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peaky-shelby · 1 year

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NEW ROMANTICS | MBAPPÉ [9]

» summary: in which an arrogant and talented football player (the best of his time as some say) and a focused and harsh critic of a journalist are gonna have to find a way to co-exist.« previous chapter

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Taylor’s instinct was to dive in the water without saying anything at all. Kylian watched her as she tied herself around him so she could stay underwater. He heard the guard getting closer and looked up.

“Mr. Mbappe?” All Kylian could do was gulp and nod. “Party is inside sir. Pool Is closed”

He was struggling to come up with actual words, opening and closing his mouth repeatedly, distracted by the skin to skin contact and her closeness to dangerous areas but this was not the time.

“my daughter’s a fan.”

“Really?”

“You don’t happen to have a shirt do you?”

“Not right now I don’t.”

Taylor pinched his thigh, not at all in a sexual way but only to remind him that she was about to run out of breath if she didn’t do anything. She closed her eyes trying to focus on her heartbeat, which echoed in the void of the water and would get quicker every minute that she didn’t let out the air. She could see her time running out right in front of her eyes. None of this was a good idea, definitely not for her weak heart which had already been through a lot.

“but give me five minutes I’ll get one for you.” Taylor could feel his entire body vibrating as he spoke. She couldn’t hear a response by the guard. Feared that if this took any longer she would loose all consciousness but suddenly she felt his hands underneath her elbows, pulling her up. She gasped for air, the second she reached the surface and jumped off the pool, getting up on marble and walking back and forth. Her hand always placed in her chest, over her heart while she was hyperventilating in attempt to stay calm. She put on her heels, quicker than any time before and picked up her phone as well. Kylian got off the pool reaching for his pants, jumping on one leg while walking so he could put them on at the same time. He wore his white t-shirt and snatched his jacket from the ground, attempted to put it over her but she slapped it away.

“are you ok?” he asked, kinda worried, kinda confused. She didn’t answer him, which only made him more anxious than before, trying to get near her and failing each time. He had followed her on the railings of the marine, for a second be thought she’d jump over them and into the sea. “taylor?” he tried again.

“this ends here!” it came out as an order. She was shaking in the cold while she said it and he thought she should be the one going inside. He attempted to put his jacket over her again, to warm her wet figure. She turned around abruptly, making him step back. “enough Kylian !” she yelled. “no more staring, no more insinuations, or jokes or following me. There are more than 20 reporters in that venue and im--” she laughed at herself, rubbing her face “what am I doing?”. If stars could speak they’d be doomed, both of them. It was the first time he noticed the sign of fear in her eyes, a woman fearless in most things was standing scared in front of him. Did he feel bad for her? Being the reason of the fear? “please.” She whispered “enough.”

He nodded, pressing his tongue on his teeth. “ok.” He raised his hands in defeat, still holding his jacket in one and made a step back. “I’m done. I promise.” He lowered his hand again, holding out the jacket for her “but take the jacket” Her eyes fell on it, looking at it like it was a gun that she’d put on her head later on. Like accepting would be accepting something worse, something like a curse. She snatched it away from him and put it on, leaving as far away from him as possible.

He started buttoning his shirt, looking up at the sky while doing so. Funny thing about stars, they see everything and don’t tell a soul.

“Ky!”

He turned around in the sound of his name, Hakimi standing behind him. There was this kind of disapproval in his eyes like he had seen everything but was too kind to say anything. He took off his jacket and gave it to Kylian.

“Go back inside.” He said “before people start adding two and two together.”

Taylor got back in her room. Changing away from her wet clothes as quick as she could. She had used Kylian’s jacket to hide how wet her dress was when going up to her room. She threw it on the couch across the bed and made herself a warm bath, her body sinking in the high temperature. Her heart finally finding a safe place to calm. No sort of shampoo could erase his touch from her inner thigh, another invisible tattoo by him. But she kept telling herself that’s all they were, tattoos. A simple addiction, she’d eventually get over.

Later, she laid on her bed, wrapped herself in her cozy robe and tucked under the blankets. She couldn’t sleep and she knew she wouldn’t. Not unless she found a way to get her mind off his dark eyes. Hey eyes were stuck on the ceiling, imagining thousands of stars starring down at her. Her phone buzzed on the table, the noise disturbing her but also giving her a way out from her thoughts. She sat better, reading the name on the screen. A sense of calmness she hadn’t felt in a while washed over her.

“Dad?”

“Hey lion. I saw your call from earlier is everything alright?”

She hesitated “yes. Just missing you.” It wasn’t a complete lie.

“Ah I was talking with Beth about that. I was thinking I’d fly to you next week. Stay for a couple of days.”

She smiled at the thought “that’d be good. You sure you can travel though? How were your exams?”

“they were fine, don’t you worry about it.”

“you might as well tell me, I’ll call Beth otherwise.”

“sweetheart. I’m ok. I promise you. What about you? You sound troubled.”

“The match against AL Nssr is gonna be the first that they know I’m assistant coach. Guess I’m scared about that”

“Mbappe still giving you a hard time?”

Her eyes searched for Kylian’s jacket, she looked at it like it was actually him. “Sometimes”

“don’t think about it too much. Keep being yourself, doing what you know best.”

“thanks pa.” A pause between the two then she asked “do you think I have a tendency of self destruction?”

“why would you ask that?”

“I fear I might be doing it again.”

WELCOMING EVENT VENUE – NIGHT

Kylian stayed on the even a while longer. He didn’t really talk to anyone or attempted to even look like he was enjoying himself. Taylor’s disappearance was talked about a lot. The boys would make theories about it and all the while he could feel Hakimi’s eyes staring at him. Still, he had made a promise to her to not talk about it with his friend, ever. He was going to keep it.

He Found himself close to a group of a couple reporters, it wasn’t intended. He just kept zoning out and unconsciously joining conversations, while being pushed around by members on the PR team or even Galtier himself. Hearing her name is what got him out of the zone.

“Taylor Wilock. She was on Chelsea.”

He made a step closer to the group, listening.

“she left very early on. Don’t you think?” asked one of the women. The man standing next to her laughed.

“Have we counted the footballers to make sure they’re all here?”

Kylian gripped tight on his glass. He didn’t like what the unknown man was suggesting.

“haven’t seen Neymar in a while.” Said the woman, laughing “god if I were her, I’d sleep with half of them as well.”

“Any other way for a woman in her 20’s to get that kind of a job?”

Kylian was fuming. He stepped in front of the two journalists, his posture strict and unwelcoming.

“She was 5 when she played her first game. She so good that her coach had to keep her benched in some games because she made all the other kids cry. When she turned 7, Birmingham city academy had already started making offers for her to stay and join the under 16s team. She would have, except she was picked out by Chelsea, as you also pointed out. Full scholarship. She was 10 at the time by the way. Starting eleven in every game and approached by national team for the world cup. She would have joined them at 16 years old, the contract was even signed. She could have had a bigger career than you could ever dream of if it wasn’t for her illness. But even then, she built a website from zero, with detailing and analyzing articles about player performances in ways that coaches in their 40s envied. That’s how she got the fucking job.”

Kylian was surprised of how much he had listened and remembered the things that Jude had told him about Taylor. His mind had kept all of the information without even realizing it. Perhaps, overhearing the things they said about her made him understand how much there was on the line for her, meanwhile he had been treating this as a game. A few weeks ago, and maybe he would have said the same things about her but now he knew she wasn’t underqualified, no matter how much he wanted to pretend like she was. Maybe this was a way of redeeming himself for the things he said and done after a much-needed wake up call.

“Do your fucking research.”

He left them after that. Didn’t stay to see their surprised or baffled expressions. He bumped on a few people while exiting the venue and going up to his room. He locked the door, changed into more comfortable clothes and started searching in his suitcase. He took out his tablet, sitting on his bed and opening his gallery. Scrolled down until he found the pictures he had taken of Taylor’s report. He stayed up reading that night. The taste of her skin lingering on his lips.

KHALIFA INTERNATIONAL STADIUM – OPEN TRAINING SESSION

Taylor was surprised when she realized Kylian was keeping his promise. During breakfast they sat on different tables, keeping their eyes on the ones around them instead of each other. The only time he got close enough to her was when he asked to speak with Neymar. Only for a couple of seconds before the two of them left to go talk alone.

In the bus Taylor sat on the front next to Galtier, repeatedly checking on her phone to keep herself occupied. She hoped he couldn’t see through her performances. Truth was that since the night before she had this constant ache in her chest and a sort of dizziness. She thought both things would die out after taking her pills but the exhaustion seemed to be getting bigger. She ignored it.

The team dressed in their new yellow and black kit, photographed in the hall and then out on te stadium. She watched in awe as the people that had come to see the training screamed and yelled when the team walked out on the pitch. Turns you never get used to that feeling, the thrill of listening your friend’s names yelled in celebration. It didn’t take long before she was approached by the first reporters, asking about her experience in the team so far. She gave short answers and excused herself, saying he needed to work. She spent most of the time studying attitudes and performances. She noticed Kylian training alongside Neymar, the two of them passing the ball to each other. Galtier had assigned her to mostly watch for this training and get back to him with a starting 11 and a final strategy for the next day’s game while the other coaches took the lead in the training. She’d walk in between everyone, writing on her notebook and sometimes blow her whistle when she thought the boys were getting out of control.

Sometimes she’d get this feeling on her fingertips like she needed to type out the thoughts on her mind. A article like the ones she used to write. She’d ignore it the same way she’d ignore the growing ache on her chest. She was in the middle of the field when Neymar kicked a ball at her and she realized that she had zoned out.

“You good?” he asked, getting near her. “You look pale.”

“Yeah.” She said quickly, she showed him her notebook and started pointing on her notes about him. While she spoke, she kept missing a couple of words or dragging out sentences. Ney noticed it, his head cocked to the left while watching her. He was listening at her pointers but also examining on her features.

“You sure you’re good?” he asked.

She closed her eyes nodding “I just need water.” She exited the field, looking at the benches for her water bottle. she went inside the building when took it so no one from the team would see her. She leaned against the wall and started drinking slowly, fearing that her stomach might not take kindly on the liquid.

“Ms. Wilock?” She opened her eyes to see one of the medics standing in front of her, a kind smile on her face. “I’m jo. Are you feeling alright?”

“Do I look that bad?” she tried to joke.

“Mr. Mbappe told me you might need help.”

Her expression softened, she cleared her throat as to not show her guilt and turned her gaze at the floor so she wouldn’t be able to see her eyes. “I’m fine, really. This is normal.”

“Could I check your blood pressure?” she asked, holding a monitor in her hands. Taylor nodded and held her arm out. The medic wrapped it around her arm. Taylor leaned her head against the wall, looking up at the ceiling “are you diagnosed with a condition?”

“Inherited Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.” She answered, biting the inside of her lip “like I said. This is normal for me.”

The medic was focused on the monitor, watching the numbers getting higher. She shook her head “I need you to take a few deep breaths for me—”

“I need to get back on the field.”

“In a moment. Please, a couple deep breaths.” She obeyed; this was routine for her. Deep breaths and counting to 7. She had been doing it for most of her life. “You said inherited?”

“my father’s side.” She explained.

Jo unwrapped the monitor from her arm “you should take a break. Eat something.”

“I’ll take a break when the session is over.”

“Something wrong coach?” Kimpembe came in, jogging towards her. Taylor turned and looked at him, a little annoyed that this was turning into a scene.

“I’m fine—” “she needs to eat.” They said it at the same time, Kimpembe looking between them, confused. He narrowed his eyes.

“Well I was gonna go get a snack. You’re welcome to join.”

“Not necessary—”

“I think I’ll listen to the doctor!” he slipped his head around her arm and winked at the medic before dragging her with him to the cafeteria. She groaned, trying to move away but he was stronger. He had his signature smile plastered on his face while they walked and he was ignoring her threats and complaints. He ordered her a toast, since it was the only thing, she was willing to eat. They sat on the corner, the two of them. She’d cut small bites from her bread and chew on them slowly. Kimpembe laughed at her.

“You eat like a chipmunk.”

“I said I wasn’t hungry.”

He took a full bite from his banana, keeping her eyes on her and when he swallowed, he said “should have stayed longer last night.” She gazed at the toast, all of a sudden swallowing the whole thing in one go and chocking on it seemed tempting. “People were looking for you.”

She coughed on her own breath, looking up at him “who was?”

He shrugged “just people.” He laughed at himself “journalists are begging for an interview with you.”

“only so they can be sexists and annoying.” She bit on her toast.

“Kylian took care of that last night.” She stopped chewing. She lowered the toast, her big eyes focusing on the man across from her. “Someone made a comment about you and he set them right. Gave them your whole biography to shut them up.”

She blinked a few times, second time today that Kylian had tried to help without making any actual contact with her. “Why would he do that?”

“Trying to get on your good side? I don’t know.”

She thought about it. Imagined Kylian supporting her in a dispute, for some reason that sent a shiver in her heart, a shiver she couldn’t quite explain. She took another bite from her toast, zoning out while chewing on the food.

Taylor got back on the field with Kimpembe next to her. Kylian was occupied with a group of kids that had circled around him, asking questions and taking photographs with their idol. He had this smile on his face for the whole time. She remembered the first time he saw him with that little girl on campus. It was like he was a different person. He raised his head and looked at her, all of a sudden, he was pointing at her while talking to one of the little girls. Taylor looked behind her to make sure he wasn’t pointing at somebody else. When she looked back at them again, they were closer, walking towards her for some reason. She stood awkwardly while waiting for them.

“Hi—” she exclaimed when they got close enough. Kylian smiled and knelt next to the girl.

“She wanted to meet you.”

“Me?”

The girl nodded. Seconds later and she had tied her arms around Taylor’s feet. Hugging her. Taylor gave Kylian and a questioning look. She knelt so she’d be on the same height as the girl “what’s your name?”

“Sia.”

Taylor smiled “It’s very nice to meet you.”

“Kylian says you’re the strictest coach they have.”

Taylor laughed “that’s true, I am.”

“I think you’re cool.”

“I am that too.”

Kylian took a picture of them together and the girl ran back to her parents. Before Kylian could follow her, taylor grabbed his arm. He stopped on his tracks turning around to face her. She let go of his arm quickly “I wanted to talk to you” she said and he nodded.

“Yeah, I wanted to talk to you as well.” Taylor expected him to go ahead and tell her about the events that followed after she left the venue or about what happened in the pool but what followed, left her with her mouth open “I checked your report again last night. There are some pointers, if you have the time, I need you to go through them together.” She thought she was hallucinating, that maybe her heart had really given up on her and now she was watching some weird dream. “I have some ideas for tomorrow I want you to speak to Galtier about if that’s alright.” She pressured her lips together, narrowing her eyes. She rubbed her head—

“Wai—wait, what?” she snorted “since when do you have a copy of the report?”

“I took pictures of it when I took it”

“Stole it” she corrected him. “And of course, you did.”

“Does it really matter?” he asked, letting both hands fall on his sides like he was tired “Do you have time to help or not?”

Her mouth hangs open while she was processing his request. She had to shake her head to get back on reality. “Yeah—” she murmured “of course—I—that’s my job Kylian.”

“Thanks.”

“That’s not what I wanted us to talk about though.”

“Why? Is there anything else?”

His question hurt but he wasn’t trying to be offensive or dismissive. If anything, he was keeping a promise that she had made him to, so she had no reason to be mad at him. Why did it still stink though?

She shook her head, puling up the corner of her lips “I guess not.”

He gave her a sympathetic smile and he left.

RESTAURANT / FAIRMONT HOTEL – AFTERNOON

“Why am I here then?” asked Hakimi, looking at Kylian, who was scrolling on his iPad to find the picture he was looking at last night. They were sitting on a circled table next to each other,

“Back up.” Mumbled Kylian.

“In case she tries to kill you or kiss you?” he picked one of the welcoming nuts the waiter had left on the table, smirking at his friend.

