#I thought I could go ahead and get the map all completed and do a lil cyberspace before I did the first tower

[tookthe-405]

VBS

Chapter 2 (part 2)

Love me Anyway ~Chappell roan

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rebel!ellie x fem!reader

a/n: i just really wanted to show what happens after the "prank"

summary: you grew up religious without questions adn in summer you would get send to vacation bible school. The camp felt like prison to you, until a very interesting girl appeared.

The night was very stressful, for you and for Ellie. While you couldn't sleep because guilt was eating you up from the inside, Ellie couldn't sleep because because the excitement of seeing the pastor's face kept her brain up. You'd be lying if you said you didn't regret anything, because you do. Just not enough to tell anyone.

If you could have ratted out Ellie, everyone would know that it was done out of manipulation, even if that's really not the case.

Ellie isn't manipulating you, you're just under her spell. And you're pretty sure she doesn't know anything about it, so how manipulative can it be?

This morning you got up earlier than everyone else. you hardly slept at all and only listened your heartbeat getting faster and faster. Around 4 a.m. you dozed off, but it was more of an uncomfortable half-sleep. You looked at yourself in the mirror and thought about the many years before, where you would´ve been scared of Ellie, afraid of being thrown out of camp and losing the respect of the church.

That fear still exists, but you no longer felt it in your blood, because no matter what happened you would find a place, maybe even the one where you belong. It would also be nice if Ellie would be part of this place.

After the sermon in the morning, buses arrived at the youth hostel to take you to the small town that was half an hour away. Hood River was a small town in Oregon and you visit it at least twice a year to talk to people about God. In fact, there are already many believers there, but Pastor Toby is never really satisfied with this small town, as if he has a private dispute with the pretty place.

You were still outside and waiting for the bus with Ellie and the others, when you saw the many group leader loading the candied apples into a separate car. The reality of the prank hit you again.

But Ellie calmed you down and told you and the girls about the many crazy pranks that the middle school students had pulled at her school.

She seemed to be fitting into the group more and more, changing parts and information about herself to fit into the picture and it made you a little sad to know it. Having to watch it.

Ellie is great exactly the way she is, she shouldn't have to change. In no world she should ever feel out of place.

After the trip, the organization started. The town is a bit big, but you already know where Christians live and you only go to the houses where non-religious people opened the door last year, or closed it again very quickly.

"We're taking over the lover lane and we´ll just move forward to the eugene street," announces Louisa, who has completely prepared for today.

She goes ahead with a city map and lots of candied apples in her cloth bag.

"Ellie, I have such a bad feeling about this"

"It's all good, we haven't been anywhere yet."

When you arrived on the quiet street, the mid-20-year-old explained that it would be smarter if everyone answered the doors one at a time, as it would be quicker that way.

"Does everyone know their sayings and verses?" Sometimes, Hazel seems more professional than Louisa herself.

"Yes Hazel, how dare we forget it" ellie sighs

the curly haired girl almost hisses at Ellie.

"We'll meet everyone here again when you're done with your houses."

You all split up into parts and the thought of being separated from Ellie makes you incredibly nervous.

The first house is house number 10.

The house itself looks peaceful. Blue painted, with the American flag proudly hoisted and a car parked in front yard.

You go through all the steps again.

ask if they believe in the lord

if not, try to demonstrate that god can help in every situation

help through bible verses

distribute the message of the church

deliver the (poisoned) apples

Great.

Your fist hits the brown wooden door, not too quietly and not too loud. You could see Ellie grinning in front of you and talking about God whether she really meant it or not.

“Hello?”

you quickly put on a smile.

“Hello, sorry to bother you, I’m part of the community a little further south of here and wanted to ask if you’ve already found your way to jesus?"

You notice that Christians always talk in "Not yet" Terms.

As if we expect every person to find god one day, and the ones that haven´t already are just behind in life.

How annoying it must be to have a stranger to dictate your future.

"ok sweetie i have, but i still worry daily"

That suprises you, normaly the answer is just yes or no. But this lady is ready for a whole conversation on her foot step.

"What kind of worries?"

"i always did what god told me to do and i think i did a good job, but my poor son just doesn´t follow him. I swear i thaught him better! Now he has children who don´t belive and follow jesus path and i dont want them to go to hell!"

The older woman sighs sadly, at the edge of tears.

You´re not really sure what to say to her.

"well i´m positive that god will show himself to every human at some point. Maybe that just hasn´t happened to you family yet?"

The woman turns back slightly and screams a boys name into the house.

"im sorry young lady, but my grandchild is over for the summer and i really want him to hear this"

She squeals in delight, but your blood freezes. It feels as if the child's entire future is in your hands and you briefly thought about handing out the apple now so that she would just throw you out.

"Oh God, this child! Please come in, miss."

That's not on your list of things to do, but something makes your legs wander in anyway.

You can hardly say no now.

"Just sit down, sweetie, I'll get him out of the garden for a moment."

You nod to her and turn your head around the room. Everything looks very… old and religious.

Out of respect, you take off your shoes in the hallway and see that the old woman has slippers just like your grandparents. Large, heavy leather slippers.

The house was definitely old and you wonder if maybe her husband built it. The wallpaper is new, or at least in very good condition, but the old wood on the door frame shows the true age of the house.

You hesitantly sit down on an old chair at the round dining table and peek into the old woman´s kitchen.

Overall, a beautiful house, made for a child's summer, but looks can be deceiving.

You're just staring at the little cross on the wall. For a moment you feel very watched, but you shake the anxious thoughts out of your mind and concentrate again on the here and now.

"Come on! It won't take long, darling."

A young boy sits down on the opposite end of the table, probably not older than 10.

He doesn't feel like being here. Ellie would like him.

You quickly unpack your little Bible and introduce yourself to the boy. He doesn't say anything and just stares at you silently.

His grandma snorts. "unbelieveble, his name is Marcus"

You nod slowly and realize how uncomfortable this situation is.

How are you supposed to convince Marcus, who would rather play outside, to believe in God? The fuck thinks his grandma who you are.

"Well Marcus, your grandma wanted me to tell you about how much God loves you and how much he wants you to be with him at the end of your life-"

"I don't care"

"what"

"I don't want to hear it, grandma!"

His grandmother looks at you forgivingly, but you can also see a desperate pleading.

"Young man-"

"What is that?"

You follow his, finger pointing to the floor where the basket full of garnished apples lies.

"Oh that-"

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Now would actually be a good time to die, or at least to be dragged out of this house, by someone who finally realized how cursed this whole mission was from the start

"cool! can i have one"

Marcus suddenly seemed to have found his concentration and respect again. His grandmother also looks at you expectantly.

"Sure."

you slowly take out a wrapped apple, silently hoping that Ellie will breaks into the building and tells you that it's all over. You hand him the apple on a stick and just hope that he isn't hungry yet.

"What the dear lady wants to say is that you should give the lord a chance. He loves you very much and absolutely doesn't want you to end up in eternal fire for-."

You nod very slowly and stare at that damn apple. Poor Marcus. The old woman drives forward.

"What your father taught you is-"

The boy bites into the apple with a grin and it takes exactly 2 seconds until he spits it out again.

You grimace with a sigh.

"Fuck"

"excuse you!"

The Grandma stares at you in disbelief, you worry for a moment whether her old googly eyes might fall out and you imagine how she looks at her grandson like that, every day when he forgets to say amen at the end of a prayer.

Luckily for you, he also starts crying and you probably underestimated his age a bit, or he's just way too dramatic

"what's wrong honey?"

"um i need to go, have a good day"

like a reflex you get up, put your church's contact details on the table and run down the narrow, old but young hallway, put your shoes back on and run out of the house.

Summer air blows through your hair. You seem to have lost all control over your legs because you run and run and run, even when the American flag is nothing more than a small mixture of red, white and blue.

For some reason you suddenly think about a summer with oranges and ellie, another world who is so possible but yet so far away from reality, it almost makes you cry.

The many colors of the houses fly past you and you just grab your bag tighter, so that those shitty apples don't fall out and someone else has to eat them.

You don't even notice where you are until you find the roundabout who lead to the many streets.

"God.." You take a breath over and over again, resting your arms on your knees, but your lungs seem to be allergic to air because it feels like nothing is getting in.

"Hey…"

A hand on your shoulder and you jump back, a small scream leaving your lips, worried that the old lady might have followed you.

Red hair, green eyes and freckles.

Your hand is on your chest and you are breathing deeply and quickly.

Your eyes eat each other up and you are sure that you have never had such an intimate relationship with anyone else in the world.

Thank you so much for being here, for playing a role in my life and for not just being a nameless girl.

She looks at you, the sweat on your forehead and your loose shoes that you probably didn't even tie.

God, does she even know how precious she is to you?

"You scared me"

"I noticed, sorry…"

After a few moments you feel like there was enough eye contact, even though you're pushing for more, so you look away. Pay attention to anything else, the birds in the background, the lake that you can almost see from here or all those American flags.

"Sit down first, you're about to fall over"

Ellie gently grabs your hand. Your hands aren't really linked, she just grabs yours and leads you both to the side of the street, to a small bench.

"It worked, by the way. The apples taste really bad."

Ellie chuckles next to you and lets go of your hand, why does she have to do that?

"I know, a guy almost set his dog on me when he tried one. He was such a disgusting creep, who probably hasn’t showered in days and he was standing in front of me in my bathrobe."

That makes you laugh.

"Those are always the worst. They made little boy cry… he was really mean, but I still feel kinda bad. He didn’t want to listen to anything I said about god”

"Funny guy" Ellie replies and you smile shamelessly at her from the side.

Then she clears her throat and looks forward again.

"I'm sorry if I… dragged you into this. I didn't mean to force you to do anything."

You're now holding her hand, that's resting on her knee.

"You didn't force me to do anything Ellie, you gave me something I always wanted as a child"

"To make a boy cry?"

“Freedom,” you correct her, grinning.

She smiles shyly back and you watch intently as her cheeks become redder and redder. How beautiful this life is!

"Hey guys!"

as quickly as it happened, you take your hand away again and even Ellie slips a little further away from you, still red.

Kate walks down the street towards you with a weak body.

"There's something wrong with these apples"

Thanks for reading and for all the sweet comments and reposts!! Somehow I can’t comment anywhere, not even in my own posts and tumblr won’t help me fix this 😭

by the way, i realised that "tobi" (the pastors name) is fucking german and that in english its toby, so i changed that so sorry guys.

But it means "god is good" which i find pretty fitting

But a biggg thank you to anyone who reads and enjoys my story’s it means a lot to me🫶🫶

Don’t forget to interact with the links!!!!

Taglist: @elliewilliamgfooc @bready101 @a-little-bit-of-everybody @vqxen @hersuniverse @nelzooo @shiimer @bellaramseysgirlfriend @sonthingwithl @vi0lentb3rry @elliewilliamsblunt @be3flow3r @adelaide013 @abbysbraids @liasxeatt @jungkook-37

#ellie williams #ellie x reader #ellie williams tlou2 #ellie williams fanfic #ellie williams x reader #ellie williams tlou #ellie the last of us #ellie williams x female reader #ellie tlou #ellie fluff #ellie williams fluff #ellie williams angst #the last of us part 2 #the last of us fandom #tlou fanfiction #tlou2 #joel tlou #tlou ellie #ellie x fem reader #fem reader #fem!reader #religious trauma #the last of us fanfiction

[fluffyk97]

When I started playing the new Final Horizon update I was expecting pure fun playing as Amy, Knuckles and Tails all while getting new story and a better final boss.... I wasn't expecting I was signing up for extra hard mode that made me feel very drained despite my setting being clearly set to normal difficulty.

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic #sonic frontiers #Sonic frontiers final horizon #I am bad at games I know this and can admit it #Sonic fans really don't deserve the wonderful treatment the Sonic Team has been giving up lately frfr #But Imma need them to tune this shit DOWN #I enjoyed playing as Amy Knuckles and Tails but I was excited to get back to Sonic admittedly #Mainly because I was of course familiar with him while I wasn't with the others #I thought I could go ahead and get the map all completed and do a lil cyberspace before I did the first tower #What I wasn't expecting was to get stuck trying to do my one and first CyberSpace level over and over because I kept failing #I mainly just kept failing at the last bit because it was falling platforms and they give you such little space and time that I cant handle #When i gave up on that i decided focus on the map then so I'll really know where I'm going and all that #Turns out the challenges to get your map filled up were also made to be just ridiculous #I gave up at a fuckin ball and hoop challenge because shit feels so inconsistently annoying #Not to mention the guardian i fought beforehand because Sonic actually has stats #Maxed out ones even #Now i know this one is definitely more of a skill issue on my part I'm sure but #I have max defense and I was at 999 rings #Bro i got down to under 100 rings during that damn fight cause i didn't know the right time to attack #I can be short tempered ngl shsh so shit has definitely brought my mood down and I'll probably actually watch the rest of the story #I really don't want to put myself through all that and more some it drains me more than having fun #Props to those who have fun with it #I cannot and I admire their strength amd determination #Plus I'm already seeing people talking about the towers you need to do with Sonic being absolute pains #Last time I saw that was with The End fight which the game took pity on me with how many times I died #Just uyguggugh #Whole ass rant in the tags #I'm tired and I do hope the new story full on is good and redeems what we had before

[maniculum]

Medieval Scorpions Effortpost

So yesterday I reblogged this post featuring an 11th-century depiction of the Apocalypse Locusts from Revelations, noting the following incongruity as another medieval scorpion issue:

The artist, as you can see, has interpreted "tails like scorpions" as meaning "glue cheerful-looking snakes to their butts".

Anyway, it occurred to me that the medieval scorpion thing might not be as widely known as I think it is, and that Tumblr would probably enjoy knowing about it if it isn't known already. So, finding myself unable to focus on the research I'm supposed to be doing, I decided to write about this instead. I'll just go ahead and put a cut here.

As we can see in the image above, at least one artist out there thought a "scorpion" was a type of snake. Which makes it difficult to draw "tails like scorpions", because a snake's tail is not that distinctive or menacing (maybe rattlesnakes, but they don't have those outside the Americas). So they interpreted "tails like scorpions" as "the tail looks like a whole snake complete with head".

Let me tell you. This is not a problem unique to this illustration.

See, people throughout medieval Europe were aware of scorpions. As just alluded to, they are mentioned in the Bible, and if the people producing manuscripts in medieval Europe knew one thing, it was Stuff In Bible. They're also in the Zodiac, which medieval Europe had inherited through classical sources. However, let's take a look at this map:

That's Wikipedia's map of the native range of the Scorpiones order, i.e., all scorpion species. You may notice something -- the range just stops at a certain northern latitude. Pretty much all of northern Europe is scorpion-free. If you lived in the north half of Europe, odds were good you had never seen a scorpion in your life. But if you were literate or educated at all, or you knew they were a thing, because you'd almost certainly run across them being mentioned in texts from farther south. And those texts wouldn't bother to explain what a scorpion was, of course -- everyone knows scorpions, right? When was the last time you stopped to explain What Is Spiders?

So medieval writers and artists in northern Europe were kind of stuck. There was all this scorpion imagery and metaphor in the texts they liked to work from, but they didn't really know what a scorpion was. Writers could kind of work around it (there's a lot of "oh, it's a venomous creature, moving on"), but sometimes they felt the need to break it down better. For this, of course, they'd have to refer to a bestiary -- but due to Bestiary Telephone and the persistent need of bestiary authors to turn animals into allegories, one of the only visual details you got on scorpions was that they... had a beautiful face, which they used to distract people in order to sting them.

And look. I'm not here to yuck anyone's yum, but I would say that a scorpion's face has significant aesthetic appeal only for a fairly small segment of the population. I'm sure you could get an entomologist to rhapsodize about it a bit, but your average person on the street will not be entranced by the face of a scorpion. So this did not help the medieval Europeans in figuring out how to depict scorpions. There was also some semantic confusion -- see, in some languages (such as Old and Middle English), "worm" could be a general term for very small animals of any kind. But it also could mean "serpent".* So there were some, like our artist at the top of the post, who were pretty sure a scorpion was a snake. This was probably helped along by the fact that "venomous" was one of the only things everyone knew about them, and hey, snakes are venomous. Also, Pliny the Elder had floated the idea that there were scorpions in Africa that could fly, and at least one author (13th-century monk Bartholomaeus Anglicus) therefore suggested that they had feathers. I don't see that last one coming up much, I just share it because it's funny to me.

*English eventually resolved this by borrowing the Latin vermin for very small animals, using the specialized spelling wyrm for big impressive mythical-type serpents, and sticking with the more specific snake for normal serpents.

Some authors, like the anonymous author of the Ancrene Wisse, therefore suggested that a scorpion was a snake with a woman's face and a stinging tail. (Everyone seemed to be on the same page with regards to the fact that the sting was in the tail, which is in fact probably the most recognizable aspect of scorpions, so good job there.) However, while authors could avoid this problem, visual artists could not. And if you were illustrating a bestiary or a calendar, including a scorpion was not optional. So they had to take a shot at what this thing looked like.

And so, after this way-too-long explanation, the thing you're probably here for: inaccurate medieval drawings of scorpions. (There are of course accurate medieval drawings of scorpions, from artists who lived in the southern part of Europe and/or visited places where scorpions lived; I'm just not showing you those.) And if you find yourself wondering, "how sure are you that that's meant to be a scorpion?" -- all of these are either from bestiaries or from calendars that include zodiac illustrations.

11th-century England, MS Arundel 60. (Be honest, without the rest of this post, if I had asked you to guess what animal this was supposed to be, would you have ever guessed “scorpion”?)

12th-century Germany, "Psalter of Henry the Lion". (Looks a bit undercooked. Kind of fetal.)

12th-century France, Peter Lombard's Sententiae. (Very colorful, itsy bitsy claws, what is happening with that tail?)

12th-century England, "The Shaftesbury Psalter". (So a scorpion is some sort of wyvern with a face like a duck, correct?)

13th-century France, Thomas de Cantimpré's Liber de natura rerum. (I’d give them credit for the silhouette not being that far off, but there’s a certain bestiary style where all the animals kind of look like that. Also note how few of these have claws.)

13th-century England, "The Bodley Bestiary". (Mischievous flying squirrel impales local man’s hand, local man fails to notice.)

13th-century England, Harley MS 3244. (A scorpion is definitely either a mouse or a fish. Either way it has six legs.)

13th-century England, Harley MS 3244. (Wait, no, it’s a baby theropod, and it has two legs. (Yes, this is the same manuscript, that’s not an error, this artist did four scorpions and no two are the same.))

13th-century England, Harley MS 3244. (Actually it’s a lizard with tiny ears and it has four legs.)

13th-century England, Harley MS 3244. (Now that we’re at the big fancy illustration, I think I’ve got it — it’s like that last one, but two legs, longer ears, and a less goofy face. Also I’ve decided it’s not pink anymore, I think that was the main problem.)

13th-century England, MS Kk.4.25. (A scorpion is a flat crocodile with a bear’s head.)

13th-century England, "The Huth Psalter". (Wyvern but baby! Does not seem to be enjoying biting its own tail.)

13th-century England, MS Royal 1 D X. (This triangular-headed gentlecreature gets the award for “closest guess at correct limb configuration”. If two of those were claws, I might actually believe this artist had seen a scorpion before, or at least a picture of one.)

13th-century England, "The Westminster Psalter". (A scorpion is the offspring of a wyvern and a fawn.)

13th-century England, "The Rutland Psalter". (Too many legs! Pull back! Pull back!)

13th or 14th-century France, Bestiaire d'amour rimé. (This is very similar to the fawn-wyvern, but putting it in an actual Scene makes it even more obvious that you’re just guessing.)

14th-century Netherlands, Jacob van Maerlant's Der Naturen Bloeme. (More top-down six-legged guys that look too furry to be arthropods.)

14th-century Germany, MS Additional 22413. (That is clearly a turtle.)

14th-century France, Matfres Eymengau de Beziers's Breviari d'amor. (Who came up with that head shape and what was their deal?)

15th-century England, "Bestiary of Ann Walsh". (Screw it, a scorpion is a big lizard that glares at you for trying to make me draw things I don’t know about.)

I've spent way too much time on this now. End of post, thank you to anyone who got all the way down here.

#medieval #medieval creatures #medieval art #scorpions #medieval scorpions #manuscript #medieval manuscripts #illuminated manuscript

[nexysworld]

Summary: New to town, stuck late and caught in the rain to boot; your night couldn't possibly get any worse. At least that's what you thought until on your way home you're pulled over by a certain blonde haired blue eyed cop. Pairing: RE2R CorruptCop!Leon x Fem!Reader Tags: NSFW, MDNI, Smut, Dubcon, Abuse of Power, Semi-public sex, Finger Sucking, Sex Toy, Temperature Play, Unprotected Sex, Handcuffs, Light BDSM, Toxic Dynamics, no use of y/n

Title from the Deftones Song - Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)

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The rain was pouring down, pattering against the cement of the parking lot as wind blew the smell of dew and crisp air across your face. It was late, later than you had wanted to stay at work, but things kept piling up and before you knew it, the sun had come down and your coworkers had all left you alone.

Yellow light flickered off of the closest street lamp, the only other source of illumination was your phone’s screen lit up. You tapped against the glass in frustration, a cold shiver running down your spine. “Come on, come on!” The signal symbol in the top corner of the screen kept flashing, leaving you unable to make any call or access the internet. All you had wanted to do was pull up maps again, being new to town you hadn’t familiarized yourself with the roads – the weather was so bad that you didn’t want to test it either.

The windbreaker you had on was doing little to help the chill in your bones now that the rain had begun blowing sideways, soaking you even under the awning that covered the entrance. Now soaked, freezing, and not wanting to wait any longer, you made the decision to book it to your car. Relishing in the heat you relaxed back against the fabric of the seat, slipping the soaked jacket off along with your damp shirt. Luckily the tanktop beneath was mostly spared of the icy rain water.

Giving it one more shot, you looked at your phone, still no signal. A sigh escaped you as the wipers turned on helping to remove the frosty fog from the windshield, tossing the useless device on the passenger seat.

When the windows were finally defrosted enough for you to mostly be able to see ahead of the car, you backed out of the spot and took off down the road. “Ok, I got this. I make a right here by the giant oak tree.”

The dark road ahead of you felt familiar to the one you took home during the day, but without much peripheral vision it was hard to tell. Soon the open road became dark with nothing but your headlights as the last streetlamp passed you by, an uneasiness taking over you. “This isn’t right.” Walls of trees surrounded you on both sides of the road, only visible when passing cars illuminated them for you. Not sure what to do, and nervous as hell, you kept trekking forward, hoping to at least find a major highway or something that looked familiar.

