy snorts with laughter at your daughter's expression, “Oh my God, she's just like Matt. What do you hear, girl? Is Timmy in a well?”

That has you wondering how often Matt gets his attention drawn away by something only he can sense and how many times Foggy has made that joke to him.

You don't get a chance to ask, because Mouse is turning her big begging eyes on you now, “Mommy, it's the ice cream man! Can we get ice cream? Please, please, please, please?” She is practically vibrating with desire, and you are not going to deny her anything.

“You can get a small ice cream,” you tell her, like it's a compromise. “You don't want your tummy to hurt later.”

She lets out a shriek of joy and scrambles up. To everyone's amusement, she starts digging through your bag for your wallet, and once she finds it, runs it back to you, held over her head like it's a prize. She practically crashes into you, the biggest smile on her face, and you do a scoop and turn maneuver to sit her in your lap.

“Would you like any ice cream?” you ask the three friends sitting with you, not wanting anyone to feel excluded.

Foggy pushes himself up into standing before you finish getting the words out of your mouth, “Of course we want ice cream, what kind of question is that? Do I look like I say no to ice cream?”

“Oh, a cone does sound really good,” Karen muses beside you.

“Then ice cream it is,” Matt declares, getting up as well. “My treat,” he adds much to your dismay. You don't get to protest, as he barrels on, holding his free hand out to Minnie, “Want to lead the way, sweetheart?”

Your daughter practically leaps up to grab onto her Daddy, demanding, “Carry me!”

“Minnie!” You quickly chastise, shame running through you. She knows better than to jump and climb on people, but you are beginning to fear Matt may become her new jungle gym. No one else shares this worry, least of all Matt, who simply gives into his daughter's will and swings her up onto his hip with a laugh. She clings to his neck and shoulder, and because she is sweet as pie, plants a big kiss on his cheek.

Everything happens so fast that you are still sitting on the blanket with Karen, and you don't even think of standing before Foggy is looking down at you and Karen, “What flavor do you want?”

“I'm feeling chocolate,” the strawberry blonde hums, tapping her index finger on her chin.

The shame and anxiety demon is growing in your throat at the implication you and Karen will stay while the men and your daughter fetch dessert. You want to say that you can pay and that you can go get it - that they should spend the time relaxing - but the darkness in your mind screams that if you say anything other than ‘vanilla’, you're going to ruin everything. Minnie's fun will stop, and Matt's friends are going to judge you, and thus him, and you can't do that.

So, you croak out your preference and hope Matt's super senses are too focused on his daughter to notice you are two steps away from a breakdown.

“One chocolate, one vanilla, coming right up,” Foggy says so cheerfully and you wonder if he is always like this, or if it is an act for Minnie. You honestly can't tell, especially when he turns his attention to your little one, “Okay, Lassie, where's the ice cream truck?”

Matt and Karen laugh at the reference, and you force a smile because it is a cute joke. Minnie points over her Daddy's shoulder towards the road and directs, “That way!”

Matt, managing to keep a straight face, purposely turns to face the river and takes a step towards it, “this way?”

“No, Daddy! Other way!”

“Ah,” he pivots to his left, so he is facing the bushes that border the edge of the park, “This way.”

Mouse dissolves into giggles, hiding her face against his neck and Matt gets the sweetest, dopiest smile on his face - like this is the best moment of his life. It makes your heart sing to see them play and tease and you wish so desperately you weren't in agony so you could actually enjoy it.

Your daughter must say something to Matt, as he lets out a loud barking laugh before kissing the top of her head, “Okay, okay, we won't miss the ice cream. Fog, would you be so kind?” He motions to the sidewalk with the hand holding his cane and there must be an understanding, as the blonde man holds out his arm for Matt to take. The cane is expertly folded up and the two men and your daughter start walking towards the road. It doesn't take more than a few steps for all of them to start laughing again.

You and Karen watch as they disappear down the sidewalk. The woman beside you is smiling softly, clearly enjoying the show that is Matt with Minnie. You hope you are smiling as well and not looking like some sort of summer Grinch.

“You know,” Karen says a few moments after they turn around a corner and go out of sight, “I don't remember the last time I saw him smile so much.”

You turn your attention to her, ducking your head just slightly, “she adores him.”

“And he adores her,” she quickly confirms. “And you.” You doubt that but know better than to try to argue. It doesn't matter, anyways, because she doesn't give you room to, continuing on, “He's been through a lot - not just his childhood but recently, too. I was really scared for him. We thought…we thought we lost him.” Your heart clenches tightly at the conversation. Karen switches from a soft smile to biting her lips and looking like she might start crying at the memories she's bringing up inside herself. “He's a good man but, truth be told, he's an idiot sometimes. He thought he was alone. That he had to be alone.”

You are lucky you are wearing your glasses because you can't bring yourself to look at Karen. It hurts to hear her talk about Matt in that way. You haven't had this sort of conversation with him - everything has been so surface level or about Minnie. You clear your throat and ask, “What about you and Foggy? You all seem very close.”

Karen laughs a little sadly, then tucks some hair behind her ear, “He and Foggy weren't talking. It was all…complicated. But it's better now. We're all good. Or we are working in it.” She takes a breath, and you see her look up, and you think she's smiling at you, “The point is he's…I don't worry anymore. You came into his life, and it is like you knocked some sense into him. He was never good at taking care of himself and now, he puts in the effort. He doesn't want to disappoint you. He wants to be a good dad.”

Her words confuse you - Matt seems very put together - he's a lawyer with amazing accomplishments under his belt. She must be talking about his personal life and fear trickles into your system. Was he an alcoholic or a drug user? As long as it was all behind him, you can't judge him for it. You know people have spotty pasts and even good people have rough times - and that doesn't make them any less of a good person. You'd be a hypocrite if you did think less of him because you've had your own share of troubles.

You want Karen to know that. You start to pick at the hem of your jeans, so you have something to do with your hands while your mind free-fall. “He's a good dad,” you start slowly. “He's amazing with Minnie. He's so attentive and understanding and I love watching them play. I'm still getting used to the whole…” you lower your voice, just in case, “super-senses thing, but he's been helpful in explaining things. I’m just glad he wants to be in her life.”

“Are hers as good as his?” She asks and you can feel her leaning towards you. You don't know the answer to that, as Matt hasn't exactly explained in detail what he is able to do, but you do know Minnie has abilities you didn't know were possible.

You shrug in response, “I'm not sure, but…I don't hear or see an ice cream truck, so.”

She laughs at that, then you fall back into a silence. You can tell she wants to ask more, but you aren't sure why she hesitates. You are grateful for it, though, and behind your glasses, you close your eyes. The back of your skull is throbbing and part of it has curled around to your left ear. You resist the urge to try to massage it away and instead try to stretch, letting your chin touch your collar bone. You focus on breathing through your nose, hoping it will magically make things more tolerable.

Your mind feels like sludge, and you start wondering how long it will take until Minnie is worn out. You usually end up spending about an hour and a half at the park, enjoying the sun and ducks, and you've only just gotten here. You have no idea if it will go quicker or slower with more people for Mouse to interact with. Usually, she stays in your lap, hiding away from people, but she very obliviously loves Foggy. You think it is because he's good with children - Matt told you he has a big extended family. She had opened up to him very quickly once she realized he is Matt's best friend. Best friend is an important word to a toddler, apparently.

“It isn't just Minnie,” Karen says suddenly, bringing you back to reality. You frown at her, not understanding what she's talking about. Had you missed part of the conversation?

“It isn't just Minnie,” she repeats, “it's you, too.”

You feel like a lost lamb. Your brain hasn't caught up with what is going on and all you can do is gawk at the woman beside you.

“Me…?” You question and she nods.

“You make him happy, too.”

You don't understand why she's telling you that or what it has to do with anything. You get you've made Matt happy by bringing Minnie into his life. The only response you can think to give is a simple, “I'm glad.”

You can feel Karen examining you, but you refuse to meet her gaze. You don't think that was the right thing to say, but it is all you have. You are glad bringing Minnie into Matt's life has made him happy and seemingly changed things for the better for him. You want him to have a good life.

In the corner of your eye, you see Karen reach out and you brace yourself as she puts her hand on your shoulder. She says your name, then gently questions, “Are you doing alright? You look pale.”

You force yourself to smile and give a dismissive shake of your head, “Just a little headache. I took some ibuprofen; it just hasn't kicked in yet.”

She quickly drops her hand, humming in sympathy, “I get that. I have some Motrin in my purse, if you need something stronger.”

“Oh, no, I'll be okay,” you promise.

You'll have to be okay. Minnie and Matt will be back from getting ice cream any minute and you will need to go into Mom-mode to make sure your daughter doesn't make an absolute mess of herself. Then, you'll need to keep an eye on her while you remain at the park for however long, because you will never forgive yourself if you give any indication to Matt's friends that you're not a suitable parent.

You just need to take a deep breath and make sure you don't space out again.

You'll be fine.

After all, it is just a headache.

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@midnightreids @cloudroomblog @yeonalie @thychuvaluswife

@petrovafire39 @allllium

@dorothleah @mattmurdocksstarlight @mars-on-vinyl @mywellspringoflife @sleepdeprived-barelyalive @simmilarly @soupyspence @darkened-writer @akila-twt

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@mrs-bellingham @eugene-emt-roe @cometenthusiast @stevenknightmarc @hunnybelha @

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#soulie writes #fanfiction #daredevil #matt murdock #matt murdock x reader #and then i met you

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mythicalviper-fr · 10 months

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FR Skin Contests and You (and Me)

Let’s talk about festival skin contests.

This post will be 1) about win conditions 2) my breakdown on my wins/losses. Before we start, please know a lot of this is guesswork, and based on my own perspective. Still, I hope this will be useful for some people ^^

***August/888 and I (but August mostly as it’s his idea) will be hosting an event encouraging new artists to join festival contests on 8/8. It will have a lot of tips and references to help get you started, so please keep an eye out!

When it comes to skin contests, people generally enter for one of three reasons: 1) for fun 2) because it’s seen as a milestone of skinmaking, or 3) out of a desire to push yourself to the limit knowing you’ll regret it like a Sunday hangover– but I hope that’s just me.

In my two years of participating in skin contests, I’ve seen a lot of artists join with a lot of excitement, only to give up or drop out because they aren’t winning. Some blame it on skill, others blame it on the staff, and some blame it on fellow competitors.

Here’s what I will say: like any contest, winning the festival skin contest is based on a combination of luck, knowledge, and skill. Just like any contest, there is a strategy to it and there are win conditions that you have to fulfill if you want a chance at winning. Some artists find these win conditions quickly and are able to adapt and cultivate the skill needed to pull off a win. Some are aware of these win conditions but do not yet have the skill to pull off a win. And some aren’t aware at all. A loss is usually (but not always) a result of not fulfilling those win conditions, or not fulfilling them as much as another artist.

So, let’s talk about these win conditions.

The Biggest Win Condition: Breed Variety

In my opinion, the biggest factor that makes or breaks an entry is breed variety. Over the past ten years, there's been a consistent trend of staff picking one winner per breed/pose, though there are occasional outliers (most recently, two Aether M for Brightshine, but previously also Undertide M and Spiral M). This means whenever you submit a skin, you’re competing against artists that also submitted the same breed/pose.

For those who aren’t aware, breed variety has been dropping in contests, along with the number of submissions. The result is that there are very few submissions for less popular breeds. Take a look at Brightshine 2023 - the majority of the submissions were Aethers. But even if there ended up being three Aether wins, that meant none of the other Aether skins made it in.

I want to explain this with numbers. Say Aethers (M&F) made up 60% of the Brightshine 2023 submissions but could only make it into 2 or 3/16 of the winning slots. That’s 60% of the submissions eliminated from making it into the remaining 13/16 slots. Where would the other 13/16 skins come from, if staff were to stick to their trend of 1 breed/pose skin per festival? The flight breeds - Imp and PC might take up 4 more slots. But that’s still 9/16 slots that need winners and only 30% of the submissions to pick from. Additionally, ancients will generally make up at least 40% of the winning submissions, if not 50%. That’s why having 100 submissions might mean there aren’t a lot of winners the staff could pick, and why there weren’t any Fae skins for Starfall 2022 or Spiral M skins for Mistral 2023.

I tested this theory with F Ridgeback submissions. I mainly focused on three breed/poses that I saw as the least submitted - F Noc, F Bog, and F Ridgeback. I went with Ridgeback because it was the base I liked the most. The result? Out of the 22 contests I’ve entered, I won 5 with F Ridgeback. That’s a 25% win rate with one breed/pose alone. If we factor in wins I’ve had with these three poses combined, that’s 8 wins or a 36% win rate.

Drawing on an unpopular breed/pose is a good way to make sure you don’t have too many competitors (and also show some of the more unpopular breeds some love). This is particularly true if you’re a newer artist like I was. I started doing art in June 2021, so I knew there was no chance I could outcompete better artists on the same breed/pose.

Of course, choosing the right breed will not always net you a win - you still need good skin composition and skills to catch the staff’s attention, which is what we’re going to talk about next.

Statutory Win Conditions: Flight Themes & Colors

When it comes to making a skin for a festival contest, I always recommend people look at the apparel, lore, and familiars for that flight, because these items are usually the closest to what’s canonically considered a flight’s aesthetic. A lot of the entries I’ve seen win are based off of the fest fams or match a fest apparel.

There are exceptions. The game aspect of the Lightning Flight isn’t canon, but we’ve had hivemind and gaming skins win. Why? Maybe that contest only had a total of 12-15 breed/poses submitted, maybe it was just the best executed skin for that breed/pose, maybe a staff member just really liked it. However, generally winners will match the flight’s canon aesthetic.

The trend of skin contest winners also suggest a favoring of elements that are placed on the dragon’s wings and head (leaves, vines, fairy/insect wings, gears), or accent/tattoo-like effects that involve gradient, sparkles, or abstract smoke (see 888’s 2023 brightshine win). Skin compositions that are balanced (elements throughout the body, as opposed to just one part of the body) see a higher win rate. Skins that have lower accent coverage tend to see higher win rates when they’re gradients/accents (linings on the dragon, runic/circuit effects) or when they’re concentrated on an easily noticeable/central part of the body (like the wings, or the dragon’s back).

In the end, knowing what to draw really comes down to research and knowledge. Before each contest I would review all the past winning entries and try to glean what staff did or didn’t pick. I noticed that staff didn’t tend to pick whiteout or body morph skins, and they tend to pick skins with higher coverage. I also checked past festival winners to see the color theme for each contest. There are some contests during which colors that aren’t necessarily the flight’s colors are still picked, and there are contests that haven’t seen a festival skin which didn’t match the flight’s colors. Like any contest, there’s always going to be a small bit of luck involved.

Ultimately, while I can’t speak for the staff, I do think there are win conditions that need to be fulfilled. You need to have a basic level of art skill. You need knowledge on skin composition and colors. Then, of course, you need to know which breed/pose to choose.

I hope my analysis helps a little when you’re entering your next contest, or that it made for an interesting read. If you just came here for general tips and tricks, that’s all I have for you - you can also scroll all the way down to see my final thoughts on contests. But generally, just keep trying different things, doing your research, and making sure you’re sticking to the flight theme.

For people who want it, here’s my breakdown on each series of contests that I’ve entered, and reasons why I think I won or lost.

Personal Analysis - Brightshine 2021-Brightshine 2023

I’m a very competitive person and more importantly, I love to compete. So the moment I found myself capable of making skins, festivals were on my radar. I studied what previous artists did, what techniques and designs seem to win the most. What skills did I need and what skins caught the judges' eyes? More importantly, what bases did I feel confident with and could perform the best on? As soon as I felt like I understood the contest, I entered Brightshine 2021 with about 2 weeks’ worth of art experience.

Then I proceeded to lose four contests in a row.

So, what happened?

Brightshine 2021 (loss)

Sometimes unearthing your old art is like watching an old video of yourself in your cringey teenager phase. But knowing why you lost is important in understanding how you can win (and what to absolutely not do again).

For Brightshine 2021, I submitted a Guard F design with two recolors. At the time I only had the skill to draw lanterns and filigree, so I went “that’s Light enough” and did exactly that. Although I would say my theme was (kind of) on point, it was my execution that was lacking:

Issue No. 1: Colors. In review of previous Light winners there’s a umber/gold palette or gold/sunlight palette that appears to be the meta. There have also been cases of red or purple winning even though they aren’t used in official Light items, and some rainbow entries. While one of my recolors followed this scheme, it fell short because–

Issue No. 2: Composition. Skin composition is the balance of elements and how well each element pulls their weight in a piece of art. In my Brightshine 2021 entry, most of the base was left bare. Artists like August are really good at skin comp where their entire piece looks tied together; mine was far from that.

