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clumsiestgiantess · 11 months

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Third chapter of Alexis & Erica’s story (I think I’m going to start calling it the other-world universe because that’s what I tag it as). The final intro chapter. Woah, another new ability?

all chapters linked here

[Two figures, one dark alley]

I made my way to the city again. This time I took the proper amount of caution, because if I'm honest with myself, I wasn't paying all that much attention to where I was stepping before. However, the closer I got to the city, the harder it was to find some open space. In fact, the buildings were almost literally within my reach, but I had no way to get any closer without carving a path right through them. Most of the larger buildings on the outskirts of the city only came to chest height. Still, that was tall enough to stop me in my tracks. I stood on my tiptoes, trying to scout out any signs of a giant robot battle like the one Liam created yesterday, but there wasn't a single piece of evidence that anything was out of place.

As I shifted my weight to one leg so I could see around an office building, the pavement of the empty lot I was standing in cracked beneath me. I flinched, kneeling down to examine the shattered concrete below. Am I really that heavy? “Giant robots are invading!” I scrambled to my feet in an instant. My brother’s story is happening now!? I looked around wildly, trying to spot who had yelled. With all the tall city buildings, it was hard to get a clear view of everything around me. I was used to a bit more open space. Now, my vision was constantly obscured, but I tried my best to find out what was happening.

Rushing down an empty street as carefully as I could manage, I found a view of the highway into the city. An explosion pictured on an electronic billboard dragged my eyes away from the busy road. Large robots walked in thematic slow motion as the screen faded out. The board announced: “See the new movie from the Battlebots universe, in theaters now!” I took a relieved breath as I watched the preview switch with an insurance ad on the billboard's display. My brother's stories were only movies, not reality. There was no mass destruction, no horrible demise of the human race. That's a relief.

The sun was already sinking below the horizon; I'd spent a lot more time than I realized finding a pathway out to the city. I thought about leaving, but I’d come all that way. Why not enjoy the city lights while I’m here? Carefully checking the lot I’d come from, I sat down for a while and watched the city come to life for the night. It was a nice break from everything that had happened in the world so far. For once I had a moment to myself to enjoy without having to dodge vehicles, people, or houses. This is great, I thought happily, time is stopped in my world right now. I could come here and do whatever I like for as long as I want without any consequences. If I wanted to, I could even sit here and do nothing for days and it would only take a few seconds in my own world.

I don't know how long I sat there for, but eventually I got up to leave. The sun had long disappeared, and I was getting bored. Just as I picked myself up, I heard something crash to the ground. Standing frozen halfway bent, I looked for what caused the noise, fearing I'd broken something again. "Uggh, let go of me you-!" I quickly stood straight up, searching for the source of the voice. My search led me to a run-down club a few blocks away and two people fighting in the alley beside it. It was almost completely dark in the part of the alleyway I could see, and I didn’t have room to bend down either. Despite my best efforts, I couldn't make out their appearances. "This is the last straw, I'm done." It was the voice I'd heard in the empty lot. "What do you mean you're done?" another voice asked. It was gruffer, more masculine. "I mean you can go rot in hell you psycho! I'm done dealing with your shit. I can't stand another second of your fucked up little game where I hopelessly try to please you! Is this where you've been sneaking off to? You know what, I don't care. I'm done. Goodbye and good riddance!" I don't know what I just stumbled upon, but by the sound of it, nothing good.

It might be best for me to just leave; pretend I didn't see anything. Slowly, I began backing away into the street. "Where do you think you're going?" For a brief moment, I thought the gruff voice was referring to me and I flinched. Instead, the owner of the voice grabbed the other person and yanked them back into the alley, sending them crashing against a dumpster. "What the hell, you could’ve broken my arm!" yelped the one who'd been pulled back. The violent one sneered, "I'm going to break more than just your arm by the time I'm done with you!" "What!?" I spun around, watching as one hulking figure approached the other, halfway on the ground. This little fight was going too far. I had to stop him, but how? I wanted to pick the threatening person up and throw them full force into the city, but I couldn’t just go around attacking people, even if they might deserve it.

That's when it hit me. If the smaller world is a recreation of the one on the kids table in mine, I could play out this argument any way I want like Liam can, only it’ll be real for me, because I’m the one who can use the table. In seconds I was back in my own world, searching frantically for what might have been the place I'd seen. Try as I might, I couldn’t find it. The little building probably hadn’t made the cut for the model city. However, through other buildings around it, I was able to gauge where the place would’ve been in the model. I reached for the alleyway beside it, picturing the place in my head, and the whole table phased out before me, unveiling the other-world. Briefly my fingers fell through open air before meeting the back of the man, who was turned away from me. He had the other person’s arm gripped tightly in his hand, but once I touched him, he froze in place.

My nerves spiked before I realized I was still invisible. What the- What happened? Can I not change things like my brother? I cautiously pulled my hand away and the man stepped backwards with it, still strangely frozen. Huh. Uncertainly, I used one finger to move his arm and make him pick up an empty can on the ground nearby. I kneeled down, thoroughly shocked, leaving him frozen in place. It's like a puppet on a string, I realized. This is so much more than what my brother can do. And so much worse. I didn't particularly like the idea of controlling people like that. Not only were the man’s movements weird and unnatural, it just felt wrong.

"John?" The other person had gotten up, likely confused with his sudden strange movements. ("I uh, I have to go now.") I said quickly while turning him towards the parking lot. Apparently I can speak through them too. The man, John apparently, had said the same thing I had just as I said it. I walked him a good distance away from the other person in the alley, but as I walked, I’d grazed the side of a building while I wasn’t looking. I turned quickly in horror, expecting part of it to come crumbling away, but it was completely unscathed. My side had passed directly through the building.

While I was controlling one of these small people, my whole form became strangely intangible. I tested this on cars in the lot. Each one passed through my outstretched hand. After testing out my new ability on a few other objects, I finally let the man go, willing him to drive away afterwards. It worked, and I watched him look around confusedly, get in his car, and leave. A quick swipe at a signpost proved that I was no longer intangible. It fell to the ground at my touch. I returned to my own world shortly after he drove out of sight and spent the rest of the day at home, sorting through what I'd learned.

