#tha adventure zone

[harry-on-broadway]

Italian Sun

A/N: Felt inspired after yesterday’s pictures so here’s some unedited rambling. Enjoy!

***

It had only been a week, but you were already grappling with your new reality.

The reality of Harry being at home, at last.

Home, for now, was the Italian villa you all often decamped to when you had a few weeks off. He’d been making plans for the end of tour since the holidays and while specifics had changed, one thing had remained consistent: he wanted to spend time in Italy, relaxing and catching up with all of his family and friends he’d neglected for the past two years.

“Neglected? Don’t you think that’s a little dramatic?” you teased when he first brought up the idea. “We’re literally driving home from your mother’s house.”

“You know what I mean,” he’d said, his face scrunching the way it did when he felt like his words were being misconstrued. “I’m just never around and when I am I feel like I’m so behind. Like…like I’m watching the season finale of a show I’ve never seen before. Everything’s different when I come back.”

“I’m not.”

“That’s what you think.”

“Oh?”

“It’s the little things. You cut your hair. You found a new coffee you like. You started listening to a new podcast. And I’ve missed it all.”

When he put it that way, your heart broke. He rarely complained, knowing that the life he was living was envied by many. But you felt for him, hearing how hard this was on him. “Well, start putting together a guest list. I guess we’re all going to Italy in July.”

Which is how you found yourself rooming with Harry’s closest friends and family in the week following the final show of Love on Tour, sharing meals, memories, and adventures with everyone. The extra glow coming off of Harry didn’t go unnoticed by you and you could feel happiness and contentment radiating off of him when he snuggled in close to you each night.

Today was the last day that everyone would be all together before the group started to head out, leaving you and Harry alone. He’d wanted the final day to be the best yet and had planned an itinerary filled with boating and sunbathing and, according to him, the best Italian dinner yet.

You had to give him credit. It was the best day yet. Games were played, naps were taken, and the picnic basket of cheeses, breads, and meats that Harry himself had packed was delicious. But the day also came with an added perk for you.

While almost everyone had donned swimwear for the occasion, displaying all sorts of skin, Harry took it to another level. His shirt was hanging precariously on his body, a single button keeping it from being blown away, and his swim trunks had been rolled up and pulled low on his hips (to avoid tan lines, he explained).

And the hat.

The fucking hat. A bright pink bucket cap, with the word ‘Daddy’ written across the front, that someone had thrown onstage in Australia. He’d said he picked it up as a joke, but the fact that he’d held onto it across countries and time zones, made you think otherwise. You saw how he carried himself with an extra hint of swagger when he wore it, and you hated to admit it, but something stirred inside of you when you caught a glance of him, hat and all, driving the boat with all of the ease of a seasoned pro. You prayed no one could tell how that scene affected you.

Now, with dinner on the horizon, you were trying to put those steamy thoughts out of your head and focus on what you should wear. You’d narrowed it down to two brightly colored dresses, when you felt two hands cover your eyes.

“Guess who?”

“Hmmmmm,” you pondered. “Could it be my boyfriend? You know, the guy who organized this magnificent trip after breaking records worldwide for the past couple of years?”

“He sounds like a catch.”

“He’s not that bad. He’s easy on the eyes.”

“Easy on the eyes, huh?” Harry moved his hands down to your hips and spun you around so you were facing him.

“Yeah, and he looks even better when he’s half-naked, driving a boat.”

“Mmmm.” Harry’s hands moved lower so that they were resting on the cleft of your ass. “Must have been pretty hot.”

“Oh, yeah, super sexy. I wish I could have jumped him right there. Especially in that hat.”

“Wait, what,” Harry laughed, breaking whatever character he’d been playing. “Are you serious?”

You shrugged. “What can I say, there’s something about that whole scene that really turned me on. And, sex on a boat sounds kind of fun. Shame we couldn’t try that out.” Harry swallowed, his throat bobbing as he processed what you said. “Harry?” you asked after a moment. “Are you still with me?”

“Yeah, I’m just trying to think why the fuck I thought it would be a good idea to invite everyone on this trip. I could’ve been having sex on a boat.”

“It’s not a boat but we can still have some fun,” you whispered, fingers delicately trailing down the exposed skin of his chest.

“Yeah?”

You nodded and Harry darted across the room to shut the door to your suite, trying to tear his shirt off at the same time. “Slow down, baby,” you said. “We’ve got time.”

Harry took a deep breath, calming himself as he nodded and opened his arms for you. His hands skated over your body, much of your skin already exposed thanks to your swimsuit, before they landed on your jaw, tipping your head back to bring your lips to his.

You felt heat course through your body at his slightest touch and were amazed that he was still able to elicit this reaction from you. You felt your nipples stiffen through the flimsy material of your swimsuit when Harry’s already sizable erection brushed against your thigh and you couldn’t stop thinking about feeling him inside of you.

“Bed, now,” Harry panted when he broke away from the kiss, and you backed up until you could feel the mattress behind your knees.

You fell backwards, bouncing slightly when you landed, and when you raised yourself up onto your elbows to find Harry, he had already dropped to the ground, his hands nimbly shimmying your swim bottoms down your legs. The garment discarded somewhere in the room, you felt Harry’s lips on your ankle, then up your calf, then at the inside of your knee. You knew what this was building too, but that didn’t stop you from letting out a gasp of surprise when his lips finally found your center.

“Oh fuck,” you moaned, voice barely above a whisper for fear of alerting the rest of your party to what you were up to. You threw your head to the side, trying to muffle the sound of your pleasure with the pillow.

Theoretically, the two of you were due downstairs for dinner in roughly a half hour, but Harry showed no urgency as he slowly licked at your core, speeding up, then slowing down right as you were about to topple over the edge. It was hard to focus on anything but the feel of him between your legs. You reached down, hand moving blindly until your hands found purchase in his hair. The sensation of his soft curls between your fingers grounded you as you bucked up against his lips, wanting even more than he was already giving you.

“Is this good?” he asked.

All you could manage was a breathless moan as his fingers slid inside, easily undoing you. You opened your eyes and tried to catch your breath as Harry appeared over top of you licking his fingers clean with a satisfying pop. “That really turns me on,” you finally wheezed out.

“What? That?”

“No, the fact that you remember what works for me. It’s just something about the way you care for me. You always act like you don’t remember anything and you have no clue what’s happening, but that’s not true H. You always remember what matters.”

You could see something burning in Harry’s eyes as you said that, not quite desire, but something close. “I’m always going to care about you,” he said, the words laced with emotion. “Nothing is ever going to change that.”

“Show me,” you said.

He rolled on top of you in one easy motion, and you opened your legs, giving him space to settle in. He kissed you, furiously, but nowhere near enough. You needed to feel him all over you, every inch. Skin on skin, nothing between you.

“What the hell are these shorts still doing on you?” you whined, fingers digging into the fabric of his tiny trunks.

“I could say the same about this,” he all but grunted, struggling to undo the tie of your bathing suit top.

Free of obstructions, you all were able to lay together and take in the moment. You weren’t surprised when Harry buried his nose in the crook of your neck, inhaling and savoring the moment. It was something he’d made a habit of doing in recent months, after noticing that you’d changed body wash in his absence. He was upset at first, saddened by yet another detail he’d missed, but after that, he’d started to take more time to observe and remember every little thing about you.

After a few seconds, you felt his lips on your neck as he kissed his way to your mouth, and you could feel him smile into the kiss.

“Got time for one more?” he asked with a cheeky grin.

“Why stop there?”

“I think you might be overestimating my abilities, love.”

You pressed a kiss of your own to the spot right under his ear that you knew got him going. “You’ve never let me down, H.”

Without warning, he was inside you. He often paused upon entering you, giving you a moment to adjust and a moment for him to center himself. But today, he did no such thing, rocking back and forth in a steady rhythm. You made no effort to stop him either, tilting your hips up and pressing your heels into the small of his back to drive him further inside. The room was nearly silent, just the sound of your bodies moving in time broken by occasional panting, or the soft moans Harry stifled against your chest.

You glanced at him as he continued to drive into you. His eyes were shut tight and his forehead was wrinkled in concentration. It was the look he often wore when he was focused on not coming undone prematurely. Always the gentleman, he made every effort to ensure you were taken care of before he handled his own needs, but the rare occasions when he fell apart first drove you wild.

There was something so attractive about watching a man who was always in control, always looking out for others, come undone, something you’d once told him, earning an eye roll. You could tell he was nearing the edge as his thrusts became more frenzied and less rhythmic, while the wrinkles in his brow deepened.

You brought your lips to the shell of his ear, nipping at the skin, before soothing the bite with a kiss. “Let go,” you whispered in his ear. “For me.” You could feel his hesitation, so you played the ace you had been holding this whole time.

“Daddy.”

His whole body shuddered as he emptied inside of you, your orgasm following close behind. He collapsed, his entire body weight resting on top of you.

“Give me a sec,” he said. “I just—fuck.”

You chuckled lightly. “That good, baby?”

Harry shook his head in disbelief, as he lifted off the bed and padded to the bathroom, returning with a damp cloth. “Fucking amazing,” he muttered, as he moved to help you clean up. “Didn’t know that was uh, something you were into. You know, the daddy thing,” he added, trying to sound casual.

“Can’t say I am, but something about that hat just really got to me. Maybe something to think about in the future though?”

“For sure,” Harry said. “I mean, I’ve scheduled plenty of sex for us as part of this break.”

“So when do you leave again?” you teased.

Harry pinched your thigh lightly. “Not soon enough apparently.”

You leaned forward, grabbing him for a kiss. “It’s always too soon. But I’m happy to have you while I can.” You looked at the clock on the bedside table. “And I think all of your friends want to see you too, which means, we have to get ready. Now.”

“I’ll start the shower.”

“Harry!”

“What? It’s a time saver and a water saver.”

You rolled your eyes. “Remember, your friends will let us have it if we’re late.”

“Yeah, yeah. They’re getting a free vacation so they’ll keep quiet if they know what’s best for them.”

“Oooh, tough guy.” You grabbed your towel and headed to the bathroom, hearing Harry say something behind you. “What did you say?” you asked, turning around to find him standing there holding his hat from earlier in the day.

“I said I have to remember to send a thank you note,” he added quietly.

“To who?”

“Whoever threw that fucking hat on the stage. Never imagined it would get me laid.”

#harry styles fanfic #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fan fiction #harry styles fan fic #harry styles fic #harry styles one shot #harry styles writing #harry styles fluff #harry styles smut

[misguidedasgardian]

I need to... (1)

1... Get the f*ck out of here

MASTERLIST

Summary: An awful event leads you to rethink of everything

Pairings: Aemond Targaryen x Fem!Reader (for now)

Warnings: There are mentions of them being Minors! at some point in their relationship, cursing, cheating, angst, depression, age gap (not for reader), coercion, toxic relationship, drinking alcohol to cope, in some countries it is underage drinking, (reader is 18). might forget some warnings…

Wordcount: 4 k

Notes: This just started like a blurb, and now we are here. AAAHHHH this is going to be soft, romcom sort of thing, but a bit angsty at first… 

You knew him like the palm of your hand, and that is how you could pinpoint the exact day something went wrong, were perhaps his affair started, you couldn’t be sure 

You wanted to go to Winterfell University, it was far North in the continent, they say it was always winter there, cold, and wild, but you had seen pictures and had been there briefly on vacations with your family and you absolutely loved it, besides, it had a great program on what you wanted to study, you wanted an adventure, you wanted to completely change your surroundings, get out of your comfort zone, fly off the nest. 

But Aemond, your loving boyfriend and highschool sweetheart didn’t think so, you didn’t want to break your relationship, besides, Aemond’s family owned an airline, it would be a four hour journey to meet you there. But he insisted it was too far. You believed that on the one hand that a time apart could be good for you, you would miss him more, and therefore your reunions would be way more intense and hotter, but no.

An that time it made sense, you were drawing your future together, so he convinced you to go to Dragonstone University with him. The university of his dreams. 

It was completely his environment, the university specialized on what he wanted to study, diplomacy and political sciences, so for him it was a perfect fit. 

But not for you

All the alumni were perfect, serious, dressed like they all belonged to old money, just like Aemond, he was like a fish of the same pond, and you? were a fucking Alligator. You felt big, clumsy, unwanted. 

There wasn’t a career in design, like the one you wanted to follow, instead, there was plastic arts and photography, even architecture, so, in your first year, you made sure to take a couple of subjects leading in all of those directions. 

That was your first mistake.

You should have stayed in architecture, maybe, photography even, but instead, you decided to take a course with Professor Alys Rivers. In a plastic arts class

That was your second

Soon you became some sort of friends

She was tall, beautiful, dark long locks, big green eyes, the woman was stunning, young, just started teaching, and soon she became your mentor

You liked her 

She realized you were frustrated, and take special care in you, mentoring you, and keeping you close to her, she told you maybe you would be good at teaching, and maybe she wouldn’t have taken so long in deciding she wanted to teach

She was thirty five years old

But as Aemond was thriving, you were quickly losing yourself

Classes were boring, didn't raise your interest, the people here were strange, you were afraid to say you weren’t making any friends and not for the lack of trying

It got so bad you only went out with Aemond, who was even after a few months, the most popular guy in his class, it was becoming a very unbalanced relationship

You and Aemond had grown up together, you were neighbors with his nephews Jacaerys, Lucerys and joffrey, the first one being your classmate with Aemond

You played together as children, and in eleventh grade he had formerly asked you to date him, to be his girlfriend

Both your families were ecstatic

HIghschool sweethearts, you knew each other forever, you were going to marry and live  a perfect life, Aemond wanted to be a diplomat, and you were catching up to be his beautiful, smart, joyful trophy wife.

You didn’t see it that way then

You wanted to follow a design career, he didn’t take you seriously, but encouraged you

The problem is that Winterfell was too far away, so he convinced you to take architecture courses in his university, the best one in the country for what he wanted, the kind of university that grooms the men and women that were going to take over the world one day. It was huge, a big castle from five thousand years ago, the least you could do was enjoy the architecture. 

He was the perfect man, the perfect boyfriend, the one your parents would adore, and they did, he was chivalrous, patient, kind, generous…

You introduced him to your favorite teacher hen you ran into each other at the campus’ coffee shop

That was your third mistake, to invite Alys to join you both to take a cup of coffee, 

If you only payed attention to the looks they gave each other 

“So she is the teacher you have talked to me about”, Aemond said sheepishly, you only hummed as you kept reading a tome about a tyroshi painter who was the first in drawing the human body in all its forms, he was sort of famous, had lived more than a thousand years ago

“Yes, she is so sweet”, you whispered, “she is an artist, but so down to earth you know?”, you said without even thinking, “you can completely see the process behind her works, she is amazing”

Aemond had the luck (or money), to get single in the dorms, so he slept alone, so you could stay with him anytime you’d like, and you really liked it, your roommate was a bit mean.

And suddenly, Aemond has to study… a lot, you didn’t sleep with him anymore, even though your after class activities were as active as ever.

He was concentrating on his classes, (or that is what you thought), so you were going to start and do the same, and you tried, so so hard

But you were failing

You were already started the last month of the semester, and two of your teachers told you unceremoniously, that you were failing

BAD

You barely contained your tears, your lips were quivering and your nose tickled, and you went to the only person who could bring you comfort… one of the two… your professor Alys, whose class you had been getting pure A’s in

You never saw it coming

Her classroom was the last one in one of the towers of the incredible castle, and when you started climbing up the stairs, your stomach sank

It was late, the sun already hiding on the horizon, but you knew she was still in her atelier, and there she was

You could what the moans and whispers before you saw them, your cheeks heated and a sick curiosity made you sneak a peek inside the classroom

Oh how you wish you didn’t

There she was, your thirty five year-old teacher being pounded by your nineteen year old boyfriend 

You’d recognize that silver hair anywhere, everywhere

You wanted to throw up

Alys and Aemond, Aemond was fucking Alys

Together

Fucking

Sweating 

You just stood there

Your arm moved alone, as you raised your phone and took a picture of them, you could need it for later, but it wasn’t you who made that decision, it certainly wasn’t you

You were crying

You covered your mouth to sob outloud and for them to hear it, and you walked away, it was a miracle you managed to went down those treacherous steps and not smash your head, perhaps you would have preferred it, to smash your head against the stone floors, to turn off your head 

the tears stopped, and your feet moved on your own as they took you out of there, you didn’t want anyone to see you, you didn’t want to give this university more of you, not your tears, not more of your efforts, no nothing

You didn’t go to your room, you couldn’t, you know she was going to be there, Maris Baratheon, and you couldn’t face her, not now, not ever. 

You needed something else…

So you walked to the only bar near campus, many of your classmates would call it a “slum”, it wasn’t very popular with students, and that’s exactly what you needed.

You sat on a stool on the bar, and waited for the bartender to get to you, didn’t push him, just looked at the 

“looks like you need a drink”, you looked to the side to find a young guy, maybe short twenties, dark born hair, green eyes

“Don’t I?”, you mocked, smiling shyly, he was cute. You couldn’t help but notice his Winterfell University Jersey. He offered you a pint, and you took it gladly, you really needed it, “aren’t you a bit far from”, you pointed at his chest where the varsity letters told you where he was from, he only chuckled 

“They sent me in a… diplomatic mission”, he said with a mystery tone, and wiggling his eyebrows

“Are you recruiting students to go to the far North?”, you said, and if he said yes, you were going to beg him to take you with him

“Yes”

“Oh”, you seemed truly amused so he offered you his hand

“Ben Tallheart”, he whispered, and you shook his hand, giving him your name. “What do you know about the university anyways?”, he asked, taking a sip of his beer

“I wanted to apply there”, you answered, and he looked at you surprised, “I wanted to take the designer degree”

“Why didn’t you?”, he asked

“I decided to follow my boyfriend here, who I just found out is screwing my plastic arts teacher”, he spitted his beer 

“What?”, he asked, not knowing if to laugh or just be horrified

“Yep”, you said, taking a long sip of your own beer

“Uf, that must be tough”, speak of the devil, your phone started ringing, to no surprise, you discovered it was Aemond who was calling you, and fuck it hurt

“I’m gonna need something stronger than this”, you said to him, canceling the call, you just wouldn’t let it ring, you wanted him to realize you had hung up on him. Ben smiled, asking the bartender for two tequila shots

It was to pints later and five tequila shots, that you were laughing your face out, hugging him with one of your arms the shoulders of Ben

“I want to go to Winterfell, fuck this college”

“Yes, fuck it!”, he said, “this college sucks, filled with stuck ups…”

Your phone had ringed so much it vibrated off the table and it was currently missing from your earshot and eye shot 

You didn’t want to know either

“You think they’ll take me?”, you asked him with teary eyes

“Of course they will!”, he laughed

“Half semester?”, you asked 

“Of course!”