Issue No. 3: Quality. If you compare my Brightshine 2021 submission to my 2023 one, you’ll see what I mean. My art style relies on rendering, or applying lighting and shadows, to bring out each element. Basically I need rendering in order to win. This isn’t necessarily a requirement for you; some artists do lineless, others do painterly, and others don’t render at all, but overall the art style should have a specific level of quality that rendering brought out in my art.

In short: wrong colors, bad lineart, skill issue, no skin comp - overall it was a piece of art not even its creator could love. (I tossed the psd in the recycling bin and hit delete. Except looking in the database now apparently I printed it, so now I have to live with the shame of its existence.)

There is one takeaway that I got. By the time the contest ended there were no other Guard F entries. I realized then that had my art been better, with the breed/pose’s lack of competition, I could’ve had a shot at winning the contest.

Thundercrack 2021 (loss)

Alright, 2021 Myth thinks, I’ve learned my lesson from Brightshine. The skin composition was not good. That means I should put more stuff on the base and I’m sure to win!

Have you ever just looked in the mirror and realized you, yes you, are the most punchable thing in the world?

In all fairness, the skin comp of my TCC entry did improve. Like Brightshine, I did a single design with two recolors on an unpopular breed. Improvements I made: additional elements to the skin aside from the one big element on the wing, and a color palette that matched the flight. Of course, I wished my theme of hivemind/code also matched the flight aesthetic, but just like my love life, the only thing my submission matched with was loss and disappointment.

Issue No. 1: Design. Upon reviewing past winners, very few featured fake apparel or clothing. As mentioned previously, staff do not appear to favor whiteout or body morph skins, and prefer elements that adhere to the dragon (like wings) or add to the dragon (like bones/feathers).

Issue No 2: Technology. For my entry, the circuit patterning on the wings did not take resizing well. I drew this on a 750x750 canvas and the resizing blended the many circuit lines into a single line. This isn’t a program issue. It was a lack of understanding of how resizing works.

Issue No 3: And we’re still here with my biggest problem: skill issue. Art is not a skill you learn in two months. I did learn to render, but not well enough. I wasn’t good enough. Yet.

Starfall 2021 (loss)

So… fun fact! During all of this I was writing my thesis. As in, I was writing my thesis after not writing my thesis for a year. It was stressful. I don’t have much to say about this contest because I did this skin as a meme for the sole reason that somewhere in my 3 am sleep deprived brain I thought “Emergency Portal-col” was hilarious.

I did not expect to win and I didn’t. Still, I did notice more and more that certain breeds just weren’t submitted for contests. Ridgeback F, I noticed, had anywhere from 0 to 1 submission for each contest while M pose generally had 0. Same for Nocturnes.

Riot of Rot 2021 (loss)

By this time, 2021 Myth had given up on the “one big element + some other accessories” idea. It hadn’t worked for Light or Lightning and it wasn’t going to work. So I thought, what if I just went for the accessory elements? My ROR skin featured the spider lily, smoke, and sparkles. I also started experimenting with dark gradients on the limbs of the dragon, which I’d noticed in winning fest entries.

Gradients and sparkles help with skin composition. Especially if you’re a newer artist who can’t pull off more complicated effects. Oftentimes a skin looks empty in certain parts, but adding elements to those parts would make things look messier. That’s where gradients/sparkles come in. However, I lost because:

Issue No 1: Composition again. While my elements tied together well, I had no main attraction other than the empty void that was the center of the Ridgeback wing. I essentially did a background scene and didn’t add a main character for it. This made me think that maybe my “one big element” skin comp idea was still worth a shot, but I needed a different take.

Issue No 2: Aaaand skill issue again.I was still bad at rendering, and sometimes skill is just why you lose. Not because you don’t have good ideas or because your execution was bad, but because you do not yet have the skills to defeat your competitors. You can do a really good looking skin, but if someone else in the contest did an even better looking skin on the breed/pose, then you’re not going to win.

Gala 2021 (win)

Losing four times in a row was pretty discouraging. But here’s another important element to skin contests: consistency. The frequency of your submissions should result in a win so long as you fulfill all of the other win conditions such as good composition, understanding of the theme, and the basic level of art skill required to win.

For the Gala, I realized that wings would be the best big element to put on a base while tying in all of the other elements. This is probably the most complicated skin I’d worked on at that time. But because I’d learned minimal rendering, because my skin composition was actually good, and there was no competition for Ridgeback F, I won. For the very first time.

Trickmurk 2021 - Starfall 2022 (6 wins 2 losses - 12 skin designs submitted total)

Here, I’d found my strategy. As long as I kept to the theme and made sure my skin comp and rendering was good, I would win. Especially because I had no competition. Again, breed variety is a huge issue in skin contests, because people - particularly the really skilled artists - are more likely to go for a breed that they like or is popular. As a newer artist, I was well aware that there was a 100% chance I’d lose if I tried to fight anyone for the same breed/pose. (And part of knowing the win conditions is also knowing artists you definitely are not winning against.)

3/6 of my wins during this time was F Ridgeback. The others were: F Coatl, which had no competition during Trickmurk, and F Nocturne, which had no competition during Wind and Arcane’s fests (but competed against my will to live because this is a terrible base to work on).

But relying on unpopular breed advantage was about as reliable as internet connection in a college dorm. 3/6 of my wins were ridgeback but that meant all of my losses were also ridgeback. On top of that, the number of Ridgeback submissions peaked at one point to 5-6. I was still winning, because I had the skill to beat my competitors. But I had to up my game. My skins had to be more elaborate, closer to the theme. I began submitting two designs per competition, which was… going to be a problem for me later.

The idea behind submitting two designs per competition is simple. Instead of just relying on one unpopular breed/pose to net you the win, now you have two shots at winning.

My goal that I’d made during this time was to either win 11 in a row or to win once for each holiday. This was to keep my motivation. Keep in mind I was also writing my thesis, so I really needed a goal to go towards, especially when I committed to doing two designs per contest.

(I defended my thesis successfully in May 2022 and graduated with high honors!)

ROR 2022 - Brightshine 2023 (7 wins 1 loss - 16 skin designs submitted total)

Here’s where I found another niche in the skin contests. Flight-breeds. These are breeds that belong to each element and surprisingly - they don’t actually get that many submissions. Seeing Starfall 2022’s skin turnout as an Arcanite was tough. When it came to reviewing Starfall 2022, anyone would’ve won as long as they submitted a good quality Fae skin that didn’t break the rules or stray too far from the theme and had a skin composition that the staff liked.

I decided to put my theory to the test with Earth, Ice, Wind, Water, and Nature. Are you surprised there were only three Snap F submissions for Earth, one Tun M for Ice, two SDM for Wind, and something like two Undertide F entries for Water? I was. Especially with Undertides because the breed had been released only five months ago. By noticing the flight-breed meta, and having the time, skill, and experience to make skins for those breeds that fit the criteria, I was able to win.

At this time I started straying away from my “one big element + smaller accessories” composition. My art had gotten better so I was able to expand my designs. Wavecrest 2023 was the biggest show of that, and I’m really proud of my entries for that contest. It was essentially a turning point in my art style… but it did take a lot more time and effort. From that point on, my skins were hitting 90+ layers and taking me at least two weeks to draw.

The last skin contest I entered with that art style was Brightshine 2023. By the time the contest ended, I was pretty sure winning would take a miracle or a relationship with god that I did not have. The competition for Imp M was difficult, and I was pitting my submission against artists who had far more experience and skill. I had some hope for my Ridge F entry, but again, relying on unpopular breed advantage is, well. Not reliable.

I lost. It was crushing, because not only did that mean I lost Brightshine three years in a row, Brightshine was the last contest I needed to win to fulfill either one of my goals: winning 11 in a row or win once for each elemental holiday. However, losses happen and it sucks, but it’s not the end of the world. I simply lost to a much better artist, and I am okay with that.

Final Thoughts

Heart-to-heart time.

I know some people become discouraged because they don’t think they have the skill, or they compare themselves to other artists. I felt discouraged for the same reason. After losing so many contests in 2021, I thought I would never improve. I would never be as good as artists that started long before me, or even some that started after me but learned so much faster.

I still think that’s true. I have a long way to go and I may never catch up to these other artists. But here’s the thing about art: it’s a skill that constantly evolves and you cannot see that evolution unless you keep trying. And you need to keep trying if you want to win, because you aren’t going to without reaching the right skill level.

The hardest truth about competitions is that you can’t expect to win just because you tried. If everyone could win just by participating – that contest isn’t worth winning. There are no stakes so there is no value. But when you put in a lot of effort and time, and you win? That win is something that will stay with you. That is a worthwhile win - because it was hard and because you lost so many times.

Sure, the staff could let everyone who enters win. Maybe winners should be judged solely on participation. Maybe that would make more people happy. But would you really be happy to win, knowing there’s no chance of losing? At that point, would being a festival contest winner mean anything?

In the end, a contest is supposed to be fun. Throw everything I’ve said out the window if that’s made contests un-fun for you. Most, MOST importantly, you should join the competition because you enjoy it. If you’re joining just to win, and you take losses very hard, and participation becomes a chore - then that is never going to be worth the toll on your mental health.

Take it from someone who took it too seriously. Drawing two skin designs monthly was taxing (remember it was taking me at least 2 weeks per design), and by Nature 2023 I had severe burnout. When Brightshine rolled around, I sat down for 11 hours to finish my Imp entry, because I knew I wouldn’t have time for art later. By the time I finished, I was running on about five hours of sleep and a very unhealthy attachment to caffeine.

Then, three days before Brightshine, I was diagnosed with tendonitis.

I started feeling discomfort in my arms/wrist since March, hence why I stopped releasing public skins. But this is effectively the worst arm related injury I’ve had, and while drawing is not the main cause, doing so for 11 hours straight didn’t help. My left arm has minor pain. My right arm is swollen and in a brace. This could’ve been avoided by taking breaks and doing exercises. But the lack of proper precaution led to injury. (And yes, I drew my Bogsneak TCC 2023 entry with a mouse for this reason. I could not use my tablet pen so… circle and line tool it was. But I had fun ^^)

I hope my analysis of the contests will be of some use to you. But please do not hurt yourself, mentally or physically, in competing. UMA artists make around 3kg per run of skin, so if you are entering contests for the prize, that’s not the best use of your time and energy. When it comes down to it, you are going to be doing free art for the site, and that is never worth injuring yourself for.

As a final note, thank you to the FR staff for allowing artists to participate in the site. My art experience is purely derived from skins and contests have encouraged me to improve myself. Thank you also to my friends who cheered me on along the way, the many wonderful artists who gave me tips on line weight, coloring, and rendering. And of course, many thanks to August for being the best cheerleader I could have. I would not have made it to Brightshine without him as a competitor and fellow artist.

(However nothing you do will make me like Gaolers and that is a hill I will die on.)

Happy almost-Flameforger’s everyone! Here’s to the next fest cycle.

#flightrising #flight rising #flight rising skins #fr skins and accents #fr fest #skins and accents

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analyticalstarz · 2 months

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In honor of autism awareness month, here's a full comprehensible list as to why I think Rui is autistic, or at the very least, neurodivergent !!!! - 1, For starters, he was ostracized by his classmates for presumably almost a decade (2nd grade - 1st yr of high school), all because he was "different" and nobody around him could properly understand him. This has resulted in him struggling to form and maintain relationships. As stated in his second focus event, Revival My Dream, when he was a kid, Rui had a hard time conversering with his classmates because he felt as if he couldn't connect with them.

He's interested in more niche things, like robotics,

and he was also interested in things that people normally regard as "scary", such as moths;

After he became fond of shows and theater as well and attempted to include his classmates in one he thought of in an attempt to grow closer to them, his idea ultimately backfired since his classmates thought his way of directing was "dangerous", and this is where the ostracization seemed to start.

(translation by Arvon Oven) Being ostracized and shunned is unfortunately a common thing with people who have autism, and as I mentioned previously, Rui was alone for presumably seven years straight, all because he was regarded as "different". - 2, He has "restricted, obsessive interests" that can be seen as hyperfixations/special interests. Ever since he was a child, Rui's been heavily interested in both robotics/inventing and shows. A hyperfixation is described as, "A complete obsession with or absorption into a particular task. The task can be a hobby, a TV show, a subject of interest, or something else. People who hyperfixate may tune out the world around them and ignore important responsibilities, such as eating or sleeping." Rui's interest in shows specifically can be seen as a hyperfixation, as in the first side story of his Unforeseen Keynotes (or Unexpected Happenings according to the English translation) card, Rui was so engrossed in thinking about the next show they'd be doing, he had completely forgotten that Robo-Nene was due for maintenance, and Nene mentions that this wouldn't be the first time he's forgotten to eat or sleep because of how engrossed he gets in his thoughts while thinking about shows.

Nene also mentions in Wonderlands x Showtime's main story that Rui becomes so absorbed in his shows that he "loses sight of everything else", (In the original Japanese version, she says "When it comes to shows, he isn't able to look at his surroundings, so things never work out".)

and also in KAMIKOU FESTIVAL!, where he mentions that his tendency to put shows "at the center of everything" might be a flaw of his;

(translation by Ren) It's also mentioned in A Once-In-A-Lifetime Pandemonium!? that he'll get so absorbed in his thoughts while thinking of shows, he'll completely forget about his surroundings.

(translation by tsukasa’s #3 fan) - 3, He has texture issues, which is also common with people who have autism. It's been mentioned multiple times throughout the course of the game that he detests vegetables, but more specifically cucumbers and things in the cucurbitaceae family (such as watermelon & pumpkin), because they all share the same texture.

He mentions in an area conversation with Nene that he usually only eats at restaurants he's familiar with (he sticks to routine; another thing common with people who have autism), so eating out has never been an issue to him, and he even refused to eat vegetables when they were quite literally stranded on a deserted island and in a life-threatening situation.

- 4, He info-dumps. A lot.

This one is pretty self-explanatory, I think. - 5, He's overly logical and struggles with his emotions. He's had trouble on multiple occasions understanding his emotions, such as in Full Power! Wonder Halloween! where he unconsciously holds himself back after inadvertently injuring Tsukasa with one of his inventions, but he didn't realize that he was even holding himself back until somebody pointed it out, and he didn't realize that he was holding himself back because he was worried, either. Something similar happens in Heat Up! Kamikou High Cheering Squad! where he unconsciously holds himself back because he feared being shunned again, but once again, he didn't realize the reason for him holding himself back until somebody pointed it out for him. In the first side story of his I Can't Afford to Lose *4 card, Rui comes to the Sekai, hoping to talk to somebody to put his mind at ease. As he runs into Meiko and Luka and they ask him what's wrong because he seemed down, Rui says that "I just wanted to think about production, but my feelings got in the way of thinking". He then says "Feelings really are troublesome. / Sometimes, you have to hold them back with all of your might... It'd be nice if someone other than me could manage these troublesome feelings". (In the English translation, he says "Emotions are so complicated and can be so troublesome at times. / There are even times when one becomes completely overwhelmed by them... If only someone else were able to help put a lid on them.") Lastly, I'd like to mention that in Revival My Dream, after Rui asks his mom if he's different from the people around him, she responds by saying that, yes, he is different, but she also says that she was "just like him" as a child, and seeing how autism is caused mainly by genetics, his mom can very well be autistic too.

Okay, that is all!!! Thank you for listening to me yap :3

#project sekai #pjsk #rui kamishiro #colorful stage #prosekai #pjsk rui #wonderland x showtime #rui pjsk #rui pjsekai #rui project sekai #kamishiro rui #autism acceptence month #autism awareness month #project sekai analysis #I couldn't add images for the 5th one. whoopsies #lmk if I missed anything!!!#this list was quite fun to compile

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arlestial · 8 months

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hi, could i please request nagi, isagi, bachira and chigiri when they forgot a date and accidentally stood up their s/o?

❝Break me like a promise❞

synopsis : Life is sometimes difficult, keeping them busy and away from you; until it turned to take you away from them.

pairing : Nagi Seishiro, Isagi Yoichi, Bachira Meguru x genderneutral!reader •— Blue Lock

tw : angst

word count : 2000 words

author-note : Hi !! As I said before, I’ve never been aware of my requests in my ask-box so here I am writing them 1 year after they’ve been given 💀 Sorry for the long wait, hope you still like it :) Took me a lot of time to write for my food wars ask so writing for this one was not my priority at first 😭 If you want a part 2, I’ll gladly do it 🫶🏻 I’ll do Chigiri in another post !! take care of yourself ♡

ISAGI YOICHI was, once again, lost in his thoughts. Soccer was keeping him busier than he’d like admit, sometimes leading to ghosting you for one day or two - but it was rare, fortunately for you. He was the sweetest, really. He couldn’t stop thinking about you, calling you at random hours in the night “just to hear your voice”, murmuring sweet nothings with this tired, hoarse, yet, mesmerizing voice of his. And then, no news for 4 or 5 days, if you were lucky enough. Sometimes, you felt like you were too clingy, too lovey-dovey, but he immediately was shushing your words by peppered kisses on your face, between giggles and intertwined fingers. And then, no news for 5 or 7 days, if you were lucky enough. This has been going on for months, and you were slowly - and painfully - becoming tired of it. You decided to confront him, puzzled by his sudden change of behavior. Was it Blue Lock ? Or you ? Why was he so distant ? One night, you took your phone and called him, concerned, fidgeting with the hem of the oversized shirt he gave you last time he came home.

