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ghostssweetgirl · 1 year

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Injured, Pt. 2

Simon Ghost Riley x Fem Reader

Pairing: Simon Ghost Riley x y/n

CW: semi-public sex, p in v sex, size kink if u squint, breeding kink if u squint, pet names used, fem reader, slight name calling, soft(ish) Ghost

Word Count: 2.1k~

a/n - not my best work. continuation of injured, pt. 1. read that here.

read part 3 here

minors, dni, 18+ only !!

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You were almost fully healed from your gunshot wound, your scar whelping up nicely, and pretty much back to normal. You couldn't help but always think about a few months back, the sex you and Ghost had in the living room of the safe house. You still touch yourself at night thinking of it and wonder if he does, too. He hadn't mentioned anything of it, but he had been a lot nicer to you lately. You tried not to get ahead of yourself, you were both stressed and if anything, the sex was a relief... way of keeping warm? You didn't exactly know, but it was good. It happened once, and you've had moments where he's teased you, got in your face, and flirted with you in the past months, but nothing happened since that one time.

You do as much exercise and keep up with your shooting practice. It's been a while since you've been on a mission so you must keep your body and mind in check for the next one, and also attempt to distract yourself. If you're in the shooting range, Ghost always finds a way to join you. Same thing if you're in the gym. You wonder if he's started to like being in your presence as much as you like being in his, but you don't want to get in over your head.

Your mind is still rotted with the things that came out of his dirty mouth as he fucked you, how he touched you, how he praised you. It's impossible to ignore the tightness in your stomach, how you couldn't help but rub your thighs together for any sort of friction hoping he'd notice.

And he did.

He cornered you in the shooting range. "Can't help yourself, huh?"

You look up at him with your big doe eyes and shake your head, almost ashamed of yourself.

"Hm. Just can't stop thinking of how full you were of my cock, yeah?" he tilted his head.

"N-no, sir. I can't help it," you look away only for him to cup your chin and fix your eyes back on him.

"I know you can't," he smirked underneath his mask. "I see the way your thighs squeeze together, the way you stare at me when you're feeling needy. Are you that greedy, luv? Can't get enough?"

You blush and agree, "Mhm."

"Tell me all about it, then," he put his hands on the wall above your head. "Go on."

"U-um... I touch myself at night thinking about that day... how you pounded into me..."

"Mmm... Do you, now?"

"Mhm... and how you praised me..." you bite your lip, admitting.

He cocks his eyebrow as you pause.

"How... how you're so fucking big, Simon... How easily you threw me around, but also how careful you were, too, when I was hurt..."

"And you're fucking hot. I know it's unprofessional and-"

He shushes you by rubbing his thumb across your lips as your eyes fought between looking at his eyes or where his lips would be behind that mask.

"That right?" he chuckled as he got close to you, settling his knee between your thighs.

You whine and lean up to kiss his mask, he pulls away.

"Get yourself off on my thigh, sweetheart," he put pressure on your clothed cunt. "I ain't touchin' you... yet."

You whine at his teasing and beg him to touch you.

"Please, Simon. Please, please, please."

"Please what?"

"Mmmggh, I want you s'bad. It's been months, Ghost," you complained. "Can't stop thinkin' about it."

"I know, darlin'."

"Simon~..."

You mindlessly start to grind against his huge muscular thigh as you beg him to touch you or kiss you. He groans as he watches your hips gyrate against him, needy for him.

That's it, angel. Come undone for me, luv. Fuck, I can feel how warm you are. I can only imagine how wet that sweet little cunt is, yeah?

Yeah, yeah, yeah~. For you, Simon. All for you. Please do something, touch me, kiss me, pull my hair, somethin'.

Ha, you don't give up, do you? Not yet, doll. You're going to cum from this.

He presses his knee further, moving it in slow circles helping you reach climax sooner. Your eyes close as you reach euphoria and sing his name. God, someone could walk in any minute, and you don't even care. And you hope they hear you.

You pant and moan lazily as you come down from your high, legs locked around his thigh, not letting him go.

"Good girl," he praised, lifting his mask to his nose. You pucker your lips and lean up to kiss him and again, he teases you, pulling away, enjoying your pitiful whines as you don't get what you want.

"You're fun to tease," he admitted while finally giving in to your needs, kissing you deeply, savoring your taste once again, being months since your lips last met. The kiss lasts several minutes, both moaning into each other's mouths as you wrap your arms around his neck keeping him close as he gropes your body, squeezing every bit of meat and holding you in place.

This kiss was different than the other times - more intense, patient, sensational, and immensely passionate. If only you knew how much he craved you, too. You intoxicated his brain, tugged at his heart and he fought it so hard, knowing "love" is impossible in this field of work. You brought him out of his thoughts with that sweet, begging voice of yours. How you purred his name made his heart stutter. How you melded to him, how you trusted him.

"Fuck, Simon, I missed your lips," you take a minute to catch your breath before returning to kiss him.

Unfortunately, you heard a group of men talking, walking either toward or past the range. You roll your eyes at the possibility of having to stop right here.

Simon turned you around, your back pressed against his chest and he covers your mouth with his palm.

"Be a very good girl and stay quiet for me," he nips at your ear as his hands sneak into your pants, finding your throbbing clit.

Your eyes roll into the back of your head, and you press your ass deeper into his hips. Holding your moans in seems nearly impossible right now as you suddenly worry about being caught. You're his subordinate. His teammate. You caught him off guard and left him unable to shake the feelings. He tried to push them down after the first time, but you're irresistible, intoxicating. He needed more. That's why he's here. That's why he's teased you, riled you up for months, making you want more. It's indeed unprofessional, quite inappropriate - both of you knew that of course.

Minutes that feel like hours go by; you close your legs around his hand that doesn't give relent against your sensitive warmth. Your legs start to shake as wetness seeps all over his hand, moaning being muffled by the pressure of his palm against your lips.

"What a fuckin' whore. Getting off on my hand while everyone walks by," Ghost taunted. "What would they think of you if they saw you like this? A fucked out little whore who seduces her Lieutenant. Dirty girl."

That sent you over the edge.

You release all over his hand. The squelching sounds coming from your cunt are downright filthy but simply add fuel to the fire. He pulls his hand out and brings them to his lips, sucking your juices clean off. You look back with your fucked-out daze and see the tip of his fingers glide out of his lips.

"Fuckin' hell. Miss that tasty cunt, sweetheart," he complimented, grabbing your face to kiss you, letting you taste yourself on his tongue.

You consider yourselves lucky as the chatter fades out, hopefully insinuating they left. Anxiety riddles you... did they leave because they knew what was going on? You couldn't find it in yourself to care.

He even took his pistol out and shot it a few times to make it believable that there was, in fact, shooting going on in the range, not... whatever this is.

"Ghost..." you plead.

"I know, luv," Ghost rasped. "Gotta make this quick, sweetheart, forgive me."

You made quick work of undoing your pants and pulling them down to your knees while he undid his belt and pulled his cock out through his zipper, then you feel the weight of his cock resting between your ass cheeks as he rubs them.

"What a fuckin' sight," he cooed, cherishing the way your ass looked bent over in front of him. He takes out his phone and snaps a quick picture of his cock between your ass cheeks as you get even more flustered hearing the *click* and see the brightness of the flash.

You whine, just wanting to feel him inside of you.

I want you so fucking, bad, sir.

He groaned as he rubbed the tip of his cock between your folds, collecting juice as extra lubricant. Finally easing the tip inside, both of you grunt as he enters slowly inch by inch.

"O-oh~ my fucking god, Simon," you softly moaned.

"I'm not going soft on you this time, baby," he warns, slamming into you.

Your eyes screw shut and you squeal as you bite your hand hard enough to where there's blood to soften the screams you so badly want to let out.

Each thrust was harder, deeper, and faster. His breath fastened as he felt himself getting closer.

"It's like your pussy was made for my cock."

"Yes, yes, all yours, Simon!~"

"Yeah? All mine, sweetheart?"

"Yes, sir - ahhh~ fuck."

His groans drove you crazy as you submitted to him, telling him your pussy belongs to him, giving him a feeling of possessiveness.

"Cum for me, doll," he coaxed. "I'm already close."

"Fuck, right there... Simon..."

He didn't have to tell you twice, you pushed back as his grip tightened on your hips and he angled himself even deeper, kissing that sweet spot, helping yourself even more.

"Fuck, I missed this tight pussy... good fucking girl."

You respond with a weak whimper, letting your climax consume you.

"Fuckin' hell..." he groaned while he whispers into your ear, admitting a secret. "I touched myself thinkin' of this cunt wrapped around my cock."

Your head tilts back between his neck and shoulder, moaning out without a care as a sticky white substance leaks out of you, coating Simon's cock. As your gummy walls grip tightens snugly, his cock throbs inside of you, tickling your cervix with cum.

"Really?" you blush as you look back at him with hair sticking to your sweaty face.

He chuckles in response, "Get dressed, and keep me in there, will you?"

"Yes, sir," you smirk as you obey, happy to keep him in you, signaling you do belongto him. Your heart races at the thought of him masturbating to you.

Just like that, you now have this to think about for months and touch yourself to. You frown as you think about not being able to have sex with Simon, and wonder when the next time will be - if there's a next time.

"Quit thinkin' so loud," Simon looked at you, meeting your eyes with a concerned look.

"R-right. Sorry," you stutter. "We should probably head back... I hope they didn't hear or see us. We'd be in a world of trouble if-"

"Stop," Simon shushed you. "We were in here shooting, we needed to have a... conversation, yeah?"

You breathlessly chuckle and agree, hoping it's believable. You remember Simon being adamant about no one knowing, and you really don't want your guys' horniness to ruin your jobs, honestly. The thought of a domestic Simon - Ghost fills your head as you calm your body down. Fuck, I'm sore and I'm sticky.

You both get confused looks as you return to the safe house, your cheeks still barely flushed red, Simon's cum still coating the inside of your thighs.

Soap raises his eyebrows; eyes fluttering back and forth between the two of you and goes to speak until Ghost snaps a look at him saying "I fucking dare you to say something."

Soap takes the hint and steps back, face contorting into a smirk understanding what was happening, "Alright."

You playfully scoff and roll your eyes as you grab a meal ready to eat and sit down, feeling more substance ooze out of you, causing you to readjust your position.

You look up to everyone staring at you weirdly and retort, "What?!"

Silence.

"Everything okay, kid?" Price asked.

"Yep... yes, sir, at least I think so," you laugh, face heating up again.

You glance at Simon like "Shut the fuck up - you did this."

He stands behind everyone and his shoulders dance up and down in a prideful laugh as he stares into your eyes.

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xxavengingangelxx · 8 months

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Long Way from Home 5/?

"There's a story behind every person. There's a reason why they're the way they are. They aren't just like that because they want to be. Something in the past created them, and sometimes it's impossible to fix."-Hanny Quinn

Ya'll know the drill. I assume this isn't ya'll's first rodeo when it comes to reading this but alas, because it's a dark fic, I will post triggers again. MDNI, 18+ TRIGGERS: Implied/attempted suicide, self-harm, torture, brainwashing, physical abuse, mind fuckery, Stockholm syndrome-related mental gymnastics, trauma bonding, mentions of foster care, threatened/implied/referenced rape, EXTREMELY dubious consent. If I miss, any let me know, please! DARK FIC

You’re shaken awake and you almost immediately start swinging. It was dark.

“Whoa,” an unfamiliar voice.

“Who are you?!” you yelled.

You found yourself pinned to the bed. Whoever it was, he was too strong to fight off.

“Hey,” the large male figure reached over, turning on a bedside lamp while easily keeping you pinned.

You saw his vest, how he was dressed.

And you breathed a sigh of relief.

A Shadow.

“Kole,” he introduced himself. He released you but kept his hands at the ready in case you lashed out again.

You stopped struggling. “Valdez,” you said before you used the blanket to cover up.

“Look,” Kole stated, his green eyes looking eerie in the low light of the lamp. “I’m not even supposed to touch you,” he paused before continuing, “But Graves’s orders said wake you up if it looked like you were having a nightmare.”

“Where’s Graves?”

He shrugged. “I was just told to stay here,”

“Why?”

He scoffed. “Why? Protection. You’re family.”

And that gave you pause.

“I’m…what?”

“You’re family,” he repeated simply. He then stood up. “I’m technically not supposed to be in here with you like this,” he signaled at your state of undress.

And with that he walked out, leaving you with only yourself for company.

Shadows would come up to you, asking you to translate radio communications and other bits of information. You’d comply but your mind wandered. Where was Graves? Was he safe?

You woke up alone and it was dark. Another night, another nightmare. You kept repeating that dream where 141 captured you and treated you like an enemy combatant. It had been almost two months of not knowing where you are. There were no windows of course and the lights to the room were off.

You glanced at your watch. 2100. It was 9 at night. Somewhere.

Did 141 really try to come get you a week ago? And had they really shot you? They’d been aiming for the Shadow beside you…right? Or had it really not been 141 after all? Was Graves playing mind games again? But even if it had been them how did they find you? And where did reality end and that weird dream begin?

The thought of them finding you again had you questioning how you would react. You’d been with Graves for almost 2 months now. Ghost would likely take the lead seeing as Soap, Price, and Gaz might be too ‘emotional’ for lack of a better term. König would be hiding in the shadows. König you had to watch out for because he specialized in hostage rescue.

Ghost would be emotional but he wouldn’t show it. But he’d make sure you were under control before anything else. Ghost would ensure you were disarmed and bound. He wouldn’t hesitate to duct tape your mouth if you started screaming or running your mouth.

The interrogation wouldn’t be pretty.

You couldn’t handle being interrogated again. You were sure you’d die. Besides, you were used to Graves and you weren’t sure how you’d handle it if you were separated from him. I mean, hell, you couldn’t even sleep right without him anymore.

“What’cha thinkin’ about, darlin’?”

You would never admit it but hearing his voice was a relief. You walked towards him because…because you didn’t know why.

“Hey,” He seemed…happy?

“What’s up?”

“We don’t have to worry about 141 anymore.”

Your heart skipped a beat. But did a skip a beat in fear or guilt or regret? Or was it relief?

“What do you mean?”

“Pretty sure they think we’re both dead.” Graves smirked.

“What? How?”

“They blew up a tank when they thought I was inside.”

“Remote controlled?” you asked.

“Yes ma’am,”

“So why’d they think I’m dead?”

“They found your dog tags in the wreckage,” Graves added. “They looked destroyed.”

So this is what it had come to? Making 141 think they’d killed you? Why was Graves so obsessed with you?

You could only imagine how 141 would have reacted upon coming across your scorched dog tags.

With your name on them.

They hadn’t seen you in two months almost. Right when they thought they’d saved you, when they thought they’d killed Graves and thought you were only a few steps away.

And now they believed they’d killed you. The ultimate curse of friendly fire.

Soap would be a mess. Especially if he’d been the one who threw the grenade or explosive that destroyed the tank. He’d yell, he’d scream, all with tears in his eyes. Soap might act tough but deep down he was a softie who saw his team members as family. You suddenly remembered all his flirty, funny jokes. He always could make you laugh. He’d try to repeat your Spanish and make you laugh. You remember you’d gotten drunk one time and kissed him but he’d said, “No, lass, not with you like this. You’re drunk.”

Ghost likely wouldn’t react outwardly, wanting to be a stronghold for his team. But alone? Ghost would be broken. He’d been tortured and held captive. He knew how awful it was. At first, he had questioned your ability to be on the team. He’d called you fragile. “Just so smol, lil sis,” he’d said with his accent. He sure didn’t question your size when you’d been able to squeeze into tight spaces and climb into air ducts to get intel. He’d gotten so used to seeing you banged up and got tired of seeing you having to be stitched up from climbing that he’d made sure to get you shin and arm guards. Ghost…Ghost would kill Graves slow if he ever caught him.

Price would be livid. Livid wouldn’t even begin to cover it. Price would look for anyone to blame and he’d be sure to make them suffer. Price saw 141 like they were his children. And you were the only little girl, the little sister in the group. And he had indeed been like a father figure to you. You’d never had a father figure in your life, at least not a stable one. He picked up on Spanish the fastest, much to your surprise.

Gaz was another softie although he did not display his emotions as outwardly as Soap. No, Gaz would try to support his team but once he was alone, he’d likely tear up. He’d blame himself and ask himself what he could’ve done better. Gaz would never let himself live it down. He was another one that struggled with Spanish but he loved hearing you speak it.

Now you didn’t know König much. He was definitely the quiet type and he did not display much emotion. You remembered once sitting next to him with both of you hanging your legs off the chopper and then you realized you were both swinging your legs like schoolkids. He’d stick close to you and he only made you feel even smaller. He would hardly ever let you get more than an arm’s length away from him. “Einfach so winzig,” he’d said, commenting on how ‘tiny’ you were. You’d even learned some German off of him. But he would secretly find out who hurt you and send his men to locate them. He’d tell his men to do nothing but capture, alive, those that had hurt you. As soon as he got there, König would let the fun begin so to speak. He’d rip those men limb from limb and delight in their screams. He’d take pictures of their ripped apart bodies to show 141.

That night Graves took things slow. It was that slow burn kind of sex that was almost like…dare you call it that…making love. He’d undressed so, so very delicately. It was almost like he knew what you needed. Something slow, something wholesome.