“Let’s fucking do it!”, you cheered, and everyone in the bar cheered with you, “I need to get the fuck outta here”, you said, and Ben laughed wholeheartedly.

The rest of the night was a blur, you knew Ben had walked with you back to campus and accompanied you to the door of your room

“My stuck up roommate is probably in”, you told him, and he nodded

“If you meant what you said”, he said, “and you are truly interested in coming to Winterfell University, here”, he passed you his presentation card, “give me a ring tomorrow”, you only nodded

“Thank you”, you whispered, and he only nodded, and left you.

You entered your room and there she was, your roommate, putting innumerable creams in her face 

“Eh, where have you been?”, oh that tone

“What?”, you asked, already coming down from your binge, “what do you care?”

“Ugh, you’re drunk!?”

“A little”, you grumbled, dropping to your bed

“Iu”, she whined, “Aemond was here you know, looking for you”, she told you, “you truly don’t deserve him, he was so concerned”

Oh poor Aemond, he couldn’t find you after he was fucking your plastic arts teacher, i bet that filthy motherfucker didn’t even shower before he came looking for you

“I bet”, you whispered, you then remembered you couldn’t find your phone, probably was still on the floor of that bar… Shit you were going to need it if you truly planned on contacting Ben for that transfer. 

But tonight you couldn’t do anything because you were practically kicked out of that bar, it had to be tomorrow, so, to the horror of your roommate, you just dozed off, dressed in the same clothes, reeking of bar and secondhand smoke. 

The next morning you woke up and thankfully, you were alone, your head hurt, but not as much as your heart.

Gods it hurt

You had burned the image of Aemond and Alys, fucking on top of her desk, and you couldn’t believe it. Aemond, your Aemond.

Your nose started to tickle, knowing you were about to cry you stood up, and searched for a change of clothes, you took your towel, and went straight for the bathroom, to wash your night off of your hair.

That morning you had classes with profes-… with that bitch Alys, so you didn’t even bother showing up. And since most of the college was in classes by now, you found yourself alone in the big bathroom.

You hadn't cried until now, but as you undressed yourself and got under the generous flow of water, something inside you just… unraveled. You started weeping uncontrollably, choking with your tears and the water, you hugged yourself under the falling boiling water seeking for comfort, but you couldn’t find any

Every breath you took hurt, deep within your chest, and you cried and cried until you felt your eyes sore

Your Aemond, your boyfriend, the one that gave you a promise ring… the one you knew since kindergarten, the one who was your first kiss, your first… everything! He was cheating on you with your own professor, Alys, the one that encouraged you and tried to nurture you, and guide you through this uncertainty in this part of your life. The one that you considered to be your only stone here besides your loving boyfriend

What was wrong with them? 

What was wrong with you? What did you do wrong? you chose school because of him, you changed careers, you endured a hell for him, you dressed how he liked it, to arranged your hair the way he liked it, you stopped doing things you enjoyed, stopped watching films that made you laugh because they were “childish”, you stopped listening to upbeat music because it wasn’t “proper”

Everything for him

You loved him with all your heart

You knew Friday morning he had this debate class, very important and he couldn’t miss it, or he would have been throwing your door down, so you took that as a sign, you needed to work fast and sneakily.

You needed to get out of here

You didn’t want to see him ever again

So you ran back to your room, got dressed quickly, and the first thing you did was run back to the bar, where the cleaning lady returned your phone to you.

You turned it on and to no surprise, you found thousands of texts and missed calls from Aemond

“love where are you?”

“Are you alright?”

“I’m coming to your dorm”

“Maris says you were not there, wtf? where are you?”

“You clearly don’t want to speak to me, but I just wanted to know you are ok”

“I don’t understand why you are doing this to me, did I do something wrong? Are you mad?”

“The least you could do is face me like an adult”

You rolled your eyes as you read the messages, he growing angrier, trying to turn this on you

But then he sent a video of a instagram story, of you and Ben hugging and laughing, taking tequila shots, it was uploaded by a classmate of Aemond who had clearly saw you

“I see that you were not alone, I can’t believe you would do this to me”, he wrote, and you chuckled darkly, the audacity of him had no limits whatsoever, “I just wanted to see you, and be with you, I wanted you to help me study for my finals, I know this few months had been hard on you, but I least I thought we had eachother”, but then it got worse, he send you a picture of a flower bouquet and a dark red box, “I wanted to gift you this, to show you how much I love you, and how much I was looking forward to a future with you”, you couldn’t kept walking, you had to sit down in a bench looking down at a cliff, you couldn’t even walk because of how much you were crying.

You couldn’t believe this

Why would he do this to you? you had given him your everything, you had sex almost every day, you complimented each other, you told each other everything, you were what you thought a power couple, only that he had all the power while you were his cheerleader…. 

This fucker, you wiped your tears angrily from your face. 

You were feeling a pain in your chest and you truly believed for a second you were having a heart attack, that you were positively going to die right here in this rusty bench, alone.

Your drunken thoughts from last night came rushing back in, of wanting to transfer to Winterfell University half semester.

It was an insane thought

But you also believe you couldn’t stay here, for what? this isn’t what you wanted, the only thing you thought you had was Aemond, who you just found out fucking YOUR teacher in the classroom. Staying here was insane, you had no friends, now you had no boyfriend, no career 

When you finally calmed down and walked back to your dorm room, Aemond was waiting for you right outside. 

And it's like all your convictions of leaving him and this school faltered just like that, just seeing him like that standing, his furrowed brow looking concerned for you. He was worried bout you, for a second you even believed that this was all a misunderstanding, they he couldn’t possibly do this to you 

Right then and there you just wanted to beg him to stop, to stop his affair and look you in the eye and promise you it was never going to happen again, that he loved you, that you were the one. That he was drunk, or she made him do it. She coerced him into it.

But then he looked at you, and his concern went to annoyance 

“Where have you been?”, he asked, walking towards you, “I was concerned for you!”, he immediately went to himself and what he was feeling, and you didn’t know where you got the strength from, but you looked at him, serious in the eye

“I failed color theory and anatomy drawing class”, you said, looking him in the eye, and the worst part is that you weren’t truly lying. His face softened as he looked at you with pity, “I feel like a massive failure, and I didn’t want to cry to you because you are already in the excellency program”, you whispered, looking at the ground in front of you

“So your solution was to go drink at a bar?”, he asked then, again, annoyed 

“I found this guy that was from Winterfell University, the one I wanted to go, and asked him about the programs…”, he sighed

“We talked about this”, he said, “that college is not even ranking…”

“I don’t care Aemond”, you whispered, “I just need to sleep, please, and you are going to be late”, you whispered, not daring to look him in the eye

You believed you knew his schedule, but apparently not, because when he was supposed to be in study group, he was fucking your teacher… 

“Are you going to be alright?”, he asked, “because I need my study partner”, he said, trying to sound hopeful. Yes you helped him study, you prepared flashcards for him, because you knew he had visual memory so he studied better with colors and images, so you prepared his study material and quizzed him

Maybe a couple of times with stripping quizzes… 

Oh how foolish you had been

“Yes Aem”, you said, managing to smile at him, “I just need some time”

“You have it love”, he whispered, “I love you”

“Love you”, you closed the door gently, leaving him outside, and threw yourself in the bed, hiding your face in the pillow and weeped a bit more.

Perhaps you should face Aemond, hear what he has to say, you wanted to believe it so badly, that there was something else to it, that perhaps…

You were a fool

They were fucking on top her desk… what else is there? he was cheating on you, she was violating hundreds of protocols, so was he

You dozed off to sleep

You woke up when your roommate entered the room

“You still drunk?”, she sneered

“No”, you whispered, “just tired”,  you didn’t even know why you bothered 

You have made a decision…

You were going to leave this place

You were going to leave and not tell a soul, not even Aemond, you were going to disappear from his life, from one hour to the next

You contacted Ben, and he told you everything you need to know, the semester was almost over, but the next one was just around the corner, and you had to do this, not even for spite, but because this is what you wanted from your future

So you did the only thing you could think off

So went to speak with the dean

She was an old family friend, she knew your parents and family since forever, she was very professional and never showed favoritism, but, you knew you were on her good side

“I want to know if I can transfer to another university”, you asked shakily, once she invited you to take a seat in in front of her desk, she looked at you puzzled

“Did something happen? the school year is not even over yet”, she said with her kind eyes, truly worried for you

“I realized I didn’t choose the university for the school path I wanted to take”, you tried to explain, but the sorrow in your face made her believe you were not being truthful, or that you weren’t telling her the truth, “I choose Dragonstone because of love”. you continued, “and now I don’t have that love, and… I want to study a design mayor”

“I see”, now she was more pleased, “Where would you like to go?”, she asked

“Winterfell University”, you said without even thinking about it, she only nodded

“I have a good friend up there”, she said, “so the change wouldn’t be the problem, you have the grades and the Maester exams scores in your favor, but, are you sure this is what you want?”, she asked.

“More than anything”, you said with a smile

Rhaenys Targaryen was the cousin of Aemond’s father, but they didn’t get along very well, it was messy, she was the Headmaster to Dragonstone University

“You will have to start in the middle of the year”, she warned, and you only nodded

“It’s what I want”, you assured her, she looked at you, analyzing you 

“Good, but first, I need you to finish the courses you are in”, your face said it all as it froze in place, looking at the face of that witch is the last thing you wanted to do

“That is expected of me”, you said, and smiled, she smiled back

“I’ll start with the paperwork, I have already received a letter of recommendation from Ben Tallheart, a representative of Winterfell university that is in the grounds this week”

“Yeah, I’ve met him”, you said smiling shyly

“Good luck finishing the rest of the courses”

Luck, you will need.

After chapter notes: look, if I stopped and wrote all the details of their relationship, this whole fic would be around them, so I narrated what happened instead of making the reader “live it”, get my meaning? This is about healing and seeing that there is something more than “that great love”, so I didn’t stop to focus on the toxic relationship with Aemond, so… One mroe chapter of reader's mess, and we are off to Winterfell! jeje

taglist!

@mxtokko @princesssterek @thefandomimagines @iamavailablesstuff

#misguidedneed #aemond targaryen x reader #aemond targaryen #house of the dragon #hbo house of the dragon #cregan stark x reader #cregan #cregan stark

[em-sars]

My Top 10 (actually 9) Dramione Fic Reccemmendations:

I am not a terribly avid reader of angst-filled fics (sorry, Manacled fans). This list will be mostly romcom / fluffy, major slow burns, and Draco POV. I have included a few more serious fics, but they are just so well written / interesting, that they made my list. Without further ado, and in no particular order, my Top 9 Dramione Fics:

1. To one one's surprise, and not being overhyped at all (I'm completely serious), is Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love. This one needs no description due to its popularity, so I will only add to the hype. I have always been a fan of adventure-romance (e.g. Romancing the Stone, Princess Bride, Stardust, Love and Monsters, Shrek, A Knight's Tale, and, not to get repetitive, The Lost City), but this was the first fanfiction I read with such dedication to an interesting, funny, and, at times, suspenseful story. I also love seeing Draco fall first and his unreliable narration in Hermione's feelings for him. I adore the characterization of / relationships between characters (not just Draco and Hermione) as well as the way the author develops the existing magic system. It is definitely a slow burn with misunderstandings. I'm not a big fan of misunderstandings after they are together because I think it's lasy, and I will stop reading it. In this fic, however, the author makes sure that the 'will they won't they' isn't over done.

2. A Cosmology of Blacks, Malfoys, and Assorted Individuals. This one is in process, but updates are consistent, and I am hooked. Draco POV only. Not only does this fic have the best name, it also includes many anecdotes of Black history (particularly focused on Narcissa, Andromeda, and Bellatrix) while also tying in a romance plot. The story begins with Andromeda confronting Narcissa, and the Black family to be reunited. Draco meets Hermione again for the first time post-graduation, but something is wrong with Hermione's magic. They slowly become friends and Draco develops feelings. This one is on the angsty side, but it's nothing dark or war-based. It is decidedly cosy. I absolutely love any fic that casts a parallel between Andromeda and Ted and Draco and Hermione (I also love supportive Harry who compares them to his parents).

3. The Disappearances of Draco Malfoy. This is another popular one that deserves the hype. This one was outside my comfort zone as it is fairly heavy on the angst. BUT I think it is a really imaginative retelling of DH. If you are unfamiliar, the author rewrites the end of HBP wherein Draco accepts Dumbledore's offer of help. He is then forced to accept the protection of people who hate him and whom he hates. This is a true Enemies to Friends to Lovers story. It has a mixed POV. This story is full of mystery, suspense, plot twists, romance, and angst. This is another one that explores the magic system in an interesting way.

4. It Happened in Egypt is another romcom adventure fic. It is funny, mysterious, and action-packed. In this story, Hermione is in Egypt on a 'holiday' and runs into Draco who is drunk and has been robbed (no wallet or wand). As the author says, this fic is a love story to the Nile and Egyptian Mythology. Great for history lovers. And while this story is a relatively quick burn, there is still a major chunk of mutual pining.

5. Scary Partner Privilege is another in progress piece, but it is so creative. It is Draco POV. He and Hermione (a no-nonsense-to-the-point-of-rudeness cop) are paired as elite aurors. Each chapter is a different case like in Brooklyn 99 or other cop shows with the overall plot of their tumble into romance. This Hermione is a complete BAMF, and Draco is a darling.

6. Distance is a split POV fic. Hermione is a new Unspeakable and Draco is an auror who hasn't been given a real case. They end up teaming up to investigate a mysterious magical figurine. Another adventure fic set in the Indus Valley. Such a fun concept. Another one that is a good read for history lovers.

7. Lavender Scones and Second Chances is the final in progress story I have on this list. This story is mostly here for vibes (cosy) because the research that brought them together is more periphery than anything. But it is still a sweet story that I am excited to watch develop.

8. Love and Other Historical Accidents is Jane Austen meets Harry Potter. Hermione and Draco get sent back to the late Georgian / early Regency period in magical Wiltshire. Lots of classic Austen tropes and plot lines. It is an established dynamic between them, and Draco is already in love with Hermione.

9. Soft As It Began is a unique story wherein Harry vanished the day after the Battle of Hogwarts. Almost 5 years later, Hermione, with help from Draco (they are investigative journalists), travels around Europe looking for him. This story plays with the story of The Three Brothers and the Deathly Hallows. I just love all the characterizations in this fic.

#harry potter #fanfic #dramione #dmatmoobil #fic rec

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Naomi Kritzer's "Liberty's Daughter"

Tomorrow (November 22), I'll be joined by Vass Bednar at the Toronto Metro Reference Library for a talk about my new novel, The Lost Cause, a preapocalyptic tale of hope in the climate emergency.

There's so much sf about "competent men" running their families with entrepreneurial zeal, clarity of vision and a firm confident hand. But there's precious little fiction about how much being raised by a Heinlein dad would suuuck. But it would, and in Naomi Kritzer's Liberty's Daughter, we get a peek inside the nightmare:

https://fairwoodpress.com/store/p148/LIBERTY%27S_DAUGHTER.html

Beck Garrison is a seasteader, living on a floating platform built by libertarian cranks to get away from big government, taxes, and the idea that people owe each other care and consideration. Various kinds of market trufans have built their own fiefdoms: there's a sin city, a biotech free-for-all, a lawless Mad Max zone, and so on.

Beck's father, Paul, is some kind of local functionary. He's wealthy and respected, both a power-broker and a power in his own right. He pays for Beck to get private tutoring (no public schools – no public anything) and if she needs bailing out from some kind of sticky situation, he's got her on his account with Alpha Dogs, the toughest mercenaries on the sea (no police, either). An armed society is a polite society, after all.

Beck has a job, naturally (there ain't no such thing as a free lunch). She's a finder: for all that the steaders worship commerce as a sacrament consecrated to the holy Invisible Hand, there's not a lot of retail at sea. California – the nearest onshore neighbor – has lots of pesky taxes, and besides, it's a long ways off. Besides, space is at a premium on the stead, so people don't have attics and basements to fill with excess consumer junk.

Instead, when a steader needs something – a shoelace, a fashion accessory, or any other creature comfort – they hire a finder like Beck to clamber around between the decks of the aircraft carriers, scows, yachts and other vessels comprising the stead. It's a good way for Beck to earn spending money, and she's a natural at it. After all, she's been a steader since she was four, when her mother died in a drunk driving accident and her father took her to sea.

The story opens with a finding job. Beck wants a pair of sparkly shoes for her client, and the woman who owns them is an indentured servant whose sister has gone missing. Find the sister, get the shoes.

Indentured servant? Yeah, of course. Freedom of contract is the one freedom from which all the others flow, so you can sell yourself into bond labor. Hell, maybe you can earn enough to buy a share in the stead and become a co-owner/citizen.

This is the setup for Beck's adventure, which sees her liberating bond slaves tricked into fatal work details, getting involved in reality TV production, meeting illegal IWW organizers, and becoming embroiled in a pandemic that threatens the lives of all the steaders. It's a coming of age novel, told with the same straightforward, spunky zeal of Heinlein's juvies, but from the perspective of the daughter, not the dad.