My life then became an uncertain divide between worlds. Spending too much time in either place bored me. Whenever I got tired of one place I would slip seamlessly into the other. After finding my strange new ability to control unsuspecting people, I’d decided I would only use it if absolutely necessary. Using the tiny people like puppets felt a bit too invasive, even if they were just plastic figures. Besides, what would I even do with them?

The other-world was a lot easier for me to traverse now, too. I spent most of my days practicing dodging houses, cars, and the like. Not to brag, but I was getting pretty good. The whole process was akin to a game of Twister or hopscotch. Of course there were some mishaps. People walking or driving around couldn’t see me, so every once and a while something or someone would travel directly into or underneath my feet. Cars were the biggest problem. Driving at a high speed directly into an invisible wall such as myself probably wasn't great, but I couldn’t really stop them. A visual warning would completely counter the whole invisibility trick I needed to prevent everyone from freaking out.

I returned to the same empty lot that I had sat in to watch everything a few days prior — again finding that it was the closest I could get to the city. Standing there unable to go any further, I watched again as everything began to light up for the night. Neon lights flickered awake and large skyscrapers cast grand displays that lit up their sides. The rushing cheers of a large crowd suddenly erupted from one side of the city. There must be a game in the stadium tonight.

A massive congregation was gathered in and around the football stadium to my left; cheers and music echoed from it. Stepping over smaller buildings, I started off in that direction to try and watch. I remember when my dad got the stadium set. He was planning on re-selling it for more than he bought it for, but my brother insisted on having it, so it ended up as his birthday present instead. The stadium was in an entirely different spot on the table than it was in the city, though. Probably because we’d moved it around so many times; it was a big set and took up a lot of table space.

It was mind boggling to think that the plastic recreation from my world and the large steel structure in this one could possibly be the same thing, but they had to be. Despite the variety of differences, they were both so eerily similar to each other. I made my way over through parking lots and whatnot, shuffling across the outskirts of the city. On my way through its rougher edges I came across the club from a few days earlier. I couldn't have cared less about finding it again had it not been for a familiar voice shouting and laughing and definitely drunk.

I sighed, stepping closer. It was the same voice I'd heard in the alleyway, the person I hadn't controlled. Under the streetlights I could see that she was a young woman, probably in her early 20’s or so, with subtly dark skin and curled mahogany brown hair. She shuffled over to what might’ve been her car, except when she tried to unlock it, a car further down the lot beeped instead. However, she persisted trying to open the one she was already at, setting off the car’s alarm.

A cop car pulled into the parking lot shortly after, and found her there. By the time they pulled up, the young woman had given up using her key, and was trying to force the door open through brute strength instead. Suffice to say, she didn't get very far. The cops managed to get her into the back of their cruiser, saying something about how she was 'attempting to drive under alcoholic influence' or something like that. Intrigued, I followed the car as best I could. I managed to get all the way to a county police station, where the young woman disappeared into the building with the two officers.

Well, I have all the time I want, and I'm curious to see how this plays out. I waited the night by the station, leaning cautiously on the side of the building. Finally, just as the sun had cleared away the dark of night, the young woman came storming back out of the station. “Fuck, how did I let myself get that drunk?” she muttered as she walked past me to a bus stop by the road. I carefully pushed myself away from the building so it didn’t collapse, and inched closer to the stop across the parking lot. “Can’t believe this, now I have a stupid fine to pay on top of my rent that I already can’t pay anyways.” I could help her, I realized while she complained. I can easily get the money she needs from my brother's space bank heist set.

The set was the newest addition to my brother’s collection. I remembered that it came with miniature ATMs that held tons of fake bills. There's a bunch of money I could easily take for her. Maybe then I'll stop running into her problems when I'm here. I waited until she got on the bus and followed it back to the club, where she found that her actual car had been towed. "Can this day get any worse!?"

Thinking back to the night before, I tried to remember what her car looked like, the one that had beeped when she tried to open the wrong door. I always stop in a towing yard on the way to this spot. It was fenced in and open enough for me to stand in comfortably, so I would stop there to take a breather and find another open space. Her car had to be there somewhere. Following the path I’d taken earlier, I came to the tow yard and found her car parked close to the entrance, just as I'd suspected. How am I supposed to get this thing back, though? I can always control someone to get it. I thought for a moment. Did this situation count as an emergency? Not really, but I'm only helping out like I did last time. In the end, I snagged one of the workers and had him tow the car back to the club's parking lot. When I returned, I found the young woman back at the bus stop. I had the tow truck driver leave the car where it had been parked the other night and drive away.

I realized then that the young woman hadn't noticed her car was back yet. After thinking of a way to get her attention, I grabbed the dumpster from the alley and brought it down hard on the ground a bit beyond where the car was parked. She whirled around at the sudden noise. "What the- Is that..? That's my car! But, it's- How? I swear that wasn't there before." She ran over to it from across the lot and practically jumped in. I watched her drive off and followed her back to the apartment where she lived.

Finally leaving her off there, I returned to my own world in search of the bank heist set. Eventually, I found it amongst the boxes of other sets and board games piled high on a shelf. I opened it up and dug through it, searching for the tiny stickers that read ATM. When I found one and tore it open, a pile of tiny plastic bills came tumbling out. Perfect. Hmm, I wonder if I'm robbing a space world's bank right now... Nah, I don't think deep space banks are real, I thought, chuckling to myself. That’s too crazy even for the smaller world, plus this thing isn’t on the table.

Back at the apartment building, I realized I didn’t know where the young woman lived to put away the money. I sat squished in an old baseball field behind her building to think. That small area was the only place remotely big enough for me to fit in, so I would have to make it work. Finally, I remembered how I could go through solid objects while I was attached to someone. Huh, I guess it's useful for more than just controlling people.

Forgetting about my self-made rules, I grabbed a person walking by and had them stand by the building while I peered in. It was mid-morning now, and most people were at work or someplace else. I found her room easily, it was one of the few that still had someone in it, and left the person I'd controlled to continue wherever they were headed. Carefully, I slid open the young woman's balcony door and eased the money down inside once she left the room, trying not to break anything. I was only a bit shocked to find that the plastic bills had transformed into real paper money when I crossed worlds. After double checking I hadn't left any clues to where the money came from, I headed back to my own world, satisfied with what I’d done.