He’d climbed over you in bed, both of you completely undressed. He’d trailed hot, heavy kisses on your chest and breasts, making you moan softly. He kissed you gently, taking things so slooowly, like he wanted this night to last forever. Then he’d shifted his position, placing his face between your legs, ripping one orgasm after another from you.

And then he’d sunk himself into you, moaning your name. You were overstimulated but fuck it felt so good just to be loved. This was love, right? And after making you cum one more time, he gave into his own carnal needs, cumming inside of you.

You’d felt him paint your insides white. You were glad you had an IUD because shit otherwise who’d know what would happen. Bringing a child, an infant, into this situation would be a fucking mess. Not to mention how would this kid grow up? Being dragged all over the world by his mercenary father and captive mother.

You were brought back to the present when Graves slid out of you before lying next to you, placing his head on your chest.

And that was the last thing you remembered before you fell asleep and dreamt.

You found yourself back to the night Graves betrayed 141. More and more of it came back to you as you dreamt further. You watched as Graves insulted Alejandro, essentially accusing him of working with the cartel. “Graves holy shit, man,” you’d remarked, shocked.

And before you knew it, Alejandro lunged at Graves and was subdued by a Shadow before said Shadow placed him in zipties. Gunshots were fired and stupid you, you’d slid off your rifle in the Jeep and left it there, because why would you need it? So you only had your sidearm. Two shots fired, you hit a Shadow, but the caliber had not been enough to penetrate his vest. He saw you aim at his commander…

But even though you had a shot, you couldn’t take it. You guessed this is why the military generally advised against sleeping with each other. Should you need to make a serious decision, your mind would be clouded. And your slut self had been fucking a PMC leader who was now betraying all of you.

Then a Shadow stepped in front of Graves, blocking your view of their leader and raising a rifle. An then you had to go and trip over your own boots and then you tripped worse over the short concrete barrier meant to separate the base from a steep hill full of vegetation and woods.

You weren’t expecting the sudden change in flooring and you rolled your ankle, crying out as you tumbled down the side of the grassy, overgrown hill. You brought in your arms and legs to lessen the chance of breaking them on anything on the way down. At the same time you were trying your best to block your face and head from hitting anything. You screamed because it hurt and it was blow after blow. And you had no idea how long the drop was. It felt like miles.

A tree finally stopped you but you couldn’t get up. You gave in to the darkness to a second or two before gunshots brought you back. Your world was spinning and you thought you were going to throw up. So you crawled deeper into the woods, breathing heavily and trying to not lose what was in your stomach. Thankfully your arm and shin guards had stopped you from getting any serious cuts or scratches. Your hair, which had been in a neat French braid up until then was loose around your neck, tangled, and dirty, and muddy.

You waited and were finally able to stand up. Nothing was broken. You were okay. You could feel mud caked onto your face, though. So then you made it to the streets of Las Almas. You thought you’d heard Soap trying to reach Ghost and moved in that general direction. You turned a corner and then you’d been hit across the back of your head and felt yourself crashing to the ground. You never even had time to reach your sidearm.

You woke up with a start but not as harsh a startle as with your other nightmares. It seemed as if you woke up ready to swing, ready to attack, ready to kill someone. You didn’t use to be like that.

141 thought you and Graves were dead. So they weren’t going to be looking for you anymore.

Right?

You wondered what your funeral was going to be like.

“You know you sleep all curled up on your side?”

You didn’t use to. You used to sleep on your side plain and simple. You wondered why you’d changed sleeping positions to curl up. It was almost like you were curling up in your new environment to sleep as safely as you could by protecting as many vital organs as your could.

It occurred to you a day or two later that you hadn’t smiled much less laughed since Graves took you. You used to be such a bubbly person. But then again you weren’t exactly unhappy. You just realized that you were never going to be the same again even if you made it back into the US as a free woman. ‘Free’ yeah right. If 141 didn’t kill you, you’d just end up in a military prison the rest of your life, right?

You knew you were never going to be okay ever again. And with all that you realized were just numb. You were starting to make peace with the fact that you were never going to lead a normal life again. You’d either be killed, be captured by the US or the UK and put in prison, or follow Graves around the world for the rest of your life.

Little did you know you’d learn something that day that would very much make you feel something.

It happened by accident, really. A radio had been left around you. And being bored as fuck, you decided to listen in on a briefing. So there you sat, passively listening until you heard something that caught your attention.

Valdez

Broke.

With hearing Graves say those two words you were suddenly alert.

Then you heard Graves explain that information you provided when “she was drugged out of her mind and had been beat senseless” led to them escaping 141 that one night Graves had told you they were “under attack.” He’d known they were coming. About how 141 members had been shot at but that they were unsure if any of them had been hit. No bodies had been found, Graves added, so if anyone did get hit they were carried off.

You tuned out the rest of the briefing because you had just gotten verification that you had indeed broken and that had indeed betrayed your team (ex-team?).

You

Were

Traitor.

As always, throw any comments you'd like my way. It's getting intense!

#phillip graves #cod mw2 #cod mwii #phillip graves x reader #john soap mactavish #ghost cod #graves x reader #mw2 141 #konig mw2 #longwayfromhome

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bolontiku · 2 years

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"Chasing Pumpkin"

Sand Castle AU - Chapter 2

Characters: Syverson x Reader

Posted: Sept 29th

A/N: worked on this while bored during the hurricane, hope ya'll enjoy, more to come!

WARNINGS: mention of past abusive relationship, dumb bitch vibes

Like, Comments, & Reblogs are always appreciated and loved.

**Please Do Not Repost My Work**

He watched as your eyes darkened, pressed kisses to your lips as you whimpered and pulled your arms around his neck as he finally seated himself completely in you.

You couldn't forget his intense gaze, the feel of his canines nipping at your skin, yet not fully sinking in. Your hand fluttered at your neck, a little sad it hadn't happened but the memory of that night kept replaying in your head. It had been irresponsible, unplanned and utterly sinful.

"Tell me again about how you got laid by the most impressive specimen of a man and then ran away?"

You rolled your eyes, the blonde having pulled you from your thoughts, he had been the only one you had told. "Roman, I never said he was the most impressi-" you smacked his hand away as he reached for the fourth bun and pointed at him, "aren't you supposed to be watching the counter?" You changed the conversation.

"Listen, if you actually went wild and then escaped your four day vacation with the girls on the second day, he had to be beyond impressive," he straightened and shoved an errant strand of curly blond hair back, mossy green eyes full of joy. "I'm both proud and disappointed in you, it's been past due, but you know I got your back. Wish he would magically show up though."

You snorted, "counter?"

He nodded, hands up and made his way out to the front.

You could hear his cheerful greeting as the bell chimed yet again and laughed to yourself. The small cafe you worked at was as busy as usual, Roman was a big pull and he knew it, using his looks to fluster every customer available. It made you laugh, especially when your friends came in.

You lost yourself in your work, the cafe menu was small enough that one person could handle it even on the busiest of days and most were regulars, the town being small. Everybody knew everybody and they had easily accepted you when you moved back into town, into the house your grandmother had left you so long ago.

It had helped, her memory following you through the house and soothing your soul. It had been instrumental in healing you, the memory of her smile and what she had taught you centering you when your whole world had been turned upside down, when you had lost every bit of yourself.

"Hey," Roman poked his head into the order window, dragging you out of your thoughts, "Lulu is looking for you."

You shook your head, "Tell her I went for supplies-" But the door popped open and a lithe brunette stepped in with puppy eyes, you let out a small groan.

Syverson liked small towns.

The house he managed to get was on the outskirts with plenty of space and privacy, every place seemed to have backyard access to the lake. Five bedrooms, the garage had more than enough room for his truck, he had taken the job as a mechanic, it was good for his hands. If anything it was a good stop.

Mike grunted as he dropped the latest box, Mike Franks another from his unit, "c'mon Captain it's past midday and we still haven't gotten half of the Uhaul unpacked. I say it's time for lunch."

"Thinkin with your belly or dick?"

Mike snorted, "both, Lu will meet us, plus she says she'll take us to the best place for lunch!"

That made him pause, Lu was Lulu Kincaid, Mike had met her the weekend of the wedding. The two apparently shared the same hometown but had miraculously missed each other all their lives. Until they shared the same dance floor a month ago at the wedding. Mike had been bugging Syverson to come out and resettle, he had a job for him and guaranteed him he wouldn't regret it.

He ran a hand down his face and scratched his beard, "fine, I owe you lunch anyhow, almost done with this." He could get the Uhaul unpacked himself.

Mike cheered and was quick to clean up, already on his phone, he waited in his jeep and laughed once Syverson climbed in. "Almost too big there Cap'n," Syverson grunted in answer and his friend frowned, "you gotta tell me what happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"You have been miserable ever since Davidson's wedding. The day after you nearly tore the vacation spot apart. Did you lose something?"

Syverson sighed, closing his eyes and grunting once again, "something like that…" he had woken to find his bed empty, checking the bathroom had confirmed it, Y/N had escaped. And that's all he had, your first name, the smell of pumpkins and the memory of your soft body giving in to his. Fuck. He hadn't thought it would bother him this much but that feeling of something missing had been growing and gnawing at him.

It was part of the reason he had up and moved here, the house was on lease for the first six months, it was good to change scenery if anything.

"-ays that her friend will be a good match…"

He blinked, "what?"

"Lulu says that she is bringing her friend along to meet us"

"Stop the car."

Mike laughed, flooring it, "no way capitan! It's time you spent some time with the fairer sex, might improve your mood…"

"Listen, it's just lunch, you don't even have to leave the building and… AND ROMAN can take over back here while you have a break!"

You narrowed your eyes at her, "Lu- there is no reason for me to-"

She batted her eyes at you, "it's just… your one of my favorite people-"

"Lucifer!" You scowled at her as her eyes watered, the nickname you often called her when she was up to no good.

"And your opinion matters so much to me. I think you'd like Mike and you just have to have lunch with us so that it's not awkward cause you know how bad I am at conversation when there's others around!"

Roman giggled, "I'll stand in back here, if your help doesn't show up, mostly everything is prepped and ready to go anyhow… you should take a break."

Lulu squealed, wrapping her arms around the blond and pressing a kiss to your cheek, "ya'll are the best!"

You swiped at air as she escaped the back kitchen, "I ain't even agree!" But your words were thrown to the wind and you let out a long suffering sigh. The vacation had been the worst idea ever, from meeting a godlike man that you had just thrown yourself under to now agreeing to having lunch with unknowns, the last month was starting to wear on you.

Roman placed a hand on your shoulder smiling softly when you looked at him, "if it's too much I will come save you, but it's time to stop hiding away back here and being a hermit is a bit out of fashion especially for you."

Syverson counted three exits, Mike shoved him into a seat and pointed at him, "time to make new friends Cap!" He craned his neck and waved at a tall brunette who led the way, a young woman in tow.

She ran over, squealing as Mike stood to wrap his arms around her. "Mike!" She pulled away, eyes landing on Syverson, "it's so nice to meet you! Mike is always going on about you! I brought a friend! This is Kelly."

Syverson stood, taking each lady's hands in his, offering polite greetings. Kelly was rather talkative yet kept looking at her phone. Then a thought occurred to him and he wondered why he hadn't asked, "Lulu, you met Mike at the wedding?" She nodded and smiled sheepishly. "Then you were one of the girls that crashed?" Another nod as she clutched at Mike's hand. "Not angry or anything like that, I was just wondering about a girl you would have been with." He watched her relieved expression as he described you, "said her name was Y/N but I didn't get her married name nor her contact information"

"You're talking about Pumpkin?" She asked with surprise, then laughed, "not surprised, she's not married," she started looking at Mike who kissed her hand, missing the relieved look on Syversons face. "We heard the music and wanted to go dancing but none of us had the audacity to just jump in, but Pumpkin is like that, plus she's the momma of the group. We kinda been having a hard time getting together and she had a bad year with that abusive ex boyfriend of hers, so she moved back here- into her grandma's old place its just been sitting there. Oh! I've said so much, really not for me to tell."

He had more than enough. Yes, she might have escaped him, but at least she wasn't attached to someone and he had been a mistake. You had enjoyed the night with him, he knew it.

"Still though, what did you two talk about? Wanting her information?"

Syverson shook his head sitting back, "just this and that is all…"

Mike narrowed his eyes at his friend who didn't look at him. Syv never asked about females, he had seen the man take plenty of women home but none had made it to the point of next day conversation. Much less that he ask for her. He wanted to know more, "momma of the group?"

Kelly huffed, "really, her ex wasn't all that bad, I am pretty sure she blew it out of proportion, I never seen him touch her. He just cheated on her is all and she went around accusing him of abuse. There were no records, she never called the police." Kelly rolled her eyes and looked back at her phone.

Something Syverson wondered about, "somewhere you need to be?" He asked with a frown, he didn't like her all that much, and what she had just said only added to his dislike of her.

She laughed and offered him a tooth filled smile. "Well-"

"Kelly…" Lulu shot her a look, she had been sure this would be a good match, her hopes soared as she caught sight of you taking your apron off and heading over. "Oh! Y/N! I'm so glad you could get lunch with us!" She nearly cried in relief, when had this become so awkward?!

Syverson tensed, obviously it couldn't be the one and the same…

You hated it, you could feel the tension, both shot you a 'save me' look, Lulu had always thought herself a matchmaker and while her intentions were good and came from the heart she was horrible at it. You took the only open spot at the table, easily dropping in beside the fourth person who's back was to you as you walked up, smiling as Roman stepped up behind you to drop a drink down for you and reached for the appetizers they had already ordered. Your relief had indeed shown up, giving you no excuse to stay back in your safe kitchen.

"Come here often?"

You froze, there was no way, but you recognized the voice, the low southern growl like quality that haunted your dreams the last couple of weeks. One you had replayed over and over in your head, one that was accompanied by the most sinful memories, rough grip and the burn of a beard against your sensitive thighs. You ignored the looks of curiosity from the two women across from you, carefully looking over to who you had unceremoniously sat beside.

That smirk, a quick flash of fangs, followed by that voice, "Pumpkin…"

Mike was quick, he wasn't sure how his friend knew the woman that had just joined but he saw the looks exchanged between his captain and you. He smirked, Syv's entire mood had shifted. The girl Kelly, while being sweet, had been no match for him, and while he himself adored Lulu it was just not going to work, but this one? "And you are?" He asked pinning the newcomer with his gaze.

You swallowed, looking away from the bright blue eyed intense gaze of the man beside you. Why did this always seem to happen to you? Had he stalked you down? What was he doing here? You knew this town and there was no way you had missed him, the memory of his hands on you making you squeeze your thighs together as you looked across the table.

"You must be Mike?" You asked, giving him your full attention, even though a thick thigh pressed against yours. You clearly remembered having those thighs push into the back of yours-

Lulu tilted her head to one side as the large man shifted to face you more openly. You leaned forwards and ignored him, this made her pause, you never ignored a person.

Syverson nearly growled, you had looked away from him, that wasn't going to work, he wanted your attention. "Y/N? I hear you are the mother hen of your friend group? The one they all look to?"

You nodded, "Syverson, have you told Kelly about yourself?" Lulu had asked you to join and make conversation easier between them, you frowned, Kelly wasn't one you would match with a man like Syverson. He was more of a stay at home and work with his hands kinda guy, while Kelly liked to party.

Lulu paused, she hadn't introduced the two of you. How did you know his name? Which meant you had met him. You had met him… at the wedding, she looked at the bear of a man and back at you, a slow devious smile curling her lips. You had failed to say anything about meeting the man and had left early, what had happened between the two of you? She had an idea with the way Mike's friend was eating you up with his eyes alone. "Actually, I am pretty sure Kelly was leaving," she said turning to her friend, "you said there was something to do?"

Kelly jerked her eyes from you to him and pouted, "but you made me come to meet him! And he is so handsome!"

Syverson pulled his hand from the table as she reached for him, eyes flicking to her for a moment before they went right back to you. "Is that cinnamon I smell?" He asked, dropping his hand under the table.

You jerked involuntarily as his big paw landed on your upper thigh, causing your heart rate to double as those thick digits gripped at your leg. "Baking… a-apple and pumpkin pies and there's the cinnamon rolls we make fresh!" Thick fingers tightened on your thigh as you tried to wiggle without making a scene. This was the person Lulu wanted to match with Kelly? The girl was seeing Stuart Wilde, son of the sheriff, they had been on and off for years.

Kelly stared at you, frowning, "oh, you know our Y/N is a whiz in the kitchen? Practically runs the place by herself here, she has a little help from the other guy. Which is surprising that she lets ANY man get around her these days," she giggled joyfully, the sound high pitched.

You clenched your jaw, she had been the least sympathetic when you had been going through tough times. His hand slid inwards and you reached down quickly, your own barely covering his wrist. Jesus, he was big, so BIG, you felt your face heating at the memory of how much bigger he was than you. He had made you feel small, vulnerable and safe, a heady mixture you hadn't felt in years. The feeling now compounded as he sat next to you, paw on your leg right in front of your friend and his attempting to go further, yet not moving anymore than you allowed.

"Gettin' a little frisky aren't we soldier?"