Kylian gave him the side eye and let down the tablet, ones he opened the pictures he needed “don’t make any jokes when she’s around. I don’t want her to think it was planned,”

“Since when do you care?”

“I really want to win tomorrow. If working with her is what it takes then so be it.” He glanced at the entrance of the restaurant and then back at his friend “I don’t want this to look like an ambush with you here.”

“she’s here—”

Kylian looked at the entrance. Taylor came in, holding her files and smiling to the waiters. She stopped for a second when she saw Hakimi sitting next to Kylian but then went and sat next to him, using him as a wall of separation from Kylian.

“Achraf,” she mumbled, while drawing the chair closer to the table. Hakimi smiled at her and gave her a quick wave “couldn’t take all the heat by yourself, Kylian?” she asked, opening her files on the table. Kylian leaned closer on the table so he’d see better at her writings.

Hakimi reached for his water, moving carefully in between them and staring at table, avoiding their gazes “this is gonna be fun” he mumbled and drank from his glass.

They ordered. They talked. They fought.

“That doesn’t make any sense!” complained Kylian

“that’s because you’re dumb!” she mumbled.

Meanwhile Hakimi was trying to enjoy his dinner in between their yelling. He was cutting bites of his dessert with his spoon, his eyes describing all the desperation he was feeling while being stuck between them. Papers were being pushed back and forth, he watched them with an empty expression until he reached his limit. He stood up abruptly, both of them watching him. “I need to go to the restroom.” He explained, any excuse to get away from this war zone. He pushed his chair back and walked away, leaving the two of them alone.

Taylor looked away from Kylian when Hakimi left and snatched a piece of paper that didn’t really say anything at all. She just wanted to pretend like she was reading something. Kylian started tapping on the table while looking at the screen on his tablet. “What about defense?”

“What about it?”

“you’re saying it’s weak.”

“Because it is…” she murmured. Kylian’s head shot up at her, he bit on his tongue. He slid on Hakimi’s chair, moving the tablet with him. Taylor glanced at him, a little worried for his intentions but all he seemed interested in was to make sense of her writings. She couldn’t understand where all this came from but she kinda liked it.

“Where are you gonna place me tomorrow?”

“I don’t have the final say, you know that.”

“What are you going to suggest?”

“What do you think? Forward. Alongside Neymar and Messi.”

“What do you know about Ronaldo’s team.”

She looked at him. She took out a pen from her folder and started writing on one of the papers while talking “You’re basically going against Vincent Aboubakar. He’s forward and he’s good. Neymar will have his eye on him—”

“Why?”

“He was on Cameroon team when brazil lost this year. Make sure Ney doesn’t get carried away. Konan plays left back and his style is mostly dribbling and shooting from a distance. He is threat number two but he’s weak at finishing.” She paused, writing all the information she could remember about him on the paper “And then of course there is your favorite.” She wrote Ronaldo’s name on the paper “do I need to write his stats?”

Kylian smiled “no. I think I got it.”

“Listen. I don’t think it’s a hard win, which is why I’m gonna be extra disappointed If we lose. They’re not even a team yet. I doubt they’ve found a way to communicate with Ronaldo so quickly.”

“You think he is a liability?”

“I think he is a big change. And a sort of change like that takes time to adjust.”

Kylian moved slightly, his knee under the table unintentionally bumping on hers. Both of them freezing at the contact for a moment. She looked away without moving her leg away from him. “It wasn’t necessary to send the medic after me today.” She said.

“You gave me a scare last night.”

“I was fine” she whispered.

He nodded. He knew she was lying. He had spoken with the medic himself, but he didn’t pressure her. He lowered his head, his knee still laying against hers.

“do me a favor.” She hummed, getting a little closer “keep up the good kid act or whatever it was that got you so focused today for tomorrow.” He scoffed, smiling. “I saw you trying with Ney. It was pretty darn great.”

The waiter interrupted them, leaving down the bill for the dinner. Taylor went to reach for it, Kylian grasped her hand before she could even touch it. He dropped her hand seconds later, opening the envelope with the bill and putting in his card in a slick movement. The waiter left with it.

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“Just keeping up the good kid act.” He told her. She smiled and started collecting all her papers back on her files. Hakimi returned a while later, only then did they move their knees away from each other. Sitting straight on their chairs. So, touch deprived, both of them and it was coming out in the most sinful way possible.

“The boys are in the bar. You guys gonna join?”

“What the hell are they doing in the bar? They have a game tomorrow!”

The waiter returned with Kylian’s card and Taylor got up. She was pissed. Hakimi bit on his tongue, rubbing his forehead.

“I’m sure they are not drinking, right Haki?” Asked Kylian, standing up next to taylor. Hakimi filled his cheekbones with air, shrugging his shoulders.

“I’m gonna murder them—”

“Wai-wait!” Kylian stepped in front of her before she could leave. “They are adults. You’re not their mother, if they wanna fuck up, it’s on them, right?”

“I’m sure they are responsible enough, not to wake up with hangovers.” Added Hakimi.

“Fine. I’ll go back to my room. Give them a warning though that if I see anyone with sunglasses tomorrow, I’ll shove them so far up their asses they are going to taste them.” She walked past Hakimi. Kylian snorted at her comment, for ones able to appreciate her evil remarks because they weren’t aimed at him. Hakimi glowered at him and his laughter came to a quick halt.

“You know I think I’ll go to my room as well.”

Hakimi was still glowering.

“See you tomorrow bro.” he patted Hakimi on the shoulder and followed behind taylor. He reached her as soon as the elevator doors opened. Both of them walking inside and laying on opposite sides.

“You’re not gonna drink?” she asked, scratching on her nails.

“Good kid act” he reminded her and she laughed, closing her eyes.

Silence. Their kind.

“You sure everything was ok with the medic?”

“don’t ask me again Kylian.” She ordered.

The elevator doors opened again and they walked down the long hallway. Kylian stopped in front of his door while taylor continued. She stopped, turned back around to face him. He could feel her eyes on him, so he turned at her direction.

“I know you are scared playing against Ronaldo. I know what he means to you.” Her voice trailed off while she walked back to him “but you’ll do great as long as you remember the things we talked about today.” She smiled “the fact that you came to your sworn enemy JW for help, says a lot.”

He laughed. She reached for his hand, squishing it two times. He wanted to turn his hand and take hold of hers, pull her to him and kiss her, fulfill his addiction. But she slipped it away before he could hold it and she walked to her room, opening and closing the door while he stood outside his own. His body aching to be next to her, to make her angry so she’d yell at him. He was used to it.

She shut the door, a part of her staying on the other side. She realized his jacket was still laid on her couch. Tempted to return it to him, she traced the expensive fabric with her fingers. She left it there and fell asleep looking at it, a reminder of why she should keep away from him.

KHALIFA INTERNATIONAL STADIUM / LOCKER ROOMS – GAME DAY

Chaos was one word to describe it. Yelling, heavy steps, thousands of people walking around the stadium, outside, in the halls, and in the seats. Taylor was just a small figure among them and if it wasn’t for her id card, security would probably have kicked her out already. She got down the stairs to the locker room, meeting Galtier in the middle, giving his pregame speech to this team. She closed the door slowly so she wouldn’t interrupt him but he turned to her anyway.

“Ms. Wilock. Wanna do the honors?”

She was caught unprepared. Looking around for some sort of hint of what he meant “the what?”

Galtier motioned towards the boys, who seemed to be waiting for something. She slowly began to understand, a soft ‘oh’ escaping her lips. She moved closer, studying their faces. Some of them still had little belief in her. One of them of course was Verratti. She went to him first. Knelt in front of him.

“I know you hate me so if you could use that hate into scoring tonight that would be helpful.” Verratti scoffed “for the record, I think you are one of our best advantages for this game. I always have. So, kick that ball like it’s my face if that’s what it takes. Ok?”

He nodded, half smiling at her. She stood up and looked at Messi.

“Let’s not kid ourselves half the stadium is here to see you against Ronaldo. Please don’t let me getting benched when I was 13 for punching a girl that said Ronaldo was better stand for nothing.” They all laughed, even Galtier cracked a smile. It went on like this for all the players but she very noticeably ignored Neymar and Mbappe, like she was saving them for last.

Galtier gave any last motivation he had, clapping for his team. When they were all out, Taylor called for Neymar and Kylian. The two of them turned at the same time to answer to the woman, she held on their shoulders. Looking in their eyes.

“Whatever you did at training, keep doing it here. Please.” She looked at Kylian “or I’m gonna bury you both. Get it?”

Neymar smiled and leaned in, pecking her cheek “don’t worry Princessa.” He left. Ones again, Kylian and taylor stayed looking at each other. She pulled on his sleeve before he could turn and leave.

“The only number 7 I wanna see lifting that trophy is my number 7— Our seven.”

“You will” he reassured her. Half smiling at the way she called him. Repeatedly reminding himself of the promise he made to her, to stay good and appropriate.

“Prove me right.” She requested “prove me right for all he the time I’ve spend analyzing every single detail of your playing and critiquing it. Prove me it was worth it.”

He had never though of it like that. That the time she had spent on him meant something, that it wasn’t just an excuse to be mean to him but an excuse to write about him.

“go” she whispered, coming out like a warning for both. He listened to her and left. The two of them walking on the tunnel. She zipped up her jacket, walking passed him in the tunnel. She stood next to Galtier for the beginning of the game. Rubbing her hands together. To shield them from the cold but also because she needed to keep moving otherwise, she’d explode from her nerves. The teams got on the field, on their respectful side. She felt her knees give out when she heard the whistle for the start of the game. She sat down on the bench basically cuddling herself but it 3 minutes later and she was jumping up yelling. Messi had scored the first goal.

She threw her fist in the air, her entire body shaking in excitement. She threw herself at Ektike who was still on the bench. The two of them celebrating together.

20 minutes later and Kylian scores but the flag for offside goes up and her heart sinks. She kicked on the foot of the bench annoyed. Galtier sat down, crossing his arms. “they’re ok” he whispers to her “they’ll make it through don’t worry.”

Christiano’s penalty was the first hit. Taylor already planned on giving Keylor a hard time for the foul. She huffed and sat on the ground, crossing her legs. Kylian spotted her from where he was. He gave her a thumbs-up and she nodded. The next hit came when Bernat saw the red card raised before him. Taylor stood up from where she was, yelling at the referee. Raising her hands. But minutes later Kylian kicked the ball to Marquinhos and he very easily scored what would be the second goal. The whole game continued in the same rollercoaster style. A win and a loss. A loss and a win. A lost penalty by Neymar before a goal by Sergio Ramos with the help of Kylian. When Sergio kicked the ball in the net taylor ran to him, jumping on his arms. He picked her up, Kylian joining in on their celebration. When Sergio lets her down, she looks at Kylian. She smiled at him, grasping his hand to congratulate him “Keep it up!” she encouraged him and he winked at her, running back on the field.

Perhaps the most scared she felt was when Kylian had to do a penalty, her heart pounding while she waited for him to score. Knowing what it’d do to him if he lost. She dropped herself on Galtier when he scored. Galtier didn’t push her away but he didn’t hold on to her either, reminding her that she had to keep a low profile as a couch. Funny because all she actually wanted to do was write for this game, every single detail. The way each team kept making a comeback, keeping the game entertaining until the last minute. Her fingertips were hurting by the lack of keyboards to press on. She closed her eyes, waiting for the final whistle and when she heard the sound, she opened them and looked at the score. They had won. She ran in Neymar’s arms who picked her up, spinning her around. Everyone else seemed to be celebrating as well. She hugged all of them, but the hug that lasted longer was the one with Kylian. He tied his hands around her waist to pull her of the ground just a little. Her lips brushed against his ear as she whispered “Proof of you.” Leaving him with a gentle peck on his cheek. And he wasn’t so surprised to hear her say it as he was by the fact that it actually meant something to him.

PLAY MUSIC

Taylor was out in the hallway, giving her first postgame interview. A woman holding the microphone for her.

“Do you feel like you had anything to do with today’s win?”

“I’d hope so. Although, I haven’t been part of the team for as long as I’d need to and we still have a long way to go. Hopefully my presence will bring more good moments like this.”

“Is it hard handling these men?”

She looked behind the reporter. Kylian standing behind her, his chest bare, watching closely. She smiled “sometimes harder than others.”

The celebrations continued on the locker rooms, with champagne, mostly sprayed on each other and silly dances around the locker room while they waited for the bus. Taylor was being pushed back and forth, unable to stay still for longer than 5 seconds before another of these big men came to pick her up and throw her back on their little celebrations. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t enjoy it. One gesture that stood out for her was Verratti’s, who came showed up in front of her, holding his hand out for her, a sign of truce perhaps. She took it with no question. Smiling.

Moments later and she had an entire bottle of champagne sprayed on her by Neymar. She tried to get away but it seemed everyone was part of the game. At least she got to taste a bit of it. She looked at her clothes with playful sorrow in her eyes but she was laughing at the same time. She chased Neymar, until she bumped on Kylian. His hands grasping on her bicep to keep her upright. She looked in his eyes, the darkness that she’d usually find in them had dimmed. So much so that she had a hard time recognizing him. He pulled on her arm and started dancing on the rhythm of the music, like everyone else had done. The two of them laughing while everyone around them was oblivious of their true thoughts and all their sins. He held on her one hand in a tango kind of pose and his other hand crawled on the small of her back. Moving her right and left and spinning her round, her laughter getting louder. Oh, what a happy picture.

The laughter’s died out when everyone started dressing up to leave, one by one exiting the locker room. She stood by the door, basically counting heads to make sure no one was going to stay behind. She had no idea if he did it, on purpose but he was last to go. Slipped in one of the private showers on the back while everyone else was leaving. She checked there was no one on the hall a couple of times before going to find him.

The door to the private shower was barely open. How ironic, she was the one peaking through doors now. She leaned on door frame, keeping her eyes on the ground.

“Planning on staying here?” she asked, scratching on the floor with her foot. She heard him halting on his movements. Mentally rewarding herself for catching him off guard.

“Are we alone?” he asked from his side of the door.

Taylor checked behind her, scratching the back of her neck. “Yeah.”

The door slowly opened, taylor peaked her head through the wall. He was just putting on his shirt when she walked in.

“You did good” she smiled, leaning on wall of the shower.

“Did you mean what you say?”

“I always mean what I say.” She said in a suggestive tone.

He fixed his hoodie, eyeing her up and down. Biting on the inner side of his cheekbone.

“Don’t think I’ve ever seen you this happy before.”

“Haven’t been very happy since you came along.”

“touché” she pressed her lips together, accepting the sarcasm. She looked at his bag, motioning at it with her head “do you have another one of these shirts?” she looked at her own, pulling it down “this shit’s been sticking on my skin. I hate it.”

“You know—” he laughed, searched on his bag for a shirt “If you wanted my jersey, you could’ve just asked.”

Taylor snorted dismissively at him, rolling her eyes. He held out one of his jerseys for her. She took it quickly “I’ll use this as a cleaning pad when I get home.”

“Want me to sign it?” he asked, making a step forward.

“No, I’m good. Think I’ll start an eBay account with just your clothes. I still have your jacket on my room.”

He hummed. Stepped back again and hanged his bag over his shoulder. He walked passed her, the kylian she knew would have trapped her in between the wall already—

“Kylian!” He turned to look at her. Holding on his bag “how long do I have left of this good kid act?”

He smiled an evil smile. “Depends how good that shirt will look on you.” With that he left her alone to change. Taylor looked at the shirt, holding it fro each side so she could see it whole, her finger brushed over his name and then his number. She grinned.

FAIRMONT HOTEL – NIGHT

When they reached the hotel, the team was still celebating, singing and dancing in their favorite tunes. Some of them even jumped on the pool with their clothes on. Taylor made sure to stay on the back, she wasn’t in the mood for another dive.

Kylian must have thought the same because while the rest were jumping in, sending the water in all sorts of directions, he looked at her from the other side. Their eyes meeting in the darkness. He noticed she had been wearing her coat, through the whole way back. Being the only one to know that she was wearing his shirt underneath did something to him. It was like a little secret between the two, that she had his name written on her back.