“Honey ? Hi. What’s up ?”

“Hi, Yoichi. You busy ?”

“’Need to sleep soon, we have a big training tomorrow. Why ?”

“Am I a burden to you, Yoichi ?”

Isagi frowned on the other side of the phone, looking at the screen, as if he was checking he was calling the right person.

“Wait what- you’re speaking nonsense, are you okay ?”

“I am. Do you still love me ?”

“Obviously. Why are you asking me this ? Did I do something bad ?” His voice broke a little, your heart tightening slightly.

“Yeah- I mean, no. It’s complicated. I feel like you’re avoiding me all the time. You’re here, and right after a call or a text, you’re disappearing, ghosting me afterwards. I legitimately don’t understand. Is it my fault ?”

“N-No, not at all ! Blue lock is just keeping me busy, love. You don’t need to worry.”

You don’t need to worry. You never have to worry with Isagi by your side. However, the time, you couldn’t help but feel a knot in your stomach. This weird sensation caused you to keep your mouth shut; and it was visibly concerning to the raven-haired boy.

“Love ? You’re still here ?”

“Y-Yeah, sorry. I’m just a little bit tired, that’s all. You don’t have to worry about me,”, you nervously chuckled, before murmuring a small “love you” like you always did before ending a call with your lover.

After some time overthinking your entire relationship, you decided to talk to him face to face; meaning you had to head out directly to Blue Lock buildings. The following morning, you woke-up rather early, rushing your usual routine to take a random bus, supposed to drive you to the famous quarters.

You felt the knot in your lower stomach again; sweetly palms grabbing your tote bag to keep it from falling, opening the doors of the building. You gulped as you made your way to the receptionist, asking her if you could see your boyfriend just for some minutes. She refused several times, visibly quite annoyed by your presence. After endless pleas, a woman with sort of chocolate-brown hair appeared, scolding the receptionist for “the lack of respect she showed”. She apologized and introduced herself, Anri Teieri, Jinpachi Ego’s assistant, co-director of the Blue Lock project, as she walked in the large corridors, gesturing you to follow her.

So, you did, eager to see your boyfriend, your steps and Anri's echoing on the bare walls. You finally arrived to the dorms, and Anri knocked on the door, making sure nobody was changing or something. When she was assured that the room was safe, she flashed you a smile and opened the door for you to enter. You immediatly spotted a surprised Isagi, turning his head to look at the person who entered their shared dorm. When you two made eye-contact, a huge smile appeared on his features, and he ran to you, engulfing your form with his strong arms.

"Y/N ?? Gosh, I'm so relieved to see you. I missed you so much." Several shared kisses later, Isagi promised to take you on a date the following day, saying he had Ego's permission to take a break from training. So, as he said, you waited in the restaurant he booked the day prior. Anxiety was beginning to fill your mind as you desperately stared at the front doors, hoping with your entire-being for your boyfriend to show-up. But he never did. After one hour and four pity glances from the waiters, you left, your heart heavy in your chest.

Little did you know, that Isagi was actually playing a training game against professional players. When his teammates had asked him to join them on the field, he had bit his lower lip, letting his thoughts wander between you and the human yet unreachable figures he always admired. With some sort of "fuck it, I'll deal with the consequences later" curse, he let go of his bag and hurried to the changing rooms, not realizing what decision he had just taken. But it was an occasion he couldn’t miss, right ?

And when you saw him on the screen of your phone, more precisely, with the Blue Lock broadcast channel, in his blue jersey, tossing the ball to Nagi, the knot in your stomach disapperead.

Giving way to a boiling anger. And a message on his phone, lying on the bench of the field,

10:49p.m. | y/n ♡ : guess you made your choice then.

NAGI SEISHIRO was a bit lazy. It was his personality; you loved him that way, and you weren’t going to plead him to change his lack of motivation for you. But when he refused again to go on a date with you, you had just enough. And sighing was not an option. Your arguments with him were quite rare, because Nagi always found a way to shut you up and apologize sincerely. But this time, it felt like he genuinely wasn’t understanding your point. For the nth time that night, you growled in frustration, your face in your hands. Nagi was lying on the bed, not even bothering to turn off his phone when you were talking to him. He kept humming quiet “mmh”, “yeah”, too busy with his new phone game to actually listen to you.

“Nagi, please ! I’m sick of it,”, you cursed under your breath, fists clenching in order to keep your boiling anger to yourself. You didn’t want to lash everything on him right now. “Can’t you just look at me when I’m talking to you ?”

He frowned; hearing his last name instead of the usual petname for him seemed to get him out of his thoughts.

“What ? I’m listening.”

“You’re not. You’re never listening. That’s the problem with you.”

He sighed, rolling his eyes. You crossed your arms, lifting an eyebrow, clearly not amused by his nonchalant attitude.

“Really now ? Hey, come here. I don’t know why you’re so annoying, I guess it was a long day fo-”

“The hell ?? I’m not- you are the fucking issue here, Nagi. You’re always refusing everything.. I can understand that you’d rather stay at home but at least, can you grant me some quality time ? Grant us some quality time ?”, you sharply said, trying to keep your tone as calm as possible, rubbing your temples. He turned off his phone, giving you a hard glare.

“You knew I wasn’t the romantic type of guy when you decided to date me. You did anyway, so why are you complaining ?”

“Because I don’t want to be constantly the second choice, for fucks sake ! I can deal with your hobbies, with your passions and all. I’m just asking for one moment with you without your phone, or your stupid videogames, or-”

“Okay okay, quit it, I get it. I’m sorry, baby.”, he slowly approached you, gently stroking your cheek. “I’ll make it up to you, ‘right ?”

With that, you both fell asleep cuddling. The next morning, you woke up to a cold bed; Seishiro must’ve left early in the morning with Reo to train, you thought. You stretched, used to his absence. But you were glad that he had promised you a date tonight, telling you to wait for him at home. So the day goes by, doing your own activites, a smile on your face as you wandered about what you were going to do with your boyfriend later.

But your smile quickly vanished when you saw Reo’s story on Instagram. Angry tears covering your eyes as you threw your phone on the mattress. You were sending texts to Nagi for 20 minutes now, asking him when was he going to arrive. And you discovered - much to your dismay - that he was hanging out with his Blue Lock friends, sat on a couch of what seemed to be an arcade. Apparently, he was going to enjoy a long night with his friends, considering the story caption, “stayin up all night w homies”.

4 or 5 hours later, Nagi entered your shared appartement with a yawn. He called for you through the kitchen, frowning when he noticed you weren’t answering. He quickly went to the bedroom, searching you everywhere.

And suddenly, it triggered something in him; he forgot. He forgot about you. Again.

BACHIRA MEGURU was clueless. Clumsy. It was the main issue in the relationship; sometimes, he’d act before thinking, or say things he’d regret some time later. It’d lead to arguments, sobs, quivering lips and broken sorry’s, foreheads against each other. As much as Bachira loved you, he was still the bubbly man who often forgot things. Usually, you’d have laughed, his brows furrowed until you gave him his wallet, now smiling and kissing your cheek with a thank you. It was funny, earning a chuckle from you here and there, right ? Until you were the forgotten thing waiting for him. You felt useless, insecurities eating you alive as you cursed them constantly. Looking at the calendar, a red line encircling a somewhat random date, your couple’s anniversary. Well, not so random. You prayed, over and over again, that he would remember about it. Bachira was hard to read when it came to inner feelings : you tried to drop some hints, hoping he’d reciprocate them in a kind of way.

3:21p.m. | y/n ♡ : hi, meg :) ready for tomorrow ?

- read at 3:24p.m.

3:25p.m. | meguru ♡ : hi !! for tomorrow ? wdym ?

- read at 3:26p.m.

3:28p.m. | y/n ♡ : uh

well that’s awkward

Nevermind

- read at 3:29p.m.

3:30p.m. | meguru ♡ : no wait ! Sorry, did I forgot something ?

sunshine I’m sorry :( was it important ?

Your stomach churned at the question. You bit your lip, taking a long breath.

- read at 3:33p.m.

3:34p.m. | y/n ♡ : no it wasn’t don’t worry

just an hair appointment :)

- read at 3:35p.m.

3:36p.m. | meguru ♡ : don’t forget to show me then !! I have a surprise for you too !! <3

- read and liked at 3:39p.m. by y/n ♡

You felt your mood lighting up. He remembered ? Maybe he faked it from the beginning ? You smiled to yourself, now completely delusional; your brain was fully aware of it, but your heart kept hoping naively.

So when he showed up at your door the following day, you dressed up in your favorite clothes, ready to spend a day out with him. He greeted you with a hug, tilting his head to the side when he caressed your hair.

“You changed the color ?”, he questioned, perplexed.

“I canceled.”, you lied, a little too easily for your own taste, “It’d have been a waste of time, we have a lot of things today.”

“Not really, tho. It’s just a regular day, after all ! Isagi told me about a new restaurant he wanted to eat into. Want to join us ?”

“You.. Meguru, you don’t remember ?”

“About what ?”

He hummed; a smile displayed on his face . Yours quickly fade, your heart clenching. Oh. The pain was still here, even though you knew it from the very first start.

“Our anniversary. You don’t remember about our anniversary. Again.”

His smile faded at your words, faded at the sight of your wet cheeks. His mouth opened, trying to form words to express his sudden turmoil. You walked back inside your house, closing the door on a distraught Bachira. He tried to apologize. He really tried. He spammed your phone in calls, drowning you with apologies texts, but could you forget again his clumsiness ? Love is keeping a promise no matter what; and he broke it too many times for you to stay at his side.

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itsmarsss · 1 month

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Scandalous (Blitzø x Fem!Succubus!Reader x Stolas) [Helluva Boss] pt. 1 - The Prince

How the mighty do fall.

(Getting into a weird three-way situation with an imp and a succubus isn’t exactly considered classy, Stolas.)

pt. 2 | pt. 3 | pt. 4 | pt. 5 | 1st bonus

Word count: 1,520

Warnings: I mean. depression. arranged marriage. this part doesn’t contain actual sex only mentions of it but others might idk, me taking myself way too seriously writing this, this has no dialogue but don’t give up on me im actually a pretty dialogue heavy person but this only works if this chapter has no dialogue

If you ever asked Stolas, he’d say he was never one to cause a scene.

If you asked anyone else, they’d say he’s lying.

Stolas had always been fond of a little drama and drawn to a bit of flair, akin to exaggeration and grandeur like no other. Be it in the way he speaks, acts or reacts to hell around him, be it how he expresses his emotions or his thoughts and even his feelings towards others.

Emotions, thoughts, feelings. Stolas was always full of those, ever since he was an ugly, pink, featherless little project of a bird. They have been all-consuming ever since he can remember. And he remembers.

Stolas can recall the confusion in his father’s voice whenever he cried as a kid, as if the action was strange and foreign, unfit for a demon like him.

And perhaps it was.

Stolas remembered many things, and yet he could not recall a single time he had seen his father cry- or show any sort of weakness, for the matter. Paimon was always stern and centered, and Stolas is sure the only thing close to weakness he’s ever expressed was his inability to be more than his status- to be an actual father. He doubted his father would consider that a weakness. What was fatherhood next to being royal, anyways, right?

It was disconcerting to grow up certain that, between his father and all of his brothers, he was, without a doubt, the weakest. After all, how could he not be? He was scared, of a many things, most of the time. He felt things too deeply in his heart and he worried too much and too often about too many things. He was aware of all of that.

But, as he grew up, Stolas decided he was fine with it, if he meant he got to genuinely feel things. Because Octavia had come to exist, and he could never in his heart find the willpower to act as cold to her as his own father did to him.

Yes, he decided he was fine with being weak, if that’s what being able to love unconditionally took. He was fine with being weak, if that’s what being loved took.

He may not have loved his father, or even liked him, for the matter. But he promised to himself he’d do anything it took for Octavia to love him.

And how it filled him with pure and utter joy to feel loved for the first time in his life.

He may not have loved Stella, either, but their union had brought him his daughter, and nothing in the entirety of the universe mattered more to him than her. And so he was grateful for their arrangement, after all, despite the bitterness of it all.

With Octavia’s teenage years came the flood, though. Stolas cried himself to sleep almost every single night for years to come as he was reminded of the fact that being grateful for what his marriage brought him was not enough to make him happy to be in the situation in which he found himself, unable to exist as he was inside of his own home without fearing the judgement of a wife who loved him just as much as he loved her - not even a tiny little bit- and unable to shield his daughter from the unhappy family he’d once feared she would have to endure.

Stella was never someone Stolas particularly liked. In fact, he quite disliked her, from the moment he laid eyes on her as his father told him they were betrothed to one another, at much too young of an age.

At first, it surely was purely the hatred for the fact that his fate was tied to her and there was nothing he could do to escape, and the sense of impending doom that came with every year that passed as he knew he grew closer to approaching the day there would be turning back, and watched the time pass as an expectator of his own life, as there was nothing he could really do but comply.

Royal life had its renounces.

When the day came for their marriage to be sealed, the moment finally materializing itself as real instead of bad news he’d try to push away and avoid dwelling into for too long, Stolas promised himself he’d try to get over those feelings and make an effort to know her better. If they would be tied to one another from this moment on, he could at least try to make it all not so miserable.

It was a task set to fail.

When Octavia was conceived, Stolas felt nothing but relief. After all, this entire situation was based purely on business, all-dependent on the birth of an heir. Which meant, in some way, they were a bit more free than before. However much that can be in the situation they found themselves in.

Relief came first, dread came second. At only 19 years old, what did Stolas know of parenting anyway? Logically, he knew this would be happening. Logically, he’d known that for almost a full decade. Logically, that should have been enough for him to be prepared.

But he felt anything but prepared. How was he, who felt lost at all times, who cried at the slightest things, who didn’t ask for all of this, supposed to be a father? What twisted parameters did he have, considering his own?

He only hoped time would ease those feelings.

Throughout the years, he learned those feelings never do leave you, and that parenthood is forever a state of worry. You never truly feel ready- there’s just not much more that you can do than try your best.

To be loved by Octavia was enough. Or… at least it should be, shouldn’t it? Was it selfish, or perhaps even inconsiderate, unfair to her that at times he found himself longing to be loved by someone who’s existence wasn’t bound to him? Wishing to know if someone would ever care not because they were betrothed to him and not because they were his own blood, but simply because they liked who he was? Enjoyed his company? Felt genuine attraction towards him?

When thoughts of the sorts consumed him it was to not punish himself mentally for thinking such frivolous things, for having such superficial wishes. But it wasn’t hard to figure out where it all stemmed from. After all, when the only partner you ever have ever had in your entire life hadn’t any say in choosing you, it’s only natural to wonder what it would be like to be with someone who did choose him.

When you’ve had no say in choosing the only partner you’ve ever had in your life, in turn, it’s only ever natural, too, to wonder what it would be like with someone you would have chosen to be with. Someone who excited you, who made you feel things. Stolas didn’t even know what exactly those things were supposed to be, but longed to feel them nonetheless.

The day Blitzo, someone he hadn’t heard of in decades, was caught trying to sneak into his palace, during the most depressing party ever thrown in all seven reals, Stolas felt excitement for the first time in a long while. It’s almost like his brain had a reaction before he even processed it. Like it was stuck repeating the same thing over and over and over: Friend. Friend. Friend.

Sure, Blitzo wasn’t his friend. They hadn’t been friends for, once again, literal decades. In fact, they had only ever been friends for about a day.

But Blitzo was his first ever friend. And you don’t just forget that. He never would, at least.

And that night they spent together, something in Stolas changed. That night, he felt wanted. For the first time in his life, he felt desired. For the first time in his life, sex wasn’t just business. It wasn’t just an obligation or a means to an end. For the first time in his life, sex was fun.

He knew it was supposed to be fun. He knew it was fun for most people. He had just stopped hoping it would ever be fun for him.

And, sure, he also knew what they did was wrong. But he couldn’t get himself to care as much as he probably should have, because, truth be told, Stella could pretend to have been hurt by it however much she wanted, but they both knew she never really was.

“That was the sound of a fucking divorce!”

A couple hours later, sitting on his bed in shock, he could still barely believe he had really just done what he did- what they should have done so long ago- and Stolas just started laughing to himself. The more he laughed, the harder it was to stop. He knew he just had to look like a maniac like that, but couldn’t possibly get himself to care, because, for only a split second did the thought of not being supposed to let his servants see him in that state pass through his mind, but it only made him laugh harder.

He’d just announced his divorce to the wife he’d been set to marry since birth, can’t be much more scandalous than that.