"No longer in the service remember? And I will take what you are willing to give, no more than allowed ma'am, just say the word and I'll behave."

You looked over at him in quiet surprise.

Syverson smirked, sitting closer to the table and keeping from looking at you, your hand around his to keep him from moving it, giving him endorphins he hadn't felt in years. Aside from the bitch sitting across from him, he was having fun. "That so?" He asked Kelly, leaning forwards.

She preened under his attention, when earlier she had been unable to get off her phone. "Mmhmm! Y/N here is pretty much a hermit these days, you know because of her ex?" She mock whispered the latter behind her hand with a grin.

It was enough.

You were on your feet in the next second and a loud resounding smack reverberated through the dining area. Kelly sat in shock, head turned to the side. You gasped, clutching your stinging hand to your chest, mouth falling open in surprise at your own actions.

What had you done?

#chasing pumpkin #syverson x reader #captain syverson #reader insert

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lavenderlegends · 7 months

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(header by @swiftieblink)

1989 (taylor's version) writing prompts (1 of 2)

(part two here) [i didn't see anyone else do this and was inspired by @kiddbegins] welcome to new york (taylor's version) ♡ everybody here was someone else before ♡ like any great love, it keeps you guessing / like any real love, it's ever-changing blank space (taylor's version) ♡ nice to meet you, where you been? ♡ i could show you incredible things / magic, madness, heaven, sin ♡ oh my god, look at that face / you look like my next mistake ♡ rumors fly / and i know you heard about me ♡ let's be friends / i'm dying to see how this one ends ♡ so it's gonna be forever / or it's gonna go down in flames ♡ got a long list of ex-lovers / they'll tell you i'm insane style (taylor's version) ♡ could end in burnin' flames or paradise ♡ i should just tell you to leave 'cause i know exactly where it leads ♡ you got that James Dean daydream look in your eye / and i got that red lip classic thing that you like ♡ i say, 'i heard, oh, that you've been out and about with some other girl' / he says, 'what you heard is true, but i can't stop thinkin' about you' ♡ and i got that good girl faith and a tight little skirt out of the woods (taylor's version) ♡ the rest of the world was black and white / but we were screaming in color ♡ are we out of the woods yet / are we in the clear yet ♡ we were built to fall apart / then fall back together ♡ remember when you hit the brakes too soon / twenty stitches in the hospital room

all you had to do was stay (taylor's version) ♡ people like you always want back / the love they gave away ♡ people like me wanna believe you / when you say you've changed ♡ all you had to do was stay ♡ why'd you have to go and lock me out when i let you in? ♡ you ended it / you were all i wanted shake it off (taylor's version) ♡ i go on too many dates / but i can't make them stay ♡ i never miss a beat / i'm lightnin' on my feet ♡ i'm dancin' on my own / i make the moves up as i go ♡ my ex-man brought his new girlfriend i wish you would (taylor's version) ♡ it's 2am in your car / windows down, you pass my street / the memories start ♡ you're thinking that i hate you now / 'cause you still don't know what i never said ♡ i wish you would come back / wish i never hung up the phone like i did ♡ i wish you were right here, right now ♡ wish you knew that i miss you too much to be mad anymore bad blood (taylor's version) ♡ 'cause, baby, now we got bad blood / you know it used to be mad love ♡ you made a really deep cut ♡ did you have to ruin what was shiny? / now it's all rusted ♡ did you think we'd be fine? ♡ still got scars on my back from your knife / so don't think it's in the past ♡ these kinda wounds, they last and they last ♡ time can heal, but this won't ♡ it's so sad to think about the good times wildest dreams (taylor's version) ♡ 'let's get out of this down / drive out of the city, away from the crowds' ♡ say you'll remember me / standing in a nice dress / starin' at the sunset, babe ♡ red lips and rosy cheeks / say you'll see me again / even if it's just in your wildest dreams ♡ 'no one has to know what we do' ♡ nothin' lasts forever / but this is gettin' good now ♡ and when we've had our every last kiss / my last request is ♡ someday, when you leave me / i bet these memories follow you around how you get the girl (taylor's version) ♡ say 'it's been a long six months' / and you were too afraid to tell her what you want ♡ i want you for worse or for better / i would wait forever and ever ♡ remind her how it used to be, yeah / of pictures in frames, of kisses on cheeks ♡ tell her how you must have lost your mind, oh / when you left her all alone and never told her why this love (taylor's version) ♡ clear blue water / high tide came and brought you in ♡ this love came back to me ♡ tossing, turning / struggled through the night with someone new ♡ you showed up just in time part two

#taylor swift #writing prompts #writing #writing ideas #prompts #story prompts #fic prompts #prompt list #1989 tv #1989 taylor's version #my prompts #cat swift posts

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snake-in-the-garden · 1 year

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Chapter 4 is Here!!!

Banner by @chazz-anova

Chapter 4: Word Gets Around

Summary: Ramona becomes a special interest to Eden’s Gate.

Pairing: Sharky Boshaw/Ramona Belmont

Rating: M (for now)

Word count: 7.1k (oh god...!)

Warnings: Cursing, mentions of past r*pe/s*xual assault, panic attacks, brief plane jacket slander, John and Jacob being themselves

A/N: Hey there...It's been too long since the last chapter due to me loosing some motivation to write everyday when winter hit. There's just something about the cold air and early night time that just takes a toll on me. Anyway I felt so bad about basically disappearing for months, I made this chapter way too long for what I usually write and it still came out like it was rushed. Ugh...Thanks to those who were patiently waiting to see more of Ramona and happy reading!

Taglist: @euaveri @turbo-virgins @eur0paa-2 @strafethesesinners @henbased @adelaidedrubman(I guess both of our girls aren’t special) @aceghosts @shallow-gravy @alexmalikplays @gxmergurl @thomrainer @lost-poets-poetry @svsunflowers @mr-krinkle @jfsfjjj

Prev. Chapters: Ch. 1 Ch. 2 Ch. 3

Masterlist || Taglist

Read it here or on Ao3

~~~

"I think an apology is in order," Mary May admitted. "From me, of course." Ramona arched an eyebrow as she stopped sipping on the red, fizzy beverage the blonde had gifted her. "You strutted in them Jimmy Choo's got me thinkin' you were one of John's people," Mary May continued. "I thought Sharky had made the same mistake as last time and I just went off makin' you think I was some sorta bigot." Speaking of Sharky, he had just left the bar a bit ago to check if the garage in town was open or not. Ramona would've gone herself if Sharky hadn't insisted.

"This happened before?" Ramona asked, resting her head in her hand.

"Sharky had brought one of them Peggie girls in here some years ago." Mary May grimaced at the memory. "She started goin' on about 'The Father this' and 'The Father that' so much I had to kick 'em out."

"I assume 'The Father' is Eden's Gate's leader," Ramona inferred.

"Yeah. Joseph Seed. Some man-bunned, shirtless weirdo who convinced practically half of the fuckin' county that he's some sorta prophet," the bartender informed. "But he's not the only one you should worry about."

Ramona leaned closer to Mary May, bracing herself on the counter with her forearms. "Pray tell."

"Well the one you just met was John, the youngest brother," Mary May began. "He's the cult's recruitment lapdog and the reason they're able to 'get away' with alotta shady shit." She rubbed her forefinger and thumb together to indicate someone being in someone else's pockets. "Then you got the oldest brother, Jacob. You can't miss 'em. He's a redheaded biggun who's basically the muscle of the cult. And finally there's Faith. She ain't blood but she's just as creepy as the rest of 'em."

Ramona sensed the blonde wasn't quite telling her everything about Eden's Gate. If these people were doing "illegal shit," she wanted to know about it. But with the way Mary May's voice slightly trembled and her blue eyes kept shifting, it probably wasn't a topic she wanted to be pressed about.

"Either way just keep away from 'em. You don't wanna get involved."

"I'll do what I can. Though I doubt I could avoid John since I'm so 'fascinating' to him."

"Oh please, you're not the only woman who's rejected him. He'll find someone else to harass. Probably."

"And here I thought I was special."

Mary May snorted.

~~~

"I didn't think one woman could get you like this." John grunted at the comment as he laid out on the couch with his arm resting on his face. The one who made the comment was Jacob sitting across from him.

"I'm not 'like' anything. I just hate how fast those sinners can act when it comes to corrupting someone," John frets as he sits up.

"From what you described, I can tell she ain't the type to fall for your 'charms' so easily," Jacob inferred while crossing his arms. "Considering she'd rather hang around the redneck and the barmaid."

John grimaced at his brother's statement. "She was just so…vicious. Wouldn't even entertain the thought of hearing me out for even a second. She was gorgeous though."

"I'm sure she was." the redhead stated as he set his feet up on the coffee table. John glared at the action only for Jacob to ignore it. "But it shouldn't be your dick's decision who we add to our ranks. It's Joseph's decision."

"Speaking of which; isn't Joseph supposed to be here by now?"

The two brothers were waiting on Joseph at the Seed Ranch to give their weekly reports on their recent progress with their work within the Project and to have dinner later. John and Jacob were both sure that it was Faith making Joseph late. Before anything else could be said, the front doors opened alerting them to Joseph entering the Ranch with Faith following close behind. John and Jacob stood up to make their way to the foyer to properly welcome their leader. "Good afternoon, brothers," Joseph greeted fondly. "I have something truly important I want to share with you." The siblings moved to the dining room while John ordered one of the faithful who were stationed at a Ranch to make coffee for them.

As the siblings settled, Joseph let out a heavy sigh, bringing in the others undivided attention. "The Voice spoke to me the night before and has told me that a wayward soul would come to us seeking answers." He then turned to John. "I've heard you met someone today at The Spread Eagle. A woman with brown skin, long black hair, and a tattoo in the middle of her back?" The youngest Seed pondered to himself about how much Joseph knew of the incident; half hoping that all he knew was that they talked. If you could call what happened "talking."

"Yes Joseph. A serpent and roses to be exact," John started as he sat up straighter. "My men made it known to me about a young woman coming into the county and I went to the bar to greet her. But it doesn't seem like she'd be seeking anything from us."

Joseph stiffened. "What do you mean?" The other siblings could feel the tension settling within the room. "Did something happen?"

"It was awful. She was so quick to be dismissive of our cause due to those sinners and---!" John faltered.

"Please John, calm yourself," Joseph soothed while still ridgid. "What are you trying to say?"

John took a breath. "All I'm saying is as it would please me to cleanse her, this woman's soul is probably too far gone due to the corruption of--."

Joseph held his hand up; silencing John's ramblings. The Prophet then stood up to look out the window. Hands behind his back and lets out a sigh. "Hey Joe, if you don't mind me asking," the eldest Seed spoke up, wanting to take his brother's coldness off of John. "Why did the 'Voice' deem this woman so damn important apart from the rest of the 'wayward souls' we took in before?" It was already known to Joseph that Jacob didn't believe in the higher power his brother answered to and he didn't expect him to. All Joseph asked from their protector was his loyalty.

Joseph turned back around to face his siblings. All waiting to hear his words. "The Voice has told me this woman would bring about a great upheaval to everything we've worked so hard on if she doesn't see the light and come join our family to help us guide our flock through the Gate into New Eden." A heavy weight was suddenly felt by the Heralds as their leader finished speaking. It usually wasn't so difficult for them to get people to join The Project. Unfortunate people with nowhere else to go were easy to attract when Eden's Gate advertised love and protection to any and everyone. The only price would be their unwavering devotion.

"And by 'upheaval' you mean…?" It was Faith's turn to speak up.

"The deaths of our faithful by the thousands, the destruction of our community, and the…downfall of our family," Joseph finished as he grasped Faith's shoulder warmly as if not to lose her to an unknown future. "So it's crucial we don't dawdle with this. Especially now."

The weight the Heralds felt earlier magnified after the Father's elaboration. "We won't disappoint you, Joseph," John impulsively exclaimed, feeling that last comment was directed at him. He hoped his enthusiasm would make up for his supposed transgression from earlier. He then looked to the other two, expecting them to follow along. They simply nodded. Joseph smiled in appreciation of their loyalty. "I'm sorry if I scared you, but I just needed you all to know how important it is for her to join our family," he explained while getting up to leave the room. The others stood up with him. "If there's nothing else to be discussed, I think I'll see how that garden John mentioned the other day is doing before we start dinner." Happy to get his brother out of the room, John gave a quick "of course" and signaled two of his faithful on standby to accompany their leader in the backyard.

Just as Joseph leaves the room, John exhales. "I'm glad that's over." It was unknown if the other two felt the same, but it was likely that the feeling wasn't mutual.

"So, how are we doin' this?" Jacob asked. "Like Joe said, we can't exactly wait around for her."

"She just needs more convincing," John assured, not letting on what that would entail.

"We can't hurt her or anything," Faith chimed in. "The Father wouldn't like that."

"I know!" he retorted, causing her to make an amused noise at his reaction. "We're just going to have to be smart about this."

We're? Jacob and Faith weren't usually included when it came to recruiting people for the Project, but they weren't going to question anything John was about to suggest. Especially since time was of the essence.

~~~

It looked exactly how it did in the pictures. One story, simple porch with a swing, huge front yard, a garage shed big enough for Rosa, and a field across the road. Ramona didn't know if she should be relieved to have finally made it to her new home or regretful for making such an impulsive decision. How was she going to manage a house like this? She knows it's already furnished, but there were other things she probably should've considered before coming here. A reliable food source, job security, clothing, and--!

"Hey, what's up? Thought I lost you for a second," Sharky exclaimed, waving his hand in front of Ramona's face and interrupting her frantic thoughts. She had forgotten that he was even here, which was kind of bad of her to do since if it wasn't for him, she would still be stuck on the side of the road. "Sorry Sharky. I was just taking it all in," Ramona explained while trying not to get put off by the blue eyes studying her face. "Thank you for doing this for me by the way. You probably had other things to do rather than help me." Sharky rubbed the back of his neck and grinned. "Nah it was nothin'. But to tell you the truth, I was supposed to meet up with my cousin Hurk…" He frowned as he checked his watch. "...two hours ago." Ramona noticed the negative shift in his tone of voice and decided she had taken enough of his time. Most of that time being used to get a new battery, driving back to Rosa to install it, and then following Sharky here.

"Then you should probably get going. You don't want to keep him waiting."

"It's alright. I can help with your bags."

"Do you wanna get out of here?"

An unpleasant memory took hold just after Sharky made his offer. She turned her back. "No. You've done enough. Please leave."

Sharky exhaled noisily through his pursed lips and abruptly took a step backwards away from the woman's sudden coldness. For Ramona, it was already bad enough she had to show some guy she just met where she was going to be living, now he wanted to come inside? Alone with her? No way. "Alright. That's fine. I see where you're gettin' at. I'll go," Sharky complied, sounding dismayed. For a split second, Ramona wanted to turn around to say she had changed her mind. But when she actually did, he was already heading back to his truck. Accepting her missed chance, Ramona trudges on to Rosa to finally unload her. "Hey 'Mona!" She turned her attention to Sharky, who Ramona thought would've left already.

"Welcome to Hope County!" There was that crooked smile again.

And with that, Sharky takes off in his truck leaving Ramona confused about how this guy felt about her. It wasn't too much of a concern, but it was pretty weird for someone to shake off having the cold shoulder being directed at them. Oh well.

~~~

"Mrs. Belmont, I know you're upset, but I don't think we can classify this incident as anything more than a misunderstanding turning into a physical altercation." An older, timid man's voice is heard. "Happens all the time with students."

"Bullshit. This 'misunderstanding' scarred my baby's face because she didn't want some nasty boy putting his hands on her." Ramona then hears the outraged voice of her mother.

"The other student has already claimed in his statement that you're daughter fell after--"

"After he tried to rape her."

Ramona heard a huff of frustration next to her followed by a gentle hand rubbing her back after hearing her mother spit out the accusation. It was the soothing hand of Ramona's father who had let his wife handle the meeting.

"It's gonna be okay Rammy." After hearing her father's words, Ramona turned her head to see his reassuring face.

But she never gets to as Ramona's dream fades to white. She wakes up to an unfamiliar ceiling which gets her heart racing. Ramona shoots up from her laying position and frantically looks around her new home only to realize she fell asleep on the couch. Ramona puts her head in her hands to calm herself, feeling moisture on her palms. It's okay. Waking up to tears in her eyes after having that dream wasn't anything new for her.

You're okay. You're okay.