It wasn’t long until red and blue lit up the inside of your car from behind. “A cop? Shit.” With the back window frosted over you hadn’t seen him pull onto the road, and with the darkness surrounding you, it was difficult to tell where you could even pull over safely. You gripped the steering wheel tightly, knuckles turning white. The anxiety that coursed through your veins was already bad enough as it was, but once you hadn’t pulled over quick enough, the sound of the sirens blaring through your eardrums caused you to nearly jump out of your skin. Immediately, you slammed the breaks, causing the car to squeal before coming to a complete stop.

Not more than a few moments go by before you hear the sound of boots thudding against the ground getting closer. Taking the initiative, you roll down the window, letting the cutting winter air slap you in the face once again while you gripped your ID tightly, waiting for the officer.

Blinding light encompassed your vision, causing your hand to go up instinctively to shield your eyes as they adjusted.

“Good evening, Miss.” His voice sounded young, and you could hear the smacking of gum being chewed loudly between his words.

“Good evening officer… Kennedy” You gave a weak smile, eyes reading his name tag before finally settling on his face. He was young. Piercing blue eyes almost glowed with the illumination of the metal flashlight in his hand. Plush lips upturned into a friendly smile, coupled with soft features. Soft blonde hair framed his face accentuating his cheek bones and dimpled chin. He wasn’t just young, he was cute – handsome. If this were a different time and place you would’ve actually considered hitting on the guy.

“Wanna tell me why you didn’t pull over when you first saw the lights?”

“I wasn’t sure where a safe spot to pull over was. I hoped maybe a little up the way would be a place with more light.”

“Uh huh…” He said, eyeing you over, the tone in his voice clearly indicating suspicion. “Do you know why I pulled you over this evening, ma’am?”

“Uhh no honestly, I can’t say I do.” An awkward smile tugged at your features, nerves bubbling in the pit of your stomach. The only relief coming from the hope that this fresh faced, doe-eyed cop would go easy on you. He seemed friendly, and if his age was any indicator he likely hadn’t been a cop long, perhaps that could score you some bonus points.

A thick blonde brow raised as he spoke. “You were going pretty fast. Speed limit in most parts of Arklay County is 35 if you’re not in the city. I had you going nearly 60.”

“Arklay? Oh shit –” The realization you had gone in the complete opposite direction from where you were supposed to have been headed struck you like a tonne of bricks. “I’m so sorry officer, I’m not from around here.”

“Well normally I’d understand that, but there’s signage posted all down this strip of road.”

“Oh. Well, you know it’s late and rainy with my windows fogged up it’s been a little hard to see, especially where there’s no street lights.”

He leaned back from where he hunched over your window, looking at the car. “Your entire rearview is frosted along with more that ⅓ of the viewing radius on your windshield. It’s not safe to drive like that, especially speeding in the dark.”

Your eyebrow twitched with annoyance, the sound of the gum in his mouth beginning to grate on your nerves as well. The last thing you wanted was a lecture – tired, cold, and away from home you wanted this encounter to be over. The hope of him going easy on you seemed to dwindle with each word out of his mouth.

“I know, my car's kind of a junker. I’ve been meaning to get the back wiper fixed. I just haven’t been able to yet. I’ll do it soon I swear.” He didn’t say anything, taking in your words. You took the opportunity to continue. “Look, is there any way you can let me off with a warning? I’ve been having a really bad night. I just started a new job in the county over. I got stuck late in the rain at said job, and now I’m lost trying to get back home.” Batting your eyelashes you gave him the best kicked puppy look you could muster hoping to inspire some sympathy from your tale.

His features steeled into a neutrally unamused expression. “License and registration.” He said flatly.

“You can’t be serious!” You exclaimed, slapping the steering wheel in frustration. “Come on, I’m begging you, sir.”

Officer Kennedy didn’t respond, instead he moved to clip the flashlight to a loop on his shoulder to keep it in place as he pulled his notebook out, penciling down on the yellowed pages before finally speaking again. “Speeding. Not adhering to street postings. Reckless driving in an unsafe vehicle, and refusal to provide documentation to an officer of the law.”“Huh?” You were gobsmacked by his words. “What are you –”

“Miss, I'm going to need you to step out of the car.”

“Wait, wait no I have my license right here. I wasn’t refusing, I was–”

“Please don’t make me ask again. Step out of the vehicle, hands on your head.”

The nerve of this guy! Unbuckling your seatbelt you exited the car as quickly as possible, putting your hands atop your head like you were told.

“Are there any drugs or weapons in the car or on your person I should be made aware of?”

“No, of course not! Please, this is all a misunderstanding.” His gloved hand grasped at you, turning you to face your car again. With both hands he patted you down gently, the cold air causing goosebumps to form on your skin now. If the night hadn’t already been going bad as it was, this was the worst.

No reply again, just the same sound of that damned gum gnashing between his teeth and the smell of his spicy cologne wafting into your nose. He brought his hand up to your right arm, gently pulling it down behind your back, before mimicking the other.

The jingle of metal on metal made your heart stop. “Y-you’re not arresting me are you? You can’t do that, you haven’t even read me my rights.” It took everything you had to will any oncoming tears away.

He replied by clasping the metal around your wrists before clamping them shut. The weight of the situation made you feel like you were shackled to the earth where you stood. Hands trembling behind you, as his hot breath ghosted over your neck, sending a shiver down your spine. “I haven’t read you the rights because I’m not arresting you. Just making sure you and I are both safe while I check things out.

“Check what things out?”

“You know, you ask a lot of questions. Maybe if you listened more you wouldn’t be where you’re standing right now.” His hands slid down your sides again, this time stopping on your butt cheeks, patting them down lightly before feeling the warm leather splayed against your inner thigh lingering a tad longer than what was appropriate. Your breath hitched in your throat, and you tensed up, hoping he wouldn’t notice.

“What’s the matter?” Despite not seeing his face, you could hear the smirk in his voice.

“You aren’t hiding something, are you?”

“No! What the hell?”

“You sure? Then why are you so tense, if you have nothing to hide?” He dragged his hands up your side again, applying more pressure before sneaking his hands around your torso, palms against your chest giving a little squeeze. You jolted against the car, gasping.

“Get the fuck off of me!” You shouted pushing yourself back against him, your voice while intended to sound angry came out a wavering whine.

“What was that?”

“I said, get off of me you pig!”

“Mouthy, mouthy. You really don’t want me looking here, do you?” To emphasize his point, he squeezed your chest again, rubbing your pebbling nipples through your thin bra with his thumbs.

“Fucking creep!” You spat struggling against him.

“That’s not very nice.” He whispers into your ear. “Know what I think? I think you are hiding something and you don’t want me to find out.” He pulled you back against him, far enough from the car that he could grab your tanktop from the center, yanking it down, roughly stretching the fabric of the spaghetti straps before they finally snapped against your shoulders, stinging as the shirt was yanked to your stomach.

His fingers made their way to the front clasp of your bra, deftly jerking the hook to come undone, breasts bouncing out as your nipples pebbled in the cold air almost painfully. A whine echoed from your mouth as he spun you around, roughly pushing your back into the frigid metal of your car.

“Hmmm. Nothing here.” He said, sky blue orbs moving from your face to observe your cold-perked breasts. He watched you shiver with that sickeningly sweet smile plastered to his boyish face. “Poor thing, it’s pretty cold out isn’t it? Those little buds look so hard they could cut glass.”

“Fuck you!”

“You know what they say, you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Why don’t you try behaving for a minute and see where it gets you.” As if displaying his point, he brings his large hands back to your breasts, kneading them in his palms a few times before soothing his thumbs over your nipples again. The feeling makes you tingle, the warmth more pleasurable than you’d ever want to admit. “See, that’s better isn’t it? Just be compliant for me and this will all be over faster.”

Anger swirled in the pit of your stomach, wanting nothing more than to knock that smile off his stupid-pretty face. You couldn’t believe only 10 minutes prior you had actually thought he was handsome, a nice cop who’d understand your plight and let you go.

Hyper aware of how stuck you were, your brows knitted together in frustration, a few tears finally spilled out of your eyes burning hot against your cheek. He swiped them away, a gesture that would have been sweet if it was coming from anyone besides this power-abusing creep. “No need for tears. We’re just doing a standard inspection. If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to be afraid of, right sweetheart?”

The pet name made you sick, and you couldn’t contain the venom on the tip of your tongue.”Fuck you asshole!” You shouted jerking away from him again.

His smile faded almost instantly to an unamused look. “Resisting an Officer too? You really are up to no good tonight.” He said, grabbing you roughly by the arm, pulling you away from your own vehicle and tugging you towards his cruiser. He’d switched the flashlight off leaving you mostly in the dark as he trudged you along. Fear made you attempt to dig your heels, but his grip was like a vice and as he yanked, you were forced to tumble forwards with him until he shoved you face first into the back seat, your bottom half hanging out off the black faux-leather.

The inside of the car was toasty warming you up almost instantly, but your legs shivered desperately against the freezing air swirling outside. “Stay still.” He commanded, as you felt two fingers make their way into the waistband of your pants before he unceremoniously yanked them down to your ankles.

“What are you –”

“Finishing my inspection.” He replied, brushing his hands up your thighs, this time applying more pressure directly to your skin, making his way closer and closer to your panties. A firm slap was landed on your ass hurting so much it made you yelp. “That was for that bratty attitude.” Soothing the sore spot with gentle rubs from one hand, he brought the other between your legs gently rubbing against your clothed slit, stopping to nudge at your clit through the fabric.

Your eyes went wide as saucers, mouth agape. You hated that your body reacted to the feeling, a moan making it’s way out of your mouth, feeling the arousal building up at your center.

“Don’t feel anything yet, but you can never be too sure.” He pulled his hand away, your body instinctively bucking back a little without any input from your brain. Your underwear received the same treatment as your pants, but not before he snapped the elastic of your waistband, making you whimper at the sting.

You felt the starched fabric of his uniform pants brush harshly against your inner thigh before he used it to pull your legs as far apart as they would go while still restricted at the ankles by your clothing. Something cold and smooth was dragged up your leg, making you squirm in place uncomfortably. It was different to the texture of his gloves, you couldn’t tell if it was plastic or metal. The object made it’s way to your slicked up folds, running through them gently.

“Gahh!” You squealed trying to wiggle forward away from the icy feeling.You couldn’t go any farther, stopped by the grating that separated the seat you were in from the other side.

“None of that.” He said, moving his arm forward, dragging whatever it was against you again. The sheer temperature was uncomfortable, but when he circled it against your clit, the torturous mix of discomfort and pleasure made you shudder involuntarily. More slick leaked out onto the seats.

Coating its base into your wetness, he prodded your hole gently. Craning your neck to the point of pain, you looked behind you as best you could to see what was happening, the night stick gripped firmly in his hand. Your brain screamed at you to be scared, while your body betrayed you, clamping down over the cool tip of the thin object. “S’too cold!” You pleaded, voice a pathetic whine. He ignored you at first, moving it inside of you slowly, shallowly. It was enough to have your pussy aching, but not enough to hit that one spot that would have you seeing stars. It was a teasing sensation you’d never experienced before.

“Too cold? Can’t be that bad, not with the mess you’re making all over my backseat.” He twisted the baton this time sinking it in farther enough to bump against that special bundle of nerves making you keen. “You really have no sense of self preservation, do you baby? Needy pussy will slop all over anything it’s given, won’t it? At least I know you’re not hiding anything now.”

You hadn’t the capacity to refute him or spout an insult back his way, though you wanted to, badly .

He set the night stick down between your legs, not pulling it out of you. You heard the sound of rustling fabric until some warm teased against the skin of your leg. The night stick was lifted gently again, back to its painfully slow rhythm of thrusting just outside the reach of where you wanted it. Quickly you realized he’d removed his gloves, his hands so warm from being inside them his fingers nearly burned against your numbed skin. He used the middle and pointer finger of his left hand to rub agonizingly slow circles around your clit, as he worked the baton into your hole again.

Both sensations felt good, but just so… not enough . Trapped in the backseat of his car against your will, arms stinging from being stuck behind you, face pressed against the seat knowing the pattern would be smooshed into your skin by the time you were ever allowed to move again. You hated how the handsome asshole of a cop was working you up so much with his vile mocking and teasing movements. But most of all, you hated how much you wanted more . More pressure. More heat. More speed. Just more of whatever you could get.

You weren’t sure how far he was going to go with this, but not wanting to give in, you attempted to focus on everything that wasn’t him. The smell of the pine air freshener blowing throughout the car, the sound of that stupid fucking gum still going between his teeth – you even tried to close your eyes and imagine you were somewhere else. None of it worked as you were left trying to grind back against him, desperate to alleviate the tension between your thighs and desperate to get out of there. Soft whimpers echoing throughout the confines of the vehicle.

“Poor thing, you just look so miserable. You want something don’t you?” He cooed the question out, picking up the pace of the fingers on your clit, finally using them to apply pressure as he rubbed it directly. Your whole body strained against the confines you were in, tensing with pleasure, mouth opening into an ‘o’ shape. Being teased for so long, you were just on the cusp of an orgasm as he finally gave you some sweet satisfaction – before you could feel that sensation of relief he pulled his hands away stopping entirely.

“Wha-?” The disappointment in your voice despite the lack of an entire sentence was obvious.

“Ask me nicely, maybe I’ll give you a reward for being good. After all, you passed my inspection with flying colors.” He resumed what he was doing again, back to the terribly slow movements that never gave you enough satisfaction to tip you over the edge.

You refused to give in, to beg, to admit out loud that you wanted anything from him. Doing your best, you tried scoffing, voice shakily creaking from your throat. “I-I don’t want anything from you. Except to let me go!” The malice and bite you wished coated your words wasn’t there.

He laughed in response, flicking your clit lightly. “Liar. That stubborn little mouth of yours might not want to admit it, but your pretty little pussy is giving everything away.” Leaning forward he pressed a kiss to your shoulder trailing the kisses up your neck before flicking his tongue against the shell of your ear. He managed to extract another pathetic whine as he blew on the spot he licked, sending a shiver right down your spine. While he’d pulled the night stick out to use that arm to support himself over you, his remaining hand was still tucked between your legs, sloppily playing with you. Against your thigh, through his pants you could feel his hardness pressing into you. “Come on baby, you don’t need to keep up the act anymore. We both know this was your goal from the start, wasn’t it?” He sucked a bruise into the skin of your neck before placing another kiss between your shoulder blades, the way he was pressed onto you forced your arms to tense in a way that hurt. “I saw it all over your face the moment your window rolled down. Batting those pretty lashes at me, probably thought you could flirt your way out of trouble.”

“N-not true…” You squeaked out.

He sat up, pulling his hand away from you. Metal on metal and the sound of the zipper behind you told you he was freeing his erection from its confines. He let out a relieved hiss before he was back over you this time you felt his soft lips against your leg, kissing the back of your knee before trailing his tongue up your leg, the cool air drying the strip of saliva as he went before placing a kiss to your buttcheek where his hand had left a raised red mark. “No? Then why are you sobbing between the legs for me?”

He moved forward nestling the head of his weeping cock against your slit, rubbing it against your clit gently before swiping it up to your hole. He didn’t enter though, merely rubbing it around before dragging it back down – your pussy clenched around nothing in anticipation of the pleasure that wouldn’t come. “Mmm, so hot and wet.” He moaned, stroking himself as he rubbed the swollen tip against you.

A noise caught in your throat as he did it again, teasing your hole again. Frustrated tears reformed in your eyes, body hot, bothered, and screaming at you for relief. The last shell of pride you had cracked at the tantalizing idea of his thick cock stretching you open.

“P-please…” You finally choked out, quietly.

“What’s that?”

“P-please….” You repeated again, louder this time.

“Still too quiet –”

“PLEASE!” You nearly shouted this time.

“Hmm, please what? Gotta use your words, I’m not a mind reader.”

His teasing now had you more frustrated than the initial traffic stop, you were ready to sob if you had to go one more second without relief. “Please, please fuck me. Want you inside me, please.” You begged bucking your lower half up against him, hoping it would entice him to give in.

Expecting more teasing on his end you were pleasantly surprised when you felt him slip inside of you, not bothering to go slowly, slamming himself from tip to balls into your tight heat. “O-Oh.” You moaned as he pulled out, slamming back inside. Your eyes nearly rolled back as he set a fast rhythm, pounding against your sweet spot over and over again, finally giving your cunt something to clench around properly.“Oh god…fuck…” You spewed more incoherent words as you drooled against the seat. “So…fucking good.” Pleasure washed over your brain, stopping any coherent thoughts from processing.

“Look at you, dumb on my cock already and I’ve barely started fucking you. You, that desperate?” He reached over, swiping some drool from your cheek, flicking it away with his thumb. “Messy little slut, can’t help but leak from both ends, huh?”

“N-nuh uh.” You tried to protest, tongue almost falling out of your mouth as he angled his hips just right. Giving up on any further attempts of saving your ego, you attempted to speak again, wanting to feel something against your lips. Another incoherent noise came out instead.

He leaned in, slowing his hip movements. “What was that?”

“K-kiss.” You managed to get the word out. “Please.”

“Awww, not romantic enough for you sweetheart? Need some kisses too?”

You nodded, bottom lip quivering. He turned, spitting the gum outside the car before leaning forward again to connect your lips. It was rough at first, him biting your bottom lip before entangling your tongues together. You whimpered into his mouth, tasting the remnants of mint on him. He pulled away a trail of saliva connecting you before he placed a few sweeter pecks against your lips.

“Are your arms sore?” He asked running a hand over one of them as he sat back up.

“Mhm.”

“Can I trust you to be good if I take the cuffs off?”

“P-promise.”

There was stillness for a moment as there was the jangling of keys behind you. Soon your wrists were freed from the cuffs that hit the car floor, clanging together gently. You let out a relieved groan, letting one arm flop to your side as the other dangled onto the floor, shoulders stiff and sore.

The blonde kneaded his hands against your shoulder a few times to relieve the visible tension. He let you flop against the seat as he resumed his rhythm of fucking into your tight heat, leaving you babbling and whining loudly, enjoying the sensation of being split open on him.

“Perfect little pussy, just sucks me right in.” He pulled you back this time, so your ass was at a higher angle making it easier for him to slip in and out of your wet heat.

Close. You were so close to finally being tipped over the edge. White hot pleasure pricked at your vision, core aching deliciously. Almost to your peak when his voice tore through that bringing you back into the moment. “Hear that? Sounds like a car coming. Better quiet down baby, or they might come investigate. Wouldn’t wanna let them see what a little whore you are.” Despite his words he didn’t slow his pace, in fact he landed another slap against your unmarked ass cheek. “Or, maybe that’s exactly what you want, since you’re still crying like a desperate little bitch in heat. Want them to come over here and see you get fucked? Tell them what a bad girl you are, getting pulled over and getting fucked in the back of a cop car?”

“N-no….” You looked at him eyes wide. “P-please… don’t want – please.” With him pistoning into you, you couldn’t stop the noises that flew out. “P-please…oh god…” Time was running out as the headlights of the oncoming vehicle began to light up.

“Since you asked so nicely, I’ll help you out.” He leaned forward pressing two fingers into your mouth, greedily you pulled them in lapping over them with your tongue before sucking on them like a lifeline.

“Good girl.” He praised quietly into your ear. “Good fucking girl.” His own quiet grunts were becoming labored, his hip movements becoming sloppy, indicating his release was close. You turned your body so you were laying on your side more, grasping at his wrist holding his hand in place, nearly gagging on the digits.

The yellow hued light from the stream of passing cars lit up the inside of the cruiser giving you a view of the man’s face once again. His own eyes heavy with pleasure, black pupils dilated as he slowed his pace once last time to watch you suckle on his fingers as the last of the cars passed by, darkness encompassing the vehicle again before your eyes readjusted to the dimly lit roof light.

He pulled his fingers free, and brought the saliva coated hand down to rub against your clit as he picked up the pace fucking you again. He didn’t waste time taunting you, nor did he slow down, letting you fully bask in the hot waves of pleasure radiating from your sensitive pearl of nerves.

“G-god…oh god…” Your eyes rolled back as the coil of tension snapped, toes curling as your pussy clamped his cock like a vice. He groaned, fucking you through your orgasm before his hand gripped your hip with a bruising tightness, eye closing at his cock twitched, pulsing hot ropes of cum inside of you. He slowed down, thrusting just enough to ride out his own orgasm enjoying every twitch of your silky walls as he filled you up. Afterwards he braced his hand against the roof of the car to catch his breath and come down from the high of it all.

Once softened, he slowly pulled his cock out, wiping it along your thigh as he did so before tucking it back into his pants and fully standing up outside the car, stretching. “You alright?” He asked when he finally poked his head back in. He didn’t wait for your answer before tugging you towards him again, sliding your body along the seat. Pressing a kiss to the back of your still trembling legs, he hoisted your bottoms and panties back up, any leaking seed being caught by the fabric. “There we go.”

Too exhausted to move or think, you laid there like sentient jello as he readjusted you, slipping into the back seat himself so he could pull you onto his lap. Flopping against his chest, you buried your face in the crook of his neck, as he wrapped his arms around you, rubbing your back with one hand.

He let you rest for a while against him in that hazy-twilight state recovering from both the mental and physicality of the ordeal. The sound of the wind whistling outside coupled with the even badump badump of his heartbeat relaxed you. The radio on his chest buzzed, a crackly voice on the other end reading out some police codes you didn’t understand. “10-4, I’ll head back to the station.” He replied. “Hear that? Looks like this stop has come to an end.”

You rubbed at your eyes, sitting up. Honestly you had no words to reply, what could you even say after all of this. The cop reached up, tucking some hair behind your ear. “You said you were lost on the way home?”

“Yeah.”

“Where were you headed?”

“Altoona.”

He nodded. “Go sit in your car for me, I’ll be over in a few.”

Not arguing, you slipped off his lap and out into the dark cold stumbling your way back over to your car, ready for the night to just be over with finally.

A few minutes went by and sure enough Officer Kennedy reappeared at your window, a piece of paper in hand. “Directions.” He said handing it to you. Before you could reply, another paper was thrust into your hands, a ticket at the top. “Have a good night, Miss.” He said, popping another piece of gum into his mouth as he disappeared back to his cruiser.

“No fucking way. After all of that, he’s still giving me a fucking ticket?” You asked out loud, eyeing the ticket paper resisting the urge to rush it in your fist. You were heated all over again, ready to punch something – until it occurred to you he never actually took your license or anything. You reached up and pressed on the ceiling light to get a better look at the ticket. The entire form was blank. “Huh?” Flipping it over in confusion you saw the penciled note. ‘Try to drive more carefully, Sweetheart. Call me if you need a tour. - Leon Kennedy’

Your jaw hung open, shocked by the utter audacity of him after all of that. You knew you should’ve shred that paper up on the spot, or reported him. Instead, for whatever reason that only god knew, you tossed it into your glove compartment before reading over the directions he’d given you. With a turn of the key into the ignition, you pulled out onto the dark road, taking off to make the trip back home.