She was first to break eye contact, leaving to go inside the building while the boys were being boys. He watched her leaving, tempted to follow her. Something was holding him back and he couldn’t identify if it was the promise he made or pure fear.

He went to his room, leaving his prep bag on the floor and pacing around. Debating on what his next move should be. He rubbed his face, reminding himself of all the reasons they were a bad idea. Addictions were never healthy. The stakes were taller than LeBron James. Especially for her and did he really want to be the reason for her putting such a career at risk? Then again, would he be the one responsible if it was her that made the choice.

A knock.

Gentle. Low. But confident.

He looked at his door. Did he really have to guess who was on the other side.

His hand hovered over the door knob, his fingers barely touching it. He laid his head on the door.

Another knock.

He opened it. Her small figure standing on the other side. She was holding his jacket on her one hand, her shirt still covered by her own coat.

“Didn’t want you accusing me of stealing.” She said, her voice low. His fingers stroked hers as he took it in his hold. Both of them lingering on the contact, he made a step back and she mirrored his movements. Stepping in the room, both of them still holding on the piece of clothing like it was their lifeline. One last thread before oblivion. Kylian raised his hand over her, pushing the door closed. Hearing it shut while admiring her hazel eyes. Picking out on the details. She flinched at the sound, closing her eyes for a second.

“gonna give me the shirt back as well?”

“no.” she shook her head “I was thinking of keeping that one.”

He grinned finally pulling the jacket away from her and leaving it in one of the chairs so there would be nothing between them. “Does it look nice?” he asked making a step forward. She shrugged her shoulders, her expression indicating cluelessness. His thumb started playing with the zipper of her coat, before slowly pulling it down, revealing the black and yellow shirt more and more. Taylor stayed still while he did that, her eyes stuck on his lips which would slowly form a teasing smile. He let go of the zipper, his hand slipping on the shoulder, pushing the coat of her. So, he could see the whole shirt. He fingers trailed down her arm to her hand, holding on to it and gently spinning her the other way, his arm falling around and in front of her and trapping her in a way. He stood a little far from her only so he could see his number and then made a step forward. His lips ghosting her ear, his chin bumping on her hair, her back sticking on his chest. Her fingers crawled tighter around his. Like she was holding on so she wouldn’t sprint outside. Run for cover the same way that she ran the other night. Touch deprived, that’s all they were. She had to keep telling herself that, to make excuses for her actions.

“Kimpembe told me what you did. Defending me the other night.”

Kylian leaned closer, his lips now ghosting her cheeks that were starting to gain a rosy color. “That why you are here?” he asked.

She had to gulp so he wouldn’t hear the weakness in her voice “I don’t know” and somehow this was the most honest thing she had ever told him. Because she really had no idea.

“Do you wanna leave?”

“no.”

“Do you wanna stay?”

She hesitated “I think if you asked me to, I would.”

“do you want me to be a good kid?” he smiled.

“yes.” She answered quickly. He moved his face away from hers and placed his lips on the top of her head, speaking on her hair.

“Do you really?” he asked.

She closed her eyes. Falling backwards on him “no.”

He spun her around again; her eyes were still closed. His thumb grazed over her eyelids before his hand cupped her whole face from the back of her neck “then will you stay?”

She opened her eyes, he was so close and this was so wrong. Self destruction at it’s best. To hell with it. She got on her tiptoes, her hands finding the back of his neck and she pulled him to her, her lips finding his. He responded to the kiss in seconds, despite how surprised he was that she was the one that started it, his hands slipping under her shirt, fulfilling the skin to skin contact they both were craving while he deepened the kiss. He picked her up, laying her down on the bed gently. This time there were no lies between them, no hidden agendas. They both knew what they were doing, they were both to blame but ones again it didn’t matter. Not when they fit together so well.

She was the one that had come to him. She was the one that kissed him first and she was the one whimpering under his touch. It was different from the first time; first time was just hunger and lust. There was some sort of calmness between them this time. Like both of them had accepted their fate; meant to sink together. So when his lips made a home of her skin under her chin, she held him closer to her and when her hands searched for comfort in his body, he gave it.

Sloppy kisses, fingers travelling around dangerous areas and frictions that ignited electricity between the both of them. And he took care of her the best way he knew how. Taking off her shirt because the only thing better than his name on her back was her wearing nothing. Letting her straddle his waist while she helped him take off his pants. Their eyes meeting in the chaos, reflecting the consequences. Was it the thrill of winning? Was it the need to finish what they had started in the pool, in a room that no one would bother them in? She cupped his face with her hand, studying every line on his face. Like it was the last thing she’d see. “this ends here” she told him, just two days ago. But it had only just began. And there was nothing romantic about it.

We are on the final countdown. Can you believe it? I didn't think this story would reach as far as chapter 9 and still stay as popular. We have about 5 chapters left i think 😭 things we've still yet to find out: why is Taylor using the nickname jw? Is Galtier keeping her after the one month is over ?👀 Where the fuck is Ann? 👀 And is Taylor ok? Y'all always send me messages about how much you like her independence and I wanted to say thank youuu. The fact that you appreciate and love this character as much as me. See you very soon for chapter 10. It's gonna be the funniest one hehe, something @okayymochi has been waiting for a while 👀 i love you all, please keep comment with your thoughts, your comments make me cry laugh and most of all motivate me to keep writing. I adore you ❤️❤️

NEXT CHAPTER (9.1)

#kylian mbappe #mbappe imagines #mbappé #mbappe x reader #mbappe #mbappe x oc #football writing #football imagine #neymar one shot #neymar x reader

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yoshirage · 9 months

Text

Body swap diaries: PETER’s CYOC

After months of training and studying, I stood there proudly with fellow agents and superiors in the lower levels of Area 51 awaiting for my first mission as a full fledge secret service agent. It was a grueling time to the point that out of 50 candidates, only 3 of us actually made it.

We hear a gruff raspy voice from the intercom. “Welcome new agents and congratulations. You all are now officially part of the secret service which; as you all know, deals with more covert missions regarding this country. So please meet up with your superiors to discuss your first mission.”

All of the agents dispersed and so did I, and made it to Mr. Carlson’s office. I open the door and see a half naked man with curly hair frantically trying to put his clothes on.

“Ahh dammit looks like i forgot to close that damn door again. Lock it for me will you Peter.” I locked the door behind and sat at one of the office chairs trying not to look and stare at my supervisor’s body. “Hahaha come on now Peter, don’t be so shy. This isn’t the first you’ve seen me in another body.” He was right, but the usual bodies he’s in are the bigger hairy daddy types.

“So i guess you took my advice huh”

“ yeah. Went with someone younger and chose this guy named Jon to take for my time off. Gotta say its a different feeling.” He flexes his arms.

“You look great sir”

“Hahaha thanks Peter. Now since you were the highest achieving agent we have, i decided to assign you as a personal guard for a past president. As may know, any two term US president that finishes their service gets assigned a lifetime agent to help with safety and security, and they are also enrolled with the ‘reincarnation program’ which…

“Gives the ex president and their partner, a choice to have their consciousness transferred to another person’s body.”

“Very good Peter!” He claps his hands “now of course they can opt out of it if they choose to, but we at least wanna give them a taste of it and see if its for them.”

“Isnt it too early for Mr Obama to be in this program?”

“Yes you’re right which is why I’m assigning you to George W bush.”

“Wait isnt there someone already assigned to Mr. Bush?”

“There was, but we are reassigning Gary to a much more… lets just covert mission.” I just nod my head knowing exactly what he means.

“Now Mr Bush has been living in his current body Bruno for almost a year in Brazil.”

“How about the real Bruno.”

“He’s living life as Mr. Bush. We programmed him to practically BE George Bush… memories and all” i nod my head. “ now Mr Bush has been alerted of the change in staff but I would like you to travel to Brazil and introduce yourself”

“No problem sir. Will do”

“I also gave the guys at the lab the Ok to swap you with someone else for this mission, of course you don’t have to.”

I thought about it for a short while and decided to swap. “ Thank you sir. I will go right now.”

“Sounds good. Here is a catalog of the guys that are available.”

I look over it and saw Jon’s body with the amount of $10,000 right by his name. “Damn! I cant believe this kid is getting paid $10,000 to swap bodies with an agent” i thought to myself.

“now if you’ll excuse me. I think its officially time for me to start my Time off.”

“Have fun sir and Ill see you when you get back.”

I leave his office and made my way towards the all the while looking at the catalog.

“Hey Peter!” I waved at Vinh “ Mr Carlson told me all about your mission. So have you thought about which body you want.”

I looked over the catalog one last time…. “This one” I said

(Which of these guys should Peter switch with. From top to bottom: Joey, Christian, Larry, Leon).

#male body swap #body swap diaries #body switch #body swap #bruno moraes cunha #joey swoll #christian deguzman #larry gao #leon yaki #jon skywalker

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justins-1-justan · 7 months

Text

Doing spooky activities with total drama characters!

It's spooky season! ^=^

Dj!

Horror movies?

Hahahahah. No ♡

You both stay in and cuddle while watching the Simpsons Halloween specials while eating candy.

You also wear matching halloween pajamas!

The moon has long been in the sky this Halloween, younger trick or treaters had already gone home and the older ones which stayed were met by the cold autumn breeze. But bundled up in soft throw blankets, wrapped in each other's arms as the fire roars, is you and Dj. An old episode plays, you feel your eyelids grow heavy, you rest your head against DJ's shoulder as you slowly drift off to sleep.

Geoff.

You can probably already guess,

Of course you're both going to a Halloween party, if not throwing one yourselves!

Matching costumes!! This year you're the grim reaper and a ghost! Geoff is the ghost & you're the reaper ofc!

Laughter, music, and a cheerful energy paints the party. The flashing lights reflect in his blue eyes, he twirls you as the monster mash booms on the speakers. The two of you party all night, for a holiday that's supposed to be scary, it made such joyful memories.

Izzy!

You both scare the daylights out of trick or treaters.

Your job was to stand on the porch with the candy bowl, candy bowl which is filled with fun sized candy bars disguised as full sized ones.

Izzy's idea of course.

Meanwhile Izzy would hide in the bushes in her 'franken-izzy' costume waiting to jump out at trick or treaters.

You successfully made six kids, three teenagers, and one adult man cry. Congrats?

From your peripheral vision you can see a child in the horizon approaching, you stand in position on the porch. The child, dressed like a minion, steps onto the porch. Per Izzy's instructions you hand them the 'full sized' candy bar. They smile happily and thank you and then.... "BOOOO!!" Izzy yells out at the child. After causing the child to subsequently drop their candy, earning a glare from the child's parents, Izzy practically dies of laughter while holding onto your shoulder.

Scott.

Hehehahaha, he took you a grave yard.

Yep.

A grave yard.

The scheme is that you'll get so scared you'll fall into his arms.

.. Let's just say that doesn't go as planned.

The moon shines brightly down upon you and Scott walking hand in hand in this abandoned graveyard. Boredom creeping over you, an idea dawns. Holding back giggles, you loudly let out a piercing howl like scream, causing Scott to quickly jump and whip his head back towards you. He glares at you and let's go of your hand when he realizes you're fine, he continues the pace of walking you were formerly at, you quickly chase after him and grab his hand, giggling with murmurs of apologies.

Area fifty~one alien Cody~Clone from S3 EP15 & briefly S5 EP7!

Breaking him out of area 51 for the holiday wasn't as difficult as you would think!

After convincing the guards you were a trick or treater, they left to go grab something to give you, then you simply walked to where he was being held and busted him out.

Since he had been in a government facility for years, he's never seen a scary movie before! Oh no!

So you decided to take him to the local AMC and see the latest horror movie.

You bought him popcorn and a slushie.

The two of you sat in your seats, interlocking your hands as their movie starts. The first jump scare happens and instinctively, you grip his hand tighter. Only to hear him let out a whaling scream. You turn towards him and your face pales as your boyfriend's arm turn completely into green goop.

Bridgette!

You both go pumpkin carving!

She carves a sailboat meanwhile you carve a classic jack o' lantern.

More matching costumes!! She dresses as a mermaid meanwhile you're a prince/princess!

The smell of pumpkin surrounds the kitchen you are both sat on the floor of, you look up from carving your pumpkin to see Bridgette dead focus on carving the perfect pumpkin, to the point she doesn't notice the pumpkin guts on her cheek. Giggling to yourself you wait for the next time she's turning her pumpkin around to scoot closer to her. You wipe the pumpkin guts off of her cheek, she turns her attention towards you for a brief second and you take the opportunity to sweetly kiss her cheek. Successfully catching her off gaurd.

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bleachbleachbleach · 2 months

Text

I wanna know what Ikkaku knows about Urahara:

[Bleach 087]

Like, do they... know each other? The visual suggests that someone in the scene knows Urahara was a captain, and it sure ain't Ichigo. So I feel like we're meant to understand that Ikkaku knows this.

Urahara's name also holds weight in terms of Ichigo's viability as an opponent, which suggests Ikkaku knows Urahara as someone other than some rando criminal, or just as a Mad Scientist type. It's Ichigo's movement that impresses Ikkaku, not his strategic craftiness.

I don't try that hard to keep the Gotei's 20th Century straight in my mind, but we do know that during TBTP Zaraki wasn't 11th Captain yet, and therefore Ikkaku may not have been in the Gotei at that point then, ether. (There's a whole dispersal of 11th backstory filler eps, which I've been assuming aren't in the manga in any form, but who knows, maybe some of this backstory info also holds true here, too. In the anime, Ikkaku and Yumichika follow Zaraki into the Gotei.)

In any case, apparently Ikkaku has a whole Seireitei family (see: TYBW), so maybe they were well-positioned for all the hot TBTP goss regardless of whether Ikkkau was enlisted at the time.

Or does everyone just know who Urahara is? Obviously, he's a poorly kept secret at least as far as his outpost goes; he's made a whole business out of it. But if Rukia knew he'd been a captain she doesn't harp on it.

And if there's something you can count on me for, it is knowledge of random-ass Hitsugaya panels:

[Bleach 237]

Hitsugaya says he doesn't know who Urahara is. Well, he's heard the rumors about Urahara, but says Urahara is someone whose true nature can't be ascertained. He probably does know what Urahara used to be a captain. He's heard that he's formidable, and probably isn't someone to let your guard down around. Which, really, is all the things we know Ikkaku knows about Urahara. Hitsugaya's just not willing to extrapolate further based on rumor alone. Maybe Ikkaku is.

But based on how Urahara's name influences the way Ikkaku chooses to fight Ichigo, I feel like Ikkaku is not operating solely on rumor, either. Someone's battle prowess/skill as a mentor doesn't seem like something he'd accept without firsthand knowledge, even if he's willing to roll with it for other stuff. So I feel like it's perfectly defensible to argue that even if Ikkaku wasn't actually in the Gotei while Urahara was in the picture, he still had an ~encounter (and probably not while Urahara was in his Innocent Shopkeeper era).

Maybe Ikkaku ran into Urahara in the woods when Urahara was off making an impression on Kuukaku [1][2]. Or Ikkaku's Seireitei family sic'd the Onmitsukidou on him while he was off playing hooky in Rukongai! Tons of fun possibilities!

Of course, this raises the time-honored question of what, if anything, anyone in the current Gotei knows about TBTP. Because it really seems like they know nothing, and didn't even know there was something to not know. But for a lot of them that might be an effect of their willingness to pretend they know nothing? So I feel like you could go in a lot of directions with that. Not to have blorbo disease again, but Hitsugaya seemed like he was learning Vizard Lore in real-time during the Winter War, so apparently it's not like, part of some kind of Area 51 folder you gain access to when you become a captain lol. YOU HAD TO BE THERE. (BUT ALSO SOMETIMES NOT EVEN THEN)

#i just think it's wild we get this urahara info from ikkaku #who is self-professed about not caring about rukia or being involved with any of this shit in any way #it's fun to think about how characters who really have no connection or interaction in canon relate to each other #i mean ikkaku is off-panel for that hitsugaya rumination; he is technically there #but we don't *see* anything between him and urahara #now i'm curious about it!#madarame ikkaku #urahara kisuke #bleach headcanons #bleach reread 2021 #bleach manga #bleach カラー #no brain just bleach #and that's the end of vol. 10!

