#hell all Sim books should have a pop-up with their contents

[victorluvsalice]

Thoughts On A Sims 4 Occults Refresh

Because, as per the Chill Save update earlier, I have recently picked up The Sims 4: Werewolves after watching quite a few videos on it from the YouTube Simmers I follow (namely James Turner, who built all the lots for the pack and is rightfully proud of it, and Plumbella, who did an early-access LP of it), and seeing how much care and attention was lavished on the werewolves and their lore really makes me want some sort of refresh for most of the other occults in the game. And since Smiler only got a one-post update today, I figured I could take the time to make a post about what I’d like to see! It boils down to a few key points:

1. Give aliens and mermaids proper power/perk trees -- Yeah, of the occults we have in Sims 4, I think we can all agree that aliens and mermaids got the short end of the stick -- possibly because they’re both occults that came as part of an expansion instead of getting a dedicated game pack like the Big Three of vampires, spellcasters, and werewolves. (Probably doesn’t help that aliens were one of the first occults added to the game in Get To Work. . .) They both desperately need updates to keep them relevant and make them more fun to play without requiring the use of mods. And the best way to do that would be to give them a set of powers/perks you can buy for XP points, like said Big Three. Mermaids already work a bit like vampires thanks to their “Hydration” need powering their innate special songs and whatnot -- why not go whole hog? Have them earn things like the ability to find unique treasures in the deepest parts of the ocean! New songs that affect Sim moods in different ways, or maybe adjust skill-building speeds! Or maybe one to pull water from nearby sources to hydrate themselves if they get too low? Aliens could get their own version of controlling Sim minds (rather than just erasing memories -- oh, and THAT should be an unlockable power THEY CAN’T USE AUTONOMOUSLY -- yes, I AM still bitter about one of my Sims having their relationship with their alien fiance RANDOMLY ERASED BY SAID ALIEN FOR NO REASON) and maybe unlock some sort of special power that allows them to go to space without a rocket? Just -- something more interesting than the handful of powers that we’ve got for either!

(And for what it’s worth, I’d rather like to see the Needs panel UI for them, vampires, spellcasters, and werewolves be standardized, though I’m not sure how the orb would work for vampires and mermaids, who drain a need bar to fuel their powers rather than build up something that needs to be periodically lowered. Maybe have the orb be “upside-down” when compared to spellcasters and werewolves? Aliens could work either way -- drawing on some sort of special alien need to fuel their powers, or building up an alien charge that must be periodically vented, otherwise something weird and potentially dangerous happens.)

2. Give all the occults fun books we can read for lore, special bonuses, or just amusing fluff text -- The pop-ups you get for the werewolf books? They are the best. I love the lore that you can get from reading the history of Moonwood Mill (both the “standard” version and the special werewolf-writings version), I love how you can unlock a secret recipe for the new fish type if you’re lucky, and I even love when it’s just “fluff text” showing an excerpt of the book itself. And now that we have all that, I want more. I know Realm of Magic added a few non-tome books for Sims to read, but I don’t know if any of them have the fun pop-ups or any other special interactions, and I’m pretty certain that Vampires only added the vampire encyclopedias, which do have a couple of pop-ups but nothing along the lines of Werewolves and its books. And we need them! We especially need them now that we have an extremely-complicated history of how vampires and werewolves came to be! I want a secret vampire history of Forgotten Hollow! I want vampire romances! I want a book on blood types that can unlock the ability for vampires to sense who in a nearby area would give them a Divine Drink! I want the book on familiars to unlock new interactions for spellcasters to use with their familiars! (Well, actually, I just want to interact with familiars period -- let me hug and play with them -- but we could also have more interactions you unlock too.) I want the history of Glimmerbrook and the Magic Realm! I want a spellcaster children’s series like Peter Barker! Just -- I want the books to be so much more fun than they are right now! Give me the funny pop-ups to read, darn it!

3. Give us more cross-pack occult interactions, both nasty and friendly -- Werewolves gives us some really great stuff with how werewolves interact with vampires in particular, but -- well, to get the full experience, I think you gotta play as a werewolf. What if I want to do some of those interactions from the other side? And what about different occults interacting with each other? We need stuff like:

-->Vampires get a special angry moodlet from feeding on werewolf plasma -- they now need moodlets for feeding on spellcaster, mermaid, and alien plasma too. (I’m pretty sure this is only a thing in mods!)

-->Those interactions where werewolves can compare themselves favorably or unfavorably to vampires? They should also be available on the vampire side (I couldn’t find them when I had Smiler talk to a werewolf, anyway!). There should also be special interactions for spellcasters and vampires, where they compare themselves favorably or unfavorably, or talk about the origins of vampires.

-->Get mermaids and aliens in the act by giving them special interactions with other occults too -- talking about how mermaid and vampire powers work similarly, or aliens and werewolves sharing stories about the moon.

-->Have a friendly “sparring” version of the Supernatural Smackdown, for those occults who want to brawl without despising the other person afterward. Include mermaids transforming briefly to hit their opponents with their tail XD

-->All occults should be able to ask for sympathy for their occult type, and Sims should be able to feel sympathetic toward multiple occults and be their allies. (How else are you going to have your forbidden romances?)

Stuff like that! Just make the interactions between the various occults a bit more rich, and give them all a good mix of friendly and mean options so those of us who like to do occults getting along AND those who like to do out-and-out supernatural wars can have their cakes and eat them too. :p

4. No, I don’t know what to do about ghosts, Servos, and plantsims -- I’ve never played with any of those life states, so I don’t have enough ideas on how perk or power trees would work with them (particularly Servos, as they’re robots and thus a very unique type of Sim -- don’t they already have specific upgrade paths they can do for themselves?). Though I will say that ghosts should not have normal Sim needs -- I think their needs should be frozen in a way that makes sense for how they died instead (like a Sim who starved is always hungry, one who was eaten by the Mother Plant is always stinky from alien goo, one who drowned always has low energy, etc). I leave it up to you guys to think of good ways to fix them!

So yeah -- standardized UIs and power/perk trees for all; books with fun lore, fluff, and the occasional special bonus; and more options for each different occult type to interact with each other. Sounds good, right? Let me know what you think!

#sims 4 #vampires #werewolves #spellcasters #mermaids #aliens #ts4 occults #refreshes #we have had ONE refresh of Spa Day #I want more #and I want my occults to be treated better darn it #I particularly want those books #the werewolf books are fun #and I want the perspective of the other occults #give me the lore #and the silly fluff text #hell all Sim books should have a pop-up with their contents #I want to know what some of them are actually about XD #and yes why can't VAMPIRES do the whole 'you're a stinky dog' or 'hey we're not so different' interactions? #Smiler would have totally compared werewolves and vampires favorably #I want my weird ass occult friendships damn it #refresh the occults #queued

[ashes-in-a-jar]

The Purrfect Alternative

Premise: Why would there be a cat in the archives? An archive cat fixit.

2.7K words

Rated G

(Tw: A bit of violence but it's against Jurgen Leitner)

This is a fic dedicated to the @jonsimsandcats event! Hope you enjoy it :)

"Sorry, you haven't seen a cat, have you?"

Jon gaped at the larger man who suddenly barged into the office. 

"I-I'm sorry, a what?"

"Uh, a cat, tabby I think." The man hurriedly explained.

"No. No I haven't. Is it.. Supposed to be here?" Jon knew book shops sometimes kept cats. Perhaps archives did as well. Maybe Gertrude had a soft spot in her after all.

"N-no actually. I, uh, I was feeding it on the way in but when I got up with my things, well, my hands were full you see, so when I managed to open the door it sort of slipped in with me? I'm so sorry, I have to find it before-"

"Okay okay calm down, stop." Jon held up his hand and let out a sigh. First day of the promotion and he's already stressed. But it's fine. He's fine. He can handle a cat. He's good with cats.

"Where do you work? Upstairs? Are you sure it came down here?"

"Yes, I saw it. And I just started working down here today? I'm Martin. Blackwood." He offered a hand. Jon automatically took it. Big and soft. He let go a bit too quickly and coughed. 

"Work here? Are you certain?"

"Yes, I'm supposed to let Jonathan Sims know about becoming an archival assistant. He's the head archivist Elias told me to talk to."

"Well that's one thing to cross off your list." Jon smirked. "I'm Jonathan Sims. Jon, if you please. And Elias did not mention you. Tim and Sasha were supposed to be the only new recruits." Jon frowned to himself. He'll have to have a word with Elias about this. It's fine now that it happened but keeping Jon updated could really help in preventing these kinds of awkward introductions with people he's supposed to work closely with.

"O-oh! Well, here I am now too." Martin chuckled nervously, fidgeting with the hem of his jumper.

Jon hummed "So you are I suppose. Well, let's not waste time on trivial matters, there is a cat that needs to be found." Jon got up from his chair.