#Leon Kennedy x reader #Leon Kennedy #Leon S Kennedy #Leon Kennedy x You #Leon Kennedy x Y/N #resident evil #resident evil 2 #resident evil 2 remake #re2r #re2r leon #resident evil x reader #resident evil fanfiction #Leon Kennedy fanfiction #fanfiction #reader insert #x reader

[lucid-loves]

Taste Like Venom ~ Simon "Ghost" Riley Part 3

Pairing: Ghost x assassin!reader (fem!reader, no use of y/n, callsign “Hex”)

Word Count: 3.7k

CW: angst, violence, blood, strong language, scars, enemies to friends to lovers trope, slow burn, fluff, clear attraction and sexual tension, smut later on, reader POV and ghost POV, minors dni, Soap lives in this AU

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: The great 141 road trip is fine in the beginning, but being on the road for eleven hours clearly gets to everyone, especially you. For once, Ghost tries to show you some genuine compassion without any ulterior motives. 

A/N: Thought that this would not only be a fun part to write, but also a breather to get to develop more character dynamics. Feel free to comment what you think each member of the 141 favorite music genre is! Including your own~

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

Such a long drive was new territory for the boys. They were so used to helicopter rides, armored cars, and jets to take them where they needed to go fast. For their size and stature, the minivan was cramped, slightly rough on the road, and just plain weird. It took a few seat adjustments before everyone was as comfortable as they could be. Save for Gaz. He just prayed that a pit stop was coming soon and someone would be willing to switch seats with him.

For the first hour, the ride was noisy with conversation. Conversation that tried to reel you in. Price, looking through the front windshield, asked you a question. “How do you know where you’re going, Hex?”

“I’ve spent time memorizing road maps around the area. We’re taking a back road. A scenic route. Any other cars on the road would further see this minivan as a family road trip through the country.” You elaborated, your eyes steady on the road ahead. There were a lot of twists and turns on this route, but you knew that it would pay out in the end.

“Hidden in plain sight.” Soap added, his tone showing that he was a bit impressed with the logic of it all. Perhaps you knew what you were doing after all. Without you meaning to or doing anything extraordinary, the group was slowly starting to trust you and your judgment as evidenced by your creative planning. You were becoming quite the leader as well. But, you weren’t completely out of the woods yet. They still kept some of their guards up, just in case.

“There’s a method to the madness. Don’t underestimate the power of assumptions.” You advised, a word of advice that would hopefully stick with them after all of this was over. If they listened, perhaps some problems the world was facing could actually be solved. 

Soap pulled out his phone with the intention of making this trip more enjoyable. Making sure that his VPN you required was turned on, he began to browse through songs using his music app. Once he added his favorite songs, he passed it to his captain. “Whatever you want, Cap. No genre limits.”

Price took the phone and rubbed his chin for a second in thought, his brick-brown beard moving with his fingers. Eventually, he added some songs to the playlist. Once he was satisfied, he passed the phone to Gaz who lit up at the idea. “Now it’s gonna feel like a real road trip!”

A few more songs were added before the phone was passed all the way up to Ghost. Hesitantly, Ghost added his own favorite songs. His teammates knew him decently well. They’re even seen his face before under the mask. However, there were still things they were learning about when it came to his personal life. One of which was his favorite kind of music. Thankfully, he was willing to share that information, trusting his team more and more with each passing day. 

He looked at you when he was done, wondering if he should even offer. Having watched the interactions from the mirror, you decided to stay out of it. When Ghost was done, you just shook your head for a silent “no.” Simon imagined that you were rejecting the idea in your mind based on the warning look you gave him. Don’t even try. That made him really wonder what kind of music you liked. The records back home were incredibly diverse. But what was your favorite? Jazz? Metal?

The phone was passed back to Soap. It was quite a diverse playlist. He didn’t realize that his team had such different tastes, but it just made him excited to give it a listen. He connected it to the car’s bluetooth and hit the shuffle button. Ghost went ahead and switched the car to bluetooth mode for him. Almost immediately, the car filled up with music, starting with one of Price’s songs. 

Instead of tuning out, you tuned in. Very much so. Small details, even favorite songs, could say a lot about a person. You were learning about the men now. Not for the sake of potential friendship, no. For the sake of information for potential future manipulation if things went sideways. You always prepared for the worst, even when times seemed like the best. 

The discussion carried forward, now with the ease of real music in the background. Gaz decided to take the plunge and ask you a question. “So. . . Hex. . . You lived a long time out in the woods. How did you survive on your own? There doesn’t seem to be a grocery store for miles around.”

You adjusted your sitting position, trying to get comfier in the driver’s seat. If you were going to deal with this for most of the trip, you might as well get as comfortable as you can. You answered, one hand on the wheel and one arm resting near the window. “I have an acquaintance who’s a farmer that gives me whatever I need. In return, I pleasure his wife, which helps save their marriage.”

His eyes got huge, not expecting the answer. He nearly tripped over his words. “Really?!”

“No, Kyle. You really think I would do such a thing?” You scowled. Internally, though, you were cracking up at his bewilderment. Soap and Price began chuckling in their seats. Even Simon was cracking a smile that no one could see. Kyle’s embarrassed blush that matched the falling red leaves outside made them even more amused. Who knew you had a sense of humor? A crude sense at that. 

He muttered an apology. At least he was a good sport about it. A part of him found it quite funny too. After the chuckles died down, you answered his question truthfully. “Kate does supply drops for me. Not all the time, just when I need more meat than the woods can provide. Everything else I grow.”

It was an answer that made sense and didn’t reveal much about yourself. Nothing too fascinating about it. At least, to everyone save for Ghost. He took note of your truth, pictured you growing fruits and vegetables, hands in the dirt and sweat dripping down your temple. He imagined you hunting too. A heavy rifle and camo. Patience, aim, fire. He thought that some of the foods he had from your kitchen tasted a little gamey. 

“Didn’t you ever get lonely being out there all by yourself?” Soap inquired, not afraid to ask the question that was on everyone’s mind. All eyes were on you as you took a deep breath.

“No, Johnny. Never.”

This was partially a lie as well as partially the truth. There were times where you did feel alone. Like the only human left on the planet. Kate’s calls every now and then help curb it a little, but it wasn’t the same as actually being in the same space with someone physically. Yet, when you were surrounded by people on a classified mission or watching disaster after disaster on TV, it made you glad that you weren’t a part of any of it. The flurry of different emotions coming from all different sides when with civilization was often too much for you. You needed control. More control than what you could usually get when you were on the outside again.

Simon was watching you carefully now, trying to pick up any indication of a cracked resolve. A twitch, a change in breathing, anything to read into further. There was no way you never felt lonely. Yet, you said it with such conviction that it startled everyone. Ghost just couldn’t believe you.

Having killed the conversation, the boy awkwardly tried to change topics. Now excluding you. Good. You preferred it this way.

~

A few hours in and the car was quiet. Light, easy music played now from the car speakers as everyone took a nap. Except for Ghost, of course. Fortunately, he did keep himself occupied by reading the book you lent him. The first couple of chapters were a miss in his opinion. After a couple more, it started to get good. It didn’t take him long to actually get invested in the story, reading between the lines as you had done when you read. You had good tastes.

Enjoying the quietness of the trip was something you didn’t think you would be able to do. Especially with Simon in the front. Surprisingly, he was being good which you hoped would like for the rest of the trip. Unfortunately, you jinxed it in your head. Out of the corner of your eye, he bookmarked his spot and took a break. Now, he wanted to talk to you.

“You didn’t play your own music.” 

“So?” You shrugged, wondering where he was going with this. Nothing good probably.

“Why not?” He simply asked, himself not knowing what the big deal was. It was just music. You could have even lied. Picked out music you hated. Instead, you just opted out, not even willing to risk three minutes of any particular melody.

You suppressed an annoyed groan. Not this shit again. “What part of ‘leave me alone’ do you not understand, Simon?”

There you go again, saying his name with such disrespectful ease. It still made his heart beat faster hearing it from you. It still made his muscles tense in vexation as well. You noticed this from how the grip on his arms got tighter, his arms crossing his chest. “How much could music taste actually reveal about you as an individual?”

“A lot! God damn it, when are you going to drop this stupid shit? Quit playing your stupid fucking game?!” You spat, trying to keep your cursing at a low volume lest you wake up the rest of the team. Your knuckles were turning white with how hard you were gripping the steering wheel, desperately trying to keep your cool.

However, he didn’t drop it. He didn’t want to, so he wouldn’t. Simon could be just as stubborn as you which made you want to punch him. Have his teeth fall out of his mouth and get caught in his skull mask. “You mean to tell me that you’ve learned a lot about us based on our favorite songs alone? That’s just ridiculous, Hex.”

He could use your name as a curse too. Anything to get you to keep talking to him. Anything to keep your attention. To figure you out. As much as you didn’t want to give him what you wanted, you did anyway out of sheer aggravation. “It’s called Music Psychology, you fucking ass! Do they do anything besides tell you what to shoot in that god forsaken military?! Do they really keep you all fucking braindead?!”

“Watch your mouth, Hex! You don’t want to say anything you don’t mean.” Simon warned, his voice low like a bass about to snap its strings. He had to remind himself that you weren’t like them when it came to combat approach to cool down. The 141 employed leadership, strength, swift execution. An assassin like you employed other values, one being the art of psychology apparently. 

He wasn’t going to let you badmouth his team and those back home that don’t deserve your slander, though. Many people back home were plenty capable with their own skill sets. It wasn’t fair to put them all in one box just because they followed the orders of the government.

“Watch my mouth?! Have you even heard the shit that’s coming out of yours?! Or is your head so far stuck up your own ass that you can’t hear what you say?” You antagonized further, making the situation worse with each passing insult.

“Why are you so fucking defensive?! You cracked a joke earlier, but now asking about your music tastes is too much? You don’t make any fucking sense, Hex. What the hell are you so afraid of?” His own voice was rising with volume as he spiraled out of control as well.

You were practically yelling at this point like the rest of the world didn’t exist except for you and Simon. A personal bubble where you could really try to rip him a new one. You didn’t hold back. “I’m not afraid of anything, Ghost! I just want you to leave me the fuck alone! Why are you so desperate to know me?!

“You’re part of this team, whether you like it or not!  Whether you want to be an enemy or not! Part of that is trusting us with your life. All of it!” He argued, trapping himself in this conflict bubble with you.

Your temper was boiling over to the point you could cry. Why was he doing this to you? Why couldn’t he just let this go? “Why can’t you understand that I am never going to be part of your team?! I never can and I never will!”

At that he paused. There was something about your last retort. Never can? It was oddly specific. What did that mean?

Just then, the light for gas lit up on the dashboard. You clenched your jaw, cursing more profanities that would have anyone blush. A couple miles down was a gas station. A wave of relief washed over you. Now you had an excuse to exit the car to get away from Simon.

You didn’t realize it before with how provoked you were, but the 141 in the back was awake and clearly heard the two of you bickering. The tension thick enough to choke on made it hard for them to interfere. This pit stop would hopefully let things settle down again.

As soon as the car was parked near an empty pump, the doors slid open to let the men out. It felt good to stretch their legs and breathe in some fresh air. It was about time Gaz was relieved of the back seat too. Price, Soap, and Gaz headed into the convenience store for a moment to pick up drinks and snacks, something that was essential for their road trip experience. You leaned against the car, waiting for the gas pump to finish. The entire time, Ghost sat silently in the front doing his own breathing exercises to get his temper under control. God, you were venomous. Troublesome, irritating, infernal, a million other words. Yet, you were beautiful when you were pissed. He couldn’t understand it.

Finally, the car was loaded up once again, now complete with drinks, snacks, and a full tank of gas. The seating arrangements changed, Price now in the back to allow Gaz a chance to let his legs stretch out more. Besides that, he didn’t really want to be up front with all of the conflict. He would normally break it up, but he still didn’t know enough about you to feel comfortable doing so. It was better for this to just play out. It wasn’t like Ghost couldn’t hold his own.

In an attempt to lighten the mood, Soap ripped open a bag of chips followed by a joke. “Looks like mom and dad are fighting again.”

The smirk on his face was quickly wiped away as a pair of keys jingled right near his ear, embedded in his head rest. You had turned from your seat as soon as you registered his distasteful joke, thrown the car keys like a knife, and narrowly missed pinning his ear against the fabric. The car was dead silent as you stared daggers into him. Despite being a strong man with plenty of experiences with danger along with close calls, this experience had Johnny near pissing himself. If looks could kill, he would have been six feet under already.

What was worse was the fact that you missed on purpose. 

“Shut the fuck up! You are not to insinuate that again. Ever! Now, I don’t want anyone trying to talk to me or talk about me for the rest of this fucking trip. Talk to each other, I don’t give a shit. But no more dragging me into any conversation. Are we fucking clear?!”

You were met with quick, obedient nods followed by Soap gingerly handing you back your keys. Before you all knew it, you were back on the road like you didn’t just nearly kill Soap.

Simon was speechless, not expecting you to be so. . . dangerous. His feelings about what just happened were conflicting. On one hand, he wanted to fight you to defend his trusted sergeant that meant no harm, even if he didn’t really like the joke either. On the other hand, he’s never been more attracted to a woman in his life.

The car ride was silent for the next several hours.

~

Your muscles ached from your stiff position. You’ve been driving this whole time, only allowing gas breaks to be your time to stretch out. The boys have rotated seats every stop, now including Ghost who was finally giving you some space by being in the back. Last stop, though, he moved right up to the front with you once again. 

You were getting the dreaded road trip tunnel vision. After so many hours of driving, you couldn’t see anything except for the road ahead. You weren’t so much as driving anymore. You more like just looking out the front windshield, barely keeping up with the surrounding area that passed by. What you normally would recognize as trees, road signs, and roadkill were now just a big blur.

“You’re tired.” Simon commented, treading very carefully. He didn’t want to start another fight. Far from it. He just couldn’t bear to see you so exhausted from driving. 

“I’m fine.” Your voice strained, having lost some of it from the screaming match earlier in the trip. You weren’t used to talking so much as you have been for the past week, let alone fighting with words. A warm cup of tea with honey sounded so good right now.

Ghost took a deep breath in before he gently settled his hand on your shoulder. The fact that you didn’t shrug his touch away was very telling that you were really out of it. “Come on, Hex. Just for a bit. Pull over and I’ll take over the drive. We can switch back after you recuperate.”

It took you a minute to agree. Pulling off to the side of the road, you switched places. The room to stretch out in the passenger side was very much needed. Your bones cracked as you really gave yourself time to take it easy for a moment. “Just an hour. Then, we’ll switch.”

He nodded, finally agreeing with you on something out loud. “Just an hour.”

~

You ended up dozing off for longer than intended. Despite the agreement, Simon let you rest. The trip was already almost complete anyway. What was two more hours to add to your much needed rest?

When the car slowed to a stop, the gang woke up out of their naps, eager to exit the minivan and head into the average-looking hotel you had designated as the new checkpoint. It was nearing dinner-time, the city bustling with people heading to enjoy their meals. Price was ready for something other than chips. Soap and Gaz were already discussing potential food spots as if they were tourists. 

As they unloaded the car to carry their things into the hotel, you stayed asleep. Dead asleep. The deepest sleep you have had in what felt like a lifetime. The men were careful to not wake you up as they unloaded luggage after luggage out of the trunk. When everything was squared away with checking in as well as bringing luggage up to the rooms, you were still snoozing away, much to their surprise.

Price opened up your door, ready to wake you up to get a move on. However, Ghost stopped his hand from touching you. “I’ll take her up. Just go ahead and grab some grub.”

Well, John wasn’t going to say no to that offer. He would rather not be bit by such a feral woman. Though, he did feel like he had to warn Ghost of what he was really doing, having observed just about everything he was trying to do in regards to you. “You’re playing with fire, you know.”

Ghost unlocked your seatbelt and picked you up out of the minivan in a princess carry. Miraculously, you still didn’t wake up. “I know. . .”

The hotel staff were concerned with him carrying you into the hotel. A large man with a skull mask carrying an unconscious lady certainly didn’t look good. In order to avoid interference, Simon had a lie ready for when a bodyguard approached. “I know the mask is scary, but it hides some burn scars. I’m just taking the missus up to the room. She fell asleep in the car.”

Not being paid enough to question the lie, he allowed the both of you to pass by. 

You were heavy in his arms, but nothing he couldn’t handle. He could feel the softness of your skin, the firmness of your muscles. He could make out each individual eyelash that just barely kissed under your eyes. As much as you drove him crazy, you truly were beautiful.

The ding of the elevator reaching their floor knocked him out of his trance. Using a room key, he headed into your space for the next couple of days. The room was pretty basic. A bed, a dresser, tv, bathroom, nightstands, a desk. The only thing that really made it stand out was the original art of the wall made by local, Italian artists. 

He settled your sleeping body down onto the queen-sized bed, brushing your hair out of your face as you settled into the mattress. Looking at you like this was a breath of fresh air for him. He didn’t think he would be able to see you like this so soon. 

Sleeping around others was a sign of trust. Were you just really that exhausted? Probably. Ghost would still take this as a sign of victory anyway.

For a few moments longer, he studied your features. The sound of his stomach grumbling for a meal encouraged him to leave you be for now to which his brain protested. Then again, you probably wouldn’t like it if you found out that he watched you sleep.

Before he left, he took one last look at you, burning the image into his mind. “You said you didn’t sleep, kitten.”

#simon riley fanfic #simon ghost riley fanfic #simon ghost riley #simon ghost x reader #simon ghost x you #simon ghost riley x reader #simon ghost smut #cod fanfic #ghost x female reader #ghost x you #ghost x reader #simon riley x reader #simon riley #simon riley x you #ghost x f!reader #ghost x y/n #simon riley x female reader #simon riley x y/n #simon riley x f!reader #simon riley smut #simon riley angst #simon riley fluff

[oneatlatime]

The Blind Bandit

I had honestly forgotten that the Gaang were trying to find an earthbending teacher, so the 'previously on' segment was actually useful instead of spoilery.

Nobody's face is having a good time.

Look at this sweetheart. You go ahead and treat yourself honey. You've single-handedly escorted a pair of earth-shatteringly overpowered tweens around the world for months; the least you deserve is a shopping trip.

"You kids like earthbending?" Has the same energy as "wanna buy a sun dial?" from that animated Hercules movie.

This guy is one of those strip mall karate types.

I take back everything I ever said about Zuko's season 1 haircut. This guy has a dust bunny poop on his head.

Momo's bag now.

My absolute favourite girl power: incredible violence!

The acoustics at this earth rumble place must be great. I don't see any microphones.

"That's what I paid for." Sokka is a simple creature at heart. Likes food and violence.

Something very strange about this guy's face. I think his mouth moves but his eyes don't.

So apparently earthbending gets you mad air.

Oh! I get it. This is a WWE parody. Somebody on the writing team did their homework too. Don't ask me how I know, but this is a very accurate parody.

Sokka thinks listening to big muscles is a very good idea actually.

And here's the heel. Complete with russian accent. And oddly homoerotic anthem. And cowardice when challenged! Yep, total heel.

I LOLed at the zamboni badgermoles and hockey organ.

She's like two feet tall!

I'm. in love.

I could watch little girls beat up grown men all day.

Earthbending sonar?

Omigod it predicts. She can see moves before they happen.

Well it's a good thing Bumi said to look for someone who Waited and Listened rather than Watched.

"I don't really want to fight you. I want to talk to you." Says the guy who just volunteered, in front of a full stadium, to FIGHT her. Time and place, Aang.

Get back on the ground you flighty airbender. She sees with that ground. No fair.

This is about the face I made when Aang pulled that move. Does this boy think at all? I love him, but what part of stealing her well-earned title is supposed to convince her to talk to him?

You messed up.

I love sartorially inclined Sokka. It's a tiny an innocuous little trait, but it rounds out his character so well.

I get to watch two different girls terrorise idiots this episode. I am blessed.

So I'm guessing the two idiots at the earthbending academy are doing that excercise where kung fu people stick their hands in sand (I've seen videos of it) but it really looked like they were in the 'beat back the dough' phase of making bread.

In this universe of plot-convenient clothing blindness, how do Dumb and Dumber recognise Aang as the one who beat the Blind Bandit?

I think the voice actor for the dumb kid with actual hair did a bunch of voices in season 1. The soldier who gives Aang Bato's map comes to mind.

Have I said recently how much I love Sokka and Katara?

These wrestling guys keep switching between first and third person. Too many rocks to the head.

This could be a board for a murder mystery board game. Or a map for a DND dungeon.

It's her hair. I thought the Blind Bandit had a cap type thing with a little brim for her costume, but it's just a pile of her hair? Like a beehive?

A lesson in character writing: if you want to make someone look super dumb, have them earnestly believe in the credentials and authenticity of a guy you have previously set up as a borderline con artist. Lookin at you, Blind Bandit's dad.

"Basic forms and breathing exercises only." That line is just so funny. And they're all so stupid. She snapped like half a dozen spines last night and this guy is preaching breathing exercises.

Wow! I hate her dad!

I hate him more!

Sokka going ham on some rice rather than listen to the idiots. Good priorities.

This passive aggressive fight between the girl and Aang at the dinner table is so fun.

Looking for somewhere to store your meal after you've face planted into it? Try the top of your head!

I need to get a hold of some of those magic napkins. Wiped up a whole multicourse meal in like 5 seconds.

That is indeed the appropriate reaction to this pint sized badass. Glad Aang is learning. (Also this episode needs more Appa. The last couple have been sadly bereft.)

Called it. Earthdending sonar. Or is it more like echolocation? No! Whiskers!

How does this pint sized badass - who if I am understanding correctly, is not known to exist outside the walls of her house - have more emotional intelligence than the entirety of the Gaang put together?

So much for the guards in the garden. They'd actually be useful now.

Sokka. Priorities. Although given how many times Aang has escaped custody/kidnapping he's probably ok to take a minute to fangirl over an autograph.

These idiot parents don't know their daughter at all. That chafes.

"I'm not smiling." I LOLed at that too. Perfect delivery.

Hippo man having a snack before he gets down to business. No wonder he's missing teeth.

All this blind and tiny and helpless and fragile talk is really making me hope someone smacks the crap out of the dad. What an awful thing to say, nevermind saying it where your daughter can hear.

SMACKDOWN INCOMING

This is gonna be good.

If this girl does join the Gaang the writers are going to have to nerf her in every major conflict. She's too powerful. I bet she could take on the firelord now.

And that's why you don't announce sneak attacks.

So remember how Sokka was absolutely losing his shit over the Boulder? That's me right now.

She waits. All these idiots are losing because they're getting impatient and attacking first. Which means that, to her senses, they're telegraphing their moves. That is so cool. And so is this visual.

Here's your chance Dad. Are you going to mess it up?

"I love fighting. I love being an Earthbender. And I'm really really good at it." me:

I don't have words for how much I LOVE when little girls STAND UP for THEMSELVES and THEIR INTERESTS. This would have had me HOLLERING if I'd seen it as a kid. It was a message I needed to hear too.

Wow I want to kill her parents.