Sometimes I still wonder about that day. Why I decided to help her out of the hundreds of other people I'd encountered in the other-world. Life went on as usual after that, I took a break from one world to deal with the other. At school I realized I undoubtedly had the coolest life of everyone there, and I couldn't tell anyone. Though, come to think of it, I didn’t really want to. Apart from the slight hints of days when I canceled all my plans and snuck away to the basement, there was no way for anyone to suspect the truth. Was it selfish of me to keep the discovery of a whole other world to myself? Maybe, but the other-world was much more comforting when I was there alone. Well, alone with the millions of people who live there. But they don't count, they aren’t real anyways.

#now we start delving into the true plot..#other-world universe #g/t #giant tiny #g/t writing

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incarnateirony · 11 months

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Really been sitting here reviewing WHY Zenthus is almost a quarter century old IRL. The first few years like 1999-2001 was just scrap ideas from a tweenager, before Szurane proper was made. Other characters from that era didn't survive and instead fell into his shadow where they cameo THROUGH him.

2001-2007 was his original true campaign group that started with him in party, and went all the way into watching his dark rise, stopping some things, failing others. They were the people that knew his origins which are actually critical in both portraying him and defeating him, but it always ended up having to be condensed down to "he's possessed by negativity, break the stick" tiredly and people still failing to be smart to approach him about even that.

A few times he was just called TO be a final nigh unbeatable threat in friends TTRPGs, and thats fine, I mean it means I left my mark beyond an anime nobody remembers and a poster nobody else has,. Then Silmataurea, that first breakup with shea, and the period I developed Kion and the concept behind it.

But every time Kion was sent somewhere people paid even less attention to HIS nuances. Oh, you mean the 12 year old trained in weird ways thrown into a world full of war is sculpted by that war when people let him do whatever the fuck he wants not realizing he's just a kid? Tell me fucking more. So then Kion gets stuck in his own cycle of this shit, even narratively by someone else's application of his stuff, so great, now they're both in the spin cycle.

But then when I started building my own campaigns I realized if I literally removed them from fuckaround political elements Kion trashed people in every time and made them focus on existential threats within chaos itself, and forced them to *explore him literally*, as a body of memory, people would either fucking learn what they needed to do or die, and at least my shit would stop getting reduced to absurdity for people who can't be arsed, just to die dumb deaths anyway.

but Noiz actually came in giving a shit. Noiz wanted to change things. Noiz recognized the complexity and tried to find all the parts under a stopwatch, and has taken leadership IC and OOC both to keep people on track, to knock down Zen's pillars to make him accessible, to pay attention to his cues and riddles and phrases to understand what the FUCK is actually happening without me having to fucking handhold them or soften the blow to a whiny wife that wants shortcut romance 1v1. So even after several of these setups failed because people just be like that, here comes Noiz.

And it's truly funny how much of him held on. In 2004 the heroes made it to the crown prince Zenthus, formerly their friend Zento, only to be thrown into a chaotic chess-like game as their first challenge, which traced back to his history and so on. WHY he got so fucked up. Trying to end the wars and end the conflict by getting people to agree to a little game, and that heresy didn't stand. And now here we are 20 years later still moving chess pieces, dealing cards, flicking pebbles and rolling dice even in cosmic combat, all while reaching in to the source of discord in everyone--- who are you, what do you want, what do you fear, what are your dreams, let me be the one to take it away.

And deep down he truly is my bard-priest still. Backwards jigging to his own discordant tune while slapping them in the face with living metaphor, all trying to let fate actually decide itself while fighting to return to the one, whether he took creation with him to the void or not. And the choices he made to be replaced, without anger if done correctly, to keep the cosmic function he got tied to flowing, because yeah, there's still that old dragon that just wanted to play a game and now he's just cosmically haunting the void, he still wants to play a little game and a little song, my friends.

Anyway it's been interesting to think of and I've truly enjoyed writing him again.

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azurethevampire · 3 years

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I Will Give You A Reason

A/N: Set in season 6, episodes 2-3 (I think at least it was those episodes xD) This piece is quite angst-filled one, so prepare yourself with tissues if you have to. If there is any mistakes to the few words/sentences of Swedish used in this, they are entirely my own as that isn't my strongest foreign language and I didn't use a translator. Also this was written about a year ago when I watched True Blood for the first time.

Fandom: True Blood

Summary: Emily and Pam have searched for Eric across the world. When they finally find the 1,000 years old viking vampire from France Emily's already shattered world seems to turn into dust: Eric, her rock, her best friend, the only father she's ever had, is sick.

Characters: Eric Northman, Pamela Swynford de Beaufort, Emily Northman (oc)

Words: 2736

•-•-•-•-•

"Pam, you have to eat."

You don't look like yourself, she wanted to add but stopped herself just in time. The vampire had been snappier for a few days now and Emily didn't want to make her mad at her. Not that she believed that Pam would really hurt her, even in anger. She had never done so after that one time and that had been when Emily was six and she hadn't known when to keep her mouth shut.

Well, maybe she still didn't know when to keep her mouth shut —but she was better than ten years ago!

Pam turned to look at the teenager—No. The young woman, that Emily had blossomed into in the last months despite that the world seemed to grow shittier every fucking day. Perhaps that was the reason why. Emily had lost that soft roundness on her face and her eyes were tired, dark bags under her eyes. Her clothes hung on her, and Pam, for a brief moment, wondered when was the last time the human herself had eaten.

"I'm not hungry."

Emily resisted the urge to roll her eyes, instead, she sat down on the only chair in the motel room they were in. "Snälla, Pam. You could at least stop lying to me about it - I'm not blind!"

Pam was about to snap something back, but instead, her hand reached the doorknob. But before she left the room she turned to face Emily again. "If I can't find anything tonight, I'll feed on you tomorrow, I promise. Stay here, don't open the door to anyone and don't invite anyone in."

Emily let Pam say those words the vampire had said every night although the girl is tired of hearing them night after night. But it seemed to help Pam, to get to remind her of those small yet so trivial rules. So Emily's "I know" echoed in the empty vampire-friendly motel room after Pam had left and closed the door behind her.