Ramona's legs wobbled a bit as she stood up to see one of her unpacked bags at her feet. She sighed to herself realizing all the work which still needed to be done. The woman looked at her phone to see that it was almost 10:30 pm, realized she'd napped for way too long, and decided all that would be "next day Ramona's" problem. It was time for bed anyway. Ramona did her usual nighttime hair routine, brushed her teeth, and changed into one of the sets of pajamas she'd brought. Ramona didn't think much of her new bedroom. It was simple and minimally decorated with the essentials. Basically a blank canvas setup for her to project herself on to make this house into a home. Her home. Ramona settled into bed and tried to ignore the slight musty smell the comforter gave off. Maybe she'll finish that dream.

~~~

It was the crack of dawn when Ramona was able to call her parents, letting them know she made it to Hope County okay. But that was after multiple "fine's", "alright's", and "okay's" in response to her mother's light scolding about not calling sooner and her father's repetitive questions about Rosa's condition. Even though she wasn't able to get a full sentence in, hearing her parent's voices soothed Ramona's nerves. Somehow during their conversation, her mother mentioned a letter left somewhere in the house for her to read. Ramona assured her she'd read it later.

The woman was now free to assess what she needed to do for today. The lingering smell of must and her stomach growling suggested her first two tasks of the day. Good thing she remembered the general store in Fall's End. As she combed out her hair, a loud, rapid knocking was heard, startling Ramona. Who could that be? No seriously. Who else knows she's living here besides Sharky? She doubts he'd come back after being on the receiving end of her iciness from yesterday but anything could happen. If it is him, Ramona would just take this as an opportunity to apologize. Something told her Sharky would accept it.

The knocking continued to Ramona's annoyance as she quickly threw on a hoodie while hurrying to the front door. The woman then frowned when she opened the door and saw it was actually John, holding a thick white book under his arm, who decided to drop by. Along with two other men, both wearing white uniforms, who were of course, glaring at her. "Good morning," John greeted, showing off that smile again.

"Uh…good morning to you too?" It was the only thing Ramona could say after believing she wouldn't see this man again anytime soon. "What brings you by?"

John gave out a light chuckle. "I didn't mean to disturb you so early, but I felt it was imperative for you and I to make amends after what happened yesterday," he informed while inching closer to her. "May I come in? I was hoping we could talk some more too."

Ramona held out her hand; palm almost touching her visitor's chest. "You and I are good out here."

"PIease, I must insist. I want to make this right with you."

"And I must insist we're good out here." Ramona closes the door behind her and leans against it to make her point even clearer. "So let's talk."

Why are the men around here so eager to come into my home? John let out a soft sigh and clutched his book. "Alright. Have it your way then." He then signaled his men to step away from them so the two could have some privacy. The men nodded and obeyed without a second thought. "Now let me start off by saying I'm sorry for how…brash I was yesterday at the bar," John offered. "It was shameful of me to make such a bad first impression on you." Despite how obvious it was that John could have other intentions behind this, Ramona could at least hear some remorse in his voice. But she couldn't let her guard down just yet.

"Well John, I appreciate you coming to--."

John casually cuts her off. "I would also like to take this opportunity to properly introduce to you the key to your salvation." He cradled the white hardcover within his forearm, proudly presenting it to Ramona. "Without any distractions." It was titled The Word of Joseph.

There it is.

Ramona wasn't too enthused about having to listen to a possible cult member's spiel about her needing to be "saved." She's still not sure from what exactly. John had hastily mentioned the Collapse yesterday which sparked her curiosity. Ramona nodded, indicating to her guest that he could start. "Eden's Gate is a loving community for lost souls who have been wronged by the world and corrupted by sin," John commenced. "It is our job to cleanse those of their sins in order for them to enter through the Gate after the Collapse so that we can create a new world." Ramona crossed her arms after hearing what sounded like another one of those "it's the end times so give us your money" pitches televangelists like to use. "Is that what you think I am; a 'lost soul'?" Ramona questioned. "What makes you think this? We literally just met yesterday." John tucked the book back under his arm and straightened up the tacky looking jacket he was wearing; preparing for another pitch.

"My older brother Joseph, or The Father as he's lovingly referred to, has recently told my siblings and I you were meant to join our family," John informed, again stepping closer. "A wayward soul looking for a place in the world. Something we could provide for you."

Ramona put her hands on her hips. "Again, I ask. What makes you think that?" she asks, increasingly getting more annoyed.

"Impatient, aren't we?" he commented teasingly. "I saw you were a young woman traveling alone, willing to practically jump into the arms of anyone who looked your way. No matter how unsavory their true intentions were." John's tone darkens at the last part.

Ramona rolled her eyes at his claim. Yes, it was true she impulsively got into a car with a complete stranger, but she didn't have a choice. Plus Sharky respected her boundaries right off the bat when she established them. "I never 'jumped' into anyone's arms. I was offered help and I took it," Ramona retorted. Possibly a little too defensively. "Besides, it's none of your business I'm traveling alone." John took another step closer, causing her to step back. "Actually, we at Eden's Gate make it our business to keep those vulnerable enough from being dragged down into the trenches of sin," John states eerily, his blue gaze momentarily stunning the woman. "And Miss. Fairgrave was willing to do just that." Ramona's ears perked up when he mentioned Mary May.

"What does she have to do with anything?"

"Miss. Fairgrave and I had our…quarrels in the past."

"Quarrels? What happened?"

"She just couldn't accept her brother wanting to be with us. Obviously envious of the close bond he had with the rest of the congregation and tried so desperately to take that happiness away from him."

Ramona was silent; recounting how hateful Mary May was of Peggies and wondering if what John was saying was even true. Probably not.

John continued. "To cope with this, she and her lot spread lies about Eden's Gate to anyone who would believe them."

"Right…So the claim of you using money to get whatever Eden's Gate is doing around legal barriers is not true then?"

With the way John immediately frowned and glowered after the woman's probing question; it was obvious she made a mistake. "I don't mean any harm. I just need to know what--." Ramona's explanation was cut short as John abruptly strides forward to firmly thrust the book against her chest, causing her to be essentially trapped between her guest and the front door hard on her shoulder blades. Causing her to panic. "We do what is necessary to secure the future of Eden's Gate," John said harshly, increasing the pressure on Ramona's chest causing her. "Some may not agree with our methods, but I assure you, Miss. 'Bel-mawn', you will reconsider your ill-conceived notions about us if you take the time to listen." Along with being blindsided by John's sudden ambush, Ramona's blood ran cold when her last name, though mispronounced, fell from John's lips. She had never told him her name and had made it quite clear he didn't deserve to know yesterday. It was doubtful either Mary May or Sharky had told John; especially since she didn't even tell them her last name.

"Who told you my last name?" Ramona demanded, strained and on the verge of having a panic attack.

"This residence's previous owner," John complied. "Your uncle."

James! "How do you know him?" she pressed.

"I didn't personally know him. But a few years ago I paid him and his wife a visit to welcome them to the county and introduce them to Eden's Gate."

Ramona continued staring at him. "Go on."

"Well I couldn't really give a proper introduction due to him interrupting me with stories of his travels which ultimately lead him here. And his wife…spirited…shooed me out saying they weren't interested and they never will be," John reminisced bitterly. Possibly showing a bit of his true self.

Ramona had to fight to keep her face from cracking into a smile at the thought of James and Jackie giving John the runaround to avoid his proselytizing. She almost forgot her current situation. He continued. "But through all that nonsense, your uncle kept bringing up a certain someone. Someone I thought I'd never run into after all this time." John took a moment to caress a loose raven tress belonging to his captive before he got close to her ear.

"His favorite niece; Ramona Octavia Belmont," he chillingly whispered.

Ramona thought nothing of it when she gathered her strength and sent John tumbling backwards off the porch and onto the ground. Her personal space had been violated far enough. After hearing their superior's yelps of pain as he landed, the men rushed to John's aid.

"Brother John! Are you okay!?" one fretted.

"How dare you lay your filthy hands upon our Baptist!?" the other scolded.

"You're unworthy in receiving the Father's Word!" the first one accused.

Ramona remained on the porch, looking down at them heavily panting, only getting more pissed off. "Here, take it then!" the irate woman shouted while throwing John's "gift" near them. "Tell Joseph he's got the wrong woman 'cause I don't want the 'key to my salvation' if it means I have to deal with some creep who doesn't know the meaning of personal space!" Ramona would be lying if she didn't think seeing John flat on his ass in the dirt was amusing, but of course, in a moment of clarity, she realized this was the exact opposite of what she was advised to do. That clarity caused Ramona to almost immediately regret her actions when she realized she could be arrested for this. Even if John was the one who started it. The woman's heart started to pound as she braced for his reaction, but John just sat there hanging his head. Ramona thought about saying something to him but decided against it assuming she'd just make it worse for herself.

"You know Miss. Belmont. All of that…anger you harbor deep inside needs to be cleansed. Which I as your future Baptist will personally see to," John affirmed, ignoring the insult while sporting a wicked, chilling smile. Ramona felt a slight surge of nausea. "The Project has a place for you, especially someone of your profession. A social worker who gives counsel to those in need is someone who'd be perfect for us." Ramona just stood there unimpressed by his shallow praises and also wondering how much James had told this man about her. "If you're offering me a job, I'll have to decline," she dismissed while stepping a few paces forward. One of John's men quickly helped him up while the other scrambled to collect the sullied book from the dusty ground. Both looked hopeful to see him stand up against his assailant. John proceeded to casually dust himself off.

"Are you sure that is a wise decision to make? Financially managing a property of this size might be too much for one woman. Perhaps I could take it off your--," John began.

"No, that's not happening. Besides, it's already paid off," Ramona shot back, taking her turn to interrupt him for a change. "In fact, I have the documents to show for it."

"I bet you do," he responded sourly. "But you are sorely mistaken if you really think material possessions will help you during the Collapse."

"Then what will help, huh?" she challenged, hotly. "Tell me so you can leave already."

To Ramona's surprise, John didn't retort with a quick remark at her prodding. All the man did was signal to his men to hand him the book. The order is followed and John once again presents his gift to Ramona. "Perhaps I'm going about this the wrong way," he states. "I believe you should hear it from the Father himself. He's better at this." The way John said that made it obvious he was getting tired of her too. Ramona looks down at the book. "Huh? I thought I made myself clear I didn't want the--." John held his hand up. "I know. I'm telling you the Father is giving a sermon about the Collapse this Sunday and will be delighted to answer any questions you may have. The address is behind the front cover," he noted earnestly. "But if you choose not to come, will you at least take his Word? I won't bother anymore after today if you do." Ramona sighed and promptly took the book from him, doubting he'd even keep his promise.

"I'll at least think about it. But if I do come to the sermon, it won't mean I'm joining your cult."

"It's not a--! Of course. But every cynic I've met says that at first, but then sees the light after they hear--."

"I mean it! I'm only going for myself and for you to leave me alone."

"So you will be attending?"

"Get off my property!"

While slightly startled by Ramona's outburst, John kept his promise as he and his men made their way back to the white truck they came in. "Farewell Miss. Belmont, I hope to see you this Sunday," John bids. The woman didn't say anything back as she stormed back into her house and slammed the door behind her. Ramona let out a short cry of frustration when she angrily threw the book a few feet away from herself, causing a harsh, loud thud on the wooden floor kicking dust up. She pressed her back against the front door and slid down to the floor when her legs felt weak. Reeling from the ordeal, dizziness and a rapid heart rate from earlier took hold while a ringing noise resonated within her head. Ramona started to feel hot and short of breath, so she clumsily removed her hoodie for supposed relief. But it wasn't enough. The pounding in her chest causes her to curl up on the floor, trembling and hyperventilating. The combinations of these symptoms were all too familiar to Ramona as a quick memory of her alone in her college dorm in the same position flashed in her mind. Despite the pains in her chest and nausea, Ramona forces herself to sit up halfway to regain control.

Deep breaths. Deep breaths. He can't hurt you. You are safe now. As Ramona inhaled and exhaled, she thought back to all the times she had to do this exercise to get through the first part of freshman year. She hoped these episodes won't be a common occurrence since Ramona wanted a fresh start, but achieving that seemed impossible now. Although Ramona had told John "no" to joining Eden's Gate and denied their "prophecy," she still made it known her interest was piqued; so it was likely they would still try to convince her. The dulling ache in her chest and decreasing heart rate allowed Ramona to sit up fully and the softening buzzing in her ear and her body stabilizing enabled her to think clearly. Ramona decided it would probably be best to listen to Mary May's advice more carefully and avoid them as much as possible--starting now.

~~~

Finding the way back to Fall's End wasn't difficult. A few left turns and then a left was easy for Ramona to remember which is going to be important since the general store might be her only source for food and other essentials she'll need in the future. After finding an appropriate parking place for Rosa, the woman made her way into the store. She made note of the small size and the Americana decor; hoping the store owner's patriotism was just an aesthetic. To Ramona's surprise, she didn't draw any attention to herself like yesterday. She figured dressing in Hope County-appropriate attire she found in the closet would do that. Thanks Auntie. As Ramona proceeded to fulfill her shopping list of necessities, she overheard two people, a man and a woman dressed in hunting gear, talking a few feet away. Curiosity got the better of her.

"Do you really think we can keep living like this?" the woman asked, sounding stressed. "I don't think I can take any more of this."

"Would you rather we'd live like brainwashed zombies?" the man asked her in turn, using a tone Ramona didn't like. "Our bunker is the only safe place from them taking over."

"I got that. But stocking that bunker is making you and others paranoid about something that may not happen."

"We know what we're doing. You think those Seed-fuckers made their people tote around those guns just for show? We're just looking out for ourselves since the cops aren't doing anything."

Ramona didn't hear the woman's response when she left the aisle and moved on to the dairy section so she wouldn't get caught being nosey. Brainwashing? Guns? This new information about Eden's Gate made Ramona realize it probably had to do with the "illegal shit" Mary May hinted at. Despite not wanting to probe her anymore about uncomfortable topics, Ramona would've appreciated the heads up about a confirmed violent cult who now had their eyes on her. Now she's definitely sure John won't leave her alone and most likely lying about what really happened between him and Mary May.

Back to the task at hand. Ramona reached up to grab vanilla coffee creamer from the top shelf only for her nails to barely brush against it. She internally cursed her height and whoever made this refrigerator. Not wanting to completely give up, she tried again, but failed again when another hand easily grabbed it instead. The owner of the hand was a tall, curvy woman with long dark, curly hair and dark brown eyes which were warm and inviting. She was very pretty.

"Here you go," the woman offered. "This was what you wanted, right?" She was referring to the creamer.

"Yeah it was. Thank you." Ramona acknowledged while accepting the small carton.

"A word of advice. If you're going to be listening to other people's conversations; you should at least do it from somewhere they wouldn't see you," the woman suggested bluntly and flickered her eyes to the side.

Ramona's stomach dropped when she quickly turned her head to see the aforementioned couple, now scowling, rip their gaze away from the two women and shuffled off.

"I'm just telling you from experience."

Ramona couldn't help but feel slightly ashamed of herself. She swore off anything Eden's Gate related, but her curiosity about them kept piquing even though every new piece of information about them just kept getting worse. But then again, any knowledge about the cult would keep Ramona from being ignorant of anything that would pose them as a threat to her. Even if it wasn't coming from a direct source. Anything to not talk to the Seeds again. "Sorry for asking but, do you know anything about Eden's Gate?" she asked, "Also my name is Ramona." The woman pursed her plush lips and loosely crossed her arms under her chest. "Deirdre. I'm a vet at the F.A.N.G. Center in the mountains. I've been living here with my husband and his family for about 10 years, so I...uh….know enough," she divulged tentatively. "They're a doomsday cult preparing for the Collapse. An apocalyptic event." Ramona figured that much on her own. But it was way better than the common "stay away from them" she kept hearing.

"Is there any real way to get them off my back for good?"

"Nope. Since you just moved here, Eden's Gate is not going to leave you alone anytime soon. They love new people."

"Wait, how do you know I just moved here?"

Deirdre frowned and averted her eyes.

"Hey Dee, what's takin' you so long?" Ramona inhaled sharply when she saw the owner of the rough, male voice appear from behind the row of shelves beside them. "Oh. You made a friend." A tall, scarred man with red hair went to stand beside Deirdre, putting his large hand on her shoulder. Combined with Mary May's description and the J. Seed stitched on the sleeve of his camo jacket; she concluded this was Jacob Seed. Ramona made a quick glance at Deirdre. She was still avoiding eye contact. Ramona put two and two together and it all made sense. John probably told Jacob about what happened and probably wanted to take a crack at recruiting the "lost soul". Not to risk straining her neck anymore, Ramona backed up a bit to accommodate her intake of Jacob’s imposing stature. Which wasn’t a bad sight. She definitely didn't lie about the "biggun" and "muscle" part.

"I thought you were waiting outside," Deirdre pointed out crossly.

"I was. But you were takin' too long and folks were givin' me the stink eye. 'Specially that idiot pilot." Jacob stated. He then pointed his gaze at Ramona. "So you're the woman my brother's been talkin' about?"

She sighs. "Yeah. Why? Is it your turn to harass me?" Ramona retorted, suddenly becoming bold. "One of you was bad enough today."

"Heh no. After what happened between you and Johnny, I don't think I wanna tangle with you," he teased. "'Sides, I don't do the door to door shit."

"Then what do you do?"

"All you need to know at the moment is that I keep the congregation safe. And in line."

