#to the point where there was this big threat of AI being launched at the good guys by the bad guys

[linuxgamenews]

Fight the Elements to Secure Your home in Black Forest

Black Forest base building horror survival game launches on Linux, Mac, and Windows PC. Developer Lemuria showcases brilliant creativity. Available with a full release on Steam. A quaint village nestled deep within the Black Forest. It's your home, and you're the village chief. Unlike many other simulations where you take on ambitious quests to expand and build empires. In Black Forest, it's not about broadening horizons. It's about fiercely guarding what you already have. Think of it as being given a castle made of cards, and instead of adding more cards, you're fighting gusts of wind that threaten to blow it down. You're not just laying bricks and assigning jobs in em>Black Forest. Every choice you make carries weight. It's not about building the biggest village or advancing through a tech era. The game is about strategic survival. Buildings can be repaired, but when a villager is gone, they're truly gone. Linux players will also find themselves in tough positions. Such as deciding if sacrificing one person can ensure the survival of many more. And while you might think, "Why not just gather a big army and chase away enemies?", it's not that simple. In this base building horror survival, you can't overpower the mysterious forces lurking in the forest. This launch is a cerebral challenge. So it's your wits against theirs. How you use your resources, how you react to changes, and the defenses you prioritize. All of this becomes your weapon against ongoing threats. One of the most vivid aspects of Black Forest is its AI. The creatures aren't just mindless attackers. They observe, adapt, and exploit weaknesses. For instance, if you're focusing all your attention on one side of your village, these creatures will see that. So they might attack from another direction.

Black Forest Trailer

The setting of this base building horror survival game offers dynamics. This also adds layers of challenge for Linux players. A sudden change in weather isn't just a visual treat. It impacts your Black Forest strategy. A period without rain means your crops won't grow unless you irrigate them. However, irrigation requires manpower which could have been used elsewhere, like building defenses. It's all about trade-offs. Lastly, what truly makes Black Forest memorable is its setting within the larger world of Dragon Eye. While the name might hint at epic tales of dragons and magic, in reality, it offers a rich backdrop. While including intricate lore and stories that give context to your village's struggles. It's like watching a single piece of a puzzle and then realizing there's a vast and intricate picture surrounding it.

Player Feedback:

Many Black Forest players found the Early Access release promising but believed it requires a lot of fine-tuning. They like Black Forest and highlighting its potential. However, players often pointed out the game's difficulty due to constant monster attacks. And how building and repairing structures seemed unbalanced compared to their swift destruction. They also note some clunky mechanics, especially around building, resource management, and villager assignments. Feedback suggested clearer day-night cycle visuals, better building interfaces, role assignments for villagers. Also improved wall structures, and better defense mechanisms. While some found the title enjoyable, others felt it was frustrating. Overall, players are looking forward to seeing upgrades and will keep an eye on further progress. Black Forest isn't just a base building horror survival simulation. It's a test of strategy, priorities, and decision-making. This launch demands attention, care, and sometimes the courage to make difficult choices. But remember, every night is a battle, and every dawn a victory. And until help arrives, it's up to you to keep the village standing. Black Forest launches on Steam for Linux, Mac, and Windows PC. Priced at $11.99 USD / £10.23 / 11,83€ with the 20% discount.Priced at

#black forest #base building #horror survival #linux #gaming news #lemuria #ubuntu #mac #windows #pc #unity #Youtube

[kiapet2]

Aperture Sides Facility, Chapter 8: But I Think We Can Put Our Differences Behind Us. For Science. You Monster.

Masterpost

Chapter Summary: Test Chambers 2: Now Featuring More Things That Kill You!

Chapter Warnings: Death Mentions, Sex Mentions, Death Threats, Robotic Body Horror

Travelling with Janus is surprisingly chill, at least to start. He mostly seems to sleep, or whatever it is he does when his light is off, and you mostly focus on solving the puzzle Remus sets in front of you.

Said puzzle is actually pretty tame for the most part, which is pleasantly surprising considering who exactly is making the current test chambers, but also fills you with consternation about just what Remus might be cooking up in the meantime. Because there’s no way he’s just sticking to- what’s that blue spirally thing you just used to float yourself upwards? An Excursion Funnel? Yeah, you think that’s what Remus said. There’s no way he’s stopping at something as tame as Excursion Funnels, or at least ones that don’t end in spike traps or something.

Then you see the next chamber, and yup, that’s about what you expected.

“What’s the matter?” Janus says, noticing you hesitating. “The way forward is perfectly simple.”

You honestly can’t tell if Janus really does think the puzzle is easy or if he’s doing that sarcastic double-speak he seems to like. You can see the clearly intended solution of the puzzle easily enough- you need to jump into that horizontal Excursion Funnel, then redirect it using portals at the right times in order to switch the direction it carries you and get yourself over to the cube dispenser. What makes it not-so-simple, however, is the fact that these careful maneuvers would have to take place while hanging in midair over a freaking bottomless pit.

“I’m just not crazy about the potential for falling to my death,” you say. “Unless I’d be able to land on my Long Fall Boots, I guess?”

“He probably filled the pit with spikes,” Janus says.

“Great,” you mutter, nervously fiddling with the portal gun.

A large, black rectangle on the wall resolves into an image of Remus, and belatedly you realize it’s some sort of display screen.

“Hey dorks!” he says, peering down at you. “What’s the hold up?”

“Just… figuring it out?” you say, unsure how to respond to your current captor actually holding a conversation with you.

“Well get going! I need my orgasm, it’s time to Get. It. On!

He does a little shimmy during the last bit, his long, flexible body wiggling back and forth, before the screen once again goes black.

“His-” you choke, and Janus sighs.

“That body- my body- has a built-in euphoric response to testing. It can be… difficult to acclimate to, particularly if you’re not used to it. I was perfectly fine, of course, but Remus has all the self-control of a lemming on LSD. We may be in a bit of trouble here.”

You furrow your brow, confused. “Why would Remus feeling good be dangerous to me? Don’t we want him to have a reason to keep us around?”

“You’re right, a human such as yourself is absolutely capable of fulfilling any and all demands necessary to accommodate an artificial intelligence who is literally addicted to the process of testing. You definitely don’t need to eat, or sleep, or take the occasional rest.”

“And once he gets bored with me…” you say, following the line of reasoning.

“He gets rid of you,” Janus confirms, “and likely me along with you. So let’s not do that, shall we?”

“We’ll call ‘not boring the out of control AI who wants to kill us’ Plan A,” you agree.

And that means actually doing the tests, instead of standing at the edge feeling scared. Staring down at the Excursion Funnel spiraling horizontally below you, you take a deep breath, then jump.

A few heart-stopping minutes later, you’ve successfully made your way over to the cube dispenser. Using portals you shift the Excursion Funnel so that it’s pointed upwards under the dispenser, then press the button. The dispenser drops a cube down into the abyss, and you wait patiently as the cube gently floats up to your level, buoyed by the spiraling Excursion Funnel.

Then the cube actually reaches your eye level, and you bite back a curse, stumbling backwards and falling on your butt.

Cackling sounds over the speakers as Remus once again appears on the tall screen. “Like my newest inventions, Tommy-boy? I made ’em just for you!”

“Why?” you groan, staring as the cube continues to rise, the two turrets that have somehow been fused into one of the cube’s sides chittering fearfully.

Remus laughs even harder. “It’s an improvement! I call it the Frankenturret: a true work of art.”

You shift the funnel away just long enough to let the- the Frankenturret, ugh, fall back down a ways before switching it back in order to lift the cube back up to your level. You gingerly reach out with the Portal Gun and grab the cube, before turning and practically running over to set it on the correct button.

You’re just congratulating yourself on another test solved when the turrets fused into the cube pop out legs and proceed to drag the cube forward and off the button, and okay what the fuck.

You shudder, then reach out and grab the Frankenturret again, watching it pull its legs back in as you do. You place it back on the button, this time upside down. You wait a moment, poised to grab it again, but the turret-cube seems to be staying in place.

You groan, practically falling back to sit on the floor. “That was a nightmare.”

“Oh, we’re just getting started,” Remus says gleefully, popping back onto the screen. “Chop, chop, Tommy-pastrami, on to the next one!”

Your body feels like one massive bruise, and for a moment you’re tempted to sit a while longer or even lie down, Remus or no Remus.

Then you remember Janus’ warning: And once he gets bored… he gets rid of you.

Bracing yourself, you force yourself to stand, legs shaking, and make your way into the elevator.

When you enter the next test chamber, you find yourself stopping and staring. Instead of the enclosed test chambers you’re used to, this chamber appears to be missing the better part of one wall, giving you a view out into the massive cavern this chamber is apparently hanging in. As you watch, another large test chamber glides slowly towards you on a massive version of the Cores’ movement rails, grinding loudly against the cavern wall as it does so. You realize after a moment that the other room is on a collision course with yours, and you are just reaching for the wall to try and steady yourself when the other room connects with yours with a crash that sends you stumbling to keep your balance. The sides of the walls crunch and bend with the force, making a horrible grating noise of metal on metal.

Finally, the noise and vibrations subside, leaving you in a room that’s twice as big as it previously was, and also considerably more beaten up.

“Remus!” Janus yells, his yellow light flickering back to life. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Making a test chamber,” Remus says innocently. “I think it looks better now, don’t you?”

“The modular test chambers aren’t designed to be handled like that! You just broke equipment we have no way to replace!”

“Oh come on, Jan,” Remus says. “Who cares about some crummy old equipment when there’s testing to do? These chambers don’t just make themselves, you know!”

“This isn’t good,” Janus murmurs to you as you move forward to investigate the deep pit that the two halves of the chamber have formed. “He’s becoming more and more distracted from the well-being of this facility. There are functions that need to be maintained to keep the facility from undergoing complete destruction, and the longer he keeps this up the more likely he is to forget them entirely.”

It must be serious, if Janus isn’t even being sarcastic about the situation anymore. Mindful to not take too much time and risk boring Remus, you quickly redirect the chamber’s Excursion Funnel using a couple of portals, then use it to carry yourself across the newly created floor gap.

“How much time do we have?” you mutter as you press the dispenser button and get (oh joy) another Frankenturret.

“It depends on how far gone he is,” Janus says. “Days, if we’re lucky.”

You let out a breath. “Then it’s even more important to find a way to get out of here.”

Janus gasps melodramatically. “Of course, escaping! Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Yeah, yeah,” you say, rolling your eyes. “Just see what you can do, okay?”

The conversation comes to a lull as you finish up the level, using the Excursion Funnels to direct the cube back across the chasm, and in one heart-stopping moment, using a special panel to launch yourself into a Funnel’s path halfway across. You end the puzzle by floating the cube up and then sideways, pushing it into a button on the wall.

“Ah,” Remus moans as the cube presses the button inwards. “That’s… huh. That was kind of disappointing, actually.”

“Oh dear, it’s happening sooner than I expected,” Janus says as your blood turns to ice. After a moment he adds, “I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

You don’t call him on the lie.

“I’ve got some old friends for you to see!” Remus says gleefully as you enter the next test chamber. The first “old friend” becomes clear as you see white Conversion Gel dripping from a pipe in the ceiling, into a chasm. Because there’s no clear surface the gel is falling onto, there’s no way to use your old strategy of shooting a portal onto the puddle of gel and letting the new drips fall through one portal and get shot out of the other. In fact, there doesn’t seem to be any way of catching or redirecting the falling gel, not until you notice the familiar moving spiral of an Excursion Funnel.