Her eyes spotted the room key left on the small cracked table near the door. In the first months of their search, Pam locked Emily in but lately, the vampire had not taken the keys with her at all.

And because of that Emily knew that Pam was starting to become suicidal in their search for Eric.

•-•-•-•-•

“I think I found him.”

Pam has never - as far as Emily’s memory goes back - sounded more… excited? Happy? No, that is not the right word and she knew that. Pam’s voice was flat, she tried to hide the hope that had filled her but Emily felt it. It radiated off Eric’s first progeny and she couldn’t help it; for the first time in months, Emily dared to let herself hope too.

But there was something else she sensed from Pam. She was sad too, and that made the girl swallow. “But?” When did my voice start to sound so weak? So small?

Pam’s next words killed something inside of her.

“Tara is dead. I felt it.”

What felt like minutes passed and Emily couldn’t say anything, couldn’t move from her spot. Pam was still but there was no denying the glint in her eyes. Emily and Pam had never been the type to coddle each other. Never.

Still, Emily raised up in her bed anyway, took the few short steps it took to reach the vampire, who had been her only family for six months now, and she wrapped her arms around her, swallowing and blinking back the tears she felt coming.

“I’m so sorry, Pam.”

And Pam - beautiful, bad-ass, smart Pam - returned the young woman’s embrace, letting bloody tears run freely, staining Emily’s shirt with red.

•-•-•-•-•

The plane landed in France the same evening - Pam in a coffin in the cargo hold.

They flew to the villa in France. Pam had told Emily that she and Eric used to live here before they were forced to go to Shreveport.

She could see why the two vampires had chosen this place to reside in — even in the night, the garden surrounding the sand-coloured walls of the large building was breathtakingly beautiful.

Emily had more pressing matters though than to watch the sights. She could feel him. First time in over six months, Emily felt Eric. That familiar flare that had so long been gone from inside her, burned again. No. Not completely familiar. There was no doubt that the vampire she felt was indeed Eric Northman. But his life force, which had always been so strong… it cracked. Like old dry cement.

Something is wrong, Emily thought as she followed Pam inside, to a spiral staircase going down, down, down.

Emily swallowed. She had a bad feeling. Very bad feeling - and god, she wished she was wrong. She begged to be wrong. That there was simply something wrong with her own powers, and not something wrong with her Eric.

Wishful thinking, foolish thinking, she knew. Knew because she had felt this same feeling before over the past months - recently more often than she would have wanted to.

Emily and Pam started to make their way down the stairs, and Emily - her chest tightened in pain.

Two youngish and beautiful women met the vampire and the empath on the stairs. One of them said something in French. Emily couldn't understand, she had never bothered learning French. Maybe sometime during 'forever' — she had used to think that. Not anymore, not for a long time now.

She didn't know what the French woman said but she did feel their emotions. Confusion. Betrayal. Hurt. Confusion.

The final round of the spiral and Pam and Emily saw the room.

As soon as Emily's eyes fell on him, she felt her heart tighten. She had thought she had felt pain last night when Tara died the true death. She had been wrong.

Nothing she had ever felt compared to the heart-wrenching, punch-in-the-gut pain that crashed over her like a hurricane when the dark veins creeping up her guardian's chest, the meaning of them, finally hit her.

And even though her legs felt like boiled spaghetti, Emily forced herself to step closer to Eric. Eric who was sick. He can't be! He's Eric for fuck's sake! But he could be, and he was. "No" pushed through her lips, past the lump in her throat, the word sounding broken.

And Eric.

Eric Northman's eyes switched from his first progeny to his human equivalent to a daughter. "You found me."

“How long?” Pam asked the question that burned on Emily’s mind too. It seemed that Eric was still in the first stage of the Hep-V virus but she knew that that didn’t mean anything. Not because she didn’t know how long Eric had been sick. He could have months left with proper blood sources but then again, if the disease got worse, he could only have days.

The tall blonde vampire didn’t answer, not right away. He almost looked like he was about to fall asleep. Hot tears began to blind the teenager’s vision as she grabbed his hand in hers. His hand had always been cold. Cooling touch relieving to Emily. Eric’s hand was warm now. This is wrong! Emily’s mind screamed at her.

“Eric?”

“Can you repeat the question?”

And those words that seemed so meaningless, so genuinely apologetic, were the words that sent Emily’s tears falling from her eyes.

“How long have you been sick?” And Emily heard in Pam’s voice that she was crying too.

“Saw the first signs last month”, Eric said and not once in the time Emily had known Eric had he sounded so weak. So tired.

“When you were in St. Petersburg”, Emily heard herself say. She and Pam had tracked Eric there - Pam cursing all of the time they were in Russia, how she hated the Russians with her gut.

Something flickered in Eric’s blue, tired eyes. And even though faint, Emily felt the emotion: surprise. And even if the situation they are in, is fucked beyond belief, the young woman of seventeen found herself smiling, just the tiniest bit. Because one didn’t sneak up on Eric Northman that easily.

“Don’t act all surprised”, Pam said behind Emily. “We searched the whole fucking planet for you - St. fucking Petersburg, Eric? You know how I hate the Russian people.”

“Well, I didn’t know you two were gonna come looking for me”, Eric said, eyes moving to Emily whose eyes squinted slightly.

“Then you were an idiot”, Emily said in Swedish. Another small wave of surprise from Eric. Emily continued. “Why did you keep moving then?”

“Yes, I want to know the answer to that as well”, Pam said crossing her arms.

Eric chuckled, although it awfully sounds like a mix of a chuckle and a cough. Too rough, Emily thought.

“Congratulations, Pam, Emmy-”, and Emily’s eyes were burning with unshed tears again because it had been so long that she had heard that nickname from Eric. “You have outwitted me.” His hand raised to touch Emily’s cheek. “But only because I’m not well.”

Pam told about Tara, but to Emily’s confusion, Eric didn’t offer words of comfort, didn’t say he was sorry to hear that. Instead, he asked about a stupid bucket game he played in Marocco - the same game Pam had played last night to get the information of Eric’s location.

“Oh… I liked the bucket game.”

And Pam was about to snap, she already took steps forward, but Emily beat the vampire to it.