OH FUCK OFF

COME ON

You made my girl cry.

Get wrecked belt stealer. I LOLed at this too.

Sokka just beaned a blind girl on the head. Not a good look. I laughed though.

Fun fact: everyone in this picture is a piece of shit.

I haven't been this steamed since Zuko's dad burned half his face off.

Final Thoughts

IT WAS SO GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, this episode feels like it's movie quality. This show is usually excellent, but this feels like a cut above. I feel like I could sense the love the writers, animators, voice actors, everyone had for this episode. They had a good time making it and were enthusiastic about it. And there were lots of tiny background details in this episode too. I'm sure I missed quite a few. Oh No! I'll have to rewatch it!

New team member! That hasn't happened since Momo. Actually, no wonder the episode was so good. Introducing the first new team member in at least a season's worth of episodes is a delicate operation. I bet they were workshopping this episode since early in the first season.

And Toph! (thank you credits for how to spell that - I was really hoping it wasn't Toff). Be still my heart I love Toph. She may well take Sokka's spot as my favourite character. Strength of character, self-assurance, emotional intelligence, badassery, mastery of violence, what's not to love!!!

How did she get so emotionally intelligent and articulate if her parents have kept her caged her whole life? I don't know but I'm not complaining!

How did her parents get away with caging her for her whole life? I do know (money) and I am complaining. Very much so. And yet Toph can still find it within herself to have an honest conversation with them, including apologising for leaving said cage. I never would have had the maturity to do that in a similar situation. I would have gone the Katara explosive rage route.

A little girl who stands up for herself. Against HER PARENTS. I just. Do you know how amazing that is? Especially in a kids' show? I was ROBBED by not being able to see this show when I was Toph's age.

Does bending work like a muscle, in that you build up stamina? Because if so, then Toph is the strongest human earthbender in the world by default. If she's using it in place of seeing, then she's using it 100% of the time that she's awake, all day every day. By the time she was like 5 years old she'd probably used her bending more than the average earthbender does in their whole lifetime.

My one complaint is Toph's voice. Nothing wrong with it; this is a me thing. It fits her perfectly, but my ears do not play well with nasal voices, which hers is. I had to rewind quite a few times and resorted to subtitles by the end. Hopefully I'll get used to it like I did Zuko's.

Sokka! My soon to be demoted beloved! He shone in this episode. I love that he has fashion sense and is not afraid to show it. I'm thinking, what with how hung up he was on masculinity at the start of the show, that the water tribes have a different conception of masculinity: one that classes fashionability as a masculine or gender neutral trait. Even back in season one it didn't take much to get Sokka into the Kyoshi warrior uniform, and he's shockingly good at applying face paint symmetrically. Which I still cannot do with winged eyeliner.

Katara! Not headed for a career in diplomacy but so satisfying to watch. I would love to have a Katara in my pocket that I could unleash on people. And her and Sokka bouncing off each other this episode was great. Every one was at peak performance this episode, except Aang. Not at his brightest this episode.

Checking for typos before I post this and I realise I'd already forgotten that Toph is blind! Just like in the Northern Air Temple, this is how you do disability right: as just a part of who they are, rather than an entire personality. This show is so good.

In sum, Toph:

#atla #avatar: the last airbender #the blind bandit #avatar the last airbender

[nanowrimo]

5 Techniques to Help You Write Your Novel

Every writing project is unique, and the methods that help you draft one novel may not work for another. If you’re getting started on a brand new project this Camp, NaNo Guest Vee James has some suggestions for different techniques to help you explore your story. It took a few NaNos before I realized I was developing different techniques each time I sat down to the challenge. I think we all do this naturally, but it helps to step back and observe the process. If you’re strictly a pantster, you’ve been working on the story ideas in your head. If you’re a planner, you’ve set to paper the story concepts, characters, and an outline of what you are about to produce on paper. Some people take a hybrid approach to NaNo. Granted, the basics remain the same: butt in chair, accomplish the hourly/daily goal, and allow yourself to tell your story.

I discovered that each unique novel presented particular challenges, and I had to adapt my style and writing techniques in order to explore the story and keep the production happening. Some of these came from writing instructors and wonderful podcasters. Some came from “how to write” seminars and workshops. Others grew out of a feverish search for “more words.”

Here are five techniques I’ve found that helped me advance writing projects:

1. Research

It was a surprise to me to discover the concept of researching for fiction. I initially thought, “Just make something up.” But there are so many ways to broaden your approach. Plumb your memory, take a course in something related to the story, talk to an expert, and ask lots of questions. You could even become like the character in order to feel what they feel. If you’re writing a western, go ride a horse.

2. Write Scenes Out of Order

If you have a premise, you’ve already got scenes in your mind. Don’t wait until you get to chapter 18. Write that scene now. You can always revise it when you catch up to that point and it gives you something to develop toward. To expand on this technique, when you’ve written the scene, ask yourself, “What happened just before this?” or “What does this scene lead to?”

3. Put disparate characters together and have them have a conversation

Often, we write secondary characters who take a more subdued role in the plot. But what would happen if your protagonist’s best friend had a conversation with the main antagonist? Or if the antagonist’s agent of destruction came upon the protagonist’s love interest? In my experience, these conversations frequently produce more depth in your secondary characters and almost always it’s something you weren’t expecting.

4. Play with Genre Tropes

What have you chosen to write? Urban fiction? SciFi? Fantasy? You already know what your reader expects you to write, and what the plot ahead holds for them. How can you twist it? Sometimes the simplest thing you mentioned in chapter one can be the linchpin of a great plot twist.

5. Study Film

It’s no accident that some of the most astounding stories have been told through film. Quite simply, movie companies invest heavily in every aspect of their production and hire some of the best writers around. Yes, it’s a visual medium and has some advantages over prose. But the main lesson with movies is in the structure of the stories they tell. Here’s a good example: when I was writing a fairytale novel, I wanted to stay true to the classic story structure. One afternoon I was watching the comedy, Galaxy Quest, taking careful notes on the structure. I realized the story structure mapped very closely to what I was doing in the fairytale. It was comforting to see this, and it also gave me some ideas on how to approach the ending.

Most importantly: NaNoWriMo is a thrilling if exhaustive experience, and I urge you to immerse yourself in it completely. Write with utter abandon, delve deep for concepts that will give you the next 2000 words, and try new things like you’re a Mad Scientist in a hurry. We all know that what you end up with is a messy creation. But you will find you have given yourself a great gift.

Vee James is a cross-genre author who loves to write comedies, fairytales, and YA supernatural. He participated in NaNoWriMo for ten years in a row, writing over a half-million words, and it led to nine NaNo novels plus two more non-NaNos. Out of this work, he’s published four novels, with a fifth nearing completion. If interested, visit his site at www.veejames.com and leave a message. He loves to talk to writers of all kinds. Vee's photo by A. Roger Hammons Photo by Daniel Álvasd on Unsplash

#nanowrimo #camp nanowrimo #writing tips #nanowrimo experience #writer's life #by nano guest #vee james

[bluedandelion1]

Wukong cares about people. Macaque isn't a saint.

Alright, I've wanted to write this for a while, so here I go. English isn't my first language, so sorry for any typos.

I've been watching so many fananimations of LEGO Monkie Kid. They're all gorgeous, top of the top, excellent, chef kiss and I'm glad the fandom seems to be growing every day.

But I HATE how so many people have portrayed Wukong as an asshole who doesn't care about anyone. Love the animations, they're great but I don't think Wukong is the villain people make him out to be.

Now don't get me wrong, Wukong has made many, many, many, mistakes throughout his life. The thing is, people don't seem to realize that while he messed up, his intentions were good! "Yeah, right, then how is he such a bad mentor?" I'm gonna shut you up right there.

When MK first got the staff, he didn't know how to use it, I agree with you. But Wukong is a milennia old stone monkey who has gone through a lot on his life, getting stronger and stronger with each fight.

"Pfft, what about DBK? You can handle it! Consider it a trial"

That's what he tells MK when said boy asks him what to do with DBK, because for Wukong that fight is easy. He then reassures him that with enough confidence in himself he could take him on. He trusted MK since the first moment and even told him to consider it as a trial. He was evaluating MK during his fight to make sure he had picked the right successor.

And just in case and most probably noticing how nervous he was on his first fight, he kept an eye out on him to make sure to intervene in case MK needed help. Wukong already knew that MK was invincible before locking away some of his powers in the second episode, therefore he was confident that he would succeed. And even if he already knew he was going to defeat DBK, he still watched over him to make sure he wouldn't get hurt.

Following this battle, in the first episode "Bad Weather", MK doesn't call for Wukong's help. He's confronting Red Son when suddenly the staff acts on its own and takes him down to the ground and who appears afterwards? The Monkey King himself! Almost as if he had sensed that MK needed some help with defeating Red Son. Almost as if he had been the one to call for the staff so he could talk with his student. Again, he showed up on his own because he cares.

"Then what about that time he abandoned him?"

He didn't abandon him. To abandon someone is to stop supporting them, to give up completely in someone. Monkey King knew that LBD was coming back but he didn't want either MK or his friends to get hurt.

He's used to doing things on his own! I mean, on JTTW Wukong was always sent ahead to see if there were any demons that would kidnap Tripitaka. And even though he warned his companions numerous times that there were demons under the disguise of innocent people, they wouldn't believe him. So why should he tell MK and his friends that there's an enemy approaching? Every time he had warned other people of other threats, they had never believed him, so why should MK be any different?

I think that's one of the reasons why he didn't even try to defend himself when Pigsy snapped at him. Because he's used to taking the blame. What's the point in trying to do something right if you're going to be blamed for everything going wrong, regardless of how much you try to make it okay? He even tries to keep helping MK through his training with the astral projection throughout the whole season!

So, he searched for the map that would lead him to the rings of the Samadhi Fire, knowing full well that he could end up dying.

"This wasn't supposed to happen! I thought if I could somehow get the Samadhi Fire out of you, without hurting you of course, then I could put it inside myself. Then, I don't know, use it to burn up the Lady Bone Demon or something?"

Let's remember that while it's difficult to hurt Wukong, the Samadhi Fire is one of the powers that could actually kill him. He was willing to risk his life so he'd be able to save not only the whole world, but his friends as well. Do you realize how crazy that sounds? To be willing to give up his own life to save the Earth?

He even says that he wanted try to get the ring out of Mei without hurting her.

Would someone who didn't care about anyone try to make something as painless as possible for the victim? I don't think so.

Alright, let's focus on Macaque now for a bit.

My biggest beef with this guy is that some people seem to paint him as the misunderstood character who never did anything wrong because "Oh, my best friend abandoned me and woe is me!". Yuck.

While Macaque has many good reasons to be angry at Monkey King, that still doesn't give him the right to kidnap and trick MK. It doesn't give him the right to taunt him and make him feel like shit, nor the right to manipulate him and make him think that he's not a good successor.

"Well, you know what that means! There really isn't anything special about you. You're just some kid with a heavy stick!"

Macaque knew that if he hurt MK, eventually Wukong would come out to save him, because he knows that he'll protect him. This is a little theory of mine, but Macaque manipulates shadows, right? Who knows how many times he's watched MK from them? Because I don't think his plan to steal MK's powers was something he thought of in just one minute. No, I'm pretty sure that plan took a while to be thought of.

"Ah, MK. You really are dense, aren't you? You saw a story about a hero who got handed everything? Who didn't have to work for anything? And you thought you were the other guy? The second the hero got real power, he couldn't care less about his friends. That's you, bud."

He tricked him into sharing his insecurities, knowing full well that MK was vulnerable and stressed out about the whole LBD situation, then blamed him for not caring about his friends. He made him doubt whether he truly cares about his friends or not or whether he was even a good person.

And we all know how hard MK's worked to try to get control of his powers, especially after he lost them when LBD took away his staff. MK can be a lot of things: optimistic, a bit smug at times, a bit forgetful... But if there's one thing I'm sure of is that he worked hard to control his powers. He even asked Wukong to limit them so he could control them better, knowing that it'd be harder but he still did it.

And let's take into account that Wukong apologized to MK for how he acted towards him. Macaque, still to this day, hasn't apologized at all. And yet, he keeps mocking Wukong and saying he's the same old Wukong, while he himself is still stuck in the past.

I get that Macaque is angry at Wukong, I really do. But if he were really so angry against him, maybe he should've brought it to Wukong himself instead of using MK. He isn't a saint. He's made mistakes as well. These two are very complicated characters who have gone through a lot, but neither of them are blameless. Macaque isn't a saint, but he does care about some people. And although Wukong has made many mistakes, that doesn't mean that he doesn't care about other people.

Anyways, to finish it off, as MK once said:

"Uh, you know you two are the same, right?"

#lmk #lego monkie kid #lmk sun wukong #lmk macaque #monkey king #sun wukong #six eared macaque #lmk mk #vent #rant #attempt at character analysis #holy fuck this is long #i didn't expect to write that much #but i got carried away #so #hope you liked it #first post in ages #lemme know what you think #these monkeys need THERAPY AND COMMUNICATION

[bi-bard]

Phoebe Bridgers Songs That Would Describe a Relationship with Kaz Brekker - Kaz Brekker Imagine [Shadow & Bone]

Title: Phoebe Bridgers Songs That Would Describe a Relationship with Kaz Brekker

Pairing: Kaz Brekker X Reader

Word Count: 2,671

Warning(s): bad family, anxiety/anxiety attack

Author's Note: This was originally for a different character from a completely different show, but I think it fits Kaz better.

Not even gonna lie, the last song is a bit of a stretch.

**Not intentionally written in chronological order**

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Smoke Signals

And you, you must have been looking for me Sending smoke signals Pelicans circling Burning trash out on the beach

I had grown used to spending time in Kaz's office when I wasn't working.

It was quiet, calm. Even when he was planning whatever the Crow's next job was, I would find it nice to just be there. To simply exist in that space with Kaz.

He was going over some of the paperwork for the Crow Club. Inventory and budgeting. It was almost humorous, watching someone with such a notorious reputation do something so... normal.

I could tell that he was getting frustrated over something. I was sitting opposite him.

"What is it," I asked. He looked at me as if he was shocked that I noticed him. "You aren't very good at hiding your scowl. What is it?"

He paused, debating if asking for my help was a good idea. "This math isn't adding up."

I stood up and walked around the desk.

"What are you doing?"

"I spent years watching my dad fill out paperwork just like this," I explained. "Let me look it over."

He moved to the side a bit. "You don't talk about your family very often."

"Neither do you," I countered. I glanced at him. My joking tone fell off when I saw the look on his face. "You never asked."

There was a pause as I scribbled on the paper in front of me.

"There. Done," I grinned. "Go ahead and check it, but I'm pretty certain that I'm right."

"Tell me about them."

I took a sharp breath, turning around and leaning against the desk. I looked at him.

"Please."

"I ran from home years ago," I said. "Nothing beyond that is important."

"And you settled here," he asked.

"Didn't have the funds to go anywhere else," I replied.

"Why'd you leave?"

"Kaz-"

He placed his hand over mine. One of the few steps forward we have made since we started this relationship of ours.

"I was unhappy," I never realized how much I despised talking about this. "My parents didn't want children. It was... all too obvious to me. Once I was able to take care of myself, I had to. I left because I needed a place where I wasn't a burden. I needed a home."

"And you chose Ketterdam?"

"I chose the Crows."

He raised an eyebrow at me, pulling his hand back as he leaned back in his seat.

"I met Jesper, started working here, and it all just... clicked. As if I had just been following some path here... to the Crows... to you."

Vulnerability was not an easy thing for Kaz or me. It was stunning how much two words could truly impact both of us. There was a shared tension. A sharp breath through the nose as our hearts both moved a little faster.

But it felt pointless to step back now. "I feel like I've known you my entire life."

There were a few moments before Kaz pushed himself from his seat.

He stepped closer.

We both watched each other closely. I was almost convinced that I could hear his thoughts. I could hear him going back and forth with himself. I waited, watching him map out scenarios for what could happen within the next few seconds.

When he moved, he was slow. I couldn't tell if he was still convincing himself or simply giving me the time to pull away.

When his lips touched mine, it was gentle. I would have called it awkward if I didn't feel how fast my heart was racing and how warm my face was. It was nothing more than a few moments of his lips touching mine.

He leaned back first. I grinned at him.

If this was the feeling that I had been looking for when I left home, then I could confidently say that it was all well worth it.

Steamroller

But then I see you Always smiling Makes me wanna touch you Keep from dying

Working in the Crow Club was more an accident than anything.

Jesper got me the job. He introduced me to Kaz and insisted on giving me a chance. I ended up making drinks.

It was enough for me. I got the money that I needed to survive and for the first time ever, I finally felt like I was a part of something. I had a group, support. It was the only thing that had felt like a family to me.

I didn't think that it would ever go beyond that.

Until one night.

The club had shut down for the night. I was cleaning off the bar when Kaz came down the stairs from his office.

"Evening!" I smiled at him, not quite registering the scowl on his face until after the cheery statement had escaped me. "Are... Are you alright?"

"Can you just... get me a drink," he asked. I nodded before grabbing him a drink. I slid it over to him.

As he sipped, I tried to ask my question again, "Are you alright?"

"Fine."

I couldn't say that it was surprising to only get one-word answers from Kaz. Even on his best days, he wasn't known for long-winded answers. They gave too much away.

I went to put the bottle away, but he stopped me, pointing at the bar so I would put it down.

"That doesn't seem fine," I replied as I did.

"Did I hire you to ask about my feelings?"

"You hired me because Jesper guilted you into it," I shrugged.

"Exactly."

"Meaning that you didn't define my tasks very well," I said. "How would I ever know that you didn't want me to ask about your feelings?"

He raised an eyebrow at me. I just offered a grin to him, tilting my head a bit. He rolled his eyes.

I couldn't force him to talk and he knew that I never would. Instead, I stepped back and walked around the bar, going to check for a few extra glasses that patrons had just left around the club.

I wanted him to talk to me. I would give anything for him to trust me like that. I always wanted to believe that I had stopped considering the possibility of anything happening, but then there would be the nights when it would just be the two of us. I couldn't stop myself from entertaining those possibilities.

And I always felt so childish for that.

I thought that Kaz just continued to ignore my existence.

But when I made it back to the bar with a few glasses, he spoke up.

"Sit with me," he muttered.

"What," I asked, convinced that I had misheard him.

"Sit with me," he spoke up a bit more. "Please."

I set the glasses down before dragging myself onto the seat next to him. "Did you... Did you need something?"

I wonder what went through his head at the time. I wanted to know what potential answers he came up with. If I had my way, I would know every sentence that he held back around me. Just so I could understand it all.

"I just want you around," Kaz confessed.

I tried to bite back the large smile that tried to form on my lips. "Oh."

"Don't be smug about it."

"I'm not," I replied. "But... why me?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes."

He looked at me. "I... like your company... I like... you. You make me feel better."

"Really?"

He didn't respond, instead deciding to look down at the bar.

"Well, for whatever it's worth, I like you too, Kaz."

When he looked back at me, I could have sworn my heart stopped for just a few moments. I had to take a moment to remind myself to breathe. It felt ridiculous, sitting there and feeling so nervous. I felt like nothing more than a scared kid.

"We should talk about... this a bit more, shouldn't we?"

"Maybe."

And that was enough for me to be happy.

For now, at least.

Motion Sickness

I have emotional motion sickness Somebody roll the windows down There are no words in the English language I could scream to drown you out

I had grown accustomed to bumping into people at the Crow Club.

It was kind of a natural consequence of my job. You throw a bunch of people into an arguably small room, tell them all to focus on their game, and then watch them risk far too much money in a night. And then you threw someone in the middle to help the truly committed players get their drinks. It took a lot of convincing and a small bonus fee to convince Kaz to let me do it.

Bumping, nudging, awkward tapping, waving... all of that was usual to me. No one ever grabbed me. Not anymore, anyway. Two mistakes were all it took for that lesson to be learned by all of the patrons.

So, when I was suddenly grabbed while I was on my way back to the bar, I was immediately ready to pick a fight. I turned around immediately but froze before a single angry word could escape me.

My parents were standing in front of me.

"(Y/n)-"

I stumbled back when my mother reached out for me.

She furrowed her eyebrows. As if she was actually surprised why I wasn't jumping for joy over seeing them. She tried to step forward and touch me again.

I stumbled back again, going a little farther this time. "Don't touch me!"

"(Y/n)," she sighed.

My yelling caught the attention of a few patrons. My parents went to move forward, but Jesper walked over, filling in the space between us. He touched my arm, furrowing his eyebrows at me.

I didn't have an explanation for him. Not one that was going to be any good. I couldn't have formed any words if I wanted to. I knew that the words were trying to form; I could feel my jaw moving a few times.

He turned his head away from me, letting go of my arm as he stepped over to my parents. "Who are you?"

"That's our child-"

"No, I'm not," I finally spat out. I felt someone touch my other arm. I looked over at Inej.

"We have been looking for you all this time!"

"Have you?" Kaz stood just a few steps ahead of us. "(Y/n) said that you were more than happy to go about your lives. Let your precious child struggle in the Barrel."

"We didn't know where you had gone-"

"I thought I had made it clear," Kaz grumbled. "You speak to me, not (Y/n)."

"You don't get to tell me whether or not I can talk to my child," my dad snapped at him.

"It's my club, I can do whatever I want."

My parents didn't speak up after that.

"I think you should both leave. (Y/n) has made it clear that they have no interest in speaking with you."

"I am not going anywhere without my kid," my dad stepped up to Kaz, getting in his face. Kaz didn't flinch or step back. Instead, he raised an eyebrow at him.

"I think you are."

"You little rat-"

Kaz turned around and walked toward me. Jesper and Inej blocked him from my father as if they were a wall. I was still tense, fists clenched and jaw tightened and breathing unsteady. I could feel the tears in my eyes, but I didn't want anyone to see them fall. Hell, I barely wanted to let Kaz see them fall.

"Go upstairs," he instructed me quietly. I didn't respond, my eyes still fixated on the intruders. "(Y/n)..."

I finally looked at him.

"Upstairs."

I didn't say a word as I stepped back and walked to the spiral staircase. I could hear my parents yelling for me as I made it over there. I slammed the door of Kaz's office shut, relieved to know that it could muffle some of the sounds of their voices.

I let out a heavy sigh, feeling the tears overflow. I stumbled away from the door.

I found myself curled on the floor at the foot of Kaz's bed. I clasped my hand over my mouth, trying desperately to keep any cries to myself.

I jumped when the door opened a little while later. Kaz was standing in the doorway. He took a deep breath, going to close and lock the door. He stopped in the archway.

"I'm sorry," I muttered in an admittedly pathetic-sounding voice. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"(Y/n)," he said.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry-"

"Stop," he cut me off. "You are not to blame for what happened today."

I rolled my eyes, looking down at my lap. It was hard to not feel like it was my fault. It was my parents making a scene because of how I left.