You’re just using the Funnel to move the gel to where you want it when you hear a voice that you’re pretty sure at this point is going to echo in your nightmares:

There you are.

Instinctively, you drop and roll, putting a wall between yourself and the several turrets that begin shooting at you. You’re just preparing to sneak a look at them, and hopefully figure out how to take them down, when you hear the familiar “AaAaaAa” and frantic shooting that accompanies turrets being knocked over. How in the world-

“Of course when I finally find you, you’re getting shot at.”

You probably jump about a foot into the air, adrenaline already on high from the dangerous situation. You turn and smile at the source of the surprise.

“Virgil! You’re here!”

He gives a two-fingered salute. “Sup, Thomas.”

You look him over, looking for dents or missing pieces and finding none. “Are you okay? What’s been going on out there?”

“I’m fine,” Virgil says, rolling his eye. “Being a worrywart is my job, stop stealing my thing.”

“Sorry,” you say, grinning, “I’m just really happy to see a friendly face.”

“Sorry it took me so long to find you,” Virgil says.

You shake your hand. “No, I get it. Remus has been moving things around a lot, it must be really weird from the outside.”

“Remus,” Virgil hisses. “What has that bastard been doing to you?”

“Mostly just testing, at this point,” you say. “But Janus thinks we might be in more danger soon.”

“Janus?” Virgil shrills, looking around wildly. “Where is he?”

“Right here,” you say, nodding down at where he’s speared onto your Portal Gun, currently inert.

“The- the potato,” Virgil says dubiously.

“It’s a long story.”

Virgil closes his eye and shakes his center plates back and forth so hard you hear rattling. “Never mind, it’s not important. What the hell are you doing, carrying Janus of all people around with you?”

“He said he’d help,” you say defensively.

“And you believed him?”

You think now probably wouldn’t be the best time to bring up the deal you and Janus made. “He’s in trouble as much as I am, Virge. And he can’t really do much as a potato- if he even thinks too hard he’ll blow a circuit.”

Virgil looks at the potato with a narrowed eye. “You still can’t trust him.”

“I trust him to look out for himself. For right now, that works for both of us.”

“I’ll be careful, Virge,” you add when he continues to glare.

Virgil sighs and finally breaks your gaze. “All right. What do you need right now?”

Your heart gives a little squeeze of pride at the question; Virgil has grown so much from the snide, antisocial Core you first met.

“I’m okay for right now. Go find the others- I’m going to find a way to escape, and when I do we’ll need to be ready to face whatever comes next.”

“Okay,” Virgil says, “but you’d better not die. If you do I’ll get Remus to invest in figuring out how to reanimate the dead, just so I can kill you again. He’d do it, too.”

You chuckle at that. “All right. Same to you, Virgil. Take care of yourself.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Virgil mutters, but you know him well enough to hear the smile in his voice. “See you later, Thomas.”

For a moment you get a strong feeling of deja vu. You had a similar conversation with Virgil right before Janus tried to kill you, you realize. Hopefully, that’s not a bad sign.

You shove the thought back down and do your best to smile at your friend.

“See you later, Virge.”

The rest of the test chamber goes by without much issue, as do the next few after that. Remus combines turrets, gels (which he gleefully compares to various... other types of fluids), deadly lasers and Excavation Funnels over bottomless pits with the frenetic glee of a kid at a Christmas party, while you just buckle down and do your best to survive.

It’s when you’ve just started the fourth of these chambers that Janus’ light flickers back to life.

“I think I have a plan,” he says quietly. “I’ll do it when Remus reappears. I’ll just have to be careful- hopefully the amount of power I’m using here is low enough that this won’t get me, too.”

That’s concerning, but Janus’ light goes dark before you can ask any follow-up questions, and you’re too preoccupied with getting through this chamber to dedicate too much brain power to it.

The test involves getting onto a long platform, then redirecting a laser to power it so that it moves to where you need to go. You use the portals to make the laser hit the right sensor and are feeling the pride of a task well done when a grid of deadly lasers suddenly flashes to life, right in the path of your now-moving platform.

You scream, images of hitting the laser field and coming out in pieces entering your head, and frantically shoot a portal to a different location, disconnecting the laser powering your platform and making it stop just as the lasers reach the center of your platform. The laser grid itself disappears when the platform stops, and running on the adrenaline of your near miss you move past the point where the lasers were, then restart the movement and hop off at the appropriate spot.

As soon as your boots hit solid ground you fall to your knees, breathing hard, and focus on getting your heart to stop beating out of your chest. That was a close one- a second later and you would have been filleted. If you had any doubt Remus is trying to kill you, that laser grid got rid of them handedly.

You’re just finishing up the test, still feeling a bit shaky, when Remus reappears on the display screen. “Hey, you did it! And all in one piece, too. Disappointing, but there’s always next chamber.”

Janus’ light flickers back on. “Alright, here goes,” he mutters to you, then yells, “This! Sentence! Is! False! don’tthinkaboutitdon’tthinkaboutitdon’tthinkaboutit-”

“Oh-ho-ho!” Remus says, his body shuddering and wiggling before coming to a rest again. “That was great! Like sticking a fork in an outlet and licking it! Give me another one!”

Janus sputters. “That was a logical paradox! It was supposed to temporarily short your circuits!”

“Aw, Jan,” Remus says, “you of all people should know I’m not a creature of logic. Hey, what about this one: A barber shaves only and all people who don’t shave themselves. Does-”

“Nope, nope, not listening!” Janus shouts, his light turning back off.

Remus cackles. “Ah, that was fun. Anyways, make sure to complete this test quickly, now. I’ve got a little surprise for you in a few chambers- one I’m sure you’ll be just dying to see.”

The screen goes blank, and you look down to see the potato’s light flicker back on.

“Was he… trying to be subtle?” you say.

Janus snorts. “Remus doesn’t do subtle. We’ve got to get out of here before he makes good on it.”

On that, at least, you’re both in agreement.

“Three more chambers until your big surprise,” Remus sing-songs as you enter the next chamber. The chamber has a large ditch in the middle, with a cube bouncing up and down inside it. A launcher panel is positioned in the middle of your current platform, clearly intended for use in reaching the other side.

“We’re running out of time,” Janus says lowly as you approach the launcher panel, trying to eyeball the timing you’ll need to catch the cube. “I think I can break us out of here in the next chamber. Just play along."

You step onto the launcher panel, then cry out as, instead of launching you forwards like expected it sends you careening sideways, the test chamber’s wall folding open to let you through. An excursion funnel catches you mid-flight and begins moving you forwards.

“Surprise!” Remus says. “It’s happening now.”

You look down to see yourself hanging over empty air, the ground too far away to see. Wherever it is you’re going, you don’t seem to have much choice in the matter. So just like always, then.

“I’ve got to hand it to him,” Janus says. “For someone who usually says every little thing that enters his head, that was quite a clever deception.”

“Aw, you flatter me, snakey-pie.”

The excursion funnel pushes you into another launcher, which sends you hurtling sideways with a yelp from both you and Janus. Hurtling towards a small platform, surrounded by giant metal plates. All of which are covered in spikes and poised to slam forwards.

Yeah, this is gonna suck.

#aperture sides facility #my writing #ts storytime

[tinyshe]

Pope: Private property is ‘not Christian’, WEF agrees

At the turn of the month November-December, the pope made a move that was described as shocking by many. He argued that Christianity did not support the right to own a home. This led to surprised and outraged reactions, whereby several pointed out that those who are forced to rent or beg for shelter can never be free. Free West Media can here reveal that the Pope's statement is in line with the plans that the globalist elite has long discussed and also more or less clearly communicated to the public, something that most people have overlooked. Among other things, we present the World Economic Forum's 8-point vision for 2030. These world-changing plans are beginning to materialize in various ways now, including in China.

Published: January 19, 2021, 3:46 pm

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Pope Francis attracted a lot of attention in Catholic circles on November 30 when he said several controversial things in a video message to judges from the Committee on Social Rights in Africa and America. However, the general public is not aware of his sensational statement, as the system media did not report on it.

The pope said, among other things, that a new “social justice” is needed and that private ownership is not something obvious in Christianity and therefore not for the Catholic Church either.

“Let us build the new social justice and admit that the Christian tradition has never recognized the right to private property as absolute and immovable,” said Francis.

Outraged reactions

Many were shocked by the statement and pointed out that the right to own private property is one of the most important human rights.

PROFESSOR KLAUS SCHWAB, 82, is a German engineer, economist and professor of business policy who is best known as the founder and chairman of the powerful globalist foundation World Economic Forum (WEF). In his book Covid-19: The Great Reset, Schwab claims that the world “will never” return to normal, despite acknowledging that the alleged coronavirus pandemic “does not pose a new existential threat.” – The pandemic represents a rare but narrow time window with opportunities to reflect (re: flect), rethink (re: imagine) and restore (re: set) our world, Schwab said at the launch of The Great Reset this summer. Photo: KTU

They pointed out that without that right you are like slaves of old, who must rely on their owners giving them a roof over their heads and food. Being always forced to earn in order to pay for the most basic need – protection against the forces of the weather – makes you both unfree and in practice completely powerless, some said on social media.

The pope’s statement was also widely discussed in Christian circles and no comments were positive. The exception was possibly the Twitter account Lichten & Bright who wrote:“Thank you for letting us know the Pope’s position on private ownership of property and means of production. We had no idea that he was an advocate of nationalizations [the state seizes] all land and business companies and against democratic elections. Thoughtful things”.

The Twitter account Catholic Victory wrote briefly that “Francis is a heretic and not a pope”.

Several people pointed out that it was reminiscent of the startling tones heard for several years from the World Economic Forum (WEF) foundation, which is best known for the annual conference in Davos, Switzerland. It brings together some of the world’s most powerful policy makers and globalists in politics and business. It was precisely the WEF that this summer, via its “ambassador” Prince Charles, launched The Great Reset, which more and more world leaders are now talking openly about being implemented.

The author of The Great Reset is Klaus Schwab, chairman of the powerful WEF, who wrote a 280-page book entitled COVID-19: The Great Reset. The book puts forward the argument that the pandemic has proven absolutely necessary to immediately introduce a completely new world order.

No private ownership 2030

To get an idea of ​​the background to the pope’s strange statement and what The Great Reset might mean, we can watch a video from the WEF entitled “8 predictions for the world 2030”.

COVID-19: THE GREAT RESET is 280 pages long and was already published on July 9, almost four months into the pandemic. Many have pointed out the improbability of writing such a comprehensive and complex book in such a short time. It tells us that the pandemic has shown the need to immediately introduce a new world order, which does not quite unexpectedly advocate a comprehensive “world government” and a merger of governments and multinational corporations to meet people’s needs. The incentive for for-profit large companies to pay out, for example, social benefits is, to say the least, vague. Instead of prioritizing profits, companies must now put “people at the center”. The book also proclaims that capitalism is obsolete and should instead be replaced by a new merger of capitalism and socialism, which is called “Stakeholder capitalism”. Critics call it communism in the form of a totalitarian global technocracy ruled by a small globalist elite using Big Tech (technology giants) and artificial intelligence (AI).

The first point there is as simple as it is remarkable. It states that “You will own nothing and you will be happy”. The point also explains that “Whatever you need, you will rent”. So no more ownership, but everything should be rented, including the clothes you wear on the body.