"O-oh god, you're right. I'm so sorry for this." The other man apologized, remembering why he was there in the first place. It was clear that he now realized that the fact that the person he's asking to help him clear up his mess is his new boss could be very problematic for him. Jon easily sympathized with that kind of familiar pressure.

"It's alright, let's just, get this sorted." Jon was not willing to admit that a part of him was also just looking forward to seeing the cat. It would help distract him from his own stress, as it were.

Ten minutes later the two of them sitting on the floor in the stacks with a chubby tabby cat sprawled on Jon's lap. Jon was petting it affectionately while amicably getting acquainted with his new assistant. The man turned out to be a library veteran with useful cataloging skills that could help with the mess that was left down here. Having calmed down considerably, Martin had stopped fidgeting and was cooing at the cat who was head butting his large palm. Their presence soothed Jon in a way that surprised him. In the tranquil, quiet atmosphere of the stacks, sounds of cat purrs and Martin's low murmurs, he felt almost optimistic that despite his lack of experience and the large task ahead of them, he would be alright. 

-------

Paper meowed loudly behind him as Martin hurried down the tunnel with Jon and Tim at his tail. Martin glanced back as he reached an intersection and noticed they were too far behind, Jon limping on his injured foot. He hesitated, stopping and waiting for them to catch up. Paper came up and rubbed his leg before trotting down the tunnel on the right, tail held high and confident. Martin inhaled deeply to catch his breath, starting to walk again, this time more slowly. They managed to leave most of the fast worms behind and the ones down here were few and sparse enough to easily stomp down individually. Paper was making a game out of it.  He kept leaping onto some that crawled ahead of them, squishing them loudly with his paw. 

Jon and Tim caught up and the three followed Paper down the dark passage. 

"Yeah, get the damn crawlers." Slurred Tim. The CO2 he inhaled was not helping his coherency. 

"You know," gasped Jon, "I actually think they're larvae, given Jane's statement and-" 

"Jon, I'm going to have to ask you to stop now." Martin said, as calmly as he could, his voice a tad too high and loud. 

"... Sorry." Jon said sheepishly. 

They followed Paper down the forking paths, hoping the cat knew where in the seven circles of hell they were. 

Eventually they stopped seeing any worms as the path sloped up, ending in a sudden door. There was daylight filtering in from beneath it. Paper was eagerly pawing at it. 

"Uh, I think we found a secret way out of the institute." Martin could hardly believe their luck. 

"Excellent, now I can ditch work and no one will know I even left." Tim mumbled. 

"Tim, if you wanted to succeed in that endeavor, you should have not said that next to your boss." Jon commented dryly. 

The worm threat no longer being imminent, Martin allowed himself a nervous chuckle. 

They pushed at the door and with a bit of group effort, eventually managed to pry it open into fresh air. They came out into a narrow alleyway which turned out to be not far from the institute. As they walked (limped) down the street to find access to a working phone they heard someone cry out. 

"Jon? Tim? Martin!" They spotted Sasha hurrying towards them, carrying heavy bags of cat food. 

"Sasha! You're okay!" Martin exclaimed. "We were worried you'd get back and be caught in it like Tim had."

"Where have you been?" Jon inquired, straining to stand upright on his own. Martin came closer, gently supporting him by the hip on the opposite side of Tim. 

"We ran out of food for Paper, I figured I'd pop by the store for a moment to get some." Sasha said. "I came back when the building was being evacuated."

"Oh good, at least the alarm worked." Tim said tiredly. 

"What in god's name happened to you three?" She inquired worriedly. 

"Prentiss, we'll fill you in later. We need to make sure the ECDC is informed regarding the CO2 in the fire suppression system that needs to be activated."

"And get you to a hospital." Martin chastised, squeezing Jon's side. 

"Yes yes." Jon waved dismissively but all the while leaning further into Martin's side. He really wasn't discreet, Martin thought smugly. 

Sasha was about to say something else when a loud meow interrupted her. Paper was nosing into the bag, fully aware of its contents and who they were meant for. 

Jon dislodged from Martin and Tim and hobbled towards the cat. 

The cat turned and moved back into Jon's welcoming arms, as the archivist picked him up and stroked him fondly. 

"We are lucky on all accounts that Paper is such a smart cat." He murmured into the soft fur, injury forgotten for the moment. 

Tim chuckled, "cats always ruin evil people's plans, it's a well known fact. Anyway, Sasha, please call an ambulance for us?" He said, and promptly sat on the floor. 

Martin sighed with relief. For now, they are all safe and together. And that's all that matters. 

-------

It was all almost too much to take in. Luckily Paper was held tight in his arms as he listened to Jurgen Leitner ramble on about powers and fears and monsters and Jonah Magnus. He had been chased by a distorted form of his boss, who was apparently replaced by a monster Jon and the crew tried and failed to destroy, thus separating in the ensuing pursuit. In light of these events Jon now needed something soft to ground him in the face of so much new information. 

The discovery of Elias' death was a shock, especially given the fact that apparently it happened when he was trapped in artifact storage during the Prentiss siege a half a year back. 

He (that is, his doppelganger) told them back then that he was trying to reach the suppression system switch when he tripped down the stairs over one of Paper's many scattered toys, alerting Jane in the process and was driven back into the storage area. His account seemed to check out given he was rescued from there by the ECDC after Jane was dealt with. And given the few toys strewn about the stairs leading to artifact storage. Why Paper kept scattering his toys all over the building was beyond Jon but that wasn't the main issue at hand. After trapping the creature in the walls of the tunnels, Jurgen Leitner proceeded to reveal himself. Once Jon dragged him back to his office, and picked the protesting Paper up to calm himself down, he unveiled the truth of Elias', or Jonah's, whole operation. 

Turns out Jonah Magnus decided life was too short to enjoy once and did exactly what eventually happened to him. Talk about karma. Leitner explained that Gertrude's plan was to stop Jonah from... Something he was planning. Perhaps a ritual to end the world in a way the others would fail to do. That bit of information was on a tape of Gertrude which Leitner played for Jon. By the time they reached the part where Leitner said, “they needed to kill Jonah's main body then burn down the archives.” Martin, Tim and Sasha had arrived back at the office as well. 

"Jon? Jon! Are you okay?" Martin rushed forward, hugging Jon tightly, ignoring Paper's loud yowling at being squished in between them. Jon sighed, "Martin, thank god. I-I'm fine." He hugged him back, relieved his boyfriend was safe, as well as his other assistants of course. "It chased after me but he stopped it."

Tim raised his axe, "Jon are you sure he's not... Another one?"

"Yes I'm sure. That" Jon took a deep breath, "is Jurgen Leitner."

After the team's loud exclamations of disbelief he and Leitner updated them on everything they had discussed. As he was being hugged by Martin and holding the fluffy cat he slowly began calming down.

After Leitner was done a long moment of silence ensued.

"So," Sasha said slowly, "Gertrude's dead?"

"Yes, she was shot and then hidden by Jonah in the tunnels. Unfortunately I couldn't get out to allow for a proper burial, so I had to leave her there." He seemed sad admitting it. Jon did not feel sympathy for him. This man deserved none for his past and cowardice.

"And now, we need to, what, somehow find the center of the maze of tunnels to kill Jonah completely and burn the archives?" Sasha asked skeptically. 

"Yes, the whole institute in fact. I have a gas main in the tunnels ready to be ignited once we find the center." Leitner said.

"How do we do that?" Martin frowned.

"Maybe Michael knows?" Tim quipped. "He just helped us out of that situation with his own… corridor labyrinth. Maybe he'll be able to help."

"Okay, okay let's first take a breather and calm down. We'll figure out how to solve this." Jon said, raising his hand to slow them down.

"Yeah, I'll make us some tea." Martin added, "At least now that... Thing won't bother us for a long while."

"Let it burn along with this hell of an institute." Tim said harshly. Knowing how his brother was killed almost the same way, Jon felt strong sympathy for Tim rush over him.

Which was replaced with a different emotion the moment he turned to the man who saved him.

"Thank you for your help, now Martin, I need you to hold Paper for a moment."

Martin, looking baffled, took Paper out of Jon's arms. "Jon wh-"

Jon swiftly approached the older man and proceeded to sock him in the nose with the full force of his fist. The crew gasped in unison. 

"That's for everyone you hurt with your idiocy, you stupid old coward." Jon seethed and punched him again. He heard Martin chuckle and Tim whoop as the man whimpered and attempted to protect his face.

Jon was glad they were spared the horrible plans of a 200 year old evil man and that they had some semblance of a strategy moving forward. He was, however, equally elated for this opportunity to do what he fantasized about since learning of Leitner's existence.

And, he supposes, all of this can be indirectly attributed to Paper, the archive cat.

-------

Jon woke up to the warm snuggle of his lovely fiance and a mouthful of cat fur. 

"Pffff, Paper geerroff," he mumbled, uselessly trying to push the stubborn cat away. The chirping of birds mingled with the sound of highland cows grazing in the field near their cabin. 