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mistydeyes · 7 months

Note

Would you please write a story about Ghost x Reader with Ghost being a guard for y/n and y/n being hired help of some kind be that investigator, scientist or otherwise?

this was also sent with the request: I am so sorry for sending multiple asks in like two seconds, but the initial request is meant to be Ghost x male reader (sub if you choose to write some smut which would also be greatly appreciated.) Use of tactical kinks and primal kinks would also be greatly appreciated. thank you so much for requesting @areallyhappyperson ! as a stem girlie my mind when crazy for simon having some action with a scientist ;)

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summary: When you were first contacted by the government to find the source of a new biological weapon, a security guard wasn't in the job description. However as Ghost has you pinned in a supply closet, you can't deny you enjoy the assignment.

pairing: Simon "Ghost" Riley x male!reader

please do not read if you are under 18! some very sexual descriptions are ahead!!

warnings: SMUT AHEAD u have been warned! sexual depictions, swearing, use of kinks (tactical/bondage, degradation/power struggle, sub/dom kinks)

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You walked around your lab quickly, holding various spot plates in your hand. The plastic Petri dishes clattered together as you set aside the opaque and red-colored agar discs. You pulled out the microscope to examine the bacterial colonies growing within the isolated space when you felt his eyes on you. "Can you not stare?" you muttered sarcastically, before pulling a chair over with your foot. You heard shuffling behind you as the large and brooding Ghost took a moment to settle back into position. "What do you even do anyways?" he asked curtly, "don't get why I have to babysit someone in a lab all day." You turned to him with your arms crossed and an annoyed look on your face. "It's not every day your government asks for you to analyze soldiers' blood to find the latest biological weapon," you replied. It had been three months since you were sent to the UK's interpretation of Area 51 and you were constantly left to remind your unwilling security guard of your importance. Despite his negative attitude, you took a liking to him and wondered what he looked like under all the layers of gear and weaponry.

He huffed before walking over to your bench. You tried to return to your work, but you could feel his presence over your tired shoulders. "Do you need something?" you asked again, "I'm a little busy here counting colonies." He moved over a box of strong autoclavable bags to your annoyance. He took the opportunity to lean on the clean counter and look at you as you continued to write your messy notes. "I needed those," you mumbled but he continued to watch. Sensing your lack of acknowledgment, he took an inoculating loop off the bench and heated it over a now-turned-on Bunsen burner. You quickly snatched it out of his hands. "God, would you please stop messing with my lab materials?" you scolded him as you put it away but he laughed dryly in return. "Just trying to make my job interesting," he joked and you had enough of his shit.

You pushed aside your materials and positioned yourself in front of him. Despite your stature and standing far above your colleagues, Ghost was still broader and taller than you. However, you took this opportunity to pull a random item from his tac vest. "What does this do?" you asked as you held onto the small packaged object. He looked at you curiously as you twirled it in your fingers and read the label for pharmaceutical-grade fentanyl. "Put one of those in your mouth and suck, the pain goes away instantly," he replied and you could've sworn his choice of words was a flirtatious maneuver. "Sounds like heaven to me," you replied, before grabbing onto his vest and putting it back. Next, you eyed the gun on his belt but before you could grab it, you saw him instinctively place a veined hand on it. "Those are dangerous," he commanded, with a tone of seductiveness, "don't want the attractive scientist getting hurt before he can finish his research."

In that moment, you could feel the tension palpable. The normally cold room had increased a few degrees and you tried to rationalize the rapid beating in your chest and the tightening in your pants. As a final act of insolence, you set your gaze on a pair of handcuffs strapped onto his belt. With a swift movement, you grabbed them and you felt him hold your risk into place. You looked at him intensely before watching as he let your wrist fall. You examined the metal bracelets in your hand as you slipped one onto your wrist. "Never been handcuffed before," you mumbled, looking up at him and noting his fists curled tightly, "mind showing me how it's done?" Before you could react, Ghost had your hands pinned behind you and clicked the cuffs into place. "This what you wanted?" he asked, even closer than before. You could smell the bitter coffee and cigarette smoke on his breath as you took a moment to reply. "Not exactly," you whispered, parting his legs and taking a step forward to meet his face, "I want you, Lieutenant."

It took Ghost a moment before he held on to the back of your head and lifted his mask to give you a needy, possessive kiss. You moaned as he held you in place and left you breathless and panting for more. "You sure you want this?" he asked as he looked back down at your lustful eyes. "I want you to tell me what to do," you said, confidently, before biting your lip and moving in even closer. His gaze darkened and you swore you could feel his heartbeat race in the moment. As he wondered about the implications of this scenario, you began to walk over to the storage room in the back of the lab. "You gonna follow, Lieutenant?" you questioned before you could hear his heavy footsteps follow you in a trance. When you entered the room, you could hear Ghost close the door behind you. You turned around, smirking before he placed another hot kiss on your parted lips.

"I want you to kneel," he commanded and you complied. You got on your knees, disregarding the dust that was populating your pristine white coat. You struggled a bit against the restraints but you were determined to follow his every word. "What a good boy," he mumbled, "getting on your knees for me." You nodded as you looked at him from your new position. The dim overhead light illuminated his partially obscured face perfectly and you could see his curved lips glisten with your saliva. "You're gonna suck me off, is that clear?" he demanded and you nodded in response. He shook his head before asking again, "Use your words to a commanding officer." You could feel your body temperature rise from this new, dominating personality. "Yes, Lieutenant," you continued before you inched forward, your mouth meeting perfectly against his growing bulge. He grunted before unzipping his tactical cargo trousers and letting you see the outline of his cock soaking his boxer briefs. "This an issued weapon?" you joked before he moved his hand to release it in front of you. Taking the opportunity, you opened your mouth and leaned forward to slowly suck his length. You gagged slightly as you felt him graze the back of your mouth. He moaned quietly as you began to swirl your tongue around his veiny member. You could feel saliva drip down your mouth and soak your collared shirt as he gripped the back of your head.

"Don't tease me now," he grunted and you felt yourself being used to pleasure him. You breathed through your nose as you began to build a steady pace. His moans filled the room as you looked up at his closed eyes and continued to deep-throat him. You tried to foolishly break out of the handcuffs to just be able to touch him but the metal remained strong and confiding. "So fucking good," he let out in pleasure and you slightly smiled at the compliment. As he continued to relentlessly use you, you could feel your mouth and his cock grow more wet with the combined saliva and pre-cum. A part of you wondered what your employers would say if they saw you with your mouth wrapped around your guard's dick. You didn't care as his grip grew tighter on your hair and he began to breathe quicker. "Fuck," he moaned as you continued to allow him to hit the back of your mouth and tried to use your tongue to outline his veins. The grip he had on you was bordering on pain and pleasure as he released into your mouth. You tried to swallow it and he took a hand to your jaw and shut it. "Take it all," he commanded, breathing heavily and shallowly as he watched you swallow all of him. You sat back on your heels as he zippered up his pants. Before either one of you had the opportunity to continue further, you could hear the doors of your lab open.

"Shit," you swore before allowing Ghost to open the door slightly for you. Out of sight, he gripped onto your cuffed hands tightly and you could feel him work a hand up to your waist. "Someone there?" you questioned and saw Station Chief Laswell looking around the lab. "Do you have a minute? Shepherd wants some updates," she asked politely, not knowing what you were doing moments prior. As you could feel Ghost press himself against you, you stifled a moan. "Yes, just give me a moment!" you answered, a little too quickly, "I just need to get some pipettes." With that, you closed the door slightly and turned back to a smirking Ghost. "Round two later?"

#task force 141 x reader #task force 141 #cod x reader #call of duty modern warfare #cod mwii #modern warfare 2 #simon riley x reader #ghost x reader #simon ghost riley #call of duty #mw2 imagine #madebyizzie #mw2 #izzie is writing

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missingn000 · 3 months

Note

Most heavily guarded secrets of the world:

Coca-Cola recipe

KFC chicken recipe

Area 51

Everything with North Korea

TPG Megumi-Toji reveal

PFFT this cracked me up xD yeah, i tend to be pretty loose-lipped with spoilers, especially in person, but the toji-megumi reveal is something only me and my beta reader know. you all will too, eventually, i promise :D

#and it's something i'm really confident about too. it's fucking crazy and i swear to each and every one of you:#it will be worth the wait #tpg

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naushtheaspiringauthor · 25 days

Text

~Child Of The Storm~

Nikolai Lantsov x OC

Image by - @brokendreamtale2

Warnings- mentions of what happened to Baghra, slight mention of poisoning

A/N- I'm feeding y'all with the lil convos😼😼let me know if you'd like to be added or removed from the taglist!

Taglist- @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @sirisuorionblack @nadeleine123n @marauders-wife @evelyndane @el-de-phi

Ch-51 ~The monastery~

Upon entering the room, Anaya looked around with a wide-eyed gaze. The place was truly impressive.

It's not even a room, she realized. They were standing at the top of a hollowed-out mountain. She now understood that the frost fingers were actually enormous bronze columns cast in the shapes of people and creatures. They towered above them, bracketing huge panels of glass that looked out on the ocean of cloud below. The glass was so clear that it gave the space an daunting sense of openness, as if she could walk straight through and fall down into the abyss.

The room was teeming with people. Some bunched in groups where drafting tables and bits of machinery had been set up. Others were marking crates of supplies in a kind of makeshift warehouse.

Another area had been set aside for training. Soldiers sparred with dulled swords while others summoned Squaller winds or cast Inferni flame. Through the glass, Anaya could see terraces protruding in four directions, giant spikes like compass points, north, south, east, west. Two had been set aside for target practice.

This place had no comparison to the White Cathedral. Unlike that hellhole, this place was bustling with life. Anaya had never thought she would miss being among people so much.

“So much glass” She heard Alina whisper

“But no frost,” Mal noted.

Anaya found herself wondering the same, but David spoke out her conclusion before she could.

“Heated pipes” he said. “They’re in the floor. Probably embedded in the columns too.”

“There are boilers beneath us,” Nikolai said. “The whole place runs on melted snow and steam heat. The problem is fuel, but I’ve been stockpiling coal.”

“For how long?” Anaya asked

“Two years. We started repairs when I had the lower caverns turned into hangars. It’s not an ideal vacation spot, but sometimes you just want to get away.”

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

Anaya was given a room that she was entirely grateful for. She was glad to have a place to herself. It wasn’t as big as her quarters at the Little Palace but it was nice enough. And more so, as she was finally in a place with windows. She changed out of her dirty clothes and put on a fresh pair that had been left on the bedside table for her. She went outside after she finished brushing her hair.

However upon going out, she found out that Sergei had apparently let Genya’s name slip, something they’d agreed not to do. Even though he was still grieving, he’d done a massive thing and had basically jeopardized their position with Nikolai.

A group of soldiers with blue armbands were making attempting to arrest Genya but David was standing by her side. Tolya and Tamar had blocked the soldiers’ way and the rest of them arrayed behind them. Anaya couldn’t see Sergei anywhere, which she believed was better since she would’ve strangled him if he'd been there.

“She’s here!” Nadia called when she caught sight of Alina approaching.

She went straight to Genya. “The King is waiting,” said one of the guards.

“Let him wait.” Zoya snapped back

Alina put her arm around Genya’s shoulders, leading her a little back. Anaya could hear her and Mal attempting to console Genya.

"The king demands her presence right this moment, they can't just-" one of the guards began

"She will present herself to the King when she is ready" Anaya cut him off, her voice having a familiar old jaggedness.

The three of them shortly returned to the group. David looked questioningly at Genya, and she reached out to take his hand.

“We’re ready,” Alina said to the soldiers. Mal and the twins fell into step beside them, but Alina held up a warning hand to the rest of them.

“Stay here,” she said, then added quietly, “and keep alert.”

Genya had conspired with the Darkling and had gone against the throne, even though she didn’t have much of a choice, though no one would ever be considering that. And she’d somehow attempted to poison the King. Surely he wouldn’t have liked the idea of her being alive.

When they’d come back down the hall, David was murmuring to Genya about the properties of vegetable alkaloids and such. Genya appeared bolder and far more relieved than she’d been before leaving, which displayed that she might’ve not been charged with anything.

When Anaya had finally got the opportunity, she asked Genya as to what had happened. And she told her about how she poisoned the King, and how Nikolai had literally forced the King to write an abdication letter and exiled both him and the Queen to the southern colonies.

“Quite bold of him” Anaya spoke at the news. “But I’m glad you’re alright” she said to Genya pleasantly

“I’m grateful to Nikolai for it. I’m surprised but he’s actually a lot better than this family. And, he even seems to care for the way he dresses” She chuckled

After Genya pointed it out, Anaya also thought of how no matter the situation, the boy’s clothing was always immaculate.

“Well, if given the opportunity I’d be looking immensely endearing as well” She shrugged. “Not that I don’t do right now” she added defensively

Genya chuckled at her statement, “Really?” she raised an eyebrow, grinning

“Oh please, have you seen me in midnight blue?” Anaya said in a dramatic voice

“Maybe once this is over, I can have you try something in the colour and we’ll see for ourselves yeah?”

“Sure yeah” Anaya lifted a shoulder

…………...........................................................................

Anaya walked through the halls of the Spinning Wheel. She'd soon learned that the place had originally been a monastery of Sankt Demyan and had been an abandoned observatory until Nikolai had found a use for it.

The view of the massive mountains was quite daunting because of the height at which they were. However, she found herself being able to relax as it was far peaceful here, and it even provided her with the illusion of safety.

Anaya was observing the various sections of the place from the terrace when she heard a voice from behind.

“I believe you’re quite intrigued by this place” She turned around to see Nikolai in a long overcoat with his blonde hair shining in the sunlight.

“Well, it is quite impressive what you’ve transformed this place into” she said, raising her eyebrows

“Ah I know I’m very impressive” he began grinning

Anaya rolled her eyes, “Not you, just your work” she said

“Eh we’ll get there” he winced

She spoke after a short moment as a thought struck her mind, “Did you bring Baghra here?” she asked.

She'd heard of what the Darkling had done to her. How he'd punished her for attempting to save Alina. Though she'd heard from Alina that she'd asked Nikolai to take Baghra with him.

“Oh yeah. And I'm very much regretting it” Nikolai chuckled

“Ah so you've had the pleasure of conversing with her?” She raised an eyebrow

“She is a menace” He responded dramatically. “I wonder what method of torture she's found for Alina now”.

“Oh I'm sure it's far worse than her previous ones” she frowned

Anaya looked around at the massive glass windows as she began to wonder. "What kind of glass is this? It appears far durable than normal glass" she asked

Nikolai's face lightened up on her question. "It's actually not normal glass" he began with great enthusiasm. "I'll show you" he paced towards one of the windows. Anaya fell into step with him, paying close attention to his words.

"Instead of the usual alkaline silicate composition, it has potassium nitrate in high quantities, making it a lot more durable" he explained, gesturing to the window.

"Impressive" Anaya said, utterly fascinated

"It is" He beamed. "I was also intrigued by their structure when I first visited this place, so I did some research. It's truly impressive how well-built a monastery is" he paced around the windows as he continued.

Anaya was paying close attention to his words, when she noticed the significant number of people gathered near one of the terraces. She could pick out Harshaw's red hair amidst the crowd, and Oncat perched up on his shoulder. Zoya was standing behind him.

"What are they looking at?" She wondered, loud enough for Nikolai's attention to turn to her.

"Let's see for ourselves" He said.

They strode forward to find the crowd gathered around Alina, who was attempting to hack off the peak of a mountain by forming the cut.

She caught a glimpse of Baghra standing with her stick in her hand and a little boy by her side. Upon seeing Baghra, she realized how true Alina had been. Her smooth and flauless skin now appeared wrinkled and old and her shiny black hair had wholly turned gray. She appeared as if she'd aged several decades in the matter of a few months.