Can they really mean it? We visit WEF’s website for more information. There you can in a text, which paints the future they want to see in 2030, read the following:

Welcome to the year 2030. Welcome to my city – or should I say “our city”. I own nothing. I do not own a car. I do not own a house. I do not own any appliances or clothes.

The text on the WEF’s website also states that it is not only private ownership that will be abolished in the new utopia, or dystopia depending on who you ask, but there will also be no privacy. We can read there that:

Sometimes I can get annoyed by the fact that I have no real integrity. Nowhere can I go without being registered. I know that somewhere everything I do, think and dream about is recorded. I can only hope that no one will use it against me.

Many who hear it for the first time believe that it must be a conspiracy theorist’s crazy fantasies, but it is instead the richest and most powerful globalists on the planet who meet annually in Davos who present it in text and video form. System media has not reported on this and then the general public does not know these visions and agendas of these globalists.

Canadian Whistleblower has been right so far

Someone who claimed to be a Canadian MP and member of the Liberal Party of Canada (Canada’s Liberal Party led by Justin Trudeau, the country’s current Prime Minister) wrote an open letter on October 10 to warn the Canadian people that the pandemic is a smokescreen with the aim of introducing a far-reaching agenda where, among other things, people will be forced to renounce their right to private ownership. The Whistleblower did not reveal his name, but wrote that “I sit on several committee groups, but the information I provide comes from the Strategic Planning Committee, which is governed by the PMO [abbreviation for Prime Minister’s Office]”.

The anonymous MP then set out a secret roadmap established by Trudeau, which would be implemented regardless of their views or objections. He initially states that a second shutdown will be introduced in November, which will then be even tougher over Christmas and New Year. This is exactly what has happened in both North America and Europe. The whistleblower then indicates a frightening development in 2021, where, among other things, a third wave from a mutation called “COVID-21” – this time with real death rates – will be followed by an even harsher third shutdown in the first and second quarters of 2021.

Regarding the current economy and ownership, he indicates an impending “collapse of the supply chain, stock shortages, major economic instability” in the second quarter of 2021. Desperate people will then be offered the general basic income program, Universal Basic Income [UBI] in English. It can be mentioned here that Australia has already made it clear that only vaccinated citizens will be given welfare funds under a new law with the slogan “No jab, no pay”, “no syringe, nothing paid”.

In China, thousands of people in rural areas who voluntarily abandon their privately owned property and move to newly built apartments have been rewarded in various ways, while those who struggle are arrested and punished. Their houses are being demolished regardless of compliance.

POPULATION FROM THE RURAL AREA has begun in China. Here you can see Xiguozhuang, the first village in China’s eastern Shandong province, where residents saw their houses demolished at short notice. Fewer than a dozen homes remain along the village’s main road when the photo was taken in August. The Communist Party (CCP) forcibly expels farmers from their homes and farms. Liu, an affected farmer, recounts how he came home one day and discovered that local officials were preparing to demolish his house. When he called the police, they arrested him instead. Liu told the news channel NPR how about a hundred government officials surrounded his home before breaking down and arresting him, because he “resisted”. Liu’s privately owned property has now been demolished and apartment buildings await him and his neighbors. Photo: Amy Cheng / NPR

NEWLY BUILT MICRO APARTMENTS IN CHINA. Here you can see high-rise buildings with micro-apartments in Heze, in China’s eastern Shandong province, where Liu and his neighbors will be forcibly relocated when they are ready. The farmers are upset about the high rent they are being forced to have and will find it very difficult to afford. They are given the right to continue using the land, but they say that it will be impossible due to the long distance between the rental apartments they have been forced to and their land and that they do not have buildings left there that are necessary for the work. For several years, China has built many new cities, some of the largest in the world, which in most cases are still completely empty. This has been a mystery to many. Now that the CCP is starting to forcibly relocate people to the countryside and demolish their homes and farms, some are beginning to suspect that these “ghost towns” were built for Agenda 2030 and the massive expulsions from the countryside the globalists advocate (see NyT v50 / 2020).

Then the whistleblower describes in detail how the Canadians will be forced to renounce their ownership starting already this year. The anonymous Member writes:

Based on the roadmap provided, the Strategic Planning Committee was asked to design an effective way to change Canadians to meet unprecedented economic hardship. One that will change Canada and change the lives of Canadians forever. What we were told was that the federal government would offer Canadians a total debt write-off to compensate for what is essentially an economic collapse at the international level, where the federal government will offer Canadians to write off all their debts. Here’s how it works:

The federal government will offer to write off all personal debts (mortgages, loans, credit cards, etc.) where financing will be provided by the Canada [International Monetary Fund] IMF during what will be known as the World Debt Reset.

In exchange for accepting this total debt forgiveness, the individual will give up ownership of all property and assets forever. The individual will also need to agree to participate in the vaccination program for COVID-19 and COVID-21, which would allow the individual to travel and live indefinitely even during a complete shutdown (using a photo ID called Canada’s HealthPass).

With the pope’s statement, the Vatican and the Catholic Church have now officially taken the position that such possible plans do not run counter to the “Christian tradition”. Pope Francis was the one who, at the UN headquarters on September 25, 2015, the first visit ever by a pope, saw to it that all world leaders signed Agenda 2030.

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[chiimmchiimm]

❝𝓰𝓸𝓸𝓭 𝓭𝓮𝓬𝓲𝓼𝓲𝓸𝓷 !¡ 𝓳𝓳𝓴❞

The enemy of your enemy is your friend and that for Lexa was the most important thing. So, when Commander Jungkook made her an offer, she couldn't refuse.

𝒫𝒶𝒾𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔: Jungkook x (femile: Lexa).

𝒢𝑒𝓃𝓇𝑒:  smut, fluff, angst, one-shot.

𝒲𝑜𝓇𝒹𝓈: 26 k

𝑅𝒶𝓃𝓆𝓊𝒾𝓃𝑔:  +18  

𝒲𝒶𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔:   dirty vocabulary, explicit language, feeling of loss, burials, treatment by duty, commander duties, sexual attraction, love at first sight without knowing and knowing it, violent scenes, blood, very sexy scar, fights, jealousy, many unjustified jealousy of best friend, Jk is a love, enemies, intimidation, excessive harassment that ends in violence, aggressive situations, mention of death of secondary characters, dirt on the field, hormones, unprotected sex (use the gum for god xd), kisses with tongue, rough sex, woman fingering, creampie, loss of virginity, standing female oral, scratches on her back, spectacular body, big cock, abs out of this world.

𝒜𝓊𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓇’𝓈 𝓃𝑜𝓉𝑒: I want to thank you, wonderful readers, for giving love to history. As a reward I made it much longer. Without more to say to enjoy! 

𝓥𝓸𝓬𝓪𝓫𝓾𝓵𝓪𝓻𝔂:  

✚ Heda*   → commander. (WanHeda*    → Commander of death) 

(FireHeda*   → Fire commander)

✚ Ste yuj.* → stay strong.

✚ Yu gonplei ste odon* → your fight is over. 

✚ Jus drein jus daun*  →  Blood must have blood.

✚ Shof op*   → Shut up!

✚ Dann*  → death 

✚ Leidon*     → Bye.

✚ Ge smak daun, gyon op nodotaim*  → If you fall, you get up.

✚ Ai hod yu in*   → I love you.

The green forest on the slopes of Cóndor was the place with the greatest host of species on the entire land surface. The savages lived on their land, warriors divided into clans who fought for a prosperous life. During the harsh winter, the snow was stained with blood as it witnessed the brutality of the war. One hundred years after the first peace treaty the slopes lay more uneasy than ever. The beings that inhabited the forest knew what would come so they fled to save their lives.

Food began to become scarce, people began to suffer from severe malnutrition that led to death. After the border pact, each clan decided to relate the territories to manage food. With the mountain warriors remaining at the peak of the sierra, the Iron Legion to the east, and the heavenly clan to the south. Each of them had a Heda *, a commander who watched over the safety of his people.

Over the years, the generations were changing. The Hedas had children who in turn had children. This is how little by little each clan was taking its place on earth. The offspring ensured the clan's legacy. They must be the strongest, the most cunning.

But sadly not everyone was equally obedient.

"I see you," Lexa murmured in a low voice so as not to alarm the large prey that lurked. Her feet were firmly on the ground as she slowly made her way toward the large deer eating. In complete silence, she reached behind to reach an arrow to pass it through the bow. She kept her breathing calm as she had been taught. Her whole being blends so well with the forest that they seemed like one. She braced herself, pointed her bow at the deer. With one eye closed and the lip brushing the tip of the arrow. Her father would be proud if she returned to the camp with such a copy. She was certain that he would overlook her continued acts of rebellion.

However, luck was not with her that day.

Branches creaked behind her, drawing the deer's attention, causing her to run away to take refuge in the brush, making it impossible to be captured. Lexa turned on her heel with the agility of a lion to take aim at the intruder when she saw the boy appear among the trees under the gun immediately as she sighed annoyed.

“I could have killed you piece of asshole!” I exhale furiously as I hit the wood of the bow against her thigh for helplessness. Suho completely came out of her hiding place with some red on her cheeks.

"My duty as a protector is to ensure your safety," Suho completed with frustration. Her brows furrowed and her arms crossed tightly just above her toned chest.

"Apprentice of protector." And I'm not a commander yet, besides, your stupid clumsiness has made me lose my prey.

"You shouldn't go out hunting the ...

"Yes, yes, those from the mountain are close and could attack blah, blah, blah ..."

"Alexa, it's not a joke they could really kidnap you to torture you and then kill you."

"I know," he snorted. She was fully and plainly aware that the threat from the mountain tribe was real, but she couldn't stay locked up at home with her mother. Less when she got up and saw how the bright sun invited her to go out and explore the forest. Suho's words declined her mood for a few minutes. "I just wanted a little time alone to think nothing more ...

"We should go back, it will be dark soon and the forest is not safe at night," Suho advised, stepping aside so that Lexa was first. The girl nodded resignedly. Time flew by whenever he went hunting. Since her father wouldn't let her go out alone, she hardly ever, really, ever, used to be accompanied by Suho. A strange but very skilled boy whose primary function was to control even his own shadow. Over time she ended up getting used to her company, forging a small friendship that flourished over the years. Now he was her best friend. Your confidant. It's all.

But that did not remove the fact that she was too strict on issues related to her protection and security.

Sometimes she just wanted to leave. Runaway where no one will find her to live the life she chose to live, not the one others decided to live. She was not unhappy, of course not. She lived a life full of joy and love within her clan. But the whole problem centers on her father not believing her. Since she was little she learned to fight, to hunt, to do any task to be a good leader. But her mistrust placed a big blindfold on her eyes.

I was willing to show her how much she was worth.

[...]

She bit into her apple slowly to focus all her energy on the small group of novice soldiers who had gathered in front of the door of the wall. She had learned from Suho's carelessness that the Heda* took these inexperienced children to the riverside training area for routine training. Actually, she was not very curious about these types of activities, since she always followed the same routine. However, for some strange reason, she felt she should go. I did not know, I did not know it. She just followed her instinct.

They soon set out on their way, going Lexa a few meters behind so as not to be seen by her father and win a fight. Although she had tried to be calm before the threat of the mountain soldiers, she knew him like the back of her hand, she knew that Heda was not so calm and that in fact, his insistence that he would not leave the camp had increased since that Suho had come up with the brilliant idea to tell him about the episode in the forest.