Kritzer makes it clear that growing up under the thumb of a TANSTAAFL-worshipping, self-regarding, wealthy autocrat who worships selfishness as the necessary precondition for market clearing would be a goddamned nightmare. She also thinks through some of the important implications of life in one of these offshore libertarian archipelagos, like the fact that the wealthy residents would be overwhelming drawn from the ranks of corporate criminals and tax-cheats, and the underclass would be bail-skipping proles ensnared in the War on Drugs.

But Liberty's Daughter isn't a hymn to big government. Most of the steaders are escaping the US government, a state whose authoritarian and cruel proclivities are well-documented. Kritzer uses the labor dispute at the core of the novel to reveal market authoritarianism – the coercive power that hunger and poverty transfers from the have-nots to the haves. Think of Anatole France's wry observation that "the law, in its majestic equality, equally forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread."

If you're familiar with Kritzer's work, you won't be surprised to learn that she tells a zippy, fast moving tale that smuggles in sharp observations about the cleavage lines between solidarity and selfishness. Her story "So Much Cooking" – published years before the pandemic – captured life under lockdown with eerie prescience:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/04/17/pack-of-knaves/#so-much-cooking

More recently, her "Better Living Through Algorithms" is a dazzling display of knifework that'll cut you a dozen times before you even notice that you're bleeding:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/02/wunderkammer/#jubillee

If you habitually read Kritzer's short fiction, Liberty's Daughter might be familiar to you, as it is adapted from a series of stories that originally ran in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Kritzer's YA debut, Catfishing on the CatNet, was also adapted from a short story, "Cat Pictures Please," which won the Hugo Award in 2016:

https://boingboing.net/2019/11/19/setec-astronomy-kitteh.html

"Libertarian exit" – buying a country, or an archipelago, or just a luxury bunker – has been in the air lately. It's a major element of my new novel, The Lost Cause, which came out this month – anarchocapitalist wreckers try to sabotage the Green New Deal from the seastead they've moored to the tallest point in the drowned Grand Caymans and declared to be a sovereign nation:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865939/the-lost-cause

Kritzer is great at catching that zeitgeist. Seasteading is part of a long, bitter dream of a certain kind of selfish person to escape society, a tale told in lurid and fascinating detail in Raymond Craib's 2022 history Adventure Capitalism:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/06/14/this-way-to-the-egress/#terra-nullius

There's a longstanding joke to the effect that you can shut down any discussion of the merits of a libertarian exit by asking three questions about the brave new world:

Whether you can sell your organs;

Whether you can sell yourself into slavery; and

Whether there is any age of consent.

Kritzer tackles the first two, but tacks around the third. Instead, by giving us a young adult protagonist who has been raised in a rusting libertopia, she finds a decidedly less incendiary way to think about the role of autonomy in adolescents, and thus generates far more light than heat.

The result is a cracking read with a sting in its tail.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/21/podkaynes-dad-was-a-dick/#age-of-consent

#pluralistic

[actor-mark]

AVWM - Death Coaster

He pauses at your choice- wait.. you're actually picking the coaster? The horrible terrifying

DEATH COASTER?!?

He looks back and forth between you and it and then forces a smile from behind the giant duck plushie "Ah aha- r-right Thrill and adventure and-... uh- " He awkwardly moves the giant duck plushie around trying to keep in your view. "Well uh- if you're sure! Ah- Might have to get another seat for our friend here!" The giant ducks head flops over. You give him a smile and wave off his concerns, eagerly getting in line for the coaster. A little shuffle here and little shuffle there and you're soon boarding the horrible death trap! After securing the giant duck plushie into the seat next to him, Mark takes the seat beside you and you all get strapped and buckled in. "Is now a good time to mention I'm really not a fan of- oh we're going already" "HANG ON TIGHT- or don't~ ye won't be comin back anyway gyuhhuhuh" The Ride attendant laughs waving you and the others in your train farewell. With a glance to Mark you see he's pale, hands gripping tight to the harness and as you begin to scale the 100ft drop, the view of your wonderful day sprawls out far beneath. The pretty flower garden, the roses, the icecream truck and the duc- oh they've made trenches and there's an explosion going on over there now. That duck war is really raging for that last pea-.... Well, at least its nice up here- The Coaster lurches as it crests the peak, Mark giving a bit of a squeak and squirming in his seat. "Don't look down don't look down don't look down don't look down"

Poor guy... You rest your hand on his and his eyes fix on you with a scared smile, he breaths. Everything will be ok if he's with y- "uuuuUUUUEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"

WEeeeeeee!!!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUOOUGGHH-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

Peaks and falls, loops and twists and turns! You lift your arms in the air!

"--AAAAOUHGHUHRHUGHHGH HURK- BLU-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOUGGHGOUGHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

It's like youre flying!

"--AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA--"

As you sail towards the end of the track, you stretch your arms wide. The ducks head flops over into Mark's face

"-- MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMDDPGFTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-"

The train sails off the end of the track, soaring through the air and landing right in the middle of the duck war zone, blowing them all up and ending the war.... and..well.. you and Mark as well

Still... At least this date was a fun one! One to be remembered for the rest of the eternity you and Mark share! One tha-

-Bone cracking sounds, the screen goes black-

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"OI! Enough of that! What in the hell were you thinking!? A DEATH COASTER? What part of the DEATH did you not GET THERE!? Ugh honestly.. Where you even TRYING to have a nice romantic date or where you just out to punish me... AGAIN? -sighh....- No its finneee I get it... Immortality has its ups and downs... might as well have fun with it once in a while. Reminds me of that wormhole we canon balled into a few times-STILL! That DOESNT MEAN we should be doing it ON PURPOSE! hmph.... Well.. anyway... spose that's the end of that one... At least you got a giant duck out of it- speaking of which. HERE

Take this ridiculous thing with you! Oh and next time? Next time? Maybe lets NOT cause an all out DUCK WAR hm???? -sighh- ... welp.. back to the drawing board... Go on, get gone, I got work to do.... and a shower... and a hot chocolate... BECAUSE I DESERVE IT! BECAUSE I LOVE MYSELF!"

-- The adventure goes dark on you as its writer and main Actor saunters off in a huff.. Well.. it could have gone better... but at least you had fun! So you died, oh well, it's not the first time and any chance to torment this asshole is always worth it in the end! Until next time~ --

#ask actor mark #avwm #a valentines with markiplier #adwm #actor mark #hope yall had fun! #may do more of these in future ;) #happy valentines day <3

[aerkame]

I’d like to toss my hat into the ring since that anon brought up AUS. I don’t have any favorites or enjoyment of a lot of them, So here’s a sort list I can think off;

1. A/B/O: It’s just very, very, uncomfortable.

2. Crossovers: 80 or 90% of the time when there’s crossovers, it’s just crossing over for the sake of having your fav characters meet and get up to crazy adventures. There’s no actual reason as to why there crossing over apart from that.

3. mafia: Not a fan as there’s nothing different, but there’s a Mob AU by Clownn (correct me if I spell it wrong,), they put a unique twist by having it be physiological and giving it certain traits to make their AU stand out from the usual Mafia AUs.

4: anesthesia: It’s a pretty cheap way to get characters to fall in love and kinda creepy when you think deeper about how easily bad things can go.

5. Soulmates or Marks: I don’t like the idea of a mark or something telling you who your partner is or who to be with. What if you don’t want a partner tho or not interested in falling in love? Are you allowed to be just friends instead?

I prefer if authors/creators add more unique twist or additional spin on AUs. The down side is, I have seen some pretty unique AUs but they’re not as talked about or popular since it’s not the go to ones that fanbases love.

Ah yeah, A/B/O AUs tend to romanticize toxic relationships a lot from what I usually see. Not liking it is understandable. Ironically though, the whole Alpha, Beta, and Omega stuff that was made by a researcher later discarded his own theory after further study of wolves. (In short, wolves are just large families with mom and dad in charge, the whole A/B/O stuff makes no sense.) So the whole thing is really just made up of disproved theories and is purely fiction.

The others are also understandable. Some of the AUs tend to have repeating themes or they end up being complete copies of each other. The Whole amnesia one is creepy, yeah. I have only ever read 3 fanfictions in my life that did this trope properly and it only really works if the characters knew each other beforehand or they were already in a relationship before it happened.

The soulmate one is kind of okay depending on who is writing it and how it is written. I've seen a handful of very well written soulmate AUs that actually got creative with it, but a lot of the fanfictions for AUs like that just repeat and copy each other a little too much.

To be perfectly honest, I agree that unique AUs are way better because it leaves room for even more AUs to branch off of those one and it also helps other writers get a good idea on how to handle the idea behind it.

My other favorite AU type is one I don't see often but I wish I did, and it's the self-aware ones or the ones where the reader/character ends up in the fictional world of the fandom they're in. My reason for liking those ones is because they can turn into good horror fics or have creepy vibes IF done right. It's like the 4th wall breaking rule in some video games or horror movies. Twilight Zone vibes y'know?

For my own personal Finfolk AU, I did want to add yandere vibes, but not like Wattpad anime fanfiction kind of yandere. I think yandere fics should be taken seriously and treated seriously because of the topics they deal with. I have read so many fanfictions that do it just right where it genuinely scares me and it makes for interesting dynamics between the characters. I haven't gone into full horror with the AU though simply because I'm afraid of people romanticizing what is supposed to be dangerous behavior or dark topics. The finfolk folklore itself is dark when you look into the stories/mythology. I just don't like seeing how often AUs and fanfictions with serious topics get put on a pedestal in a wrong lighting. But, I do plan on eventually trying to go full horror with it at some point. When? I'm not sure yet. Maybe when I have more experience in writing. All I know is that making the characters attractive (that is what finmen/women do regardless in folklore) but obsessive without making it romanticized is going to be difficult.

#rambling #welcome home #welcome home finfolk au #welcome home au #finfolk #au #fanfiction #fanfictions #aus #a/b/o au

[dovithedarklord]

Age of Monsters - Chapter Six

Pairing: OFC x Simon "Ghost" Riley, OFC x König

Tags: Slow Burn, Slow Build, Enemies to Lovers, Alternate Universe, Blood and Gore, Blood and Violence, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, POV First Person, Not Beta Read, Medical Inaccuracies, Military Inaccuracies, AFAB OC

Trigger Warning: The story will contain violance, blood and smut in detail. Please, keep that in mind!

⚠️MDNI⚠️

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

Author's Note

Leona has a nice adventure in the forest.

Hello!

This chapter has a Trigger Warning! There will be blood, violence, gore, and aggression, so please read accordingly! I know it's in the tags, but I'd rather write it down here too.

Have fun! :D

I.M.L. - Infected mammalian lifeform

if you're interested you can find the story on AO3: Chapter Six

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

I wipe the drops of sweat forming on my hairline with the back of my hand, and I find it quite surprising that, despite the fact that most of the sun's rays are captured by the foliage of the trees, a clammy warmth sits in the air. Although every elementary school student learns about what a forest is like, what cute little animals lived in it back then, and how it was a home of undisturbed peace, nothing prepared me for how stressful the desolate quietness that settles in it actually is. It's been hours since I set off after my pleasant parting and goodbyes with Riley, and since I haven't encountered a death trap or a bloodthirsty monster panting at my heels just yet, I've had just enough time to think about what led up to my current uninterrupted wandering. Apart from the obvious facts.

And during this time, I’ve run through the long thread of my memories that have been created since I drifted into the unit. The fresh forest air seems to have pushed my brain to the brink of enlightenment, because I slowly began to realize why all of a certain Hunter's verbal attacks had found their target so far. I've had to think a lot about why it irritates me so much that he says the thoughts in my head out loud, other than it makes me feel like I'm not nearly as mysterious as I'd like to seem. And I came to quite surprising conclusions on my little health walk. Now I know what was bothering me until now, and what made me continue to provoke him even though I knew sooner or later his patience would reach its end, and he would show what he could do with those hands. The cold contempt that emanates from him evokes the visceral anger in me that I have successfully suppressed with my pride and arrogance. I never accepted people's one-sided and foolish attempts to anger me, and never allowed my perfect mask to crack and reveal my true thoughts, motivations, and self to others. But for some reason, this man cuts through the walls built over the years like a sharp knife, and every single cold look and disparaging comment is another punch to my stomach. And I know that what makes him different from the bastards who tried me countless times in my life is that I know my repertoire is not nearly enough to challenge him. A seductive smile, a witty remark, or clever manipulation won't be effective enough for him. And this encourages me to be much meaner and take our little game seriously. Because I want to prove to him that he is not better than me. No matter how much he despises me, no matter how he takes on this rigid persona, he is no different than me. He's just as cowardly, vindictive, and petty as I am, so he has no reason to look down on me from his high horse. It urges me to show him that he cannot trample or intimidate me, or chase me away. And nothing verifies my theory more than the fact that he brought me to the very edge of the yellow zone so he could reveal with a survival test, that he is capable of playing dirty to prove his point and to break me, with just as much eagerness as I have tried to sink my little teeth into him and find his weakness until now.

And I'm not so conceited and stupid to not know, that his dislike and doubts about me are not unfounded, and from his point of view it was probably a completely logical decision to take me on this excursion. In addition to the fact that he wants to demonstrate his considerable advantage over me, he also wants to show me that he is not afraid to make tough decisions if it serves the interests of his team. And there is nothing wrong with that, because if I were him, I would also try to get rid of that foul and rather dangerous element who only dropped into his little unit to cause trouble. He probably also considered how much of a disadvantage it would be, if my nifty little ability disappeared following my death, and even after this dilemma he thought it was better to carry out his plan. Because this whole situation can only benefit him. If I die or maybe take flight, then he won't have to endure my constant provocation, my behavior, or my little trick to try to get under his skin every given moment we spend together. Worst case scenario, they will just consume a couple more Healers. If I pass the test, he still expects me to understand the essence of the lesson given to me and finally learn to get in line and do my job without a fucking word.

And in light of this, I might as well just give up. After all, the most obvious decision for me would be to take myself and my little package and head towards the nearest colony. And if karma were to forgive me and I was lucky, I would probably find a group of traders along the way who would take pity on me for a leisurely ride, and voila, I made it. But there is something deep in my subconscious that does not allow me to play with this seemingly realistic plan. Because, when even for a minute it occurs to me to leave behind this sadistic brute and his nice little team, my stomach jumps with an unpleasant tug and the stubborn desire to prove myself is revived. And this pants the thought in the depths of my head, that giving up the adventure is not an option, because that would only confirm what Riley believes. That I am a criminal who continues her spineless hiding from duty and fate, which I have perfected throughout my life. And I don't understand why this would be a problem, since it is the truth. Although of course, I do not agree that I am a coward, but rather opportunistic and selfish, however there is no lie when it comes to the hiding part. And nothing would be simpler than returning to my old habits and continuing my peaceful life, free from monsters, Hunters, and Healer obligations.

Still, I have a motivation that definitely drives me forward, and I have only one goal in mind: to get out of the forest. My burning anger and stubborn resistance to the man might even explain why I want to pass the test so fervently, but it wouldn't be enough of a motive to override my selfishness. Because I have enough sense to choose my priority goals instead of my temper. My highly suicidal idea of escaping is also not entirely to be dismissed, because as a good girl, I would solve it so that I don't end up as monster food until the next safe place. That's why I don't understand what's holding me back from grabbing my belongings and dragging myself as far as humanly possible. I can't fathom what gives me that desperate, hardened determination that drives me forward like a complete idiot. Because it belies my nature not to choose myself.

I fish out the communicator from my pocket with growing irritation, to divert my attention from the sea of thoughts fighting in my head, and I pop up the map of the forest with a few button presses. And as my modest self appears on the hologram with a flashing red dot, I quickly assess how far the safe house can be. The little icon blinks about ten kilometers from me, and at this point, I start to worry about the realization that although my pace is not terrible at all, and I can maybe actually complete this insane mission, still I haven't managed to find a single trap in the last few kilometers. I've been in the thick of the wilderness long enough to know that it would be too tame for a Hunter training site if I didn't encounter any difficulties other than mosquitoes and the ever-increasing heat. And Riley wouldn't have brought me here if he didn't expect me to have to work for survival.

The sun is already high in the sky, and although I still have plenty of time to comfortably force myself through this goddamn jungle, the instinctive tightening that is slowly taking space in my stomach suggests, that this all seems far too easy to not take a turn to the worst in an instant. And I have an inkling that this bad foreshadowing feeling that has just appeared will attract trouble to me like a magnet. That is why I decide not to wait until negative thoughts direct the problems towards me, and continue on my cautious path.

Slipping my communicator back into the protective depths of the pocket on my thigh, I prepare myself to leave, to continue my walk in the direction I had previously located. The twigs and leaves crunching under my boots provide the only background noise for my journey, and instead of easing the anxiety raging in me, it encourages me to examine every square centimeter of the wilderness around me with even greater care. I could be thankful for the fact, that my depressing attention to detail finally diverted my attention from my musings on the motivation to complete the test, but it does not cause me joy that a much more burning and life-threatening paranoia has now taken the place of thoughts analyzing my relationship with the Hunters. And suddenly I start to miss the feeling I experienced during the regeneration, because then finally, if only for a short time, the thoughts that were constantly buzzing in my head disappeared.

And with that, my train of thought jumped back to the starting point again, and I only reward the cunning maneuver of my brain circuits with a rather frustrated sigh. Because it doesn't seem to be able to let go of the bizarre situation I'm in right now. I should flee, I should escape, I should cut and run, but no matter if I say it in a hundred different ways, it doesn't make any sense that I'm still moving toward the fucking finish line. I could try to drift as far away as possible from the whole complicated and unreasonably adventurous life situation I've fallen into in the last month and a half, but I won't. And the voice in the back of my skull keeps whispering in my ear that I can’t fail, because causing disappointment is not an option. But why? Wouldn't everyone's lives be easier if I disappeared? Sure, obviously Laswell and Price would be pretty annoyed at losing an investment that wasn't even close to paying off, but what else? Would it change anything if I didn't return to base?