A/N: would you believe me if i said this started as an idea for what was supposed to be only a funny silly little oneshot with dick jokes and public embarrassment?

Requests for Blitzø and Blitzø x Stolas are open! I’m also SO hyperfixated on this show rn so if y’all wanna chat abt hcs or this series be my guest I’d be happy to talk and i don’t bite unless asked nicely luv y’all <3

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witchxxjpg · 3 months

Text

im happy that you liked my previous lestappen hunger games au🥳🥳🥳 and asked for a part of it. it is alive purely because of you, so enjoy!!

******

Charles got picked when he was just 12 years old. It was rare for a tribute to be that young but it happened sometimes.

Jules volunteered for him that year. He could've been 18 the following month but he stayed 17 forever. Charles would always remeber staying up all night to pray for him.

Charles would forever remeber seeing another tribute slashing his throat with a sword.

The whole 10th district mourned his death that day, raising a finger to the sky, pointing to the place where all people went. He was a caring and passionate guy. Even some other districts said their sorries. He was loved by everyone. And by Charles the most.

In just 5 years Arthur was picked. And Charles knew exactly what he needed to do.

The Capitol played his life as a tragic story of a boy who repayed his debt by volunteering himself for his little brother. He knew that Jules didn't want that, but he also knew that Arthur was too small and scared to be a tribute.

He won his games.

He portrayed the role of an innocent brother with angelic face and a pure goal. He wanted to believe the lies that the Capitol made him play. But everyone saw how Markus, a boy from district 4, died. With a dagger in his heart.

Charles was always good with daggers and knives. In his district he was terrible at caring for animals that his family was all looking after. But he was extremely good with skinning and preparing the meat to be sent to the Capitol. He used his skills well during his games.

He never had nightmares. But he saw traits of lost tributes in faces of all people.

Charles lived peacefully for 6 years.

He was more or less lucky with how the Capitol treated him afterwards. He was well aware of how pretty looking tributes ended up. But his role was to motivate all the districts to behave. They filmed a lot of videos with him that they called 'promotional'. To show what happened to people who disobeyed and to people who behaved themselves.

Charles was sick of doing all these lies, but it was better then being a toy for some moneybags.

After 6 years the 75th Hunger Games were announced. The Third Quarter Quell.

There were only three male winners from District 10. Sebastian and Kimi. And Charles.

Charles was picked again. He said his goodbyes to his family.

He was aware that these games would be different and he knew that he won't walk out of them alive. He at least was happy that Sebastian agreed to be his mentor this time too.

******

Max was born to win. That's what his father always said. He was trained all his early childhood to become a winner of the games.

That's why as soon as he turned legal age he volunteered.

His father pressured him into the games and never helped. Max was lucky to have Daniel as his mentor.

He won his first games of course. The youngest winner ever and with a record of most tributes eliminated.

He'd thought that he'd never have nightmares. But now he knew.

Max was just 13 when he won, but as soon as he started to understand the world he knew that he was doomed.

Doomed ro relive memories of his father's puppet.

Max dreamed of his snowy arena. Of all 12 kids that he killed with his axe. Of their distorted faces and hoarse screams. He never wanted to fall asleep again.

After the games he continued to study in the academy to be a peacekeeper. He wanted ro do at least something good. He finished with the highest grades and best results. He was offered a position as a Head Peacekeeper. He chose District 10.

He saw people from District 10 selebrate its win when that boy returned home. He saw them raising a finger to the sky. 'The chosen one'. That's how they called him. Charles.

Max saw him sometimes. When he went to the central fair or left to the Victor's Village. He saw how people treated him. Like a son or a close friend. And he treated them the same.

He was their victor.

All winners had perks and Max saw how he gave them all away to people of his district.

Max had to suppress his inner urge to reach out for him. To ask if he felt the same way.

Like a broken tool that no longer had a purpose to serve

Probably he didn't. He helped his people. And Max was a peacekeeper, wearing a mask to hide his face that's outlined by all the deaths that he'd caused.

He tried to reduce people's suffering.

He was a peacekeeper for 8 years.

When the time of the 75th Hunger Games came closer, Max knew about the Third Quater Quell and how it would be like.

There were a lot of winners to compete for District 2, but during the reaping Daniel was chosen. Max didn't doubt that Daniel would've won the quill, but Max saw the trace that the games had left on him. He saw how the games had treated him. He knew Daniel's story.

Max volunteered again.

Long time ago he cared about himself. But he didn't anymore.

He saw that boy from District 10 being chosen too.

******

Daniel was born in District 2, but his parents weren't.

He never felt like he fit with all the others.

Since young age he had to attend the academy to train there like every child of the second district muct do. He always hated it.

He read once in some old book from the library a phrase that made him understand what he felt. 'Like a bird in a cage'. His 6 year old self was very impressed.

Daniel liked all his survival classes, the ones that didn't include murders. All of his classmates hated them.

He was never like the others. When he first got to his class he tried to make friends. That's what his parents advised him to do. He tried to smile and tell stupid jokes, to share home-made food with the others and help them study. He tried to be himself.

But it never quite worked.

Everyone laughed at him and not with him. They pointed at him, calling him 'a dumb weirdo'. They took his food away and threw it in a garbage bin. They locked him in storage rooms to skip classes that caused him a lot of warnings and later detentions.

Daniel tried not to notice them but he couldn't. He spent most of his life in the academy with bruises on all his body parts and tears on his cheeks. He knew that he was not like the others but he didn't think that he was so difficult that people can't be in the same room as him.

Until he turned 17.

All students from the academy had a queue for games. Everyone fought to have a chance to win the games. And when the reaping started someone from the list of volunteers would go.

Daniel was picked for the 64th Hunger Games. He thought that someone from the careers would volunteer as they always did. But everybody kept silent.

It felt like a death sentence.

His mentor was Mark. He was fun and helpful. He advised to make friends.

On the first meeting with tributes Daniel decided that he liked only Jev from District 8 and Jules from District 10. They were both nice and didn't laugh at his attempts to be nice too. It was the first time that he thought he could have a friend.

It didn't last long.

Jev was one of the first to get eliminated. Daniel and Jules tried to stay together. But one day into the games they had to part ways to get food and water.

The next time Daniel saw him was with a sword slashing his throat.

He tried to heal the wound but his knowledge wasn't enough.

Before Jules passed away he gave Daniel his lucky charm - a small wooden statuette of a bird. Daniel wouldn later return it to his godson.

Daniel won the games. He knew that nobody from his district expected that.

The following year he decided to become a mentor. For 13 year old Max.

Max was always angry with his bright icy eyes shining with rage. But he also wasn't like others.

He was one of the careers, but Daniel didn't see their traits in him. Max didn't want to win for glory and pride.

He just wanted to make his dad happy with him.

Daniel tried to teach him how to live in this world. He tried to make him realise that he didn't need to kill all 23 of tributes for his dad to be happy with his son. He tried to make him feel better. He tried to joke and make him laugh as all early teenagers his age should do.

And he felt pretty cool when he succeeded in that, hearing his small laugh with a shy smile.

He knew that the boy liked him but he didn't know what to do.

And then Max won his games.

He stood there on the podium with a prideful expression on his face, but all Daniel saw were his empty eyes filled with something.

And Daniel was well aware what was that something. He saw it in himself every time he looked in the mirror.

Daniel tried to reach out when Max told him that he's going to be a peacekeeper. They even met sometimes when he was still studying in the academy.

After Max graduated he was sent to District 10 to serve there. And Daniel tried to still talk to him. Even when Max was very busy with his duties they called each other. And Daniel was always happy to hear his voice.

Daniel made friends among other winners. He had Lewis and Sebastian. But there was still something about Max that made Daniel care.

The next time they saw each other was right before the reaping for the Quarter Quell. All of the victors from District 2 were in the same hall, and there were a lot of them.

Daniel barely recognized Max with all the years that they spent apart. He looked broad and tall, even taller then Daniel. Nothing like a 13 year old boy that had won the games. His face was completely different, a strong jaw and no chubby cheeks.

But his eyes. They were still empty.

They shared an awkward hug and Daniel felt too good in his arms. He wished they could stay together for longer.

And he felt fine until his name was called.

He was picked.

Almost third of all the winners were from District 2, so Daniel thought that he wouldn't be in the games again.

He didn't have the time to think because Max volunteered.

When he looked at Daniel his face didn't hold a trace of uncertainty. He looked calm and sure. And his beautiful eyes flickered with something. But it wasn't the same something as after his games. It was something different.

And in a week he found himself in the same situation like 10 years ago.

Helping Max win.

******

Sebastian though he was a good mentor.

He took this role after his win at the 61st Hunger Games. He was the second male victor from District 2.

Kimi was a good mentor too. He was always calm and confident. Sometimes he felt distant but Seb never had a feeling that he didn't care about his tributes.

Sebastial saw a lot of good children that competed in the games. He saw all of them die.

He was a mentor for 8 years until he met Charles.

Everyone in District 10 knew Charles. His family had one of the biggest farms and Charles was extremely skilled with daggers. And everyone knew his story.

Sebastian still remembered mentoring Jules.

For Charles he decided to go for a sad story. That's how they can get more sponsors.

Charles was a pretty good actor and quickly understood what worked the best to get a reaction from the audience. He played well with his adoring face and big eyes.

Even before the games started they had enough donations for Seb to sent him daggers as a sponsor dift, so he didn't need to fight for the weapons.

And Charles won.

It wasn't something that Sebastian was surprised about. But he didn't think that he'd ever experience some kind of happiness. And here it was.

They both lived in Victor's Village. It was almost empty except for 5 houses that were also occupied by Kimi, Silvia and Lily. Both women preferred to live in the Capitol, so usually there were only three of them.

They even met every day for dinners together. It could get lonely sometimes.

Kimi had a family. A beautiful wife and two amazing kids. Seb loved them.

He didn't understand how Kimi could live knowing that his children might go through the same thing in the future. Seb knew that he didn't want kids because he wouldn't be able to live if one of them was picked for the games.

Sebastian waited for the Third Quarter Quell.

When it was announced Charles said that he would go for them if he or Kimi were chosen.

It wasn't necessary. Charles' name was called.

Sebastian knew that it was his duty to protect him.

They decided on the same strategy. Play nice and innocent for the sponsors.

When asked about alliance, Charles said that he wanted Carlos and Max. Seb would've advised on Lewis. But knowing that Nico from District 1 was participating, he would be too occupied fighting his biggest enemy.

Sebastian thought that Carlos was a good option. He was strong and not that arrogant. His help would be great.

But Max was different.

Even though Seb trusted Daniel who said that he was good, he still wasn't so sure.

Max was always quite complicated. He was too aggressive and forward, and despite everything that Daniel told him Seb didn't like him.

The games started in no time.

Charles knew their strategy well. He teamed with Carlos as soon as everything started.

They ran together.

They did pretty good during the first couple of days. Even succeeded in stealing an axe for Carlos and a knife for Charles.

This time the arena was a forest and it got pretty cold fast. They had to help each other.

They found a beautiful lake and a well-hidden cave nearby. There was also a small field with a lot of growing poppies that made it look as it was cowered in drops of blood.

On the first day near the lake Carlos made a small bouquet of them and gave it to Charles.

Sebastian thought that they were a good team. Trusting each other. He saw that something was growing between them.

Until one day Carlos got a spiked arrow in his right shoulder.

Everyone understood that he wouldn't be able to walk out alive.

Sebastian saw Charles trying to help him with all his herbalism skills, Seb himself sent them some good ointment to heal the wound. But it still wasn't helping.

He saw Carlos screaming in agony and Charles crying over his feverish body. Carlos begging Charles to kill him and end his suffering.

They all saw Charles putting his knife on Carlos' throat, choking on tears.

Charles buried him near the shore of the lake, filling his grave with bright red poppies.

The next day Charles decided to go search for the others. He packed all his things and took Carlos' axe. He was shit at working with it but it was his only great weapon as his knife had become dull. And he still remembered some of the tips that Max had shared with him during their training out of the blue.

He walked the whole day and thought that he wouldn't see anyone. But just as the sun set he saw a flicker of light in the distance. As he quickly and quietly approached the bonfire, holding the axe at ready, he noticed him. It was Max.

And Max noticed him too.

"I don't want to kill you", Charles said.

And Max answered, "I don't want to kill you either".

They were awkward at first but Max reached to his backpack and pulled three daggers. "They might suit you better then me. I have no idea what to do with them".

Charles took the gift and decided to give Carlos' axe away in return.

They didn't sleep at night, not really trusting each other yet, and talked. And appeared that they had a lot in common.

Sebastian saw all of this.

He just hoped that it wouldn't end up terrible. And that he wouldn't need to mourn another friend.

#lestappen #charles leclerc #sebastian vettel #max verstappen #cl16 #daniel ricciardo #mv33 #mv1 #my art #carlos sainz #f1 fandom #f1 art #formula 1 #digital art

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scoatneyhall · 5 days

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WILD. Was anyone else aware that the Ted Lasso team has gone in and made post-production edits on season 3 episodes, sometime in the last year?

I've been rewatching the finale in advance of the one year anniversary of it airing, and straight off, I noticed that the points total on the graphic looked different to how I remembered it - a much closer race. It stuck out because I remembered being annoyed that they didn't celebrate the moment Richmond got confirmed for the Champions League, as the gap was big enough for it to have happened a while ago, offscreen. I still have a screencap from when the episode aired:

However, the current copy on Apple has an updated graphic, making the post-production graphic in line with the numbers on the actual physical whiteboard prop and the script mentioning the win streak. See here:

The corrected copy makes Richmond's points match the whiteboard, but it also puts the teams in 3rd to 5th place much closer to them points-total wise, meaning that now, in the current version of the episode, Richmond only qualified for the UCL in "Mom City," making it make more sense that the start of 3.12 is the first time it gets discussed. Would have been nice to mention that stake in the City match commentary during 3.11, but I genuinely am shocked that they went back in and edited the already-published episodes to clean up the post-production errors. For the record, here's the whiteboard as of 3.08: W10, D9, L6.

Just in case anyone cares, the order of those results was - 1 draw against Chelsea, 6 wins with Zava, 1 loss against West Ham, the rest of the draws and losses occurring between 3.05 and the loss against Arsenal in 3.07, and then the 4 wins mentioned at the start of 3.08. By the start of 3.12, it's mentioned they are on a 16 game win streak, so that's 22 wins overall, 9 draws, 6 losses, going into the final weekend, hence the updated graphic.

I like that they went in and fixed it - no idea when in the past 12 months that occured - but I also kind of can't believe they bothered? Then again, I can't believe the mistake was made in the first place, as they were so specific with details in the prior seasons, so maybe they couldn't live with it being wrong.

I know there were rumours about a ton of issues in terms of getting these episodes posted in time - right down to the wire, still fixing the edit on the airdate - and it's clear that these details were not checked and confirmed by the poor people in post who were not working off the show bible that lives in the writers heads. I don't blame them at all, I blame the people who got the edit to them late, but it did annoy me during the season a LOT. The maths wasn't mathing, and as we know this is a show that has been careful with dates and timelines and stuff like that.

Anyway! The point is, a) this post about my UCL qualification fantasies is now moot, and b) I went back and checked another post production error that had REALLY pissed me off, which was the dates of texts in Ted's phone in 3.04. Phone dates have always given us the timeline quite strictly before - it's how @belmottetower and I started the timeline in our primer, with Ted arriving in London on January 6, 2020 and then following the football seasons from there to place the season 3 finale in May 2022 - but in 3.04, all the cute texts we see to all the characters in his phone were badly misdated, placing the timeline further in the future. This caused arguments or misunderstandings, at the time about the actual timeline of the show, but it seems this was another detail the producers really wanted to fix and tighten up, as they've gone back and had it edited.

It's weird, because the texts Ted was actually going back to - the messages from Doctor Jacob - were dated correctly as late 2019, and there's even a little easter egg in the form of a US rideshare notification picking him up to go to the airport in America, on 5 January 2020. (Even the area code, 316, is apparently correct to Kansas.) That's all correct even in the original version of the episode, but somehow we then skip a year and place his most recent texts, as of 3.04, in late October 2022, when they should only be in late September or early October 2021. (I found this post on Reddit that screenshotted his phone at the time.) Examples:

I had to go back and check this, and sure enough, it's been edited to reflect the established timeline - they didn't just redate the year on each message, they also changed a bunch of the chats to be more recent - so rather than dates, his most recent chats with Henry, the Coaches, etc are from "Yesterday," then the first dated texts are in very late September 2021. This matches up pretty perfectly with where they are in a typical Premier League season - they REALLY cleaned it up. Further back, they do just switch the years on the dates, so he still got a picture from Sassy last Valentines Day, and his last one-on-one contact with Jamie is still set before the events of Wembley in 2.08 (FA Cup semi finals are in April, so a few weeks after the March 2021 date on Jamie's chat.)