After the success of their plan to end Jonah, after the fire had already burned down the horrors of that evil place, it took a while longer for their troubles to be resolved. They had to endure endless questioning and investigations of the police. Jon, who was weakened by the ordeal to the point of needing hospitalization, took a long time to recover and regain his strength. Leitner claimed it was lucky he was cut off from the Eye this early, or the consequences would have been much more serious. The others seemed to have been less affected, but once the archives were completely reduced to ashes they recovered, their jobs burned down along with everything else. 

Sasha found a new job as a researcher in a prestigious institute, nothing supernatural involved. Tim moved on to journalism, utilizing his curiosity and charm to their full potential. Jon and Martin opened a tea & book shop, if only to make Paper a real bookshop cat. They have been slowly setting it up and settling down until... Well, Jon proposed and they took a break. Traveled to Scotland with Paper on an early honeymoon to see the cows and enjoy the quiet. 

And quiet it was. Until Paper shamelessly began purring as loud as a train right in Jon's ear. Jon huffed in fond annoyance and got up, leaning down to give Martin a kiss on the head and then shooing the crime of a cat off to the kitchen. 

"You can't give me a moment of reprieve, can you?" He stretched and followed the cat out the bedroom. 

He filled Paper's bowl and sat on the floor leaning his back on the cabinet, closing his eyes as Paper chewed his food noisily. 

He must have fallen asleep because the next thing he knew, he was awakened by a soft tap on his head. He looked up blearily and smiled. The cat had long since finished eating and found a home in Jon's lap. 

"Morning love." Martin murmured softly, matching his tone to the serene atmosphere. After hesitating a moment, he bent down and sat next to Jon. Jon looked at him adoringly as he absent-mindedly stroked Paper, humming along to his purrs. Martin joined him, petting Paper, their hands occasionally (and very purposefully) brushing against each other. 

After a few minutes of calm silence, Martin spoke up. 

"You know, this reminds me of that first day we met. In the stacks."

Jon smiled at the memory. "Ahh yes, all three of us had a very fateful meeting there, didn't we? God, I was so stressed back then." 

"You handled it pretty well I have to say. Handled my nervousness pretty well too." Martin chuckled. 

"I was lucky you were there. You really helped me calm down." Jon admitted. "Well, you and Paper." Jon added fondly. 

"Paper was a really good archive cat wasn't he?" Martin said, leaning into Jon, pressing a warm, still sleepy kiss on his cheek. Jon closed his eyes, grateful for the events that led up to this moment of pure happiness, with his fiance and his cat. 

"Yes, the best cat in the world."

#Had fun speculating with this one #Hope you enjoy! #tma #the magnus archives #Tma fic #jonathan sims #martin blackwood #s1 archives crew #Jonah magnus #elias bouchard #jurgen leitner #Jonmartin #Fabric Rustles #My tma fic #jonsimsandcats2021 #Jon&cats

[cryinginthebackseat]

you’ve got more poison than sugar - part ii

part i    part iii  AO3 

Fandom: Call Of Duty

Pairing: Russell Adler x Bell

Words: 2.918

Warnings: some mild sexual content and swearings, like usual

Author’s note: okay, i know this one's a little short but i promise there'll be more coming on the next chapter, i promise.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The first time Bell showed her face at Langley, it was two weeks after the program. She wore beige, a ruffled high-neck blouse that made her hazel eyes, like charred nut shells, hard and just about indestructible, popped.

She stood at the lobby, regarding the place like she’d waltzed into a wrong banquet hall, the band played in the background, chandeliers dripping like arctic icicles, the bar drenched in opulent gold.

She didn’t belong here.

But Adler met her there, anyway, Hudson in tow.

“Have I ever done something to him?” Bell asked after the rather short-lived meeting, squinting at the vacant spot Hudson left them. She’d yielded very few words. When she did, it’d been all business, crisp, so it surprised him now to hear her uttering something with more than 2 syllables.

“What do you mean?”

“Have I deliberately done something to piss him off?” she elaborated, quieter, but the glower remained.

Adler carefully studied her behind his tinted shades. It still troubled him to a degree that he couldn’t read her. Like she locked herself off. They say eyes are the window to the soul, but thus far, he saw nothing. Fuck the poets.

“No. At least, not as far as I can tell,” he grits out, curious to see where she was heading with the conversation. “Why?”

Bell hummed, but seemingly unconvinced. A beat, then: “He doesn’t seem to like me that much.”

You don’t belong here, he thought and his face went cagier, back stiffer, but no doubt intrigued. Very much so by this mysteriously curious creature.

Perceptive and diamond-sharp intelligent, he pondered. They might have secured the bag after all.

“It's not you. That’s just as warm and fuzzy you’ll see Hudson with everyone, trust me,” he uttered, hoping that she bought the fib. She did. At least, he thought so. “Come on, Bell, we’ve got a job to do.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Adler finds her outside the garage the next night, smoking alone, reading in secret. The ground is still wet from the rain, straggling cloud wisps and every artery of this place fucking freezes his bones. Bell ditches her gloves inside, but has her coat on, the collar popped up like antennae.

"You aren't cold?" he asks when she doesn’t notice him. Too engrossed in her own bubble. She does look better, though. Park is right about that one at least.

"I'm good," she answers without looking up. "Am I needed for something inside?"

"No, just thought I could use some fresh air."

He’s studying her, raking her from head to toe. Suddenly, he doesn’t care if she would notice him. Then he steps closer, standing next to her, lifting his cigarette to his mouth.

“What are you reading?”

There’s something about this secret element to her that has him on his toes. Everything about her is curious- frustratingly curious, careful, as Bell rolls her neck to meet him. In the low light, she looks quite new, he learns. And his eyes beg for him to linger.  

“Amerika. Kafka,” she says. “Have you read it?”

A subtle shake of his head and, “No.” While Bell nods, silent, like she doesn't know what else to say to him. “Should I? Give it a read?” Adler adds, just to keep the conversation going.

She shrugs, a cloud of smoke escaping her nostrils. “I can’t say that Kafka is ever a favorite of mine, but he really is sui generis. And Amerika is probably the most approachable of all his works? It’s funny too.”

“I never thought I’d hear Kafka and funny in the same sentence.”

“Yeah, well, it’s very subtle. And if only you can understand his nightmarish sense of humor, that is,” she explains, shrugging again, like she’s embarrassed. “I don’t know, maybe you’ll like it.”

Frankly, he hates Kafka. He hates his vatic, dead-eye vision of the world; that acute sense of hopelessness clinging onto his main protagonists like vines, but Adler finds himself nodding, anyway.

“Sure, lend me your copy once you're done with it." If she’s surprised by his answer, she does not tell her. But Adler thinks she’s smiling though- just the barest quirk of her lips, but it’s enough for him to know that she appreciates the gesture.

A brief, unmapped silence ensues.

"I'm sorry, by the way."

Adler arches an eyebrow at her. "For what?"

Bell slots a bookmark into the book, closes it, frowns at it.

"For yesterday. I, uh… I feel like I was being insolent to you.”

He looks sidelong at Bell and tries to read her. Her expression is raw and open, a painting visible through a small tear in the paper. For some reason, that catches him by surprise.

“You already apologized, you know?” Adler teases lamely.

“I know, but still it was uncalled for and very unprofessional of me. You’re my CO, not some random BND agent I’m forced to work with. I shouldn’t have said that," she mumbles softly and sighs, world-weary, heavy, sounding like a woman twice her age. "It will not happen again. I promise you."

"Hey, consider it water under the bridge, kid. You’re in a rather rough place right now, I wouldn’t hold it against you,” he tells her, fond. “What matters is you’re alright. We can’t catch Perseus if you’re green around the gills.”

Her eyes meet his. He meets her back.

“Thank you.” And Bell rotates her body to face him. Mussed brunette hair and sharp cheekbones, mouth kinked up in sympathy as she says, “Is this what you have to put up with all these years?"

He summons a smirk. "With you? More or less."

And then the woman does the unexpected; Bell laughs. She fucking laughs. Delicate sounding, like a tinkling glass, petals wrapped in satin, moonbeams through frosted windows. It dies, too soon to his liking. Adler privately lets the sound of her laughter replays in his head, as if trying to pocket it.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

It’s only after Ukraine when he discovers that she smells different. That wintry floral smell of hers that he’s accustomed to is commingling with something else.

But now-

Now, there's music in the air.

Sims does this sometimes, bringing his Zenith Trans-Oceanic, or as he would call it the Tranny, to the safehouse and they would tune in to international radio stations. Cream's Sunshine Of Your Love is playing- or more specifically, their song is 5 seconds away from being cut off abruptly by the DJ. The song reminds him of Vietnam, regrettably. The root of all madness.

“Next up, is my favorite ever track-to-track transition on an album. This is Pink Floyd’s Brain Damage and-”

Adler stops whatever it is he’s scribbling. He sits up, ramrod straight.

“Mind switching to another station?��� he asks suddenly, glances up at Sims quickly who, as Adler suspected, is giving him a rather odd look.

“Why?”