Remembering the mention of guns earlier, Ramona had a pretty good guess about what that could mean. It wasn't something she wanted to discuss further with him and was grateful he didn't take it upon himself to do so. She looked at Deirdre. She wondered how deep her involvement with Eden's Gate went. If it was beyond being married to one of the brothers. Telling from her tone, Deirdre also didn't seem too interested in discussing anything. Which was also fine. But she could help but be worried. Black women and religious cults run by white men have never been a good match. "I should probably finish up and pay for these," Ramona spoke up, sensing an opportunity to leave. "It was nice talking to you." Deirdre perked up. "I can pay for your groceries if you want," she suggested. "Y'know for your troubles." Jacob made a disapproving face which Deirdre ignored. Ramona thought about what happened between her and John and decided this should make up for it. She accepted the offer.

~~~

"These people act like we're the scum of the earth, but they'll still take our money," Jacob commented, sounding amused. He was referring to the store clerk who gave the group a dirty look while processing the payment. The three were currently outside the general store and Ramona was about to see the couple off. "I guess dressin' up your store like the Fourth of July was really just for show." Deirdre rolled her eyes and saw that Ramona was confused. "The locals here put up American flag stuff to show they're against Eden's Gate," she clarified. "It started happening after the congregation grew." Ramona could tell that wasn't entirely true.

"Hey Dee. How 'bout you wait in the truck while I talk to our friend here before we leave." Deirdre looked between her husband and Ramona and sighed. "Alright." The eldest Seed was mincing his words earlier about his role within Eden's Gate, so what would he possibly want to talk about now. And without his wife present at that. After Deirdre settles herself within the passenger seat of their truck; Jacob leaned his back against it, facing Ramona while crossing his arms.

"While I do think Johnny probably deserved what you did to him this morning, you gotta be smart about who you push away and who you align yourself with."

"What are you talking about? I thought you weren't going to--!"

"Down kitten. I'm just tellin' you this for your own good. Apparently Joe sees somethin' in you and he's usually right."

"Well he's wrong. And Like I told your brother, I'm not meant to join your cult and you can't convince me otherwise!"

"You say that now, but when the time comes, you'll make the right choice."

"Don't count on it."

Despite her stomach twisting in knots, Ramona immediately strode off from Jacob to where Rosa was parked, hearing the couple's truck drive off behind her. She knew people who were involved with cults were self-righteous, but having someone declare what's "good" for her for the second time today was just infuriating. Also frightening. The woman was surprised that Jacob's familiar, intense blue glare and ominous tone he used while practically threatening her didn't put her in another state of panic. Ramona guessed one was enough for today.

Head buzzing with rushing, irritating thoughts, Ramona hastily loaded her car, just eager to get back home. "You okay, Miss?" The woman popped up her head to the sound of another male voice. She saw a man wearing aviators and a shirt with a logo that read Rye & Sons Aviation parked next to her. Aviation? Was this the "idiot" pilot? "That Seed bastard was botherin' you, right?" Ramona let out a sigh and closed the passenger door. She wasn't mad at him or anything; strangers coming up to talk to her when she wasn't in the mood was getting exhausting.

"Unfortunately. Even though this is only my second day here, Eden's Gate has already decided I'm meant to be with them. Whatever that means."

The man furled his lip and shook his head. "That's how they get you," the man started, a rant seemingly brewing. "Damn Peggies make you feel all 'special' when all they really wanted was your plane."

Ramona blinked. "Plane? I don't have a plane?"

"Ah shit! I'm sorry! Got carried away and started talkin' 'bout myself." The man held out his hand. "I'm Nick Rye of Rye and Son's Aviation. I was talkin' 'bout my plane, Carmina."

Ramona, slightly amused at the confusion, shook Nick's hand.

"I heard from Mary May you've already met John. That fucker's been tryin' to get my plane for years after actin' all buddy-buddy and shit with me at first. Them Peggies been harassin' my family so bad my wife Kim, who's smaller than you, had to punch one of 'em. Died down a bit after that and she didn't get in trouble for it."

"I'm sorry you were going through that. Eden's Gate might want my house, but other than that it's just 'me' they want so badly. I don't know what to do."

"Well if I were you, I'd go up to Joseph after one of their sermons and show 'em you mean business."

Ramona didn't quite know what Nick meant, but if it was relating to what his wife did, she's quite sure she won't get away with that. Taking that part out, going straight to the source of her problems seems like something she could work with. Ramona could go to the sermon and hopefully get Joseph to have his brothers to lay off and rethink this whole "prophecy" about her. Of course Ramona would have to figure out the details of this plan so it can be somewhat sound. "Thank you Nick. I'll put some thought into your suggestion." The pilot did a slight smile, noticing a change in her voice from earlier. "Well alright then! Maybe you can come by and I'll give you some flyin' lessons. Carmina's the big yellow one." She froze a bit. "I-I'll think about that too." His smile got bigger. "Great!"

Ramona didn't have the heart to tell Nick she was afraid of heights.

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popitdontdropitwrites · 2 years

Text

"New Invention" Engineer/Medic - Chapter 11

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,

❗ This is a sequel to Mx. Sinister. Events may not make sense if you have not read that fic.

CW: This one is a dark one. It touches upon potentially triggering and upsetting topics. (Gaslighting, past medical trauma, manipulation, emotional pain so on so forth.) Tread carefully, or avoid reading if you have to.

“Sit down, Joseph.” Dell said, his fingers impatiently tapping against the table, betraying the patient, worried expression on his face. “There’s a little somethin’ we’ve got to talk about.” He let out a long, tired sigh. “…I think you know what it is.”

“I have a feeling, yes.”

Joseph, by all accounts, had slept wonderfully, but now that he was awake, he longed to fall into the world of dreams, where nothing could harm him, not even this. His legs resisted every step, demanding that he stop and turn around before it was too late, but despite it all, he made it to the table. He stood uncomfortably behind his seat with his hands resting on the backrest, looking towards his partner, begging for an end to this oppressive, dreadful quiet between them. Silver eyes, once dull with endless kindness, had been set alight with a dangerous, volatile gleam, further stressed by the heavy bags under his eyes, as if he had not slept at all.

It had been made more than clear; Joseph would be the one doing the talking, the justifying, the repenting. “This is about Misha, isn’t it?” How long had he spent with that name on the very tip of his tongue, on the very precipice of being spoken? It flowed out oh so naturally now, as if he had uttered it hundreds of times before and would soon be spoken thousands more.

Dell continued to stare, the shapes and colours of his pupils becoming too much to bear, as if they were closing in on him, entrapping him in chains. “This is all about him.”

“I thought you would have been happy for me. You must have known that my memory was – and still is – affected… does it really bring you no joy to see me coming back to my former self?”

“Not when you’re thinkin’ about another man.” The tapping stopped, and its absence was almost as hurtful as the Texan’s growl. “You’ve been drawin’ him all night and day, fawnin’ over him like you’re sweet on him… and you say you don’t understand why I’m losin’ my temper?”

“He’s merely my friend! I am allowed to have that, aren’t I?” He snapped back. “But then again, I suppose not, seeing as you didn’t even think to remind me that Misha existed.”

“It was better that way ‘cause I didn’t have to stay awake at night worryin’ that he’d take you from me.”

“Dell, please, it’s not like that and you know it.”

“You think I’m crazy, do ya?” The Engineer’s grip on the table tightened, drawing a pained groan from the wood. “You’d run off with him in a heartbeat, I can see it in your eyes.”

“I love you too much to throw it all away with someone else!” He pleaded, the accusation hitting him under the skin, deep into a nerve like the head of a well-aimed arrow.

“Then just forget about him. He doesn’t deserve you.” Dell stood up tall, meeting his level, his posture tense with almost animalistic rage, as if he could lunge at any moment.

Joseph doubled down, despite his every instinct begging him to simply submit. “I… I haven’t seen him in months, Dell. I can’t hurt him like that any longer.”

“Oh, ain’t that cute, you don’t wanna hurt him. Let me tell you a secret, darlin’, he hurt you.”

His heart fell into his guts, kicking and screaming on the way down. “I know him. He could never do so much as lay a finger on me. You can’t say the same.”

“You don’t wanna go there, boy. Don’t you dare make this about me.” He warned him through both gravelly tone and austere expression that such a terrible assault would not go unreciprocated.

“Or what, Dell, you’ll pump me so full of drugs that I can’t sleep? Or maybe you’ll rip both of my arms off this time?”

A crackling, crunching sound erupted from the gunslinger as it crushed the corner of the table, the shards passing through its robotic fingers like dust. Dell did not seem to notice, not even when a flighty gasp escaped Joseph’s lips. “Everythin’ I’ve done was for your own good!”

“Tell me how the totally unethical and lest I forget, completely unmedicated amputation was for my own benefit? There were so many risks and potential complications, but you did it anyway, without training, without anything at all but your own ego to guide you.”

“I was fixin’ you!”

“I am not one of your fucking machines! I am a human being; I don’t need to be fixed.”

“Joseph, you’re not hearin’ me. He was the one to break ya in the first place.”

“I’m not going to allow you to fill my head with lies again. I—I am not turning against the man who has done nothing but help me!”

“I don’t care what you think you remember, but let me tell ya, you’re wrong about him.”

He swallowed thickly, his throat closing up. “There is a lot still missing, but I remember Misha completely – his laughter, his smile, his voice, it’s all there. Not once did he harm me in all of our years together.”

“Darlin’, it’s not me who’s lyin’, it’s that pretty little head of yours.” He said. “You don’t remember, do ya?”

“Remember what, exactly?”

His gaze lost its firmness in favour of an inexplicable sentimentality, but the latter was far more frightening due to the pity hidden in his glistening sclera. “That damned hospital.”

He blinked, once, twice, static undulating behind his eyes, cold, dry, and hypnotically dull like the depths of space. Faintly, from a distant star, he recalled the pricks of needles, the fizz of dissolving, bubbling powder on his tongue, the metallic taste of tools, all of which promised an end to his pain.

“You kicked, screamed and begged, but it didn’t matter. Misha dragged you right to ‘em, right where he wanted you; in a cage, like some kind of fuckin’ animal.”

Joseph weakly stumbled back, his body colliding with the wall, slowly shrinking towards the ground, unable to fight back against remembrance’s onslaught of voices, yellowed and faded with age, bouncing between his ears, distorted, and muffled, as if he were drowning. Faceless men asked him the same old questions, designed to probe, and poke at his fracturing, splitting mind, to name the monster running rampant in his head in hopes of someday leashing it, or perhaps, killing it altogether.

“He told ya that you were sick in the head. He couldn’t see that you’re different, just… curious.”

Tears welled in his eyes, threatening to spill as a beautiful, vivid sound pierced the low rumble of men, the hum of machines and the wails of patients through the mazelike, spiralling halls. Drip, drip, drip – seductively thick, ruby droplets, the very essence of life carved from the flesh, the only beauty in that hell of soothing greens. And oh, the feeling of them falling against his tongue, so delicious and so flavourful compared to the gruel they served him.

“He tried to kill ya then, usin’ the hands of doctors and nurses to shove drugs down your throat until you lost everythin’ that made you brilliant.”

It all came back to him in blinding, brilliant colours, as if the sun were exploding before his eyes, causing the first of many tears to fall on his lip. The taste was tangy like that of the gloved digits pressed against the sensitive tissue of his throat, forcing his burning muscles to swallow down his new pernicious regimen of medicine, hoping to remedy the previous’ meagre results.

“And the worst part? He never visited. You’d cry for him every damned night, thinkin’ your tears could bring him back, but he was always too afraid of what he’d see.”

He sobbed loudly and uglily, with only the coarse kiss of fabric to stifle his screams and hungrily drink his tears; an inadequate substitute for the comfort of another’s shoulder, but the only option in that cold, lonely eternity. The sound and sensation of breath passed through him, rattling and stuttering, as if he were dying, but the sun rose as it always did, beaming from behind the curtains, mocking him from afar, for it had the moon to keep it company.

“They kept you there for years, toiling away in one of their partner’s factories as cheap, disposable labour under the pretence of rehabilitation. The money was just a number, slowly risin’ by the hour. You were just interested in passin’ the time like everybody else.”

Eyes, grey and unrelenting like the metal components he assembled into meaningless shapes bore down upon him, judging his pitiful, grief-stricken form. Joseph worked without complaint, his hands blistered, reddened and clammy from the suffocating skin of his gloves, passing finished parts along to the next man in line. The occasional defective component arose from the man before, who was perhaps too tired, or too delusional to recognise his mistake and though most discarded them, Joseph instead filled his pockets with them – New toys, made of jagged edges and sharp malformations, engraved with stimulatingly rough lettering: Conagher Robotics.

“Somehow, after who knows how darn long, you passed their assessments and met their criteria, all of which had seemed impossible once. They deemed you of sound mind – whatever that meant and sent you on your way.”

He collapsed entirely, just as he had done at Misha’s feet on that day, wailing and fighting to breathe through the bittersweet agony. He was lifted into the car and delivered into a carriage of novel sounds – the crunch of gravel under wheels, the distorted songs of the radio, the purr of an engine and the long-forgotten voice of his best friend. The fantastical colours of the world that had gone on without him failed to seem real in that moment, as if it had all been a dream and he would soon wake up in his cot in a pool of his own tears.

“Misha took ya home, looked after you even, and made sure you weren’t gonna start hurtin’ nobody. And then… you slowly picked yourself back up. You found yourself a job, a proper place to live, and ways around that mind of yours, all the while forgettin’ who had sent you to hell in the first place.”

Dell’s hand wiped his tears, a cruel mockery of the happiness he had shed when he was given the power to forge a pleasant, reinvigorating routine with his own two hands. He worked as a nurse – something he did with a smile – occasionally visited his doctor for a progress report, saw Misha each and every week – the highlight of it all – and slept soundlessly, with dreams of love fluttering about his exhausted mind. But there was something… someone more, cut out of the picture, unable to fit.

“It didn’t last, ‘cause nothin’ ever goes right for you, does it?”

His breath hitched, stifling a scream, the same scream that had been bubbling in his throat when shadows scuttled in the dark of his apartment, breathing down his neck with his belongings in their claws. With them, came the stifling presence of malaise in the place he called home, like a poison leaking from the mind, birthing paranoia, and delusion – madness itself.

“You got sick,” He spat the word out, repulsed by it. “And you tried desperately to hide it, knowin’ it’d only cause you trouble. But Misha found out and it was different this time around. He was angry, angrier than you’ve ever seen him.”

“Stop it, please, Dell, stop. I can’t—”

“—One day, you both drove right past the hospital. He didn’t think to tell you why.” His pleas fell on deaf ears, becoming nothing but noise to be talked over. “He stopped the car and told ya to get out. You walked for a little while, into the fields and it got real quiet all of a sudden. There was somethin’ about his eyes, that just screamed at you to run… but you weren’t fast enough.”

Images, broken, muddled, blurred, and bloodied crossed his mind far too quickly to be caught, like fireflies in a storm. Screams, dissected and rearranged, split across his temples, in tones shrill enough to be his own. The taste of copper melded with that of the dirt, and of primal, unimaginable fear – the fear of death. The moon hung above him, its face twisted and bloated into a smile in his withering, shrivelling memory, reflected in the eyes of the man pursuing him.

“And then, he ripped you apart, like a broken toy.”

His heart wailed in his chest, the metal remembering the violent, lamentable end of its predecessor as it too, was torn apart, this time by betrayal’s powerful, merciless hands. He had been a glorious fountain of life, gushing blood and living tissue until he had nothing more to give, but in this moment, he transformed into a hideous outpour of death, wailing, screaming, gasping to breathe. The pain, too unfathomably tremendous to comprehend then, was somehow equally as devastating now. He begged to be returned to the world below, his fists pounding against the tiles again and again until warm, reassuring blood ran over his skin.

“Why—” He rasped, shaking hands clawing at the ground to find purchase. “Why did you bring me back?” He choked, a fresh flood of tears spilling from him, like gushes of blood from an open wound.

“Because you deserve to be here, safe from him.” Dell crouched down to him, holding both of his hands, his warmth as oppressive as it was comforting.

“I… I don’t want to live without him.” Somehow, through the hiccupping, choking, and gasping, the words made it, scarred, and dismembered, but still comprehendible. “What r-reason do I have if he wants me dead?”

He was held tighter and Dell’s tone, once rough and cold, melted into total and utter love, like the stinging, yet kind touch of healing. “You have me, Joseph. I love you, and I always will.”

That phrase, rich with meaning, turned to dust upon leaving the Texan’s lips. “I-I just want him, even—” He bared his teeth, tasting salt on his tongue. “Even after everything he has done. I… I must truly be mad.” He laughed pathetically, the sound a wet, bubbling gurgle. “But I can’t have him, can I? I may as well just ask for death!” He cackled, emptying his lungs until he heaved. “Would you be so kind?”