When the group stopped, she decided to hide among the trees to see from a distance. Heda kept her arms glued to each end of her hip as she ran those teenagers with her typical leader's gaze.

"When the alpha team crosses the white line of the tree the beta team ..." Heda began before her daughter deftly interrupted by reciting the words from memory.

"They camouflaged themselves between the sheets to cover them."

“Well then...”

"The archers will go behind to secure the air." The fluidity of their talk was a reflection of all those sleepless nights as she was studying her father's strategy books. She did not know but had stolen them from her cabin when she was marching on reconnaissance missions. She knew that stealing the material could cause her a terrible headache, but she decided to take the risk because she knew that her father would not teach her feats in combat on her own initiative.

"Okay, get ready. This may be a drill, but the threat is real.

“What was that, Commander?” Asked a short boy with barely a gram of fat on his body. The leaves of the trees began to shake mischievously creating a rather striking sound. The humid air that covered the environment gave the premonition that it will rain soon. The children beside him began to mumble in fear as they trembled from head to foot. Heda applauded loudly to silence the scandal.

"It was the wind that anticipates tonight's storm." The commander's words reassured the children, although there were still some who continued to wave their weak arms. Without further ado, the two teams split as Heda had explained. Lexa raised a skeptical eyebrow at the children's inaccuracy when placing herself. The posture of the body was very important since it depended on it that the movement to be executed was launched accurately. They did not put the back straight and the shoulders separated as it should be, but on the contrary, they could not shrink their bodies more by bending their backs in such a way that still from their position I could see the body. She denied with a curse in her mouth as the children began to move forward creating too much noise when crawling. The dry leaves creaked, and soon a white smoke began to form above their heads from the stirred earth.

Lexa dropped her body to rest her back. She crossed one leg with the other and then did the same with her arms. Suddenly, a rather annoying light began to blur the view. She put her hand in front to cover the thread of the sun. She followed the path of annoyance until she came across a hill.

Quite suspicious cracking sounds started at the top of the mountain. When Lexa looked in his direction her eyes widened in surprise.

“Wild!” The boy's scream alerted the rest of the group. Heda glanced at the hill across the river just following the direction a boy was pointing. Her skin turned white instantly when she saw a group of twenty people slide down the slope. Then she turned to the scared, runny children.

"Roi take them back to camp!" The rest with me we can not let pass!

The sunny one nodded at her order, shouting nervously at the children to follow her and not look back. Lexa saw it necessary to get out of her hiding place to run to help her father. When she saw her daughter appear the first thing she did was frown in annoyance.

“Save the sermon for when they're not attacking us!” Lexa shouted, upset by the soldiers' shouts of struggle as they rushed forward. She reached for her backpack to grab a pair of arrows. She aimed at one in the leg, causing her to fall on her face, taking two more with her. The strength of her enemy was more capable than she thought. It was about fifty now that he had them closer. I glance quickly, closing my eyes in frustration when she barely realized it was just five soldiers without counting her father and herself. She knew they weren't enough that no matter how adept the enemy's strength was, it was far greater.

Even so, she would give even the air that was missing in her lungs so as not to let that strategic position fall into the hands of the mountain clan. Stunned by the imminent approach of his enemy, the Heda screamed at the top of their lungs that they took cover behind some trees.

The rough wood received Lexa's back as she abruptly leaned back. The hair in a ponytail stuck to her forehead from the sweat accumulated by so much stress. She breathed with her mouth open even though she knew she shouldn't waste oxygen.

She turned to her right, meeting two soldiers sheltered behind a huge rock. One of them had an arrow stuck in his thigh where a lot of blood was coming out. The other seemed almost dead, collapsed on the ground.

Overcome by courage, she comes out of hiding for a moment to shoot an arrow. She returns to her place with her eyes closed and her chest restless. The situation is so overwhelming that he cannot avoid hitting a huge stomp on the ground accompanied by a blow with a closed fist against the bark.

"Lexa." When she hears her father's weak voice she immediately looks for her position. She is relieved to see that she was not wounded like her soldiers. Although he seemed equally or more overwhelmed than her, his composure remained firm. It was totally admirable to see how cold it was in a situation like these. "Do you remember the trees that guard the bridge?"

"The red oaks."

"Those," her father agreed enthusiastically for her knowledge of the subject. Lexa hears screams near her position, wrinkles her nose furiously, and shoots an arrow that fits right into the hollow of her heart. Then she looks back at her father with interest.

"There are two standards of fire above the bridge. If you manage to fire at that fire, you will give us the time we need."

"I will, father."

"We will cover her." Two voices spoke from behind them from the two wounded soldiers. Lexa nodded confidently before gripping the mast of her bow tightly.

"Lexa." She looked at him again this time with caution. Her father's eyes shone with more than fury, they processed fear but at the same time security. Lexa knew in that instant that everything depended on her and she would not disappoint them. "Show them that you are not only the best archer but you are the best daughter they will ever have." Ste yuj. *

"This yuj. *" He repeated with all the feeling in the world. She puffed into the air, fixed her target intently, and started running toward her. She had only a few minutes to reach her goal or else it would be over. Her legs ached from the effort but that did not stop her from running. Upon reaching a standard she tore her sleeve with her teeth to wrap the fabric at the tip. She glanced back, meeting the soldiers and her father trying to endorse the enemy. His chest clenched when one of his friends fell to the ground for a date on his chest. She returned to her task with tear-filled eyes. This was not the time to cry. It had to be strong. She tried to be with all her soul. When the cloth was finally wrapped he carefully carried it toward the fire. With the flame lit, he stretched out his arm toward the oaks, remembering the exact spot where the powder was camouflaged. She closed one eye to sharpen the precision and stopped breathing. An arrow brushed her arm causing her to lose focus and she could see that there were three men running towards her with war cries. She was forced to retreat to protect herself behind the standard.

“Fuck!” Lexa moaned frustrated. She placed the arrow between her teeth and started running towards the oaks. When she was close enough to shoot, she tried again, being interrupted by the same party of men. The arrow painfully brushed her arm causing it to fall to the ground. The arrow holding her lips inevitably fell beside her. His good arm-hand wrapped his fingers around her. She got to her knees feeling the stones dig into her skin. She groaned in pain. The earth had mixed with sweat and blood. His eyesight had begun to tremble from the venom of the wound. Taking one last scream of breath, she closed her eye and shot at the oaks.

The fiery arrow impacted a perfect movement in the network of powder boxes. Immediately everything exploded creating a great avalanche of huge rocks that crushed anyone who was standing in their way down. Lexa was pushed by the explosion force. Her body rolled until she fell into the stream, which fortunately lay almost without water. With narrowed eyes she brought her palm to the wound on her arm and then brought it to her eyes, affirming her suspicion when she saw the black blood that the arrow was poisoned. Her limbs felt heavy, her hand fell to the ground almost immediately. I hear hasty footsteps heading towards her. He turned his neck to meet one of the men who was chasing him, heard how he laughed evilly at seeing her so helpless. The man threw the bow aside, seeing as the best option to remove her small knife from her belt. Lexa tried to get up but her body did not respond. As she had predicted, it was not a deadly poison but a paralyzing one.

Suddenly time began to run too slow. Just before the man reached where she lay defeated, a blue arrow pierced her chest causing her to gasp out of breath before falling forward. Lexa tried to stay awake but the tiredness had added to the terrible effect of the poison. Her eyes slowly closed. The last thing she was aware of before she fell into deep darkness was that something was lifting her along with the scent of honey.

[...]

“But what?” The whole room was spinning when she had enough strength to open her eyes. It took her a few minutes to get used to the red light in the cabin. Her palms brushed the comfort of the soft surface of a bed. When she was aware of all the above, she got up exalted. I gulp out of necessity as I anxiously traveled every inch of the room. Recognizing her cabin, she sighed with relief. As she looked down at her body, she managed to see a great revenge wrap around her wounded arm. She put a hand to her head as she placed her feet on the ground.

As she left the cabin, chaos engulfed her in the worst way. Screams of pain. Begging groans. To her relief, all the few soldiers who had fought with her father had survived, were wounded but alive. Remembering the image of her father, she walked the pile of wounded. When I couldn't find it, she started to worry. As she could, she set her feet toward the Seokjin hut, the chief healer of her clan. When she was about to enter her cabin he himself came out with a serious face that ended up scaring her. He held in his hands a white cloth stained with blood that helped him to clean himself.

“Jin what?” His questioning ended completely when his mother came out from behind him crying.

"I've done what I could, I'm sorry," said the curandero under his breath before heading towards the pile of patients. His mother watched Lexa with dead eyes. It was there that the young girl's heart was completely paralyzed.

[...]

She closed her eyes tightly to hold back the tears that threatened to come out. It was not good to be seen so openly. But it was so difficult. So difficult when her father's body lay on that pile of wood. Her heart ached to the point of not knowing if it was still beating from her weak heartbeat.

Unfortunately, her father was not the only one buried that night. Luckily for Lexa, eyes would not be on her now that the Heda was dead. I knew that later they will ask for answers but now I just didn't want to give them. She needed time to assimilate everything that had happened. Everything.

She ended up sticking out slightly as a warm hand wrapped around hers. Turning her head, she met her mother's grief-stricken smile. With her other hand, she offered her the burning stick that would burn the remains of her father and the other soldier.

"Yu gonplei ste odon *," Lexa murmured weakly. With all the pain of her broken soul, she threw the stick lighting the wood in seconds. Her mother covered her mouth with her palm to silence the sobs. Lexa simply watched as the fire created the smoke that transformed her father into the air.

[...]

She had decided to withdraw before becoming the question center. She was resting her palms on her desk with a lost gaze. Her shrugged shoulders were the living image of pain. The feeling of pain in her chest would take time to fade. Which made her wonder if she really wanted me to.

"You must follow your father's legacy." Her mother's muffled voice was heard after the movement of the cabin door.

"I don't want to talk about this now." Her voice sounded dark, sorer than ever.

"Lexa," her mother warned, approaching her daughter carefully so as not to disturb her loneliness too soon. The diadem that her mother held in her hands was what most caught her attention. "You have to wear this to ..."

"Don't ask me to use this when my father's body is still warm!" She roared loudly, grabbing the chair and knocking it to the ground, scaring her mother.

"Lexa listen to me!" The clan needs a boss. Someone who will give you security and peace.

"Don't you understand that putting that on means accepting that he's gone?" I bow my head again. She let out a piercing scream impossible to contain. She was tired of growing strong in front of people. I couldn't do it anymore. Her mother reached out to hold her in her arms. Lexa's hands were trapped on her mother's chest, simulating the gestures she gave him when something disturbed her in her childhood.

"It is your duty." her mother whispered softly in her ear knowing that the ancient language could reassure her. The little saying made him clench his fist and crinkle his clothes.

[...]

She had not slept all night. Her mother had stayed with her holding her, stroking her head from time to time so that she knew she was there, that she was not alone. At dawn he had decided to leave, leaving his mother to recover the hours of sleep that she had stolen from him.

The forest birds had stopped singing as if mourning for the dead. The roar of the forest had diminished her strength almost as much as her body movement. Getting back there after a week had been more than difficult. Probably the stupidest decision he had ever made. But I needed answers. According to Jin, the soldiers had found her on a road near the camp and not in the river where her body fell.

She decided to focus her gaze on the ground so as not to look at the mess of blood-stained rocks. Enough memories of death in your dreams.