But the most noticeable and startling change was in her eyes. The irises that were once a gleaming black, now appeared hazy and clouded.

He has blinded her, Anaya realized with a slight tremor. She knew that the Darkling wouldn't have liked the idea of his mother assisting Alina in escaping, but she truly hadn't expected him to do something like this to his own mother.

Despite knowing one to be a monster, you can never truly anticipate as to what extents they might go to.

“It’s too far,” She heard Alina grumble. “And it’s huge.”

“It is not too far" Baghra sneered. “You are as much there as you are here. The same things that make the mountain make you. It has no lungs, so let it breathe with you. It has no pulse, so give it your heartbeat. That is the essence of the Small Science.” She thumped the girl with her stick. “Stop huffing like a wild boar. Breathe the way I taught you, contained, even.”

Alina's face brimmed with embarrassment at her words. The woman had clearly not been devoid of her venomous words.

She closed her eyes and in a brief moment, lashed out with the Cut. It struck the side of the mountain, sending a sheet of ice and rock tumbling with a dull roar. A cheer went up from the crowd.

“Hmph,” said Baghra. “They’d clap for a dancing monkey.”

“All depends on the monkey,” Nikolai chimed in . “And the dance.”

“Better?” Baghra asked the boy.

“A little,” he spoke grudgingly.

“A lot!” Alina protested. “I hit it, didn’t I?”

“I didn’t ask you to hit it, I told you to take its head off. Again.” Baghra said

“Ten coins says she doesn’t make it,” called one of Nikolai’s rogue Grisha.

“Twenty says she does,” shouted Adrik loyally

“Thirty says she can hit the one behind it.” Mal spoke, leaning against the archway, his arms crossed. “That peak is over five miles away,” Alina protested “More like six,” he said Alina focused her attention back on the mountain. When she brought her arm down, the arc she made shone bright as it pierced through the haze of the clouds. There was an echoing thunder at a distance. The sky seemed to vibrate. Slowly, the top of the far mountain began to move.

It slid inexorably to the side, snow and rock cascading down its face, leaving a perfect diagonal line where a peak had once been.

The crowd began to whoop and cheer. Anaya gave Alina an amused grin as her gaze met with hers.

The little boy was jumping up and down, crowing, “She did it! She did it!”

Anaya then glanced at Baghra again. She needed an answer for something that'd been nagging at her brain for a long while.

#nikolai lanstov x reader #nikolai lantsov x reader #nikolai lantsov x oc #nikolai lantsov fanfiction

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quercus-queer · 5 months

Text

Happy Thanksgiving otherwise known as Drama with a Side of Turkey... if someone picks a fight with you about current events here is a very brief surface level list of talking points

According to Article 3 of the Geneva Convention and Article 6 of Additional Protocol II collective punishment is a war crime.

Israel Katz himself is quoted as saying "they [Gazans] will not receive a drop of water or a single battery until they leave the world."

Furthermore Article 51 of the Berlin Rules on Water Resources prohibits combatants (in this case the Israeli military from removing water infrastructure.

International Humanitarian Law prohibits any siege depriving civilians of essential goods while Yoav Gallant's "defense tactics" are a complete blockade of Gaza. It is well documented by the United Nations and journalists how deprived the civilians in Gaza are by the Israeli aggression.

The so-called gracious “evacuations” ordered by Israel is a crime according to the International Criminal Court under forcible transfer.

The use of white phosphorus violates Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons as the Israeli army is using it directly against human beings in a civilian setting.

Gaza is one of the most densely populated areas on earth with 47.3% of the population being under 18 there is no circumstance in which any incendiary weapon should be deployed in Gaza let alone community centers.

In case there is doubt, there are videos of white phosphorous being used in broad daylight and on hospitals (Al-Durrah Children's Hospital).

The air strikes themselves violate international law as Daniel Hagari himself has stated that the emphasis of the Israeli air strikes is on damage and not on accuracy.

The Israeli government has carried out air strikes on the Al-Shati refugee camp sheltering over 90,000 refugees from Israeli aggression.

Targeting commercial centers like the Jabalia camp market which has been attacked multiple times since October 7th is a war crime.

It is a war crime to target buildings dedicated to education or charitable purposes.

On October 17th Israel carried out an airstrike on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency school in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp. A United Nations school within a refugee camp.

Israeli officials later claimed United Nations workers are Hamas allies

Medical neutrality as described under the Geneva Convention has been violated as stated by the World Health Organization…

Every hospital bombed is another war crime Israel has committed. Bringing back the white phosphorus issue, Israel hit Al-Durrah Children's Hospital with white phosphorus munition. Bringing back water resources and collective punishment (which I hope we established was bad), the remaining hospitals are collapsing due to lack of electricity and water.

"But Hamas tunnels! Human shields! Guards! Weapons!" None of that negates a hospital's protected status as described in the Geneva Convention.

It is a war crime to attack buildings dedicated to religion regardless of who is housed but especially if its housing refugees... obviously... again its in the Geneva Convention.

The Church of Saint Porphyrius, the Al-Gharbi mosque, Yassin mosque, and Al-Sousi mosque have been directly attacked

The intentional targeting of journalists is a war crime according to the Council of Europe.

There are 31 journalists who have been killed along with their families being targeted.

On October 10th Israel bombed a residential building (war crime) which also contained journalist offices (war crime). You can take a pick of whether they were targeting civilians or journalists, either way it’s a war crime.

Killing surrendered civilians OR SURRENDERED COMBATANTS is again a war crime.

Israeli officials still have no comment on the video of IDF forces executing four unarmed Palestinian men kneeling on the ground (one of which was waving white clothing).

Videos have also surfaced of IDF soldiers violating international law by assaulting detainees and committing sexual humiliation.

Israel has expanded their attack to neighboring countries by carrying out air strikes in Lebanon, ready to fulfill their manifest destiny of Greater Israel.

Under the 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Israeli settlement of Palestine is a war crime. Obviously that is beyond a lot of peoples willingness to comprehend so lets reiterate what is happening right now.

The average age of dead people in Gaza is 5.

More facts: Israel does not reflect the Jewish people or Jewish values they are a settler colonial state enacting apartheid and committing genocide. Conflating Israel with jewish people is anti-semetic. Evangelicals are the largest zionist group in the world because they are anti-semetic. AIPAC is the largest donor to politicians. Israel has systemically harmed holocaust survivors (1/3 of survivors in Israel are in poverty, they called them "soap bars", and said they were "inferior" as they were like "sheep to the slaughter"). Israel has violated Ethiopian Jewish woman's autonomy (Depo-Provera (contraceptive) every three months in Israeli clinics without their knowledge) and police brutality. Israel is a safe haven for pedophiles.

#gaza #palestine #israel #boycott israel #free palestine #thanksgiving #I’ll add more links to articles if this gets any traction

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kk095 · 1 year

Text

Gina’s Sudden Arrest

Gina Ashford was what many would consider to be an alpha female or a “boss lady/boss babe.” She was an assertive, headstrong go-getter who had a commanding presence that some might find intimidating. But this personality helped her tremendously in the business world, landing herself a spot as the VP for a large corporation. Gina didn’t just have a strong personality- she also had looks. The 51 year old VP looked excellent for her age, looking at least 10-15 years younger, and could easily attract men young enough to be her son. She was of average height with a slim, but toned build from working out every day after work, had medium length light brown hair, and bluish grey eyes. Even though Gina had both looks and success, she was never married and never had children- her whole adult life was devoted to her career.

Recently, Gina was in our area for an important business related meeting with a few other higher ups in the corporation. The morning of the meeting, Gina woke up in her hotel room with a stiff neck, a headache, and felt a little dizzy at times. She brushed off these symptoms, attributing them to jetlag and not sleeping well the night before. Despite her symptoms, she got up, showered, got ready and headed out the door. The meeting was being held across town, maybe 15 minutes away. The company had a car waiting just outside the hotel lobby to drive her and the other executives to the meeting. During the elevator ride down from her room, Gina began to feel more dizzy. She squinted her eyes a bit, becoming sensitive to the light in the elevator, and winced in pain for a second as the pounding headache returned.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened after reaching the lobby level. Gina exits the elevator and starts heading towards the lobby’s main entryway. Her steps became a bit slow and wobbly, having trouble maintaining balance. Gina could feel her heart racing inside her chest while her symptoms intensified. Suddenly, Gina’s eyes rolled back, and she crumbled to the ground, fainting. A hotel security guard and one of the front desk agents see Gina collapse and scurry over to her aid. “Ma’am? Is everything ok?” Matt the security guard asks in a concerned tone, gently tapping Gina’s shoulder, trying to get her attention. Gina just laid on the floor, eyes closed, mouth agape, not responding to the security guard. “miss Ashford? Are you ok?” the front desk agent Emily asks, gently nudging Gina to see if she’d wake up. Matt and Emily tried multiple times to get Gina to wake up, but she just wouldn’t. “shit. We probably need to call 911.” Matt says, a bit flustered, digging through one of his pockets trying to reach for his cell phone.

Matt finally gets ahold of his phone and dials 911. “911, what is your emergency?” a female voice on the phone asks. “yeah…hi… a lady fainted in the lobby of our hotel and she’s not waking up. We’re at the Spring Towers downtown off Atlantic boulevard.” A nervous Matt utters into the phone. “alright sir, I have emergency services en route to your location. Can you tell me if the woman is breathing?” the dispatcher calmly replies. There’s a pause for a moment while Matt checks. “ok…. Yes! She’s breathing! She just won’t wake up when we touch her or say anything to her.” Matt replies anxiously. Matt the security guard was incredibly nervous at the moment, knowing something was seriously wrong. “Ok, I need you to stay on the line for me.” The 911 dispatcher instructs Matt. While awaiting further instruction from the dispatcher, Emily the front desk agents can hear Gina grunting and groaning. “Ma’am? Are you ok?” Emily asks in a calm voice, placing her hand on one of Gina’s shoulders, to which the 51 year old VP doesn’t respond.

Suddenly, Gina’s eyes shoot wide open, staring right at Emily. “Ms Ashford?” a worried Emily asks. Gina’s body becomes stiff and straight on the floor. Her head and neck become arched. Her arms were straight along the side of her body, with her hands curled. Her legs were straight, her feet were pointed downwards, and she began seizing and convulsing violently on the floor of the lobby. Matt and Emily jump back a few feet, taken aback by what they were seeing. “whoa!” Matt shouts into the phone. “sir, what’s happening?” the dispatcher asks. “you guys gotta hurry! She’s having a seizure or something!” Matt shouts into the phone. “ok, please remain calm and stay on the line for me.” The dispatcher says to Matt before giving him further instructions. Gina made eye contact with Emily while she was seizing on the ground, forever etching this moment into the young front desk agent’s mind forever. Gina kept seizing violently, grunting in pain, with her face turning bright red. This attracted a crowd of nosey onlookers from elsewhere in the lobby, who began to surround Matt, Emily, and Gina. Some people watched in shock and awe, while others whipped out their phones and started taking pictures and videos, completely violating the powerful businesswoman in such a scary moment of her life.

Finally, the ambulance pulls up right in front of the lobby, and in come medics Tracy and Stephanie. “ok everyone, let’s take a few steps back so we can work.” Tracy barked at the nosey crowd, essentially having to force her way through it. “hey! Over here!” Matt yells across the lobby, waving one of his hands in the air to get the attention of the two medics. Tracy and Stephanie see Matt and fast walk over to him. The medics get over to the two hotel employees and can see Gina still actively seizing on the floor of the hotel lobby. The two medics immediately spring into action. “push a round of Ativan, and I’ll place an oral airway.” Stephanie tells Tracy. Tracy grabs a syringe and a vial of Ativan out of the medication bag and injects it into Gina’s arm. “ativan in. No IV yet, so it might take a minute to kick in.” Tracy called out to her partner. Stephanie placed an oropharyngeal airway into Gina’s mouth in order to keep her airway open, and to prevent her from biting her tongue or lips while seizing. While waiting for the seizure meds to take effect, the two medics start snipping away at Gina’s expensive work attire and remove her Gucci high heels, leaving her barefoot, stripping the VP down to just her bra and underwear. Tracy sticks the EKG electrodes onto Gina’s chest, while Stephanie starts pushing buttons on the heart monitor to get it activated. Once the heart monitor was on, you could see that Gina’s heart rate was through the roof, while her BP was critically low.

Gina’s violent thrashing and flopping came to a slow and gradual stop once the meds started to take effect. At that point, the medics were able to set up IVs in both arms. But during this process, Gina never regained consciousness, and her vital signs were in a dangerous place. Gina laid unconscious in the lobby, eyes wide open, staring up above with a pained look still on her face. Since Gina wasn’t regaining consciousness, the medics decided to intubate her and leave the oral airway in her mouth. A 7.0 ET tube was secured in the 51 year old’s airway, and taped in place. Moments after intubation, the heart monitors showed pulseless v-tach, so Tracy snipped off Ms Ashford’s bra, and began pumping her chest fast and hard. “…5…6…7…come on…” Tracy counted to herself, pummeling the attractive woman’s chest. Stephanie was readying the defibrillator paddles, gelling them and charging to 150 joules. The paddles were pressed up against the patient’s bare chest, and a shock was delivered. Gina’s body jolted sharply on the lobby floor in response to the shock. Matt, Emily, and the nosey crowd watched in horror while Gina’s dying body reacted to the jolt of electricity. “no change, hit her again at 200.” Tracy told Stephanie after taking a quick carotid pulse. The paddles were recharged, pressed back up against the woman’s chest, and shock #2 was delivered. Once again, Gina’s body reacted violently to the electric shock. Her chest shot up for a second, and her arms flailed for a brief second before going limp once again. A woman in the nosey crowd screamed as she watched Gina react to the shock. “Still nothing. Charging to 250.” Stephanie called out, shaking her head, looking at the heart monitor. Tracy delivered a cycle of chest compressions while the defibrillator whined as it was charged. Finally, the paddles were pressed up against the woman’s bare chest, and the next shock was administered. Gina’s feet leapt up above the tile floor, slamming back down half a second later, showing off the deep, thick wrinkles in the soles of her size 8 feet.

This shock failed to restart Gina’s heart, and she was now in v-fib. Tracy resumed chest compressions and Stephanie injected epinephrine and atropine into the VP’s IV line. After a few cycles of CPR and ambu bagging, the medics decided to shock Gina again. The paddles were charged to 300 this time, and the next shock was delivered. KA-THUNK. Gina’s lifeless body twitched sharply on the floor while the nosey crowd continued watching, with a few gasping and shuddering. The strong, alpha female VP was in such a vulnerable, helpless situation- a stark contrast from her usual self.

Shock after shock failed to restart Gina’s heart, and the already dire situation was becoming desperate. “what’s happening?! Why isn’t anything working?!” Emily the front desk agent asked the medics, teary eyed and visibly upset. The two medics were so locked into their efforts that they didn’t respond to the young front desk agent. Stephanie took over CPR and started delivering deep, harsh chest compressions. Gina’s belly bounced outward while her pretty eyes remained wide open, continuing to stare up above. The medics kept up their efforts of chest compressions, ambu bagging, and meds, but Gina deteriorated further, going from v-fib, to PEA, to agonal, to asystole. The two medics were becoming exhausted after each performed multiple cycles of chest compressions. At one point, Tracy shined a pen light into Gina’s eyes. “fixed and dilated, been down 20 minutes.” Tracy said to Stephanie, shaking her head. Stephanie delivered a few more chest compressions before backing off and holding her efforts. Stephanie let out an exhausted sigh, then said “we did everything we could Tracy. I think we need to call it.” The tension in the room was palpable at that moment. Tracy paused for a moment weighing out the options. “yeah… she’s gone. Time of death, 8:42am. Let’s call the coroner’s office and get them over here.” Tracy said reluctantly.