My brain is itching because I swear there was a screen of Nate and Ted's text chat at some point too? With Ted reaching out about his new job, on a date that deeply did not work with the timeline? But maybe I imagined it. There's no record of Nate's number in his phone at all now, and the texts date back to before Nate left, so I guess in this version of events, Ted deleted Nate's number and message history.

Anyway, I'm aware that basically no one is going to care about this, but I suspect that the three people who will actually care will REALLY FUCKING CARE. Has anyone else noticed it? Does anyone know when it may have happened? Does anyone know what else might have been changed or fixed? I love details and I love the fact that there is no longer conflicting data about what football seasons the show is covering - it's mid 19/20 to the end of 21/22, end of story - but what a fucking mess the production of season 3 must have been, to end up at this point!

#ted lasso #ted lasso meta

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lucid-loves · 4 months

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Taste Like Venom ~ Simon "Ghost" Riley Part 10

Pairing: Ghost x assassin!reader (fem!reader, callsign “Hex”)

Word Count: 8.1k

CW: angst, violence, blood, strong language, scars, enemies to lovers trope, slow burn, fluff, clear attraction and sexual tension, reader POV and ghost POV, minors dni, Soap lives in this AU, EXPLICIT SMUT, P in V, oral, fingering, intense vanilla, protected sex

Let me know if I missed any CWs.

Story Synopsis: After Makarov gets away once again, Laswell decides to force a favor from you, the world’s greatest assassin and best-kept secret. You are now expected to help the 141 with taking down Makarov in addition to playing nice with them. It’s hard to play nice when you have always worked alone. It doesn’t help that one of the team members, Ghost, gets curious about you in each interaction.

Chapter Synopsis: Simon is taking care of you for the next two weeks, hoping that you will agree to stay if you had a glimpse of what life would be like with him. You make a final decision after you heal up.

Part 1 ~ Part 2 ~ Part 3 ~ Part 4 ~ Part 5 ~ Part 6 ~ Part 7 ~ Part 8 ~ Part 9 ~ Part 10

The prospect of having to take care of you for two weeks both excited and worried Simon. He was eager to show you what life could be like for the both of you if you were to stay. At the same time, he was worried that you would still choose to go back home alone. However, there was another worry that was plaguing him.

Would he be able to resist the urge to make love to you? You were still healing and he would hate to hurt you, but he could barely keep his hands off you. He wanted to touch you any chance he had before you were stuck being a patient. Now that you had no choice in having him take care of you, Simon was nervous that he wouldn’t be able to hold back.

The same idea was running through your mind. You expected Ghost to want to take advantage of the situation to touch you. Despite the fact that your stitches ached, your skin tingled in a pleasurable, heightened awareness, wanting him to run his hands over you. You didn’t know if you could keep your own hands to yourself either, not with him taking care of you for two weeks like you were his lover. Not to mention that you haven’t been with another person intimately in forever.

You would rather die than admit it out loud, but you were horny for Simon. Especially now that the mission was over.

The tension began as soon as the two of you got ready for bed, alone together in the hotel room where there was only one king bed. You resisted the urge to watch him strip his clothes off to replace them with pajamas, revealing such defined muscles from years of training along with trophy scars. Occasionally, his eyes glanced towards you to see if you were enjoying the show, only to find your gaze averted and an irritated frown on your face.

“I’m going to take a shower.” You announced with a grumpy grumble, feeling more and more sexual frustration build up within you along with the painful fading of painkillers.

“Need help?” Ghost offered politely, hoping that you would say yes but knowing that you would say no. However, that wouldn’t stop him from guarding the bathroom door to listen for accidents.

“I’ll be fine. Don’t you dare peek either.” You preemptively scolded, not knowing if Simon was the type to do such a thing to a lover or if he was more of a gentleman.

For now, he was a gentleman. He gave a light chuckle at your scolding. “I thought good soldiers weren’t bothered by nudity?”

You gave him a sharp glare as he threw your words back at you. You supposed that the only thing you had to worry about was him being a smartass. Was this what he was normally like? It came out quite naturally, so you assumed so. Would you really be able to live with that for two weeks?

With a huff, you headed into the bathroom, leaving Simon to bask in his victory against you. Amusement aside, he knew what you meant and he would respect it. You were a woman on a mission during the times you walked around pantless. In your own space too. Now, you were more vulnerable. Ghost wasn’t the kind of man to take advantage of that. Not without consent at least.

It would be a lie if he said he wasn’t imagining you naked right now though. The sound of you stripping off your clothing was such a tease to him.

You gently bathed, not wanting to reopen your wound or cause any unnecessary pain. Ghost’s shadow by the door made you feel safe, adding to the relaxing feeling you were beginning to enjoy from the warm shower. As the world seemed to wash away with each pass of your soapbar, you began to feel free. Before you knew it, you were quietly singing in the shower, the habit first made when you bathed alone back in the cabin. You needed this.

Simon listened to the harmony of the water running and the melody of your voice from outside the door. A small smile began to stretch across his face as he imagined you doing this often. It also made him feel good that you felt comfortable being yourself like this. He wanted to be able to hear you sing in the shower for the rest of his life.

After several minutes of singing, washing, and just breathing, you turned the shower off. This time, you brought some clothes in the bathroom with you, wanting to lower the chances of the two of you going crazy on each other as much as possible. With fresh clothes on, you began to blow dry your hair. However, looking in the mirror, you knew that you were going to run in some trouble. Specifically with raising your arms and stretching to hit certain areas.

Well, you might as well take advantage of Simon’s willingness to help. This was technically his inside glimpse of what it would be like if you belonged to him. “Simon? Could you help me dry my hair?”

The door opened within a second, Ghost ready to help you out however he could. Though he wasn’t too familiar with how to blowdry hair, especially on women, he aimed to do his best. As he turned on the machine, his senses began to hone in on you. How pretty your soaps smelled on you, how soft your hair was between his fingers, how steamy the bathroom still was. The look of content on your face made his heart sing too. Spoiling you was what he always wanted to do now.

Finally, you gave him the signal that your hair was dry enough for bed. When he followed you to the bed, though, you began to feel nervous. Were you really going to be sharing a bed with him?

He noticed your apprehension, stopping him from lifting up the covers. “What’s wrong?”

“I. . . Just stay on your side of the bed, okay?” You ended up deciding as you crawled into the massive bed. Thankfully, the bed was big enough to house the both of you even if Simon was a large man. It would have been easy for the both of you to stay on your respective sides for the entire night.

If Simon listened, that was.

Instead of sticking to his side, he immediately scooted up close to you in order to hold you close, his arm gently resting on you, his chest slowly pressing against your back with each breath. “Sorry, kitten, but that’s an order that I won’t follow.”

His deep voice so close to your ear sent a shiver down your spine, your senses on fire as he was finally touching you. You bit your lip, trying to hold yourself back from a harsh retort and sexual urge. “Any reason as to why you refuse this one?”

Ghost moved even closer, pulling you gingerly against his warm body and nuzzling his face into the crook of your neck. Your breath hitched, his hot breath that fanned your skin making you feel hornier by the second. “Trying to give you reasons to stay.”

The honest answer had your breath stop. You were still debating on what path to take next. Going back to the cabin after everything you’ve been through seems lonely now. On the other hand, you didn’t know if you were okay with returning to the grid. What would you even do? Join the military? You didn’t like the idea of starting from the bottom. How much paperwork would you have to do too? The government would have a lot of questions on where you’ve been.

A sudden bite on your neck snapped you out of your racing thoughts and had you gasp. “What the fuck?!”

“You’re thinking too much. Just be here with me.” He ordered, his eyes narrowing at your sharp ones. For a moment, you thought about elbowing him in the ribs in retaliation. Thinking about it further, though, he was right. You were thinking too much about things that you shouldn’t worry about now. With a deep breath, you let those thoughts go in order to be in the moment.

Simon was pleasantly surprised that you were playing nice now. You seemed close to picking a fight with him a few times, but overall, you were being good. It was probably just the effects of the painkillers and the pain itself. He’ll take it if it meant that you were more relaxed and comfortable. As he pressed his face into you, he took in more of your sweet scent. The sound of your gasp from earlier replayed in his head. Combine that with how closely you spooned against him and he already felt the tightness in his pants.

Ignoring it didn’t make the problem go away, no matter how much time he tried to give it to calm down. He was just completely hooked on you. And as you felt his arousal poke your backside, you realized this fact as well. Not that you were any different. Feeling his boner so hard against you had you wet with anticipation. Yet, you tried to fight it. “You should head to the other side of the bed now. I don’t think I could rest well if you’re pressed up against me like this, Simon.”

His cock twitched as you pointed it out, betraying his serious resolve. Big, strong hands traveled down your waist to your hips, causing your breath to shutter as he stirred the fire underneath your skin. “I won’t be able to rest either, but I’m still not moving away from you.”

“Then what are you going to do about this?” You pushed your butt against his rock-hard cock in a subtle way, as if you were stretching. It felt good to tease him a little and catch him off guard. From how hard he gripped your hips and how hard he twitched, he really wasn’t expecting that. His heart felt like it was going to break his ribs with how strong it was pounding.

“You’re playing with fire, kitten.” Simon warned, his tone husky as he held back from just dry humping you, fingertips digging into your hips to prevent you from escaping. Shit, his imagination was running too wild. He couldn’t help but think about you in all sorts of ways now, all involving you underneath him at his mercy.

Christ, you were excited too. His arousal was throbbing like crazy against you, responding to your teasing incredibly well. His warning just made you curious about how hot that fire really was. Still, it wasn’t the right time to do this, even if you were fucking soaked for him already. “Go to your side then. Just for the night.

He gave a frustrated groan before ultimately agreeing with you. Spooning you, touching you, and rubbing up on you wasn’t going to help him calm down. If anything, it would make it much worse. Hesitantly, he gave you some more space in the bed, the space left feeling like an ocean to him. As a compromise, he took your hand to hold. You gave a teasing giggle. “You didn’t strike me as a clinger.”

“I wasn’t. Good night, y/n.” He curtly answered, not wanting to get teased anymore than you already have done to him tonight. With a final laugh, you squeezed his warm hand and began to doze for a light sleep. As much as he didn’t like you laughing at his expense, at least you were laughing. After everything that happened, he didn’t think he would get to hear you laugh so soon.

The following week was a challenge for the both of you. You had the habit of doing things by yourself. While you did call for Simon here and there when you remembered, you were often caught doing things that he should be doing for you instead. When that happened, he would get perturbed which would come across as quick, sharp anger. You then always felt the need to defend yourself up until your stitches had you clench your teeth in pain. Once you began to hurt again, the bickering would stop completely.

After that, Simon would apologize for his tone. You would begrudgingly apologize for yours too and he would kiss you on the cheek in acceptance. Then, the cycle would continue usually a couple more times within the same day. You were a bad patient, but you couldn’t help it. You were too used to licking your wounds by yourself.

Since the first night, Ghost has been more careful about touching you too. As much as he wanted to hold you close every night, to which he tried to, he would always get too excited. It was embarrassing to him and surely it was uncomfortable to you. The last thing he wanted you to think was that he was some sort of sex maniac. He’s already lost control enough. There was no way he was going to lose anymore.

Touches were more gentle. He was always touching you in some sort of way, but he was better at making sure things didn’t go too far. This made you relieved, yet also insanely frustrated. Sometimes, his touch was so light that it was like he really was a ghost. It made you want him to grab you by the waist again, pin you against a wall, and kiss the fuck out of you. As much as you came off as the aggressive type, especially in the bedroom, you enjoyed being manhandled by him. No fear to take you how he wanted.

Eventually, you wound up back at the hospital for a check-up on your healing progress. Instead of being in a bed in a room with other patients, you were in an exam room. Generic jazz softly played over the speakers. Informational medical posters were balanced with paintings of french cafes. While in the doctor’s office, the same doctor that you had last time looked at you with an inquisitive expression. “You seem stressed. That’s not good for the healing process, you know?”

You scoffed at her observation, almost rolling your eyes. “What are you? A shrink too?”

Instead of being offended, she just laughed it off. “It’s about him, isn’t it? The man that waited for you when you first came in? Is he your boyfriend?”

As she scanned over your torso with such genuine care, you decided to just go ahead and open up. It’s not like she could tell anyone about your business anyway by law. “We are. . . in a trial period.”

“I see. So, he could be your boyfriend if the trail goes well?” She inquired openly as if she really was a therapist trying to put the pieces together. It was good that she was relatively easy to talk to. God knows you couldn’t talk to Kate about your boy troubles. She would never let you hear the end of it.

“I don’t know. I kinda got a place to myself out in the countryside. I’m a bit torn on leaving it behind to be with him.” You admitted, an ache settling in your heart. With an understanding hum, the doctor continued the check-up on your body and your emotional health.

“How far have the two of you gone?”

A slight blush came across your cheeks. You weren’t normally one to kiss and tell. “We’ve kissed. Mess around a little, I guess? Nothing further than touching.”

“Would sex be something you would want to have with him before making a final decision?” She earnestly asked, causing your embarrassment over the entire situation to melt away. However, the way she said it didn’t sound flattering. It made you sound superficial, even if it was kinda true.

“I mean, I want to have sex. Hell, it’s been so long for me and I’m really attracted to him. Though, I don’t know if that will actually impact my final decision. I’m not going through this just because he’s sexy.” You confessed, nervously clenching your fists.

The doctor looked up at you, examining your torn expression before handing you your shirt back and sitting in her chair. “Sex can be a really important part of a relationship if people want it to be. There’s nothing wrong with testing the chemistry before committing either. From a woman to a woman, wanting sex is nothing to be ashamed of. You seem like someone that has been through a lot. I believe that you will end up making a good decision that’s guided by your heart and mind. Not just your body.”

As you put your shirt back on, you narrowed your eyes at her. “You sure you’re not a shrink?”

She gave a hearty laugh at your repeated joke. “No, just a doctor that wants you to avoid stress. Your wound seems to be healing up just fine and at the speed of light. The only thing you might struggle with is soreness. For that, you can just take over-the-counter pain medication. In regards to activity, you can start doing some more things by yourself, but don’t push it too far. As soon as you feel any pain beyond soreness, stop immediately.”

You listened to the instructions carefully, taking mental notes on the most important details to relay back to Simon since he will probably demand a full order to follow. Once you were set to go, you headed towards the door. However, the doctor stopped you for a moment. “Oh, one more thing. You’re free to have sex after three days. Nothing too rough.”

A heat crept along your cheeks at the information, a quiet, final goodbye leaving your lips as you headed out.

Outside of the hospital, you saw Kate and Price waiting for you next to a small rental car. This was a little strange since Simon was the one that dropped you off. Reading your expression, Kate answered your unasked question. “We dismissed him for the time being. We were hoping to chat with you about something important. Mind getting in the car?”

“Your treat?” You quirked a brow, already opening the door to the car’s passenger side. Of course, you already knew the answer to your question based on Kate’s face alone. The distance and time between your friendship really hasn’t changed much for the both of you. You two still knew each other quite well.

At a nearby cafe, you sat across Kate and Price, coffees and pastries distributed between the three of you. After a few sips of fresh coffee and a few bites of flakey pastry, the real conversation began, starting with Price. “We were really impressed by your performance, Hex. Not only have you killed Makarov, but you have uncovered their weapons trade route, ghost gun efforts, and a mole within our own command.”

You looked to Kate, just now hearing that news from Price. “You got hard evidence?”

She beamed, proud of your accomplishments coming from one of the men she respected most in her occupation. If Price was proud, she was extremely thrilled. “I managed to get records of conversations and confidential files that would have Shepherd behind bars for the rest of his life and then some. It’s just a matter of bringing it to court.”

“Congratulations.” You softly smiled, elated to see Kate look so determined. The both of you have come a long way from your high school days. Who knew that the two of you would get such deadly occupations. Perhaps that was just another sign that you two were always meant to be friends.

“Thank you, Hex. We couldn’t have done this without you. That’s why we don’t want to lose you. I would like to officially invite you to become part of the 141 Task Force.” Price cut to the chase, finding no reason to beat around the bush.

Your stomach sank in shock, your hand stopping mid-air with your coffee cup. “You mean. . .”

“Yes, Hex. You would be on base with everyone. Soap, Gaz, Price, Ghost, and I would be part of your squad completing missions that protect the world. You would have to come back to the land of the living, but I will personally handle all the bureaucratic issues with you coming back into existence. Honestly, if I can continue to have you off-record, I will try.” Kate promised sincerely, not wanting you to refuse the offer based on all the red tape alone.

You bit your lip, thinking about the proposition deeply. It would certainly make being with Simon a lot easier to accomplish. You weren’t exactly the housewife-type anyway. Yet, there would be more than just red tape that you’d have to confront if you were to come back. Those burnt bridges wouldn’t stop people from yelling across it. Who knew if you could really handle things your way too? Could you really take orders from a higher command that you didn’t agree with? You weren’t a soldier.