And the thought that my death or disappearance would not leave any lasting mark on the life of Unit 141 somehow brings back a bitter taste to my tongue. I, too, am surprised by the force with which my chest tightens as the faces of MacTavish and Garrick flash before me, as the fanboy role they played with me is revived with someone else, after I have long since faded into the shadows of the past. Price, too, will continue to play a father figure to his students and toss his wisdom-wrapped praises to others, and he will not waste a single brain cell to maintain my memory. And the possibility that all of this could happen forms a lump in my throat, that threatens to burst out at any minute, and this feeling has been visiting me all too often lately.

And unwillingly, the idyllic moment spent in the gym appears before my mind's eye, and the words that the Hunters spoke at that time echo in my ears more sharply than anything else. I thought a lot about how seriously I could take their little confession, and although I came to the conclusion that I have to treat the whole discourse with skepticism, for some reason, now I want their words to be true more than anything. And for the first time, it enters my head that maybe this has something to do with the fact, that every part of me is protesting with vehement disgust against the idea of running away or failing.

But before I could dig deeper into what I want to say to myself with this, a soft, yet completely different click from the noise of the forest that I have experienced so far hits my ears. And I immediately know why the voice sounds so suspicious, because a can-like object suddenly emerges from the ground, which almost instantly presents me with its contents. Thick smoke is released around me with a speed that in all likelihood defies the laws of physics, and I am suddenly unable to move even a muscle out of shock. My eyes begin to burn excruciatingly almost right away as the first suffocating clouds of smoke reach me, and I instinctively close them, but it's too late, because the stinging pain brings tears to my eyes. Everything becomes blurry in front of me in an instant, as the mixture of smoke and increasing tears fills my vision, and when the pleasant surprise of the first trap I found in the forest reaches my lungs, in the middle of a coughing fit, I try to pull myself together and flee somewhere to escape from the fog of toxic fumes around me. No matter how much I pull my turtleneck up to my nose, it doesn't calm the stomach acid pooling in my throat, which, as a result of my very enthusiastic suffocation, is about to make its way to the outside world after flaying the top layer of my esophagus. And then I know that I didn't push the sinister feeling far enough, and finally, the traps I've been missing so fervently have made their appearance.

Ignoring the stinging pain in my eyes and throat, I stumble forward, and after a few excruciating seconds, I start running, because the reflex of flight that awakens in me works much faster and more efficiently than logic. And soon the decision that it is a good idea to continue walking blindly revenges itself, because my ankle gets stuck in something in the next few meters. It doesn't take much intelligence to grasp that I met a rope with one of my pretty legs, and when something on the tree sprawling in front of me snaps with a cracking sound, I don't even have the time to register what's happening. The thing whizzes over my head at an amazing speed, and I can only thank my modest height that the unexpected attack only brushed my ponytail and didn't help my head to degrade into a smashed melon. But with the unstoppable tears coming from my eyes, I don't have a chance to defend myself against the next surprise coming my way, and I immediately feel what it was that I narrowly avoided before. All of a sudden, all the air is forced out of me, as the rod freed from the trap meets my chest with brutal force, and I fall back on the damp ground, staggered by the force of the impact. I don't even notice how loudly my head hits the hardened layer of mud on the ground, because the pain shooting across my ribs cuts through my body as if a tank had rammed into me. For a minute, I'm unable to breathe because of the ache, which pulsates with persistent force, immobilizing all my limbs, and then I begin to gape silently with the elegance of a fish, hoping that the stupor caused by the agony will soon subside and I won't accidentally suffocate from shock.

Tiny colored spots float into my field of vision, and it takes me a moment to understand that I've probably acquired a very nice potential concussion in addition to the broken ribs. And minutes pass until the nausea finally somewhat lessens, and I am able to wriggle myself into a fetal position with slow and clumsy movements. My disoriented mind tries to understand the series of previous events, but the throbbing ache spreading through my body does not let my mind clear itself. That's why the movement is reflexive, with which I try to soothe the consequences of the assault on me, and as one of my hands crawls under the thick material of my turtleneck and smooths over the line of my ribs, following the gentle touch of my fingers, another wave of nausea runs through me. I forcefully swallow the bursting acid, because somewhere in the depths of my mind I know that I cannot waste my chances of survival by releasing the contents of my stomach and becoming dehydrated by that. Clenching my teeth, I press my palm to the place where the rod hit, and I can almost see in front of me how my skin little by little starts to glow in angry red and purple colors. Gathering all my remaining concentration, I push the small waves of my energy under my fingers, and as the sparks pulsing desperately all over my body gather there, I let out a relieved sigh. Slowly but surely, the stinging aching under my palm subsides, as my clever little skill does its best to solder the broken bones together and heal the bruised tissues and muscles. I also send a small pulse of energy towards my skull, because the pain still dully throbs there. And as soon as the crippling suffering that kept my body immobile and my brain in a hazy confusion alleviates, I find the ability to think again.

The smoke is already beginning to clear, and as it rises into the sky between the leaves, it blocks the path of the sun's rays breaking through the leaves. The whole unfortunate situation could hardly have lasted more than a few moments, but it knocked me off my feet with cruel efficiency, and I have to admit that the garbage of a person who set up the trap knew what they were doing. If it weren't for my rather useful gift, I would almost certainly pass out and spend the afternoon here having a pleasant siesta. And although a Hunter would probably have suffered less damage than me, it would have effectively slowed them down as well. But I don't have the time or desire to let some forest booby trap get the better of me.

Groaning, I rest my hands on the ground, not caring that the pain is eating into every part of my being like a familiar friend, and then I force myself onto my knees. I helped my problem just enough so that seemingly serious injuries wouldn't hinder me from progressing on my journey, but with foresight back in my head again, no matter how much every area on my back hurts, I can't afford to waste my strength. Because now it is absolutely certain that I have run out of luck that helped me divert my path from the traps, and the misfortune is catching up with me in full force.

I clumsily fish out the small water bottle that Riley included in my scout pack from my bag, and as I snap the cap off, I touch the cold metal to my mouth and take a sizeable sip, the cool caress of the water calms my burnt throat nicely. I have to be thrifty with this too, because now it has become quite a firm conviction in my head that, confirming my first intuition, it will not be easy to get out of this goddamn forest. In one piece and relatively undamaged.

I slide my water bottle back into the bag and struggle to a standing position by holding on to one of the tree trunks with my hand. When I'm sure that my feet are stable enough, I slowly search for the communicator from my pocket to check how far I managed to drift from the target direction due to the previous complication. And as soon as the holographic map appears, even I'm surprised by how skillfully I was able to keep myself relatively close to the right path, and at least that doesn't increase the annoyance that arises in me. Because I am filled with immeasurable frustration, now that I have the opportunity to realize how primitively and stupidly I walked into the first trick that popped up in my way. I'm almost certain that if I hadn't been reflecting on how the fear of losing my relationship with the funny little Hunter team was driving me forward, I would have had the brainpower to notice that I was marching into fucking danger. Then my attention might not have been distracted so far from reality that I would have remembered to pay more attention to my surroundings, which I was sure from the beginning holds sweet little thrills for me.

It seems that my newly found anger gives me enough impetus to overcome the ache that settles in his body, and I take advantage of this momentum to set off in the right direction. I don't give myself time to dwell on my foolishness, but I turn every single one of my senses towards the forest that looks more and more suspicious in front of me. I can't allow myself to be enriched with more of these amazing experiences through some obscure invention, because the idea is taking increasingly bigger space in my mind, that the purpose of these is not only to slow someone down, but rather to eliminate the unfortunate participants in the test.

I proceed with cautious steps, almost paranoidly measuring every single branch and twig that is even slightly suspiciously placed on the ground. All my nerves are focused on the outside world around me, and now I understand why they chose a forest to perform a test of this caliber. Because if the goal is to weed out the weak links among the applicants, then I will take them to a field where it will be revealed how well they can deal with the frustration of the unknown. Those who enter here not only have to worry about whether they will survive if an obstacle crosses their path, but they also have to endure the fact, that although they know that they will surely encounter danger at some point, they can't foresee when and how. And this plants the kind of tension in the depths of one's consciousness, which slowly consumes their sanity. And Riley very cunningly thought that this would be the case with me. The bastard knew very well that it would be enough for me to come across one of the probably thousands of life-threatening small toys in the woods, and it would hinder me just enough that I would try to avoid the others by overthinking my every step. And for some reason, it gives me evil satisfaction that, if it hadn't been clear by now, he analyzed me at least as much as I dissected him.

I don't have to wander far, and my precaution is already paying off, because the slyly hidden wire swims almost imperceptibly into my field of vision, and stretched out between two tree trunks, it is waiting with open arms for me to run into it. I stop for a moment as I take in the thin line of the cord glistening with a metallic shine, and even I'm taken aback as I realize that this seemingly harmless, fine little wire could slash up its unsuspecting victim if they move towards it at the right speed. I'm starting to question more and more why anyone would feel the need to go to such hazardous lengths to test the Hunters' suitability, since it doesn't seem very expedient to want to make sliced-up salami from those whom I want to use for monster extermination. They are outnumbered compared to the number of mutants anyway, so why are they trying to butcher them before the energy and money invested in their training can pay off?

I keep my eyes on the area that stretches out in front of me because it seems too simple that this tiny little inconvenience is the only thing trying to thwart my survival. And I don't have to be disappointed, because the moment I take a closer look at the rather harmless bushes located next to the tree trunks tied together with cable, I realize that on both sides of the trap, there is a nice little package waiting, in the form of the smoke bombs I now know so well. How cunning. If someone doesn't fall for the wire, no matter which side they want to avoid this from, they will definitely walk into another trap. And I'm also absolutely sure that a surprise awaits beyond the cable if someone tries to hide under it.

It seems almost comical that the creators of the training site concentrated all their creative little creations in the middle of the forest, because it seems disturbingly clear that the goal was to distract the bastards who wandered in, and then surprise them later. And I would rather smash my head against one of the tree trunks because of the knowledge, that this tactic worked quite beautifully on me as well.

Putting aside my frustration at my own stupidity, I search for a possible gap where I can cross the area in front of me more safely, and when I see the broad trunk of a tree stretched out on the ground not far away, I decide to give it a go. I carefully move closer and comb through every small crack in search of a device of dubious origin. But when I find nothing, but ivy's tendrils winding peacefully along the grooves of the tree trunk, I'm relieved for a minute that maybe I won't be stuck here, since no fucking route seems safe enough. With quick movements, I hop on top of the wood, and for a second I carefully measure the bare site in front of me, still spying on which blade of grass is bent even in a slightly suspicious manner to hide another danger behind it. And the restlessness revives itself in me again when I can't find anything, because at this point I already expect to step into some funny little structure every second.

I jump off the log with such limber movements that belie the pain running through my body, and the branches break under my feet with a soft crunch as I hit the ground. I proceed carefully, and in the meantime, my eyes scan the bodies of the trees with the attention of a predator searching for prey, to see if fate brings me back to one of the ankle-breaking and neck-slitting traps I've seen before. It paints a deceptively gentle picture in front of me, as a warm breeze dances the leaves of the trees golden from the sunlight, but I do not fall for the apparent peace. Because the strings of my nerves that are strained to the point of breaking tell me precisely, that every fucking square centimeter holds another damn risk for me.

But despite all my awareness, despite every step taken with increased caution, and in spite of the fact that I searched every hidden nook and cranny, my ears are hit by a crack louder than any before, as a twig drifts under the sole of my boot, and I don't have the slightest chance to avoid what follows. Because two bent, metal rods swinging out of the forest floor covered with mud and weeds are closing around my left leg sooner than I have time to process it. And the pain that rushes in my body from the force of the metal pressing on my flesh through the fabric of the pants, elicits a loud cry from me. The instinctive desire to escape awakens in me, and I try to pull my legs out of the straps, but they lock around me like a vise, and with every movement they only send new waves of misery over the bruised muscles.

But, if this wasn't a disturbing enough development in the next stop of my leisurely stroll on the soft lap of nature, a sharp sound goes off out of nowhere, surpassing my panting echoing in the wildness of the forest. The whistling screams at such a deafening volume, that I freeze in fear in the midst of my attempts to escape. A sharp pain rips through my ears, and I instinctively press my hands to them and start searching for the source of the sound. My eyes jump wildly in the tangled mass of trees and vines, and it takes a few agonizing moments before I find the tiny little device attached to one of the tree trunks, from which an enthusiastically flashing red dot points at me. I follow the line of the structure directed towards me, and as soon as I see the flashing red dot on my chest, I immediately understand that the metal enveloping my legs in a friendly hug is not my only problem. Whatever it is that the high-frequency screeching is trying to lure here, it won't do me any good to wait until it gets here. That's why, I double the energy that I've spent on my attempts to break free so far, and I try to remove the bars from myself even more vehemently.

But even the ringing in my ears is penetrated by the crackling sound that suddenly appears in the hidden shadows of the forest, and I reflexively turn my head to the source of the noise. All my muscles go rigid and I become completely immobile as my gaze finds a dark shadow, blurred by distance, approaching with jerky movements in the direction where my humble person has frozen into a statue. And it becomes clear what the series of clever little traps I discovered earlier served, because I now recognize that even though I thought I had suddenly advanced to become an expert in forest traps, every obstacle that appeared up until now wanted to lead me here. No matter where I would have stumbled into this whole damn pile of shit, probably every small structure on the way to the safe house would have directed me here. Because by being a survival trial for Hunters, the goal all along could have been to end up here and find myself face-to-face with a monster. And I feel incredibly stupid for thinking that this would not happen. I should have known that Riley wasn't giving me the fucking gun as a decoration.

As if a divine spark had just ignited in my brain, I break out of the paralyzed anticipation, as my heart desperately tries to pump the adrenaline in my veins, revived by the terror. I hastily tear the backpack from my back, and with clumsy movements, I start to search its depths for the gun that Riley gave me, because, like a real idiot, I forgot that I had it at all. Nothing is more proof of my arrogance and blindness than the fact, that I hoped even for a brief moment, that it would be in a better place at the bottom of my bag than in my hand, because I wouldn't be needing it anyway.

And when my fingers find the cold metal among the many tiny survivor items, I don't get to enjoy the small success, because a bone-shattering roar soars above the deafening noise of the still enthusiastically whistling device. Frightened, my hand clenches around the pistol's grip as I turn my attention back to the unknown creature, and my blood runs cold instantly, as what the noise lured here emerges in front of me. Due to the coverage of the bushes, I can only see a large back covered with sparse, dark hair, and the deformed extensions of the vertebrae rise like sharp spikes along the spine, which are stained dark by the dirt and blood that have dried on them. The I.M.L.'s milky white eyes appear with an almost unnatural glint in the shadow of the canopy, and I forget to even breathe as I survey the monster, which could once have been a wild boar. And it doesn't take much intelligence to figure out that if this huge, bloodthirsty beast with bulging muscles ventures closer, I will not survive that encounter.

The realization is enough to wake me up again from my petrified state and trigger the survival instinct in me, which immediately tells me that even though I have the gun, I don't have the slightest chance of taking down this scumbag in such an open field. Because I can't waste my ammo and pump it full of bullets, because there's a chance that it has a few more buddies who will want to show up if I manage to escape this situation alive. Therefore, I tuck the gun into the waistband of my pants, yank my bag onto my back, and desperately grab the shackles that hold my legs with my hands, and clenching my teeth, I strain against them with all my might. A blinding agony rips through my back from the effort, but I pay no attention to it, but rather use the suffering to fight on, knowing for sure that if the beast gets here, that will be the end for me. And this is enough motivation for some foreign strength reserved in the hidden depths of me to emerge, which almost makes my muscles swell with unknown power. And as soon as the metal bars let go of their hold even for a little bit, I quickly pull my leg out of the trap.

I only take one last alarmed look at I.M.L., who moves out from among the branches, and turns its huge head, distorted by ulcerated bumps towards me, and as I assess the tusks probably as thick as my forearm protruding from its mouth, I don't wait any longer. I start running at such a speed that even my two cheerleader boys would erupt in ecstatic joy. The pain hits my left leg like a hammer with every movement, which continues to radiate into all my joints, but due to the adrenaline raging inside me, my brain only perceives the ache as a dull, distant feeling. Branches tear my clothes and get caught in my hair as I sprint frantically, but I don't care about anything else than getting as far away from the monster as possible, whose pounding steps, for now, reach my ears only from a distance.

In the middle of my panic-stricken rush, I try to go through the possible plans in my stressed brain that can help prevent me from becoming a mangled corpse. Even though the pistol digs into my waist with seductive hardness, I know that, unlike my trainers, my aiming skills are not half as developed that the fired bullet would stray close to the beast while running, let alone hit a vital organ that would lay it flat after one shot. However, the incessant throbbing in my leg reminds me that I can't just flee forever, because this enraged behemoth will catch up sooner or later, and I shouldn't wait for it to impale me with its tusks. And it's not a solution to mindlessly launch into the unknown landscape of the forest, because there's a chance that I'll stumble into a nice little trap again, which will definitely not end well. My only hope is that I can find some hideout and maybe I'll be lucky enough to surprise this bastard and hit it with a bullet while I take cover.

And, as soon as the idea forms in me, I start a desperate search for a nook and cranny, for anything that would be able to conceal me from the swine breathing down on my neck. But no matter how hard I look, the landscape slips past me too quickly for my gray matter to grasp any detail of it, or to identify a potential hiding place, since it's too busy leading me out of the mouth of danger. The thunderous sound of the feet behind me, which is getting louder and louder, doesn't help either, because it only increases my heart rate, which is already soaring to life-threatening heights, which, pounding on my eardrums, provides the only rhythm for my sprinting. I can almost feel the I.M.L.'s breath smelling of decaying flesh on the back of my neck, and every little hair rises from the sensation, and the cruel fist of fear closes around my stomach.

I don't dare to take my eyes off the rapidly changing forest scenery in front of me for even a moment, because the panic is working inside me, that says if I am careless even for a minute, the earth will open in two and swallow me, making sure to prepare me nicely for the monster's arrival. My lungs burn desperately as my accelerated breathing tries to get oxygen into my body, and I surprise even myself with how easy I seem to run without stopping. As if the fatigue had magically left my tormented limbs, and now some completely new force was driving me forward, which wouldn't let me give up or stop even for a second.