The ambu bag was detached from the ET tube, the flatlined monitors were switched off, and the EKG electrodes were plucked off of Gina’s bare chest. The two medics picked up Gina’s lifeless body, placed her on a gurney, and then put a sheet over her body, and wheeled her into the ambulance while they waited for the county coroners office to arrive on scene. Unfortunately, Gina’s death was quite sudden, with her final moments being so violating and public.

Since no cause of death could be readily determined by EMS, an autopsy was performed. The autopsy showed that Gina had died from a rare type of brain aneurysm. A large fusiform aneurysm was discovered in the basilar artery with a 3cm dilation- which is well above the recommend threshold for surgical intervention. These types of aneurysms only occur in 3-5% of all brain aneurysm cases, and have mortality rates as high as 60% according to some studies. Sadly this rare and deadly clinical entity took the life of Tracy and Stephanie’s latest patient.

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ballcrusher74 · 1 month

Note

Your sona (bigform) looks very cool, reminds me of the silhouette of a dinosaur, what is the critter and what inspired such a cool mech tang?

OK. RAMBLE TIME

My sona (Jawbreaker) is a fucked up star alien thing ! You're gonna get a little more than just what he is and inspirations and I hope you don't mind, I made a whole fucking species just for this guy's backstory LOL Stellarites are shapeshifting, celestial beings created with star energy. Their strength varies, depending on what kind of star their energy was sourced from. Jawbreaker (his actually birth name is unknown and he forgot himself) was created with the energy of a quasi star as an experiment for his overlord, Metsu. He served in their celestial empire as a royal guard, and had a close eye kept on him. He excelled compared to his peers, and was deemed spectacular at his work- the only downside was his short temper. He was constantly consulted about his attitude, and it only seemed to grow worse. He grows disobedient, to the point where he is sentenced to be shattered for his resources to be recycled. He escapes from his home planet, landing on Earth. He examines life from afar, and takes on a more humanoid form. As he lives out his days on his new home, there's something that he can't avoid now- taxes. So what's a better job to get when you used to be a guard for an intergalactic ruler? Become a hitman! This is where he obtained his helmet and his name. A couple years go by and he's considered a perfect killing machine, being able to leave such little trails behind in his work. Then, he fucks up one day. A single drop of his blood is found at a scene. This results in a huge chase for him, especially because he is extraterrestrial life. He eventually is caught, and used in government experiments. These experiments were based off the mega-structure, dyson spheres, in which they tried to extract energy out of him. He manages to escape this, takes on his current form with a repainted helmet and fresh new look, and is now a party-animal alien out on the run with a bounty on his head. (This is like, a really watered down version of his story cus if I put the whole thing here that shit would go on forever)

Also y'know what, fuck it, here's the full ref sheet + cool guitar item that I keep forgetting I have OOPS

Going onto actually inspirations now, here's a couple !

The general design was just based off of character design aspects that I like a lot. Chunky shoes, shoulder pads, big sleeves, huge zipper- etc, etc.

The hoodie and boxers combo just comes from the fact that that is typically what I roam around in

The star eye was me trying to recycle from my old sona, but the true origin of it was it being a reference to one of my favorite musicians at the time, Grandson ^_^

The half heart locket is for my boyfriend <3

The big ol' eyebrow is just cus I have bushy eyebrows + I love big ass eyebrows

I'm gonna be honest, the hair was when I was trying to make my sona on Roblox but I obviously couldn't have my helmet, so a red base and cyan trihawk came along and it's stuck since then + I FUCKING LOVE MOHAWKS SO BAD

The blood is based off of glowstick liquid . Please trust me when I say to not eat glowsticks they do not taste good .

The colors are also kinda recycled from my old sona, but also because I fucking love red and cyan

The whole alien aspect is taken from the fact my birthday is on the same day as the Area 51 raid LMAO

Exaggerated proportions kinda came from FNF . yeag

THE HELMET . The helmet was a thing I scrapped from a really old oc of mine, which was kinda taken from Jasper (SU) . The addition for the jaw part was inspired by a bear trap

also these two that I use for this blog . They're obviously more jokey looking + I made it so they are both immortal beings that have existed since the dawn of time that just fuck around on Earth but yea it's also just me . but funny looking

I think that is it . yeag

#i am actually much more comfy sharing ocs here and going crazy so here's my super mega ultra infodump #erm guys ! we got a yapper alert !#oc

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ashknife · 6 months

Text

Blossom

This is for the @inklings-challenge. I didn't have the benefit of running this through my writing group for critique and editing, so it is exceptionally rough. It's done, but it needs work. Something to do when I graduate in May. :) If you have suggestions or criticism to make, I would greatly appreciate it.

>/-u:bl0$$0m >/-p:*************** User authenticated. Welcome, bl0$$0m. TaurOS 7.2.9 rev.2 update available. See UPDATE -README for details. bl0$$0m>/-jack a2.82.71.89.82.fe -in/quiet Initializing peripherals. VineTech Helm Visor XG51 detected. VineTech Glide Gloves XG51 detected. VineTech Chest Mount Expansion XG51 detected. Please wait...... 9.8 PB allocated. Entering TaurNet...... Welcome, user bl0$$0m.

Visuals initializing.

A small room appears in her sight. It is covered in vines and foliage. A square fountain in the middle, covered in lily pads, provides water to this lush little garden.

Audio initializing.

The sound of trickling water gently pelts her ears. A breeze whooshes above, rustling the plants and calling attention to the windchimes above.

Sensories initializing.

She feels the cool breath of the wind caress her skin. The sun filtering in from above counters with its warmth. The dichotomy is pleasing. The scent of the plants fills her nostrils. She almost sneezes; she is thankful she doesn’t. The mess would have been a pain to clean up.

Controls initialized. Happy exploring.

She moves her body around the garden. Walking around is almost like walking around the dark room she is really seated in. It’s close enough to be disconcerting. No matter how many times she’s done this, she has to take a few minutes to reorient herself to the virtual environment. She performs a few stretches and exercises while she’s at it. There will be a lot of activity today.

“Hey, get your bearings yet?” Spencer’s disembodied voice crackled slightly.

“Almost. You’re breaking up a little,” Blossom replied.

“Can’t help it. There’s a massive storm outside. Let me know when you’re ready. Red is on standby,” Spencer said.

“Yo,” Redjack said. “I see you’re in one of the VineTech gardens.”

“It came with the gear,” she said.

“Did you get the XG51 set? Nice!” Spencer said.

“That’s right, boys. Only quality goods for this girl,” she said.

“That pocket garden is nice. If we weren’t already linked, I’d never know it was there. Is it true? Can you link that room anywhere?” Redjack said. Blossom smiled a little. Even she enjoyed the new car smell.

“I tried putting it just outside the library subbasement. I guess we’ll see, won’t we?” Blossom said.

“Which door?”

“A-51.”

“Ok, I’m watching. On your mark, Blossom.”

“Security is light down there, but be on your guard,” Spencer said.

“Got it,” she replied. “3…2…1…”

She opened the door out into a large, dusty lobby. Dust kicked up from the floor in a visible wave emanating from the opening portal.

“Oh, wow. I think you’re the first to disturb the air here in a long time,” Redjack commented.

“You said light security, Spence. Do you think it’s still around?” Blossom asked.

“Sensors don’t need to physically patrol an area to scan it. Some gremlins can remain inert for decades before being activated,” Spencer replied.

“Don’t let my guard down,” she said.

“Exactly. People have died from less,” Spencer said.

Blossom carefully stepped into the lobby. To her left was a large set of stairs leading up to the ground floor. A couple of dim rays from the cyberworld above pierced through, illuminating parts of a utilitarian directory in front of a big desk. Circulation, Preservation, and Housekeeping were to the right.

“This desk looks like a reception area for the basement offices,” Blossom said. “I can see some of the directory. Preservation is to my right. Is that where the archives are?”

“Not necessarily, but it’s a good place to start,” Spencer said.

“Not to alarm, but going off of Spence’s point earlier, there are a couple of inert gremlins under the desk. I’m prepping some weapon data just in case. What would you like?” Redjack said.

“The usual,” she said.

“On it,” he replied.

“Any sentries close by?” Spencer said.

“Three blocks down,” Redjack said.

“I’ll look. You’re clear to walk to that point,” Spencer said.

“Got it,” Blossom said. She advanced down the dark hallway with short, purposeful steps. She looked side-to-side with as much caution. Though the hallways were mostly bare, that did not mean they were empty. More than once, she was ambushed by cleverly camouflaged data gremlins, dangerous anomalies residing in the depths of cyberspace. They are pockets of corrupted data left down here for months, decades, or even centuries. Having been overlooked for so long and thus no programs to handle garbage collection, the corruptions evolved into some sort of animalistic state with a monstrous appearance. The depths of cyberspace are home to dangers such as this. It takes professional hackers like Blossom and her crew to brave and survive those depths to retrieve lost data. Hacker is one of the most respected professions on Taurus Rho.

Blossom crept to the end of the hall, where a pair of steel doors painted the same cream as the walls blocked her path. If Spencer was right, the sentries would be on the other side of the doors, so she relaxed a bit and took in her surroundings. She had seen the upper floors of this library before with rows of heavy wooden shelves with numerous imaginative posters begging patrons to read, read, read. There was colorful carpet to complement the colorful walls and numerous streamers hanging from the ceiling. It felt open, lively, and inviting. It was hard to believe that these lower levels were part of the same building. The offices, technical processing, and archives lived down here, so the design was far more utilitarian. Perhaps if she had a chance, she would peek into an office. Surely the librarians who worked here had lively desks.

“Hard to believe that this was a lively place twenty years ago, huh?” Redjack said.

“The first digital library,” she said.

“It had a good run, but now there are five bigger ones above and plans for even more. It didn’t take long for people to forget it,” he said.

“Red, how deep do you think cyberspace is?”

“Well, Nighthawk claimed to have been ten kilometers below, and that was when this library was in its final days. That makes that now, what, twelve?”

“How deep was that depot? The deepest we made?”

“Five.”

“I remember the cliffside there. I could see down a long ways.”

“I imagine it could be twenty, thirty, or more deep. Humanity has been on Taurus Rho for several centuries, and technology keeps expanding.”

“We can make it deeper, I bet. Deeper than even the great Nighthawk.”

“Yeah. One step at a time, anyway. What’s the word, Spencer? You’ve been quiet for a while.”

“Yeah, sorry, I’m confused. These scanners are VineTech,” Spencer said.

“VineTech? But, they’re a startup. They haven’t been around for even five years,” Blossom said.

“Weapon inbound,” Redjack interrupted.

A somewhat ornate spear materialized in front of Blossom, who took it, twirled around, and struck at a pair of gremlins in one fluid motion. The spearhead connected to the skull of the vaguely humanoid anomaly. It hissed and quivered violently before collapsing to the ground. Its buddy lunged at Blossom. She sidestepped the attack and jabbed the spear into its side, where it collapsed in a strange pile.

“Executing garbage collection,” Spencer said.

A dim light briefly engulfed the gremlin corpses. The corrupted data dispersed, leaving behind a couple of scraps of paper. Blossom picked them up and looked at them.

“This scrap is part of an old newspaper,” she said, crumpling it and tossing it behind her. “But this one, it appears to be an encrypted note. I’m uploading it to you, Spence.”

The other scrap disappeared from her hand in a small shower of white sparkles.

“Got it. So, those sentries are recent products from VineTech. Stealth Series 1 Beta. They’re supposed to be hard to detect.”

“Someone doesn’t want us down here,” Blossom said.

“It’s a good bet that someone knows we’re here. Should we abort?” Spencer said.

“Can you move that room?” Redjack asked.

“Yes, I can,” Blossom said. “Tried it the other day around my space.”

“The client gave us a detailed description of the record they want from the archives. If she hurried, she can get to it and then hop through a side door back into her safe space,” Redjack said.

“That’s risky,” Spencer said.

“I get the feeling there won’t be another chance,” Blossom said.

“If someone laid that trap for us, then there’s little use for stealth. I’ll scan the area for the target. You should see it on your HUD soon, Blossom,” Spencer said.

“Activating systems. Let’s make some noise,” Redjacked yelled.

The dark hallways lit up almost brighter than day. Blossom grunted as she brought her arm over her eyes. As her eyes adjusted, she saw a red targeting reticle appear down behind the doors.

“Archives are next to preservation, as you guessed. Run!” Spencer said.

Menus darted across Blossom’s vision as she selected a slew of commands to augment her abilities. Her destination was only a couple hundred meters down; she would be fine expending a large amount of data to get there quickly, especially if she had to run for her life. As if to confirm that, the sounds of machinery and crashing echoed from above the lobby stairs.

Blossom cursed as her spear glowed an eerie green color. With a practiced slash, she cut down the doors in front of her. She jumped past them and sprinted down the hall. Within seconds, she reached a set of doors leading into Preservation. She kicked the doors in to see a large room with shelves of boxes, chemicals, and plastic sleeving. Down the hall where she came from, she could see an Enforcer, a humanoid-shaped program designed by the military to help police the public areas of cyberspace.

“Blossom…” Spencer started.

“I know!” Weaving her spear around, she burst through Preservation, cutting through the tables and shelves before slicing down another set of doors. This led to a small warehouse with mostly empty shelves. There were several gremlins, all of whom were agitated by the sudden change in environment. In the middle of that was the target record. Hearing the crashing behind her, Blossom leaped forward, over the gremlins and shelves, and landed two aisles away from the record. The Enforcer exploded through what was left of those doors and charged forward, but the gremlins found it more interesting than Blossom.

“Precious seconds bought. There’s a door down the aisle where the record is found. Grab it and go!” Spencer said.

More menu options floated in front of Blossom as she ran to the correct aisle and rushed to the record. It appeared to be an old journal of some kind. She pocketed it and ran for the door. Light flickered behind it, and it opened to her private garden. The sound of struggle between the Enforcer and the gremlins quieted down. She was out of time. With a final burst of speed, she leaped for the door and slammed it behind her. The door bulged with a fist-like shape. Furiously, she entered commands. Soon, the bulge returned to normal as her garden transported her to somewhere safe. She pulled the journal out.

“The memoirs of Jackson A. Miller is ours,” she said.

Both men exhaled.

“Good job, Blossom,” Redjack said.

“Another narrow escape, thanks to your upgrades,” Spencer said. “Guess I should do the same, yeah? I’ll meet you at the normal place.”

“Sure thing.”

A pair of wired, sleek gloves pulled a similarly styled helmet off. The young woman gasped for fresh air and then sat there while her pulse and breathing slowly returned to normal. Every close call unnerved her. If the Enforcer had gotten a hold of her like it did those gremlins…well, this room would have been quite the mess for someone to clean up.

She stood up, slid the chest mount off, and hung the pieces of the XG51 into their sanitation station. She ambled to the bathroom and looked at the mirror. Her undershirt was drenched with sweat, and her black hair was also drenched and matted. She ran her fingers down her dried face and stared at her brown eyes for a few moments. She sniffed and wrinkled her nose.

“This is going to be the death of you, Laura,” she told her reflection.

A shower and some fresh clothes later, Laura stepped out of her apartment into the city streets. As much as she didn’t care for the inner parts of Prime City, she was glad for the opportunity to get out and distance herself from the virtual reality suit. The storm Spencer complained about had just passed over this part of the city, so there was a little freshness in the air. Her dark grey beanie, scarf, coat, slacks, and boots blended with the overcast sky, the city buildings, and many of her fellow pedestrians. She trotted to keep pace with the crowd, warily watching while keeping her face down. A pair of earbuds quietly played music from children’s show Duck the Rabbit; they were also a type of hearing aid. They saved her more than a few times from nosy reporters and angry strangers.

A quarter-hour stroll through the city streets brought her to a little cafe, La Fleur Petit. An eccentric old lady crazy about fungus ran the place, which was enough to scare off most people who weren’t regulars. It was a cozy spot that served a delicious cup of coffee and a large, warm waffle. Laura could smell the waffles the entire walk down. She opened the door and stepped in.