"I've always hated Pink Floyd." Only because he’s out of reason. Only because he can feel Bell’s confused stare, searing into his temple. Only because it’s the only way of escaping this. "Change it, please."

Sims opens his mouth. The unspoken: how about that time in Denver?

The telling jerk of Adler’s lips warns him not to ask.

The other man clamps his mouth shut, seemingly gets the message and switches to a different station. He never brings his radio again.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Frank Woods is exactly how Adler saw him last time- or since Hue City, that is: tigerish and intimidating- a kick in the head voice, a hurricane in the shape of a man and he is making his way to him right now.

“Can I talk to you for a sec?”

"So talk."

Woods shakes his head. "Not here."

Adler looks at him at last now, curiosity creeping over him. He then stubs his cigarette, nods once and leads them both to his office.

Once they’re inside, he locks the door, secures the blinds.

“What is it?” Adler takes a seat behind his desk. Woods remains standing. He paces around the room, a hand on his bearded chin.

“What the fuck is going on with your girl?”

Adler doesn’t know which one is worse, the fact that Woods manages to sniff out something going on with Bell or that he just addresses her as his girl. Either way, it's bad. Either way, Adler should have expected the former issue. Woods is astute as he is dangerous. There's a reason why the CIA gave the green light for Mason and Hudson to save him in Da Nang all those years ago, after all.

"What about her?" Adler asks, even-toned, giving nothing away. Even though he is in the ‘need to know’ column regarding Bell’s brainwashing, this is something Adler initially wishes he could keep under wraps.

“Don’t bullshit me, Adler. She has that look on her face- I see it in her eyes. The exact same look Mason has been wearing since ‘Nam,” Woods tells him, point-blank, never being the one to settle for niceties. After Hudson, Adler thinks he simply can’t tolerate the agency anymore.

“I saw it all, remember? Had a fucking front row seat to his relapse and shit, so don’t tell me she’s alright. Not when it looks like she could snap out of it any moment.” Woods has his hands on the table and looks at him dead-on. “Tell me I’m right. Tell me there is something wrong with her.”

He regards the other man coolly. Woods is no longer asking. Adler is out of move.

“You're right,” he answers simply, eventually, tipping his king over on its side, stopping the clock. "Did you talk to Hudson regarding this?"

"Since when did I report to Agent stick-up-his-ass? Fuck no. That's why I came straight to you.” Woods heaves a heavy sigh, like he’s the one with all these burdens. “Now, what the hell’s wrong with her?”

“She’s suffering from brain damage."

“Shit. All that ‘cause of MK-Ultra?”

“One of the few factors that caused it, yes.”

His mouth goes flat. "How bad is it?”

“Bad. We’re trying to minimize for any collateral as we speak, at least until we finally get our hands on Perseus. But she… she might not make it.” Adler leans back in his chair, like his body feels heavy all of the sudden.

Woods nods. Uncharacteristically silent, looking strangely contemplative, sympathetic even. That should be categorized as an oddity itself, Woods and him, two proud Americans, Vietnam veterans and she’s just another red, another blood they would indubitably sacrifice for their country and they’re sympathizing with her? Yet something deep inside Adler, something resonates like the throat of a storm, sinks its teeth into him, confounds him, every time he thinks of her.

Woods crosses his arms over his chest, glances at the door, as if someone might knock anytime soon, then back to him.

"So, what's the plan?" He quickly adds, "if things go south, what are you gonna do?"

"It won't come to that. She'll come through, I know it," Adler counters, suddenly defensive. Whatever the use of his tone indicates, Woods ignores it.

"You sure about that?”

"Are you doubting me?” Adler spits out a retort. A quiet fury grasps him tight, but he forces himself to keep under a tight lid.

Woods holds his hands up in mock surrender.

"Look, I’m just saying, that woman is a loose cannon- you can’t be too careful."

"We have everything under control, Woods. And this is the least of your worry right now."

"Alright, okay. If you say you and Park have her contained already, then fine. I trust you,” he says and heads for the door.

“Oh, and one more thing,” Woods says again. He’s facing the door, back to him. “Whatever happens, keep Mason in the dark about any of this."

“Of course. He isn’t on a need to know basis from the very start, you know that.”

"Good. ‘cause the less he knows the better." Woods pauses like he's constructing an entire sentence in his head. He peers over his shoulder. "I mean it. He’s been through enough. I don’t know which ground you crawled up from, but up here, some people implement this kind of civility to other people.”

The words sting, yet Adler stares back at him, seemingly unfazed. "What, you’re saying that I’m simply heartless?”

“Nah,” Woods says, satirical and sardonic. “You’re just Adler.” And with that, he’s gone.

1976

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

It was eight o'clock on a mid-September evening and Adler found himself coming home to an empty house.

His wife had already left a week prior, crossing the country with a self-proclaimed film critic she'd met at the premiere of The Shining last summer, but Adler didn't know that yet.

He went to the kitchen. Dropped his suitcase, pulled off his coat and scarf. He reeked of cigarettes, cheap air freshener and jet fuel- air travel is simply sickening, in terms of its cost and smell- and in a desperate need of a hot bath.

"Honey?" He switched the lights on. She wasn't here. So Adler headed upstairs, to their room where they would rest their bones every night for the past 15 years. The door was slightly ajar. He expected to see her sleeping from under the duvet, hair splaying all over the pillow.

What he found was a folded note on his bedside table. He stared at it, his heart at his throat, fearing the worst, the unimaginable. He picked the letter and unfolded it.

Forgive me.

Russell,

Live or die, but don't poison everything .

His head did pirouette. So, this was it. This was what it felt like, he thought.

Not heartbreak, not sadness. But a collapse of the world- his world and all he could do was watch from the sidelines.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

1981

Adler stares at the words now, sleeves rolled up, anatomical heart. The paper is fading, wrinkled and it smells like smoke and decay and tears, capped with something akin to regret.

It has his name on it, begins with it, and ends with an apology, written in cursive. Like microscopic snakes dancing around his peripheral vision, hissing in his ears.

Live or die, but don't poison everything.

No one likes to be told that they are sick, but Russell Adler has learned to acknowledge it, embrace it, weaponize it. Her words mean zero shit to him now. You can't condemn someone to the depths of hell when it's the only place he's known all his life.

So, he takes the letter for the last time, remembering how the ink used to smudge his calloused fingers, crumples it up, that satisfying crunch dins in his palm, and tosses it into the fireplace.

The paper crackles. Good fucking riddance. It really takes all this time for him to grow the guts, apparently, and he just stares and stares as the fire begins to engulf everything, wiping away his past failure.

He promises he would never fail again, at anything. No matter what the cost, failure is never going to be an option.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Bell arrives at the garage with frantic eyes, a half-burnt cigarette between her lips and uncharacteristically late. Color peppering her cheeks- red, like an apple bitten into.

“I’m sorry, I overslept,” is her excuse, but she’s looking at the room strangely, he thinks, almost like she’s seeking a particular face.

When she makes her way to her desk, when she whizzes past him by the board and her planet is entering his orbit for the first time in the morning, Adler, as if by accident or by design, inhales deeply.

His breath snags.

She smells like someone else.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

(Someone fucked her last night)

The telephone rings in the distance.

“Sims. Yeah, sure, let me get him. Hold on.” He puts the call on hold. “Doc, you might wanna take this one.”

(Someone was in her bed; beside her, above her, under her. Inside her. He imagines her fingers digging into the mattress as they rolled her onto her stomach, mouth trailing down the ladder of her spine. Their breaths intermingled in the seraphic glow of her hotel room)

Adler mechanically crosses the room and picks the receiver.

“Adler.”

(If he herds her away from prying eyes and pushes down the collar of her shirt, would he see the evidence there, taunting him? If he kisses her, would he taste them instead of her? )

"Perhaps," he says over the phone, his face hard. "But my decision is final. I'm sending Woods and Mason to Yamantau. They'll leave in a few days."

(Did they make her come?)

"Of course. Why do you think I chose them for this mission?"

(If she made them?)

“Most likely, but we're prepared for this- you know we are," Adler says, customer service polite, an old recording on a playback. "Right. Well, that concludes the matter then. Yeah, you have a wonderful day to yourself.”

Adler hangs up the telephone. Breathes out a sigh. He pinches the bridge of his nose for a few good seconds, before remembering that he has an audience.

"Oof. Sounds rough," comments Sims, dark eyes slanting in concern.

(Maybe she likes that, rough. Teeth biting the back of her shoulder, that sweet juxtaposition of pain and pleasure coursing through their veins, his hand curling around her throat from behind as she pants and mewls like-)

(But this isn’t about him. Never about him)

"That's one way to put it."

Someone else fucked her. It shouldn't leave an acrid taste in his mouth, but it does.

#russell adler #russell adler x bell #adler x bell #cod bell #cod #call of duty #call of duty black ops #call of duty cold war #cod cold war #alex mason #frank woods #helen park #lawrence sims #jason hudson #lazar azoulay

[lunaschild2016]

One Track Mind (Part 2)

A/N: Countdown to BDay Posting! 