Suddenly, almost out of nowhere, the end of the forest floor appears in front of me, and I quickly realize that my survival is facing an unexpected obstacle. But as fast as the complication arrive, I decide my next step with the same speed, and without any hesitation, I throw myself down the steep hillside that emerges. Falling on my side, I slide down, and the sharp pain caused by the roots and stones hitting my body does not arrive at my brain. I quickly reach for the pistol that is slowly slipping out of my pants, and firmly wrap my fingers around the grip, and I stick out my free hand through the cloud of dust raised around me to dig into the ground, trying to control my body as it drifts down the hill.

And as I hit the bottom of the small chasm, I give myself a fleeting second to finally find a shelter, which can give me the opportunity to get rid of the beast that is slowly catching up with me. As if it were a gift from God, a pile of fallen trees towering over each other appear not long before me, and I'm filled with wild joy at the knowledge that I had finally found the perfect place. I immediately swing towards my makeshift fortress at breakneck speed, and the screeching howling from the top of the hill only motivates me to hurry. And when I reach my destination, I tear off my backpack with hasty movements and drop to my stomach to pull myself into the very narrow gap that opens under the trunks of the trees and the ground. The smell of musty, rotten leaves and wet earth fills my nose, and I clench my teeth and swallow the painful moan caused by the rough surface of the tree barks scratching my back, which is already full of injuries.

But before I can get into the right position for the attack, the trees resting above me creak with a loud crack, and I struggle onto my back in fear. And as I find myself eye-to-eye with the monster through the gaps filtering through the trunks, every part of my body freezes with icy fear. The milky white, worldless eyes stare at me, the stench of death and carrion emanating from the huge mouth fills my nose, and the otherworldly growl that erupts from the mutant echoes in every corner of my consciousness. With a loud bang, its heavy head collides with the logs protecting me, and with each movement, splinters of wood fly into the air following its attacks.

And I'm petrified, trembling, waiting to wake up, because the whole situation I've fallen into seems like a bad dream. My brain can't process how close death has come to me, and not a single nerve in me gets a spark from the shock of the realization. A single thought flashes before in my mind as the mutant methodically destroys my cover, that I can't end up like this. I can't die in the middle of a desolate forest, alone, by a damned mutated boar. I can't let myself become a pile of mangled guts and bones. This shouldn't be the last memory that is left of me. I can't let THEM remember me as the girl who got mauled by a fucking pig. I CAN'T DIE.

I have to realize that I have never experienced such terror in my life, and the dread brings a whole new side of me to the surface. And this self of me clings to every fragrant thread of life with its teeth and nails, and invades my body with such determination that it unexpectedly breaks my consciousness out of frozen shock. Such anger and poison ripple through all the fibers of my being, after which my energy boils up in my veins like hot lava, and suddenly all my senses are sharpened and focused on one single goal. My hand no longer trembles, as I raise the pistol clutched in it and load it, and all doubts about whether I will be saved disappear. The barrel of the gun is pointed confidently at the head of the wild animal raging above me, and even though it struggles with the thick tree trunks and gets closer to me, by now every drop of uncertainty has left my body. And as soon as I see the pus-oozing ulcer bulging between its two eyes in the aim, my finger pulls the trigger without hesitation.

The gun fires with an ear-piercing bang, and it doesn't bother me at all as the noise gets louder due to the insulation of the ground and trees around me, and my ears start to ring. Because it fills me with much greater joy when the mutant bastard staggers over and its huge body falls to the ground with a thud. Whining, I turn onto my stomach again to crawl out of my hideout, because the excitement and adrenaline pounding inside me tell me that it's not over yet, I still have to fight.

And when I emerge from under the tree trunks, I throw the pistol on the ground and straighten up to get around the pile of wood, and approach the beast lying on the other side with decisive steps. I had a good guess that a bullet wouldn't be enough to kill these bastards, because the virus that deforms them is famous for making its victims surprisingly durable if it can keep the host alive longer. But this little pig is out of luck, because the energy bubbling inside me gives me a determination that it will most certainly not survive. Bending down, I weave my fingers on an arm-thick stick, and my every muscle is filled with murderous rage as I gallop closer and measure up the monster writhing in the dirt. Black blood is bubbling from the gunshot wound on its head, its legs are twitching wildly as it tries to recover from the shock so that it can stand up and attack again. But I'm already there by its side, and it has no chance to pull itself together again.

I hit it with such momentum that when the piece of wood comes into contact with the beast's body, the force of the impact resonates through my arm almost painfully. But the cruel temper works much more strongly in me, which urges me more and more to continue what I have begun. My hand rises again and again, and with each blow stomach-churning crunches and splashes erupt from the mutant. A loud roar escapes from my mouth as I deliver blow after blow to my enemy who is slowly becoming motionless on the ground, but even then the immeasurable anger raging inside me does not subside. Because every single one of my frustrations is pouring out of me now, which was only reinforced by death coming within a hair's breadth. Gritting my teeth, I slam down without stopping, and I don't care about the gnawing ache in my back, nor the pain straining my palm. And I don't stop my rampage until the branch breaks in my hand and the other end lands on the ground, in a pile of mutilated flesh beyond recognition.

I bend down on my knees panting, and for the first time, I really take a look at what I have just done. And as I survey the ground soaked with dark blood, the brain coils lying in small pieces through the shattered skull, I am filled with a strange satisfaction. Because the image flashes in my mind that if I hadn't been the stronger one, then I would be lying in the mud in the same way now. And even then, I don't regret the brutality with which I executed this vermin, when the red clouds of rage clear from my brain, and the mixture of adrenaline and energy pulsating in my veins finally begins to calm down.

And as the impulse that had kept me moving lessens, I feel every stab of the pain radiating through my body again, but the knowledge of how my desperate struggle for survival has amortized me doesn't dampen my mood. Because I recall again the image that danced in front of my mind's eye when, like a switch, the terror in me turned into brutal anger fighting for survival. And even I am surprised when I realize how deeply I was affected by the humanity and trust shown to me by the small group of Hunters. Because in the throat of death, among others, the faces of MacTavish, Garrick, and Price appeared before me, and the realization that I could not lose what I had just tasted drove my body towards fighting more vehemently than anything else in my life. And although I still think it's pathetic to admit, I can no longer deny that the reason I rejected the idea of running away and pushed myself forward was the fact, that I've already sampled what it's like to be one of them, and I'm willing to fight tooth and nail, so that I don't experience this for the last time. Because no one has ever, not even once, turned to me with as much compassion and warmth as these people in their own way, and there is no power in this world that can divert my selfish desire to continue enjoying this exceptional treatment. And an amused laugh breaks out of me when I realize that even Riley won't stand a chance, and I'm willing to stroll to the safe house to throw this in his face. On second thought, I should be grateful to the man for bringing me here. Because I suspect that I would not have reached this enlightenment without a near-death experience.

I stand up with renewed motivation, I turn around and start searching for my scattered equipment. And when my eyes find my bag lying on the floor, I pull a small smile on my face and smoothing my hand on the back of my head, I start to heal the bruises and deep cuts running along my back. I will need all my strength and all my equipment, because I will not stop until the end, even if I have to chase myself until my last breath. And when I reach the finish line, I will pass on all the lessons of my new discovery to the Hunter.

* ⃰

Exhaustion weighs on my legs like a heavy burden, and even though I've healed most of my injuries, there's just enough aching left to remind me that I can't stop. And it wouldn't make sense to get rid of it anyway, because I can already see the wretched shack appearing behind the thinning line of trees, for which I crossed this goddamn forest. The fiery rays of the setting sun paint the tin roof of the shabby house orange, and this diverts the attention from the fact that the whole shanty is probably only held together by the Holy Spirit. It may have once been used by hikers to rest on their way after a long adventure, and at the time it may have seemed more suitable for this purpose. Still, this crumbling cabin is the most beautiful thing I've ever had the pleasure of seeing in my eyes now. Because limping towards it means I've done it. I survived the ordeal I thought was impossible and passed the test, which I suspect neither I nor Riley, who is waiting for me at the cottage, expected with full certainty.

My hand looks for leverage in one of the tree trunks as I step forward from the woods, and my gaze almost automatically meets the man's, who merely pushes himself away from the wall of the safe house upon my arrival. And I'd be lying if I said that it doesn't fill me with ferocious joy when I can feel the mild surprise emanating from him even from a distance, since I know that even if he counted on the possibility that I would get out of this affair alive, he also assumed that my path would not lead here. The dark eyes run over me in a split second, and I feel them taking in every available surface of my battered, dirty and blood-stained form, and I have to hide the evil little smile that wishes to come on my lips, when it occurs to me, that the state of my appearance might give him reason for concern.

And when he steps off the small porch of the shack, I, accompanied by a weak moan, let the fatigue and the throbbing ache in my limbs take over and help my body fall to the ground with a dull thud. After the trials of the previous hours, I can accept the feeling more easily as I meet the hard ground, and it even feels a little pleasant, as I enter a state close to resting for the first time since the previous night. Closing my eyes, I allow myself to finally relax for a few moments after the hellish lesson I've been through, and it doesn't bother me at all that I'm stirring up and inhaling the dust below me with my slow breathing. Thanks to MacTavish and Garrick's clever little ideas, I'm almost used to this experience.

But my attention doesn't waver despite my seemingly unconscious state, because I keep my ears open and listen as the Hunter's heavy steps get closer and closer to me, thus leading him into the sneaky little trap that I had time to devise while running the last few kilometers. The shadow of his tall figure looms over me as he stands in front of me, and I can almost feel his searching gaze burning my back, as he surely checks for signs of life on my limp person. His unmistakable spicy scent creeps into my nose as he crouches down next to me, and I feel one of his big hands spreading across my back. The touch with which he pulls aside the fabric of my torn turtleneck to examine my injuries is light as a feather, and I continue to let him explore with the calmness of a fainted victim, even though the worn skin tingles in the wake of his probing.

And the possibility probably fills him with sincere uncertainty that he might have really succeeded and killed the new little helper of his team, because he doesn't even notice the way one of my eyes opens and assesses the person crouching next to me. His left hand is resting on one of his bent thighs, and his tattooed skin peeking out from under his rolled-up sleeve is calling me almost seductively, offering itself to be the protagonist of my little action. I let him estimate the damage for a few more moments, and when his hand slides from my back to my shoulder to reach under me and lift me up, I know the moment has arrived to strike. Using the momentum of the power left in me, I suddenly reach for his free hand, and my fingers lock onto his upper arm with such speed that he doesn't have enough time to free himself from his musings about my battered state. The muscles under my palm tense up as I channel the first sparks of my lightning-fast little energy into him, forcing a momentary confusion on the Hunter in a vile way.

And as he sways for a minute and loses his rock-solid balance, I seize this opportunity to spring up and push into him with my full weight, grabbing his shoulders and almost throwing myself at him. He falls on the ground with a loud thump as a result of my unexpected action, and I am on top of him in a second, and with skillful movements I unfasten a large knife from the tactical vest on his chest in order to point it at his neck and stop him in any kind of opposition that might arise in him. During the journey there, I had plenty of time to imagine how I was going to carry out my little revenge, which I would use to reward the hostile little words addressed to me as a farewell. But I have to say, as I kneel over him, the sight before me is far beyond my imagination.

As he wakes up from the shock of the moment, his brown eyes jump to my face and are filled with honest surprise as they take in the situation and the triumphant smile on my lips. He tries to move under me, but I only press the pretty little blade that I have just so deftly stolen from him to his throat a bit harder. And that familiar tremble appears in my stomach again, as the line of his jaw shifts in frustration when he realizes what a clever little trap I've lured him into with my award-winning performance. And I remind myself to mention to Price later, that he was wrong about that I can't always rely on distraction when I attack. Because I managed to catch even the strongest Hunter in the unit unprepared with the neat little trick.

"Looks like I won." I sprinkle in my comment, and I don't even try to make the superiority that moves into my voice disappear, because, after the day I've been through, I'm finally going to have some fun. And since my goal is to further enhance the already interesting situation, I lean closer to him with my free hand sliding to his chest so that I can study and enjoy every available change of his face from a safe distance. And I pull a smirk on my lips when I note how his body tenses under me, but he continues to wait with deliberate immobility to see where my little activity leads. Although I know that if he wanted to, he would throw me off of himself like a rag doll. "I hope you haven't forgotten what you promised if I manage to touch you with even a finger."

With this, I really manage to catch him off guard for a moment, because I can recognize the process even from the coverage of the mask, as he furrows his brows in confusion. I ponder on the idea, that up until now he could have been preparing for the fact that I would end his career on earth now out of revenge for this whole torture, but fortunately, the enlightenment I experienced in the forest diverted me from this path for some time now. Although it is true that it has crossed my mind a couple of times to inform him of my discoveries in a more uncomfortable and bloodier way than what my present actions convey. But since I am determined to return to the base, even though I need him as a driver, it is also a non-negligible aspect, thanks to my newly found sympathy, that his absence, presumably, would deeply sadden his little team. And maybe my everyday life would become much more boring without our little games.

"I didn't think you’d be able to do it." He says, breaking his silence, and it's not entirely clear whether he's talking about my escape or my little revenge maneuver, but whatever he means, the breath of playfulness in his deep voice gives me satisfaction. Because this is the first time that his speech directed at me doesn't ring with hostility or harsh bluntness.

"I hope you can get over it." I reply to his comment with unbroken cheerfulness, since I really hope that he can put aside his disappointment caused by my survival for the sake of our future relationship. As things currently stand, my plans include spoiling the air of unit for the foreseeable future, and perhaps this outing in the woods has diverted both of us to the path where the atmosphere between the two of us will become somewhat more livable. Of course, it doesn't even occur to me that we'll be best friends, because I don't plan to hold back a single remark from my sharp little tongue, regardless of what revelations I've made in the heat of the fucking life-threatening danger. And I suspect he will feel just a little bit less motivated to break my neck. But that's perfectly fine. If our little duel didn't continue, I'm afraid my life would become too boring and gray. After all, what would I do in my spare time if I couldn't think of creative ways to piss him off?

"We'll see." He reacts to my little suggestion quite casually, and for some reason, I particularly like the way he is stuck underneath me, between my thighs, and lets me enjoy every little moment of my victory. Interestingly, this position suits him surprisingly well, where he's robbed of control by someone taking him to the ground, which I suspect is not a common occurrence. And this is starting to soothe my soul somewhat after today's sea of shit.

But as his dark eyes leave my face and move on to my figure pinning him to the ground, the superiority I just felt suddenly diminishes. And the excited little sparks under my skin shouldn't arise by the way his gaze glides over me, because now I have the upper hand, and in this situation, my morbid little joy should be the cause of the tingle appearing in my stomach at most. But now a new feeling rears its evil little head inside me, prompting me to retreat quickly, because this intimate moment has the potential to take an unknown turn if I stay in it. And as much as I know that the man sprawled beneath me is probably just looking for ways in his indifferent mind to torture me later as a reward for my little move, I still can't get rid of the thrilling excitement that moves into my limbs.

Therefore, I rather decide that it is time to return to the base, because the imaginations in my head are rampant in increasingly wild ways due to fatigue. So I easily give up on my little mission, since I am too worn out and exhausted to burden my already frayed nerves with such complicated thoughts and observations. I push myself away from him with quick movements, giving myself momentum with my hand resting on his chest, and standing up, I take a few steps back to give him a chance to gather himself.

"You could take me back now." I raise my free hand towards him, putting all my indifference into this small gesture, even though I know that this is my first move towards him, in which no insidious, sly ulterior motive is hidden. "I'd kill for a shower." I add a rather realistic reason to my wish, because the only thing that can help my current state is a good bath and my hard little bed. And while before I would have accepted it cynically if the enjoyment of such simple pleasures arose in me, after wrestling with mutants, I somehow re-evaluate how uplifting the feeling can be when I'm allowed to just simply exist pleasantly.

A few torturous moments pass, but finally, he firmly wraps his long fingers around my outstretched hand, and regaining consciousness from the shock of my attack he sits up, and I, accompanied by the screams of my tortured muscles, pull him up so that he can tower above me again. I'm sure that he would have been able to do this stunt on his own too, but the fact that he accepted my hand instead of killing me on the spot, fills me with a breath of contentment that I wouldn't admit out loud, even if a cute little piglet would want to murder me again.

"Remember that you owe me a wish." I remind him, as I tap his vest with the knife I had sneaked away from him, and I can't hold back the cheeky grin curling at the corners of my mouth, which appears on my face at the mention of my reward. If he thought that one of the forest traps would make such an impression on my mind that I would forget his irresponsibly sarcastic little remark, then I'm sad to say, that he played with the wrong person. Because unfortunately, my memory is even better than my survival instinct. "I won't let you cop out." I promise him, and despite the insolence in my voice, my intentions are really serious in this regard, because he can be certain, that I will save up this opportunity for a very sneaky moment. Those who have an irresponsible mouth will have to suck it up and follow through.

"Let's go." He cuts my little threat short, while taking the knife I got from him and sliding it back into one of the intricate pockets of his vest with practiced movements. He gives me another meaningful look, and he doesn't have to voice what his message is to me, because I can decipher it myself quite well. And as the coldness in the dark eyes moderates somewhat, I realize that from now on he wants to chase me away from his team a few degrees less. Because my return was a clear answer to the question that had probably been on his mind until now, and now that he can rest assured that I will not stab him in the back, he will be calmer to let me live.

He walks towards the jeep with comfortable steps, and I follow him, accompanied by a tired sigh, but still keeping my lightness. I don't spare a single glance at the forest behind me, which is slowly fading into the evening, even though it has become the scene of fateful memories. And although the events that took place in the abundance of nature resolved many of my stormy emotions and thoughts, I can't wait to leave the fucking home of life-threatening adventures behind me. Because I am much more interested in how my life at the unit will continue after this. And something tells me that the real excitement will only follow after this.