“What is wrong with you?! You are Eric fucking Northman!” her hands balled to fists, the tears in her eyes no longer coming out of sadness, but anger. “You don’t give up. You fight!”

“Fight’s over, Emily.”

“This can’t all be about Sylvie.”

Emily didn’t know who Sylvie was. But she knew that Eric giving up like this couldn’t be just because of one person.

“Godric”, Eric stated. “Nora.” Emily felt a tug of pain in her chest, partly her own, partly the vampire’s whose hand she still held in hers. “And yes, Sylvie too.”

And Pam’s next question made Emily’s heart skip a beat, two beats. Because she had never, even in her wildest worst-case scenarios, thought about that. Not until Pam put that idea in her head when she asked: “Did you contract the virus on purpose?”

Eric wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t do something so… he wouldn’t! but despite her thoughts, Emily couldn’t have said why she was suddenly so afraid of his answer.

“On purpose? No-” Eric said, shaking his head a little, and Emily felt a relieved breath leave her. “But did I go about my dealings with a devil-may-care attitude? Absolutely.”

“Damn you!” Emily snapped, but then she burst into tears. She was exhausted - she hadn’t slept since Marocco and even there it was just a few hours -, and the only thing that had kept her from having a break-down had been hope. Hope that she would see Eric again soon. But this reunion had not been the relief she had waited for. She was glad to see him again, but a small part of her wished they never would have found him.

Because now, she was afraid. More afraid than she had ever been in her entire life - and that was saying something after the torture Edgington had put her through two years ago.

Eric tried to reach for the girl, but Emily turned away, scooting back in the chair so she sat by his legs. She pulled her knees up, hugged herself tightly and buried her face in her knees as sobs racked her whole body. She was barely aware that Pam had sat on Eric’s other side, trying to reason with him.

“Don’t do this to us”, Emily heard Pam start sobbing and she turned her head, just enough that she could see Eric and her again - and she didn’t want to. She really didn’t but she still reached out with her hand, and her fingers - still so small and slim in comparison - wrapped around Eric’s large hand the best they could. “Please, Eric…”, Emily sobbed, too.

“God damn you!” Pam cursed.

“For more than 1,000 years, the world has been my oyster”, Eric said.

“And it still can be”, Pam argued. “I’ll do anything.” Emily squeezed Eric’s hand. Me too. I would do anything for you. She wanted to say but the words refused to leave her.

“I’ve lost my taste for oysters, Pam.”

“Then find it again.” Emily’s voice came out harsher than she intended and she gained Eric and Pam’s attention. Wiping her face with the back of her hand, she uncurled herself from her position. “Du lovade mig”, Emily said in Swedish, desperately, and her voice was thick with emotion.

Something in Eric’s eyes shifted. Turned softer and sad. “I know I did, sweetheart, but the world has changed since then.” He grabbed Emily’s wrist and pulled her towards him - and even sick, Emily found out that Eric was still so much stronger than she was. She was only human after all - even if it was with a little something extra. Eric’s feelings were clear and honest at his next words as his hand rested on the side of Emily’s face, thumb lightly brushing away her tears.

“My sweet little Emily”, Eric whispered, his lips forming a quick smile, sad and warm at the same time. “You are gonna go out there. You are gonna grow up to be a beautiful, smart woman, go to some stupid fucking university and find yourself a good, loving human husband. You’re going to have kids and you will tell them stories about their 1,000 years old vampire grandfather… and you will be happy… Do you understand?”

Emily swallowed, her hand raising on top of Eric’s now-wrong-temperature hand. She only barely managed to croak out the tiniest of “yes”. Even though she knew she would not do any of that.

“You should go. Both of you.”

Pam was crying but she was the first to rise from beside Eric and start to walk towards the staircase.

This is wrong! Emily’s mind screamed as she rose. Virus or no virus Eric was not just any other vampire - he was Eric! 1,000 years old vampire and a viking! Vikings had not just sat down and waited for death to come collect them! At least Emily didn’t think so. No. Vikings, they avenged. Just like Eric had avenged his human family only seven or so months ago.

As his last act… Emily felt no guilt of thinking about this at that moment, no guilt about throwing someone else’s life to a path to death - as far as she was concerned the other person deserved it.

As his last act before true death, Eric Northman could take revenge against the person who did this to him.

“Sarah Newlin”, Emily said, turning back to face Eric again. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Pam turn on her heels a glint of surprise and (oh that traitorous) hope in her eyes.

“What about her?” Eric asked, his eyes closed.

“What if I told you that Jason Stackhouse let her live.”

Eric’s eyes opened, his voice hardened. “He didn’t.”

“He did”, Pam said, catching on to Emily’s plan. “And she’s out there.”

“Where?”

“No one’s seen her”, Emily said.

“I have to imagine she’s in hiding somewhere”, Pam offered.

Emily saw Eric’s jaw clench. Then… then, with what seemed like a heavy effort, Eric pushed himself up in the chair and slowly, slower than Emily was used to seeing the vampire’s motions - Eric Northman stood in front of her, grasping her shoulder, as his eyes once again roamed between his girls.

“Well, let’s go find her.”

Emily wasn’t naive. She knew that Eric was still dying, but at least now he wouldn’t just sit down here and wait for it. He would go down fighting.

Just like he had taught her was the right way to go.

Just like the viking he was supposed to be - just like Eric fucking Northman was supposed to fight.

So, yes, Eric was still dying but at least now - and maybe it was selfish to think that way, but Emily didn’t find it in herself to care - Emily had a few more days to spend with the man who had taken her in as if she was his progeny instead of some orphan human child with empath powers.

#true blood #true blood fic #eric northman #pamela swynford de beaufort #oc #eric northman fic #my writing #my fic #true blood oc #oc: emily northman #angst fic

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echo-three-one · 3 years

Text

Whatever It Takes

Sequel to A Forgotted Memory

Somewhere out there

Beneath the pale moonlight

Someone's thinking of me

And loving me tonight…

Chapter 14 to another story made by Ray (echo-three-one) Comments and Reviews appreciated! I hope you enjoy! Love you all ❤️

Previous Chapter : Alex and Augustus

Meet Me Halfway

John "Soap" MacTavish

Task Force 141

Location Unknown

18 hours ago

He thought he was dead. He thought they were going to kill him. He wished they would, just to end the suffering. But he also wished they wouldn't. He had greater plans, he still wanted to enjoy his life. And it looked like Nero granted half his wish, while depriving him of the other half. He's going to live the rest of his years in hell.