A wrinkled raisin of a woman sat at the register hunched over in a somewhat comatose pose. It wasn’t clear if she was contemplating the mysteries of the universe or was asleep. An eye peeked to see who it was, and then she burst into life.

“Oh, you can’t hide from me, sweetie! I know which blossom those eyes belong to,” she said.

“Good evening, Madame Sophie,” Laura said. Sophie grabbed Laura’s cool hand and stared seriously into her eyes.

“Still so formal after all these years. One day, young lady. One day, you will call me Grandma or Toots or something.” She cackled. Laura couldn’t help but smile as the old lady dragged her to her normal table. There was a guest waiting for her, as expected.

“Waffle and coffee?” Sophie asked.

“Yes, please.”

“I’ll return shortly.”

Laura sat at the table and faced her guest, who was dressed similarly. They sat in silence until Sophie returned with fresh coffee in mushroom-shaped mugs. She sat a mug in front of Laura and another in front of the guest.

“Your orders will be ready in a few. Relax and enjoy!” She bowed and walked back to the counter, singing an old tune using mushroom names as lyrics. Laura’s guest lifted his mug.

“The fields are white unto harvest,” he said.

“But the laborers are few,” she said, lifting her mug. They loosened their scarves and savored a sip.

“Sophie makes good coffee. I wonder where she sources it,” the man said.

“See? Like that, dearie!” Sophie called from the counter. Laura laughed.

“I don’t know, but she’s earned a few secrets,” she said.

“Do you have the journal?” he said.

“Here.” Laura produced a small drive and handed it over. He looked it over and placed it in a pouch.

“That was a close call. Did that punch get in your garden?”

“About two feet, I think. It…I…do you know something, Spence? I think we were targeted.” Spencer nodded.

“Here’s a copy of that note.” He pulled out a folded scrap of paper. “Decrypted,” he added.

Laura took and unfolded it.

Flowers wither. -M

She looked up.

“I don’t know who we angered, but somehow we did,” Spencer said.

“Any ideas? Past clients? Jobs?” she asked.

“I think it might actually have been this job. Jackson A. Miller was an old general, someone the deposed General Blackheart looked up to. Our client was really good at hiding his information, but I still managed to dig up some info. A librarian who was personal friends with the same Mason Blackheart, Apollo DeGreen. Seems he might be doing a favor for his old buddy.”

“General Blackheart was deposed seven years ago and disappeared soon after. Wouldn’t this be someone acting on an old grudge?”

“Maybe, but then they seemed to know who you are. That they sent an Enforcer after you meant they were someone high up. Very few people get to command those. I just don’t know who M is.”

He stared intently at her. She stared back. Sophie arrived with plates of waffles and sausage.

“Oh, Sophie, I could eat this every day,” Spencer said.

“How nice of you to say, but you already get my best discount,” Sophie replied as she placed the food down for her guests. “Let me know if you need anything else.”

Laura stared for a bit longer, and then she looked at the scrap again. Something caught her eye. There was a tiny bit of writing underneath the note.

“Hey, there’s an address here,” she said, handing the note back.

“You’re right,” he said, his eyes narrowing. “You know something.”

“Yeah, but I can’t crack. Not yet. Trust me a little longer,” she said, taking in a bite of waffle. If only she could hold that warm, fluffy moment forever.

“You were almost killed,” he said, holding his first bite in.

“I…yeah. That unnerved me, but I have to face the danger. We need to go to that address.”

“This is clearly a trap.”

“I know.”

“But you want to go?”

“I have to. It’s…important.”

“The ever-nebulous quest of yours?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t think I could take it if you were silenced.”

“You say that every time.”

“And I mean it every time. You’re a person, too. Red and I care about you. We’re a great team. We could keep this going for years to come.”

“Spence…”

“I know better than to try to talk you out of this, but if this goes south, we’re gonna have to lay low for a while.” Laura sighed.

“Thank you, Spence. Just trust me a little longer, and then you’ll learn all you want.”

“You’re a hard nut to crack, Blossom.”

“I have to be. Look, she made these look like shiitake.”

They ate and chatted for a while longer before leaving.

The door to Laura’s apartment opened quietly. She stepped in and closed the door just as carefully. She stepped into the kitchen and stripped the gear off of her head, placing them on the table. She inhaled sharply and brought her fist down on the table, jolting everything on it. She screamed in frustration.

She knew who M was. M was the Matriarch, the name her aunt used in cyberspace. Her real name was Anastasia Plumer. She was the governing regent of Sector Prime, one of the most populous sectors on the planet. She obtained the position by exposing the corruption of the previous regent and that of his advisors. Evidence of that corruption extended to her father, General Mason Blackheart. The general embezzled funds for his family and used his position to cover for a number of Laura’s missteps, including a failed attempt to sexually assault her own cousin, Lance Plumer. In an act of goodwill, Anastasia pardoned their crimes when General Blackheart stepped down in the face of his charges.

Charges that Laura knew were completely fabricated. Anastasia and Lance had powerful and skilled friends. All it took was a little sample of Laura’s DNA that she unwittingly provided. From that, they could recreate nearly every detail about her, including her voice and mannerisms. It was groundbreaking technology, the kind that Taurus Rho was known for. The people behind this brought that technology to market under the name VineTech.

Anastasia was calling Laura out, and Laura had no choice but to follow along. It was the only way she could get close enough to find something, anything, to exonerate herself and her father. She was right: this might really be the death of her.

“Let me get this straight: we’re infiltrating an address left behind by someone who tried to kill you?” Redjack asked.

“Yes,” Spencer and Blossom answered.

“You know, I need to find my way to Prime City so I can smack you both upside the head,” Redjack said.

“It’s been a while since the last time,” Blossom said.

“It has, and if this mission goes to pot, it won’t be happening ever again,” Redjack said.

“Don’t be all glum, Red. If this mission goes well, Blossom said she would spill the beans,” Spencer said.

“Wait, really? Like, we can finally know your name and all that?” Redjack said.

“Yeah. I have a feeling we’ll find something big here,” Blossom said.

“If you make it. I mean, given what we know, they could be going after me and Spence when this is over.”

“If this is our end, then let it be something noteworthy. I mean, we are trying to be greater than Nighthawk, right?” Spencer said.

“Now or never,” Blossom said.

“Right,” Redjack said. “I see you attached your garden to that address. I can have a weapon placed right outside for you. You’ll need it: the place is crawling with gremlins.”

“The place looks like an abandoned vacation home that sunk into the depths. Records of who it once belonged to seem to have been corrupted. Maybe one of those gremlins has them,” Spencer said.

“I can block some doors and funnel the gremlins down a corridor. That should help you dispatch them,” Redjack said.

“Alright. Reserve some data for a hasty retreat,” Blossom said. “I’d rather this not be the end if I can help it.”

“Already on it,” Redjack said.

“Okay, on my mark,” Blossom said. “3…2…1…”

Blossom burst through the door, grabbing the spear dropped next to it. One thrust, two, and then three inflicted fatal wounds on as many gremlins.

“Starting garbage collection,” Spencer said.

“Funneling enemies. They should be coming out of the door to the left,” Redjack said.

“How many?” Blossom asked.

“About thirty.”

Blossom sighed, inhaled deeply, and slammed the butt of the spear on the ground.

“Bring it!” she said, readying the spear for the first to come out.

Come out they did. As the door burst open, two gremlins popped out. Meanwhile, the doorway appeared to shrink down to a third of its size, forcing further gremlins to have to squeeze through.

“That should hold for a while. Take them out,” Redjack said.

Blossom stabbed the two in front of her, and then she charged at the doorway, running through another. She stood in front of it, stabbing at each one trying to get through to her. With Spencer clearing the corrupted data, there was plenty of room for the remaining gremlins to make their way to Blossom. By the time the last fell, she yawned with boredom.

“I expected more,” she said.

“Don’t let your guard down, lady,” Spencer said. He grunted. “Nothing useful. They were all made of bits and bobs. I think they were all made recently.”

“What are we looking for, anyway?” Redjack asked.

“I don’t know, exactly. Evidence of some kind,” Blossom said.

“You’re risking your life for something vague?”

“This time, yes. I don’t know what I’m looking for, but I’ll know what it is when I find it.”

“Okaaay…” Redjack said. “Well, you are in the den of a mansion. Your garden is attached to a door that goes outside. The door to the left of that, where you just killed gremlins, leads further into the mansion. On the opposite side, you should see some double doors that lead out into a courtyard. There is a bridge that goes over a pond to an island that houses a small tower. I don’t know about you, but I think I would have fun at this place. You, aside from the monster infestation.”

Blossom gasped. She knew this place.

“The tower. It’s got to be in the tower.”

“How do you know?” Spencer said.

“I just…I just do. Are there any enemies out there?”

“None that I see,” Redjack said. There just seem to be a couple of spotlights. How odd.”

“Huh…yeah, they’re just spotlights. Nothing out of the ordinary there,” Spencer said.

The ground shook. A guttural scream echoed through the mansion.

“That…oh, that one is huge. And he’s above you,” Redjack said.

“I don’t like this, Blossom. You’re being pushed there. You know there is trap of some kind somewhere,” Spencer said.

“I’ll deal,” she said, approaching the courtyard doors. They were large enough to allow a small vehicle in. A plank of wood resting on metal braces barred the door from opening. Blossom lifted the plank and set it aside. She then twisted the second brace from the right, revealing a small hole inside the door. She retrieved a key, which she inserted into the keyhole. There was a loud click, and then the doors swung open.

“Huh…” Spencer said.

“I couldn’t see that. Where exactly are we?” Redjack said.

“It’s–” Blossom started. Another heavy scream cut her off.

“Tell us later. Go!” Redjack said.

Blossom ran out into the courtyard. It was a simple grassy yard with a large pond in the middle. In the middle of the pond stood a small tower rising about three stories. A rough path of large stones connected the door to a wooden bridge that crossed the pond. The stone path continued on the island to the tower.

Blossom made it halfway to the bridge when a large, dark mass poured itself out of the courtyard door like a thick oil. Once out, it wriggled violently until it could form a pair of arms, a pair of eyes, and a pair of eyes. The gremlin was easily the size of an elephant, and its core was darker than any night sky Blossom had ever seen.

Blossom bolted to the bridge just as the gremlin chased after her. The ground under the gremlin suddenly gave way as if it was as viscous as the creature.

“Thanks, Red,” Blossom said as she stepped on the bridge. Just a few more steps, and she would be on the island, and then the tower, and then whatever was held in it.

Then the spotlights lit up.

Blossom cried out as she did her best to shield her eyes from their glare.

“Don’t tell me…” Spencer said.

“Oh. Oh, no!” Redjack said. “There’s no way!”

Blossom was not the only one who cried out. The gremlin screeched in pain. It scrambled like a panicked bug back to the mansion.

“We’re too high up to see any of these,” Spencer said. “How is this possible?”

There were four spotlights, each attached to the fence around the courtyard. Their intense light focused on Blossom. Wherever she blindly stumbled, they followed her. The large beams grew brighter and more focused. A thin beam of the whitest light shot from each spotlight and hit Blossom’s head. She seized up, held up only by her twitching muscles and the lights which bore into her.

“I’m going in,” Spencer said.

“Are you nuts?! We’ve never dealt with the Lights of Truth!” Redjack said.

“If I know my lore, they’ll only be focused on her. If I don’t, well, it was worth a shot. We can’t jack her out until she’s free of them, which means one of us has to pull her out.”

Redjack cursed.

“I knew you’d understand,” Spencer said.

The lights intensified, drilling into Blossom’s mind. Her body contorted in awful angles, and her cries sounded inhuman. Streams of silver poured out of her head. There were hundreds of them, and they threatened to corrupt the space around them and form gremlins. However, in the light, they instead stabilized and turned into windows showing pictures, objects, scenes, and even ideas and feelings.

“There’s a ton of data coming through. You’ll have to jack in on my mark,” Redjack said.

“Got it,” Spencer replied. “What’s going on?”

“It’s…her. Everything about her. Everything.”

“What? That’s it?”

“I don’t think you understand, Spence. You should see this.”

“Okay.”

“Opportunity’s coming. 3…2…1…”

A shower of light by the courtyard door heralded Spencer’s entrance. The lights around him were nearly too much to take in, but they were not nearly as intense as they were on the bridge. Silver streams continued to wrest themselves out of Blossom’s mind, turning in to data streams. Scenes of school, trips, military parades, family, especially…

“General Mason Blackheart?” Spencer said. The deposed general factored into several memories.

“Blossom is…Laura Blackheart? Have we been working with the general’s daughter this whole time?” Redjack said.

“This was the regent’s vacation home! Red, where is all this data going?”

Redjack gasped and cursed. “It’s going somewhere in downtown Prime. I can’t contain any of this! Get her out!”

Spencer approached the bridge. The heat of the lights was unbearable, but that was nothing compared to Laura’s writhing body. It contorted just the right way for him to reach his arms in and hook them around her shoulders. He pulled her as close as her body and the attached lights would allow.

“Got a boost for me?” Spencer said.

“I’ll try, buddy,” Redjack said. “Here goes…”

Spencer yanked. Redjack’s boost was more than he expected, for he flew back into the mansion with Laura in tow. It was enough to disconnect her from the lights, which immediately powered down. She quivered in exhaustion and gasped for breath.

“Throw her in the garden. I'll jack her out,” Redjack said.

Spencer dragged Laura to the door hosting her private garden. He was unable to enter it, so he gathered her into his arms like he was carrying a large sack.

“I’m sorry, but I hope this will be less painful than what you just went through,” he said.

He swung her twice before letting go a third time. She flew a few feet into the garden, landing hard on the ivy-covered ground. Spencer winced.

“I’m so sorry, Blossom,” he said, closing the door.

Laura screamed as she yanked the XG51 off. She clawed at her head, which felt like it had been drilled into hundreds of times. She stumbled out of her chair, choking out sobs, clutching her chest, and using the wall to hold herself up. Eventually, she made it to the bathroom, where she allowed herself to trip down to the toilet. She vomited into it. When nothing more could come out, she collapsed on the floor. She tried to wrap the rug around her. She pulled the towels off the drying rack to wrap around her, and then she tried to reach for the clean ones shelved above the rack. Eventually, she stopped reaching and cried herself to sleep.

“Welcome! Oh! Oh…” Sophie hurried around the counter and grabbed Laura’s hands. It had been two days since her mind was invaded. She existed on the bathroom floor for most of that, but something within willed her to get up, clean up, and take the stroll to La Fleur Petit. She wore two layers of clothing under her coat and wrapped her scarf extra tight. The wet, red rings around her eyes made her look threatening. She tried to say something to Sophie.

“Shh, hush now. Come, your friends are waiting. I will make something special for you.”

Waiting? She didn’t tell anyone she would be there. Yet, there were two men dressed like her. Of course. Who else could it have been? They were already enjoying their coffee in mushroom-shaped mugs. A fresh mug was waiting for her. Sophie helped her sit, and she was off into the kitchen.

“The fields are ripe to harvest,” Spencer said.

“But…the laborers…” Laura answered, choking up. She breathed in slowly and collected herself.

“Are few,” she finished. She loosened her scarf a little, trying to have just enough room to drink her coffee and nothing more. The two men removed their scarves completely, loosened their coats, took off their caps, and relaxed. Spencer leaned forward.

“So, we, uh, saw everything,” he said. Laura nodded cautiously.

“To be honest, I thought all this effort to be secretive and hidden was a novel schtick, You know, an edgy kind of roleplay that was sort of our trademark thing. I mean, why do we need to hide? We’re hackers. We do the dangerous work of finding things in the deep so that nobody else has to, right? But, now I understand. I know why we needed to be secretive. Why you were always so hidden. You had to be,” Spencer said.

“The regent was after you,” Redjack continued. “She tried to mine, well, you. She learned about Spence and I.”

‘I put you danger. We have to lay low. I shouldn’t have…” Laura said.

“Yeah, we’re in danger. Or would have been,” Redjack said. He pushed a folded piece of paper to her. Laura took and unfolded it. She looked up. On the note was an image of a hawk’s head.