"They left," he explained. "I'd like you to take a few days off. Let the dust settle. If they come back, I don't want them having access to you-"

"I thought I'd be happier to see them," I stopped him. I didn't even think about it. "I... I wanted to be happier to see them. But they were just... they were standing there and... they didn't even acknowledge- I know that I left suddenly, and I didn't tell them anything, but they've had years to figure it out. They were awful... and I missed them so much. And I feel so stupid for missing them."

I dug the heels of my palms into my eyes, urging the crying to just stop. I felt this sick feeling in my stomach. I couldn't collect my thoughts. I couldn't find a complete sentence to explain myself.

"(Y/n)..."

I pulled my hands away from my face only to be met with Kaz's hand being held out to me. I took a deep breath before taking his hand, letting him pull me off the floor.

His eyes studied me for a minute. I wondered if he was having as much trouble finding his thoughts as I was. Kaz wasn't used to comforting people, I knew that. But I knew that he was trying his best for me.

"You should lay down," he finally said after a while. "Try to rest."

I nodded, letting go of his hand as I stepped around him. "I'll come back tomorrow."

"I meant... here."

I froze for a moment as I looked back at him. "Here?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

We had made a lot of progress since we first got together. But sleeping in the same bed was entirely new for both of us. And this didn't seem like the time to try to push any more boundaries.

"I have paperwork to take care of anyway," Kaz acted like it was nothing. "Just lay down."

I understood the hint. "I'm not letting you sleep in your chair, Kaz-"

"I'm not letting you go walking around Ketterdam at night when I don't know if you're safe."

I didn't respond to that. I knew how much he cared for me. That didn't change how nice it was to hear it out loud.

"Please, just lay down."

I finally relented, nodding and walking around the bed. "Thank you."

Kaz grinned at me before walking back to his desk, just on the other side of the archway. I pulled off my shoes and tried to get as comfortable as possible under the covers.

The bed was nice. Nothing fit for a king, but nice. It smelled like Kaz. It made it easier for me to bury my face in the pillow and pull the blanket up to my chin.

That sickening feeling in my stomach finally started to fade. I was finally able to breathe evenly.

It was rough. And the next few days were going to be the same.

But I had Kaz and the rest of the Crows.

That made everything just a little bit easier.

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#kaz brekker fanfiction #kaz brekker imagine #kaz brekker x reader #shadow and bone x reader #shadow and bone imagine #shadow and bone fanfiction #imagine #fanfiction #x reader

[natriae]

final

<prev | bonus>

masterlist

2.5K words

The three of you return to the sleek, black BMW that was now parked in an underground parking garage under the Hospital. Finally getting in without your life going to complete shit you're able to take in how nice the car is. Seats are heated and covered in black leather. There's a big screen in the middle that shows a map of Tokyo. And there are purple lights lining part of the doors. Ushijima's music was playing very quietly in typical Ushijima fashion. He had one arm on the wheel, and another on the console in between the two of you.

Isamu was now bucked up in the back seat slowly falling asleep. You were glad to see he was comfortable enough to fall asleep. The two of you didn't have a car, so you were sure he was more comfortable then the average child would be. Turning back, you watched Ushijima's side profile as he drove. All of his features were just as beautiful as you remember. The way his hair laid on part of his forehead, or how his eyes were perfectly proportional to his face. How his nose was a bit bigger. It curved a bit when you got closer to the tip. You inspect the moles on the side of his face, and his sharp jawline. He was still so beautiful. It hurt knowing how long it's been since you've been so close to his face.

Turning around again to check on Isa you noticed that the young boy was fast asleep. The car had been quiet for far to long, but it was peaceful not awkward. Like you guys have always been a family.

There was one thing plaguing your mind since you left the hospital and you can't help but ask. "did you ever..did you ever get to see your dad?" you started your question quietly, worried that you shouldn't have asked, and not to wake up Isa. His mouth moved a bit, and his Adam's apple bobbed in his throat. He moved his head towards you quickly and then focused back on the road.

"I did. It was exactly how we imagined it," He nodded his head slowly like he was remincing on the pleasant time. "I didn't get to go till I was 21. American food is much messier than the food here I must say, but it was good. I got to play volleyball with him too," He glanced over at you after he was done speaking. You couldn't help, but smile at the thought of him finally getting to play his favorite sport with the man that taught him how to play.

"That's nice," you responded. There was so much more you wanted to say, but you didn't want to over step. It seemed Ushjima too was racking his brain for something to talk about that wouldn't scare you away.

"I have a guest room that you, and Isa can sleep in if you want, or I will sleep on the couch and one of you can go in my bed," He said. You were happy to hear his confident tone back when he spoke.

"oh, Jima you don't need to do that," you saw the smile smirk on his face appear and then quickly change back into his resting face. Your heart jumped again at his reaction. You just wanted to repeat the word over and over again. Jima Jima Jima Jima Jima Jima. Toshi. No that name felt different. Darker, more lustful. For some reason there was a small tingle inbetween your legs when you thought about the situation you would use it in.

Taking you out of your thoughts Ushijima muttered out a quiet we're here as he pulled into another parking garage. He parked in spot one. Of course his assigned spot was spot one. You reached back to shake Isa awake, and Ushijima got out of the car to pick him up and hold him in his arms. The young boy immediately rested his head on Jima's shoulder and closed his eyes again. Ushijima grabbed your hand, and began leading you to the elevator to get it to his apartment. Wow, this place was fancy. You would probably puke seeing how much it would be to rent out just one of the rooms. The elevator was mirrored and every way you looked you could see what looked to be a small family. Your heart tingles at the thought, and you have to attempt to stop yourself from getting too far ahead. You still had a lot to talk about with the man. Something about being with him heightened all your senses. You felt his rough hand holding yours in a tight grip. It felt so much stronger than you remembered it. Did he get stronger everywhere? Does he have an eight pack now? Would he mind if you just took a peak? Stop it, be wholesome you had to tell yourself. Out of the corner of your eye you watched as he held your son with one arm. He looked so fatherly. Your heart would have stopped beating if you saw this sight at 19. You imagined him holding another child with the hand he's using to hold yours. Would you and Ushijima get back together enough to have another child? A part of you really hoped so.

Walking out of the elevator, Ushijima led you to the door at the end of the hall. There was a gold plaque that said 9A. When he opened the door you were met with a very modern apartment with windows that reached from the floor to the ceiling. Wow, he had really high ceilings for an apartment. "I'm gonna go put him in the guest room," Ushijima's deep voice broke you out of your trance, and you just let out a small okay in response. He didn't have to tell you to make yourself comfortable because you are already looking around the apartment. All his furniture was made from dark oak wood and so were his cabinets. They didn't have a handle so you looked at them in confusion wondering how to open them. A large hand reached out from behind you and pressed on the cabinet and it opened. You jumped not realizing how close Ushijima was. You hit his chest with your back and accidentally stepped on his feet. He quickly wrapped his arms around you while you attempted to balance yourself. Oh he definitely has an eight pack.

Once the two of you got balanced, Ushijima grabbed you some water and you guys sat down at his kitchen table.

"You want to talk, don't you," he began the conversation. The two of you were sitting next to one another at his table, and he turned his chair so he was facing you. Manspreading. He's gotta be doing this stuff on purpose.

"Yeah, one of your least favorite things," He smiled a little at your joke, and waited for you to continue talking. "I know I didn't say it, but I think it's clear that I want to give you another chance. I don't know why fully, but there's something bringing us together, but there needs to be something that is clear. I will leave you if you don't have time for me, and I will get full custody of Isamu if you put him in the care of a nanny or something that is not you," He nodded his head once in full understanding. He wouldn't look away from you the whole time you talked. Making sure to maintain eye contact with you, "but I mean should we wait… to like to move in with one another… I'm sorry this is weird now with a kid," you looked away from him and he followed your head still trying to maintain eye contact.

His deep voice rumbled when he spoke. It was so quiet in the apartment his voice always made such an impact, "i think we should, and you can move out anytime. Maybe we don't sleep in the same bed, but I think we can pick up right where we left off," He was so sure about everything. He still loved you and he was convinced you loved him too. You would just deny it in fear of getting hurt. "I must tell you though. I got an offer. They want me to play in Poland," He watched your eyes widen, " I told them I'd go," he watch a frown appear on your face and thought he should speed up his sentence, "i didn't sign a contract yet, but if i don't go i'm out of a job until someone wants me," He watched you nod your head taking in all the information.

"What team?" is all you asked.

"Orzel Warszawa,"

Oh shit. That's a good team. You may not be up to date with the players, but you do know a lot about the teams. I mean your boyfriend in highschool was obsessed with Volleyball, of course you learned something. Plus, what was keeping you in Japan. Nothing, you should move on. "go," he looked shocked by your outburst, "let me talk with Isa, and we will try and come with,"

He nodded his head once and said, "live with me then, please, and I promise I will make time for both of you," He got closer to you in his chair like it would convince you. He really is still a gentle giant. He was so excited. There was a small sparkle in his eye just like when he won a game. The two of you talked a little bit more, and you could really tell just how much he changed. The two of you moved to the couch, and before you knew it it was 12am.You began to fall asleep on Ushijima's shoulder. Eyes heavy and your body subconsciously finding that missing comfort. He picked you up bridal style and took you to his bedroom. Tucking you in he hesitated before leaving a kiss on your forehead. He left the room and attempted to get comfortable on his couch. He was far too big for it, so he ended up sleeping on the hardwood floor for the night.

You woke up to the sun shining through the blinds and cuddled into the sheets further. They smelled so good. You never want to leave this bed. It's been a long time since you slept in one, and your morning brain can't tell if it's from the memory foam mattress or the fact that it was Ushijima's. You stuffed your face into the pillow and took a big inhale. Does he use this one to sleep? God, you hope he did. The door unlocked and the six foot man walked in to see your face shoved into the pillow. Quickly lifting yourself up you pretended like you weren't huffing his pillow moments ago. He watched you turn and look at him and both of your faces flushed when they met.

"Isa woke up and I gave him some cereal. I hope that's okay," He asked in a very awkward manner. Things are finally going back to normal. Ushijima was being extremely awkward around you, and you woke up in his bed.

"that's fine,"

"do you want anything?" He asked politely. You want a lot of things. Number one on the list was for him to take his shirt off, but you couldn't ask him that with your son just down the hall.

"I want you to get changed," He was still in his clothes from yesterday which made him look even more exhausted. The eye bags under his eyes made it obvious the man didn't sleep much. Did he sleep on the couch?How did he fit? "Also, Isa and I should probably head back soon. It's late and you look tired," You said as you lifted yourself off the bed, and began to walk over to the door. The possessive side of Ushijima came out when he attempted to block the door subconsciously. When he realized what he was doing he moved back to let you out. You held on to his chest and lifted yourself up a bit to leave a kiss right on the corner of his mouth. God you loved flustering the giant. You wish you had the balls to kiss him like you did yesterday, but you couldn't.

"How are you gonna get home?" He asked, once you were half way down the hallway. You turned around to see him leaning out of the doorway. It was amazing how his doors were much taller than most in Japan yet he still almost didn't fit.

"we can take the bus," You said, shrugging your shoulders. He shook his head and told you wait. He ran past you and picked up his keys that hung up in the genkan.

"you still know how to drive right?" He has to much trust in you. You nodded your head, and he put the keys in your palm. "take my car home," He said, his eyes looked so deeply into yours.

"Jima, I can't. That's a really nice car, and it's been a while since i drove," He walked away before you could be any more stubborn and told Isa that you guys would be going home in his car.

Before you guys left Ushijima had told you privately that he would be leaving for Poland tomorrow morning. He told you not to tell Isamu till you decided if you guys would come with. He would buy you guys plane tickets, and pick you up from the airport. You nodded your head at him, and gave him one more hug. "if you guys don't want to go. I want you to live here. I'm not selling it, and I wouldn't make you pay for any of it," You nodded your head quite nervously about the situation. It was weird how submissive you were when he was around. Normally you would have told whoever that you don't need to be taken care of, but this was different.

That night you and Isa were watching a movie in the living room. He was laying on your chest and your arms wrapped around his body to keep him close.

"Hey Isa baby," you said quietly.

"yeah,"

"would you want to live with Ush-your dad,"

He lifted his head up and shouted yeah smiling at you. You think he's more excited now than he was for the MSBY game. Your heart started beating faster when it was time for you to continue, "um but he's moving to Poland… tomorrow. We would have to move there too," The little boy thought for a little before getting up and running to his room. You could hear his closet door opening and the smacking of something heavy hitting the walls.

"Mom, come on, we gotta pack!!!" the little boy said, completely forgetting the movie. Smiling at your future you couldn't help but run and grab the other suitcase.

tags: @mineta-phobic @rukia-uchiha-98 @ssc7514 @megumuro

its over :,,( but i plan to have 3 bonus chapters! Also definitely wasn't thinking abt Ushijima's stage actor when i wrote the description of Jima

totally not my reference pic 🤔🤔

#haikyuu #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu!! #haikyuu fluff #ushijima x reader #ushijima wakatoshi #another chance #ushijima headcanons #ushijima fluff #ushijima imagine #ushijima smut #ushijima fic #haikyuu ushijima #wakatoshi x reader #wakatoshi fluff #wakatoshi smut #haikyuu wakatoshi #ushijima hcs

[clickerflight]

Burned at the stake - Part 1

Well. I have done it. 14K ish words. I'll put this out in about 5 bits me thinks. Anyways, enjoy!

Content: Vampire whumpee, out of body experience (?), mention of vampire trafficking, burning flesh

Let me know if you want to be on a tag list

.....................................

Fanatic was a word often tied to cults, to religious nuts, to conspiracy theorists, which really is quite narrow minded. The word fanatic more often applies to a wider range of people, more specifically known as anthropology students. After all, who else would spend outrageous amounts of money and time to go to some remote jungle that could most certainly kill them in a thousand different ways for the remote chance that they might find some ancient temple that some random drunk dude swore till he was blue was there, and also very haunted. 

So, yes, Joanna was having just about as much fun as a human being could experience as she hacked her way through the brush ahead of her slightly less enthusiastic colleague, Kyle. Because he had more of his wits about her (more but not much more as he was a student of ancient languages and only here in case they found the temple and something needed to be translated) he was slowed by making sure they marked the path back clearly. 

“Joanna, when was the last time you looked at the map?”

“Kyle, you know as well as I that time does not exist out here,” she replied, pausing to get a sip of water before pushing forward again. “But we do not need a map! All we need is our hearts and our minds!”

Kyle laughed as she flashed him a grin while reaching to pull out the map and check the compass. “Yeah, we’re on track.”

“Good,” Kyle replied. “Do you know how much farther we need to go?”

“Well, probably another 2 or 3 miles but…..”

Kyle paused, looking at Joanna who’s movements became more purposeful and smooth, like she was completing a ritual. Kyle felt it as well. There was a tension in the air. Something that said they would discover something interesting soon, like the forest was holding its breath while it waited for their reaction. 

And now that he thought about it, the birds had all gone silent. 

Joanna had noticed as well, and she slowed down so he could catch up with her. His shoulder brushed hers as she paused, leaning to see past the foliage ahead. It almost seemed as though there was a man-made clearing, and the tension in the air went from intriguing to nerve wracking. Kyle glanced past Joanna who tightened her grip on her machete and pushed forward. The foliage around the clearing was dense, and the effort to get through it left Joanna and Kyle exhausted as they took turns cutting the vines. Kyle was so exhausted, in fact, that when he broke through the foliage with one last swing his tired arms and legs didn’t expect the lack of resistance and he fell through into the clearing. 

A cloud of fine particles filled the air around him, coating his mouth as Kyle took a surprised breath. Kyle coughed hard, stirring up the ash around him as he forced himself up and out of the cloud he had stirred into the air, trying to find fresh air as Joanna came out behind him. 

Kyle continued coughing out a lung or two as she stood there silently, and as his voice came back to him, he choked out, “I’m fine, by the way.” He coughed, listening for Joanna’s apology or joke or-

He blinked hard, eyes watering as he turned to look at her. “Joanna? I-” 

Joanna was pale and staring at something behind him. He turned quickly, ash swirling up around his feet. The ash was everywhere in the clearing. The clearing was huge, as well, as though it had been burned and razed. Or maybe the thick layers of ash were killing off life and keeping the plants from coming back in the clearing. 

The immense expanse of ash, so strange and wrong compared to the jungle that refused to touch the clearing, was nothing compared to what was in the middle. 

A pole jutted from the ground, silver chains nearly hidden in the ashes underneath the charred and blackened mass skewered on the pole. There was the faint shape of ribs in the mass, the whole thing smoking faintly in the sun.

“Uhhhhhhhh, what’s that?” Kyle asked softly, but his voice seemed to ring in his ears without the dense foliage to muffle it. 

“I dunno, but I’m gonna touch it,” Joanna said, kicking her way through the ashes with a scared, though determined step. 

“Joanna!? What do you mean you’re gonna touch it!?” he cried, reaching forward to stop her. 

She dodged past him, turning grey as the ash melted into the sweat of her body. She reached the charred mass on the pole and reached out a hand, brushing over it. She screamed and jumped back as more ash and char crumbled through her fingers. Kyle reached her, nearly knee deep in ashes. 

More of the black char crumbled away, and something pale peaked through what remained of the ribs. Something that pulsed and flinched. 

Holding his breath, Kyle leaned forward as Joanna vigorously wiped her hand off on her pants. 

“Er….. I think this was.. Is it a vampire?”

“What?”

“There’s a heart under here. Still beating,” Kyle replied, not removing his eyes from the heart which seemed to be fused to the pole which skewered up, just barely missing it. He was trying not to be sick, but his stomach churned right along with the pulsing of the vampire heart. 

Joanna shoved him out of the way so she could look, and Kyle was glad for it as he hadn’t been sure he would be able to look away. He grabbed his water out and sipped on it, shivering slightly as he dealt with what he’d just seen. 

“What do we…. What do we do with it?” Joanna asked, reaching in and touching the heart very gently, almost stroking it like one would do to the chest of a friendly bird. She watched as the heart fluttered and she touched it again gently. This time the heart pulsed in response and she found herself whispering, “It’s alright. We’re not leaving you here.”

“We’re not taking that thing, are we?” Kyle asked. “What if it was left here because it was, I dunno, a monster or something?”

“So we should just leave it here?”

“We… well, we shouldn’t leave it to suffer, obviously, but we could, er…. I’m sure we could find a stick…”

“We’re not killing it. That’s murder,” Joanna replied, still stroking the pale heart. 

“We should call the government, then. This isn’t our problem!”

Joanna gave him a withering look, cupping the heart and shielding it from the sun as more of the chest cavity collapsed. “And they’ll kill it for sure. You know that this country doesn’t ‘waste’ resources on vampire recoveries.”

“Alright, alright, fine,” Kyle said. He took another sip from his water and sighed. “Alright. Are we going to smuggle it back with us?”

“We have to.”

Kyle sighed. “Alright. We’d better take it back to the hotel and figure out how we’re going to get it back home. You’re carrying it.”

“Chicken,” Joanna said with a sharp grin. “Could you pass me your handkerchief?”

Kyle nodded and handed her a couple clean ones from his bag, most of them out of ziplocks and already damp to help with staying cool while they hiked, as he usually used them for. 

Joanna gently wrapped them around the heart and cooed at it. “I’m sorry, love, this is gonna hurt.”

She gently pried the heart from the pole, which revealed itself to be made of silver and had burned the heart to the metal. The heart thumped irregularly as she pulled it away from the pole, leaving charred flesh behind. It nearly squirmed right out of her hands and she shushed it, pulling it more gently until she had the swathed heart shivering in her hands. 

She stood up and turned, still cooing at the heart and stroking it gently, making sure the sun wouldn’t get to it by wrapping it in another piece of cloth. 

“Let’s get out of here,” Kyle said with a heavy sigh. They turned back and made their way out of the jungle slowly and surely. With the heart tucked into her bag, they got a taxi in the rundown town to get back to their hotel room.

As soon as they had the door locked behind them and were all settled, she pulled the heart out. The wrappings were dried out now, though the heart looked a bit better for being damp. She went and made the handkerchiefs wet again, wrapping them around the heart, which still flinched when she touched it, but seemed to be beating at a steadier rate. 

“We need a plan,” Joanna said. 

Kyle sighed, sinking into the bed. “We can’t keep it here. There are only so many times we can extend the trip, and if it’s discovered it’ll be confiscated and destroyed…. Or worse.”

Joanna nodded faintly. The two of them were well acquainted with the fact that there were dark markets trading in pieces of vampire hearts, claiming them to be ancient creatures with fantastic knowledge of the past. Most of the time, the poor things weren’t allowed to grow and were just kept in a silver lined box and treated like an interesting old trinket. Or they were grown out, forced to tell all they knew, and then they had their hearts removed again so they could be easily stored or sold on. You didn’t get into anthropology without first dividing which side of that moral quandary you stood. Many of their peers were actually lobbying for even more rights for vampires so this sort of thing would be cracked down on a bit harder, though she knew that the laws they volleyed for were specifically ones that would put vampire hearts in the hands of people like them. Of course it would be in the name of helping ancient vampires transition with people who understand a bit of the world they used to live in before they were stripped of their bodies, but the motivations were the dreams of getting useful information first, and straight from the source.

Joanna would be lying if she didn’t have the same thoughts when they were riding back from the jungle.

“I guess that just leaves the matter of how we’re going to get it back,” Joanna said. “I used to know some guys we could have shipped it with, but they got arrested a couple of months ago….”

“It probably wouldn’t be safe to ship it. It might get eaten by rats on the way, or someone might hear it thumping,” Kyle replied, standing up to have a look at the heart. “I think you might have to hide it under your shirt or something.”

“Under my shirt?” She asked, annoyed. “Why my shirt?”

“Because you can use your bra to keep it from falling out,” Kyle said, sounding ashamed with having to even voice the idea out loud. 

“Bold of you to assume I wear one,” Joanna said to get back at him. He spluttered in a very amusing fashion and she laughed, the heart in her hands picking up the pace for a moment. 

“Alright,” she said when Kyle looked close to fainting with embarrassment. “I guess that’s fair. But someone at the gate will absolutely notice that my shirt is moving every time it does.”

Kyle sighed. “We have a few more days. Maybe we can find some way of making it be still for long enough to get through the gate. There has to be something.”

Joanna gave him a long-suffering look. “Fine. Hold this,” she said, passing the heart to him before pulling out her phone and typing ‘How to get a vampire heart to stop moving.’

………………………..

There had been pain for a very long time. How long? How does one count heartbeats when one does not have fingers to aid them? Does time even matter in the face of all of that pain? Reasoning certainly doesn’t. One learns to stop questioning the why of the pain, and try to adapt ways of ignoring it. Or using it in intervals to stay sane. 