He couldn't stop thinking about that song, he lay flat on the ground, feeling weak, powerless and defeated.

If I lay here… Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

He couldn't feel a thing but he knew he was being transported somewhere. Red flashes filled his eyes as he slowly slipped away from the conscious world.

2 Seconds.

A single drop of water plopped on the cold floor where he laid every 2 seconds. It was getting annoying, but he thanked it for actually waking him up.

Soap struggled to get up and forced himself to do so, grunting in pain as the muscles and bones of his body reacted to his sudden movements. Enduring all the pain, he gasped and got up, moving to the direction of the only ray of light from a crack in the ceiling.

He limped but he had hope, exhaling with excitement as the light got closer every step he took. Then clang! He hit his head on an iron bar. He's in a prison cell, deep underground.

"Shite." he cursed, dropping his knees on the ground, his energy already ran out and he felt thirsty.

"That's freshwater dripping down there." An unknown voice emerged from the darkness, Soap wanted to believe he's hallucinating, but an old figure emerged from the shadows. His hair mostly greyed out and it was long enough that Soap believed he'd been here for far too long.

"The name's Jack. And I suggest you rehydrate. I've been here long enough that you could trust that it's safe." he suggested. His tone was strict but helpful and Soap knew he's trustworthy. They're both prisoners and as the saying goes: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend"

"So… uh Jake. What brings you to this dark and gloomy place?" Soap asked, his voice was barely audible but he was heading straight to the dripping freshwater.

"Turns out our friend Nero doesn't want me dead yet. He couldn't pry any information from me. I'm CIA, literally trained half my life to keep information away. He should've just killed me when he got the chance." He replied.

"So, that means he's going to get something out of you too…" he added, Soap looked worried, he didn't undergo some torture training and hes afraid of what Nero wants from him.

"Look kid, I know you're worried. That's why we won't let that happen. Okay? I have a plan." Jake patted Soap's shoulder, it still hurts from all the stomping and the tossing around but he knew he didn't mean it.

"So… CIA. Guess you crossed paths with Alex." Soap asked, his low accent echoed across the dark cage.

"Yeah. Alex. He was like my son, trained him and assisted him all throughout his CIA Career."

"He kinda disobeyed orders by joining the good side which looked bad in the eyes of the higher ups." Soap reported.

"Hm… It's very unusual of him to not follow orders, unless he believes it's for a better cause." Jack supplied to which Soap nodded, agreeing Jack's assumption.

"It was a good cause. Sacrificed himself for the greater good. Miraculously made it out, but lost his leg in the process." Soap continued, updating the old man about his protege, he's actually glad he did as he could feel the man's mood rising from grumpy prisoner to someone a little less grumpy.

"He had good morals, that kid. He could go far with that attitude… I just hoped that falling in love would not be his downfall… just like what happened to me…" he muttered. Soap didn't make out the last sentence so he assumed it was his own thoughts leaking out of his head. He didn't bother asking again.

The iron doors opened and a new patch of light opened. Jack looked at Soap with determination and nodded.

"Looks like it's showtime, sharkbait." Soap nodded noting the Finding Nemo reference at these trying times.

Jack was right. They had a practice of how to handle prisoners for interrogation. A few stomps, handcuffs, sack on the head and push you if you don't cooperate. Soap had to go through the whole thing, and as far as he knows, Jack must have gotten the key.

He limped his way to the interrogation room, buying enough time for Jack to blindly find the keyhole from the cell. He tried fighting back but the taser sticks were already giving him a bad time.

Just as Jack described, the interrogation room consisted of a dentist chair and a television, his captors were beside him preparing orders from Nero on the screen.

Soap squirmed his way out of the chair, trying to be convincing that he had no idea what's going on.

"Stop squirming! Tell us where the girl is… or I'll take a wild guess and destroy your base instead." Nero yelled. His voice was low, like it ran through a voice changer.

"Sod off…" Soap spat and squirmed again, receiving a shock from the taser. He groaned as tendrils of electricity ran through his body shaking him almost unconscious.

"Lower the voltage or he won't respond! Dumbasses! We need something from him!" Nero yelled at his henchmen.

"So… MacTavish…22nd Parachute Regiment, S.A.S., Now Task Force 141… Skilled in combat, Sniper and Demolitions… You know a proper brainwash would help me get the code from you right?" he mused.

"FOUR!" Soap roared from the top of his lungs, panting after he yelled.

"Four? What the fuck are you talking about?" Nero asked, looking confused. Addition to that, the ground shook and made everyone else in the room wonder.

"What's going on?" Nero asked.

"What? we're under attack? By who? How?" Soap's ears could hear the distress from their leader and from the looks of it, 141 already found him making it easier for him and Jack to get out of this hell hole.

"Augustus is gone? They're going to pay! Okay boys kill this man now. We have to send them a message!" Nero yelled angrily and the tv turned to static.

Meet me Halfway

Francine "France" Winters

Task Force 141

Task Force 141 Base - Briefing Room

"We're being pressured to capture Nero. With our base compromised, the Board would now decide for our force's future. Simon Riley is now researching Augustus' burner phone, if we're lucky enough, it could lead us to our next clue." Shepherd calmly informed the force about the status. He looked in distress but he had to keep pushing forward, to end this warfare.

"Some of Nero's forces are already in New York. It turns out he could command the brainwashed civilians to deploy EMP blasts but recon noticed that he could only command a few at a time. This means without the IP address, he is still powerless and trying hard." Shepherd added.

"I want you all to always be ready for an all out attack on Nero. Let's prove to the board that we're the best one for the job." He muttered and dismissed everyone. France decided to stay in the briefing room and let the quiet consume her thoughts.

"You okay?" A reassuring hand held her shoulder. She knew it was Gary and tears started to fall from her eyes.

"I… I can't stop worrying about him, Roach." She croaked and gave Roach a very pained stare. She actually missed John's presence even after being together for a short while, she felt that they shared a lot of common things together, the strive to become better, the response to danger even off duty and the determination to achieve a goal. Those were her traits that he also had, these same traits that made him like her despite his cocky first impression.