Rating: M (Language and Sexual Content)

@kenzieam @pathybo @jaihardy @every-jai @ericdauntless @beautifulramblingbrains @bookgirlthings @jojuarez26 @oddsnendsfanfics @offroadinjandals @singingpeople @iammarylastar @irasancti @captstefanbrandt @clublulu333 @fuckthatfeeling @tigpooh67 @ex-bookjunky @jughead-wuz-here @badassbaker @beanzjellly@beltz2016 @meganbee15@affabletimelady @scorpio2009 @gylisaa @geekybeyondallreason @violetsonthelam @kyloswarstars @emmysrandomthoughts @kgurew @beltzboys2015-blog @slytherin-princess-25273 @whatwouldbuffydo666 @jaiboomer11 @holamor @wealwayskeepfighting

**I promise I have put the read more option in but it has been glitching.**

Eric Coulter was a busy man and he liked it that way. Some of it was by design but mostly it came down to too much to do and not enough hours in the day to do it. He was the youngest leader of Dauntless to date and the newest one, having only been made a leader a little over a year ago, so the other seasoned leaders were all too happy letting Eric pile the work on himself. It freed them up to have lives outside of their jobs. It also helped him to get the most sought-after position of next in line to be the second in command to the Senior Dauntless, Max.

He was damn proud of that fact and he had practically killed himself to get there. Long hours of bullshit meetings and paperwork, grunt work in the compound and outside of it, were what mostly took up his time. He also had the added...pleasure...of overseeing training alongside Four.

So yeah, Eric worked hard...worked his ass off but he had always been one to subscribe to the work hard then play harder attitude Dauntless was known for. He just didn’t do it on a nightly basis like almost everyone else in the faction.

No, the normal revelry that the rest of the faction got up to had never really held appeal for him. He worked best when he was motivated and nothing was a better motivator for him than a long-awaited reward. It could be anything from getting a new tattoo to allowing himself one night to get drunk, or it could be what he has been looking forward to and planning for almost over six months now.

Nothing has ever tested him like holding out and waiting all these months has done. It has had him on edge and at times unfocused. Which is just unacceptable in his book but there had been nothing for it.

There was no way he had been going to jeopardize his position just because he wanted to fuck an initiate. Then there was the chance that someone might find out and then shit would be said about her sleeping her way to becoming a member. Not that it hasn’t happened before with other members, trainers, even a few leaders; but to Eric, it was all beneath him. It was damn sure beneath anyone he would choose to make his.

She either made it on her own or she didn’t and then she was gone, simple as that. Made it she had and not with all that bad of a ranking. Considering he had written her off with one glance on day one. She was tiny and not just in height either, her waist, wrists, ankles...they all looked like all he had to do was wrap his hand around her and give one good twist; she would break like a twig. Maybe because of how she looked he thought she was just as weak internally.

He had been wrong and he had never been so pissed about something...while also getting turned on. The harder he pushed and tried to break her, the stronger she became, and the stronger he felt about her. Until it all came to a head just before the initiates would be headed into fear landscapes. He walked away because if he hadn’t he would have lost it right then. After that, he was content to watch her from the shadows.

Occasionally he would pop up and get in her personal space. Just giving them both enough of each other to tease before he would fade away again.

So what if those times happened to be anytime he thought some other asshole was getting it in his head he might have a chance? He felt no guilt about keeping competition away while reminding her who she really belonged to, who she really wanted.

It was a game he had played longer than he had intended to at the start, his responsibilities being what they were. But that was all about to change. He was about to get his due in more ways than one. For the past five months, Eric had been working hard on a certain former training rival to get his head out of his ass and step up. It finally paid off and now all the rookie shit jobs he had been stuck with, he could gleefully hand over to Four.

Eric was even being given some much needed time off. It would still be working time off considering the assignment he was being given was a conference that all factions had to have at least two leaders attend as well as a representative for a few key departments. The only other one he gave a shit about besides him being there was Nikki.

Had she not busted her own ass just as hard as he had been doing so that she moved up from what was basically an orderly position in the clinic, to now running the administration side of the clinic, he was sure that he would have found some other way to sate himself. That she had shown just as much drive as he had pleased him to no end. So what had been plans to reward himself with just one night, was turning into something more.

Just a few more days that he needed to stay focused on work before he would turn every bit of mind and body to get what has become an obsession to him.

Nikki looks at the bag laying open on her bed with a frown as she mentally reviews and revises what is already packed. It seems like she has been doing this for at least the last day. The first time she had everything in the bag but it was so full she couldn’t even close it. Out everything came and then she began to try and pare down to what was only really needed. The problem was, as far as she was concerned, she needed everything she had laid out.

This was a big deal, this inter-faction conference she was attending. She was representing Dauntless’ Clinic and wanted to make the right impression. The clinic was relying on her to be able to negotiate, mainly with Erudite, but also Amity and Abnegation for many items and objectives. Nikki had the skills, the knowledge, and the backbone to not give in to the bullshit of any of the factions; which is the main reason she was elected, but she also had the constant presence of insecurity that has always plagued her. Her fear sims were full of the different ways that insecurity manifested but she hadn’t needed them to tell her the biggest one for her; that she lacks what makes a Dauntless great.

It isn’t like she is always thinking about it but it can strike her at odd times, like now, the night before she is supposed to head to where the conference is being hosted in Amity. Her need and drive to constantly prove to everyone she belongs and deserves every damn thing she has been able to achieve for herself, has her worrying the nails on one hand while her eyes dart between all the outfits she has laid out.

Movement at the doorway to her room has her jerking the hand away from her mouth and her head snaps up. Her roommate and best friend, Lea, is smirking at her as she leans against the doorway.

“What?” Nikki snaps out after picking up a pair of heels and staring at them hard, trying to match them to a few outfits so that she doesn’t have a million pairs of shoes in her bag.

“You know, you could just get a larger bag.” Her friend shrugs as she walks in with a smile and her eyes filled with amusement but also understanding. “Of course, if you make it any bigger, it will officially be taller than you.”

Nikki rolls her eyes and scoffs but her friend is right. The large black duffel bag is already just at the same height as she is when she has it strapped over her back. If she goes any bigger, she is sure the laws of gravity and physics will come down on her and make her look ridiculous under the weight of it. And she refuses to resort to asking someone else to take her damn bag for her. That is such an Erudite thing to do and the is no way she wants to be compared to them at all.

“I think I have it sorted out. I have three bottoms that can be interchanged with several different tops for the meetings that I have to attend. Then the rest of the outfits are for the various activities that Amity is hosting.”

Lea nods and sighs wistfully. “Wish I could go but Max wants me to stay behind and make sure that Four is covered should he need any help. I thought when I got promoted to Max’s assistant I was done having to deal with either him or Eric.”

Nikki gave a knowing nod. She and Lea had become friends towards the end of the initiation that they were both in. It wasn’t that they were unfriendly towards each other but both had been so caught up in their own fear that they wouldn’t make it as well as the promise to themselves that they weren’t going to let that happen. It had caused them both to keep to themselves during training.

Lea had been Erudite, smart as hell but not the most physically capable. She was taller than Nikki, everyone was taller, but they both had their own body issues they had to overcome. What had really made them friends was one night by the chasm midway through the fear sims. Everyone else was drinking but Nikki had so much on her mind that partying was far from what she wanted to do. So she had wandered around until she found Lea climbing a wall known for that activity. It was her faint mutterings that had caught Nikki’s attention and made her join the former Erudite.

Turns out that Nikki wasn’t the only one that had been harassed and tormented by one of their trainers but for Lea, it had been Four. After that, they two began to share more about themselves and their time in Dauntless but Nikki had held on to the biggest, and what she thought was the most dangerous secret she had, her attraction to Eric.

It wasn’t until the two young women had decided to share an apartment and had already started their jobs that it all came out. Over some beers in their apartment after they had both had the crappiest week they had ever had in Dauntless, and that was saying something because they both had to spend the night in the clinic after losing fights spectacularly, that were so bad they needed to get drunk and vent.

Lea let it slip that she was torn between hating Four with the passion of a thousand burning suns, she could get very metaphorical when she was drunk,  and just wanting to rip all of his clothes off right there. Nikki hadn’t meant to admit her own attraction to Eric, it had just come out. They were secret allies in the quest to learn as much as they could about their respective crushes while also trying to stay as far the fuck away from them as possible.

Four had just become a leader and since Lea was the assistant to leadership it meant she had to see him way too much for her liking. She had thought she was getting a break when she got promoted to being Max’s leader after the girl that was there before stepped down so she could raise her kid.

Lea had been scheduled to go along with Max but there had been a big change and one that was throwing both of the girls for a huge tailspin. Not only was Nikki’s friend and partner in crime not going to attend the conference with her like they had been planning, but they each were now going to be forced to face the very people they had been trying to avoid.