#cod #captain price #kyle gaz garrick #cod ghost #simon ghost x reader #simon riley x oc #simon ghost riley #simon riley x reader #simon riley #johnny soap mactavish #john soap mactavish #john price #kyle garrick #kate laswell #konig cod #konig mw2 #konig call of duty #call of duty #cod mw2 #ghost call of duty #cod mw ghost #ghost mw2 #ghost cod #ghost #ghost simon riley #ghost x reader #john soap mctavish #captain john price #soap #soap mactavish

[paytato435]

Chapter 3: You His Pet or Somethin'?

The Knife Set

Leo was in a pickle. He hadn’t realized how big of a pickle yet though. Like, he thought it was maybe one of those cocktail sized ones you’d skewer onto a sandwich. As it turned out, he’d discovered pickles could get pretty big. Like, he was pretty sure Raph could fit in this one- this metaphorical pickle anyway. Not a literal pickle… are there any pickles in the fridge now? He was getting a little hungry now that he thought about it…

“So it was you?!” Mikey’s voice broke in surprise as he had just watched his older brother turn one of his kitchen knives into a mystic katana.

Leo froze. He had not seen the box turtle behind him. Turning his head just slightly, he could see his little brother in the doorway, his finger pointing accusingly right at him.

“You’re the one who keeps stealing my kitchen knives!”

“Stealing?” Leo asked, touching his finger to his lip. “I was just borrowing the one…”

“LIAR!” Mikey stormed into the kitchen and gestured to his knife block, where, of the dozen knives that had been there less than two weeks ago, there now remained only two.

“You keep using my knives to make more swords!”

Leo bit his lip.

“Look, it’s not my fault they keep breaking under the pressure-”

“You’ve broken them?! HOW?”

“I don’t know, I guess they just aren’t as strong as you’d think they’d be,” Leo shrugged, twirling the new katana into his scabbard.

“Kitchen knives are meant for chopping food, not hacking apart bad guys!” Mikey sobbed.

“Well what am I supposed to do then? I need my katanas!”

“Go ask Todd to make you another garden trowel, I don’t know! And get me a new set of knives!”

Leo sighed loudly. Asking for a new set of knives was fair, but it would be a huge pain. He was also having trouble getting a hold of Todd. Turns out his puppy park was going through some legal trouble about zoning requirements or something, his forge likely included. Maybe Leo could just buy himself a knife set too, but he was really tired of his swords cracking under the pressure.

“A garden trowel as a sword?” Leo and Mikey snapped their heads around to see Casey sitting at the breakfast bar, not even four feet away from them.

“How long have you been there?” Leo asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Long enough,” Casey shrugged. “But really, tell me how a garden trowel makes for a good sword.” His tone pitched up in questioning.

“I thought you knew everything about us,” Leo tipped his head. “We can make our weapons out of pretty much anything, as long as we have our ninpo.”

“Well yeah, I knew that, but wouldn’t an actual sword work better?” Casey asked, shoveling around his cereal with a spoon.

“I don’t suppose you have one lying around here somewhere?” Leo asked, lowering his head and jutting his chin out.

“Jus’ get Synth to make you one. Thas’ what you did in the fujure,” Casey said through a mouthful of cereal.

“Synth? Who’s that?”

Casey’s eyes widened as he took a bite of Frosted Flakes. (He’d been getting more adventurous with his food choices lately.) “You don’t know Synth? The greatest swordsman of all time?!”

“Ok I’m going to pretend you didn’t just rank me below anyone else in terms of swordsmanship and skip to the part where I say; nooooo?” 

“Well you should, if my memory serves, he works for the Battle Nexus.”

“For Big Mama?” Mikey piped up. “Sounds like he’s probably up to no good.”

“He made… makes weapons for her champions,” Casey explained, fidgeting with his hands nervously. “As for Big Mama, I can’t say whether or not he’s a fan of hers. He’s not big on talking about himself. He did get along well enough with you though, Leo.”

“I can’t imagine he’s cheap,” Leo scoffed. “After that last Jupiter Jim premiere I’m broke!”

“You really should get a job, Leo,” Mikey gave him a side-eye, but Leo waved him off.

“I’m sure you can work something out with him,” Casey encouraged, smiling. “Sensei always had a way of brokering a deal.”

Leo was not at all surprised to hear he was still very much the face-man in the future. But at the same time, he still wasn't used to hearing someone talk about himself like he knew more about him than his own self. It felt tangential to the whole Hamato destiny stuff, like he just had to be what they told him to.

And while a part of him wanted to resist the idea based solely on contrarianism, Casey’s bowling ball eyes were just so damn reflective. Like, Leo thought his face might explode or something if he didn’t go along with it. So he took a step back and thought it over. What was the worst that could happen?

“All right, sure. I’m sure we can check out this Synth guy on our way back from like… wherever Mikey gets his kitchen utensils from,” Leo conceded, straightening up.

Casey froze.

“We?” He sputtered, only to frantically grasp at the bits of cereal he accidentally sputtered onto his chin.

“Yes, we, this is your idea isn’t it? You, me, and Mikey,”

“Why do I have to go? You’re doing this for me!” Mikey cut in.

“You know I’m not going to get the right set if you don’t come with us,” Leo pointed out.

Mikey made a 'I wish I could say otherwise but we all know better' face.

“Leo, I… you know why I can’t go up there…” Casey stumbled, shrinking into his chair. “It’s, it’s all so open…”

In a completely necessary gesture, Leo whipped out Mikey’s ex-kitchen knife and pointed it right down Casey’s nose.

“You can’t hide down here forever kid. If this means anything to you then you’re coming with me.”

“It doesn’t,” Casey shrugged. “It’s your sword.”

“Oh come on!” Leo collapsed over on himself. “You aren’t even a little bit invested in my path to becoming the greatest ninja of all time?”

Mikey popped up next to Casey and made him jump.

“What Leo is trying to say, is that he wants you to come with him because we’re family and we should spend more time outside together. And it’ll be fun!” Mikey starting doing a little dance up at that last bit, shaking invisible maracas.

Casey looked like he was starting to regret his own idea, but eventually nodded.

“Yeah! Team Baja Blast is headed out, baby!” Mikey jumped onto the bar table and pointed at the ceiling.

“Wait a minute, you’re broke!” Mikey pointed back down at Leo. Leo looked away.

“You were gonna make ME pay for the knives that YOU ruined!”

“I didn’t say anything of that nature,” Leo scoffed. “Casey, how much money do you have?”

Casey started to pull out his wallet but Mikey stopped him.

“Oh no no no NO!” Mikey scolded the slider. “You are not putting this on him!”

“Well how am I supposed to get you your knife set huh?”

Mikey squinted one eye and jabbed it into Leo’s plastron.

“Get. A. JOB!”

-

“You his pet or somethin’?”

“I don’t get it Casey, how am I supposed to be a ninja, a student, and have a job all at the same time?” Leo whined as they walked to the Grand Nexus Hotel. Without the money to pay for his lost knives, Mikey refused to join them. Leo would have to pay him back another time.

“How should I know? I have just as much experience as you here,” Casey raised his arms helplessly. But when Leo looked over to him he was smiling wickedly.

“What with that face?” Casey knew that look all too well.

“Do you think I could make money being a ninja?” Leo asked, tipping his head to one side.

“Like a mercenary???” Casey asked, concerned.

“I was thinking more like a bounty hunter,” Leo shrugged, crossing his hands behind his head.

“And who’s paying you? I can’t see you working with the police.”

“Oooooo now there’s an idea,” Leo spun around walking backwards. “Take money from bad guys for taking out bad guys.”

Casey tried to process what Leo was saying, but Leo kept going.

“Pops and Raph would hate that though,” he shrugged, dodging between people. “Honor and all that. Man, it blows that Pops is being more stingy with money lately.”

“Sorry,” Casey lowered his head. He knew that their allowances had spread out thinner now that Casey was living with them.

“Aw shit, no man, I didn’t mean it like that,” Leo corrected himself. He sighed. “Maybe Hueso will let me work for him. Surely he’s gotten over the unicorn incident by now…” Leo started mumbling to himself, so Casey turned his attention to the city around him.

It was still intimidating, for sure, but he was starting to think the walks with Mikey had helped some. The worst part by far were the cars. He couldn’t believe that there were machines that could fly past him at the speed of Krang hounds and that was safe and normal. He had been in the Turtle Tank, sure, but it was a whole other thing to be surrounded by hundreds of them.

They came out of nowhere, stopped suddenly, and everytime he heard a horn… he was over it, man. The only thing keeping him grounded was Leo. The way he moved through the crowds so easily, the ease at which he navigated town, Casey had a hard time believing this was the same world his sensei grew up in. Surely he’d fallen into some stranger alternate universe.

“We’re here!” Leo announced, waving his hand in front of Casey’s face. He blinked. He hadn’t realized he’d spaced out.

“It’s huge!” Casey gasped. It dwarfed every other building on the block, and that was saying something.

“Duh, Big Mama doesn’t do anything that isn’t big,” Leo rolled his eyes. “Speaking of, you do have some idea of how to get to this Synth guy, right? I’m not itching to be making a deal with her.”

Casey folded his hands in front of his chin and gave an empty smile.

“You have no idea what we’re doing, do you?” Leo guessed.

“No…?” Casey lied to nobody.

Leo nodded.

“I’m starting to see some resemblances between each other,” Leo winked. “Let’s go!”

-

Casey had never been in a hotel before, but he was pretty sure they weren't usually bigger on the inside than on the out, nor did he think every bellhop could possibly look exactly the same as one another.

Thankfully, Leo walked in like he owned the place, so all Casey had to do was follow.

Leo made his way up to the front desk, where a fox yokai as desk manager stood at attention.

“Do you have a reservation, gentlemen?” he asked, barely glancing at them.

“We’re here to see Master Synth, my fuzzy friend. Does he have a minute to spare?” Leo announced, his hands on his hips as he gave a confident smile.

The fox sighed and pulled out his radio.

“Synth that turtle from the Kraken fight is back again,” he groaned. “And he’s brought a friend. Says he wants a minute.”

A voice like tin cans dragging on cement answered with a concise “Nah.”

“Nah?” Leo raised his voice.

“Nah,” said the voice again.

The desk manager put his radio away.

“Sorry about that gentlemen, he’s busy.”

“That wasn’t very professional of him! He didn’t even hear what we came here for!”

“I could redirect you to someone else if you let me know what you need,” the desk manager offered, but he was clearly hoping Leo wouldn’t take him up on the offer.

“Do you have anyone else who makes swords? Preferably ones that don’t break under mystic influence?” Leo stuck his hip out to one side.

“All of our weapons manufacturers are contractually obligated to only make weapons for the Nexus,” the fox explained. “You’ll need to take your business elsewhere.”

“A contract? Is there any way we can get him out of it?” Casey asked.

The fox laughed.

“Nobody wants out of a weapons deal with Big Mama,” he sneered. “It’s the most lucrative business in the Hidden City; and Synth’s the best there is. You can’t afford him.”

Leo pouted, and turned away from the counter.

“Fine, we’ll go look elsewhere.”

Casey turned to follow him, but with hesitation. He’d never seen Leo give up this easily. Unless…

When they’d put some distance between themselves and the front desk, Leo gave him his classic mischievous grin.

“You have an idea,” Casey smirked.

“Come on, it’s about time we do some ninja sneakin’ about.” 

-

With a little assistance from a briefly unattended laundry bin and a service elevator, the boys quickly found their way to one of the lowest basement levels of the Grand Nexus Hotel.

“You wouldn’t happen to know your way around down here, would you?” Casey asked Leo as he shifted in the bin to pull out his phone.

“I haven’t been this far down before, but I’ve never seen Synth either so I figured he had to be somewhere I haven’t been,” Leo grunted, pulling on a pair of bellhop trousers in the cramped space. As he brought them up, he elbowed Casey in the face.

“Hey, watch it! You know you could just step out of the bin and put that on.”

Leo hopped out and adjusted the bellop's hat atop his head.

“I got a map.”

“A map?” Leo said to the suspicious laundry hamper as the elevator dinged. “How’d you-?”

But the doors were opening and staff were waiting to get on.

Leo quickly pushed the bin out into the hallway, apologizing as the confused staff members scooched around him as best they could. Once the door closed, Casey poked his arm up from under the towels and pointed down the hall.

“That way, and to the left at the end of the hall.”

“Casey, did you hack your way into the Nexus servers?”

“I have my ways,” he whispered. “Trust me.”

Leo could see the faint purple glow of Casey’s phone jostling around as he pushed the cart in the way he was directed. This kid was good.

When he turned the corner, Leo saw that the hall widened out significantly, and that the usual wallpaper and decor gave way to solid stone. The lights overhead became cold white fluorescents. The bin’s wheels bumped over the rubber stop of the end of the carpet and onto worn asbestos floor tiles.

“What are we looking for?” Leo whispered.

“Third door on your right,” Casey whispered back, readjusting himself.

The doors were metal painted in chipped orange paint, and were padlocked shut. Leo guessed 8008, but the lock buzzed red.

“What are you doing?” Casey asked, hearing the noise.

“Do you have a way to unlock the door? I left my purple at home.”

Casey popped his head out and looked at the lock.

“Did you try boob?”

“Of course I did!”

Casey glanced back at his phone. “Huh, that usually works. Give me a minute…”

“WHO’S OUT THERE??”

The boys jumped, and Casey nearly fell out of the laundry bin. It was that awful grating voice from before.

“Uh… room service?” Casey answered, his voice cracking.

“I didn’ order any-” but Synth made the mistake of opening up the door for them, and Leo pushed right on by him to get inside. “-hey!”

Leo looked around the room and whistled in awe.

“Hey hey, this is a pretty sweet shop you got here Synthia, you might make my brother jealous.”

Casey hopped out of the cart and looked around too, and looked just as impressed. There were swords, spears, and all kinds of blades hanging around everywhere. From the ceiling, mounted to the walls, in barrels and crates around the edges of the room, anywhere there was room, there were sharp edges to fill the space. There were a couple workbenches in the back, an anvil, and a massive forge blazing brightly in the otherwise rather dark room.

“You’re that turtle from the front desk!” Synth growled, keeping the door open. “You need to get outta here. You're not welcome!”

He was a short, bobcat-like Yokai, with red fur and cloven feet like a goat. He was shorter than Casey, but Leo guessed he was probably a few years older than himself

At first glance he was afraid this Synth would lack experience, and Casey seemed to be appraising him too; but he appeared excited enough to see the yokai, so it seemed he was exactly the man (or teenager) Master Leonardo had praised to heaven and back for.

Leo rolled his eyes.

“Chill man, we just wanna talk.”

“Yeah, sure,” he rolled his eyes in turn. “An idiot with a kitchen knife in one of his scabbards and nothing in the other only wants to talk.”

“You can tell it’s a kitchen knife?” Leo asked, drawing the sword out.

Synth closed one eye and made a face.

“I’m not takin' commissions,” he asserted.

“Would you please reconsider?” Casey asked, folding his hands.

“Why would I?”

“Because I’m the greatest ninja the world has ever seen,” Leo smirked.

“Yeah,” Casey crossed his arms and stood next to him. “Leonardo’s the greatest swordsman alive.”

Synth’s ear twitched and looked Casey up and down.

“You his pet or somethin’?”

“Pet?!” They both repeated at the same time.

“The kid’s followin' you like a puppy.”

Leo made a face and glanced down at Casey who was standing a little close to him.

Casey inched away.

“He’s my sidekick,” Leo recovered.

“Right… well, I’m sorry, dudes, but I can’t help you with your little situation.”

“Yeah yeah, we heard it all upstairs,” Leo puppeted his free hand. “You got a contract blah blah blah. But I need swords or I can’t ninja!”

“You don’t even have anything to offer!”

“What if you taught him how to make swords?” Casey suggested.

“That’s even worse!” Synth roared. “Do you see my output? I don' have the time nor the energy to waste on teaching some idiot swinging a steak knife around!”

“Hey, this idiot has feelings,” Leo pointed out.

“Wait a minute,” Casey moved over to a stack of crates on one wall.

“Get out!” Synth growled.

Casey pulled out a sword.

“Get your hands off that! I’m calling security!”

Casey gave him a “try me” face.

“No you’re not,” he blew on the surface of the blade and a poof of dust kicked up into the air.

“You’re overstocked. You’re bored as shit.”

Synth’s ear twitched again. Leo wondered if the tic meant anything.

“You…” Synth glared but shut the door. He moved to the back of the workshop, gesturing for them to follow.

Now we were getting somewhere.

Behind his workbench and nearly out of view sat a grindstone. As he approached it whirred to life on its own, as if by magic. Well, it probably was magic. Synth grabbed the nearest blade to him, some wicked looking machete, and started grinding away at its edge.

“They’re always listenin',” he growled quietly, in a voice that was barely audible over the racket he was now making.

“Big Mama?” Casey asked, curious.

Synth nodded. “And others. I’ll be brief. Run of the Mill, 10pm.”

That was brief.

Synth watched Leo, and realized he was waiting for a response.

“Uh, yeah, sure,” he shrugged.

Synth immediately stopped the grindstone and moved to the radio on his workbench.

“Security, I have two idiots lost in the basement. Please extract.”

“Two, devishly handsome idiots,” Leo corrected.

“Devilish,” Casey corrected Leo.

“What he said.”

-

They had almost made it out of the hotel without incident, when it just so happened the crime boss herself was just stepping in through her own front door, a leather lavender clutch in one hand, and her hair tied up in a messy silver bun atop her head. By the dozens of assistants behind her, it appeared she had just returned from some kind of shopping trip.

“Oh! Look who we have here!” Big Mama strutted right up to Leo.

“It’s been a minute, turtley-boo, how was saving the world?” she peered over at him expectantly over her glasses.

“It was… great…” Leo smiled uncomfortably. “I have a son now.”

Big Mama giggled and stole a glance at Casey.

“Ah yes, I saw you on the news. A new friend of the turtles.”

“Casey, this Big Mama. Mama, this is Casey,” Leo really looked like he wanted to take a step back.

“Why so teedly tense?” Mama asked, raising her eyebrows. “I think we’re good friends now, don’t you think? I helped you save the world, you saved the world, which in turn keeps business as usual. You’re always welcome here,” she winked.