When she got to where she thought she remembered landing, she was surprised when she recognized from a distance the lifeless body of the man who tried to kill her. Now, with her newly recovered mental abilities, she could better see the arrow stuck in her back.

A splash of water turned her stomach in such a panic that she gripped his sword tightly before aiming at whatever was behind her.

“It's me!” The man shouted desperately with his hands up as a symbol of surrender.

"Suho could have killed you!" Lexa threatened rather annoyed by her appearance. She put the sword back in its holster without taking her disappointed gaze from her friend.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to accompany you, it's not good that you're alone right now."His reasons were disdainfully stated as she just approached crossing a small puddled area. —Why did you come to the river?

"You see that man over there?" Lexa pointed with his head making Suho follow her, ending up surprised. "He tried to kill me and someone stopped him."

"A soldier of ours?"

"No, I would swear not." He deepened with doubt as he approached the lifeless body. She bent down and when she was at the perfect height she took out the arrow. He brought the tip to the river to remove it from the blood. "It is an iron arrow." She spoke surprised, slightly opening her mouth.

"But that cannot be we have been at war with your tribe for hundreds of generations." Why would they help you?

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out."

[...]

"Heda, I know that the death of Commander Hyun is present but we must make a decision regarding the attack of the Highlanders." One of the advisers asked furiously causing the rest to rise up carrying the cry to heaven.

"Yes!"

"My son was there!"

"Mine too!"

"Revenge!"

"Shop op! *" Lexa demanded with authority, rising from her seat with force. The councilors stopped raising the scandal by lowering their heads in regret when Lexa's piercing gaze corrected them.

"We have all lost loved ones in that battle." Raising another dispute when our people are barely recovering is not a good idea.

"The commander is right." We can't start a war, it would be stupid to do it when we are weaker than ever. ”Suho leaned in beside her. Lexa immediately looked at him gratefully with a small smile.

“And what are we going to do?” Another counselor asked desperately. Lexa recognized him as the father of one of those who were injured.

"We can't just do nothing while they breathe in the oxygen that our children should have breathed," said another counselor, but with an air of revenge hidden in his calm tone.

"Revenge will come, I swear." My father's death will be paid for with the blood of his executioner. Jus drein jus daun * - she exalted with fury nailed to the pressure of her teeth. Her nostrils ended up dilating when the image of her father returned to her memory.

"What shall we do while we wait?"

"Find allies." Lexa reacted slowly.

"Where?"

"In the iron soldiers," Lexa said cautiously, knowing that the news would not be a good dish.

As predicted by the councilors, the scandal of screaming and wailing began again. Lexa returned to her seat, her eyes sharp in her reactions.

“No!” A veteran counselor yelled.

"They are worse than the mountaineers have been in permanent war for years!" I finish lamenting another.

"We have a common enemy," Lexa interrupted causing everyone to shut up again. Not wanting to go into detail, she knew that silence could be interpreted as acceptance. The councilors looked at each other with wide eyes having everything that would happen next. "Sohu, prepare three horses." We will leave at dawn to the iron village."

[...]

"But three horses?" Her mother asked fearfully as she tried to follow Lexa's hurried steps on her way to the entrance of the camp. Of course, she knew that her mother would oppose what she did not know was that Lexa had already made a decision and that she would not change her mind.

"Mom, it will be fine," Lexa assured, climbing nimbly on her dark brown horse. She gripped the reins tightly, then led the horse out of the camp. The animal meekly followed her request.

"You must take more protection, those savages are inhuman." Her mother commented too shakily. Lexa smiled faintly as she remembered the iron arrow in the river.

"You'd be surprised to know that not everything bad is always bad," was the last thing she said before shaking the reins of her horse and completely leaving the camp.

[...]

Fortunately, the path to the Iron Clan Village was not far from their encampment. In just three hours they galloped to the borders. It had been a good idea to leave early so they would not return at night being aware that the attack by the mountain tribe was still very recent.

As his ingenious thought predicted, they soon came across soldiers from the Iron Village who will try to stop their advance. He was aware that what had happened in the river had probably reached the Iron Clan and that they had reinforced their vigilance. It is for this reason that he only decided to take three soldiers so that they did not see his arrival as a surprise attack.

“Who's going?” A muscular and built soldier roared forcefully. Despite not having a great height, he was in front of the two soldiers who accompanied him, so Lexa deduced that he was his superior.

"I am Lexa Skycru, the new commander of the celestial people." And I come because I want to speak to your commander. — she spoke with the same force as the soldier so that she could see that she was not afraid. The soldier, a blond man with small eyes and prominent lips, analyzed his horse from top to bottom and then his two soldiers and Suho before observing his own and finally nodding slowly.

[...]

"Sorry but no weapons allowed." The blond man said kindly as he pointed with his finger at the sword tucked in his belt. He noticed how Suho tensed from head to toe when I looked askance at him. Lexa nodded, then began to strip off her weapons one by one and place them in a wooden box. When she was finally clean the blonde nodded and opened the door.

A firm hand on her wrist held her back.

"I'm out here," Suho muttered to Lexa. He was careful to speak slowly and fluently so that she understood his message. When Lexa nodded to reassure him he finally released her.

As soon as she entered, she found a row of seats occupied by men who looked down on her as she advanced. Glancing ahead, she found a tall, strong man playing with a knife.

“You the one who killed thirty mountain warriors with a single arrow?” Her skin bristled as the man used a dominant low tone to address her. He wasn't looking at her but that didn't stop him from knowing that with his eyes he could melt anyone. To her surprise, the man had her eye area covered in black ink typical of a soldier ready for combat. The red stone pasted on his forehead confirmed his identity.

"I did my best to protect mine." I wasn't sure why I was reacting defensively. She only had the need to explain that what happened was not for the mere pleasure of killing but for an unselected need.

Her words evoked curiosity, she directed her gaze towards Lexa, keeping her still, that despite the black paint in her eyes, she managed to see from afar some deep eyes that could read thoughts. As if her comment had caused him any amusement, he cocked an arrogant smile as he stabbed the knife into the back of his large chair.

“What are you doing here Lexa Skycru of the celestial town?” She asked again with that finishing tone that left her brain without connections for a brief moment.

"I can help you beat the Men of the Mountain." She started with what she had come to say by making the Heda increase her ego smile. Her advisers began to mumble nonsense, but that didn't stop her or cut her eye contact with him. "The only way to protect our people is if we unite."

"I'm still waiting for a proposal, princess." The commander threw with mocking daggers causing his allies to start laughing at her.

Lexa clenched her fists tightly to calm herself even knowing that the urge to punch her would soon outweigh that of standing still.

"We have more gold than you can imagine."

“What makes you think I need gold?” She slowly lifted her body from the wooden throne without taking off losing eye contact to load the tension situation. The Heda raised an eyebrow as he approached slowly. "I have everything I need."

"As much as he has a person, he always wants something more." It was not difficult for Lexa to think like this due to the constant discussions her father had had with one of the advisers on greed issues. They were almost always due to the extreme desire to seize someone else's land. Even with everything, they wanted more and she was sure that the man before her would not deny that theory.

"Well ..." He stretched the word creating a silence in the room that caused Lexa's heart to stop when perceiving how Heda's eyes traveled up and down her small body. "... yes, there is something that does not I have and I would like to have.

[...]

She left the cabin looking blank. Suho, true to her word, had waited in front of the horses with her bow and sword in hand. Seeing her approach, he straightened up worried. It was not long before her eyes caught the man outside the cabin watching Lexa's departure. Suho closed his eyes to the stranger who for some strange reason did not give him a good feeling. He did not like the arrogant smile on his mouth, much less that he did not stop looking at Lexa as if his visit had caused him too much satisfaction.

When Lexa reached her side, Suho returned the weapons, which she began to put in place immediately.

Seeing her head down speechless Suho bowed his head sadly.

"You're good?"

"Not now, Suho." Let's just go.-she asked quite urgently. She mounted her horse quickly causing Suho and the other two to imitate her gesture. As the last action, Lexa squinted at the hut, made brief eye contact with the Heda again before leaving with her horse.

[...]

Jeon Jungkook. The Heda of the Iron Legion.

She couldn't get that name out of her head. Now much less. Since her arrival, she had been harassed with many questions from the council, from the soldiers, but especially the most exhaustive were those of her mother. She had not wanted to answer, did not see the situation as adequate. She decided that the news of the inter-tribal union would come later when it became formal. It wouldn't reveal something when it might not happen in the future. Actually, I still hoped it didn't happen.

"You didn't want to explain it to anyone, but I know it will be different with me." Her friend Suho's safety was perhaps the one that woke her up from her isolation from the outside world. The man approached with her typical persuasive smile. Lexa wanted to smile but could only wince.

"It's complicated, Suho. If I'm honest with you, I don't know what has happened or what will happen." Lexa confessed dubiously, drawing the attention of her friend who began to worry when the girl hid her head in the hollow of her legs.

"Has she done something to you?" Something changed within her when she thought that this proud commander stained her honor. Or worse ... She dared to touch you!

"No," Lexa denied, offended by her projected attack, so inappropriate and unnecessary. Lexa sighed when she was overcome by the situation. It was the first time that I didn't know how to solve any problem. Suho kept her eyes open with a wrinkled nose as she breathed hard through her mouth until Lexa dismissed her thought. Afterward, she relaxed but was not entirely calm. "Actually, he's been ... generous, so to speak."

"Have you accepted the gold?" After speaking, Suho noticed how Lexa's spirits fell even further. She slowly denied it.

"So what did she ask you ..."

"For me ..." He swallowed, continues. "... He wants me to be his wife."

"Than!" I could have sworn that Suho's anguished roar echoed throughout the forest. She approached a rock. She picked it up and then threw it against a tree causing a terrifying crunch as a pile of leaves fell to the ground. She seemed to be gone, more than that, her bloodshot eyes begging for Jungkook's head. When he finished expressing his anger, he turned to Lexa, who was still in her hunched position. "Did you refuse?"

"I can not do it..."

"Shit!" This time she screamed again, scaring Lexa at seeing her so out of control. He wanted to return, he wanted to have entered with her, to have accompanied her. She knew that she shouldn't have been taking care of the horses that should have been by her side to avoid these things. He felt a great avalanche of contrary feelings, he had a lot of furies that activated him violently, but he also had a lot of guilt for not having done the only thing he should do.

Protect it.

"It has been a good counteroffer that has ensured the protection of my people and Ronald's head," I yell desperately with a lump in my throat that makes it difficult to stabilize his tone.

"But are you listening to yourself?" Suho intervened hysterically. He put his hands to his head and ruffled his hair. "You can not do it ...

-It is my duty.

"Since when the fucking duty of a Heda is ... Damn!" Other than if he started walking in circles. He tried to calm down, but the image of Jungkook smiling lit the fuse again. He knew from the moment he saw that arrogant attitude that something had happened that he never imagined was this. She could not marry him. I couldn't when she ...

"What about you, what do you really want?"

"What I want doesn't matter."

"No, Lexa! It does matter! Yes ..." Lexa suddenly lowered her gaze to Sohu to find her gaze fixed on the ground and with the reflection of a tear on her cheek. "You can not do this ...

You cannot do this to yourself.

"A good leader has to think of others." And for better or for worse, it is my last word on the subject.

“Lexa!” Even though She's screams were heartbreaking, she forced herself to continue on her way to her cabin, leaving aside the river of tears that fell down her cheeks.

[...]