What was worse than the pain was when there was no more body to feel. Just a heartbeat to keep the time. The nothingness lasted…. Less than the pain? It was hard to tell. It was almost worse. There was no way to grow anymore, to try and escape from this place, so finding ways to stay sane became almost nonexistent. There was an occasional burning that would bring sanity back, but never for long, like the brush of a finger over a hot stone to remember what heat was like before it was doused out in a river. 

Being a heart, you couldn’t properly muse. You couldn’t have proper thoughts. Just memories that played in an order of thinking. A mockery of it, like drawings of a sunrise to try and describe a sunset. 

Still, it was all one had left when put in such a position. Playing memories over and over in a semblance of thoughts, hoping that the use of them in this way would not damage or destroy them. 

The heart had given up on stringing memories into thoughts. It was tiresome and sad. Instead playing out favorites. The heart had grown quite good at this over time and had begun to use its infinite time to uncover new ones. Like digging. Brushing aside the sand of time like the sands in the -

“Maman! Can I dig in the garden?”

“Yes, Esial. Listen for me when I call for you!”

“Yes, Maman!”

Sand on the edge of the herb garden. Maman was a healer. Esial, the young boy with bright eyes and sticky fingers got to digging, using a nice stick he found. Usually, he would dig out lines and pull leaves off of plants and trees, shoving them in the dirt so he could have his own garden and he’d show his Maman, and she would always aww and coo at him and scoop him up. They would show father when he got home. 

But just as he started this wonderful pastime, his stick scraped past a rock. He stopped and used his fingers to scoop away the dirt. The stone was small and rather round. The black color took hold of his imagination. It could be an amulet! It had to be! Why else would this small stone be so black and shiny? He giggled as he ran around, pretending to vanquish evil with every wave of the stone until his father came home and saw him. 

His father had been very keen to listen to Esial describe the magic powers the stone had. 

“I don’t know about putting flight and fire blasts into the same stone, but we can see what we can do.”

The workshop smelled like mint and sage and his father started painstakingly carving runes into the stone, whispering about what they meant and how they would protect his little Esial. 

The Heart wished it could remember all the details. 

“There,” his father said, putting a leather cord through the hole he’d drilled out with some sort of magic. “Try this on.”

Esial did, and was delighted. He loved his amulet more than anything! Except perhaps the blanket Nanan had made for him when he was born. He decided he would always keep it on him so he would-

“THERE! GET IT!!!”

Esial ran through the trees, heart thumping stolen blood through his body. He’d been so hungry. He’d needed something and it was better that it was an animal than a person, right?

“THIS WAY!”

Esial came sliding to a stop and ran in another direction, not wanting to be cut off by the hunters. He reached up to his chest to grab his amulet, but his pale fingers closed on empty air. His amulet? His AMULET! Where did he-

The Heart stopped that memory in its tracks. The Heart had control over the memories, and it didn’t want to watch that one again. Not again. 

Instead, the heart reached for a memory of teenage years, pondering over them all to-

East blood. 

There was a hand, pounding with east blood cradling the Heart. Why were there hands? Pain, burning, screams, flinching, fear-

The fingers smoothed over the Heart. Memories of Maman smoothing down hair lovingly surfaced and the Heart slowed, now more curious than scared. Something cool, moist, damp, was wrapped around it. The Heart relished in the feeling before the hands tugged. Sharp pain tore alongside the Heart as it was ripped from something and the fear came back as more cool, moist, damp was wrapped around it. 

Time passed and the Heart got the sense of… movement. They were going somewhere. The Heart couldn’t sense the hands anymore, though. But it was moving

Eventually, the damp, cool, moist was pulled away and the East Hands stroked the heart directly. The Heart did not think, but it did hope. 

The East hands placed the Heart in new ones. Rougher, bigger, Northwest blood. The Northwest hands held the Heart, though did not stroke it. The Heart grew nervous as it sensed the anxiety in the blood flow beneath it. Soon enough, though, the East hands were back and were stroking it again. The Heart relaxed just enough that, when the cold, dry, freezing touched its flesh, it was merely confused rather than afraid. That changed very soon as the East hands left and disappeared entirely. The fear became vivid and sharp as the cold enveloped The quickly beating Heart. But as the heart got cold, it grew tired. And even more so. The fear dropped to mild anxiety, then to malcontent tiredness. Then…. Nothing.

Part 2

@whumpsday

#vampire whumpee #rescue #carewhumper #having a hard time with tags right now #ancient vampire #What a good time this has been

[whump-me]

Obscure: Chapter 5

Chapter 5 of Obscure, novel-length interrogation whump about a rebel leader who can erase memories with a thought, an interrogator who can see inside his subjects’ minds… and the connection they share that neither of them suspects.

Masterpost | the Mind Games universe | Read the completed novel on Patreon

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Elias

The guards in their dark gray uniforms brought him back to the same room the next day. Same chair that poked at his bony thighs, making him constantly shift in a vain attempt to find a respite. Same stale smell of bleach and dust. Same light chill, like someone had turned the air conditioning down a few degrees too low.

The guards hadn’t given him an opportunity to use his power. They kept their eyes carefully averted, and neither of them had said a word. Not surprising. He wasn’t likely to get a chance with anyone else besides Kirill. Whatever the man did to spark the flow of memories from Elias’s mind to his, it created an emotional connection—a two-way connection, the kind Elias worked best with. The strength of the connection, the ease at which he had slipped into Kirill’s mind, had surprised even him. The connection created by Kirill’s power was as good as a late night spent bearing their souls to each other. Maybe more. Maybe as good as having known each other for years.

Kirill walked in a few minutes later. His pale eyes were bright and clear, with none of the haze they had contained when he had stumbled out of the room yesterday. The only difference was a new hardness around his eyes, a new tightness in his jaw.

He was wary around Elias now.

It wasn’t that much of a surprise. The obscuring usually wore off quickly, as soon as the person ran across a reminder of what he had forgotten. The stronger the obscuring, the stronger the reminder had to be, but Elias hadn’t had a chance to build a wall that thick.

And of course, no matter how surprisingly strong the emotional connection, Elias didn’t have the broader knowledge of Kirill that would have let him obscure a broader set of memories.

In the bunker, Elias usually had people tell them about themselves. That let him map the landscape; it told him where to build his impenetrable walls of fog. He always told them ahead of time what he planned to do—that they would forget the life they had known, and remember only the danger they were running from. It meant they couldn’t give themselves—or him—away as easily.

It left them with less to grieve.

Some were reluctant at first. He never did it against their will, if they remained set against it even after listening to his reasons. Not with their own memories, at least, although he insisted on removing himself from their minds. Most people, though, came around to understanding the necessity.

He tried to give them all the time they needed to grieve what they were about to lose. He understood the necessity of grief.

Kirill settled into the chair across from Elias with the grace of an unhurried jungle cat staring down his prey. “Where did we leave off yesterday?”

Elias raised his eyebrows. “You’re not going to ask me about my power?”

“Why would I need to, when I’ve seen it firsthand? You cause temporary amnesia. Useful.”

“Not always temporary.” With a wintry smile, Elias held his gaze.

“If you could cause something more permanent, you would have done it. I’m not worried.” Kirill met him smile for smile. His gaze was as cold as Elias’s own.

“Not yet. But the more time we spend together, the more I get to know you, the more effective my power will be. Every minute you spend in this room with me puts you at more risk.”

If Elias’s words worried Kirill, he hid it well. “I’m not here for you to get to know me.”

“It shouldn’t have worked as well as it did the first time,” Elias said. “Something about your power makes you vulnerable. Are you sure you want to keep using it on me?”

“You’re stalling,” said Kirill. “We were talking about how someone you knew joined us.”

“Not joined,” Elias corrected. “Joining is a choice.” But that, of course, brought up an old ache from an older wound. A boy’s hand clutching his. A wall of fire.

Kirill’s eyes unfocused. Elias took a deep breath. He stared down his grief until the ache receded.

“Someone was recruited young,” said Kirill. “A child. But there was someone else. Someone older. Is he the one who joined willingly? If so, he made the smart choice.”

Elias concentrated on his breathing. He focused on holding the door to his grief shut. If it blew open, it would be that much harder to close it again.

“The child was probably grateful for the opportunity eventually, no matter what you’d like to think,” said Kirill. “You believe in loyalty to your fellow Enhanced because you share the same genetic fluke. It doesn’t even make you family, you know. It’s like having red hair and thinking that means you need to be loyal to every other redhead on the planet.”

Elias exhaled his flare of anger. No memories surfaced.

“How well does loyalty pay?” Kirill asked. “The child, whoever he is, is probably thanking his lucky stars he didn’t grow up in that run-down farmhouse.” His eyes glinted. “But he wouldn’t have grown up there, would he? This was before the farmhouse. Before Laina. Before you went by Elias Kitzner. What happened to the redheaded woman? Did she leave you? Did she blame you?”

Elias breathed in. He breathed out.

“Maybe she was right to blame you,” Kirill said. “How hard did you look for the child before you gave him up for dead?”

The memorial service. Lisbeth screaming her protests. The memory was as clear as if he were standing under that gray sky right now, the clouds pregnant with rain that refused to fall. He had remembered this yesterday, too. Kirill must have seen it in his memory. He was deploying it against him now on purpose. Mining his memories for emotion.

He didn’t let that thought make him angry. Anger would let Kirill in as easily as grief.

He held Kirill’s gaze as Kirill’s eyes unfocused. He felt his own face go still with concentration as he slipped into the other man’s mind. Kirill’s already defocused eyes turned cloudy. His mouth hung slack.

Elias sat back and waited.

Kirill shook his head slightly, like he was coming out of an unexpected sleep. “I… I’m sorry,” he said, his voice newly vulnerable. “But I don’t remember who you are.” He looked around with the dazed expression of a child who had fallen asleep in the car and woken up in bed.

“You took a wrong turn,” said Elias. “You’re supposed to be out there.” Elias nodded toward the door.

“Thank you,” Kirill said in the same dazed tone, and started to rise.

His phone buzzed. He jerked in surprise and sat back down hard in his seat. He pulled the phone from his pocket, staring at it like he had no idea what it was.

As Kirill stared at the phone screen, the haze vanished from his face. What looked back up at Elias, his eyes were sharp again.

He pointed to the phone. “I set it to remind me what I’m doing here every five minutes. That’s the maximum amount of time your power will buy you.” He gifted Elias another wintry smiled.

He slipped the phone away. Then he leaned across the table, hands laced together, his face so close to Elias’s that Elias could smell what he had for breakfast. A fruit smoothie—raspberry, maybe. Incongruous. Maybe a girlfriend had made it for him, a boyfriend, a spouse. Elias tried to imagine this man kissing someone with genuine warmth. He couldn’t.

Elias wanted to lean away from him. He didn’t. The physical gestures of fear would let the feeling of figure in. And fear, in turn, would let Kirill in.

“The Red Spring Killer,” Kirill said. “He spent almost a year in custody before the police found out where he had buried his final five bodies. The evidence against him was incontrovertible, but he refused to reveal those details, purely out of spite.”

“I followed the story,” said Elias mildly, wondering where this was going.

“I’m the one who got the information,” said Kirill. “He never did name the locations. He didn’t have to. I plucked them out of his head on a wave of fury.” He made a pinching motion with his fingers. “I could tell you other stories. Names you know. Names you should be glad you don’t know.”

“You don’t have to impress me with what you can do,” said Elias evenly. “I’ve seen it firsthand.”

“Emotion is an elemental force. It arises on a gut level. Some people are good at forcing their emotions down where they don’t have to deal with them. Some people even mistake that for inner peace.” His eyes, pale as moonlight, met Elias’s gaze and held it. “Does that sound familiar?”

Elias held his gaze and said nothing. Those eyes, clear as they appeared at first, were opaque at the core. It would be easy to fool himself into thinking he was staring into a clear pool of water with nothing to hide. But at the bottom was only a flat white wall.

“But human instincts won’t be denied.” Kirill leaned in a little closer.

Elias pulled back despite himself. Kirill’s lips twitched upward in an almost imperceptible smile.

“When someone is talented at swallowing down their anger or denying their grief,” said Kirill, “fear is the most reliable way in. Fear belongs to the body, not the mind. Fear will come, whether or not you will it.”

Elias took a slow, steady breath. He stared into those flat eyes and forced himself not to look away.

But the memories unspooled despite himself, and when they came to him, he knew Kirill was seeing them too.

Hiding under the bed as a child at a crack of thunder, while Mama Kelly and Mama Charisse and Mama Jessie all laughed downstairs, seemingly oblivious to the storm.

Footsteps in the darkness as he crouched under the window inside an abandoned building, beside a woman whose name he had forgotten by now. She had been one of the first people he had tried to rescue on his own, before he had formed his network.

The ring and ring and ring of the phone as he tried to reach one of his people who had gone out of contact.

The heat of fire on his skin. The tightness in his chest, not just from the acrid burning of the smoke, as he swallowed the fear down for Max’s sake. In his memory, he willed the fear away, knowing he couldn’t afford it when he had Max to take care of. But fear lived in the body. Fear would not be denied.

He clawed himself up out of the memory like a drowning swimmer straining for breath. Kirill was using fear because it was all he had. Because disgust hadn’t been enough, or anger, or grief. If Elias could fight the fear, Kirill would have nothing.

He blinked away the remembered flames. Stared into those pale, unfocused eyes.

He threaded his way into Kirill’s mind on the deep connection the shared memory had created.

Kirill should have listened to his warnings.

Kirill sank back into his chair. His eyes went hazy, his face slack. His hands rested on the table like dead animals.

His eyes came back into focus slowly. The haze remained. “What am I—”

His phone went off. He reached for it as if in a dream.

He stared down at the screen. Clarity returned. He tucked the phone away and narrowed his eyes at Elias. He rubbed his temples.

Elias answered with a thin smile.

It was a temporary solution at best. But a temporary solution was still a solution. Kirill’s intimidating demeanor was gone, and with it, all but the last whisper of Elias’s fear.

Fear couldn’t be denied, but it could be bargained with. Elias had earned himself a few more minutes.

He braced himself for Kirill to lean in again, to loom over him, maybe make a few well-targeted threats. Anything that would make the fear return and start up the flow of memories again.

But Kirill’s face was all warm concern now. The change happened between one breath and the next. Even those gray looked softer now, and a gentle light filled them.

He was nothing but an actor. But he acted well. He could change himself without saying a word.

“Your wife must be missing you,” he said, his voice as full of warmth as his eyes. It was false warmth, but even knowing better, some deep part of Elias wanted desperately to be convinced.

“Does she know enough to guess who might have taken you?” Kirill asked. “Will she imagine everything we’re likely to do to you? Or have you left her in the dark all this time? Is she ignorant enough to swallow the story the police give her, and hold a funeral for the corpse we’re passing off as yours?”

Elias had been prepared for fear. This was a dagger strike slipped in under his guard. It sliced through his defenses like they were nothing, and memories bled from the wound.

Calling down a darkened street for a cat that had gotten loose.

 Sitting at home alone, waiting for Lisbeth to come home as the sky grew darker and darker. Holding her goodbye note in his lap. Praying she hadn’t meant it, that she would change her mind, that she would call him from her mother’s house and beg his forgiveness.

Sitting alone in a room with mold-streaked walls, staring down at his hands and wishing he could feel Max holding them tight. There was no one to hold on to him now, no one to take care of, no one to anchor him. Alone. Alone. Alone.

“Well?” Kirill’s soft voice, warm but insistent, broke through his memories. “Does she know?”

The memories changed.

Sitting across from Laina at a candlelit table, the dessert menus open in front of them, soft classical music playing from a speaker hidden in the wall. The engagement ring heavy in his pocket. He had to tell her everything first, before he asked his question. It wouldn’t be right otherwise. But to tell her would be to for her to know he had kept something so important hidden all this time. To tell her would put her in danger. He closed his mouth. He brought out the small box that held the ring.

Staring out the bedroom window of the farmhouse, across the orchard, to the square of sod that had been taken up and replaced while Laina was away visiting her sisters. Would she notice the almost undetectable seam in the grass? Would she investigate, and find the newly built bunker? Would she think he was a serial killer luring victims to his underground lair? That might have been easier to explain.

“She has no idea, then,” said Kirill, and Elias understood what Kirill had done with his soft question.

“You were trying to protect her,” Kirill continued. “She’s probably already mourning you, then. Will that be easier for her than the truth would have been, I wonder? Death is a more final loss, but… well, you know what PERI can do. Maybe it’s better for her that she doesn’t.”

Sick dread curled in Elias’s stomach. He saw a body, pale with death, a seam running down his torso where his captors had cut him open. His body sagged inward in the places where PERI had removed the parts they wanted. The body smelled sterile. It smelled like Elias’s cell in this place.

He took a deep breath. He stared into Kirill’s eyes. Kirill tried to look away—too late. The path into the other man’s head was familiar already.

Kirill’s eyes fogged over. This time, Elias only had a few seconds to feel satisfied at the look of childlike bewilderment on his face before the phone buzzed.

Elias didn’t bother watching the life come back into Kirill’s face. He knew what happened next.

“Laina will be all alone,” Kirill continued once he was himself again, as if there had been no interruption. “No one to help her keep up that orchard. The two of you never even had children. She has no shoulder to cry on. No one to protect her in that big house. We won’t come after her, but a woman alone—”

He stopped. Elias knew why. The memories were already coming, fast and thick, until he couldn’t even see Kirill in front of him anymore.

They had started flowing as soon as Kirill had said child.

A wrinkle-faced baby with dark, dark eyes. Lisbeth with dark circles under her eyes and a tired grin on her face, holding the baby close with one arm and motioning him in with the other.

A pudgy toddler setting his foot wrong, hurtling headfirst toward the ground. A sharp wail. Blood in Elias’s mouth as he bit his lip.

A boy on his lap, smelling of chocolate and fresh grass. He was so heavy—when had he gotten so heavy? A cake in front of him, five candles flickering. Make a wish, Elias’s own voice urged. His tone was melancholy. Five years old meant five years gone, five years with his son that he would never get back. Time hurtled forward relentlessly—he had never understood quite so well as when he had become a parent. Before long, his son would be grown and gone, leaving only memories behind.

Elias had been more right than he had known.

The sharper memories came, the ones hidden behind the door he never opened.

Pacing back and forth in front of the door as the clock turned to four, then five, then six. Lisbeth had called him home from work. The school had assured him Sammy had gotten on the bus. The police said they would do everything they could. But it wouldn’t come to that, Elias knew, because it was a mistake, it had to be a mistake, some miscommunication they would laugh about later. Sammy would walk in the door at any moment…

Then the memorial. Lisbeth screaming in protest. Elias had known by then. Known Sammy wasn’t really dead. Known what must have happened to him. Known he had to play along, to grieve his son’s supposed death, so he wouldn’t disappear along with him. So he could stay alive to find him someday.

He never had.

He hadn’t told Lisbeth the truth, either. He had told himself it was he was afraid of hurting her. Really, he had been afraid of losing her. After all, the cursed gene that had made his son so valuable had come from him.

He had lost her anyway, because she had blamed him anyway. Maybe she had seen his guilt, no matter how much he tried to keep it from her. Or maybe what she had seen was the way he had closed off from her, sealing himself away along with his secrets.

Either way, she has been right to leave.

And Elias had finally found himself glad for it months later, when they had come for him. Maybe his quiet inquiries into his son’s disappearance hadn’t been as quiet as he had thought. Or maybe PERI had finally figured out where the gene must have come from.

Elias tried to claw himself to the surface before the memory could come, but it broke over him like a wave anyway, and the undertow sucks him under. Nighttime. Lying awake, staring at the ceiling, picturing Sammy’s face and how it might have changed in the months he had missed. Then the creak of the front door. Footsteps on the stairs. Elias opened the window, staring down at the moonlit yard too far below, gauging the odds of the drop. Praying.

He had survived.

Elias Kitzner had been born a week later, in a back alley that reeked of week-old fish. He smelled it now, saw the man with his scraggly gray beard as he handed over the paperwork that made up Elias Kitzner’s life with a wordless grunt.

The man had looked disreputable, the venue more so. But Elias still remembered the lessons of his youth on the run. He knew how to spot a con artist, and how to recognize a genuine expert.

He had chosen well. The ID had held up for fifteen years.

Elias took a deep breath. The memory clawed at him, unwilling to let him go. He stared it down, and when it only dug in deeper, he delivered a mental right took to the monster that was his grief.

Most of the time, he could show empathy to the part of himself that had become that forlorn creature. Right now, he didn’t have the patience.

His grief let go enough for him to take another deep breath. Enough for him to bring himself back to the sterile-smelling room and the chair digging into his thighs.

Enough for him to catch a glimpse of Kirill’s milky eyes through the memories that swam past his vision.

He latched on to the sight of Kirill like a life preserver. He slid along the greased rope that was the connection the shared memories had created, and slammed into Kirill’s consciousness. No gentleness. No subtlety. Just a thick white fog laid down around Kirill’s memory.

He stared down at his hands and tried not to picture Sammy.

He was unsurprised when Kirill’s phone buzzed. He didn’t look up to watch Kirill’s memory come back.

In of his peripheral vision, Kirill shook his head, like he was having trouble ridding himself of the last of the haze. “You’ve given me a lot to think about for next time,” he said, his voice almost unnoticeably weaker than it had been. He steadied himself against the table and stumbled toward the exit.

Elias had gotten to him that time. Gotten in deep. The strength of the memory had made for a stronger obscuring. What he had said hadn’t been a lie. Kirill’s power made him more vulnerable to Elias’s own somehow, although Elias didn’t understand how that worked.

It would have been easier to take Kirill’s departure as a victory if not for those parting words.

Was Kirill bluffing, trying to convince Elias he was leaving for a reason other than his fuzzy memory?

Or did he remember what he had seen of Elias’s son?

And if he remembered… was it enough to use against him?

He didn’t know how Kirill would do it. Only that he would.

---

Tagged: @cakeinthevoid @suspicious-whumping-egg

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#whump #whump novel #my writing #my writing: Obscure #my writing: Mind Games #interrogation whump #superpower whump #emotional whump

[electricbluebutterflies]

balance

Joel/Tess, PG-ish, also on ao3.

Prompt - sickfic (thanks again @seethesunny)

Tess feels like she’s on fire.

She normally runs warm enough, not a walking space heater but at least comfortable, but this…

It’s not normal for her to wander around the apartment in very minimal clothing, but she’s doing what she can here.

She’d toughed out today’s keeping-up-appearances menial task without any attention – there were enough people around, taking off her jacket was understandable, she’s still decent in a tank top – but she’s home now and the first thing she does is strip down, boots pants tank top bra everything but underwear because she does have some standards for bare skin on furniture and-

Not that she’s in any mood to sit down right now. Her body is vibrating, and she’s-

It’s been a bit since she’s randomly blacked out. Used to happen every couple years. Might happen again. Would be the first time with somebody possibly around to take care of her.