Eric hadn’t been slated to attend the conference initially. That was until Four took a leader spot and Eric was confirmed as being the one that would be replacing Harrison as Max’s second in command. That meant that Max, Harrison, and Eric would all be attending. The two main leaders of Dauntless and Eric, who would be training, in essence, for Harrison’s position.

Meanwhile, Lea had to stay home and because she had already been an assistant so long and the leaders trusted her, she was asked to work with Four for the week. They had been disappointed of course, that they couldn’t do the things they had planned to be able to do together during the week but there had also been an unspoken and understood undercurrent of excitement.

Not to mention that because Lea was originally going to be accompanying Max, as his assistant her lodging was going to be in the same building or area as his. She had asked for and gotten permission for Nikki to be able to room with her. With her not going, Nikki had thought she would be moved to somewhere else for her stay, but Lea told her last night that she was still being put in the same room as planned. It had been too late to arrange for anything different. She would have the room to herself but it made her even more nervous knowing that Eric would also be staying close by.

“Let’s go over what you have laid out and I will see if I can help you shove it in there enough to close it,” Lea said with a laugh as she brought Nikki back to her present situation.

Nikki smiled at her in relief and the two women began to work out the best way to pack what might as well be her entire wardrobe for a week-long trip.

Nerves and worries forgotten in the excitement and talk about what might be in store for her...if she only knew it would be nothing like she could ever imagine.

#divergent #divergent fanfiction #divergent au #eric coulter #eric coulter fanfiction #eric x oc #jai courtney #smut

[mama-m1na]

Blood Moon Circus: Chapter 1

                                                      ~~~I~~~

The sound of bells echoed throughout the small magic shop as the door opened and closed.

“Thanks for coming!” a ravenette chirped from behind the counter, “I hope the charm works out for you!”

The female had her long, black hair tied into a low bun held by two hair sticks with crystals at the end, some stray hairs out as proof of her day of work, as her brown irises speckled with golden flecks focused on the berry juice that stained her golden-brown skin.

With a sigh she wiped her hands on the apron that was tied around her waist, over the plain black dress she wore. The pentagram pendant over her heart seemed to glisten in the sunlight that entered through the windows.

The bells rang once again as the door opened causing the female to look up to see a slim, pale boy with a pair of dark brown prosthetic eyes and long black hair that is tied up in a ponytail with bangs that pass his chin, covering most of his emotionless face. 

“Haruto,” the female smiled as she brushed the stray hairs out of her face, “did something happen?”

The male said nothing as he held out an envelope addressed to her.

“The letter from the Chief,” she whispered as she came around the counter to grab the envelope.

With ease she opened the envelope and began to read the contents of the letter.

“Okay, good news and bad news to tell the others when I get home,” the ravenette chuckled as she looked at the clock to see it was five o’clock in the afternoon, “help me close up?”

The male nodded and began to put some of the supplies that were out back in their spots while the female went into the back to change out of her uniform.

 It was around five thirty when the two were done and completely locked up.

They lived about ten minutes away from the shop so they just walked together back to their shared home with the female talking about her day in order to fill the silence. 

Throughout the walk, the male only gazed at where the female would be ‘seeing’ the familiar sight of her unique purple soul.

“Rhamina,” the male said softly as they stood in front of their door holding onto the female’s left hand.

The ravenette looked up to the younger male with a smile and took his face in her hands before resting her forehead on his.

“We’re opening a new chapter in our lives, Haruto,” she whispered with her closed eyes, “We’re going to get your eyes back soon, I can feel it.”

Suddenly the door slammed open to reveal a dark skinned teenager with an irritated look on her face.

The sound caused both teenagers to jump back from each other as they turned to their housemate

“Can you guys just get inside and stop being so ‘lovey dovey’?” she snapped with a candy bar in her hand, “If you’re going to do that shit just become a couple already!”

“Tijarah, we’re just close friends,” Rhamina sighed as she and Haruto walked into the house, closing the door behind them.

“Close friends my ass!” another female voice yelled from the kitchen before a head of brown hair peeked into the hallway, “Are always  together!”

“So what?!” the ravenette retorted while taking off her shoes and putting them on the shoe rack, “Who doesn’t like cuddles?!”

“You!” the two teenagers exclaimed going about finding more snacks in the kitchen.

“Sam,” Rhamina said addressing the brunette with tanned skin, “You always try to tickle me so of course I’m going to avoid when you do that.”

“And you always try to cuddle when I’m trying to do important shit like pay for the bills on the house and when I was sorting out our applications for the Ibadora Expedition,” the ravenette scolded, turning to the dark skinned female before turning to walk into the living room, “Oh and that reminds me, the letter from the Chief came in.”

“It did?” both females asked simultaneously as they scrambled to get to the living room where Rhamina and Haruto were on the couch watching an anime with the male laying his head across the females lap.

“What did it say?” Sam asked leaning over the back of the couch.

“Are we going or not?” Tijarah asked, almost tripping on where the floor transitioned from tile to carpet.

“I was going to wait till everyone was home to explain but just know there’s good and bad news,” the ravenette explained while keeping her eyes on the screen while her fingers were messing with the male’s hair.

It was silent for a few moments before the ravenette turned her head to the siblings behind her and asked, “By the way, where are Kerstin and Chloe? Kerstin’s shift should have ended at four and we already took Chloe out of school for the expedition.”

“They went to the park with Abby, G-Lo, and Jamie,” Tijarah explained before coming around to sit on the second couch.

“And you didn’t go, Sam?” Rhamina asked resuming her pets when she felt the male tap on her hand.

“I didn’t feel like walking anywhere,” the brunette shrugged sitting with Tijarah on the second couch while looking at the screen, “So we’re watching ‘Black Butler: Book of Circus’?”

It was about an hour till the two other Filipinos came home.

“Welcome back,” Rhamina said getting up from her spot to stretch a bit, “Go eat then we need to talk.”

“About what?” Chloe asked already going for the poke the others ordered for dinner along with Kerstin.

“The letter from the Chief came in today,” Tijarah answered with her eyes glued to the TV.

“Fuck!” Kerstin coughed as she choked on her food in surprise.

“Oh, shit,” Chloe said a bit nervous, “Is it a good letter?”

“Good and bad,” Rhamina answered with a shrug.

“How?” Kerstin asked.

The ravenette finally let the others look at the letter and said, “They basically said we can go but only if we take the Hunter Exam and pass because they only want hunters going.”

“That’s fucked up,” Tijarah said as she read over Kerstin’s shoulder, “They didn’t say shit about that in the applications, tests, or interviews.”

“Yeah, but think about it. The deadlines for the acceptance of applicants have already passed and they’re giving us an extension in order to actually qualify,” Rhamina reasoned, cracking her back over the couch, “That means they actually want us on the team.”

“So when are the Hunter Exams?” Chloe asked looking up at the ravenette while glaring at the male who was laying on her.

“They take place next week in Dan Siego,” Rhamina replied without hesitation.

“How do you know they’re in Dan Siego?” Sam asked while taking her dishes to the kitchen.

“The peasant from last month was actually planning on infiltrating the exam after he had gotten what he needed from us,” the ravenette replied, “I of course took some of his things before we burned down his house.”

“And how do you know it’s accurate?” Kerstin asked with a smirk.

“I called up someone who owed me a favor,” she chuckled.

“So we’re going?”

“If we want to go to Ibadora, yes.” 

Seven days later all six members of the household were all seated in a van that they had no clue where it came from.

“So, Kerstin, where exactly did you get this van?” Rhamina asked from behind the wheel despite her protests of doing so.

“You don’t need to know where I got the van,” Kerstin said pulling up a dating sim on her phone, “Just know that we have and we’re using it.”

“You better have swapped the license plate on this before I started driving if you got this illegally,” the ravenette said looking at the darkette through the rear view mirror.

“Mina!” Chloe said in a scolding tone.

“Shut the fuck up, Chloe, we’ve done worse and you know that,” Sam said, “you don’t have a place to talk.”

“Yeah!” Kerstin said looking up momentarily from her phone, “And no shit I swapped the plates. This isn’t the first time I’ve done this.”

The seventeen-year-old at the wheel nodded before hooking her phone to the blue tooth and played her playlist properly labeled ‘Stuff’ because that’s what it was. 

The playlist was a culmination of all the music the teen took a liking to since she was in middle school. That being said the genres ranged from rock to sea shanties and German rock to early 2000’s J-pop.

It was around three in the afternoon when they reached the site of the Hunter Exams which was supposedly located under a shady looking Asian restaurant in the poor part of Dan Siego.

“Hmm, looks like it’s closed today,” Rhamina said getting back into the van after stepping out to check the sign on the door, “Still probably prepping.”

“If this is even the right place,” Tijarah scoffed.

“It is the right place,” Rhamina said as she backed out and began to search for a hotel, “Just use En to check. There a lot of Nen users down there, probably the proctors.”

As soon as Rhamina got to the hotel she told her companions to just get their overnight things and immediately booked an open suite opposed to getting separate rooms.