"Put your signature here to finish the process," explained the counselor, annoyed at his lateness. It had been on purpose. The longer it delayed the union the better. He looked at the opaque paper carefully. The feather had begun to dance on his fingers in sweat. He pursed his lips. I swallow deeply. He hadn't even dressed appropriately for the occasion. Certainly, she had never wasted time thinking about what her perfect wedding would be like but she knew that it was far from being it.

The pen hesitated in her hands. The first to sign had been Jungkook. To her surprise, she didn't seem to have much doubt installed on her face. Virtually the ink ran down the paper for his surprising interest.

Was I doing the right thing?

What if Sohu was right?

You don't even want to imagine how you will be when you find out that you have married Jungkook. Of course, the council was not far from being horrified, but he cared little for the opinion of four insufferable old men. He reminded himself that it was the best option. Jungkook put at his disposal an army ready to follow his orders and a promise to finish off the mastermind of his father's death. And you would have just that with just one signature. Looking at it from another perspective, actually, the loser was Jungkook. But from his, of course, that she lost much more.

I rest the tip of the pen on the paper, it did not move. Jungkook looked at her seriously. He knew that he doubted and for some strange reason his doubt made him think for a brief second.

"Congratulations." The tired counselor finished when, after an eternal wait, Lexa finally drew her signature on the paper. Jungkook smirked at the man before he left the hut leaving them alone.

"Why don't we go to my cabin?" We have to adjust a few things. ”She didn't even look at him, just nodded too lost to make the connections necessary to speak.

[...]

"Tomorrow I will send a pair of warriors to guard the wall of your camp," Jungkook commented as he entered his cabin. Lexa passed under it as Jungkook held it with his eyes. "Don't do it again if you want to keep your hand."

“You're my wife, get used to being touched!” He returned forcefully, approaching her to keep his gaze just as wild. A roar came from inside her chest when she was so rejected.

“I will have the title of your wife but I am not your wife!” He swept her body with a contemptuous look causing Jungkook to widen his nostrils. The vein in his neck was protruding from the blood pressure in his head.

Jungkook made an arrogant smile. "You will be what I want you to be, princess."

"No, I will be what I want to be." His voice was so hard and firm that Jungkook broke his smile. Raising her head high above Lexa again swept her body with more than contempt. "I'll be your fucking woman in front of the public but don't expect anything else."

Leaving her with the word in her mouth, she left the cabin furiously back to her camp.

[...]

The horseback ride to the river was smooth, with no enemies in sight. This time it had required bringing in more than three soldiers. This time the leaders of his warriors' brigades were with him. They were heading towards the southern part of the forest, just the point where a rock ended the river. It was in that place where she had arranged to meet Jungkook and her men.

The Heda had kept his word and had sent a party of men to assist his own in protecting the camp. Some disputes had arisen between newcomers and residents but Lexa managed to logically eradicate the problem. He provided them with food and water as well as a roof to sleep in but in exchange, they could not approach the villagers unless necessary.

"Sorry." A soft voice beside her made her turn her head in search of the owner. Suho had his head on his shoulders as a sign of regret along with a look full of regret. Lexa offered a small awkward smile. It was true that lately, she had distanced herself a lot from Suho since she learned the news of their marriage. She had been so busy organizing meetings with her allies that she had not had time to think about her personal life. Fortunately, Suho had.

"I'm sorry too," she replied with the same distress. Her smile turned into a pout just before it turned into a grimace. “Just because I married her doesn't mean I should change my life, Suho. I hope you understand that.

"I know, it just took me a while to figure it out." She swallowed, embarrassed by her immature attitude. Really, she would not have wanted Lexa to see her in that facet of her personality. " You did what you thought was best for your people. Your sacrifice deserves all my respect."

"I am his paper wife but not in fact." I will not stop being who I am and I will not stop being your friend.

"Glad to hear that," Suho said brighter as she smiled. Lexa nodded a little better now that the rancor was gone.

"We have arrived, Heda," announced a commander, interrupting the small competition of glances between the friends. Lexa saw from afar a small tent tied to some rocks as support. She sighed deeply before getting off the horse. It was the same blond warrior from the last visit who met them at the door. Like the other time, they had to divest themselves of weapons before entering. From what Lexa could tell, the warriors inside the tent weren't very equipped either.

"I thought you dumped me, princess." The clear mockery in Jungkook's voice caused a forced smile. Suho closed his eyes around Jungkook who was leaning against a wooden table. The black-haired man shook her hair as she straightened, surprising Lexa when she noticed the lack of black ink. It was the first time that Jungkook showed the skin of her bare face. His features were exposed before his eyes. Big deer eyes, no matter how expressive they emitted force. Bushy eyebrows that perfectly matched the color of his brown eyes. His nose was large but surprisingly in complete symmetry with his perfect face. He looked at her mouth, those gullies that smiled wickedly whenever they could seem soft and fluffy. Arguably, her beauty lived up to her ego.

Lexa followed her mocking smile to dominate the situation. "I'm not going to apologize for being busy."

"No, of course not," she added keeping the same mischievous tone.

Jungkook kept looking at her and she at him. Without knowing it, they had started a war of glances that none wanted to lose. Absent to the warriors that were in the place. It was just Lexa, Jungkook, and her higher ego.

[...]

"They have two settlements here and here," the blond commander whose name was known to be Jimin said aloud. He pointed with the tip of his finger at two marked crosses he had drawn on the map. Lexa frowned thoughtfully. She analyzed the strategic points in her head.

"Then let's attack," Suho concluded simply. The sound of an ironic smile made Lexa look at Jungkook.

“It is not an important military zone. If we attack we would lose the surprise factor. And they will strengthen the vigilance of those that do interest us. ”Jungkook added with an air of superiority. It sounded so obvious that Suho's brow furrowed as she perceived Jungkook's clear intentions in lowering her opinion. The warriors began to present their ideas, but Lexa could only focus on the red circle that she had drawn on top of a set of mountains.

"What's that?" All the men stopped talking when Lexa intervened. Jimin raised his eyebrows disoriented, emitted a confused low before answering. Jungkook immediately watched her closely.

"That is your most important military zone. I have underlined it in red because it is almost impossible to get to it without going through others before." It is very well protected.

Lexa narrowed her eyes as a crazy idea began to develop in her head. "It's near the river."

"Am, yes," Jimin commented again, confused by his sudden interest. "Well, it's a good place to settle down."

"I propose that we attack this area here," proposed a warrior from his clan, taking some objections from the other soldiers. Despite the hubbub of low voices, Lexa's mind remained clean and clear. She bit her indecisive lip. She was staring intently at the map for answers. When the gear on her head finally clicked she raised her eyebrows and looked straight ahead. To her surprise, she met Jungkook's curious gaze that watched her closely as if she were having the same mental fight.

"Let's attack the red zone." After Lexa's words, the men closed their mouths. They all acted incredulous with their eyes wide open.

Suho blinked at Lexa as if her friend had suddenly gone crazy. The warriors of her clan chose not to oppose her out of respect even though they were of the same opinion as Suho.

The only one who reacted favorably was Jungkook.

" I agree. Let's attack the red zone. ”She pursed her lips in a pout in her assent. This time it was the warriors of her clan who watched her as if she had lost her mind. Lexa eyed her intrigued by her unexpected support. Jungkook rested his big hands on the table so the distance between the two was not very long. Jungkook reciprocated brought his eyes from the map to her with such intensity that a chill ran down her spine.

"No intention of offending Hedas but ... That area is practically inaccessible, there are many warriors and we do not know the area as well as they do." A warrior intervened with respect but with a clear caution in his tone of voice, taking his gaze instantly. Jungkook and Lexa's.

Suho ducked his head towards Lexa to say something to him in a low voice. “You are right, Lexa. It is crazy.

Lexa stared blankly at the map. I knew it was. That is, who in her right mind would get into enemy territory and attack one of its strongest points with hardly any superficial information. Of course, she knew, but her instincts told her that she must continue forward.

"If what is on the map is true, the only source of food and water is the river." She spoke more to herself than to the rest. There was no doubt in her voice just a little uneasiness. She was letting herself be controlled too much by the voice in her head and was beginning to wonder if she should let it interfere with her decisions. "There are much closer military settlements but if we get them to move they will leave us free."

"Okay, suppose we unknowingly leave the way open." How would we do it? ”Silence reigned in the store due to the lack of answers.

"Contaminating the river," Jungkook said in her deep low voice.

Lexa looked back at him quickly, finding herself strangely connected to his gaze on her.

[...]

The meeting didn't take long after Jungkook's idea. They planned an interim plan to have something done for the next meeting. Lexa left the store satisfied. The meeting had exceeded her expectations in every way. Certainly, if she was honest she had always thought it was a waste of time. That they would not agree. But it was just the opposite, her warriors and those of the iron clan got on so well that there was hardly any discussion outside the main topic.

Lexa went to her horse tied to a tree located a few meters from the store which they had begun to dismantle. Suho was at her side, accompanying her as always.

“Princess!” The familiar mockery of her voice made him stop short. Lexa made a forced smile and then turned to Jungkook heavily. "Do you have a few minutes?"

Lexa swept her body suspiciously before nodding. "Sure."

Jungkook stretched out his arm in the direction of the riverbank. His arrogant smile made her nervous. Lexa sighed and started walking in that direction.

"Alone," Jungkook roared loudly towards Suho when she saw her intentions to follow Lexa. Suho formed a forced smile while emitting a short sarcastic laugh.

"I will leave if Lexa asks me." The same roar returned. Jungkook also laughed with the same intensity as she took a few steps in their direction so that they were face to face.

"Lexa? What trusts are those with your commander?" Jungkook spat with a hard look.

However, Suho saw the right moment to form a more than sarcastic smile. "She is much more than that to me."

After his deep confession, Jungkook brought out his teeth when he smirked. His tongue came out of her mouth to touch her fang. Then he hit his inner cheek. All that while watching the horse behind his Suho. When he turned his hard gaze again, it had intensified even more accompanied by a wicked smile that shouted nothing but pure contempt. Suho was not left behind crossing his arms as he bravely kept his gaze up.

"Suho, stay," Lexa interrupted, holding her arm in a warm gesture. Suho looked at Lexa with doubt over her eyes. Her expression had relaxed as she felt the warmth of his touch wrap around her arm. Action that Jungkook silently watched. He didn't know exactly what bothered him the most if he saw how her voice managed to control him or the delicacy of his grip. After a stare fight with her friend, Lexa looked closely at Jungkook.

"She couldn't hurt me even though she will try."

"Okay ..." Suho agreed quite calmly until he looked back at Jungkook leading his gaze back to anger.

Jungkook smiled triumphantly despite his sour character. He did not detach his gaze from Suho walking backward until he reached the open area of ​​the river where Lexa waited impatiently with his arms crossed.

"What do you want?" Seeing his voice so changed Jungkook felt more annoyed than before. Before he could bear the contempt of his gaze but not now when he had witnessed that he could look with other eyes.

"This was not what we agreed," he accused indignantly without taking his gaze from Lexa's. Jungkook wanted to be indifferent and he succeeded but when Lexa smiled the same way his gaze doubted a second. Really, he wasn't used to anyone standing up to him. Much less a woman.

“Haven't I married you?” Jungkook growled annoyed at the irony scattered in his tone of voice. I look away from the river in search of tranquility. His sharp jaw gleamed almost like an apparition from the reflection of sunlight. It was not the only thing that caught his attention but in fact, the scar he found on his cheekbone was more entertaining. He wondered its origin, it was not very large, nor very visible. It was the perfect combination that hardened his angelic face.