That’s the unknown of it all ahead of her, the fact that at some point in the next hour or two her partner is going to get home and how does she even explain-

Her body hates her, she thinks. That’s about as much explaining as she ever does. They’re not really…

She’s pacing the kitchen area when she hears a key in the lock, and there have been times she’s done almost all of this as some form of seduction, not that she’s ever needed to do much with that man, and-

Tess instinctively covers her chest with her arms, just to make sure her lover doesn’t get the wrong idea, just to-

“Do I wanna know?”

She could kiss him right now, if she wasn’t so many mixed emotions, if she wasn’t so-

“Not sure what’s wrong with me but I’m not-“

Joel looks her up and down with the comfort of familiarity, not looking too close like he’s about to pounce, more-

“Get over here.”

She does, but if he puts his hands anywhere she’s going to-

Fine. A hand on her forehead isn’t their kind of foreplay, and his touch feels cold and that ain’t normal, and-

“You were gonna-“

“Figured I’d wait for you and share the cold shower,” she mutters, almost a laugh. “I’m-“

She’s been around too many people too much lately, too many sorting jobs just to make herself look just enough like a cooperative member of society and look what that’s gotten her, she’d heard some rumors about-

She feels herself get weak and that’s not normal either, and it’s a good thing her partner’s right there and big enough to catch her and-

“Can’t say this is what I thought I’d come home to,” he murmurs.

“Least I gave you a view before-“

She knows that look in his eyes, all worried about her, reminder she don’t need that she’s his main tether these days and she’s-

“You at least thought about sleep?”

She rolls her eyes, hidden as they are against his shoulder. “Wanted to make sure-“

She’s a damn good girlfriend, even if that isn’t officially what she is, and usually she’s not the one-

“C’mon. Me and you.”

Normally she’s the one leading, she thinks as he helps her move forward. Normally she’s the one deciding what happens when, and they both like that, and-

Her mind’s in a fog, but she’s still lucid enough to appreciate the view of her partner shedding layers, not quite stripping down completely but at least enough to-

“You should be on the couch,” she murmurs. “Or I should. No reason for you to-“

“Want to.”

Well. Who the hell is she to fight that?

She curls into him despite her better judgement, and his hands still don’t feel right on her skin but at least the light pressure is good, at least-

“I owe you,” she murmurs.

He just kisses her forehead, and she knows… they don’t work like that, and she’s not the one who gets really bad dreams on a weekly basis, her body has been a consistent map of things done in sleep since she took him into her bed and she still-

They’ll balance, Tess thinks as she lets her eyes close. They always do.

#ebf writes fic #joel x tess #queue

[corvid-language-library]

2024 Goals Monthly Check-In

I actually didn't do this last month because I was ill all of February and didn't make much/any progress with anything so I felt it was kinda pointless 😅 Let's see where I'm at now!

Japanese

1) Reach ~N3 level - I've not really been focusing on this so much. I've started using HelloTalk again and occasionally trying to learn a little new N3 grammar/kanji/vocab, but I should probably study in a more focused way.

2) Learn 10 songs by heart to a level where I could sing them at karaoke - Oh yeah I haven't worked on this at all, I kinda forgot it was a thing lmao

3) Finish reading another book of short stories - No progress made whoops. I try to read articles on Todai/NHK Easy a bit more but I've not touched my short story book.

4) Finish both Minna No Nihongo books - I'm about halfway through unit 11, so I'm a little behind but not too much. Hoping to finish unit 11 tonight and unit 12 at some point this week, but we'll see what happens!

Norwegian

1) Read at least 2 books in Norwegian - Not started yet

2) Maintain an overall B2/C1 level - I think I'm maintaining, but I need to immerse more for sure

3) Finish Enjoy Norwegian textbook - I've completed unit 2 so I'm a little behind where I wanted to be, but I should be able to catch up relatively easily.

Life in Japan Goals

As with last time, I'm just gonna focus on the goals where I've made progress rather than listing all 11. So:

1) Get my hair cut - Did it! And it wasn't as scary as I thought it would be :D

4) Have a 10-minute conversation with a native speaker in Japanese that’s not an italki lesson - I managed to chat with the hairdresser, so I can definitely say I did this!

6) Go to the dentist - I've booked an appointment and I'll be going next Monday. Absolutely terrified :D

7) Go to a prefecture I haven’t been to before - I went to Tochigi last weekend!

11) Be able to point to every prefecture on a map and name their capital cities - I can still more or less do this, but I sometimes mix up some prefectures or can't quite remember a capital

Non-language

1) Read 36 books - I've read 11/36 books, which means I'm 3 books ahead of schedule.

2) Complete a first draft of a novel manuscript - no progress made lol

3) Comfortable two-block oversplit with back bend - my oversplits are there but they feel very tight and not comfortable, so I need to work more on them.

4) Consistently hold a handstand for 5 seconds - I can barely balance on my hands at all atm lmao but I'll keep trying

5) Noticeably improve my demi pointe - I'm using the strength in my feet a lot more than I used to but I'm not getting much higher. I'll keep at it!

Health/diet goals under the cut:

Diet & health goals

1) Tackle my diet soda and sugar addictions - I've come a long way with the binge eating! I bought a multipack of chocolate marshmallow biscuits and managed to just take one with me to work every day instead of sitting and binging the whole lot. And right now I have a family-sized bag of mini eggs in my cupboard and I'm managing to eat a controlled set portion each day. I still mess up my diet sometimes, but I'm very happy with how I'm doing!

Diet soda is still a huge problem though lol

2) Slim down enough that none of my clothes are tight anymore - I look and feel SO much better about myself! For ages I've not wanted to dress up nicely because I felt like I looked frumpy or chubby or shapeless in my nice outfits. But when I was packing for Utsunomiya, I tried on all my cute outfits and I thought they looked good! I still want to lose a bit more so that I can see my abs, but I'm really happy with my progress here.

#2024 goals #nutcracker norsk #nutcracker nihongo #jackdaw in japan #a rook reading books #flight of fitness #chough chatterings

[bigfrozenfan-fanfics]

Chapter 73 - Surprises and a nomination

Links: Chapter overview, Character list, Map, Glossar Rating: M over all Publishing cycle: around every 2-3 weeks

Remarks: all my chapters contain carefully selected music tracks (try to use headphones). It’s your own decision if you want to use them or not while reading. The purpose is to musically support the respective mood of the plot. If you can please use a browser for reading (not the Tumblr app) due to the text formatting and music.

“Alena, are you awake yet?” asked one of the men in the lavvú camp, standing in front of one of the tents. For the noaidi, one of it had been dismantled from Kolgrimr's former camp and rebuilt right next to those of her twenty men especially for Alena. “We need to speak to you urgently,” he said somewhat impatiently.

          There was nothing to be heard inside, but the next moment the tent’s canvas was pushed aside and Alena stepped out into the fresh air of dusk.

          “I'm awake, I've been awake for a while actually, because I was meditating. What's up?”

          “We smell winter approaching and so do our reindeer. They are getting impatient and are ready to migrate to the winter camp with the other herds. We need to get back to our families, Alena. It's time.”

          The noaidi nodded. “Yes, you are right about it and I too feel it is high time. Many families who have a further way to go than you and I will surely already be on their way north. However, I'm afraid I must stay here in the Northuldra camp for another day and night, for there is something very important for me to do. Therefore, if you do not mind, I would like to ask you all to ride ahead. Dismantle the lavvús and get ready to leave. I will see you on the plateau in two days.”

          “Árnason is staying here too? We could take him with us.”

          “No, that's all right. I'd like his company on the way back and he can help me on the road. Tell his family that it will be a little late and everything will be all right. They don't need to worry.”

          “We will. Please take good care of each other and good luck.”

~~~

Elsa had left the kota early and was strolling leisurely through the camp, looking for Yelana. She felt very well this morning, although she had hardly been able to sleep last night after what had happened. It had also become quite chilly and she was looking forward to these temperatures. “I don't mind the cold … finally, it’s here again,” she muttered to herself and, just for fun, let a few big snowflakes form on her hand and float above it.

          I wonder where the nature spirits have gone, Ahtohallan is free again now; she thought and looked around to see if she could spot Bruni or Gale somewhere, but saw nothing that pointed to them. Nokk hadn't shown itself yet either and the earth giants preferred to stay among themselves anyway, along the river to the north. She shrugged her shoulders, perhaps she would summon them later today.

          There were hardly any Northuldra on the way yet, she really was an incorrigible early riser, as Anna sometimes joked. But then she did run into someone, just as she was turning around one of the huts. Suddenly Honeymaren was standing in front of her and they both just smiled at each other silently at first. Then, for a change, it was Elsa who took the initiative, taking Honeymaren completely by surprise. After a quick sideways glance to make sure no one was watching, she stepped forward and gave her a gentle kiss on her full lips.

          “Good morning, Maren,” she wished her softly with a smile and that made Honeymaren beam. She immediately fell around Elsa's neck and kissed her back, with passion. Elsa returned the embrace and even played with Honeymaren's tongue because she was doing the same to her. It was a situation she could never have imagined before last night. It felt great to taste Honeymaren's lips and tongue, to feel her body heat and to breathe in the scent she gave off so soon after getting up.

          Maren has made a different person out of me; Elsa thought with amazement and at the same time great satisfaction and they smiled happily at each other as they parted again.

          “Why are you out so early in the morning?” asked Honeymaren.

          “I could ask you the same thing. You probably couldn't sleep, could you? I, on the other hand, am just an early riser and wanted to see if Yelana was awake yet. I want to talk to her about what brought us here in the first place because of her.”

          “And that would be?”

          “I don't know, that's the thing. She acted very secretive and we supposedly really needed to see it before we could talk about it and decide.”

          “Strange … I can't even think what it could be.” Honeymaren mused strained. “Except …” Her eyes widened. “It can only be one thing really! Yes, I'm pretty sure of that now, but …”

          “But?”

          “It's a Northuldra secret that no outsider has ever been privy to. It was even whispered to me once by Ryder that Yelana specifically did not invite you to it then because of … because of the danger you posed to our people when Kolgrimr had not yet shown himself but the effects caused by him were already being felt. Everyone was pretty scared.”

          “Wait, it has something to do with Kolgrimr? What is it that Yelana has been keeping from us so far?”

          “No, nothing about Kolgrimr, it's about our Ting place.”

          “Your what?” Elsa was completely taken aback and stared at Honeymaren with big question marks in her eyes.

          But Honeymaren suddenly shut up and said, “It's probably better Yelana explains it to you. I'm not allowed to talk about it and I've actually already told you too much.”

          “I see …” Elsa looked at her sadly and put a hand on her shoulder. “I'm revealing something to you too, but it's something I'm not really supposed to talk about to you either.”

          “What?” Honeymaren looked at her uncomprehendingly.

          “Just this much … maybe you will make these kinds of decisions all by yourself in the future.”

          “Well, that … I guess that's it then. I've suspected it for a while now, ever since Yelana made those hints to me, but then said nothing more about it. At the time, my mind was also elsewhere.”

          Elsa nodded, no longer seeing any reason to keep it from her when she already suspected or thought she knew anyway, “You're right about that. Yelana feels she is too old to lead the Northuldra and wants to nominate you as her successor officially.” They strolled on as they spoke without taking any particular direction.

          “Well, I knew it. But for that she needs all the Northuldra and the remaining elders, and that can only be done in one place. All right, if she has already earmarked me for this, then I might as well tell you the secret and about our Ting House, where all important decisions are made that affect us all as a people. Actually, the assembly is called Norting and apparently goes back to centuries of tradition when we had a noaidi and a grand council of elders. There is even a separate entrance for her and I know from Alena that her assembly tent, her big lavvú, also has such an entrance. It's comparable to your council meetings in Arendelle, only with us it's not just a few but almost everyone who votes at the end.”

          “That makes sense,” Elsa mused, “and yet Yelana is planning something that will affect all of Arendelle and she also spoke of great changes and a new opportunity with many new possibilities.”

          “Hmm … I wonder what that could be. You've really got me curious now. Come on, let's look for her together, because last night she wanted to talk to me urgently and I want to bet it all boils down to me and the Norting. Incidentally, that would be something I would change first and foremost should I become the new leader. And I'm not even sure about that yet, by the way.”

          “And what do you want to change?”

          “Until now, only men of a certain age were allowed to participate in our Norting, with the exception of Yelana as our leader, of course, but otherwise no women. And yet we do so much for all our people, not only taking care of the little ones and raising them, cooking, making clothes for the men and all that. Even our healer hasn't been allowed to come so far and she really takes care of everyone. That has to change and become the way it used to be and where among our council of elders there were also many of us women, so we had an equal say. After all, this concerns all our people here in the forest!”

          “That's a really excellent resolution, Maren, and …. hey, we've arrived at the beach after all, I wasn't paying attention to where we were going,” Elsa said in surprise as they suddenly stepped onto sand.

          “Neither did I. It's interesting that we both keep being drawn to the same place. Maybe that means something, who knows “

          Surprisingly, they found Yelana sitting there on their tree trunk and Honeymaren remembered that she too liked to get up very early and seek the peace of nature. What better place to do so than this place and they both exchanged meaningful glances.

          “Excuse me, Yelana, but may we disturb you?” asked Elsa quietly as they both stepped behind her.

          Yelana startled slightly and wheeled around.

          “You two, and together … interesting.”

          Elsa and Honeymaren looked at each other questioningly. Elsa in particular wondered at this remark.

          “You're not interrupting, of course, so please come closer and sit with me.”

          They both settled down to the left and right of Yelana, and the first thing they did was to wish her a good morning.

          “How can I help you both?” asked Yelana.

          “You know why, or surely you can already guess,” said Honeymaren.

          “You mean because of what I told you yesterday, when your family and everyone else arrived from Arendelle, that you and I had something important to discuss?” Yelana turned her head once to Elsa and then back to Honeymaren, then cradled it gently. “Could you two perhaps sit down next to each other, so I don't have to keep looking back and forth.”

          “But of course, Yelana, sorry,” Elsa said, switching sides to sit close to Honeymaren on her right.

          “Well, actually I wanted to discuss this matter with Honeymaren alone first, before announcing the event to our people, and with it the surprise for you, Elsa, why I wanted you and the queen to be there. But looking at you both and how close you seem to have become since yesterday, I might as well speak frankly.”

          “Nothing escapes your notice, does it?” asked Honeymaren, amused.

          “Only rarely, Honeymaren, that's true.” Yelana had to think back at that moment to one of the few deceptions in her life, when Gyda had lied to her about her son Kolgrimr and she had foolishly defended and taken the old liar's side at the Norting as well.

          However, her expression must have reflected her feelings because Honeymaren asked, “Are you all right?”

          “Yes, yes, it's nothing, just a sudden memory.” Yelana's face brightened again. “Well, I'm sure you can already guess that I want to put you forward as my successor in front of all the Northuldra, and I also assume that you've already spoken to Elsa about it. And that I can only make this announcement in a special place has probably already been told to you, Elsa, by Honeymaren as well, hasn't it?”

          “How …”

          “Experience, Elsa, good judge of character and powers of observation. Something you still lack a little, by the way, Honeymaren, but that will come in time.” Yelana sighed. “But I feel there is more … and it's between the two of you. And before you ask, Elsa, I've known about Honeymaren's love for you for a long time. I'm just surprised that despite my advice to her about the far-flung locations and the vast difference from you of royal blood, you two seem to have found each other after all and are, shall we say …. together as lovers.”

          Elsa's jaw dropped, something that really happened to her only extremely rarely, but she could not reply because she was too perplexed. She had already realised in the castle of Arendelle that evening from Yelana's look that she knew about Maren's feelings for her, but the fact that Yelana had now also seen through their fresh relationship was something completely different.

          Yelana grinned slightly, “But are you sure about the consequences and the difficulties such a relationship entails? You are the big sister of the queen and you have a lot of duties in Arendelle, Elsa, besides the big responsibility. As for you, Honeymaren, know exactly how our people feel about such a union, If they ever discover your secret, you and Elsa would face severe consequences, you may even be banished. You will have to lead them all in the future and make decisions for our people.”

          They both nodded and nevertheless looked at each other unabashedly in love in the presence of the old, wise Northuldra.

          “We know that, Yelana, and I am grateful that Maren has shown me a side of life that is completely new to me. Besides, Anna would even approve this relationship and she has suspected it for some time. As for Maren and her people, we're already paying attention.”

          “Maren then, very nice that name … I'm happy for you and after you saw the secret place and my ideas about it as far as Arendelle is concerned, I now even see a new way for you to be together. At least for a certain time. But more about that tonight under six … er …” Yelana counted briefly, “… no eight eyes, because Anna has to be there too, and by the way, it's good that she probably already knows. Right?”

          Elsa fussed a little. “Well, not really yet. I … we still have to tell her.”

~~~

Anna woke up with a shudder and pulled the reindeer skin up a little further to her chin to snuggle in tightly. She blinked and realised by the light from above and from the light coming in through the gaps in the hut's flap that it was already daytime. She just didn't know what time it was.

          It had become quite cold, so cold that she was shivering slightly, and she had no nightgown with her this time, so was lying completely naked under the fur blanket. Stupidly, her clothes would hardly protect her from the cold today, for she had not expected wintry temperatures, at least not so soon.

          She glanced to the side where Elsa was supposed to be lying, but of course she wasn't there and had probably already got up hours ago. How long had she been asleep, she wondered, and peeled herself out of the covers to dress and look outside.

          As she pushed the flap outwards she heard two pairs of boots clap together in salute to her left and right as the guards stood at attention and placed the outstretched fingers of their right hands to their temples to salute their queen, looking at her freely, courageously and with a decent face.

          “Take it easy, boys, we're not in Arendelle,” Anna muttered as she stepped out and gave them a quick, smirking look. “Good morning, by the way. Do you know where my sister Elsa is?”

          One of the guards replied. “She left the hut hours ago, but asked not to be followed, Your Majesty.” Anna nodded, pondering.

          It was indeed an advanced morning and the cooking fires with small cauldrons on them for breakfast were already going everywhere. Or was it already noon? Anna couldn't tell as she glanced up shiveringly at the overcast sky with no visible sun.

          “Why didn't Elsa wake me,” she muttered to herself, trudging through the camp in search of her, slightly annoyed. “Well, maybe it's because she didn't think about the fact that, unlike her, I do mind this cold?” she scolded herself, holding her hands over the flames of the nearest campfire to warm them. “I really need something warm to wear around my neck.”

          She was still wondering if it was time for breakfast, or worse, lunch already. Elsa had been awake for a long time and was off somewhere in the camp. If Kristoff were there now, he would surely give me a loving hug and rub my back and arms nice and warm; she thought. “I miss him already, even though it's only been a few days,” she then whispered, looking into the flames in front of her, but seeing into an imaginary distance where Kristoff was walking towards her, waving at her with a smile.

~~~

A few hundred kilometers further south …

“A wonderful good morning,” Karl wished his two guests good-humouredly as they came down the stairs, “Please sit down, breakfast will be ready in a moment.”

          “You too, Karl,” Kristoff said with a smile and looked for an empty chair at the table.

          Kai hugged his brother briefly, holding him at a distance again to look him in the eye and said, “It's so nice to have breakfast together with you and your sweetheart after so long. You even changed almost nothing in my old room. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to go upstairs last time. When I look at my old things and think of the past …”

          “I know, because I always firmly believed that you would return to visit us one day! Please sit down in your usual place opposite me.”

          Kai settled down and looked around the rustic living room curiously.

          “I don't see much that's new here either, Karl, except that painting over there, which I haven't seen before.”

          “That was painted for us by the neighbour's daughter. She's very talented and often walks across the plateau with her easel. We really like this view of the valley and we told her so. She wouldn't let it go and just gave it to us the next day when it was finished.”

          “I know this viewpoint, I stood there once too many, many years ago and a little further away from it we both stood when I was here last time, when we had our big reunion after so many years and looked down into the valley. That was really nice to experience with you, Karl. So I see you and I still have the same taste.”

          At that moment Karl's wife came in with a full tray and put it on the table to serve everything for breakfast.

          “Good morning,” she said cheerfully to the group and then looked directly at Kristoff. “I didn't know what you eat in the mornings in Arendelle, Your Highness, so I have prepared what Karl and Kai always like. It's just simple country produce, of course, but I hope you like it anyway,” she added apologetically after sliding a plate over to each and placing the rest in the middle.

          “My personal tastes are not that different, because I love fresh scrambled eggs and country bread with lots of butter on it,” Kristoff said, his mouth already watering at the sight of the steaming plate. “Thank you very much, and please just call me Kristoff, …um…”

          “Hanna, my name is Hanna.”

          “Hanna, yes … We don't have to be so formal here with Kai's family.”

          She poured tea into the waiting cups and sat down.

          They enjoyed their breakfast in silence and could hear a few chickens clucking through the half-open window outside and a barking dog in the distance, still very small from the sound of it. He seemed to be romping around with some small children, because bright laughter also came from them.

          As Kristoff finished eating, took the cup, sat back contentedly in the chair and took a sip of herbal tea, he said, “I like these happy, rural sounds. It's very different in Arendelle. It's always a bit noisy there because of the sounds at the harbour, the market and the rattling of the horse-drawn carts on the cobblestones. And you can't miss our big tower clock either.”

          Just as he had said this, a longcase clock near the stairs struck not exactly quietly. Kristoff startled a little and everyone had to laugh at that.

          “Sorry, Kristoff,” Hanna said, “but as for the latter, we have something like that too, only a little smaller.”

          “It's okay, I just hadn't seen it or I would have been forewarned.”

          “It's eight now, so why don't we go on a tour of the village and ask the farmers about the supplies they can spare for Arendelle. We can also ask the two bakers here for flour,” said Karl, looking at the large clock face.

          “And afterwards, please don't forget to ask the baron if he can spare some time for me,” Kai added and Karl nodded at him.

          “But of course, I haven't forgotten.” He glanced at Hanna as she stood up. “Is there anything else we can help you with, dear?”

          “Leave everything, I'll clear the table by myself. You'd better get going, because this is all going to take a lot of time, I'm sure. See you later,” she said, already starting to put everything on the tray.

~~~

In the far north, Anna was sitting at one of the larger campfires in the Northuldra camp, also enjoying her breakfast. She was glad that it wasn't as late as she had feared, but she hadn't discovered Elsa, even though she had searched the whole camp. Instead, a Northuldra could help her with her problem because she was so cold. She felt much better now and the hot soup that had been made from the leftovers from last night did the rest.

          Just then, Arendelle's stable boy Lars walked by with Árnason by his side, engrossed in conversation, and she greeted them both. Lars didn't recognise Anna right away, but then was all the more startled and bowed deeply before continuing on with his new friend, who only waved at Anna with a smile. At that moment, Anna spotted her sister stepping out of the forest with Yelana and Honeymaren and coming closer. As they were about to pass her, Anna rose.

          “So there you are Elsa, been looking for you all morning. Good morning, Yelana and Honeymaren.”

          Everyone immediately stopped their discussion, for Anna had the impression from the gestures that it was one, and looked at her in some amazement.