"Let's help out Ghost track that son of a bitch Nero down. And maybe it'll lead us to him." Roach assured them as they both stood up and went to Research.

"How… how can you still be so sure that he's okay?" she sobbed.

"The dogtags." Ghost interjected while typing furiously on the computer.

"If Soap was dead, he should've shown us his tag. That would cripple some of our Force's focus and would lead to his success in invading and capturing Samantha." Ghost continued, he made sense and France almost smiled with the two's support. Instead, she just breathed out and helped Ghost.

"So, have you traced each source?" France asked Ghost as she also started furiously typing codes and strings of data input.

"Yes, they're really sneaky with the encryption, but I keep on getting pings at one location before it spreads in different places." he explained.

"The nearest signal tower. Every packet almost goes through there. You see that?" France pointed at the screen.

"Yeah I do. Let's start tracing that source." Ghost muttered and the map already pinged the tower's location.

"Bingo." they both whispered and cheered, hugging each other as a sign of success. France felt Ghost's tight hug and felt something off about the guy, then he actually removes half of his mask and pouts his cheek close to hers.

"I…. uh… I'm sorry" Ghost shyly said as France pushed him away and felt awkward at the situation. Gary just stood there in shock as Price entered the room.

"What's the news?" he asked, looking at the three.

"We found him, Sir." Ghost cleared his throat and put back his mask.

"Well, bloody hell. Let's go then!" he said as they all ran towards the exit and prepared themselves. France didn't have the time to think about the events earlier as she was still worried about Soap's safety. She hopes that whatever lies in that place would give her an answer.

"FIRE!" Captain Price yelled as snipers quickly shot the guards surrounding the icy fortress. The gulag housed people that the world didn't want but couldn't kill, and she hoped that John MacTavish was on that list.

Danger close explosions crippled both attacking and defending forces as Price roared at Shepherd to be careful. France gulped as she saw a very open field that they're dropping in on and knew for a fact that she's very open and weak at these positions.

Her mind raced, looking at every angle. Tangos were everywhere carrying different kinds of weapons. With minimal angles to hide on, the force, led by Roach aggressively advanced to the Gulag, dodging heavy fire, grenades and RPG Rockets. As soon as they found the tunnel leading deep into the Gulag, France already felt comfortable. This was her playing zone and no one's going to stop her from getting into Nero.

The way in was almost clear, no enemies were against them but instead they ran further into the Gulag. Something was off.

Gunfire was heard deep into the Gulag and as soon as the team reached the control room, Ghost already did his magic. Opening gates, looking at the cameras and defending their six. The masked man helped them further advance into the Gulag.

"Nero's not here…" Ghost said.

"How so?" Price angrily muttered.

"He never set foot in this place. He only uses a television to communicate."

"Bloody hell. Now what?"

" I see two heat signatures behind that wall."

Roach quickly planted a c4 breach and as soon as it exploded Francine pounced at the closest person, raising her fist and looking at its eyes to see the punch go through.

Blue eyes. Those shades of blue. France stopped his fist as tears started to well from her eyes, dropping some on his bare chest.

"John…" she whimpered and smiled.

"Fra.." she didn't let him finish, she kissed him. She didn't care what everyone else thought. The gunfire and explosions suddenly felt nothing to her. She didn't care how John's lips tasted, all she cared about was that he's alive and she's on his arms.

Extraction quickly followed as Shepherd's forces already did a lot of damage on the old fortress. They barely got out just in time for the building's inevitable collapse but they're safe.

Next Chapter : Secret Alliances

Notification Squad my beloved

@samatedeansbroccoli @enderio @smokeywhalee @beemybee @whimsywispsblog @ricinbach

#horRAYfic #whateverittakes #john soap mactavish #john price #gary roach sanderson #simon ghost riley #alex echo 3 1

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darkfairy-tales · 4 years

Text

Insanity - Chapter 1

Description: She was an angel who came across the devil himself and her existence drove him insane.

Pairing: Sangyeon x Reader

Genre: Mafia au

Warning: Mentions of blood. Swearing.

"Shouldn't have stayed long! Shouldn't have helped Minsu. Should have gone home earlier. God why is it so dark." You ranted to yourself as you closed down the cafe and looked up at the sky. The moon was mostly covered by some cloud and only few little stars were there. You sighed. The lack of moonlight and the lack of proper lightning on the streets made everything so creepy. On top of that it was really late for you. You were jalf glad that you didn't stayed with your parents. Oh they would have given you a whole speech on how dangerous it is if you ever got back home to them late at night. The cafe you worked at was owned by Minsu's family. She was your bestfriend. She was usually the one who closed down the shop at the end of the day which was usually at around 10:30pm. For her it was nothing as her house was just a block away. But your house was a little far. She had a date tonight and had literally begged you to close down for her for the night. You had agreed even though you were a little hesitant. You weren't a fan of staying out till late. Putting the keys inside your bag and your phone in your hand you started walking down the streets. Your breath hitching everytime you heard some sort of noise. You completely stilled in front of an narrow alleyway which was dark when you heard a hush voice. "Fuck fuck fuck." You heard someone curse with a groan in a hush voice. You gulped willing yourself to not look at the dark. You walked forwards gripping your phone.

'What if it is someone who needs my help? What if someone is in dire need of help and if I just walk away they might get hurt and fuck it would be my fault.' You thought to yourself. "Oh screw this!" You groaned stomping your foot on the concrete. You turned back and walked inside the dark alley turning the torch of your phone on using it as the source of light to guide you. "H-Hello! Is anyone here?" You called out shivering. You looked at each side to see who it was. You almost stopped breathing when your eyes fell on a guy. He was... handsome. Sharp features. And you would have commented on it if it weren't for the fact that the guy was literally a stranger, in a dark alley with you and had what seemed like a gun shot wound with blood dripping out. You squeaked. 'Gunshot wound!' you screamed internally. The guy had also looked up at you. He looked surprised and alarmed. "Who the fuck are you?" The guy literally snarled. You stepped back a little. You turned around planning to run away but stopped. "Fuck I can't leave you here." You mumbled. You walked up towards the guy. "Mr. uh sh-should I call an ambulance. Oh my god shit you are... you are loosing too much blood." You rambled. "Don't fucking dare call an ambulance. I can't go to hospital or shit." He growled. "What do I do then! You can't die." You hissed. He looks at you oddly. "Why do you care?" He asked narrowing his eyes at you. "I can't.. I can't just leave someone bleeding out here like this! I am not cruel enough to do that. And if you died here I will be guilty till the day I die." You deadpanned.