The Engineer stopped in place, the loving strokes of his fingers ceasing as he processed that enormous, unthinkable request. His lashes fluttered, the paleness of horror spreading across his face, like a curtain of clouds parting to reveal the alabaster surface of the moon, only its smile had long since died. “Oh, darlin’…” He breathed, pulling him in for a hug, granting him the shoulder he had been so desperate for. “I don’t want you to suffer anymore, but that… that ain’t the way to do it.” His voice cracked, as if he too, had begun to weep. “I can take the pain away, all I need is for you to ask.”

“Help me, Dell. Please…”

A hiss sounded from the cables in his neck, and slowing, slowing, like wax cooling as it ran down the side of a candle, his consciousness faded, a mere whisper in the wind to be carried away. Dell lifted him into his arms, planting a shaky kiss on his forehead, promising him an end to his pain at last; one final procedure.

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undercoverwizardfanfiction · 1 year

Text

Title: Lucky One

Part: 1, 2

Verse: ROTTMNT

Summary: Maybe next time Leo will think twice before getting involved in someone else’s business

Characters: Leonardo, Miyamoto Usagi, Katsuichi

Pairings: GUYS NO, N O

Warnings: None

Portaling wasn’t exactly something Leo was unfamiliar with.

In the past few months since obtaining his sword, it was an invaluable resource that he only used in dire situations like getting out of danger (or grabbing snacks from the fridge, pulling the chair from underneath Donnie…)

But this was different.

Instead of instantly appearing in another location, it felt like every fiber of his being was being magnetized forward in a tunnel of blinding light. In a way, he would have mistaken it for Big Mama’s temporary portal discs, where his body was constantly trying to reform, contrasting to this moment.

He was barely aware of his own body.

Just when he thinks he’s trapped in the tunnel of light forever, he’s shoved back into reality. If reality felt like a very hard wooden floor. His sore, aching body immediately regretted his wish to be solid again. He rolls onto his shell and rubs his head, hoping to alleviate the ringing or the unnatural piercing brightness that made him worried he might have hit his head too hard.

But as his senses return, Leo sees a familiar figure fussing about his back while reaching into the floor (was that right? No, he wasn’t mistaken.) With his returning vision, Leo could see the figure was reaching into a fire pit on the floor. A hanging pot had been set to the side to make room for him. Leo sat back on his heels, looking at the pit as though he expected it to jump out at him before relaxing.

“Alright. Alright, I can put it back later, but this is safe for now. That was a bad idea. No, not a bad idea. A terrible idea! What was I thinkin'? Okay, I wasn’t. But it's fine now! Sensei will never know, and it’ll be like nothing ever-'' as the rabbit starts turning to pick up the pot, he finally notices Leo sitting behind him and freezes like a deer in headlights.

The two simply blink at each other for a moment before Leo puts on an awkward smile and a weak wave, “Heeeeyyyyyy.”

The panic in the rabbit's eyes (Usagi was it? That’s what he told Hueso) somehow seemed to double, “Nonononono what are you doing here!?! You can't be here-”

“Uuuuuh you’re the one who- actually, I don’t know what you did. Did you portal us?”

“No! I mean yes. But I also mean no! I didn’t-” the rabbit takes several breaths, obviously trying to work something out in his head. “I was being harassed by those- those things, and you weren’t talking. Then something loud happened and I got scared! I was trying to get away- and- and I pulled you with me? I didn’t know I could do that! Oh no oh no-” Usagi drops his face in his hands, “This is so bad. So very, very bad.”

“The portaling or your stress reaction? Cause, not gonna lie, they could both use work.” Leo gets to his feet with far less panic than he probably should have felt. Now that his senses had returned entirely, he could fully take in his surroundings. It wasn’t too cramped for a one-room home, but it left much to be desired.

The floor that had so kindly softened his landing was, in fact, woven with some sort of plant life. It had some give to it that Leo could feel under his bouncing toes, with very few decorations. Save for a few chests and a small window propped open by a stick and a front door. “This is your home? It's… nice?”

Leo picks up a clay pot and looks over it with a grimace before tossing it over his shoulder (barely noticing the sound of Usagi diving after it). “I mean, I think. Where’s your tv? Radio? Bluetooth?” Leo opens a chest to his right and starts digging through it, tossing clothes and wooden trinkets over his shoulder. He hears Usagi squawk in panic again, diving around to catch the more fragile items before his hand grabs Leo’s shoulder and gives a hard yank back. He put the objects back, meticulously trying to put them back the way they were.

“Can you stop!? You’re making a mess!”

“Bro, seriously, your setup is something out of Lou Jitsu in Dill and Bread's Eggcellent Adventure. Mind if I take a selfie for my bros? They’ll never believe me. Say nothing if it's ok!” He says, already pulling his phone out sideways and angling it to catch his face (framed to perfection by his thumb, forefinger, and devilish grin). Behind him was a very confused Usagi who was either about to strangle him or pass out. As Leo takes the picture, his eyes drift to the corner to check the battery life. That’s when he notices something else that makes him audibly gasp and hold the phone closer to his face to ensure his eyes aren’t deceiving him, “Wh-.” Without looking away, he reaches back and grabs Usagi’ by the front of his kimono and yanks him over, “What is THAT?!” he shoves the screen towards Usagi.

“What is what?! What am I even looking at-”

“T H A T,” Leo points at the screen with such intensity. Usagi raises his hands in panic, “Th-that spot! The bars, the waves! The wifi! The memes! The MEMES!!!! What sort of wifi-less hell is this!?” He falls onto his knees and curls up on his side in the fetal position, “Am I in the eighties,” Leo asks himself in horror.

“Please, please calm down! It’ll be alright! If you quiet down I will find you the memes-”

Leo looks over his shoulder at the rabbit with a loud scoff, “you can not FIND a meme! Memes are born during special events when a well placed moment meets an excellent joke, one does not simply MAKE a meme!”

He's so melodramatic and loud that, at first, Usagi simply pulls down his long ears over the sides of his head with his eyes squeezed shut. “Alright, alright. One problem at a time. You can not stay here. If you calm down and follow me, and stay calm,” he adds quickly. “Then I can get you home, and you can find your own memes, alright?”

“Why didn’t you say so sooner? Pizza Supreme, I almost panicked.” Leo says as he climbs to his feet, ignoring Usagi dragging both hands over his face. The rabbit returned to the fire pit, pulling out what Leo finally recognized as the katana and wakizashi he had seen Usagi wearing earlier, “You do know swords don’t normally go there, right?”

“I know that, but I was going to put them back later when I had time..” Usagi looks to the window where Leo sees a windchime, “Which I have even less now, so let's make haste.” Usagi hurries past Leo to the entrance, sliding the door open. Leo follows, and for the first time, he sees where he’s ended up.

Leo wasn’t sure what he had been expecting, but when he adjusted to the light, he saw (to the bane of his acrophobia) he was, in fact, on some sort of cliff edge that gave way to a large valley below. It went on for miles without any man-made structures. The edge gave enough room for a large garden and a clothesline. A small river ran out just outside the property and emptied over the cliff into some water underneath, with a narrow, flat bridge covering it. A nearby space was cleared out and rounded by some flattened stones that was probably used as a training area. Leo looks back to the house to see a wooden structure elevated slightly off the ground with a thatched roof covered in large rocks.

He starts to realize that there’s a good chance he’s not in his eighties. But before he can dwell too much, Usagi pulls on his arm.

They go down a path that runs along the side of the cliff. It looked wide enough for two people to walk side by side, but it left much to be desired and barely looked stable enough for half his weight. Usagi must have noticed his anxiety, and for the first time, the worry around his eyes let up, “It's alright. It's just made to look that way. It's safe.”

“Um, sure.” Leo steps out for a moment to move forward, and when he doesn’t fall to his death, he takes another. Usagi watches him a moment longer, probably to make sure he is actually going to follow, and starts walking at an uncomfortable speed. As Leo steps into the same spots as Usagi, he finds his confidence and manages to keep up, “For the record, if you actually want neighbors, you might want to update your method of transportation.”

“I did not build this path. Nor do we need neighbors.”

Before Leo could ask who ‘we’ was, the path turned inward to a tunnel barely visible at their angle. Usagi turns as though he’s about to enter when his ear suddenly twitches, and his face fills with horror. “Don’t make a sound. Let me-' ' before Usagi yelps loudly and draws his now wet hand back with disgust, “Did you lick my hand?! What is wrong with you!?”

“What's wrong with you!?” Leo demands back, but Usagi grabs his arm.

”Just please, please keep quiet for me. Please, please. I’ll find you a place to hide.” Maybe it was the fact this seemed like a different fear than the one he had seen in the house, or the way Usagi was now clutching his swords to his chest as though they were sin personified. But Leo grabbed the words from the rabbit, looked over the ledge, and swung down to a large out jutting rock that he flattened himself underneath. The turtle was now hanging by his fingertips on to, thankfully, secure hand places.

There’s a large enough gap in the side that he can look through and see Usagi spinning around in utter confusion, looking for him (honestly, one of his favorite things about being a ninja) before he turns back to the tunnel and straightens up, “Sensei! You’re back so soon!”

Sensei?

Leo moves around to get a closer look but cannot see anything until a tall figure exits into the sunlight. A tall lion wrapped in a dark blue kimono. His tan fur was traced with a gray that spread to his long dark red hair and beard. It gave the appearance of a mane, and it was the only indication of what he was. At the sight of a katana and wakizashi on his hip, Leo puts a hand over his mouth and lowers himself more. He wasn’t sure if the lion could reach him even if he could see him, but he didn’t want to take the risk.

“Usagi? What are you doing out here? Did you finish your meditation for the day?”

“Yes Sensei, I finished up a moment ago and thought it would be alright to stretch my legs.”

Did he meditate every day? Sheesh, even the one day a year Leo meditated was boring. He couldn’t imagine doing it every day. But the Lion nods with a slight smile, “Good, I’m grateful to have a student who takes his training seriously. But you should return home now. I don’t want you wanderin' off too far.”

“Y-yes, Sensei. I just-” but Usagi stops as the Lion takes off his woven back carrier that looks full of firewood and product. As Leo moves to see the inside better, the Lion freezes, and for a moment, Leo thinks he’s been caught. That must've also been Usagi’s fear since he quickly added, “I found a fresh source of bracken the other day, and I was hoping to get it before dinner to surprise you.”

There is another pause, but another smile graces his face, “That's very considerate of you. But do not go far and return home as soon as you’re done. Understood?”

“Y-yes sensei, thank you,” Usagi says with a bow before going down the tunnel. Leo doesn’t dare to move until the Lion disappears down the stairs back to where the house sits. Even then, Leo crawls up the side and stays low, only standing up when he steps into the cave. He nearly runs into Usagi, who jumps nearly a foot in the air, “Gods! Where did you disappear to?!”

“Don’t worry about it. Just be happy I know how to hide from authority figures.” Leo says as he pulls the swords from their safe position on his shell. Then, as he goes to hand them back, he looks at the blades again and looks at them an inch closer.

The handle, though worn, has dust nearly ingrained into the fabric, and as he angles them up to inspect the sheath, Leo sees the same effect against the dark material. “Sheesh, do you ever use these things? They’re-” before he could finish his undoubtedly hilarious joke, Leo looked to see Usagi return to his anxious stance. Rather than just pointing at Leonardo, Usagi also looks at the swords. As if he wasn’t sure which to be more worried about at the moment. Leo takes out the wakizashi and hands them back to Usagi, “It's ok, see? I’m not taking them.”

“I- I know you weren’t. I just, I need to return before Sensei finds out I took them.” But, again, being a master rule breaker, Leo had a feeling it was more than that, “Your teacher seems like a really strict man. Is he your Yoda or something?”

“Who is- never mind. His name is Katsuichi. He is my teacher and a master samurai.”

“Oh, that explains,“ Leo waves his hand over the rabbit, “This whole situation.”

“Situa-” Usagi looks down at himself in confusion, ”what situation? You just gestured to all of me-”

“Agree to disagree, but yes, you are a situation.” Then a thought occurs to the blue turtle, “When was the last time you saw another person before today?”

Usagi breaks eye contact as his shoulders bunch up by his ears, which is almost impressive and is enough of an answer for Leo, “That long?”

“Sensei leaves once in a while to visit friends and I have an Uncle who visits sometimes with small gifts but I am not to leave the mountain until my training is complete, and no one comes to the mountain.”

“What about your parents? Don’t they ever- '' Usagi breaks eye contact, gripping his other arm self-consciously. Leo didn't have to be Mikey to understand what that meant, “Oh-”

“Let us just get to our destination and get you home. It's the least I can do for accidentally bringing you. Then we can move on with our lives.” Usagi starts walking on ahead before Leo can say anything. Leo lets out a small sigh before following after him and follows after him glancing over at the path.

Leo knew how to go unnoticed and leave no trace, but for a path used every day by a teacher, he sure seemed to go out of his way to make sure it was almost unnoticeable. And if he hadn’t been walking in Usagi’s footsteps, Leo would have slipped off and made a Wilie Coyote imprint at the base of the cliff.

Before he could think too deeply about it, Usagi finally stopped and gestured for Leo to follow him into a large crack that, like most of the path, Leo almost looked over. They followed the trail, and the stone pressed him from either side even though he wasn’t bigger than Usagi. But Leo’s shell couldn’t give in to the rock, and it scraped against him, forcing him to put his hands over his head to make room.

Leo feels his mask catch on a piece of rock, “Agh- hold on, hold on!” He calls after Usagi as he tries to twist free.

Usagi looks back his way with a sigh, “Oh for the love of-” He makes his way back in the turtle’s direction. “Duck down,” he tells Leo, who does his best, as Usagi starts messing with the caught material, “I do not understand why you wear a mask, modesty does not seem to be a problem with you.”

“Dad says they’re ninja masks, but I kinda think it was the only way he could tell us apart,” the turtle says with a smirk.

Leo hears what almost sounds like a chuckle, but before he can say anything, the material finally comes free. “There, we’re almost there,” Usagi says as he starts back down the tunnel.

Leo reaches back to check his mask tails and feels the larger-than-comfortable rip that makes him gripe, “Looks like I gotta dig out the spare mask when I get home.” The sound of rushing water meets him before the small pass finally gives way to what looks like a much smaller clearing than the one Usagi lived in. A massive crack in the ceiling allowed the sun to feed the grass inside. There was a large stream that ran almost too quickly for comfort. It was undoubtedly fed the stream at Usagi’s home, “This your hang-out?”

“Not exactly, I spent a lot of time here trying to figure out the swords.” Usagi gestures to the swords on his waist, “where Sensei couldn’t see me.”

“Yeah explain that to me, he’s your teacher right? Why would he give you swords he didn’t want you to use?”

“It's not like that. They’re not…mine?” For not the first time, a look of guilt crosses Usagi’s face, making Leo grin widely.

“Ohhhh, I recognize the ‘I did something I’m not supposed to’ look. I INVENTED that look!”

“It’s not like that! Sensei was out, and I was minding my own business sweeping the grass and I just so happened to see a spot under the house that looked like it was disturbed. So, I just happen to crawl under and dig it up and I just so happen to find them-”

“Ok that’s a lot of lawyer-speak for ‘I was snooping and found something I wasn’t supposed to-”

“It was an accident! Kind of. It was kind of an accident. I meant to put them back! I truly did, but I was drawn to them after I activated them. That was an accident. And there was a book with them, and it had all these places and instructions,” He adds quickly before Leo can make his ‘sinners’ face again) “And- and I was curious, so I started practicing here and- and I thought I’d go on a test run.” Usagi squeezed his eyes shut, and Leo waited for him to continue. Instead, Usagi put the swords back on his waist, “‘It doesn't matter. None of it does. As soon as I’m finished helping you, I’m going to rebury them and go back to my meditation. My teacher wants that, and I should have never disobeyed him.”

“Ok, wow, so your first time off the mountain version of Rapunzel's tower and that’s it?”

“You saw what happened! I got in over my head, enraged two locals, and nearly got crushed by a building. Clearly my teacher was right-”

Leo had almost forgotten about that last part, but either way, “You ended up where you wanted, didn’t you? So what, you enraged two weirdos. That's just New York. I do that every day and I”m only related to one of them. Take it from me, bun-man, swords like ours want to be used. They,” pausing at Usagis’ confusion, “Oh right, I got a sword that does the portaling thing too.”

“You have a- why did you not mention that sooner?”

“Honestly, I kinda forgot? It's like having a shell, you get used to it and forget you have it after a while, but I digress. Swords want adventure, and they want to be useful. You felt those swords, right? They called to you?” Usagi nods slightly, “Then they think you’re ready for an adventure too. No one knows New York better than my bros and me! Let us help you, man! Let's have an adventure!”

“I- I can not. As I explained my teacher doesn't want me to leave the mountain-”

“Yes, but he didn’t say anything about staying in this particular dimension.” Usagi only gives Leo a flat look in return, “You said he leaves sometimes right?”

“Once every few months to visit a friend-” Usagi paused, “He has been talking about visiting his friend's fencing school. He would be gone for several days, but- No, I can not break his trust.”

Leo wants to argue, but he takes a moment and a deep breath, “Yeah ok. I get it. You don’t have to decide anything now. That’s not fair on you. How about this, I’ll portal to this spot innnnnn, three days and you can give me your answer then. Heck, you can leave a note telling me to eat a rock and I’ll only come back once in a while to annoy you. Ok?”

Usagi gives him a look that Leo doesn’t recognize, but after a moment, it finally breaks into a small smile and the chuckle he had heard back in the tunnel, “You are strange. But I have not witnessed something strange in a long time.” He moves over to the water and draws out his swords. The rabbit shakes his arms to loosen up with his eyes closed.