Price leaned forward and put a hand on your shoulder, bringing you at ease. “You don’t have to make a decision now. You still have some time to think it over. Just know that you will always have a place for you with us.”

Most of the 141 started to head back to the United States, satisfied with their stay in Europe and needing to tackle the endless amount of paperwork that was surely waiting on their desks back home. You said goodbye to everyone at the airport, each one giving you a handshake before you finally accepted a hug. They weren’t sure if this was the last time they would ever get to see you after all. The least you could do was offer a light hug to each of them.

All except Simon that was keen on being with you until you were absolutely cleared with your healing. Admittedly, watching the team get on their plane back home left you feeling a sense of loss. It felt like they were leaving you behind in a weird way. When Simon caught you staring at the take-off, he took your hand in his, a reminder that you didn’t have to be alone.

Later that night, you made the decision to initiate sex with Simon. You were now in the clear to do so according to your doctor, so what did you have to worry about now?

Rejection? Most likely not. Right? He has been keeping a certain distance to avoid losing control. He kisses you on the lips every now and then, but nothing too deep. He’s also stopped trying to cuddle you at night, opting to hold your hand at a safe distance instead ever since the first night. You figured that it was because he would get a boner again. What if it wasn’t that though? What if it was because he was losing interest and didn’t know how to tell you?

You’ve never had a crush like this before. The kind that made you anxious with how they may think of you. It was unsettling to you. Was this what it was like to have a crush on someone? You knew that you fell for him, but it still felt like you still had a heartfelt crush on him too.

As your head ran with so many anxious thoughts, you stared at your reflection in the mirror. You examined yourself carefully. The color of your eyes, the way your hair fell around your face, scars that already began at your neck. You never really cared about your appearance unless it was to blend in. There were always more important things to worry about. Besides, you were always alone anyway, so who was going to see you? Now, it was different. You looked at yourself, hoping that Simon didn’t mind your rough edges.

You splashed some cold water on your face to calm your nerves. Your heart felt like it was going to leap out of your chest. With a deep breath, you exited the bathroom to finally take some initiative. God, you were nervous.

“Simon?” You called out, catching his attention immediately. He was sitting at the desk, working on a laptop that had documents pulled up. Even if he didn’t leave to the states yet, he still wanted to get started on what he could on the post-mission reports. However, you were way more important to him right now.

“Something the matter?” He softly asked, noticing how nervous you looked. A million thoughts ran through his mind as to why you would look so anxious. He wanted to hold you close and make your nerves melt away. In order to protect you from himself, though, he kept his distance and waited for you to speak.

Slowly, you approached him, taking in his handsome features that gave you butterflies. Just as slowly, you leaned down to kiss him while he sat. He was caught off guard for a moment before he sunk into it, returning your steady, deep kisses. It took everything in him to not let his hunger for more take over, trying to think about your still healing body. Your kisses were driving him crazy, however. This was the first time you initiated a kiss yourself.

You began to melt, the pleasure of Ghost’s lips against yours pulling you more into the moment. You were losing yourself with each kiss, the kiss turning deeper and hungrier each passing second. Not being able to resist touching you anymore, Simon stood from his chair and pulled you close, his tongue slipping into your mouth. A feeling of deja vu sent a chill up your spine causing you to shiver.

Simon absolutely loved the way you trembled under his touch. He loved the way your tongue tasted too. Warm, soft, sweet. But, it filled him with fire too. It was like drinking the sweetest bourbon known to man. And he couldn’t get enough, good conscious be damned. The kiss became more passionate with harder kisses. He nibbled on your lips, swiped his tongue against yours, tasted every corner of your mouth.

Just like last time you made out with him, you began to feel your legs become weak and your breath become ragged. Your panties also began to feel damp with how much you were leaking already. When you pulled back for some air, Simon latched on to your neck. You moaned as his tongue dragged against your sensitive skin followed by a pleasurable bite. It was music to his ears, listening to you submit to the ecstasy he wanted to spoil you with.

A voice in his head was telling him to slow down, but he just couldn’t. He has been wanting you for so long. He felt like he needed you now. Exactly like last time, he was beginning to lose more control as his feelings for you overridden his brain. His hands slipped under your shirt, your soft skin feeling like heaven on earth. As his hands continued to roam your body, you shuttered for more. You didn’t want him to just touch your torso. You wanted to feel his hands all over your body.

You gripped the bottom of his shirt, tugging it that indicated that you wanted it off. Without hesitation, he complied, revealing skin that you’ve been dying to touch. As soon as your hands began to rub his chest, he gave his own groan, electricity flowing through every nerve he had. If he wasn’t careful, you would be the one melting him down to nothing.

“Kitten. . . to the bed.” Simon sighed into your neck, his vision tunneling towards the goal to have you quivering beneath him. Thankfully, you obeyed diligently, taking off your shirt in the process to reveal your perfect breasts. As soon as you were on your back, he crawled over you to kiss those tits that he’s only felt once. To have them in his hands again, to have your stiff nipple in his mouth, it all just felt perfect. You were meant to be here with him like this.

You bit your lip to hold back your moans, Simon’s teeth gently teasing your nipple while his fingers pinched the other one. You were already soaking wet from the intense kisses and aching. This just made it even worse to the point where you were grinding into his boner without realizing it. His breath hitched as he felt your hips press against his, rubbing his cock against a barrier of clothes. Jesus, he didn’t know if we could last much longer.

In order to avoid completely embarrassing himself and to make sure that you will be more than satisfied with his performance, his kisses trailed further down. Just like he wanted, he began to place kisses on just about every scar you had. Simon even left a few hickeys over them, covering the marks of enemies with his own.

As he dragged his lips and tongue across your ribs and stomach, your fingers went through his soft, blonde hair. Your clit throbbed, wanted his kisses to go further down.

Christ, you wanted him to eat you out so bad. Your hips continued to jolt, begging for more until you had to resort to using your voice. “S-Simon. . .”

He knew what he was doing. He was purposely avoiding going further down on you to teach you. When you called his name in a plea, his heart swelled and his cock throbbed. For a moment, he sat up to get a good look at you. You were a trembling mess. It was a stark contrast to how he usually saw you, yet, he loved this side of you too. It was an honor to be the first man who did this to you in a long time too.

However, his gaze fell on your side. The stitches were gone and the wound was closed, but a scar was left in its place. His eyes darkened as he realized that he was taking it too far again. At this rate, he wouldn’t be able to be gentle with you. You noticed his hesitance, a knot tying in your stomach. “Is something wrong?”

“You’re still healing. We shouldn’t-”

You cut him off, getting impatient between your legs. “The doctor cleared me for this. I want to do this with you, Simon.”

Blue eyes poured into yours, searching for any amount of uncertainty that would give him a reason to reject you. Yet, there was none of that in your beautiful eyes. There was nothing but need and love for him in them. Just like that, he caved, the feeling of being able to let go a huge weight off his shoulders. Finally, he could have you exactly how he wanted you.

He removed your pants and panties in one swoop, spreading your legs wide right after so he could really look at your glistening sex. Your cheeks burned pink as he stared at your weeping pussy so intensely. Your thighs were a mess with your slick, your clit was swollen. Simon prevented you from closing your legs, his grip firm in order to keep you open. You covered your face with your hands in growing embarrassment. “Fuck, Simon, stop staring! I told you it’s been a while for me!”

He took pleasure from your cries, a chuckle escaping him. With his thumb, he began to gently rub your sensitive bud, just barely brushing against it. You gasped from the contact, your vision seeing stars. Were you always this sensitive? Probably not. The only sexual partner you had for years was yourself. Being touched by someone else felt different. Better. Especially being touched by the person you had feelings for.

Simon lowered himself, kissing your legs and thighs on the way down. His gazed burned up into yours as he suckled hard on your skin to leave a mark. It took everything not to buck your hips up towards his face, to grab his hair and pull him down to devour you. As his tongue licked the inside of your thighs, you whimpered. “Stop teasing me!”

“Patience, kitten. I’m trying to savor this.” He admitted, reveling in the way you begged for him. While he was trying to savor you, he was also going slow for his own sake. Even if you were approved by your doctor, it didn’t mean he could be rough with you. Hopefully, that will happen another time. For now, he wanted to be gentle yet invigorating.

You gripped the sheets tight, trying to stay patient for what was to come. But god damn, his teasing was unbearable! He kissed everywhere except your needy cunt, making you squirm and gasp and whimper. Eventually, he took a finger and felt your wetness between his fingers. It filled him with his own arousal, his cock still hard in his pants. “You’re fucking soaked for me, kitten. Fucking hell.”

Finally, after too much waiting, he trailed his tongue along your entire slit, coating his taste buds in your intoxicating, sweet slick. You nearly screamed with pleasure, his warm tongue tasting you with no remorse. Simon had to pin your hips down to keep you from bucking away from him. Lips closed around your clit, sucking it before soothing it with his tongue. Every now and then he would run the entire length of you, drinking up excess wetness that escaped from you. He was completely devouring you just like the both of you wanted. Before you knew it, you were already close. You’ve never cummed like this before.

The sheets were in a death grip as you were brought closer to the edge. With one of his hands, he found yours and intertwined your fingers together. Simon didn’t mind how tight you squeezed. He could take it. He was too pussy drunk from you to notice just how hard your nails dug into his knuckles anyway. He moaned into your slit, hooked on your taste and wanting nothing more than to pleasure you for the rest of your life. His own hips grinded against the edge of the bed, rubbing his girthy cock through his pants.

His teeth bit down around your clit, his tongue flickering back and forth to get you to orgasm. With a foggy brain and stars in your eyes, you threw your head back and moaned out your climax, your body absolutely quaking from the intensity. The mess you left was cleaned up with more licks, each swipe and suck making your head spin amidst your climax. He didn’t stop eating you up, even when you were begging for mercy.

“S-Simon! Wait!” You cried, feeling him build up another orgasm within you as he continued enjoying you like the best meal he’s ever had. He shoved his tongue inside you, tasting you straight from the source before he once again dragged his tongue up against your reddened folds and all the way to your twitching button of nerves. You felt a thick finger enter you with ease followed by another one, Simon relentless with giving you attention.

You coated his fingers with your nectar within a second, feeling how much you could tighten around him. He imagined his cock in place of his fingers, feeling you tighten up with each thrust as you came close to cumming again. It was almost painful how hard his dick yearned for it. He would take you now, but he wanted to make sure that he would fit. He was a big man with the dick to match. Not too long, but definitely girthy. Simon needed to make sure that you could take him.

He curled his fingers at just the right angle, hitting your tender spot that made you feel like jelly. At the same time, he lathered up your clit with his mouth again, fingers pumping into you nonstop at a steady pace that left you breathless. Your juices dripped down his hand and onto the sheets, but he didn’t care. If anything, he wanted you to make more of a mess.

Screaming his name, you ground your hips against his hand and mouth, wanting all of him to go further, deeper, faster. Fuck, he was having you completely undone. Never in your life have you received this much attention. Your back arched as the wave crashed, your body tensing as electricity hit every cell within you. Simon’s fingers still went at you, making sure that you couldn’t get off the ride just yet.

As the wave died down, you struggled to catch your breath and regain your vision. You felt lightheaded. Weak. You’ve never been this weak for anyone. No one has ever treated you like this. Was Simon Riley normally like this when it comes to sex?

Giving you a moment to catch your breath, Simon stripped off his pants and briefs to reveal his own need that he’s been holding off for a bit too long. Your eyes widened at his reveal, wondering if he would even fit for a moment. That anxiety was quickly replaced with the desire to completely fill you up and stretch you as far as needed in order to take all of him. The excitement filled your core, body trembling.

Ghost took a minute to situate himself in a missionary position, almost moaning from the feeling of your legs wrapping around his hips to pull him closer to you. His dick slid up and down between your folds, slickness coating him along with your heat. As his tip pressed into your clit, you gripped onto his shoulders. “I don’t think I can wait anymore, Simon. . . Please, don’t make me fucking wait anymore. . .”

When you pleaded for him like that, he couldn’t possibly say no. Or even keep his cool for that matter. His lips crashed against yours, your taste still on his lips. As he invaded your mouth, his cock slid into you swiftly until he had his entire length in you. Simon ate your moans up, groaning himself at the pleasure of your tight, hot, wet cunt wrapping around him. It was like you were made for him, taking his cock so well.

He gave you a moment to get used to him, thrusting in and out his full length steadily. You took a few shaky breaths, feeling a hint of pain as he stretched you out. It didn’t take long for that pain to be completely replaced with ecstacy, your legs wrapping tighter around him. Your hands traced the muscles on his back, feeling them flex with each deep thrust.

You appreciated how gentle he was trying to be. It was obvious he was struggling, however, with the way his grunts entered your mouth through the intense kisses. His cock throbbed inside of you, wanting more of the pleasure you had to offer. You could feel his own body shiver too under your touch, filling you with confidence. Simon Riley was just as crazy about you as you were about him.

“Simon! More!” You begged, yearning for him to take you a little harder. You didn’t feel any pain in your side, so going just a bit rougher shouldn’t be a big deal. However, Simon was still hesitant.

“You sure, kitten?” He confirmed to which you nodded vigorously. As soon as you gave the go ahead, he buried his face in your neck and thrusted faster. Harder. Jesus fucking Christ, you felt so good underneath him. You felt amazing before, but this is really how he wanted to take you. To make love to you. To convey his feelings to you. His passion for you was wild. Simon could be rough and gentle, but always wild.

Your pussy tightened around him with each thrust, not wanting him to leave every time he pulled out. The way his cock thrusted so deep inside of you, completely rubbed every inch of you with his girth, and twitched inside you as he desired to cum made you feel nothing but pure sexual bliss. Cunt absolutely dripping, you made a mess all over his crotch and then some.

Cries and moans filled the room, each movement sending you each time. Suddenly, you found his hands slipping into yours, holding them tight as he increased his intensity. He was barely thinking anymore. All he could think about was how fucking amazing you felt and how he couldn’t get enough. Your hearts pounded in synch, feeling the pulse between your intertwined fingers.

He sighed out your name. Your real name, causing you to tighten around him even more. The feeling of an orgasm was approaching again, making you tighten your grip in his hands and arch your back, loving the way his strong body pressed flush weighted down yours. You begged for more, begged him not to stop, begged him to completely ravage your cunt. All to which he complied, feeling his own orgasm approaching.

Simon’s hot breath heated your neck, his lips brushing against your skin. His own moans went straight into your ears, sending you over the edge from arousal over the sounds of his own pleasure. His cock still pumped deep into you, fucking you hard all throughout your orgasm. Tears peeked at the corner of your eyes from the intensity, your whole body shuttering. You screamed his name as you came, making shivers run down his spine.

Watching you with a heated gaze, he observed just how beautifully you orgasmed. It triggered his own, hips going into overdrive as he watched you squirm. Your cunt brought him to cum, ropes shooting deep inside to add to your warmth. You bit your lip hard at his release. His hands gripped yours, breath labored against your skin, cock still twitching inside you.

Ghost couldn’t remember the last time came this hard. Or inside anyone. He propped himself up in a panic as he realized that he forgot a condom. “Shit, y/n, I-”

“Relax, Simon. I’m on birth control.” You reassured, your hand reaching up to caress his face. He leaned into your touch, kissing your palm as his heart settled down. Carefully, he pulled out and settled by your side, basking in the afterglow with you. It didn’t matter if you were both sticky and sweaty, he just wanted you close.

You sighed in satisfaction, feeling light as a cloud as you cuddled against Simon like a lover. The more you rested, the more your thoughts began to come back. You didn’t have to be like his lover. You could really be his lover if you agreed to stay with him. You could have this every night. Not just sex, but security. The warmth, the love. You could have a real future.

However, you had to take care of a few things first.

Simon fell into a deep sleep. He didn’t know when it happened. All he remembered was having the best sex of his life with you and then holding you in the afterglow. It’s been years since he’s fallen into such a deep sleep without nightmares. The space next to him was empty and cold, though. A new nightmare come to life.

He frantically searched for you, calling out all three variants of your name, hoping that you would respond to one of them. Panic rose in his chest, choking his breath. When he didn’t see any sign of you, he scrambled to put clothes on to search the streets. That’s when he noticed a letter on the desk.

Simon Riley,

I’m sorry that I have to disappear like this. I want you to know that you are the best thing that’s happened to me in a very long time. As much as you infuriate me, make me want to pull my hair out, and drive me crazy, I really can’t imagine my life without you anymore. That’s why I need to take care of a few things first before I can start a new life with you. Loose ends and whatnot. Please don’t see this as me deciding to never see you again. I promise that I will return.

Love,

Kitten

Ghost wasn’t sure what to think. He was relieved that you planned on being back, but at the same time his heart was broken. He was angry. How could you leave in the middle of the night like that? How could you sneak away without saying goodbye?

Why didn’t you give him the option to come with you?

It’s been months since the last time Simon saw you. He hasn’t heard anything from you. No call, no letter, not even a message to pass using Kate. It was like you disappeared off the planet. Like you never existed in the first place.