          “What's that strange thing you're wearing?” asked Elsa with raised eyebrows, looking her up and down. The other two could only grin.

          “Well, I was freezing and had a woman make me a poncho out of reindeer fur. All that's really missing is a belt to hold the monstrosity together.”

          Elsa laughed, “Oh, sis, you're always good for a little surprise. But I guess we can have something better made for you, can't we Yelana? Something that would go well with Kristoff's leather outfit. That's what you like so much about him, isn't it?”

          “That would be great, Elsa. This one ruins my figure a lot, but I just couldn't think of anything better and I needed something to warm me up real quick.”

          “You poor thing,” Elsa commented, stepping towards her to wrap her in her arms. “Got rather surprisingly cold, I agree.”

          “If you'll let me sit with you later, I'll get us something from yesterday too, Elsa, and see where Mum and Ryder are while I'm at it,” Honeymaren remarked.

          “Of course,” Anna and Elsa said almost simultaneously.

          “And I'll go ahead and inform everyone,” Yelana added, nodding at them and making off with Honeymaren.

          “What does she mean by that?” asked Anna as they both sat on the long wooden log in front of the fire.

          “It's about what Yelana wants to show us and about a special gathering of the Northuldra because of Ma … Honeymaren.”

          “Ha, gotcha!” exclaimed Anna. “You were about to say Maren again. That's how you addressed her last time here in the camp a long time ago, when we had to flee from Kolgrimr.”

          Elsa twisted the corner of her mouth and looked at her sister with a slightly lowered gaze. Anna raised her eyebrows in response. “Is there something I should know, sis?” she added, somewhat stretched.

          “Well … er …,” Elsa swayed her head uncertainly, as Anna had seen Yelana do occasionally.

          “Now tell me,” her sister urged, nudging her lightly.

          Elsa expelled the air. She just had to confess it to Anna and hoped she wasn't too scared about it. “We've been together since last night, Maren and I.”

          Anna's breath caught and she could only stare at Elsa for seconds. Then she hugged her tightly.

          “Really now? Like, really as a couple?” she then asked as she held her sister by the shoulders a little away from her and looked deep into her eyes. Elsa nodded bashfully.

          “But that's great! You've finally found the courage to do it. I'm so happy for you! What did you do? Did you kiss her and all the the romantic stuff?”

          “Anna!”

          “You can still ask your sister about it, can't you? I'm so curious how you experienced it and how it came about so suddenly. Tell me … come on … please, give me some details …” Anna was all excited and had to think back to her conversation with Elsa under the radiant night sky, with the soft background music from the field camp.

          “It kind of came naturally and by the way it was more than just a kiss, Anna. It was … beautiful with her and … exciting,” Elsa replied softly.

          “You had really made love to each other and you … even down there … caressed?” Elsa nodded.

          “But only she me.”

          “Wow, I experienced the same thing with Kristoff … In the bath and later in bed too.”

          “But not with the … I guess.” Elsa pointed tentatively at her mouth.

          “Oh yes he did! He did and it was fantastic. Now I know how you must have felt.”

          Elsa smiled dreamily. “Yes, I'll never forget that either … my first time. She was so gentle and tender, Anna, but then also so tempestuous, you can't imagine. Next time I will try to do the same for her if we get a chance. After all, here with the Northuldra, unlike in Arendelle, it's taboo.” Anna nodded in understanding.

          “You amaze me, sis, that you were able to jump over your own shadow and finally put your heart and soul to a great love. I'm proud of you and very delighted you have found someone who loves you for what you are.” Anna hugged her again and out of the corner of her eye saw Honeymaren coming towards her, balancing three guksis in front of her.

          “I'm back and I brought you something warm,” she said as she sat down next to them and handed over the bowls.

          “Thank you,” they both said, and while Elsa began to eat, Anna unintentionally looked at Honeymaren a little more closely, looking at her with different eyes than before, now that she was her sister's lover. But Honeymaren noticed these glances immediately, paused with the spoon in front of her mouth and lowered it again in surprise to look at Elsa reprovingly.

          “Elsaa? You've been chatting with Anna, haven't you?”

          Elsa almost spluttered the stew out of her mouth and looked at Honeymaren from the side, caught. All three women now looked wordlessly into each other's eyes in turn, not quite knowing how to react. The secret was out now and there was no turning back.

          “Don't worry, Maren … I can call you Maren, can't I? I don't mind at all, really. Elsa and I have no secrets from each other and I can only say it's nice that you two have found each other and are happy. Because I am too, for my dear sister who has finally discovered love for herself,” she said smiling with an affectionate look at Elsa.

          Honeymaren breathed a sigh of relief. “It's all right then. Elsa already told me that you wouldn't mind such a relationship.”

          No one said anything more and instead contentedly spooned the delicious stew into themselves. A little later, Elsa stood up and asked for the empty guksis.

          “I'll go to the camp and take the bowls right away. I'll also make sure with Yelana that you get something better to wear, sis.”

          When she was gone and out of sight, Anna moved a little closer to Honeymaren. Her expression darkened as she did so and when she had her face just inches from Honeymaren's, she raised her index finger in the air in front of her in warning.

          “I can promise you one thing though, Honeymaren. If you ever harm or hurt my sister and make her cry, you will bitterly regret it. Because if you do, I will finish you off.”^

          Honeymaren took hold of Anna's index finger and slowly pushed her hand down. She smiled in understanding and nodded slightly in response. Then she replied in a low voice, "Anna, I know you care deeply for your big sister and I will protect her with my own life if I have to, you just have to believe that. I will never hurt Elsa, because I love her more than anything."

~~~

In the afternoon, Anna wore a gakti tailored for her and, except for her strawberry-blond long hair, was hardly distinguishable from the Northuldra around her. She found the clothes very comfortable and they also warmed much better than her royal traveling clothes with the short bolero over the thin dress. She was especially taken with the comfortably warm fur boots, which looked confusingly like Kristoff's.

          It was a long procession across the forest, always heading north. They walked for almost an hour between first light birch trees and then through increasingly dense vegetation. When they finally arrived in front of a wide brook, the way seemed to go no further, because on the opposite side high bushes blocked the way. At least that's how it looked at first glance.

          But Anna and Elsa only had to follow the others and waded across a shallow ford to the other bank. Where just a green wall prevented them from going further, a narrow path suddenly opened up as the Northuldra bent the branches to the side in front of them.

          What they saw then, as they stepped into the almost circular large clearing beyond, took both of their breath away. There was something magical about this place and the unusual, large building in the middle of it.

          Yelana stood waiting not far in front of them, facing them.

          “How did you guys build this?” asked Elsa, impressed, as she stood in front of her. “It looks like the birch trees grew through the roof and are supporting the whole building. And then there are these straight as a die tall birch trees all around the outside. Even our best builders in Arendelle can't get that right. You have indeed not promised too much, Yelana.”

          Anna, too, stood open-mouthed and finally looked up at the open spire, which had a pyramid-shaped little roof above it. Someone was standing up there looking down at them.

          “I'll tell you my idea for this a little later, after I've made the proposal to my people and it's been voted on. Why don't you go ahead inside? I have to meet someone first and I'll be right up.”

          The sisters followed the others through a large double doorway inside into a large hall that was already well filled. Both looked up in amazement at an impressive, free-hanging construction of a winding staircase that led up to the top of the tower. The crowd in front of them made way and let them through to the front, to where Honeymaren was already standing and waiting at the foot of this staircase with an equally astonished face.

          Behind them now the entrance was closed audibly loud and it became quiet in the hall. Everyone was waiting for something, or rather someone, because shortly after Yelana, followed by Alena, entered through a side door and went forward to join the three of them.

          She stood in front of them, while Alena went to Honeymaren's side and nodded to her. The noaidi had her drum in her hand and the young Northuldra already guessed what she was going to do with it.

          “Thank you all for coming. I will now share with you why I have called a Norting,” Yelana began. “Today will change many things for us and I hope for the better. Today is also a very special day because for the first time in many decades, a noaidi is present and will look into the near future for us.”

          All eyes then turned to Alena and Honeymaren nodded imperceptibly.

          “I have to tell you today that I have grown too old to remain as your leader and will be leaving you shortly.”

          A murmur went through the crowd and many a person shouted “But why?”, or “We want you to stay, Yelana!”, “After all these decades you want to leave us? We need you, Yelana!” and other voices. The old Northuldra gave them a pass and felt grateful for these heartfelt reactions.

          When things quieted down again, she continued speaking. “The danger from Kolgrimr and his allies is finally over, our people are safe again and we see the open sky above us. We, the people of the Sun, will have a new leader, someone who has courageously proven herself and significantly helped to banish this danger at the risk of her own life and even had to suffer a heavy loss. You all know and love her, because I am talking here about Honeymaren Nattura!”

          There was actually almost no one in the hall who was not astonished by this and this could be clearly read in the faces. But no one started the grumbling or cried out.

          “You must be wondering if it's the right choice, and even though I'm firmly convinced of it myself, in a moment Alena, who was actually just visiting and got dragged into the tragic story, will look into the future for us.” Yelana waved behind her, beckoning the two to join her. “Please both step forward.”

          Honeymaren and Alena complied, the young Northuldra keeping her head down and her hands crossed in front of her.

          “Alena was an instrumental ally in the outcome of the war, for she discovered and uncovered a fifth monolith and guided Elsa, our fifth Spirit, to the spiritual plane, where she was ultimately able to free Ahtohallan and, with whose help Kolgrimr and his evil mother Gyda were banished forever. You can all imagine what our future would be like if this had turned out differently. Ryder Nattura and his new friend Indu from the far north, together with Honeymaren and Elsa, fought our enemy Kolgrimr at that fifth monolith and together they were able to drive him into Ahtohallan's trap.”

          She paused for a moment. “Ryder, Indu, please step forward and show yourselves. And you too, Elsa, please.”

          As everyone stepped beside Yelana in amazement, she smiled and raised her voice.

          “Please now honor our liberators, all of whom stand beside me!”

          It took only seconds for applause to erupt, many in the hall clapping their hands, and all who had a battle staff with them stamping it rhythmically on the floor. A little later, the first ones sang a joik of honor, testifying to their great gratitude. Yelana also stomped her short birch staff on the ground and sang along loudly.

          It went on like this for minutes, and many a tear and a grateful smile appeared on the faces of the honorees. Anna had gone to one of the upper steps to see everything better and clearly showed pride in her countenance, for Elsa, but also for the two Nattura siblings.

          When it was finally over, Yelana asked for a vote on whether Honeymaren was accepted as the new leader at all. The vote was by a show of hands and no hand was seen not to go up.

          “Do you accept the election, Honeymaren Nattura?” asked Yelana.

          The addressed was moved, but still felt uncertain, especially because a plan was going through her mind since the conversation with Alena. And this one had also become difficult, because now she had a relationship with her beloved Elsa.

          Honeymaren was unsettled, so, surprising many, she replied, “I want Alena to look into my future, because I need certainty about a particular thing.”

          Silence returned and the noaidi stepped forward. She first looked deeply into Honeymaren's eyes for a few moments before she began beating the drum, walking slowly around her and singing a joik. At some point Alena stopped, closed her eyes still standing upright, and had fallen into a trance. The joik and drum fell silent for seconds.

          “I see Honeymaren. Very clearly, as if from far away. She will go on a long journey. I see her moving with the great herds of reindeer, in ice and snow, and I see a journey of experiences and discoveries. She is finding herself, learning new skills, and meeting lots of people of the People of the Sun who speak many languages. In the process, she travels far up into the cold north, to where the reindeer migrate each year. This journey will take a whole year and when she returns down to the summer camp with the great herds of reindeer, she will be a new person and ready to become the new leader of the Northuldra. She will usher in a new era and take the first step into a new future.”

          Minutes later, Alena opened her eyes again, lowered her drum and looked at Honeymaren in surprise. Then she spoke to Yelana and everyone else present.

          “And it will begin with me, for she will accompany me to the great reindeer camp on the plateau, along with the captured Northmen and some Northuldra who will follow her willingly.”

          She paused for a moment and turned to the young Northuldra, “I am surprised myself by what I saw, Honeymaren, but there can be no doubt. It is true, and I believe you have already toyed with the idea of accompanying me, haven't you?”

          Honeymaren nodded sadly, for she had to think of the great love she had to leave behind for this journey. “Yes, it is so and I was very unsettled. But now you have seen it and through you I know which way to go … for all of us.”

~~~

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Remark: I hope you have enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a comment if you liked the story, I would be pleased to read your opinions, even criticisms. If you want to be tagged as soon I publish the next chapter please let me know, except you are already tagged :-)

Tagging: @true--north @annaofthenorthernlights @dronning-formynder05

#frozen #frozen2 #frozen3 #fanfic #epic novel #the broken bridge #chapter 73 #bigfrozenfan #elsamaren

[raestarz]

Rookie Hour

Chapter Five - I Don't Trust Her.

A/N: This is in Leon's POV so eat it up because this'll happen every once in a blue moon :) @neteyamsmunch <- my favorite girlie Word Count: 2.1 k

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I had tried to open the door that the mysterious woman had went through it was locked but after a couple of beats it was unlocked and I went inside keeping my handgun at the ready, I look over at my shoulder at Kyaire for a moment before going ahead getting a map of the Police Station B1 map. I head back over to her as she leans against the parking garage pillar still, “You doing alright?” I ask her softly, giving her a gentle smile. She seemed as if she was deep in thought, clearly not answering me, for a while and I took that moment to examine her features. Kyaire honestly was gorgeous, I don’t understand how that guy back there was her father. The way she furrowed her brows while she was in thought or fidgeted parts of her clothes when she was anxious. Her tells of her emotions were nearly so easy to see, her hair…locks I think? Looked fresh and brand new but also growing worn from our previous adventures, fighting her father and all. She had the prettiest hazel eyes but they leaned more toward green. I wonder if she got them from her mother, clearly her mother was African-American as she was. Kyaire suddenly snapped me out of my thoughts when she spoke, her eyes trained on me, “I’m fine, Leon. Just wondering if that woman is really a part of the FBI.” 

I furrowed my brows confused, “Why wouldn’t she be?” I asked. Kyaire shrugged her shoulders pushing herself off the pillar getting somewhat closer to me and I felt the breath in my throat hitch. Jesus Christ. “I dunno know, just a feeling.” Her eyes examined my face, I felt the heat rise to my face. I blink hard for a long minute, “Alright well, I hope your feeling is…wrong? I think she’s a good person.” Kyaire raised a brow at me, “Uh huh, sure. Let’s just keep going, yeah?” I nod taking her back over to near the location where I got the map and we go down the hall of the jail. Kyaire sniffs and then snorts, “It smells like ass in here.” She whispers and I let out a low chuckle, “Yeah, definitely.” We both warily continue to walk down the jail hall spotting zombies holding onto the bars or just sitting on the floor looking completely out of it.

We find a man stuck inside of a jail cell, “Hello?” He called out to us and we rushed over. “Hey.” I greeted the man with a small smile, Kyaire trailing behind me. I knew she had my back at all times, I could trust her with my life at this point. “I don’t believe it. A real human.” The man stood up from the jail’s cement seat walking over to the bars. He gave a happy smile as if he couldn’t believe it, “Hello, human…Oh? Humans…?” I turned back looking over my shoulder, he clearly spotted Kyaire. Then I turned back to the man, nodding, realizing I needed to ask this man the important questions. Clearly he was in the cell for a reason right? “You been here long?” I ask, raising a kind brow, maybe he locked himself in here to protect himself from the zombies. The man responded enthusiastically, “Long enough. Are we the last ones alive?” I give the man a calm and reassuring smile, “No, no, there’s a few of us.” The man laughed and backed away from the bars, taking a puff from the cigarette I just noticed, I shriveled my nose in disgust while Kyaire walked over silently putting her arm on top of my shoulder but not exactly leaning against me, I look down at her giving her a soft smile which she clearly don’t notice. Which is okay, I don’t even know what would be her reaction to me looking at her like that. The man looks between us giving a weird stare before he speaks again, “Oh…that’s good news, I guess.” I nod giving a short yeah, and the man adds on, “Unless, of course, Irons sent you.” I lean forward a bit, my brows raising, maybe just maybe the chief of police knew what was going on. “Irons…? You mean Chief Irons? Is he still around?” I ask enthusiastically, I hear Kyaire give a snort and I shoot her a look, she stops leaning on me and gives a small shrug. “Chief Irons isn’t exactly…the best around here.” She explained, the man nodded in her direction, “The girl is right. But, who cares. Hopefully, he’s somebody’s dinner by now.” I furrowed my brows even more confused looking between Kyaire and the man. 

“What do you mean by that?” I ask clearly wanting answers, because this makes little to no sense why would he? The man answers my question but not the right one, “He’s the bastard who locked me in here.” The man huffed, taking another puff of his cigarette. I narrowed my eyes a bit and nodded, “I’m sure he had a good reason.” I know Kyaire must be giving me a look right now because she grunts, and I know I’ll be in for it after we walk away from him. The man nodded, taking another puff of his cigarette, “He did.” I smirk feeling like for once I was finally right. He throws down his cigarette to the floor and smirks, “I was about to blow the whistle on his dirty ass.” Clearly feeling smug about his findings which I find hard to be true, why would people appoint a dirty cop to be the chief? He adds on, “I’d have done the same thing too, I guess.” Giving a small shrug. All three of us hear a noise down the hall from the jail, I look down and then back to the man and he meets my eyes. “Hey! I’ll make you a deal…” He offers, leaning against the bars again holding out exactly what we needed the parking pass to get out of here, he adds on, “Unlock this cell and I’ll give you this. There’s no other way out of that parking garage! Believe me!” He insists, and I look Kyaire in the eyes and her eyes meet mine. Kyaire nods, and I huff, “Sorry…I can’t do that. I have to talk to the chief first.” Kyaire elbows me in the ribs and I let out a low grunt. “Come on, Ky I can’t let out a guy who's clearly in here for a reason.” She gave me a look of disbelief and argued back, “Clearly he was tossed in here because of Chief Irons being a dirty ass cop!” I shook my head ready to fight back till the man behind the bars interrupted, “Look, we’re all prisoners in this station.” He said clearly motioning to the three of us standing here, Kyaire had her arms crossed clearly upset with me till we heard another noise that was from a zombie.

We both turn taking our weapons out again, then turn back to the man who continues to talk, “So either we play nice and help each other out─” I hear more noises but this time creaking, the man looks absolutely terrified and I whip my head to where he’s looking, Kyaire already has her gun trained ahead of her. I take a breath and the man adds on, “Shit. It’s coming.” He panicked backing up away from the bars. I need answers, and I need them now. I need to keep Kyaire and me safe, I don’t know what I would do if she got hurt even more than she already is. “What─what’s coming?” I shout walking up to the bars grabbing the bars. The man panicked even more, looking between me and the area past me and Kyaire. “C’mon─c’mon, don’t be an asshole…Ok?” He asked and held up the parking pass again, and in that moment I knew he was clearly wrongly imprisoned and Kyaire had been right as always. Fuck. “You need this!” He emphasized backing up to against the wall, “Just get me the fuck outta here!” He shouted at me. Suddenly a large hand bursts through the wall grabbing the man's head dragging up and I took out my gun training it on the large gloved hand, trying to see if I shoot anything beside the man. The man screamed and struggled, Kyaire turned and gasped, my eyes met hers and I could see hers dim a bit more. I felt my heartbreak for her, we looked back at the man who was still screaming, his arms flailing and the gloved hand squoze his head till it popped like a tomato. And then dropped the man's dead body onto the floor, I gasped and Kyaire gagged. I turned and looked at her, she looked away from the man’s dead body and seemed shaken by the scene. “Kyaire…” I whisper softly walking over to her, reaching out to touch her shoulder and she suddenly brushes my hand away. I took a breath knowing she was in shock and needed time. Oh my god…What was that? And what’re we gonna do? I looked at the man’s body for a moment then looked back at Kyaire. I looked at the hole that thing left and heard footsteps coming down the hall. “Who is that!?” I asked, training my gun down the hall and it was the mysterious woman from earlier. She comes into the light, “It’s just me, so you can put that thing away.” I sigh, putting my gun down.

Kyaire sniffled and walked over, standing on the opposite side of me where the woman was. Leaning against me again, I desperately wanted to wrap my arm around her waist, why…Would I wanna do that? Anyway, it doesn't matter. I had to explain the situation to this FBI agent, I sighed again, “I don’t even know what happened─ It just…happened so quick.” The woman leaned against the bars peering into the cell, looking at the man's body. Kyaire took out a breath and leaned against the brick wall near the cell not wanting to look at the man clearly for a good reason. The woman looked at us pointedly, “I told you to get out of here.” She shouted at us and then pointed at Kyaire, “I thought you’d be smarter than him, but clearly not.” I step in front of her pointed finger, “Don’t talk to her like that.” I huffed, and the woman smirked at us, nodding toward the man, “You two wouldn’t wanna end up like Ben, would you?” She added on to her previous statement. I furrow my brows now even more confused than ever, what is going on here?! “You knew him?” I asked softly now, feeling slightly bad for the woman. The woman crossed her arms explaining a bit, “He was an informant. Had information useful to my investigation.” I let out an exasperated breath, “So what he said was true?” I ask and Kyaire lets out an unamused laugh. I turned back to look at her for a moment before the mysterious woman started to walk away again, “Hey, you can’t keep walking away from me!” I gave chase for a moment grabbing her arm and she pulled her arm away, narrowing her eyes at me. “I don’t even know your name!” I huffed trying to at least get more information from her. I decided to give her my name, “...I’m Leon Kennedy.” I said hoping she would also give her’s, she sighed before stepping closer to me, “Find a way out, Leon. Before it’s too late…Then we’ll talk.” She stated, and for some reason the way she said my name sent shivers down my spine. It felt good, a weird kind of good. As she started to walk away she spoke again, “Name’s Ada…” I sighed, looking away from Ada to now…Ben. Knowing we had to get his parking pass to get out of here. Kyaire finally spoke up, “Now I don’t trust her even more.” I blinked and looked at Kyaire shocked, “Why not? She’s giving us more information, Ky…? Give her a chance, please?” I pleaded with her and Kyaire huffed. “Fine.” Stepping away from the brick wall near the cell, and the circuit breaker near it as well. “Well, I guess the deal’s on.” Kyaire murmured. I nodded, giving Kyaire a soft smile, “See I knew you weren’t too emo to give people chances.” She rolled her eyes in response, “Don’t get your hopes up, boy scout.” My face felt hot at the comment. “Yeah, yeah…” I muttered.

We started to walk down the jail hall hopefully going to find something to open Ben’s jail cell and get that parking pass. 

These two are starting to grow on me…

#re2 leon #resident evil #blk reader #leon kennedy x reader #leon kennedy #leon x reader #resident evil remake #blktumblr #blk writer #leon resident evil #leon s kennedy #leon kennedy fluff #leon scott kennedy #leon kennedy fanfic