“Apparently Nighthawk is still in business, and he took enough shine to us to divert most of the data heading to the lady regent,” Spencer said.

Tears fell as a great weight lifted from Laura’s shoulders.

“I…I’m so grateful!” she blurted. Spencer stood up.

“For better or for worse, the time for secrets is behind us. My name is James Smith. My grandfather, Spencer O’Toole, was a hacker and someone I admired greatly.” He held out his hand. Redjack stood and offered his hand, as well.

“I, well, there’s nothing meaningful to Redjack. My name is Jack Redman. I just thought it sounded cool. Computers are sort of my dig, you know?”

Laura stood and took her scarf off.

“Laura Blackheart. I’m pleased to meet you both.” She shook each of their hands, and they sat back down.

“Oh, finally! You’re practically family now!” Sophie snuck up to the table with three steaming bowls, placing them before each person.

“Sophie, we didn’t order any soup,” Spencer said.

“Don’t worry! Today’s meal is on the house. The soup is my special recipe: a broth made from several different mushrooms! It’s the perfect remedy for cold, troubling days. I’ll be back later with your meals.” Sophie scooted off.

“That was generous of her,” Redjack said, lifting the bowl to his face. Spencer and Laura did the same.

“Cheers,” they said, and drank. The soup filled Laura with an otherworldly warmth, a feeling of calm in the midst of a raging storm. The earthy, peppery mushrooms felt oddly of home. There was joy, and longing, and peace.

Laura opened her eyes, suddenly aware she had almost drifted asleep. Spencer and Redjack, by the look on their faces, had similar reactions.

“What a masterpiece,” Spencer finally said. Silently, they sipped their soups until their bowls were empty. As if on cue, Sophie returned to collect their bowls and place out their entrees: a massive feast of eggs, bacon, and sausage piled on top of her mushroom-shaped waffles.

“I don’t know what you’ve suffered, but I’ll be dead before I let anyone walk over my children like that. Next time it happens, you point ol’ Sophie at ‘em. I’ll tan their hides so hard, they’ll wish I actually knocked them into next month.” Sophie walked back to the kitchen muttering other unsavory things she wanted to do. The three sat there for a moment, and then they erupted in laughter before digging in.

“We need to go back,” Laura said.

“I know you just got drilled in the head, but seriously?” Spencer said.

“Yes. Seriously. Aunt Anastasia baited a trap, but I never found the bait,” Laura said.

“The Lights of Truth are ancient traps. I can see how a rich and powerful person like the regent managed to get some moved to her old vacation home without destroying half of cyberspace, but there isn’t much known about them. I don’t know any way to disable them,” Redjack said.

“But Nighthawk does,” Laura said.

“Oh, right. He did claim to have a way to get through them. But we have no way to contact him,” Spencer said.

“If we caught his attention before, maybe we can catch it again,” Laura said.

“What if we don’t?” Redjack asked.

“Then we look for a way around. They activated when I got part way across the bridge. What if we went under it, or over the island, or through the ground? The tower, it’s important. She had that built for her kids and us cousins. It’s a big playhouse,” she answered.

“Well, those are possibilities,” Redjack conceded.

“What if the bait turns out to be a ruse?” Spencer asked.

“Well, I guess we lay low and learn from our mistakes,” Laura said.

“I think I heard something about Omega Phi looking for something like us hackers. Ever thought about moving off-world?” Redjack said.

“Let’s consider that after we deal with the task at hand,” Spencer said.

Laura stared at an empty mug.

“Grandma, can I have some more coffee?” she called out.

Sophie burst through the kitchen door with a full carafe of coffee and the widest grin.

“You make this old woman so happy, dear!”

A few days had passed before Blossom stepped back into the mansion’s den. It seemed whatever damage occurred during his last visit was repaired.

“Auntie is pretty diligent at maintaining her abandoned property,” she observed.

“That’s a bad sign,” Spencer said.

“Let’s go through with it, anyway. We may get lucky,” she said.

“Just in case, I have a program ready to jack you out in case the lights target you again. It’s going to hurt, but not like what you endured,” Redjack said.

“Okay. Let’s do this,” she said, stepping towards the courtyard doors. She immediately stopped and drew a sharp breath.

“Whoa! Who is that?” Redjack said. Although difficult to see in the dim lighting, there was a man standing in front of the courtyard doors. His dark raiment melded well with the shadows, but the helmet on his head was shaped like a hawk.

“Is that…?” Spencer started.

“Laura,” the man said sternly. Her knees gave out, and she fell on them. Her lips quivered and tears formed.

“That was reckless, the other day. I taught you better,” the man continued.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…I had to…”

“How can you possibly surpass the great Nighthawk with such rookie mistakes?” he demanded.

“I never thought I would get to meet Nighthawk, and now he’s scolding us. I don’t think anything can surprise me anymore,” Redjack said.

“Anastasia isn’t satisfied. She wants us gone. I didn’t think I would have another opportunity!” Blossom pleaded to Nighthawk.

“Sometimes patience requires decades. You can’t expose anything if you lose control and get yourself killed for it,” Nighthawk countered. “And your teammates! Did you not think of them? Didn’t you ignore their warnings?”

Blossom punched the ground in frustration. Nighthawk walked to her.

“Get up,” he said. “Get up. Eyes up and forward. Face me.”

Blossom obeyed, standing to her feet and facing Nighthawk with eyes filled with defiance. Nighthawk grabbed her chin and chuckled softly.

“You’re as stubborn as ever. I’ve missed you, daughter.”

“Nighthawk is…” Spencer said. The sound of his headset hitting a wall replaced the rest of his statement.

“Tell me this is the last surprise we have to deal with. We can’t handle anymore,” Redjack said. Blossom could almost hear his facepalm.

“Where have you been?” Laura said.

“I’m sorry. I had to disappear, like you,” Nighthawk said. He cupped his hands around her head, and then he pulled her into an embrace.

“I missed you,” she said, hugging him back.

She could feel him pull his mask off. There was a shake, and then she felt something like a warm, fuzzy blanket cover her. She pulled back to see a cloak covering her. Her father fastened the clasp at her neck and pulled the hood over her head. He waved a hand, revealing a mirror. In the reflection stood an older version of the father she knew. He leaned on a cane, and his hair and beard were grayer, but age could not erase the pride and intention in which he carried himself. Laura then noticed the ears on the hood and the little duck bill. She laughed, facepalmed, and sang.

“Duck, Duck the Bunny is his name

Helping the children is his game!”

General Blackheart walked around his daughter and tidied the wrinkles and debris off of the cloak. He joined in the song with his gruff, baritone voice.

“When evil rears its ugly head,

Duck will fly in and make it dead.

He saves the world as you can see

Duck is right here for you and me!”

“That was an awful show,” General Blackheart said.

“Yeah, but it kind of stuck,” Laura said.

General Blackheart looked Laura over once more, and then he sighed.

“I’m old and harsh. You suffered greatly from those lights. I hope you can forgive an old man for fearing for his little girl,” he said.

“I’m twenty-seven, Dad.”

“I’m almost 70. You will always be little to me. Now, we have some business to take care of, don’t we?”

Ruffled noises come from Spencer’s headset, followed by a long breath.

“General, do you plan on funding a long vacation for all of us when this is done?” he asked.

“I’ll do that and more if you succeed. How would you folks like to work with the great Nighthawk? I’ll teach you things you never thought possible,” General Blackheart replied.

“I’m ears,” Redjack said.

“You’re really helping us?” Laura said.

“Of course. I can’t have Anastasia harming my little blossom again,”

“What’s the plan?” Spencer said.

“Blossom is going to walk across the bridge and take whatever artifact is in the tower,” Nighthawk said as he pulled on a new hood.

“We tried that last time, and it didn’t work,” Redjack said.

“True, but last time you didn’t have all the necessary tools,” Nighthawk said.

“This cloak,” Blossom said.

“Right. I devised cloaks like this specifically to get past the Lights of Truth. They were a government experiment designed to mine the thoughts of the populace. As you’ve seen, they have painful results, and they were the refined, production versions,” Nighthawk said.

“So, you learned about them while you were actually General,” Spencer said.

“Right. That sort of clearance turned around and made me a legend, though you are the only ones outside my team to know this. Having the archived schematics of old, powerful weapons helped us to devise countermeasures,” Nighthawk said.

“Not to alarm anyone, but that giant gremlin is still there. How has he not seen us yet?” Redjack said.

“Let’s just say I know a few ways to obtain control of my space. I will upload some of those to you,” Nighthawk said. “The rest I cannot give you without causing you trouble.”

“What will the cloak do?” Spencer asked.

“It will reflect the light back to the source, causing it to mine itself. It won’t be destroyed, but it will be kept busy in a recursive loop for several minutes. Unfortunately, they will not be available to keep our friend upstairs at bay. That’s where I come in. I need you gentlemen to back me up while I keep him busy. With a little luck, we can take it out and recover a bit of treasure for ourselves,” Nighthawk said.

“What’s in the tower?” Blossom asked.

“I don’t know, but it will be on you to recover whatever is up there. I imagine Anastasia will have something else planned for you,” Nighthawk said. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

“I saw some of the memories drilled out of you. There was one in particular that caught my attention,” he said. A window appeared, showing a garden in Prime City.

“Wait a minute. Isn’t this where Laura supposedly assaults the regent’s son?” Spencer said.

“Look,” Nighthawk said.

A younger Laura walked down the starlit garden path. She wore a simple dress with golden feathers adorning her shoulders. Walking next to her was her cousin, Lance Plumer, who wore the ceremonial uniform of a colonel of the Prime Sector army. Earlier that day, new officers graduated from officer school, and Lance was one of the top graduates. The party that night was in their honor. Laura naturally attended the party, being the daughter of General Mason. It had been years since she and Lance saw each other, so this party was an excellent opportunity to catch up.

They ambled through the spacious garden for what seemed like hours before they stopped in a secluded corner. The journey was well-remembered. The words and sounds, however, were muffled. Laura barely remembered them. That is, until a certain point. Lance brought his hand up to Laura’s face.

“You really blossomed into a beautiful woman, Laura,” he said.

“Oh, stop it,” she laughed. “I’m still the same kid you ran around with.”

“Maybe we can do something more,” he said. His hand lowered, but before he got anywhere, she grabbed a hold of it. He thrust his other arm at her face, which she dodged and then bit. He yanked that arm back while she held on to the other, spinning under it and using the momentum to flip him onto the ground. She spat in his face and stormed off.

Nighthawk brought up a different window. “This is footage from the security camera,” he said.

The same scene played out, but from a perspective about ten feet away. When Laura stormed off, Lance produced a couple of vials from his coat and collected Laura’s spittle.

“That was much easier than I thought,” he said as he got up. He dusted himself off, looked around, and walked away.

“That…that…” Blossom started.

“It’s hard to know what was and wasn’t fabricated,” Nighthawk said. “So, I just wanted you to know, if this doesn’t work out, and we get separated again, know that I know the truth and have always believed it to be, even when we were being played.”

“If I hadn’t spat on him!” Blossom stormed to the courtyard door.

“Operation start, boys,” Nighthawk said.

Soon, the door swung open, and Blossom stomped her way to the bridge and over it. The spotlights lit up, again blinding her. However, she hid under her cloak while her sight recovered. The cloak lit up, producing a reflective barrier in the shape of Duck the Bunny. With a loud quack, the lights were reflected back to the spotlights. The spotlights shook violently and flickered as they tried to mine the minds that weren’t there.

“You know, she’s going to kill you for that,” Spencer said.

“Won’t be the first time. It’s a father’s job to embarrass his children,” Nighthawk said.

“Bogey is active. Look alive!” Redjack said.

Blossom huddled under her cloak while the sting dissipated from her eyes. When her vision recovered, she resumed her tirade to the island, and then up the path. She planted her foot squarely on the tower door, knocking it over. She climbed the steps as Nighthawk evaded the gremlin outside. The second floor contained four beds. Beside each was a bedstand equipped with a lamp, a few books, and a small shelf of toys. She crossed the room and ascended the next set of stairs. At the top of the stairs was a final door. She stopped for a moment, took a few deep breaths, and composed herself. And then, she knocked.

“Come in,” Anastasia answered.

Blossom stepped in. The room inside was much larger than it should have been. There was a fire roaring in the fireplace across from the door. A tea kettle sat over it. A rug lay in front of the fireplace. To either side of the rug were a pair of comfy chairs. A table with teacups and cookies sat in between them. Anastasia Plumer sat in the one on the right.

“Have a seat,” the regent said.

Blossom sat in the other chair. Anastasia pulled the teapot from the fire, filled the teacups, and placed the pot back on the fire. Blossom took her cup and sipped on it. Chamomile.

“Snickerdoodles?” she asked.

“Yes,” her aunt replied. Blossom took one and nibbled on it silently for a few moments.

“Why haven’t you killed me?”

“I still can.”

“But you haven’t.”

“I can’t.”

The fire crackled loudly.

“Regent DeSpain was a crooked man. I don’t regret exposing him. Removing him from power, and those who profited with him, was necessary for the health of the sector,” Anastasia said.

“What did that have to do with me and father?”

“As his daughter, you should understand how much he values loyalty and duty. If his leader was in danger, no matter how much he actually despised the man, Mason would still take bullets for him.”

“This all was a form of protection?”

“Would you prefer prison and execution?”

“Why did you have Lance…do…argh!”

“Laura, I could never apologize enough for what he did. I instructed him to recover some form of DNA from you. He chose how to do it. The smear campaign was badly handled.”

“You don’t say!” Blossom shot up, ready to throw a punch.

“The Lance on TV is also fabricated. Did you know that?”

“What?”

“The real Lance is doing time in Barghest. That is the penalty for sexual assault, isn’t it?”

“I…didn’t…” She deflated back into her chair. They sat in silence for a while longer.

“You have to expose my crimes,” Anastasia finally said.

“I don’t understand,” Blossom said.

“Mason is fully discredited, but he can live on as Nighthawk. In fact, I think in some ways he prefers it.” At that moment, the large gremlin crawled passed their windows. Shortly after, Nighthawk flew past with some kind of energy weapon in hand, cackling like madman.

“Point.”

“You also have an interest in bringing me down, and it is easy to disprove the false evidence implicating your ‘crimes.’ I brought down Regent DeSpain in the name of justice, and I still believe in that enough to know that I need to step down and leave the regency to someone capable of ruling with clean hands.”

Laura sighed.

“I just wanted my life back,” she said.

“I’m sorry. The old flower has long since withered, but you have already blossomed into a new one. Do this, and you can at least be free to pursue it with your team.”

“What will happen to you?” Laura asked.

“I will probably end up in a cell next to Lance. Either that or I can make my escape to Omega Phi. I hear they need hackers.”

An ear-piercing squeal came from outside.

“Ha ha! We have vanquished the beast!” Nightwing cried out.

“Well, there’s the key to unlock the evidence. Here’s the rest,” Anastasia said. She produced a small lockbox and handed it to Blossom.

“You are not merely the daughter of Mason Blackheart. You are Laura Blackheart, the Blossom of the Depths. My traps have harmed you, but you have lived and learned from them. Now, let us finish staining our family name so that we can reconcile and find peace.”

Anastasia got up, curtsied, and exited in a shower of sparkles. The room phased out and was replaced with a smaller, empty room covered in dust.

“Blossom! Blossom! Are you there?” Spencer called out. Redjack and Nightwing were busy chanting cheers and victory fanfares.

“I’m here. I have it. I have what we came for,” she said.

Over the next few years, the Prime Sector underwent several rounds of political upheaval until the government reformed around a new regent. Careful checks and balances were installed to ensure the validity of the government. Although Laura Blackheart was exonerated of her crimes in the public eye, she remained below the radar. Some believe they can see her entering a hole-in-the-wall cafe, but they are never sure if it’s actually her. Even her clients are not quite sure. The Blossom of the Depths guards her secrets well.

#inklingschallenge #team lewis #clothe the naked

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