He wasn’t handling your disappearance well. He was harsh on the new recruits, curt with his teammates, and more antisocial than ever. The only piece he had left of you was the letter, promising him that you would come back once you took care of your business. Too much time has passed since then. Were you okay? Did you change your mind? Was everything you did with him a lie?

Nightmares of his past were replaced by the nightmare of losing you, night after night. You were all he could think about constantly. Thankfully, the team wasn’t sent on any long-term missions together. Always brief. Even if it wasn’t, he would make it so in a rampage.

It was close to Christmas when Price came to present the team with their first longer-term assignment since Makarov. The gang would leave in a week, allowing enough time to prepare for what was to come. Most of the guys hung out with friends for the last time for a while. Some with their family. Some stuck to training to be in tip-top shape. Ghost felt like he didn’t have much of that. He tried to figure out how he was going to pass the time as he walked with his team outside on the base. Snow began to fall down, the flakes quickly melting once they hit ground.

Price cleared his throat, ready to make a final announcement. “One last tidbit you need to know before going off to get fills for the week. We have a new member joining us for this mission.”

Eyes immediately focused on the captain, the same thought crossing everyone’s mind. Ghost was the most attentive to this news. About a second later, the sound of a motorcycle in the distance began to get louder as it got closer. It didn’t take long for the cycle to drive past the gates and brake in front of the men. It took everything out of them not to completely tackle you in a group bear hug.

As soon as you lifted your helmet off your head, your eyes locked with Ghost’s. You looked as beautiful as ever. Like no time had passed at all. Before anyone could say anything, Ghost pushed them all aside, ripped off his mask, and pulled you in for an intense, deep kiss that conveyed all of his emotions.

You kissed him back, not caring if the other men in the 141 were watching. They actually seemed moved by the reunion. They knew that Ghost was having a hard time without you. You needed to be here for them and for him.

He pulled back from you, breathless. He could hardly believe that you were standing here in front of him. One thing for sure though was that he was never going to let you go again.

You vowed to never let him go again either. This is where you belong. Your true home.

Taglist:

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ronancexists · 3 months

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Hi everyone. I haven't been able to stop thinking about Hazbin Hotel since it came out. I just wanted to get this thought out there and share it with people to see if anyone else has been thinking about it or if it's just me.

So, we all know that Alastor has made a deal of his own, but we don't know with who. I know a lot of people theorize that it's Lilith, and I did too until I watched season 1 again, specifically episodes 7 & 8.

In episode 7, Alastor and Charlie finally make a deal. Alastor told Charlie that the exorcists can be killed, and return, she's going to owe him favors of his choosing in which she doesn't have to harm anybody. I was surprised he didn't want Charlie's soul, but considering she is the daughter of Lilith and Lucifer, Alastor probably didn't want to take the chance of incurring Lucifer's wrath in that way instead of the petty way he did in episode 5.

At first, I was thinking maybe he didn't want it because of a deal he made with Lilith where he couldn't harm Charlie and that's why he's invested in the hotel and in helping her, but then the lyric where he says "she's filled with potential that I could guide" suggests maybe he didn't want Charlie's soul because owning her soul wouldn't be helpful to him in accomplishing whatever he's plotting. Maybe he just really needs her and her power, and by owning her soul, he'd diminish her power. Kind of like with Husk.

Then, in episode 8, the finale song, Alastor has a line that goes "The constraints of my deal surely have a back door." That line in particular is what got me into analyzing Alastor and everything he's done so far. Him saying, or I guess singing, that could possibly mean he didn't make a deal with Charlie to hold it over Lilith. It means he still hasn't figured out a loophole to the deal he made, and I know a lot of people who are on board with the whole "Alastor and Lilith made a deal" theory think the reason he wanted to make a deal with Charlie was to use it to get off of Lilith's leash. But that line he sings could mean that he wanted Charlie to make a deal with him for another reason and that he still has a lot of work to do in discovering a way he could get out of his own.

After all, we are all well aware of the fact that all the songs serve a purpose in moving the story along. Not to mention that they're all freaking bangers. Which is why that lyric has started this whole "What if..." thing with Alastor and the leash Husk revealed he's on.

That being said, it's definitely not a coincidence that he and Lilith were both missing for 7 years, and the fact that Zestial said in episode 4 that there are rumors Alastor "fell into holy arms" suggests that Alastor might have indeed figured out a way to get to Heaven, and perhaps he did meet Lilith while he was there and struck a deal with her.

I'm open to either one of these theories, but I do think it would be kind of neat if I was right and that it turned out Alastor didn't make a deal with Lilith at all, instead it was with somebody else. Maybe someone we've already met, or maybe somebody we haven't.

But regardless of what happens, I love this show and I can't wait for season 2!

Please let me know what you guys think. This thought has been niggling my brain for a while and I just needed to get it out somewhere.

P.S.- A list of things I want to see in season 2 and beyond:

- CHARLIE AND VAGGIE CHARLIE AND VAGGIE CHARLIE AND VAGGIE CHARLIE AND VAGGIE CHARLIE AND VAGGIE CHARLIE AND VAGGIE

- As in kisses, cuddles, adorableness, (maybe even a sex scene considering they did an entire episode with Angel & his pornos), Vaggie carrying Charlie as they fly around Hell

- Not to mention an ENTIRE SONG sung by the two of them. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely ADORE THE SHIT out of the reprise of ''More Than Anything," but these two need a FULL fucking song together

- More of Carmilla and Vaggie bonding and being badasses together

- Angel and Husk becoming a thing

- Learn more about what Lilith and Alastor have been up to while they've both been gone for 7 years

- What Heaven is going to do now that Adam is dead and the Extermination failed

- Also is Heaven or Emily or Sera or ANYONE even gonna ADDRESS the fact that Vaggie was revealed to be a fallen exterminator angel in episode 6?!?! Like I'm sorry but Adam dropped that fucking bomb and the only reaction they showed was Charlie's and nobody even like asked what had happened or why Vaggie was cast out?!?! I'd really like to see something, ANYTHING, that acknowledges this very big reveal to Heaven actually fucking happened lmao.

- Lilith's reunion & explanation to Charlie and Lucifer

- More of our Short King being his nerdy, powerful self

- Lute & Vaggie being toxic exes and/or getting a duet together (a girl can dream lmaoooo)

- Sir Pentious and his adventures in Heaven

- Emily and what she comes up with to help Charlie because she is the true Angel up in Heaven

- Sera getting a fucking kick to the face (or multiple) for letting the Exterminations happen and for all the other hypocritical shit that's been going on

- Everyone's reactions when they find out Sir Pentious has been redeemed

- Niffty being Niffty

- Alastor's plans and what he wants Charlie to do for him because of the deal they made

- Angel & Husk getting out of their respective deals with Valentino and Alastor

- Valentino dying a slow, agonizing, shitty death for what he's done to Angel

- What Keekee being the key to the hotel really means

- More fucking bangers to add to my playlist :)

That's all I can think of for now. If I think of anything else I'll add it on :)

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neteyamsyawntu · 1 year

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And So She Danced With Death

Chapter 4

Dark!Neteyam x Na'vi!Reader fic

👉Chapter 1

👉Chapter 2

👉Chapter 3

Disclaimer!: All canon characters in ATWOW that appear in ASSDWD are all aged up by 5 years.

Synopsis: After Neteyam takes it upon himself to reclaim you as his mate, the two of you find yourselves in a risky situation.

WARNINGS: 🔞MINORS DNI🔞, angst, SOO much angst, mentions of death, near death experience, evil! Neteyam, soft!Neteyam, suggestive language, mentions of torture and abuse

Neteyam’s grip tightened drawing his arms around your backside. One hand firmly grasping your shoulder while the other securely held your waist, pressing your body close to him as he eyed down the door from over your shoulder, cock still firmly planted inside of you. The door hardly came to a full open before the intruder hurriedly brushed passed the small opening and closing the door behind him. The half naked human caught his breath mentally patting himself on the back to the success of his stealthy plan, before turning his attention to the center of the room at the scene in front of him. You straddling Neteyam’s lap with your back facing the door, sticky liquid dripping down between both of your legs, Neteyam holding you with such possessiveness, face decorated in beads of sweat and bared fangs. With his jaw immediately dropping the blue striped human quickly moved to cover his eyes, “Awe damn it!” He cursed giving a small gag. You knew that voice, it was all too familiar. You turned your head to look behind you at the sound. It had to be, it couldn’t be anyone else. Much to your relief your suspicions were right: it was Spider. Relieved that it was a familiar face who you knew despite everything was still loyal to the Sullys, but the relief turned into a pained sting when the thought of his betrayal seeped into your brain.

It wasn’t even a full week after Neteyam’s funeral that Spider confessed his sins to Kiri. Saving Quaritch even though he knew it was wrong. The execution was poorly timed however as you and Lo’ak were approaching from behind, close enough to hear the confession. Immediately you saw red, but before you had a chance to strike, Lo’ak was already running passed you tackling Spider to the ground, sending a meteor shower of punches down on the defenseless human, his mask nearly getting destroyed in the process. That’s when you all found it, the little red blinking chip that had dislodged from the mask. It was a tracker. That lead to the first ambush on the Metkayina. There wasn’t even a single casualty, mostly just injuries and some marui’s and small kayaks damaged. But it turned out to all be a distraction. Amongst the chaos, that was when the RDA forces dove into the ocean toward the golden anemone, snatching Neteyam’s body from his resting place. Quaritch hurriedly tried to convince Spider to get on the ship with them, but he refused no longer desiring to be used as a puppet against his family.

“Spider what are you doing here?” You blinked rapidly, suddenly becoming very aware of the situation you were in. While you and Spider weren’t necessarily close, to still have him see you in such a compromising position you couldn’t help, but feel a bit embarrassed. Neteyam on the other hand showed no signs of shamefulness, more so annoyed about being interrupted… or rather having you be seen by another male naked, even if it was just Spider. His arms wrapped tighter around your form, trying to hide as much of your exposed body as possible. “I heard that you were captured and I figured if you weren’t in a holding cell you were probably here.” Spider grimaced trying to keep his eyes anywhere, but on the two tangled na’vi in front of him, “I was gonna help you escape, but CLEARLY you are in less distress than I thought” he gestured at the two of you, accidentally gazing over for a brief moment, before quickly correcting his actions. You hid your face in Neteyam’s chest feeling your face heat up incredibly. The idea of getting trapped in a dark hole sounded more appealing than being viewed in such a way. Neteyam shifted his weight from under you, looking to you before his gaze landed back on Spider, “Give us a moment” he said, motioning with his head to the next room over. Spider took the hint and hastily made his way to the other room, “yeah yeah, just knock on the glass when you’re ready”.

Neteyam took in a steady breath before leaning back, lifting your chin with his index finger, forcing you to meet his gaze. Your brows pinched as you studied his expression. His eyes were the softest you’d seen them since reuniting. Melancholy amber orbs gloomed at you, causing your heart to tighten as you debated to yourself what was to come next. “Teyam?” You whispered softly “My mate…” he hummed resting his forehead against yours lovingly, his throat felt tight as he struggled with the words. You took his face in your hands to direct his falling gaze back to you, “what is it my love?” You asked anxiously trying to find the answers in his eyes. His hand reached up to press against your own nuzzling into the touch, “the words are like stones in my heart, yawne…” he admits attempting to nuzzle deeper into your warm hold. You could feel your eyes prick with tears as understanding started to wash over you. With a deep breath, Neteyam grasped both of your hands softly, watching as his fingers grazed over all the individual lines and curves, “You need to leave here… go with Spider” he finally spoke, his eyes meeting yours that now filled with tears. You knew this was coming. How you hated being right in times like these. You were going to have to leave him again. Leave him here in the belly of the beast to fend for himself.

Neteyam clicked his tongue softly, lifting a hand to wipe away a fleeting tear with his thumb from your cheek, “please do not cry yawne…” he gently pleaded, kissing away the second tear the escaped your blinking lashes. His sudden softness making the situation all the more painful. If he had acted like you were just a cheap fuck maybe it had been easier…, but then again perhaps nothing would make this setting more bearable. It was one of those bleak realities you’d be forced to face. “I want you to come with us” you hiccup unable to hold back your tears. Neteyam sighed taking you into his embrace rocking you gently, “I wish I could go with you too…, but I have unfinished business here. I cannot leave just yet”. Your body began to shake as you tried desperately to withhold your sobs, not wanting to make this any harder on Neteyam as well. Leaning back once more to look at you directly as he cradled your face, “I will see you again, I promise that” Neteyam said sternly, his eyes glossed as if holding is own tears, “now come on.. let’s not keep Spider waiting okay?” He said wiping away the last of your tears before steadying his hands on your hips waiting for your permission. Finally collecting yourself, you gave him a small nod, as was his sign to slowly lift your hips up carefully. Your skin was sticky against his own; your walls which had adjusted to his length snuggly cradled against your cervix, felt tight as he slowly pulled out his cock from its sheath, the two of you releasing faint groans in the process. The mix of yours and his cum ran down your leg as you steadied yourself to stand and dismount his lap. Neteyam observed the stream of slick, smirking slightly to himself “I will never get tired of seeing that” he said in a small chuckle, to which you rolled your eyes, before playfully nudging his shoulder. Making your way around the table grabbed your discarded articles of clothing along with your exopack and hastily dressed yourself now feeling a sense of urgency. Neteyam approached from behind you, his loincloth now tied loosely around his hips. You groaned at your struggles with your own loincloth, your fingers fumbling with the flimsy strings. “Let me help” Neteyam hummed as his fingers splay over yours, softly coaxing the strings from between your fingers into his.

Leaning his head into the yours, Neteyam fastened the strings around the base of your tail, peppering small kisses on the shell of your ear. “Neteyam please…” you plead softly shifting your head enough to create distance between your ear and his lips. You hated to be cruel with him, but the idea of melting too much into his affections pained the part of you that was unsure of how long it would be until you saw him again, not to mention under what circumstances. Neteyam glanced at the back of your head before shifting his gaze back down to your loincloth as he finished tying a knot in the strings, “sorry…” he sighed understanding the reasoning behind your distance without you having to say anything. Turning on his heels, Neteyam moved to the end of the room, knocking on the glass to signal to Spider that it was appropriate to re-enter. The scruffy human shuffled awkwardly back into the room, holding out a box of tissues to Neteyam not making eye contact, permanently scarred to look at Neteyam the same way again, “Figured you may want these”. Neteyam carefully took the cardboard box in his oversized hand, fingering a tissue out from its containment, making his way over to you. You turned to him, eyeing the tissue before meeting his gaze. Blinking away the desire for him to touch you again, you extend your arm for the frail material.

Neteyam retracted his outstretched hand narrowing his eyes somewhat, a hint of annoyance playing in his features, “Please Y/N, let me at least do this” he insisted before moving slowly toward you. You sighed in defeat, backing yourself up to lean against the edge of the table, spreading your legs to grant him enough room to work. Neteyam had always been so attentive with aftercare in the past, it warmed your heart to know that aspect of him hadn’t completely warn off despite how untimely his urge to be a gentleman was. Steadily, Neteyam bent down to wipe away the drying mixture of cum from your inner thighs. You stiffened at the contact, still feeling remnants of sensitivity near your core. Not failing to notice your shift, Neteyam lifted his free hand to rub small circles into your calf while he worked, to distract you from the lingering feeling. You studied your mate with precision, mapping out every one of his features with your eyes, committing every detail, every scar and freckle to memory. Your throat tightened at the uncertainty both your futures held. You blinked a couple times, lifting your head at a slight angle in attempts to push back any tears that contemplated escape. Wadding up the used material, Neteyam stood back to his full height, looking over to Spider who was awkwardly shifting back and forth in the corner, eyes suddenly darting to the floor. “She is ready” Neteyam stated, scrunching his nose in disapproval on Spider’s wandering gaze. You look up to Neteyam watching as he purposely avoids your glance.

Inhaling deeply through the exopack you make your way over to Spider, “What is our plan?” You ask adjusting your hunting knife over your chest. “Well… this place isn’t exactly easy to navigate and lets say I don’t really have authorization to be escorting you anywhere, so if you don’t mind-“ Spider wondered, looking over to Neteyam who furrowed his brows “-No, she is supposed to be restrained inside this room. How will it look if I am to walk her out of the complex?”. Spider paused biting the inside of his cheek pondering the obvious snag in his plan. Taking a brief moment to think, Spider suddenly clapped his hands in justification, “Okay-okay so what if you say you are taking her outside to take a leak or something and then the moment you guys are outside-“ he declares shifting his gaze toward you, “-Y/N, you try to fight him off and escape that way”. Spider nods crossing his arms nonchalantly, seemingly very pleased with his latest scheme. The plan wasn’t terrible, yet the look on Neteyam’s face proved that he still wasn’t very impressed, “And? What if reinforcements try to catch her and she just ends up right back here? Or worse, some trigger happy prick shoots her dead… hmm? What thenSpider?” Neteyam fumed, his composure wearing as thin as his confidence in Spider’s plot. “Do you lack faith in my capability that much, Nete?” You shoot at him slightly offended at his unknowingly backhanded statement. Neteyam groaned pinching the bridge of his nose, his lips forming into a thin line as he contemplated his next words carefully, “What am I to do with myself if you get killed doing something so reckless?” He huffed out carefully as his fists ground into the table he now leaned over, eyes filled with a mix of hurt and concern locking with yours waiting for an answer.