"You need medical help. You are l-loosing too much blood Mr." You said. "I said I can't go to hospital." He hissed. You sighed as you took off your bag, opening it. Your pulled out your scarf. 'I am sorry dear beautiful scarf.' "Put your hands away." You said. "What are you trying to do?" He asked not moving his hands at all. "Help. So that you don't die." You said as you pulled his hands away from the wound. You used your scarf to press against the wound. Looking down at the wound seriously. "I am Y/N." You said shortly. You weren't sure why you felt the need to introduce yourself but you did. "Sangyeon. I guess you at least deserve to know my name." He says cockily making you click your tongue. "Press it against the wound. Don't let yourself bleed out too much." You said and he followed your instruction. "Is there anyone you can call? Like anyone who can help you." You asked as you stood in front of him. He smirks looking right into your eyes. "Pretty girls like you shouldn't run after me." He says in a low voice. He couldn't believe how stubborn you were. He sat leaning against the dirty wall of the alley, a gunshot wound on his side.

If it was someone else they would have ran away or called police. But you. You were different. You didn't even knew him yet you were so willing to help him. Sangyeon wasn't so sure if you were too kind for your own good or just plain stupid. You were just like an innocent angel while he was a devil. You weren't supposed to be here. And totally not supposed to try help him. "Give me your phone." He says. You were hesitant but still handed it to him. You saw him dial a number and tap 'call' button. "Sunwoo. Listen. Come to where I am. Yes I am fine! Well as fine as a person who has been shot is." Sangyeon grumbled. He pauses as he listens closesly whatever the other man was saying. He looked up at you making you look away feeling a little shy. "Come fast. I don't know if they are still after me." He says pulling away the phone and ending the call. "You realize you didn't tell the guy where you are." You sassed. "They can track me. Don't worry your pretty little head." He says chuckling. "Are you... really fine?" You asked a bit concerned noticing how he seem to have gotten a bit pale. "I will be fine sweetheart. But I think you should run away at the moment. My men are coming and I don't think they would really appreciate your presence." Sangyeon says.

You bit your lips feeling hesitant but also dying to go home. There were blood on your hand and you were desperate to wash it away. "Okay fine I will... I will go. Give me my phone." You says putting your hands out. "I can't. I have to keep it with myself. My men are going to be tracking your phone to find me so I need it. I will give it back to you soon." He says. You look at him eith your mouths open. "B-but my phone-" You stuttered but stopped. "No can do sweet heart. Now now run. You should go fast." He says with a smirk. You weren't sure if your heart was beating so fast because you were scared or because of the fact that this sangyeon guy, whatever he was, was so so charming and not to forget beautiful. "Take care." It's the last words you say as you gripped your bag, turning around and walking out of the alley. You literally ran towards your house. Shortly after a while you reached there. You huffed as you tried to take deep breathes in feeling the lack of oxygen with how fast you ran and how choked up you felt. You unlocked the door, your hands shaking while doing so. You carefully walked inside the house and into your room. You went to the bathroom directly. "W-why the hell this doesn't go away fast!" You whisper yelled as you rinsed your hands under the water wiping the blood away. After rinsing away all the blood carefully you washed your face and changed into your PJs, flopping down on the bed immediately. Too tired. You mind was a mess. Your heart was still beating fast. That night you dreamed of guns, blood and a certain guy names Sangyeon.

[Next Day]

The next day you woke up early and got ready to to the cafe to open it as the key was with you. Minsu comes to the cafe a few minutes after you had opened up the cafe and were setting up some things. "Y/N!!! I had such an amazing night! Younghoon is such a damn nice guy! He asked for a second date and I agreed. And what the hell! Why did you pick up my calls! I kept calling you last night. Because I wanted to thank you again and also make sure you were okay." Minsu rambles. You gulp. "U-Uh I lost my phone yesterday on my way back to home. Tried to find but I couldn't. Maybe someone took it." You lied. Minsu gasped. "You need to get a new one then! I mean without phone how can we even keep in touch with each other." She says. You chuckled at her. "Yes yes I will. For now let's finish setting up everything. Customers are going to start coming in." You said as you walked at the back to prepare a drink for you and Minsu.

'I hope he is fine.' You found yourself thinking about Sangyeon while making the drink. "Aish why am I even thinking about him?" You asked yourself. "Him? Who is this 'him' huh? A boyfriend perhaps?" Minsu says smiling sheepishly as she approached you. You alnost choked on air at her words. "No one! I was talking about... about my idols! Kai hurt his foot again and I am worried and I keep thinking about him!" You blurted out an excuse. Before Minsu could ask more there was a sound of bells jingling as a customer entered and you were thankful as it stopped Minsu from asking something more. She walks out to greet the customer, leaving you again. You just couldn't tell Minsu about the guy from last night. She will freak out and might end up calling police for all you knew. You sighed to yourself looking outside to see another customer walk in. "It's gonna be a long day~" You mumbled to yourself as you went out to take orders. Hopefully you wouldn't be worrying and thinking about the Sangyeon guy the whole day.

Trailer || Next Chapter

Hello everyone! I am so sorry it took so much time to update this! But yayy my exan finally ended and I can finally post more now! I hope you enjoyed reading this. Don't forget to like and reblog! I will try to post as fast as I can again!

Love you all~ Buiii ♪ ♬ ヾ(´︶`♡)ﾉ ♬ ♪ ❤❤

#the boyz sangyeon #the boyz jacob #the boyz younghoon #the boyz hyunjae #the boyz juyeon #the boyz kevin #the boyz chanhee #the boyz changmin #the boyz sunwoo #the boyz hwall #the boyz eric #the boyz haknyeon #the boyz #the boyz scenarios #the boyz fluff #the boyz mafia #mafia au #the boyz gang au

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