“Mina, you’re so fucking extra,” Tijarah said as they went up to the tenth floor where their suite was.

“Hey, it fits all of us and it was only 25,571 jenny,” the ravenette shrugged as all she held was her drawstring purse in her left hand and closed, light purple parasol in her right hand, “And it’s only for tonight so I wanted to treat us.”

“Yeah, we’ll probably be stuck underground for a few days waiting for the rest of the rest of the applicants,” Kerstin reasoned, “So I’m going to enjoy this for now.”

“... So do y’all want to go get Korean barbecue for dinner later?” Rhamina asked as they settled in earning excited hoots from Chloe, “Like Kerstin said we’re not going to be getting a break for a while so we should treat ourselves.” 

“All I can eat Korean shit?” Tijarah asked with a smirk, “Hell yeah.”

At around six in the afternoon Rhamina drove them to the outer part of Dan Siego and Kerstin asked, “Aren’t we going to Convoy?”

“No, it gets too packed and shady when it gets later especially with the Hunter Exams rolling around so we’re going to a bigger place that has a boba shop right next to it,” Rhamina answered as she kept her focus on the road before her eyes narrowed.

“Fuck,” she hissed as she tightened her grip on the wheel.

“What’s wrong?” Sam asked looking to peek at what was going on.

“We might have an unwanted guest joining us,” the ravenette said as she turned into the parking lot, “Hisoka is in the area.”

“Are you serious?” Kerstin asked with wide eyes as Chloe grabbed onto the closest person to her which was Haruto, “That fucker is so creepy!”

“I know but we’re in public so he won’t be picking a fight so he probably has some information,” Rhamina sighed as she put the brakes on and turned off the car but not exiting, “So we ready to eat?”

“Mama Mina, I don’t want to eat anymore,” Chloe said shaking at the thought of the psychotic magician.

“Well, we’re already here so we’re going to deal with it and he might not even come up to us so we should be fine,” the seventeen-year-old said as she got out of the van before opening the other doors, “Come on, let’s go.”

As soon as they entered the establishment, the smell of meat and various other foods entered their noses making them forget about the magician. 

The dinner was going well until the ravenette excused herself to go to the restroom.

As soon as Rhamina had disappeared out of sight an unsettling aura had filled the restaurant and the group turned to the entrance to see the familiar redhead.

“Shit!” Kerstin hissed as his head immediately snapped over to their table.

“Well it looks like everyone’s here except for older sister,” the male stated appearing right next to their table, “Where is she?”

“You don’t need to know that,” Haruto growled sending an empty glare in Hisoka’s direction.

“She really does bring that pet of hers everywhere, doesn’t she?” the magician pushed causing the male to abruptly stand.

“Hisoka, stop harassing my friends,” snapped Rhamina as she walked back to place a hand on her companion’s shoulder, “Haruto, calm down and enjoy your meal okay?”

The male said nothing but sat down, keeping the sneer on his face.

“What do you want, Hisoka?” she then asked standing right behind the noiret.

“I just heard that someone was taking the Hunter Exam and thought I should pay them a visit,” the magician said messing around with some playing cards as his eyes locked with the teens.

“I’ll be right back,” she said towards her table before following the male.

“Wait, Mina, will you be okay?” Sam asked, “Should one of us come with you?”

“No, I’ll be fine,” replied Rhamina with a shrug, “We’re just going to have a little chat.”

The group could only watch through the window as the oldest person in their group stood facing the older male. 

It honestly looked like they were having a normal conversation; however, the narrowed eyes aimed at the magician said otherwise.

After about five minutes the ravenette nodded and the two turned away from each other before Rhamina walked back inside towards the table.

“So what did he want?” Tijarah asked as the ravenette took her seat.

“Believe it or not he didn’t want anything,” she replied before taking a bite of the bulgogi in front of her, “He was just here to give us a warning.”

“About?”

“The Ibadora expedition and a certain group of spiders,” she said causing silence to cross the table.

“God dammit,” Kerstin said while stretching her back, “Those fuckers ruin everything.”

“No kidding,” Rhamina scoffed with a deep sigh as Haruto placed a hand on her back.

“Hey, Mina, remember when we first met them?” Sam asked attempting to hold back a chuckle.

“No!” she exclaimed slamming a fist down on the table, “We don’t need to remember that!”

“Yeah, you guys were at a job when you met them right?” Tijarah asked as Rhamina and Kerstin looked at each other, “What happened exactly?”

“Yeah, you never told us,” Chloe added as Kerstin and Rhamina turned to glare at a smirking Sam.

“Well-” “Kerstin, would you like to come with me to get some boba?” Rhamina asked with red covering her face as she interrupted the brunette.

“Uh yeah let’s go do that,” Kerstin said with her face equally as red.

However, before either female could even walk away from the table they were both knocked off their feet and back into their chairs as they suddenly scooted forward and were unable to scoot back out.

“You guys ain’t going anywhere until I hear what the fuck happened on that night,” Tijrah said as the two looked down to see Tijarah’s shadows connected to the shadows of their chairs.

“Tijarah, fuck your Shadow Lock,” Kerstin growled as she continued to struggle against the chair while Rhamina took out headphones from her purse and immediately began playing some anime music to block out whatever Sam was about to start saying.

“Mhm, Shadow Lock lets me control things through their shadows so you ain’t moving till I let you,” Tijarah explained before turning back to Sam, “Now continue.”

“So we were on a job to take out a guy and retrieve something he had stolen from the client, so we infiltrated this place he went to a lot with me being a waitress while Mina and Kerstin were performers since I can’t sing or dance for shit,” Sam said before bursting out into laughter.

“That is the one job I regret accepting,” Kerstin shuddered as Chloe and Tijarah looked confused.

“I’m lost, this sounds like something you’d normally do,” Tijarah said with a raised brow.

“Yeah,” Chloe added, “We do undercover jobs like that all the time.”

“No, the place we were undercover in was a club so the costumes and songs they were performing were pretty… showy,” the brunette explained while Rhamina just continued eating with the music blocking out the story.

“What?!” Chloe exclaimed, “Hoot! Hoot! Hoot! Hoot!”

“There is no way Mina-chan would agree to being a performer in a place like that,” Tijarah said before her eyes widened in realization, “Unless you didn’t tell her it was a club.”

“We didn’t,” Kerstin said after taking a deep breath, “I thought I could handle that considering all the clubs we’ve been to but it’s so different when all the eyes are on you and when it’s in an underground club.”

“Then came the night of when we were going to finish the job. Mina had just finished her final solo song of the night while Kerstin was doing hers when one of the other girls came into the dressing room saying one of the patrons wanted her in one of the rooms,” Sam said earning looks of concern from Chloe, Tijarah, and Haruto, “It’s not like what you guys are thinking though. That club was strict on having the performers only be entertainers and not prostitutes.”

“Yeah,” Rhamina sighed putting her earbuds away as they had run out of battery, “We were basically like geisha.”

“So, I’m guessing the patron was someone from the spiders?” Chloe asked as she adjusted her glasses.

“Not just someone, fucking all of thirteen of them, Hisoka included,” Rhamina hissed with a small sneer, “I was seated next to their boss and it was all fine. None of them made any unwanted advances and it was pretty fun until we heard an explosion from another room.”

“At that point I was with the target since he requested me and I had just finished him off,” Kerstin explained as Sam and Rhamina nodded.

“I knew what happened as soon as I heard the noise and stood to try and group up but I was stopped by the boss holding onto my wrist,” the ravenette continued before brushing hair out of her face, “And as soon as I locked eyes with him I knew I fucked up. He knew from the beginning who I was and I noticed some of the group try to move but I froze them to the ground and busted the door open using another ability.”

“I was running over to Kerstin but when I saw the door just explode I looked inside and saw a really pale guy just holding onto Mina and that’s when she turned around and told us that we needed to get out fast,” Sam explained, her tone lowered despite the loud noise around them, “So that’s what I did. I ran to Kerstin and saw her searching the body while there was a hole in the wall.”

“I managed to get myself free and started running to the room but unfortunately for me the boss could hold his liquor and he followed me. Kerstin and Sam were already at the hole in the wall but I knew we couldn’t escape normally and told them to transform,” Rhamina said clenching her right fist, “I turned around to punch him with ice encasing my fist to hopefully deal more damage but he caught that and got my other wrist as well. Being in a state of panic, I made the ice explode and got some shards in my arm while I got cut across the bridge of my nose but I managed to get out through the hole in the wall and transform.”

“But wait there’s more,” Kerstin said with a fake smile and jazz hands.

“Three of them managed to catch up with us and a fight started,” Sam sighed.

“Yep, and guess who the rest were chasing,” Rhamina said with a strained voice, “I didn’t even have the item they wanted and they knew that. They were fucking testing us and that pissed me off and I almost ran their boss through with my parasol but I stopped.”

She left out a huff before continuing, “For whatever reason I didn’t have it in me to kill him.”