Letting out a gentle sigh you allow your hard exterior to fall as you made your way to his side, laying your small hand over one of his clenched fist, “Ma’Muntxatan(husband)…I need you to trust me on this, we don’t have a lot of options. We will be smart and we will act fast. I’ll make my exit as believable as possible, but I need you to be with me on this” your voice was direct, yet your face softened as he rose to stare back at you. His eyes bounced between your own looking for any sign of uncertainty, but you were firm in your resolve, your mind was already made. Neteyam’s brows pinched reflecting his own uncertainty as he pressed his forehead against yours for comfort, closing his eyes to savor the contact,“I do not want to loose you..” he whispered loud enough for only you to hear. Your ears folded back as you nuzzled your head against his, allowing a small sigh to fall past your lips, “I promise-“, “you cannot” he croaked interrupting you to which you calmly shushed him in response, rubbing your thumb along his knuckles, “-I promise, that both of us will make it through this. Once I escape I will ensure that the next time we see each other will be when I finally set you free.” You hummed, wrapping your tail around his leg, leaning into his side, “The pain that I felt when I lost you-“, Neteyam hurriedly leaned back looking at your face, his eyes slightly glazed. This was the first time since his reawakening that he thought about what it must’ve been like for you watching him die. The impact it must’ve inflicted as you were left to carry that pain on your own. As Neteyam opened his mouth to interject, you quickly took his face in your hands, “I will never allow you feel that pain. Not until I am very old and Eywa herself deems it time. I can only hope the great mother is kind enough to allow us to meet her together when that time comes”.

Neteyam took in a heavy breath taking one last look at you before separating from your touch, shaking his head to regain his composure. With one last breath Neteyam, positioned himself behind you, drawing his hunting knife before grabbing onto your kuru and positioning the blade against your braid. “Spider, I want you to be in the forest when she escapes, copy?” Neteyam orders, eyeing him down from over your shoulder, his hard exterior taking its place in his features as if nothing had transpired is the past hour or so. Spider blinked at the sudden change in atmosphere, quickly adapting as be readied himself to leave the room first and sneak out the back door of the complex, “copy, I got you covered, bro.” Spider said, acknowledging as Neteyam nodded to him as his queue to carefully and hastily exit the room. After leaving a couple minutes for Spider to get a head start, Neteyam pushed you forward harshly toward the door, shoving you into the hallway. It had began. The plan was in motion, there was no turning back from here. Guiding you down the bright corridor, you were lucky that none of the RDA soldiers had questioned Neteyam about his motives. You thought it was also lucky that humans had such weak noses; knowing that if one of the recoms crossed your path, they would immediately smell the stench of sex that saturated both you and Neteyam. Yet your mate was smart, making sure to take the longer route to the entrance that avoided the recom barracks. Once you stepped outside the doors to the complex, you immediately let in a huge inhale of your native air. Fresh and clean. The sun was nearly set, meaning another full day had gone by. By now the Sullys would know that you were missing, the sense of anxiousness flooded your mind as you decided you needed to hurry and get back before they did anything rash in response to your capture.

“Halt!” There were 2 soldiers guarding the door once you had exited, being that it was turning to night shift they 4 on duty guards that would rotate periodically so the others could sleep. Neteyam quickly halted his movement, eyeing down the small human who held a gun almost half the size of his torso in his arms, “ain’t she supposed to be in the interrogation room?” The soldier pushed, eyes bouncing between the two of you, then looking your form up and down. Neteyam kept up his usual aggressive exterior when he responded, “She is not acclimated to your human facilities” he emphasized the word, “unless you want to be the one to clean up her mess later-“ before he could even finish the solder put his hands up in surrender, “Nope- nonono you’re good. Just don’t take her very far, right outside the gate-line in those trees should be plenty.” He ordered retaking his position. Neteyam let out a huff before pushing you forward roughly walking you past the gate far from any prying ears, “when we get into those bushes, I need you to knock me unconscious. We need to make this look as believable as possible” Neteyam whispered behind you, the thought made your stomach turn as you entered your destinated, “Neteyam I could kill you!” You whispered back a little more pointed, looking at him from over your shoulder, “you won’t… now do it, we don’t have a lot of time”. Neteyam made some distance between the two of you looking off for a brief moment as you jumped into action, sending a direct punch into his gut, just at the base of his rib cage. Neteyam wheezed out a breath as you circled around him, covered by the thick brush to any on lookers, you wrapped your arm around his throat, applying pressure to the area. “I love you, I love you, I love you” you chanted quietly into his ear, your brows pinching together as your eyes started to swell with tears as Neteyam’s wheezed out choked breaths. Keeping a hand just under his nose to feel from the pressure of his breath, you lowered him slowly to the ground, laying him down gently as you released your hold on him.

Thankful that he was still breathing you took one last look at him, stroking the side of his face before pulling yourself away, bolting into the forest far from the complex. It wasn’t long until you heard Spider calling out for you, eagerly running up to your side “Yes! I knew it would work” you gave him a half hearted smile pained by the actions it took to get you here. When you were far enough away from the RDA complex you allowed yourself to lean against the trunk of a tree, as your emotions began to overwhelm you. Spider, who had still been walking stopped in his tracks when he didn’t hear your heavy footsteps behind him, quickly looking back to witness you begin to hyperventilate. Worry washed over his face as Spider rushed back toward you, “Hey hey hey, its ok. You’re ok. What’s wrong?” He pleaded, scanning your body for injuries. You slid down the trunk to crouch against it, taking your face into your hands, “I came here… for him. To bring him back. To get him out of there, Spider” you croaked, tears falling freely from your eyes, not having to strength to hold them back any longer. Spider pinched his brows together nodding slowly, placing a hand on your shoulder, “I failed… I failed him” your voice shook, curling your tail around your ankle in efforts to make yourself look as small as you now felt. Spider shook his head leaning down to try and meet your gaze through your covered face, “Y/N you did not fail him. You did more for him than you think” he spoke carefully, as you slowly lifted you head to look at him, “Listen, before you came here, Neteyam was completely different. He was stone-cold. A puppet. He hardly even acknowledged me whenever I tried to get through to him. Like he wasn’t even alive…, but what I saw in that room today. The way he cared for you…” your eyes softened as you listened to his words, sniffling as you processed where he was going with this, “You woke him up, Y/N… you did and I’m sure he’s gonna be fighting to get back to you”.

Drawing in a deep breath you steadied your thoughts, finally feeling your eyes begin to dry with the drop of one final tear, rolling down your cheek. You glanced to the hand that was placed on your shoulder then back to the human it belonged to, “You know… if Neteyam knew you were touching me right now he’d probably take your arm off” you gave a small chuckle trying to lighten the mood, to which Spider took the bait immediately giving his own rough laugh, removing his hand from you, “yeeeah let’s keep this between us ok? I’d like to keep all of my limbs”. You nodded rising back to your full height now looking down at Spider, “Your secret is safe with me…”. You smiled before motioning with your head for the two of you to continue your venture. “There’s no tracker in that mask is there?” You asked Spider as you discarded the exopack you realized you still had. He puffed his chest proudly as he walked, “Nah- well there was, but I knew where to look for it. Guess I can thank Lo’ak for that later” he rolled his eyes light heartedly recalling the beat down that had occurred which revealed the chip in his original mask. You laughed out loud, biting your lip shortly after hoping you didn’t offend your companion, but Spider merely looked up at you, offering a cheerful smile at your relaxed state, as the two of you made your way back to the Metkayina camp.

——————————————

A pounding noise like drums pumped in Neteyam’s ears. His head feeling as if it was about to split. Slowly opening his eyes he winced as the bright fluorescents of the lights assaulted his pupils. Once gripping his bearings Neteyam scanned the room he was in, immediately recognizing where he was, starting to feel the sting from the restraints tightly pulled on his wrists as he shifted in place. His hands were raised above his head, with a restraint over his midsection and a pair over his ankles, cementing him in place against the wall. Gritting his teeth he lowered his head in defeat, readying himself for what was about to come. The sound of the door opening screeched through the room, yet Neteyam kept his eyes on the floor not acknowledging the new presence. He could smell them. He didn’t need to do much more to know Quaritch and his usual lackey trailed into the room. Quaritch gave a tired sigh crossing his arms as he walked up to Neteyam’s bound form, “Ya know son… I didn’t think we’d have to bring you in here again. I’m sad to say I was wrong”. He said chewing his cheek absentmindedly. Neteyam shook his head softly desperate to get the pounding to cease, his voice came out heavy and groggy, “What happened?” He asked trying to play his part. Quaritch tsk-ed his tongue before roughly grabbing onto a handful of Neteyam’s braids at the roots of his scalp, forcing his head up. Neteyam let out a pained groan as he gritted his teeth, now looking Quaritch in the eye. “Don’t play stupid with me, boy. That act of yours ain’t gonna get you nowhere.” Quaritch grumbled, showing his fangs, “you’ve already given yourself away champ, I can smell her all over you.” He growled.

Neteyam strained against his hold fighting through the sting, letting out a sharp scoff, “You almost sound jealous.” Neteyam egged on. Quaritch smirked backing away, snapping at the soldier next to him, who quickly lifted his baton enabling the voltage as it made contact with the side of Neteyam’s rib cage. The sound of the shocks echoed through the room, as Neteyam bared down on his lip, trying to resist the pain that shot up his spine. When the torture finally ceased, Neteyam’s body felt heavy, his head hanging low once more as he tried to catch his breath. “Now let’s try to stay civil shall we? I wanna sympathize with you, kid.” Quaritch continued, dragging a chair to position it a little ways in front of Neteyam, straddling the seat from behind in a casual manner, “I know a lot must be going through your head about right now. So let me see if I understand…” .Neteyam kept his eyes on the floor as he did before, his ears now stood alert to show that he was listening. “We take your wife into custody- I’m sure a lot of mixed feelings came about, a lot of old feelings to be exact and you figure- ‘what’s the harm right?’ So y’get yourself a little ‘tail’. It’s only natural right? Her being your mate and all…,but you helped her escape didn’t you?” Neteyam’s eyes slowly floated up to Quaritch. If looks could kill, Quaritch would have about 20 different varieties of knives piercing through his body. The faux na’vi let out an amused huff before continuing, “You don’t like me talking about her do you? Hm? Yeah..you strike me as a man that likes to keep what’s his to himself. I can respect that..”.

Leaning forward Quaritch tilted his head to the side. A look of arrogance painted in his features, “But tell me… how was it? Was it worth it? D’she crumble under you or give you a good fight? Was she warm?” His mouth stretched into a revolting grin, “Was she tight? Or did you slide in, just right?”. That was it. Thrashing wildly against his restraints as much as he could, Neteyam viciously hissed at the man in front of him desperate to wipe that stupid smirk off of his face, or maybe just claw off his face all together. “Woah-ho-ho, there he is! I gotta say, you disappoint me, son. I had higher hopes for you.” Quaritch said getting up from his seat pulling it against the back wall and out of the way, signaling over to the man with the baton. Leaving no time for Neteyam to register what was going on or to even realize his mistake, a sharp wave of shocks washed over his body, this time not able to stop himself as he cried out in agony. “Give him a couple more rounds, that should remind him which team he’s playing for.” Quaritch ordered before exiting the room, leaving Neteyam to succumb to the relentless waves of shocks. The only thought on his mind was you… at least you were safe.

———————————————

You scanned your surroundings confused, brows scrunched as you took in the sight of the abandoned campsite, “You sure they are here?” Spider inquired, with unsatisfied eyes scanning the plain beach cove. “Yes Spider, they were all here…” you groan searching for remnants of their whereabouts in the sand, “If they were here why would they just leave you behind? Clearly they would’ve realized you were gone”. You sighed picking up a fist of sand in your hand, watching as the grains slipped through your fingers, “No one knew I had left…Lo’ak was probably the only one who figured out where I had gone and told his father. With how close the compound actually was I wouldn’t be surprised if they got out of dodge as soon as they could.” Rising to your feet you called out a yip to summon your banshee. Within minutes a gray ikran with detailed green striped soared over head, before circling back to land in front of you. “So what now? We just fly around until we find them?” Your chest tightened, stroking the neck of the winged beast, as you contemplated your next words carefully. Turning to look at him your instantly started to feel guilt wash over you, “Spider I need to ask you a favor…” you started avoiding his gaze, “I cant leave in good consciousness knowing that Neteyam is back there all by himself. No one on his side. No one to support him…” you trailed off hoping he would pick up on your intent, which of course he took little time to understand what you were implying, nodding in agreement, “Yeeeeah I kind of thought you’d say that. Here-“ reaching into a pouch on his hip, Spider withdrew two com-sets. Similar to the ones the Sullys wore to communicate from great distances. He held out one of the sets to you with a gentle smile on his face, “I’ll take care of him for you, I got your back”.

Gently taking the choker and ear piece from him, you hastily fastened the tools on your person, “I owe you, Spider… thank you, my friend”. You nod, gesturing the sign for ‘I see you’, you could almost swear his eyes sparkled at the term, like a dog being praised by its master. Not wanting to waste any more time you mounted your ikran, forming the bond simultaneously. Spider watched you let out an enthused call, to which your banshee mimicked with its own cry, taking off from the beach leaving him to make the journey back to the complex.

———————————————

Being sure to watch for guards as he approached, Spider was successfully able to slip his way back into the compound undetected. The slap of his bare feet against the cold floor carried him through the halls. His next plan was to locate Neteyam and make sure he knew you had gotten out safety. Making his way through the winding halls, the sound of pained, exasperated, cries filled his ears as Spider rounded a corner. His heart dropping as he witnessed Quaritch exit the room, nearly bumping into him, “What the hell is going on in there??” Spider yelled at him trying to peek through the small glass window on the door. The brief sight he caught, made him nauseous. Neteyam tied up, with numerous burn wounds littering his body, as he continued to get afflicted this electric shocks. Quaritch stepped in front of Spider’s view blocking the door completely, “You fucking monster! Is this what you’ve been doing to him???” The young man cursed, leaping back as the faux na’vi attempted to place a hand on his shoulder, “DON’T TOUCH ME! Don’t you dare fucking touch me” he warned at the giant shoving his index finger in his direction as a form of barrier, eyes dark and furious. Quaritch however didn’t let up, “The only reason we brought him back here in the first place was so we could use him against Sully,” he spoke plainly as if it were common sense, “if he starts making things too difficult, we’ll just have to put him back in the ground… you wouldn’t want that would you, Spider?” The na’vi now loomed over Spider. His face was sympathetic, but his tone revealed his darker intent. Spider scrunched his nose in disgust, now finally getting a clear view of the situation from all sides. If anything was evident, it was that Spider had to come up with a plan to get Neteyam out of there and back with his family. “You son of a bitch” Spider growled shaking his head in disbelief as Quaritch turned his back, who ignored the insult continuing on his way before getting stopped by another recom, “Hey colonel, we got some intel on Sully’s location. General Ardmore wants us to return to Hell's Gate and investigate immediately.”

Quaritch nodded ordering the recom to prepare the troops before turning back to Spider who had been listening to the conversation, “Looks like it’s your friend’s lucky day” he smirked walking back toward the room, opening the door, “That’s enough, let him cool off. We are taking off in an hour tops”. Spider desperately tried to peak past Quaritch’s form, hoping to catch Neteyam’s gaze. His exhaustion weighed deeply on him, almost too week to even lift his head, so he didn’t. His gaze fixed on the floor and his body writhed from the aftershocks. Spider winced, as the soldier unhinged all of Neteyam’s bindings, watching as his limp body fell to the ground with a loud thud. Seeing Neteyam so weak, as if he had no fight left in him, caused feelings of doubt and guilt to flood Spider’s mind. Neteyam on the other hand, no matter how drained; his blood boiled. A new fire was lit in the pit of his stomach as he laid there on the cold tile floor. A new sense of purpose. All he cared about now was ending Quaritch and the rest of the RDA and getting back to his family. Back to you.

UGHHH I feel like this chapter was so short, but I didn't want to overcomplicate it too much with what I have planned coming next.

I hope that regardless, you all enjoy this chapter and bear with me while I prepare for chapter 5.

Tag-list:

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#and so she danced with death #assdwd #avatar #avatarsmut #neteyam #neteyam smut #neteyam sully #dark neteyam #evil neteyam #neteyam sully x reader #neteyam x na'vi!reader #avatar twow #avatar the way of water

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