After a moment, Leo notices the sounds of the stream absent and sees the stream. The rushing current seems to bulk and twist past Usagi – as though it was magnetizing to his form without stopping the river's flow. Light starts at the hilt and outlines the blades, giving off a faint transparent mist. Usagi strikes his swords in a crisscross pattern and leaves two lights in their place that form a large tear in the air with the same light Leo recognized from before, “This should take you to the area where we departed, though I can’t promise it's the same spot.”

“Thanks bun-man!” Leo turns to jump in before doing a quick spin and giving Usagi finger guns, “Think about it! Would you rather live as a hermit or actually live?” With that, Leo jumps back through the portal with his arms behind his head.

After Leo disappeared, the portal faded with him, and the river resumed its natural course. Usagi waits a moment before blinking, “That fool never even gave me his name.”

Part 1, 2, 3 (coming soon)

#rottmnt fanfiction #rottmnt #miyamoto usagi #leonardo #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtle fanfiction #no shipping #zany adventures #undercoverwizardfanfiction #i’m terrible at tags

9 notes · View notes

hydok · 1 year

Text

I posted 6,916 times in 2022

That's 3,995 more posts than 2021!

25 posts created (0%)

6,891 posts reblogged (100%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@trekfaerie

@laora-ryn

@kaen-ace-of-diamonds

@lunar-resonance

@needlekind

I tagged 728 of my posts in 2022

#yeah - 38 posts

#adhd stuff - 26 posts

#ace stuff - 11 posts

#oh - 7 posts

#brb guillotines - 7 posts

#ane - 7 posts

#suddenly a fic - 7 posts

#oh no - 4 posts

#incredible - 4 posts

#im hollering - 4 posts

Longest Tag: 137 characters

#i fully accept that given these details i absolutely sound like ta but what she didnt mention is that there was grass on these sandwiches

My Top Posts in 2022:

you’ve got to give it to ohkubo the man at least included in his visual dictionary the face people make when they consider his writing choices

7 notes - Posted February 20, 2022

i hate ohkubo i want this man to stop creating anything that might be interpreted as new soul eater content

7 notes - Posted February 19, 2022

"written by matteo jwhj 0715" they say, like it wasn't based off of the play by jára cimrman

smh

8 notes - Posted November 20, 2022

adhd lifehack: roomba

and like i know i know theyre expensive but i hadnt vacuumed for over six months (because adhd) and then i spent $179.99 on black friday last year and in exchage i got a little robot hockey puck (her name is birdy because she chirps) who every tuesday, thursday, and sunday wanders around my studio apartment and bumps into walls and eats all the cat hair and hay and rabbit poop and all i have to do is rescue her if she gets trapped by horrors beyond her comprehension (the bench with mirrored legs) and clean out her compartment (easy it just pops out and i dump it in the trash).

no longer do i get paralyzed by the Cleaning Terrors of "oh my floor is gross im a failure of an adult i have to clean it but in order to clean it i have to move furniture and then deal with the vacuum and go over spots and it takes so long i cant but im a failure of an adult i cant do anything else cleaning because of how bad my floor is"

my floor is clean, it's nice to walk on, all the other adulting cleanliness tasks become so much easier because the elephant in the room has been taken out back and shot by a tiny robot maid with a gun

31 notes - Posted September 15, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

thinkin about..... justin law again..... like i have for the past literal decade and counting....

im still mad about the soul eater manga for many reasons but one of them one of the big reasons is justin law

because on the surface yeah it's "the creepy hyperviolent religion obsessed weirdo who is out of touch with social and even religious norms picks a new god and goes off the rails" concept which is fine it fits the soul eater vibe it's even got echos of asura's fall from grace

and yeah "he went insane because he neglected to form the proper weapon-meister social bond" is fitting for soul eater as well and really hammers in the difference between justin (who in the series is presented as someone who could not be saved) and stein (whose bonds are what make him someone the series decides should be saved)

and okay fine "he attacked and decapitated the one friend he had, the only person who tried to reach out to him" does hammer that in. (though tbh tezca is. bad. thats not a friend)

and yes it's a shonen series with a huge emphasis on bonds so it's genre appropriate that the adults stand around and go "this teenager cannot be saved because he failed to form friendships and so no one cares about him enough to go after him"

except

one problem

and that problem is very very simple and very very obvious and very very baked into justin law's entire character

and it's the problem of his weapon form.

because justin law is a guillotine.

because ohkubo made it extremely clear that justin physically cannot have a meister.

because the entire message of "you need to have friends and you need people around you who understand you" falls completely apart when the character used by the author as the example was designed by the author to be physically incapable of forming the bonds every other character has and excuse me ohkubo you're telling me what? he thought this was clever? he thought going "im going to make a character who cannot form a meister-weapon bond and play him up as cool for fighting solo and make him go evil to really bring it home that you need friends" was a clever idea? it's ohkubo so probably

but actually ohkubo just made a character who was physically barred from forming proper relationships with others, and then had every responsible adult in this character's life look at him and by the time he was thirteen go "not only is this good that he's socially isolated and doesn't have a life partner like everyone else does by this age, we should give him a role in our organization where he works solo all the time. this is a good idea. this will not backfire on anyone involved in any way." and by the time he was seventeen the adults went "if only he had made proper social bonds he would have someone who cared enough to save him from getting his soul clownjacked by an incarnation of the god of madness"

and it is almost 2023 and ohkubo stopped writing soul eater in 2013 (and stopped caring about the series in like idk 2010 at the latest) and i am still thinking too much about this asshole teenage sadist who according to the manga got exactly what he deserved but really deserved so much better

64 notes - Posted November 10, 2022

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#year in review #thats 3995 more posts than 2021 #three of my top five posts were about soul eater #which yeah sorry soul eater is My Brand im ur Soul Eater Friend #87% of my posts were untagged #which is also My Brand sorry #trek u win the Hydok Content Generator Award

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cottageivy · 2 years

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hi hi it’s been a few months! i was thinkin bout how it’s simblreen time in a month and it made me sad and reminisce and i just wanted to check on this blog again <3

i will say, im likely not going to be active again for a long ass time. i have 0 motivation to even open my game. it’s actually quite overwhelming to think about doing, a lot bc of the maintenance i’d need to do to my mods folder and that’s not worth it if i’m not gonna enjoy playing anyways. it might have to do with my mental health being shit too but eh who can say lol

i would like to say, this blog has literally brought me such joy over the past 2 years. i got to interact with cool ass people and play the sims in such a creative way i hadn’t really done before (i hadn’t ever really played around with using poses and doing photo shoots and shit before simblr) idk thinking about it makes me smile but it also sucks ass that i don’t see myself ever being in that place again. that being said, i might come back whenever i pick up sims again. but i dunno. feels like chapter has been closed for a while.

bye for now <333

(if you’d like to follow me elsewhere, i’m over on @book-tease ! it’s a fandom/personal blog tho so i reblog a lot be warned)

wait but before i go have some pics of my cats

#mia rambles #idk felt like making an official post for it #again was reminiscing about simblreen and was like ‘… will i do that this year’ and realized that i had no desire to #except for ig nostalgia.. for a year ago lmao #also ty to people who’ve been liking and reblogging my posts despite my hiatus it made me happy to see the notifs #and ty fo all the kind words you’ve all given me here <33 ilysm #also. i despise my last two posts i did bc they were very obviously me desperately trying to find a spark again #might private them idk i’m too sentimental to delete posts lol

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x-lynx-x · 3 months

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lynx log #2

i wandered into jimmys room, and it was now snowing!! like how there was leaves everywhere in victors room, theres now snow in jimmys(i think it had something to do with nicole waking up, cuz jimmys room kinda looked like hers....)we sat on the bed for a bit n they were having trouble talking, so i thought i'd read a wolvie comic to help get their voice back >:[ theres a lot of comics on our desk that havent been put away yet, so i chose this one cuz it kinda looks like jimmy on the cover.....

so i was reading it(a lot of the panels look a lot like jimmy!!facial recognition stuff) and uhm. this page made me realize something.

nothin special on the page, just was the one i realized on. we're been thinkin a lot lately on if we have a primary soul, n who it might be! cuz everyone seems to think theyre the real soul....but its probably jimmy ): we get a lot of messages thru media n we gotta out them together like puzzle pieces. a message we got a couple years ago(but was reminded of today cuz someone liked one of our old posts abt it) was for a character named church. SO a scientist guy made a clone of his consciousness called epsilon, n put epsilon thru a bunch of simulated trauma, which then split him into other consciousness (like us!) n church was a direct clone of epsilon who didnt remember any of the trauma. and also didnt know abt the experiment!! then eventually he found all the other consciousnesses and epsilon n him fused together n he remembered EVERYTHING!! we've had the word epsilon associated with memories ever since '^' and theres a comic where a guy named epsilon red starts giving wolvie his memories back too!!

we've known abt the experiment since we were uhmmm maybe 11? or 10? we've been gettin hints for awhiilleeee but our recent journey in remembering all of eachother again feels similar to the journey church went on....oh yea! context -> me n my system used to know eachother when we were younger, but around age 15 we all got stuck together n forgot ): but in the past month we've been slowly separating n remembering eachother again!! it was a prophecy for vic n victor(similar but 2 different guys hehe) to spend our bday with jimmy, n it thankfully happened!!! we were worried abt there being a big fight that day(since sabes n wolvie usually fight on that day) n well....that turned out to be true too v_v they forgot how often they fought n there was a fight that morning n victor ended up also fighting with tiff(another member) during the day too(the problem was that jimmy didnt believe either of them were real, n victor even really tried proving himself by fronting for a several days before they remembered eachother! he was searching really hard for jimmy, just like jimmy had been all those years he couldnt remember him...). but that day ended good, so thats all settled now :3 except for the nicole fighting today lol oops.

anywayyyyy back to the story!! after i told jimmy abt this theory, he started changing more into logan(the one in the comic) and vic got concerned and came over to our room. he was crying and didnt know why ): he looked similar to the comic too.

vic held logan for a bit....uhmmm what did we talk about hmm.......OH

right!!!the experiment!!!!so this comic is about how they layer a fake memory over top of real ones, so it implies that sabes n fox were also being experimented on like X was!! so in our case, maybe we're not fake split offs, but rather we're all connected somehow. (we have a member whos name means 'birth of X' btw!!)

that was one of our theories at age 13, that all of us were sleeping in the same lab somewhere. but maybe we knew eachother too.....

the big question is -> whos helping us wake up?

woahhhh cliffhanger :o stay tuned for more fun lynx adventures!!!!!✨✨

#💞lynx log💞#hehe jimmy was worried we wouldnt talk abt anything interesting enough for me to post...WRONG!!!!>:3

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elvispresley1935 · 5 months

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Slowly but surely…<3

Based loosely around anytime after the comeback special to the mid 70’s Elvis.

You are the childhood best friend with one of the members of Elvis’ Memphis Mafia, Jerry.

Jerry invites you on the road with him…

Priscilla doesn’t exist in this!

Hope you enjoy, part 2 on its way soon! <3

Despite this being your first time on the road you were enjoying it, a lot. Granted, this new lifestyle takes a lot of getting used to, the late get ups, late nights, partying and drinking. You feel like you’ve missed out on a lot when it comes to enjoying yourself, you’ve always been too focused on work, but before that was your education. You felt like you owed it to yourself.

You remember the day when your best friend called you one afternoon…

*the phone rang out in the office and you answered. “Hello this is y/n spea…” before you even got chance to finish your sentence, your best friend Jerry was on the other end. “Hey, look y/n, you know how I work for Elvis and all?” “Yes, what’s wrong, everything okay?” You questioned carefully. There was a break in him speaking, you could tell whatever he was about to say was somewhat making him nervous. A small smile started to form on your lips. “Well, I was wondering if you would like to come join us on the road, only thing is, it’s six months long…? What’d you say? I’d love to have you there?” Now you were the nervous one, you would love to, god, you’d jump at the opportunity, to be with your best friend and to meet THE Elvis Presley, in the flesh, but your work, home and parents came flooding to you. “Hello y/n, you still there? What you thinkin?” Jerry said breaking the silence, also breaking you from your spiralling thoughts. “Aw what the hell hey, people always say I need to ‘lighten’ up’. This place will fall apart without me anyways, when do we leave!?”

With that being said, the two of yous sorted all the arrangements out and hung the phone up. The rest of the working day couldn’t come to an end fast enough if it tried, once the clock struck 5pm, you were gone. You had just over an hour to get six months worth of your belongings into a few suitcases, which you initially thought it was impossible to do so, but you managed.

With a knock on the door, you hurriedly unlocked it and let Jerry in wrapping him in a massive hug, squeezing your arms around his neck tight. Your nerves were getting the better of you, but it was all excitement, no doubt in sight, after all, you needed to let your hair down and have some fun, you deserve it. “Ready to go?” Jerry asked with a huge smile pulling at his face. You nodded quickly and picked as many bags up as you can. “Jesus y/n, you’d think you were going away for months with all these bags…” Jerry said sarcastically whilst looking at you with knowing eyes.*

With that thought you were snapped back to the land of the living when Jerry came and stood on the outside balcony with you, nudging you with his elbow against yours. “Hello earth to y/n… anyone home?” “Yes, hey jer, I’m fine, just reminiscing… apparently. Best decision I made!” You both giggled to yourselves overlooking the Las Vegas skyline, it was so pretty, all the twinkling lights, the noises from down below. It was safe to say it was completely different from home.

“Hey y/n we’ve all got to go get ready for another show but how do you fancy meeting us at the after party at EP’s suite, you know actually showing up to a party every once in a while won’t hurt you yeno…” Jerry taunted as he said this. “Sure, I don’t see why not, I’ll see you there then!” And with that being said Jerry was called away to help out kissing you on the cheek on the way past.

Since you were going to the after party you had plenty of time to kill, two shows worth of time, so you went shopping for a new outfit! It was the only right thing to do, right?! After strolling throughout all the shops in Las Vegas’, you finally found this cute little dress shop. It varied from long dresses, short ones, long sleeved or short, off the shoulders, even frilly. You name it, they were all there. You stumbled into the changing rooms with as many different outfits you could carry, trying each one on to make sure they suited you. What felt like hours you finally decided to settle on this tight fitted red off one of the shoulder strapped dress. You felt confident in it. You placed the unwanted dresses over to where you found them and wandered over to the till to make the payment. “Is there anything else I can get you today?” The employee asked cheerily. “No, that’s it tha… actually yeno that little black blazer, I’ll have that too please.”

Back at your hotel room you decide to get ahead of the time and start getting ready for the after party. After your shower you stood in your bathroom, thinking about your outfit, the after party, and of course Elvis Presley. You’ve been to one of his after parties before so you knew what was going to happen, but he has never spoke to you, he’s seen you but that’s as far as it goes.

You shake the silly thoughts out of your head, you’ve been a fan of Elvis’ your whole life, his music, his films, everything. You’ve always had a soft spot for him, like every other girl out there. Except the only difference is that you get to go to the parties that he hosts. Plus, your here with your best friend. Not to have a moment over his boss.

You done your hair and make up just the way you like it, your hair loosely curled and a face of make up, to finish the look, you had a smokey black eye shadow and eyeliner situation to match your blazer and heels. Some blonde strands of your hair fell in front of your face, to be honest, you never go all out like this so looking in the mirror at yourself was strange.

“Y/n, are you ready?” Jerry said casually just letting himself into your hotel room, forgetting that he had helped himself to a copy of your room key. “Good job isn’t it eh Jer! When people like yourselves just come barging right in.” You say laughing at him. He stops dead in his tracks and falls silent, “you look stunning y/n, seriously.” You blush at this but can’t help but say “thank you Jer, you ain’t too bad looking yourself.” “Come on, let’s go, otherwise we’ll be the last ones to join… again.”

When the lift doors open to the top floor, you could instantly hear the music, laughing, talking. Jerry was probably right, we are the last ones to join again. You and Jerry entered the suite together but parted ways soon afterwards, leaving you to mingle and get to know anyone or even everyone. You learnt that there was another person in Elvis’ mafia named Charlie, he seemed lovely but was already way beyond tipsy and had already wanted to start to get to know you. Asking questions like how you know Jerry, how long, where you’re from.

And that was the moment that Elvis decided to get to know you…