"You know what I mean." Annoyed, he replied through a whimpering moan.

He looked at her again unsatisfied, Lexa blew out annoyed.

"I think my point was made clear the other day." She exposed resentfully as she uncrossed her arms and let them drop heavily on either side of her body. "If that's all."

"No." Jungkook stopped him in his escape attempt. Lexa rolled her eyes returning to her position. She raised her eyebrows indicating that she should continue speaking. "Our camps are protected by different walls."

"Yes and what?"

"Well, I really see foolishness to have two camps with two different walls when their bosses are married." As Jungkook was exposing her headache, Lexa's eyebrows were rising. "I've thought of building a common wall."

"Joining the camps, is that what you're trying to tell me?" Lexa asked. In response, Jungkook nodded seriously. Lexa averted her eyes to the stream at her feet as if seeking inspiration. She moaned thoughtfully.

She dropped her defensiveness to a more open one. Jungkook's proposal had taken him by surprise, but he had not liked it too much. Having a common wall means increasing the territory of both fields. More space to plant, more space for families, proximity to the river, more protection ... It was a quite smart proposal because the military strength would also increase.

Jungkook raised an eyebrow while waiting for an answer.

"If you don't agree, I will accept it."

"No, no ..." he interrupted quickly. Jungkook let him continue speaking patiently. "... actually, it's a good idea."

"Fine," Jungkook simplified.

"Yes," she agreed in the same way.

"I will test the proposal on the council, but for me, it will go ahead."

Jungkook nodded his head. "I thought the stone area would be a good place to mark the new joint wall."

"Yes, it is a good area," she agreed in the agreement. Then he pursed his lips in pleasure. Jungkook nodded again, ending the conversation. "Leidon. *

"Leidon. *" Jungkook replied.

Lexa circled her body to return to her horse. Suho stopped looking at Jungkook's back to focus on her. Lexa sent a reassuring smile before her body fell to the ground.

She moaned dizzy. Everything was spinning. She put her hand to her head. She looked at her hand and found it flooded with blood later, with her eyes closed.

[...]

"You're protective shit," cursed a distorted voice that echoed inside his head. She groaned disoriented. I try to open my eyes but couldn't find the strength to do it. The senses began to perceive things again. Weakly closed his hand noting in his inner palm a kind of soft surface.

"Shut the fuck up!" Another different but equally deformed scream collided with the other voice inside the dark pit of his head.

"Enough both!" The third exciting voice-activated enough mechanisms to start reacting. "Sorry, but he is her husband, he has more right to be here than you, Suho ...

“Suho?” Lexa stuttered dizzy, catching the attention of the three pairs of eyes. The nominee hurried to the gurney when I hear his faint voice.

“Lexa? OMG. No, don't talk. Save your strength. ”He shook her hand with his to make her feel like he was next to her. Lexa slowly opened her eyes feeling overwhelmed for a few seconds by the focus of light after so much darkness.

She brought her free hand to her forehead, meeting the rough touch of a patch. "What happened to me, Suho?"

"They tried to kill you," another stronger voice replied. With improved eyesight, she saw Jungkook appear at the foot of her stretcher sending a serious look.

"I ..." A sob turned his attention to his friend. "... Sorry." I didn't know what was happening until you fell to the ground.

"You should rest. You hit yourself in the head very hard." Jin interjected kindly, appearing next to Jungkook with a worried look.

As if the number of people who had so suddenly invaded his field of vision was not enough, a Jungkook warrior joined the meeting and whispered something in his ear, then left as if nothing had happened. He analyzed Jungkook's serious expression so he assumed he had received bad news.

"My men have caught her," Jungkook said in the neutral voice typical of a person announcing something unpleasant.

Lexa frowned."Her?"

[...]

They waited in the council room in complete silence. Jin had advised Lexa to continue resting but she refused to do so. Even more so when the identity of her aggressor would be revealed in the assembly. She could see that there was no one from her clan, so she assumed that her mother had not been informed of the attack, otherwise she would have been there screaming in the sky.

His chair was next to Jungkook's. An egalitarian gesture that he certainly did not see coming. The rest of the councilors waited patiently in their respective places on either side of the thrones.

A high pitched scream of fighting began to sound closer and closer. Lexa tensed in the seat straightened her body. Jungkook felt the force of his nails dig into the wood out of the corner of his eye so he immediately put his hand on it to reassure her. Lexa stopped losing air through her mouth to look at him surprised without success as Jungkook looked straight ahead.

"Hedas," said a soldier by way of greeting. He bowed his head in respect. Then, Lexa turned her eyes to the front, what she found was completely paranoid. A girl of no more than thirteen years old lay at the feet of the warrior tied hand and foot with her knees on the ground and her head down.

Lexa blinked at Jungkook before whispering in a confused whisper.

"It's a girl."

Jungkook watched her closely, then nodded almost as shocked as she was. Lexa watched her tiny figure cautiously.

"You tried to kill me, why?" Lexa raised her voice so that the message would reach the end of the cabin where the girl was waiting gagged.

The girl used her straight blonde Caucasian hair to cover her face. She raised her head to Lexa, who was waiting impatiently for her answer, but lowered it again, ignoring her question: "Is Ronald sending you?"

“Answer!” Jungkook demanded, burning with deep rage. Lexa jumped out of the seat briefly at the poisonous impact of her voice.

"My soul is at peace because I will die knowing that I will try," the girl recited weakly. Everyone in the room looked at each other as they muttered.

"Try what?" Lexa asked, still not overcoming the strangeness in her voice.

"Kill my parents' killer," he roared in response, his voice dark and bloodshot.

The room was once again in deep dazzling silence.

"I didn't kill your parents." Lexa frowned in confusion.

"You killed them when you decided to shoot that arrow of fire." The murmurs soon returned with full force. Lexa was static in the seat. Memories of the chaos she caused hit her mind too hard. Screams of pain and suffering echoed inside her head. She wasn't aware of the present until she heard hurried footsteps heading toward her.

-Murderess! Murderess!

“Take her away!” Jungkook growled furiously at the warriors who had intercepted the girl on her way to Lexa. The girl resisted. She kicked the air and she didn't stop screaming until she was taken out of the cabin. Looking blankly, Lexa realized that the nightmares of her dreams were her fault. She had summoned her demons and that girl had just reminded him of the disaster they had caused. Now!

Jungkook's scream lifted the advisors from their places. Murmurs flooded the cabin until the last of them came out. Left alone, Jungkook frowned in concern at Lexa.

"We are not that different," she assumed in a neutral tone. She kept her gaze focused on the gap where the warriors had dragged the girl. Lexa sighed deeply and then bit her lip restlessly. That girl wanted to end the murderer of her parents. She wanted to do the same. They were the same intentions but different contexts. Her chest was tight with guilt.

"You chose to save yours above all else," Jungkook argued in a persuasive tone. He rose from the throne to place himself on his knees in front of his. With the kneecap glued to the step. I try to meet her gaze but Lexa did not respond.

"I have left that girl orphaned." The neutral tone repeated itself this time being much more serious. Lexa swallowed hard as she became aware of the consequences of her actions.

"You killed so they won't kill you," Jungkook corrected gravely, causing the seriousness of his voice to activate the mechanisms of his head and finally react to his gaze. There was so much intensity in those brown eyes that I almost begged him to keep talking. "The path of a Heda is not easy, Lexa." I know you will make the right decision.

The right decision.

It is amazing how three words can change a person's destiny. Whether she will live or die. Their traditions were clear. Asking blood for blood but ... Was that really the damn right decision?

Did that girl deserve death for wanting to avenge her parents?

Did that girl deserve punishment when she craved the same?

[...]

Quite possibly it had been the worst night of his life. The nightmares returned with force, upsetting his sleep so much to the point of preventing it. If I closed my eyes I saw blood. If I closed my eyes I saw a fire. If he closed his eyes ... he saw the death of his father.

She closed her eyes in anguish. The time helped to clarify the ideas but in her case, it had only served to fuel further doubts. I know that many people were waiting outside, wanting to hear a sentence. The screams managed to interfere with her cabin as if she were there. But she didn't know if she preferred silence more.

As she came out of her cabin completely, the outside noise hit her ears harder. As the intuition of people following an event like this had intuited was countless. Making her way between her subjects out posing right in front of the girl who was tied to a wooden stick. Jungkook was just behind sitting on his throne patiently awaiting his arrival.

When he did, he got up, which made everyone present obediently shut up to listen to his Heda.

"We are here for trial on charges of attempted murder." Lexa Skycru of the Heavenly Clan will be the one to sentence you. ”Jungkook shouted dominance at all his subjects. Lexa turned her head back to watch when her eyes made contact. Jungkook nodded.

"Let her die now or be silent forever."

"Yes! Death! ”A maddened warrior ruled causing others to rise up with the same messages."

—Jus drein jus daun! *

"Let it burn!"

"Yes!"

Lexa squeezed her eyes shut at the rumbling so disturbing the warriors' uncontrollable and disorderly screams caused.

"There will be no death!" Lexa cried with the same dominance as Jungkook. Then she looked at the soldier who was closely watching the girl. "Let her go." The screams thundered again for her incomplete satisfaction. The girl slowly raised her head towards Lexa who did not stop looking seriously. "You will give a message to your commander." Let him know that the heavenly tribe and the iron tribe are going to kill him. We give you two weeks to remove all women and children from your territory. After that time a blood fight will open.

"What makes you think I will comply?" Answered the girl, forming a hypocritical umbrella.

Lexa took her lips off. "I couldn't avoid the deaths of your parents. I ask you to help me avoid others."

[...]

A couple of weeks had passed since the bonfire incident. Everything had passed without further interruption. According to the testimony of a soldier sent for recognition, the threat to Ronald's clan had taken effect because he witnessed people leaving their lands to head towards the mountains. Arguably, that had been a small victory in the war that was about to take place.

Now, for the moment, having controlled the war theme, Lexa decided to focus on the construction of the wall that would unify the celestial lands with those of iron. As expected, some snags had arisen from her advisers, but Lexa had managed to persuade them by showing them the many advantages that it would offer. Of course, the one that was most accepted was the extension of land and therefore wealth.

She had been in her hair for about two hours, observing from a distance how artisans worked. She ran her forearm across her forehead to wipe away the sweat. The sun shone hotly high in the sky, suffocating her presence. Despite being sheltered under the shade of the tree, the temperature was inhumane. When the reflection of the river water called her in a mirage, she came to him like bees to honey.

Jungkook, who was also in the same conditions when she saw Lexa heading to the river to cool off, decided to follow in her footsteps.

Suho, who in fact was also the same decision to do the same but with other intentions being stopped by a familiar voice.

“Where are you going?” A hand attacked by the passage of time wrapped her forearm holding. Suho blinked at the woman he recognized as Lexa's mother. The woman looked in the same direction as him, clicking her tongue. "Let them speak."

"I don't want to let him clear the way," Suho confessed with a deep tone full of jealousy, still watching Jungkook approach Lexa from behind.

"Suho ..." However, Kerin's melancholic whisper diverted him from his focus. The woman watched him sadly. "There was never away."

[...]

She left her shoes on some rich ones to put her feet in the water. The cold sensation sent cramps all over her body. She sighed thoughtfully as her gaze fell to the shell necklace her father gave her when she hunted her first rabbit. Unconsciously she held it tightly between her malpa as if the gesture could make her return. In fact, no. The whole situation with the girl had unearthed a pain that he thought was relieved.