Leo didn’t appear convinced.

“So, what brings you here, turtley-boos?”

Casey flinched.

“Oh, Casey’s not a turtle,” Leo corrected her. “He’s a human.”

Mama rolled her eyes.

“Of course, dear, I only meant to be inclusive,” she gave Casey a wicked grin.

“If I had more time, I would love to get to know you, little one. We’re all family here.”

Casey swallowed nervously.

“Yeah, that sounds great.”

“Mama, we were just escorting these two off the premises,” the fox yokai had appeared at her side.

“Ah, that would explain the security,” Big Mama nodded to the musclemen behind Leo and Casey.

“Sneaking around?”

“I- we…” Casey tried to find an explanation, but Big Mama just started giggling good-naturedly.

“Don’t worry your devishily handsome faces, boys,” she assured them. “Mama has a way of finding things out. Enjoy your evening!”

And then she moved past them as if none of that had even happened.

-

“That was beyond weird!” Leo pointed out once they were safely back underground.

“What do we do now?” Casey asked. “It’s clear she knows we’re meeting with Synth this evening.”

“Wait really? How’d you figure that?”

Casey smacked himself in the forehead.

“She mispronounced devilishly just like you did and then told us to have a good time this evening! We’re supposed to meet Synth in the evening!”

"It was evening when we left, Case, I think you're being a little paranoid."

“So should we still go?” Casey asked, crossing his arms as they entered the lair.

“Why not? Are you afraid of Big Mama or something?” Leo threw himself over the back of the couch, his carapace hitting the seat cushion and his legs flopping over onto one side.

“Shouldn’t I be? She’s like, a crime boss isn’t she?”

“Nah…” Leo smirked as he flipped the tv on. “Well yeah, she is. But we can take her.”

“You sound really full of yourself, you know that right?” Casey told the slider, crashing beside him. “Didn’t you say she once trapped the entire city of New York? And she manipulated the Shredder? And she imprisoned Master Splinter for a decade?”

Leo rolled his eyes.

“Ok, you might have a point. I’ll see if Raph and Donnie wanna go with us.”

Casey jumped a bit, but thankfully Leo didn't seem to notice.

“Wait, why not Mikey?”

“He’s going to Draxum’s tonight, and… the whole knife situation.”

“BROKE-ASS NINJA!” the two of them heard Mikey shout from his room.

“Is there something wrong with inviting the others?” Leo asked, lowering his brow.

“No, it’s fine,” Casey settled back into his seat and looked at the tv. “I was just curious.”

"You've been spending a lot of time with Mikey by the way, why is that?"

"You jealous?" Casey smirked.

"What? No! I'm just observing."

"And what have you observed?" Casey kicked his legs up over Leo's. 

Leo squinted. Casey gave him a shit eating grin.

"Isn't it rude to have shoes on the couch?"

"You're right, I should take them off."

Casey promptly kicked his shoes off onto the floor and put his feet right back where they had been.

Leo's face scrunched up in horror by the pungent smell.

"That was not what I meant!" he said as he scrambled to sit up right and get away from the offending appendages. Casey couldn't help but crack up laughing as the slider made a series of dramatic and unnecessary gagging noises.

"Jeez dude, do you ever shower?"

"It's not that bad," Casey defended, crossing his legs under him. "You just don't have humans around here enough."

"April's over here all the time!"

"April doesn't count! She doesn't live here!" Casey pointed out.

"Are you saying we need more people living here?"

"No?" Casey pouted, stumped. "Whatever."

Previous Masterpost Next

Notes: Teenage boys are gross.

#rottmnt #rottmnt fanart #casey sas au #snapper and stinkpot #casey jones #rottmnt leo #leonardo #rottmnt mikey #michelangelo #rottmnt casey jr

[queenharumiura]

100 indulgent tropes - 41. our muses must share a bed

[ some options if you need ideas: his nightmares, falling asleep right away, or him being clingy in his sleep. ]

Taken from meme: [x] ||Accepting|| @parallelroutes So, this one is pure creative fun time, took random inspiration from random conversations here and there.

Haru was a young lady who was always so full of exuberant energy, and yet- there were times where even she wanted nothing else than to lay down and sleep the rest of the day away. She’s gone on school trips before with little to no issue, but she’s realizing firsthand how tiresome it can be when you are traveling and time zones change, and you must use more brain power to understand an iota of the conversations around you.

She’d been invited onto a trip with Byakuran since he’d won a ticket or something and he didn’t have anyone else who agreed to go with him—or something along those lines.

Maybe it was the sense of adventure that called to her. Perhaps it was the fact that there would be a lot to see an expanding your world view was important to cultivating a well-rounded mind. It could the be fact that she could’ve swore she saw a bit of loneliness at the admission that no one else had wanted to go with him—

No, it was the reel of desserts on the phone that really had her hook line and sinker (and the last thing). It wasn’t just because she was a woman that she didn’t enjoy the idea of travelling alone, but things were more fun with the company of others. Haru didn’t think being a tourist on your own sounded very fun.

So, like a good friend should, she agreed to go on the trip with him, since it would be a waste of free tickets otherwise. (Wasting money is frowned upon, after all!)

Initially, she held some reservations since she didn’t speak the local language (nor understand a bit of it), but he assured her that it would be fine. Did she doubt him? No, but she was still surprised to see him speaking with the locals just fine. She’d assumed that maybe a translator would be hired to help them navigate around, but Byakuran was doing fine by speaking to the locals himself.

It was impressive, really. Though, maybe it was because of his past abilities to access knowledge from other universes that he could master different languages? That was her theory anyways, or maybe he’d simply learned languages for fun.

Thinking about it now, she knew of a lot of people who spoke more than 3 languages, and the Varia could be considered a major shareholder of the slots- given that knowing multiple languages was a requirement for joining. Varia-quality, indeed.

ANYWAYS, back to the monologuing. The trip was supposed to go for a week (guess he won the grand prize of some raffle? He was pretty vague about the details, and she simply let it go) and a few days into the trip, they’d already gone and done so much.

Touring around and checking out all the hole in the wall restaurants, trying the local delicacies, checking touristy spots, and generally walking around to look at how different everything was from Japan. The biggest thing was the average height was much taller here than back in Japan, so Haru truly felt small (not to say she isn’t already short to begin with).

All her bleary mind can remember was something had happened and after a long day, Haru had looked forward to sleeping, but the lady at the front desk stopped them. She and Byakuran were talking for a while about—something. Haru couldn’t understand a thing, so she simply stood off to the side, trying to keep awake by swaying from side to side. There was a point where she gave up, held onto his arm and said whatever it was, they could deal with it later- she was on the verge of passing out.

Seeing an exchange of cardkeys was enough for her to understand that whatever happened, they were being moved to another room. She can ask for details on why later. She could only assume their things were already moved if they exchanged keycards on the spot. Whatever. The fact that there was just one card though… well if there were separate beds, it didn’t matter to her.

When the door opened, Haru could see why the two had been talking for some time. Ahh—just one bed. Hm. It is a master bed, at least? She sighs.

“Okay—” She rubs the temples of her forehead, another deep sigh. “This is where friendships get tested.” She says as she steps ceremoniously into the room and rummages through her luggage for a bag and a pouch. She heads for the bathroom, “Word of advice, telling any girl she looks very different without her make up on is grounds for you getting blasted by her friends in secret in a group chat later.” She gives him that piece of advice before closing the door.

She comes out later feeling refreshed and slightly more awake. If nothing else, she was grateful that she liked picking comfortable clothes for her sleepwear, or this would’ve been even more awkward for her than it had to be. It looked like he was tired too with the way he’d already fallen asleep, (or maybe she took too long—whoops!) and it would be polite to let him be but—she nudges him.

“You should at least brush your teeth before sleeping.” With the amount of sugar they had today? He’d better get to brushing. Hm. He’s not waking. She nudges him again, a bit harder this time. “Ne ne, wake up. You’re going to get cavities. You have to care for your teeth. We’re not like sharks.” Humans don’t grow a new pair when losing their teeth. Really? She prods his stomach thinking that’d work (she’s ticklish so surely--). Nope. Nada.

“Weird… that would’ve gotten me.” She could never really fathom the way some people just… weird… ticklish? She was so ticklish and yet? Isn’t that so unfair? Well. She tried. He could be in REM right now, so maybe if she catches him just at the right time at the end of a REM cycle, he’ll wake up. Maybe! She walks back to her luggage and arranges things, and pulls out a small journal before she climbs onto the opposite side of the bed, leaving plenty of space between them.

She was jotting the days events in her journal, while also paying attention to the sleeping person beside her. If he made any movements, maybe that was a sign to try waking him again.

When she did sense some movement, she glances over to see his shoulder trembling. Maybe he was cold. Well, he’d slept atop the bed without climbing underneath the covers. She could only untuck the blanket on her side of the bed to fold over to cover him with it.

That was the plan anyways. Maybe sensing all the movement from her trying to untuck the blankets from the between the bed and the frame (she understood the need for consistency, but she didn’t like the way hotels tucked blankets like this) he’d somehow become unconsciously aware of her presence. She’d finally unlodged the blanket, and was in the process of trying to cover him, but instead she got grabbed. She was pulled in close and was held tightly, so she couldn’t escape.

!!!

She couldn’t say that being clung onto like this was something she had thought possible for the day. Stunlocked, she lay there frozen for a moment before noticing that he was still trembling. There was cold sweat on his forehead. He’s having a nightmare, she concludes. “Hey, wake up.” She speaks to him gently. “I don’t know what you’re dreaming about, but hanging out with me is way more fun than that.” Can he hear her voice? No idea. Will her words be of any help? No clue!

With the way she was grabbed, she couldn’t use her hands, but she has a head, doesn’t she? Haru knocks into his chest with her forehead and oh-! That seems to have done it. “First, let me go. Second, get up and wash up. Third, we can talk if you’re still uneasy.” She may be tired, but she can sacrifice some sleep if he needed someone to talk to.  

#Parallelroutes #Meme answered #Answered ask #Thanks for the ask! #Haru speaks #((Muse; Byakuran)) #((God it took me so long to get around to this i'm sorry for the wait WHEEZE)) #((Now i've pretty much cleared the inbox- whoo!)) #Neo drabbles #((I did my best. I went an hour past my usual online time))

[lunastars21]

More hooligan and now shoplifters headcanons! :D

Fang does play call of duty when given the chance too, mostly if he has no work on certain days. Hell, he may even team up with shadow if he's down to play some rounds as well, they both obliterate on the battlefield (Yes my shadow plays call of duty too lol)

Although Karl, Konor, and Jeff are very overprotective of Nic, they have their own sexualities. Konor is gay so he sees Nic as a sister, Karl is straight but knows he has no chance with nic ( he tried it backfired) and Jeff is asexual, he isn't interested in anyone.

Bark rather prefers to write poetry alone, because if he tries with the other hooligans they would try to hover over his shoulder and read it.

The Marvelous Queen gained sentience by an odd glowy orb fusing into her, that orb was a small part of Fang's mother, her personality. Although Queen is her own being and has her own goals and intentions, she acts as a motherly figure to fang because of this.

Corsen The mouse (My oc) is the newest member of the Hooligans, her brush was stolen by Eggman one day and she rushed to get it back, succeeding and taking a golden broach she found as well, but getting captured by Eggman as she was escaping. She ended up in a casino like zone and was a live prize to any winner with enough cash to buy her. But fang noticed her golden broach and broke her out to steal it, in the end she simply gave it to him as a thank you for saving her and mentioning having no where to go, this made fang feel irritated and guilty so he brought her along, he still got his money so whatever lol.

Even though they are Rivals at first, the Hooligans and Shoplifters do get along after working together to break out of prison, once out Fang covers his end of the deal by helping Nic get her memories back, after trial an error she eventually remembers her brother and both teams have a permanent friendship.

Honey The cat is not a member of the hooligans but does make deals with them in order to expand her brand, plus going on adventures with a buncha idiots is always fun!

Konor, Karl and Jeff cannot eat lunch with fang, they just get an uneasy feeling. Unless nic Is there, then it's fine!

Nic does own the millennium Falcon like her Archie counter part, but she got it from a garage sale for a cheap price, plus she's a bit of a star wars fan, she binge watch the whole series with fang.

Nic: "okay so the First three prequel movies suck ass but the next three are fuckin badass"

Fang: "what about the recent three"

Nic: "suck ass but it's important for the lore"

Fang: "mother fucker-"

But hey if Fang can cosplay as Luke and nic as princess Leia that's a win win gents, also ya know damn well fang is gonna love the mandolorian that's a good shit.

Bean is asexual as well, he doesn't want cooties, "DISGUSTANG" says bean.

Bean is a pro gamer, he has all the recent gaming consoles...NOOO he didn't steal em or anything.

Bark does pushups with both fang and bean on his back and they just count how many he has for him, Fang sometimes has a megaphone and bean waves pom poms.

Team Hooligan and team shoplifters do have videogame nights, so far they've finished Mario RPG together, 100% (Bean had to fight culex and he was having such a hard time he almost threw out the television)

Corsen spray paints and vandalizes many buildings in a ton of city's, most of them being the hooligans together and eventually she adds the Shoplifters with them as well.

Nic has no idea who Fiona is in this universe, and she's only heard of mighty from other people but never met him properly. (Same for bark and bean)

Fang took Corsen on a first date to a fancy restaurant, Yes bean and bark we're watching undercover, undetected, using newspapers to hide their faces, fuckin sneaky.

Yes Nic made the other shoplifter members watch star wars with her, ya Wana be Nic's friend? You're obligated to watch star wars, ALL OF EM.

Bark does hibernate, but not a very long time, can't leave fang and bean alone for too long they'll start a fire!

And that's all for now :3 may update with a few more things before making another headcanon post lol

#Sonic #sonic the hedgehog #fang the sniper #nack the weasel #sonic oc #team hooligan #bark the polar bear #Bean The Dynamite #Nic The Weasel #Konor the Weasel #Karl The Weasel #Jeff the weasel #The Marvelous Queen #team shoplifters #Paintgun #oc x canon #Thats a lot of tags LMAO #I LOVE THESE IDIOTS SO MUCH #Corsen The Mouse

[salmankhanholics]

★ Shah Rukh Khan's Pathaan, Salman Khan's Tiger, Hrithik Roshan's Kabir: YRF spy-verse and the burden of superstardom!

January 28, 2023 

To establish a multiverse of super-spies, YRF’s big challenge would be to rid the films in question of starry image trap.

Salman Khan as Tiger practically drops from the sky to bail out Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan during a spectacular action set-piece, and fans can’t get enough. The highlight scene in SRK’s new starrer Pathaanends with a disclosure from Tiger that literally brings the house down: He’ll be back in some time for a major mission, Tiger tells Pathaan, and he’ll need Pathaan’s help then. The obvious reference is to Salman Khan’s yet-untitled upcoming Tiger 3, and the promise of SRK’s character Pathaan featuring in that film is exciting enough for fans of both superstars.

There’s more in SRK’s new film that suggests Yash Raj Films are clearly opening up the scope for a Bollywood multiverse of spy thrillers. There is mention more than once of Hrithik Roshan’s agent Kabir from the banner’s 2019 blockbuster War. Ashutosh Rana, who played the RAW handler Colonel Luthra in War, returns to reprise his desi Nick Fury avatar in Pathaan. Katrina Kaif’s Zoya from the Tiger series crops up in a conversation, too.

A spy-verse’ flaunting the Bollywood cream — with space to add many more characters and, in turn, more saleable stars — would seem like a lucrative idea for YRF, and in sync with the global fad of combining two or more films or film franchises to form a fictional cinematic universe. A common ‘Thanos’ for all these Bollywood superheroes in a pop patriotic setup would invariably be the subject of terrorism, which always provides reason to engage in VFX-rich action gala and never fails to heighten fan frenzy if marketed the right way. The box office run of these films has so far been good for YRF. Salman Khan’s first Tiger adventure Ek Tha Tiger, released in 2012, collected over Rs 334 crore globally according to the trade website Bollywood Hungama, and ended up biggest Hindi hit of the year. The film’s sequel Tiger Zinda Hai raked in over Rs 564 crore worldwide in 2017. The Hrithik Roshan-starrer War was the biggest Bollywood film of 2019 with a global intake of Rs 475.5 crore. Pathaan, after opening with a haul of over Rs 50 crore on a non-festive, mid-week day one, is predicted to touch the Rs 200crore-mark in its opening weekend, at the time of writing.

That’s well-begun for YRF’s spy-verse, but the real challenge would start now. In Bollywood, where screen image towers over all, it could become difficult sustaining a cutting-edge spy thriller multiverse starring male superstars whose priorities will always be sticking to the safety zone of what sells. Every one of our top stars tends to play out the same tricks film after film, year after year for decades, invariably falling into the trap of repeating what worked once.

Amusingly, therefore, an actor’s body of work, seen in retrospect over a period of time, starts appearing like a franchise in itself, of similar roles. One could argue Shah Rukh Khan has radically moved over to a mass-oriented turf with Pathaan, an over-the-top extravaganza loaded with played-to-gallery violence and drama. Look closely, though, and the actor is only essaying an amped-up version of his signature screen persona as Pathaan. Most of the popular antics and expressions that made him a superstar have cleverly been written into the film. Given the film’s phenomenal opening figures, it seems to be working in his first mass market espionage adventure. Can such a departure from set image work for the superstar every time?

The truth is Bollywood’s deshbhakt secret agents— whether it is Pathaan, Tiger or Kabir — has to be written in a way they fit the respective superstar’s style and image. Salman Khan’s Tiger, for example, is wholly created to accommodate the actor’s trademark deadpan screen disposition just as Hrithik’s superspy Kabir has to be a dashing machoman who can dance, like almost all his other roles. Writers at YRF might well run out inspiration for fresh ideas after the first few films of the spy-verse.