While in mid sentence, Charlie stopped and started to rub the back of his head. Someone had threw something at him. While turning round to see who could be the culprit, you and Charlie were met by his oceanic blue eyes and that gorgeous lopped sided smile. “Will you leave the lil darlin’ alone Charlie, you’ve been harassing her for the past hour.” Said Elvis as he slowly strides over to you and Charlie. “She knows Jerry, been friends with him for years… grew up in the same home town and all…” he trailed off “and she’s really pretty” this you blushed at and smiled gently. “I know this Charlie, and any friend of Jerry’s is a friend of mine too. She is downright gorgeous, not just pretty.” Elvis looked at you while saying the second half of his sentence. Looking you up and down, he had that twinkle in his eyes. “Now Charlie, go do us all a favour will ya and go and find someone else to talk to…”

You couldn’t quite get over the power that he had over his people, how they all listened to him, respected him. They all respected each other. This left you standing in place with Elvis, watching Charlie walk away. “Now, let’s go get you another drink shall we?” holding his hand out for you to grab, leading you to the bar. This was surreal for you, you had dreamed this day a hundred times over, to be in the same room as Elvis Presley, but for him to be talking to you, getting you a drink, it was definitely the icing on the cake.

“So, now you have your drink, what is your name honey and how do you know Jerry?” He asked “Well, my name is y/n and I’ve been Jerry’s friend since we were children. We’ve always been real close, no secrets, nothing. But that’s all we are friends. And when he asked me to come on the road with him, and yourself of course, I couldn’t say no. I’m like ur bigg…” you had realised that you have just been ranting your whole life story to Elvis. You were so embarrassed that your cheeks had started to become the same colour as your dress and you couldn’t hold eye contact with him. But when you did, you noticed he was fully into what you were saying, hanging of every last word you said and he was wearing his trademark looped sided grin that was in full effect at this point. “Aw nah, come on now, don’t stop there, we were getting to the good stuff.” He said jokingly. “Well… yes I’ve been a fan of yours for years. Seeing you is unbelievable.” “In a good way, I hope.” He cuts you off “yes of course it’s a good thing!”

There was this silence between the both of you, you were you just stood there taking one another in, the music from the party was still booming but it felt like yous were the only two in the suite. It was at this moment that he was realising that he liked you, like really liked you. He needed to know the whole story about you.

“I’ll tell ya what. Why don’t I get you some tickets to my next show tomorrow and then you can join me up here again and we can get to know each other some more, how about that darlin’?”

You couldn’t quite get over who you was talking to and what he was saying to you but without hesitation you agreed to everything. “That sounds amazing Mr Presley! I’ll see you tomorrow then, I best go and find Jerry and get back to my room, got a full day tomorrow.” You say with a knowing look in your eyes and a cheeky smile. “Please, call me Elvis. I’ll see you tomorrow y/n, good night!”

As you exited the suite with Jerry, little did you know that Elvis had watched you leave, eyeing you up and down from behind. It was at this moment that he knew he was in trouble and was falling deep for you. He’d get you to be his girl eventually. Slowly but surely…

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radiantlyrey · 8 months

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Thinkin' 'Bout NaNoWriMo

It's getting to be that time of year again--that time when writers everywhere sit down and ask themselves important questions. Questions like, "Am I doing NaNoWriMo this year?" and "If I am doing NaNo, what am I even gonna write?"

I am planning to do an abridged NaNo this year--probably not more than 20k words for the whole month. (Part of me always wants to shoot for 50k, but the rest of me knows me better than that, and knows that down that path lies horrific burnout, so.) I am having trouble choosing which story I want to work on.

Which brings me to you, Tumblr.

Here are my current story ideas for NaNoWriMo. There are five of them, and I've listed a little summary for almost all of them, along with some personal pros and cons.

Idea #1: Fantasy Titanic This idea came to me in a dream two years ago (no, really). The basic gist is thus: What if Titanic (1997), but instead of a love story, it's a heist story, and also there are elves and magic and shit? The summary:

The grandest cruise ship of the century is setting off on its maiden voyage. Passengers include young Neela, who is crossing the ocean to meet her fiance before their wedding, and Alice, a sorceress and unwilling conwoman/thief whose mother has chosen Neela as their next mark. The con is nearly done when disaster strikes--the ship hits an iceberg and begins to sink. In the chaos that ensues, Alice must make hard choices, not least of which is who she wants to be if she survives.

Pros and Cons: +I already have the first half of the story plotted out. +I already have extensive profiles of my two main characters written.

-I have to do a lot more research on the actual ship and the disaster. -I feel like some of the plot I do have needs to be reworked.

Idea #2: Beauty and the Beast Retelling This story is a rewrite of a story I wrote about 15 years ago in my online writing group. I've been wanting to retackle it for a while now, and I spent some time this past spring making plans for it. I don't have a formal summary for it yet, but.

The story follows the basic shape of the original fairy tale, but with some modernization and fantasy twists. The story is set in the US, and it's set in a world where magic has been gone from the western world for well over a century. Other than that, things are more or less the same: Penniless father of three daughters gets lost on the way home from a trip, ends up at a mysterious and obviously magical mansion. He accidentally offends his host, a monstrous Beast, who demands the father give up one of his daughters to the Beast, or else return himself. The eldest daughter (rather than the youngest) agrees to go in her father's place.

Pros and Cons: +I have almost three-fourths of the story plotted out. +I am eager to revisit this idea and improve on my first attempt.

-I may need to do some more worldbuilding before drafting can begin. -I’m not sure if I have a good grip on my main character yet.

Idea #3: TRON/Pacific Rim Crossover I have had this idea for about five years now, and it's a basic "what if I mashed these two universes together?" style crossover. My concept is a series of fics that follow TRON character Quorra's point of view of the Kaiju War, and her journey towards eventually becoming a Jaeger pilot with Sam Flynn (another TRON character). I've got about five or six of the stories already plotted out, though I don't have much more of a summary.

Pros and Cons: +I know how the next few stories are meant to go. +I am feeling enthusiastic about the story as a whole, and am eager to continue work on it.

-I am kind of blocked on the second story, and have been for a while. -I’m still worried no one’s going to read this thin, so what's the point.

Idea #4: TRON '82 High Fantasy AU Not much to say about this one except that it's very new, but here's a summary:

Chesst styles himself the God-Emperor of the Seven Realms, and has outlawed worship of the old gods. Those who still cling to the ancient ways are consigned to the empire’s gladiatorial arenas, forced to fight to the death in dangerous games. Tron, a former knight-paladin of the realm of Enqor, has spent nearly a year in the arenas, fighting and surviving and keeping his faith alive. The gods have not forsaken him yet, and he knows they will not let Chesst’s blasphemy stand. When an amnesiac prisoner named Flynn arrives at Tron’s arena, Tron and his friend Ram are tasked with preparing him for the games. As Flynn recovers and trains, it becomes clear that he is much stronger than even Tron expected. He has access to a powerful magic that he cannot fully control, even with Tron mentoring him. As the start of the games approaches, Tron can only hope that Flynn’s true power can be concealed long enough for him to control it, and perhaps long enough for the three of them to escape.

Pros and Cons: +It’s a new idea, which means it could spark a lot of creativity. +I think it could be a fun idea to explore at length.

-I’d have to do a ton of worldbuilding to get ready to write it. -I also need to plot the whole thing (or at least part of it), with the original film as a guide.

Idea #5: The Face in the Mirror This is also a new idea and yet another TRON story. Concept came about a post on here about what might happen if one program's disc was put on another program's body. I've billed this one as a horror story; here's the summary:

Metz is having a little trouble with his memory. He remembers… horrible things, things that don’t make sense. He remembers derezzing, or at least, he thinks he does. His best friend and lover, Starr, says that it’s just a packet of bad code that will purge itself in time. She reassures him that he’s fine, and he wants to believe her, but… Sometimes, it’s like someone or something else is inside his body. And every time he sees his reflection, he’s startled by the face staring back at him…

Pros and Cons: +I know the basic shape of the story already. +The plot will probably fit my lower NaNoWriMo goal of 10-20k.

-I have no idea how to write a horror story. -I’m not sure I have enough enthusiasm for this idea right now.

I do not promise to abide by the results of this poll, but I'm interested to see what y'all think of my conundrum.

#writing #writeblr #nanowrimo #polls #my polls #long post #throwing this into the void and screaming #yo ho yo ho a writer's life for me

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the-letter-horror-lover · 2 years

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You are the only one for me - after effects.

Xbertyx

Summary:

Set a few years after the end of the Elan series, showed mainly through the eyes of Ronald and Claude. Alan and Eric will crop up in a later chap.

The original you are the only one for me series still needs 4 or so more chapter updates but I wanted to keep that separate, as those chapters are set in the original Elan series. Also, I liked the ending of Elan - so think of this more as a spin off series.

Notes:

For pettyevil (D4tD).

Chapter 1

Chapter Text

Ronald was now twenty eight, having been married for several years. Not much had changed in the household during that time, apart from the recent passing of their dog, Titan, which had left Alan and Eric completely heartbroken. Angelina and Luna had also married the previous year.

Rudgar was still working as a doctor at Alan’s local surgery and Eric still worked at the pharmacy with Sascha, who’d become a dispenser and then a dispensing technician.

Sascha would also sometimes still help Alan with his commission art when he had the time. The play that he had written had been looked over by a theatre company and discussions over turning it into an actual musical would begin in a month’s time.

Ronald had found a few other men in their twenties and had been playing at local music gigs with them. He still had no job, though that was partly Claude’s fault. The elder man – now in his mid-thirties - had told Ronald not to even both looking for a job. His first reason for saying this was that the household had enough money coming in from his, Eric’s and Rudgar’s professions. The other reason was that he was still worried that Ronald’s health would deteriorate again. It didn’t matter how many times everyone else in the household told Claude that Ronald was now fine, the accountant just wouldn’t budge.

Not that Ronald was too fussed over this. More time at home meant more time allowed to raid the fridge. Still, Ronald hadn’t been in the best of moods for the past two weeks. Claude was acting unusual. Well, Claude had always been a tad strange but this was different. He was definitely hiding something and Ronald wanted to know what exactly was going on.

As the account returned home, Ronald was waiting for him in the hallway. “Ronald, what -.”

“Claude, we need ta’ talk. Now.”

Chapter 2: A little grey but mostly black.

Notes:

*edited* Ronald still can't swear properly due to the brain damage he received.

Shit - ship

Fuckin' - fuzzin'.

Chapter Text

Claude’s appearance hadn’t changed much since he had first met Ronald, bar the few streaks of grey in his hair and the glasses that he had to now wear permanently, not just for reading.

Ronald’s appearance had changed quite a lot since the wedding, as he was slightly heavier and more muscular than he had been. Compared to when his seizures were at their worst, he looked much healthier, his skin lightly tanned from the summer sun. His hair had also changed again, being fully blonde with black and purple streaks running through it, curtesy of Eric’s hair dressing skills.

Ronald would often tease Claude about his greying hair, calling him an old fart and the like. When Claude had become more withdrawn two weeks ago, Ronald had wondered if he was just upset about what he had been calling him. Now, Ronald was about to find out, even if he had to drag the truth from his husband.

Claude eyed him, no emotion showing on his features. “What do we need to talk about?”

“Y’.” Ronald stated, scanning his face for any clues to what was going through his mind. “Y’ been avoidin’ me recently and I wanna’ know why.”

“Avoiding you? Do not be ridiculous.”

“I’m not! Y’ ‘ave been actin’ really weird lately.”

“I have been doing no such thing.”

“Y’ really ‘ave!��

“Ronald -.”

“Don’t y’ wanna’ be wi’ me anymore or somethin’?”

“What? Where did that silly idea manifest from?”

“Can y’ blame me for thinkin’ that? Y’ haven’t been talkin’ ta’ me properly for tha’ past two weeks.”

“That … has nothing to do with you.”

“Then what’s tha’ problem? Oh … ship, Baldroy hasn’t been released from prison, has he?”

Claude’s eyes widened slightly from the sound of that name. “Thankfully not, as far as I am aware.”

“Then … has Joker?”

“No, Ronald. You are still safe, do not worry.”

Ronald’s hands clenched at his sides. “Well I am fuzzin’ worried, so tell me wha’ tha’ matter is!”

“There is nothing -.”

“Stop lyin’ ta’ me! I can tell when y’ lyin’!”

“Ronald -.”

“Jus’ tell me wha’ tha’ matter is!”

“I … I do not wish to cause you any worry.” Claude pushed his glasses back up his nose.

“Babe … jus’ tell me what’s goin’ on. I don’t care wha’ it is, I jus’ need ta’ know.”

The elder nodded slightly. “V … very well ….”

“Now would be good.”

“I … have been experiencing pain and fatigue … for a while now. Maybe the … last six months or so.”

“And?” Ronald let out a shaky breath. “Y’ been ta’ tha’ doctors yet?”

“About … a month ago. They referred me on for testing.”

Ronald let out a gulp, his voice turning shaky. “It’s not … Cancer, is it?”

“No, no, nothing like that.”

“Then wha’?!”

“They found out that I have some liver damage.”

Ronald’s heart almost stopped in his chest. “W … wha’?!”

Chapter 3: Na, na, he hasn't.

Chapter Text

Claude didn’t answer him straight away, so Ronald asked again. “Wha’ did y’ … jus’ say?”

“I said that my liver is damaged. It is quite stupid really, I do not drink excessively.” Claude stated, pushing on the side of his glasses.

“No, but y’ used ta’. Y’ used ta’ drink a lot and y’ still drink every night.”

“I would have thought that my body would have been used to it by now.”

Ronald huffed at him. “Claude, a liver can’t take a load of booze for a long period of time. Y’ need ta’ stop drinkin’.”

“Yes, the doctors have stated also that that would be a wise idea.”

“So y’ gotta’ stop.”

“I see no reason to.”

“Y’ wha’?! Y’ fuckin’ idiot, y’ gonna’ end up dead if y’ don’t stop!”

“Do not be ridiculous.”

“I’m not! How are y’ gonna’ take care of a kid if y’ can’t take care of y’self?!”

“A child?”

Ronald froze on the spot. “Y … yeah.”

“You wish to adopt?”

“Y … yeah. I’ve wanted a baby for ages and -.”

“Then find yourself another partner.”

“W … wha’?”

“I have never wanted children and you damn well know that. What were you thinking, just dropping that on me like this?”

“Well … I was gonna’ tell y’ eventually, a … and how do y’ know tha’ y’ don’t want a kid? Y’ never tried ta’ -.”

“I just know!” Claude shot him a glare. “This discussion is giving me a migraine.” He turned on his heel, key pushing back into the front door.

“Claude -.”

“I need a break away from you and this house.”

“Fuckin’ wait! Don’t y’ dare jus’ fuckin’ run away! Y’ always do this! Y’ … always run away from … things when they ge’ too hard!”

Claude didn’t answer, opening the door. It was slammed shut and locked quickly. Ronald let out a grunt and slammed his fist against a picture on the wall, glass shattering and embedding in his skin. “Fuckin’ prick!”

----

Eric returned home, finding Ronald in the living room staring at his hand. “Shit, wha’ did ya’ do, punch a wall?”

“Glass.” Ronald replied bluntly.

“Why? What’s tha’ matter?” Eric took the empty seat on the sofa at Ronald’s side.

“Claude’s pissin’ me off.”

Eric sighed. “What’s happened this time?”

----

Once Ronald had explained the situation, Eric inhaled sharply. “Damn … everyone is gettin’ fuckin’ sick.”

“Y’ wha’?” Ronald asked.

“Al didn’t wanna’ … be tha’ one ta’ tell everyone this but … remember tha’ cough he’s had for a couple of weeks?”

“Umm … yeah?”

Eric scratched the back of his head. “Well … tha’ doctor referred him on for tests ….”

“Eric, what’s goin’ on?” Ronald sat up from his slouching position. “Did … they find somethin’?”

Eric looked away. “Y … yeah.”

“Wha’? What’s tha’ problem? Tell me already!”

“Al … he’s got lung cancer.”

“Na … na, he hasn’t.”

“Ronnie, I’m bein’ serious.”

Ronald could only sit there and gape in disbelief.

Chapter 4: A choice with no regrets.

Chapter Text

Ronald swallowed the lump in his throat. “C … cancer.”

“Yeah but … they caught it early.” Eric stated. “He’s gonna’ be jus’ fine.”

“Chemo?”

“Yeah, he starts it in a few days.”

“But … wha’ if it doesn’t work!?”

Eric shot at glare at him. “It will work.”

“But it could spr-.”

“Ronnie, enough! He’s gonna’ ge’ better!”

“But -.”

“I’m not listenin’ ta’ this! Tha’ doctors all thought tha’ ya’d never walk again but ya’ did. He’s gonna’ make a full recover jus’ like ya’ did.”

Ronald nodded slowly. “So … so wha’ did tha’ doctors say?”

“They said he’s got … really good odds.”

“G … good.”

“Yeah ….” Eric paused for a moment. “Wi’ Claude, ya’ need ta’ ‘ave a good think ‘bout ya’ future.”

“Wha’ do y’ mean?”

“Wha’ do ya’ want more? Kids or him.”

“Fuck tha’, I want both and -.”

“Claude’s not gonna’ change his mind. Everyone knows tha’ he’s never wanted a baby.”

“But for me, he -.”

“No. He’d never agree ta’ it. And plus, from wha’ ya’ tellin’ me, he can’t even look after himself. He’s always had a drug problem and if he can’t stop drinkin’, that’s another addiction he’s gotta’ overcome. Ya’ can’t bring a kid inta’ tha’ shit.”

“Yeah … I guess.”

“So think it over.”

“I choose Claude.”

Eric frowned at him. “Ya’ can’t jus’ decide tha’ right away, ya’ -.”

“I can. I could manage ta’ live wi’out children but I can’t live wi’out Claude. Every time he left me, my health went ta’ shit again.”

The larger man paused for thought. “But he has … put ya’ through some shit over tha’ years. Is he really worth it?”

“Y’ wha’?”

“I mean, I like tha’ guy but he’s run off a couple of times and cheated on ya’.”

“That’s in … tha’ past.”

“Who’s ta’ say tha’ he won’t piss off again though?”

“He won’t.”

“And if he keeps drinkin’ himself ta’ death?”

Ronald’s hands clenched, his knuckle sending a shooting pain up one of his arms. “He won’t. I … won’t let him do tha’.”

“He’ll do wha’ he wants, regardless of wha’ ya’ tell him ta’ do.”

“But … he’ll stop. He … wouldn’t wanna’ leave me on my own.”

Eric sighed. “Yeah … I guess. We’ll jus’ ave ta’ wait and see. Want me ta’ bandage ya’ hand up?”

Ronald nodded. “Please.” Damn Claude … y’ best not leave me. I … I can’t do shit without y’.

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