“It’s probably because he was hot,” Sam said under her breath.

“What was that?” Rhamina scoffed, “Did I really just hear that?”

“What?!” Sam asked, “He is!”

“Yeah,” the ravenette sighed full of disappointment, “But that’s not why I hesitated! I’ve killed more people before so why couldn’t I kill someone in the way of our mission?”

“Anyways,” Rhamina said tracing the circumference of her glass, “I told him that his face pissed me off and turned to fly away but he asked me, ‘Does your heart weigh over your head?’ and I fucking sent my Blizzard Roses at him before going to the hotel we were staying in for the time being.”

“You know he’s kind of right, Mina,” Kerstin said taking a sip of her milk tea.

“Yeah, I know,” the ravenette replied squeezing her glass, “That’s what pissed me off so much.”

Haruto laid a hand over the one that was clenching the glass and Rhamina sighed before releasing the tension.

“So that’s what happened and ever since that night they’ve been trying to screw over some of our other jobs,” she explained, “I tell the younger ones to abort missions if they show up for a reason.”

“You know what I’ve noticed?” Chloe asked.

“What?”

“They seem to show up with jobs that involve any of you three,” she continued earning facepalms from the others. 

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Kerstin asked as the other two let out a chuckle.

“How did we not notice that?” Rhamina chuckled as she shook her head, “Anyways let’s finish eating and get some boba, we’ve been here for a while and I don’t like driving in Dan Siego when it’s dark.”

They did finish their meal and Kerstin somehow managed to take some of it with her before they walked next door to the boba shop; however, as the sun began to set they just enjoyed their drinks in the van as Rhamina drove back to the hotel.

As many of the individuals were halfway done by the time they got back to the suite, Rhamina only had two sips as she was focused on driving for the most part. 

“Mina, I just realized you could have made Sam stop talking about that night,” Kerstin said as they walked into the suite.

“Not without causing a scene and probably being kicked out,” Rhamina replied as she took her taro drink from Haruto’s hand, “my abilities are too noticeable.”

“Not my fault you chose really flashy Hatsu abilities,” the darkette shrugged earning a giggle from Rhamina.

“Says the one who’s ability literally turns them into a flaming bullet,” she chuckled as she took off her shoes.

In response Kerstin dramatically placed a hand over her heart and asked, “Are you saying that it isn’t useful?”

“I never said that. I’m only saying that your ability is really flashy as well.”

“Mina, one of your abilities is you emerging from a bloomed flower made of ice,” Sam said walking to the bathroom.

“Mina,” Chloe called from the couch, “another one of your abilities is an exploding ice flower.”

“Shut the fuck up I know they’re flashy!” the ravenette snapped, “I know I’m not the only one to destroy a bunch of shit while on a job so eat my dick!”

“I will,” Sam replied peeking her head out of the bathroom door before shutting it.

“God, she’s almost as bad as Hisoka,” Rhamina muttered earning chuckles from the others.

When Sam had finished in the bathroom Rhamina entered to take a shower and change into a tank top and shorts.

Around ten in the evening everyone was about ready to go to sleep with Sam and Kerstin sharing a room, Chloe and Tijarah sharing a room; while, Rhamina and Haruto just decided to sleep on the couches in the living room. 

The next morning Rhamina woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs.

Feeling extremely confused and hungry she sat up and opened her eyes to see Haruto in the kitchen making breakfast.

Unplugging her phone from the wall next to the couch she was sleeping in, Rhamina walked over to the male to see he was cooking bacon.

“Where did you get the bacon?” she asked taking a seat at the table, “I know we didn’t pack any.”

“I bought it,” he said quietly as the ravenette scrolled through various apps on her phone.

“Well, I’m going to tell them to wake up then,” she said scooting her chair back after five minutes of finding nothing new, “It’s already seven thirty and I want to be there by ten.”

Upon entering Sam and Kerstin’s room Rhamina was met with their eyes coming up from their phones and she said, “Help me wake up the other two.”

“I’ve got this,” Kerstin said as she threw the blanket off of herself and walked over to the other room followed by the other two females.

She quietly opened the door as Sam began to record a video on her phone and immediately ran in before jumping onto a blob of blankets which contained the two humans inside it.

“Ah fuck!” Tijarah screamed as her head popped out as a groan was heard from Chloe somewhere beneath the blankets.

“Wake up bitch!” Kerstin laughed as she was kicked off the bed.

“Kerstin!” whined Chloe, “Why you do that?”

“There’s food mother fuckers and we’re taking the Hunter Exam today!” Kerstin exclaimed obviously excited as she exited the room.

Throughout breakfast the group began planning for the exam as they ate.

“So the goal is for all of us to pass so we need to keep communication a constant thing,” Rhamina explained, “As far as I know it isn’t illegal for participants to team up unless specifically specified by an examiner.”

“We can’t expose ourselves either though,” Chloe said, “So we can’t use spells?”

“How about we just say the only spell we’re allowed to use throughout the spell is the Memorandum?” Sam suggested with a sigh.

“Okay!” Chloe chirped continuing to finish her breakfast.

Once everyone was finished the girls all rushed into the bathroom with Rhamina washing her face in one of the sinks, Chloe brushing her teeth in the other, Kerstin on the toilet, Sam in the shower, and Tijarah waiting for one of the sinks.

After Chloe finished she let Tijarah use the sink while Rhamina moved onto brushing her teeth before moisturizing.

The girls seemed to move fluidly while all five of them were in there.

While Chloe and Tijarah were now changing, Rhamina had started to put on her makeup which consisted of a light maroon eyeshadow followed by black, winged eyeliner and mascara before she used face powder and a setting spray.

As she let the spray on her face set, Kerstin had transitioned into the shower while Sam was now drying off her hair before she too began to apply eyeliner.

“Are you guys really going to be wearing makeup during the exam?” Tijarah asked as she began to apply a plum colored lip gloss.

“Yes,” Sam, Rhamina and Kerstin answered in unison.

“I want this to be a subtle warning to anyone that wants to pick fights with us,” Rhamina explained as she checked for any last touch ups.

“We’re telling the rookie crushers to eat shit,” Kerstin said over the sound of the running water before multiple thuds were heard from inside the shower, “Fuck!”

After her face was set Rhamina put on a matte liquid lipstick which matched her eyeshadow before putting on a pair of black shorts with a black t-shirt, a pair of black, heeled boots, and a light purple scrunchy around her right wrist as she let her hair down, it’s full length just reaching her thighs.

Once everyone was dressed and packed they all went down to the van while Rhamina checked them out.

As they began the drive back to the testing sight Rhamina said, “Make sure you have everything you need with you because I’m taking the van with me and once that happens I can’t just randomly take it out in the middle of the exam.”

“Don’t worry we have all of our shit,” Sam sung attempting to reach for the ravenette’s right arm only to meet a small sheet of ice.

“Don’t try that shit while I’m driving,” she sighed as the brunette brushed off the frost forming on her hand.

Seeing that the restaurant was actually open this time, the ravenette parked in the back where there was no peering eyes and she had everyone exit the vehicle with all of their things.

Taking a piece of black chalk out of her drawstring purse the ravenette jumped onto the roof of the van and began drawing a magic circle.

As soon as she finished she placed the chalk back in her purse before she stood and hovered her left hand over the circle.

The group watched as a light purple aura surrounded the female causing her hair to float while her eyes glowed gold and her pendant glowed a darker purple.

“Dollhouse,” she called as the magic circle glowed as well before the van shrunk down to the size of a toy car leaving the ravenette to drop onto her feet with bent knees.

Rhamina then stretched before picking up the vehicle and dropped it into her purse before her pendant glowed once more as a light purple parasol with a hooked handle appeared in her open hands.

“Alright let’s go my dudes!” the ravenette chirped as she led them inside immediately being noticed by one of the Filipino women working there.

“Rhamina, is that you?” she asked going over to embrace the seventeen-year-old.

“Hi, Ate Jewel, it’s been awhile, huh?” she chuckled opening her arms to hug the woman she had not seen in two years.

“So how can I help you all today?”

“Can I have a private room for six please?”

The woman’s eyes sharpened when she heard this and asked, “What will you be having?”

“The seafood special without peanuts.”

The woman smiled softly before beckoning them to follow her.

“What the fuck was that?” Tijarah asked.

“Mina! Aren’t you allergic to seafood?” Chloe asked as she took the female’s free hand in her own.

“That was a code, Chloe, we’re not here to eat,” Rhamina chuckled as they were led into a separate room.

“Well, good luck, Rhamina, you better be alive by the end of this,” Jewel said from the doorway once the whole party was inside.

“Don’t worry,” the ravenette smiled, “we’ll be fine.”

~~~Fin. Chapter 1~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Image used: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/436497388884230899/ 

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#Blood Moon Circus #Rhamina Miyu #Tijarah Charlize #Chloe Rayer #Kerstin Vera #Samantha Fatimah #Hunter x Hunter #Fanfic