Then there’s the problem of content, too. Screenplays for spy sagas in Bollywood are almost invariably centred on a couple of themes —cross-border terror infiltrating from Pakistan and a sinister plot to wreak havoc on our country. While these themes never fail to interest fans, they don’t work anymore unless given an original twist. Pathaan actually banks on both these themes, to weave a threadbare storyline that stays predictable despite the narrative’s rapid pace. The fact is the film has garnered hype not because of a clever story but because SRK makes a comeback in a lavish action package.

The fact is our spy flicks have started looking the same, too. In the case of Pathaan, the obvious reason could be it is directed by War helmer Siddharth Anand. But then, War, too, looked like sundry Hollywood espionage thrillers. The treatment an average Bollywood spy film gets is an overdose of elements bearing influence of Mission: Impossible and the James Bond films, with Jason Bourne basics thrown in.

For YRF, the plus point is Bollywood fans have been opening up to the multiverse concept over the years ever since the Hollywood comic-verse, particularly MCU, found mass market here in dubbed languages. The spy-verse as a box office experimentation would appear to be well-timed for as of now fans are primed for such crossover franchising. Over the past years we have had Rohit Shetty setting the tone with his cop-verse hits. Ajay Devgn’s Singham films were followed by Ranveer Singh in and as Simmba, and the two actors played out their roles as cameos in the Akshay Kumar-starrer Sooryavanshi. Shetty has indicated such cross-franchising will be a regular feature for his cop hero films. Last year’s biggest news in Bollywood was the launch of Karan Johar’s‘ Astraverse’ with Brahmastra. Elsewhere, Dinesh Vijan initiated a horror-comedy franchising effort after Stree, with Roohi and Bhediya. While Rohit Shetty has struck gold each time so far, the box office outcome for the others has been mixed.If YRF are to establish their spy-verse, their stakes would seem much higher given the massive hype their superstar secret agents command.

#salman khan #spy universe #yrf #hrithik roshan #srk #tiger #war #pathaan

[anosci]

(377-391 albums etc that I’ve listened to this year, copied from twitter) (now with art. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27])

names and thoughts below cut

377/ Fearful x Mtwn - Beyond The Veil (2023) big heavy crunchy beats :)

---

378/ Machinedrum - 4#TRAX (2023) was rly excited to learn this was a tribute for that #trax, but sadly its not super FT2-ish. all that really registers as such is a very ft2-vol-env-sounding release in "BTHE1" and the shortloops in "VIOLET". still a fun machinedrum jam.

---

379/ Rolando Simmons - Walk on Strawberries (2017) had an itch for some analogy smth and OH BOY this scratches it "Magic Machine" is truly magic. i cant think of a paragraph to write here but like. man. all of this is so good.

---

380/ Forest Swords - Bolted (2023) hazy as hell. somehow only a few tracks resonated with me. mostly "Rubble" and "End"

---

381/ Actress - LXXXVIII (2023) this conjures something in me that i havent quite felt since discovering flylo. dusty.

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382/ Ametsub - Mbira Lights 1 (2017) absolutely beautiful timbres of mbiras, awash in some beats that are more 808 tail than hihat. it's a really good combo. honestly its strongest at its opening with "Mbr / Northbound" but it touches on several flavors that are delightful

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383/ Towa Tei - TOUCH (2023) holy BASS, "HOLD ON!" is rubbing me the RIGHT way. "BEAUTIFUL" secondary highlight for dat groove

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384/ Future Sounds of London - Environment 7.003 (2023) i feel like ive rly slept on fsol. this is dusty like old concrete. decreptid source engine ass music (affectionate) "Overwrite"… "Trichome". i guess youll know what im saying if you know what im saying.

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385/ Pentagrams Of Discordia - Deprogrammed (2023) this was presented to me as "like boc". and it's true. it really captures the timbre of boc. but somehow it doesn't… envelop me? its just alrite. idk :\

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386/ Full Bloom - Time Zones (2023) jazz. dubby. sexy. feels at home with oldschool ninja tune. also fun that it almost dives into fusion at times, i.e. with "Saw"

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387/ DJH & sv1 - voids (2022) yeah this is good and all but. "teal lacy" is beyond words. shiny nostalgia specifically for me. "femto" also to a similar degree but. teal lacy…….

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388/ Tha Trickaz - Cloud City (2017) some p nice wob stuff! it doesn't 100% click with me but: "OG Purp" & "I'm Back" got some fun screechy stuff. "Hood Bodega" is like 2013 but top notch

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389/ I Awake - Zenith (2017) psychill, i believe it's called? a delicious chill to keep me company in work.

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390/ Miguel Atwood-Ferguson - Les Jardins Mystiques Vol. 1 (2023) this one's a little outside my perview i think, but it's brainfeeder so i gotta at least take a look. and… yeah it's not quite my jam sorry. "Porpita" quite lovely tho!

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391/ VA - Speeding Towards Adventures (2017) grab bag etc there is exactly one song that I must shower with love: "Chemical Fusion"! it's jfusion but with its own identity! it's rly rly good!! that said, "Gotta Start from Somewhere" also deserves a shoutout as a banger opening

---

#media thread

[rjhreview]

BAGSMAR DSLR Camera Backpack Review: Trusted by Professionals for Ultimate Gear Protection

Introducing the BAGSMAR DSLR Camera Backpack, the quintessential travel companion for every photographer—be it a seasoned professional or an enthusiastic beginner. In a world where capturing the perfect shot can be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, having a reliable, functional, and efficient storage solution for your gear is not just a luxury—it's a necessity. That's precisely what this backpack offers, and so much more. Imagine you're on a scenic trail or at an event, your camera at the ready to capture stunning landscapes or candid moments. The last thing you want is to miss that irreplaceable shot because you're struggling with an impractical bag. The BAGSMAR DSLR Camera Backpack is engineered to ensure that never happens. With its quick-access design, you can effortlessly retrieve your camera and lenses, ensuring you're always ready to capture those fleeting moments. So, why should the BAGSMAR DSLR Camera Backpack be at the top of your photography equipment list? Because it's not just a backpack; it's an investment in your passion and your profession. Read on to discover the myriad features and benefits that make this backpack the ultimate choice for photographers looking to elevate their game. Why Consider This Product? Product Quality What It's Used For Product Specifications Who Needs This? Pros and Cons FAQ's Tips and Tricks For Best Results Final ThoughtsFinal Recommendation Why Consider This Product? When it comes to your photography adventures, having the right gear is essential. That's why you should consider the Camera Backpack by BAGSMAR. With its impressive features and numerous benefits, this backpack is a must-have for photographers of all levels. Scientific research and testimonials from satisfied customers further emphasize its effectiveness. Let's delve into the reasons why this product should be at the top of your photography equipment list. Customizable Space The backpack boasts customizable compartments with five padded dividers, allowing you to maximize the space and keep your gear securely in place. Whether you're carrying your DSLR camera with a 70-200mm lens attached or multiple lenses and accessories, this backpack can handle it all. Additionally, by removing the dividers, you can connect the upper and lower compartments through a zipper divider, transforming it into a laptop backpack. This flexibility ensures that you can carry all your essential equipment and personal belongings comfortably. Quick Access In fast-paced photography situations, being able to grab your camera quickly is crucial. The BAGSMAR Camera Backpack's side access design enables you to retrieve your camera in an instant, ensuring that you don't miss those precious moments. The front wraparound zipper design further facilitates easy and efficient packing of your gear, saving you time when you're on the move. Product Quality When investing in a camera backpack, you want to ensure that it is durable and built to last. The BAGSMAR Camera Backpack is constructed from durable and waterproof canvas, providing excellent protection for your valuable equipment in various weather conditions. It even includes a rain cover for added peace of mind. The presence of lockable zippers and a high-quality metal hook adds an extra layer of security, deterring potential thieves. What It's Used For Photography Gear The primary purpose of the BAGSMAR Camera Backpack is to carry and protect your photography gear. Its lower padded camera zone is specifically designed to accommodate one DSLR camera with a 70-200mm lens attached, as well as three to five standard lenses and other accessories. The customizable compartments allow you to arrange your gear according to your preferences, ensuring that everything is organized and easily accessible. Laptop Protection In addition to its camera storage capabilities, the backpack features a thick-padded laptop compartment that can accommodate up to a 15" laptop. This feature is perfect for photographers who often need to edit their images on the go or share their work straight from their laptops. The compartment's padding offers reliable protection for your device, giving you peace of mind while you navigate through your photography adventures. Product Specifications Dimensions11.8"L x 7.5"W x 15.7"HMaterialDurable and waterproof canvasLaptop SizeUp to 15"ColorKhakiCapacity1 DSLR camera, multiple lenses, laptop Who Needs This? Whether you're a professional photographer or an enthusiastic hobbyist, the BAGSMAR Camera Backpack is designed to meet your needs. Its versatility, durability, and ample storage space make it an excellent choice for anyone looking to protect their photography gear while on the go. Whether you're exploring new landscapes or capturing special moments at events, this backpack ensures that your equipment is safe and easily accessible. SHOP AT AMAZON SHOP AT AMAZON SHOP AT AMAZON SHOP AT AMAZON Pros and Cons No product is without its pros and cons. Here is a brief summary of what to expect with the BAGSMAR Camera Backpack: Pros: - Customizable compartments maximize storage space - Quick access design enables you to grab your camera in an instant - Durable and waterproof canvas protects your gear in various weather conditions - Laptop compartment keeps your device safe during your photography adventures - User-friendly features, such as thick back padding and adjustable straps, provide comfort during long journeys Cons: - May not accommodate larger camera setups or professional-grade equipment FAQ's - Is the backpack suitable for air travel? - Yes, the dimensions of the backpack meet most airline carry-on requirements. - Can the backpack comfortably fit a tripod? - Yes, the backpack features a tripod holder on the side, ensuring that you can bring along your tripod effortlessly. - Is the rain cover included? - Yes, the backpack comes with a rain cover to protect your gear in wet weather conditions. Tips and Tricks For Best Results To make the most of your BAGSMAR Camera Backpack, here are a few tips and tricks: - Use the customizable compartments to organize your gear effectively and make everything easily accessible. - Utilize the quick access side design to never miss a photo opportunity. - Securely lock the zippers and hook to deter theft and keep your equipment safe. - Take advantage of the rain cover in unpredictable weather conditions to protect your gear from water damage. - Final Thoughts The BAGSMAR Camera Backpack is an excellent investment for photographers seeking a reliable and versatile solution for transporting their gear. With its customizable space, quick access design, durability, and laptop protection, this backpack has everything you need to embark on your photography adventures in style. Whether you're a professional or an amateur enthusiast, this backpack is sure to enhance your photography experience and keep your equipment safe and secure. Choose the BAGSMAR Camera Backpack and capture the world one shot at a time. Final Recommendation Don't miss out on the opportunity to elevate your photography game with the BAGSMAR Camera Backpack. With its impressive features and durability, this backpack is a valuable asset for any photographer. So, whether you're exploring the great outdoors or capturing cherished memories at special events, invest in the BAGSMAR Camera Backpack today and never let your gear limit your creativity again. Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read the full article

[atomicc]

Zoned tf out n went on a crazed slime adventure n looked at tha clock n it's been liek 2 whole hours and I didn't even noticeeee =w="....

#Didn't feel liek 2 hours but lolz #I dun remember my emoji lolz #😈

[worldwidewi]

Retirees, Get Ready to Explore the World: Top Travel Tips for Seniors

Are you a retiree who's been itching to see the world? Do you want to break free from the monotony of daily life and explore new horizons? Well, we've got some great news for you! Traveling is not just for young adults or families with kids; seniors can also have their own share of adventures. In fact, retirement can be the perfect time to pack your bags and embark on new journeys. We've put together some top travel tips for seniors that will help make your next trip an unforgettable experience! So get ready to explore the world because it's never too late to start traveling.

What are the Benefits of Traveling as a Senior?

Traveling as a senior can be one of the most rewarding experiences. It is an opportunity to explore new places and cultures, make lifelong memories, gain knowledge and understanding about different parts of the world, disconnect from daily life stressors, stay active with physical activity like hiking or biking, meet interesting people on your journey and enjoy beautiful scenery. The benefits are plentiful for seniors who take time to travel.

Traveling gives us perspective by allowing us to step outside our comfort zone and experience something new. We become more tolerant of other cultures which is great for developing empathy in older age individuals. Traveling can also provide a sense of accomplishment when we reach our destination after planning out every detail along the way.

Furthermore it encourages independence which allows seniors to tackle challenges they may not have faced before while still feeling safe during their journey with friends or family members accompanying them if needed. Lastly traveling gives us an opportunity to learn more about ourselves through reflection in unfamiliar environments while enjoying cherished moments that will last forever!

Planning Your Trip

Retirees, get ready to explore the world: top home-free retirees world travel tips.

If you're thinking about traveling during your retirement years, take a look at these top tips to make sure your trip is as comfortable and exciting as possible.

1. Make a plan. Don't just wing it – work out a tentative itinerary with friends or family beforehand so that you know what's available and what you need to book in advance. This will also help you stick to budget constraints, especially if traveling solo.

2. Consider your health and mobility. If you're not up for hiking or climbing mountains, be sure to factor that into your plans – some of the most beautiful places on Earth are accessible only by boat or train. And be prepared for changes in weather – even big cities can become oppressively hot or cold if the forecast calls for rainstorms or high winds.

3. Check visa requirements carefully before departing. Many countries require a valid passport and/or visa in order to enter – check with your local embassy or consulate before planning your trip to ensure that everything is in order. (Some countries, such as Argentina, offer tourist visas on arrival.) And if you're elderly or have any health concerns, talk to your doctor ahead of time about whether a trip abroad is right for you.

4. Bring insurance: Even if all of the above sounds like nothing new to you, it's  worth mentioning that traveling can be an expensive proposition – and even more so if something goes wrong. Make sure you have adequate travel insurance in case of accidents, illness, or other unexpected circumstances.

5. Reserve your hotel room well in advance: Hotels in popular tourist destinations quickly fill up months in advance, so it's important to book your room as soon as possible. (In some cases, hotels will even give you a discount for booking well in advance.) And don't forget about accommodations outside of the city – rural areas can be lovely and quiet, and sometimes cheaper than urban spots.

Conclusion

As the baby boomer generation retires and begins to explore the world, they will soon discover that there is much more to see and do than they had anticipated. In this article, we have compiled a list of top travel tips for seniors that will help them make the most out of their retirement years. From packing light and avoiding long flights to finding affordable ways to see the world, our advice has everything you need to plan an amazing trip. So whether you are planning your first international vacation or your twentieth, make sure to read our guide and prepare for some truly remarkable memories!

#home-free retirees world travel tips

[ear-worthy]

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS (IN HELL) Podcast Released For Day Of The Dead Holiday

On the heels of their recently released scripted musical podcast, The Ballad of Uncle Drank, Audio Up has now released the next installment of their webby-nominated ‘In Hell’ podcast series, which to date has spanned across Halloween, Valentine’s Day and Prom season.

Titled Dia De Los Muertos (In Hell), the four-episode fictional podcast (created by Audio Up founder and CEO Jared Gutstadt) releases its first two episodes just in time for Day of The Dead holiday, across SiriusXM audio entertainment platforms — including the SXM App, Pandora, and Stitcher — and other major podcast platforms in the U.S.

Marking Audio Up’s first Spanish-language project, the podcast is starring the iconic Danny Trejo, chart-topping rapper Snow Tha Product, Jared Gutstadt, and newcomer Balam.

Ushering in new Halloween traditions with their campfire ready horror musicals dating back to their COVID era experiment with Machine Gun Kelly, 24kGoldn, and iann dior’s Halloween In Hell (which spawned a chart topping podcast and music streams in the millions), Audio Up’s Spanish language sequel will mostly follow the same formula but for a brand new language and audience.

Dia De Los Muertos (In Hell) picks up where the adventure leaves off with the Devil and Gazul looking to steal souls, this time finding themselves out of their comfort zone at the Day of the Dead festival in Mexico during their version of spooky season.

In this series, a band from Cancun called Mensajeros del Mictlán is invited to an unknown music festival during Dia de Los Muertos, only to find that the festival has been organized by Satan himself. Dia De Los Muertos follows Satan (played by Trejo) in his attempt to recruit more souls into Hell. We follow the Latin band Los Mensajeros del Mictlán who have received an invitation to perform at the All Souls Music Festival in Mexico. But what our heroes don’t know is that this music festival is part of Satan’s evil plan to round up more souls into the Nether World. Eventually, the band shows Satan — through a musical adventure — that it is necessary to expand his mind and horizons beyond his activities in the Underworld. Each episode unlocks new music within the series and across DSP’s.

Packed with music from original Latin artists such as Snow Tha Product alongside the debut effort of up-and-coming artist Balam, Dia De Los Muertos (In Hell) promises to be one wild comedic adventure and journey through the depths of the underworld and beyond.

Audio Up CEO Jared Gutstadt says, “These are the sort of campfire stories that I was told as a kid at overnight camp meant to scare, entertain and in success become a new form of folklore. The music coming from these projects is absolutely phenomenal, and working with some of the top Mexican and Mexican-American talent across acting and music has really brought this whole thing together. Danny Trejo is an absolute legend of action films, and Snow Tha Product is someone who we admire greatly for her ability to become a chart topping artist with a brand new independent lens. This feels a lot like the early days of nineties indie cinema. We’re trying to create IP of the future with these concepts, and we’re excited to unlock more Spanish language content along the way.”

“I’ve played a lot of bad dudes over the years, but this is the first time I didn’t have to stab anybody,” said iconic actor Danny Trejo who is set to play Satan in the series. “Sign me up again, homes, this podcast thing is cool.”

“Day of the dead is a magical time of year… letting a new audience into this fantastical world through our podcast and immersive world is really exciting and new,” stated Snow Tha Product. “This is a funny, cool and awesome story. The songs are fire and Audio Up is breaking some new ground. Getting to work with the legendary Danny Trejo is the icing on the cake. I’m proud to be part of this podcast”

Dia De Los Muertos (In Hell) released its first two episodes on October 25th, with episode three releasing on November 1st, and the final episode releasing on November 8th.

#podcast #horror #fiction