The night before she had had what she believed to be one of her worst nightmares. Eg the dream, her body took the place of the girl. Her hands were painfully tied with string. In front of her was the girl holding a stick with fire on its tip. Her macabre laugh sounded when she saw that her attempts to free herself always end in failure. Suddenly, a familiar figure appeared just behind the girl. Lexa smiled at her father who was looking at her with pity. But everything became darker, more confusing. Her father had stopped smiling, now, now she was pushing the stick down so that it caught the leaves under her feet. Everything seemed to go further and further until she woke up.

"It hurts, it's normal." A voice behind her spoke. Lexa slowly opened her eyes out of her reverie. Then, she looked at Jungkook who was looking at her worried from the top of a rock. Unlike her eyes that contemplated her beauty reflected in the sun, his followed the path of the tear that ran down his cheek. "I also thought at some point that I would not overcome pain but I did."

"How?" She asked. Her chest tightened accordingly as her distressed voice shone from her appearance.

"Recognizing what it is: weakness," Jungkook replied seriously. Keeping his gaze fixed on her until Lexa lowered his towards the river.

"Love? I can't live like this. ”I groan angrily, then, turning around, she grabbed her shoes and walked to her horse, leaving Jungkook silent.

[...]

Burdened by the endless hours of council meetings she ends up running away from the back of the cabin. She coughs in the face of the unwelcome sting of the sun that blinds her until she is used to her vision.

“Get up and fight!” A wild scream draws her attention completely. Looking for the origin of the problem, he sees from afar a group of children sitting in a circle. In the middle, a tall woman with brown hair pulled back into a braid, thin but with a muscular body, keeps them with their heads down while yelling at a child on the floor.

"I'm tired ..." Her voice sounds so weak and it is when she finishes approaching that she notices the brightness of her tears on her cheeks.

But the woman laughs. "In war, death does not distinguish who is and who is not. Raise!"

"Hey!" Lexa growled annoyed, catching the attention of the woman and the children who looked back immediately. "He told you he can't take it anymore."

"It is an exhaustive training I already knew what I was facing." The warrior answers with hypocrisy giving her a look of few friends.

"Besides, it is her punishment for being the weakest."

"And it seems fair to you? Who fights against you who have more experience?"

Lexa raised an eyebrow as she placed her hands on her pitcher-shaped hip. The children's eyes went between Lexa and the warrior with caution.

“Are you free if you want to take her place?” She offered, giving him a mocking bow.

Lexa walked confidently towards her until she stopped when she reached the center of the circle. A child helped the wounded man to get up to sit him completing the circle.

“What are the rules?” He shook his head in her direction.

"Until you can't take it anymore," she added with a hint of wicked amusement in her voice. He smiled as the tips of his fingers enthusiastically brushed the edge of his sword. Lexa pouted her mouth before nodding.

The warrior attacked first with all her might. Lexa dodged the blow with agility and then returned it with the same force. Their swords clashed screeching at the contact.

Lexa's feet were firmly planted on the ground providing stability. The warrior slapped her shoulder against his but Lexa held her position as if nothing had happened.

Then, the warrior brought out a toothy smile. "You are skillful who would say it when ..." She brought her mouth to whisper in her nose.

Lexa ironic river."The value of a woman is not measured in the number of cocks she raises."

Their swords unhook and collide again this time with more fury. Lexa glared at her with a hard but triumphant look when she realized that the warrior's feet were dragged along the ground by her strength.

"Of course not," she growled in response, pulling away. She stepped back to catch her breath as she swung her sword gracefully.

"Because I'm only interested in lifting one."

Lexa frowned in surprise when she realized the gaze was directed at something behind her. Curiosity won the game when he followed the direction, meeting Jungkook and two warriors in the middle of a conversation in the distance. Lexa swallowed hot with the inexplicable heat that began to melt her insides.

She'd lost track of time so much that she didn't see Raven kicking her back, knocking her to the ground. Lexa coughed when dirt got into her mouth. Then, she turned angrily towards Raven who was smiling victoriously. Lexa was mentally punished for being so foolishly distracted when she was in the middle of a fight.

"It's funny that you are husband and wife but you sleep in different cabins," Raven continued with provocation.

"Trouble in paradise? Already realized that you are not worth anything?"

Lexa threw a blow to her stomach so hard that the warrior's body landed two feet away.

"If you're so anxious to take my place, do it." Lexa roared with her fists clenched and her nostrils dilated by her altered breathing.

Raven dropped to her knees with her hand on her stomach as she laughed wickedly and watched her in pain. "I already have."

Lexa blinked, not knowing why her body was completely paralyzed. Raven scrambled to her feet trying to punch directly into her jaw but Lexa didn't fall that time, intercepting her arm to twist him in the back and then kneeing her in the mouth, knocking her to the ground proclaiming herself the winner.

"Well, enjoy it," Lexa yelled passively, not showing the least bit of affection. He watched her from above in disgust as he circled her to get away from there not before releasing his last attack. “So much that you like to lift things try to get up now.”

[...]

"What was that?" Suho asked, walking slowly through the trees as he approached. Lexa under the arch, forgetting about the rabbit that ran free through a clearing. When he saw the expression on her face, he clicked his tongue at the surprisingly fast rumors that ran through his people.

"Comprehensive training," she clarified simply by pointing back to the clearing. She pursed her lips in a dissatisfied pout when she found it empty.

"And since when do you take a thorough training so seriously?" Suho scoffed, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

"Do you like me?" Lexa asked hastily without a hint of lucidity in her voice or disturbed expression.

"What?" Eyelid Suho.

"As a woman."

"Oh," she uttered in surprise as her senses returned to stress. Suho gulped foolishly for taking a few seconds to start the mechanisms in her head again. "Are you smart, fair, and brave who wouldn't like you?

"I don't mean that, but the physical." Do you think men can like me? ”She sighed. She frowned sadly and bit her cheek nervously. Lexa had never been an insecure woman but she couldn't help falling into the labyrinth of doubt since she had that fight with Raven. Her voice sounded confident and firm without hesitation in her advances. She hated feeling so affected. She was envious of her experience and a strange avalanche of punctures in her stomach when she pictured her with Jungkook. Because it was obvious. There was something between them, why else would he let go of that without foundations on which to lean. There was also the possibility that she just wanted to give him a hard time but his head guided her to the first option over and over again.

-Why do you ask me that?

"It doesn't matter." Lexa smiled sheepishly avoiding her curious gaze. Never. But never. I would tell something so intimate to Suho.

"I think ..." Suho whispered, drawing her attention to the intimate tone she used. "... you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen." You have the most beautiful smile in the world, Lexa.

Suho couldn't help but spread a medium smile. There was a warm glow in her eyes, too revealing a glow with feelings so far hidden from her. Lexa opened her eyes in surprise.

Feeling against the sword and the wall before her revealing gaze.

"Hmm ... do you think this area is suitable for camping?" Lexa added, turning her head towards the map.

"What?" She said absently. "Oh, yes, it's good," she answered calmly, still admiring the way her hair covered her left profile. Suho couldn't help but smile relaxed. "It's very good."

[...]

"This is it, thanks for listening." Lexa finished towards the councilors, saying goodbye with a polite smile. After the third and last meeting of the week on the previews of the new wall, she felt less weight to worry about. She sighed resignedly turning to Jungkook who kept his eyes fixed on the marked area simulating the limits just discussed. "I had thought we can use the old materials to build the wall." This way we will use the brick and we would have more to build more houses. — she said, looking askance at him, waiting patiently for the chestnut tree to react or say something that it did not do. for...

She wasn't aware of how quickly she stopped talking until Jungkook pressed her lips together in a desperate kiss. She opened her mouth, tucking her tongue in without warning. Lexa moaned in complete shock with her eyes open. Jungkook's hand tightened on her waist, pressing her to his chest. Lexa's hands were trapped in her shoulder area. Jungkook tilted his face and intensified the kiss.

Lexa closed her eyes slowly, letting go. Opening her mouth to receive her tongue. She sighed discard as she slid her hands up to his neck. His fingers gripped her hair and she stretched. Jungkook growled ecstatically bending down to lift her by her thighs and place her on the table. The map crumpled as her butt landed on top but they cared little.

Jungkook broke the kiss, creating a wet snap. Panting, her breath hit his face with a dark, wistful, wild gaze full of unstoppable lust. He brought his hands up to his cheeks. He moved his thumb affectionately, delighting in the softness of her skin to end up pressing his thumb to the soft skin of her lower lip. He approached in a quick kiss, letting out a satisfied moan when he felt her participation.

"Jungkook ..." He threw his head back as wet kisses began to come down his jaw. She stretched her roots again with excitement, taking another guttural growl. His hands slowly lowered down a path to his lower back until… “Jungkook!” An annoyed scream caused Jungkook to blink in confusion. He pouted his lips as he hugged her chest. Jungkook looked at her with a frown. "No, of course not." What's wrong I'm talking to you about important things?

"Why did you tell Raven that she liked to lift things?" He blurted out without warning importing anything or little that his thought had come out loud.

“What?” This time it was he who blinked in confusion. “It was just to provoke him.

"You spoke very loudly," he said, raising his eyebrows.

Lexa rolled her eyes. "Can we focus on this, please?"

She indicated the map with her hand, looking down at it again. Jungkook couldn't help but think how good his hair was.

Others would think it was foolish to notice that Lexa really had a beautiful profile. Her small and delicate jaw gave her face that innocent point that drove her crazy. She did not know but her face was very expressive showing everything that crossed her mind. He could tell when she was sad at the tilt of her mouth or how upset she was when she wrinkled her nose shrugging and making it more adorable.

Jungkook smiled mischievously at the conversion that began to play in his head as if it were his favorite song. Of course, I hear what Raven said what was not seen to come was that Lexa reacted so annoying. Her heart warmed to beat faster.

Then, she took advantage of the fact that she was distracted to approach from behind and stick her lips to his ear.

"She will never lift my cock as you do."

[...]

Hunting day.

Without a doubt, his favorite activity of the week. He was looking forward to it because it was the only time of the day when he could relax and breathe deeply the oxygen-rich air of the forest. Her lungs are grateful and certainly her head clear too.

Carefully advanced through the field by the number of thin sticks that will not hesitate to break at the slightest touch. She didn't know the area as well as she usually would, but that didn't stop her fighting spirit. She swore to herself that she would hunt good prey today.

A small innocent laugh changed the course of her attention. Not far from where he was he saw a girl of about eight years old smiling as she curiously observed a small bird on top of Jungkook's palm. Practically the smile was drawn alone on her face. Next, the little bird flew off causing the girl to rush out after him. Jungkook had a small smile making him look innocent and youthful.

Her disunited face in contrast to sunlight was, from now on, her favorite concept.

"I didn't know you could treat the children," Lexa commented, approaching slowly while sending her an amused look.

"I adore children especially how they are made," she said gracefully when she felt their steps approach from behind.

Jungkook looked at her recreating his typical arrogant smile in which his tongue struck the inside of the cheek.

"You are incredible," Lexa confessed, tempted. "It is not a compliment."

Although Jungkook clearly knew how to perceive the mockery and irony in his voice, something inside him was excited. He proceeded to follow her slowly, earning a sidelong glance from her.

"Your ass is also amazing." Lexa stopped walking and turned around with her eyes open. When she saw his eyes go up to her face when she turned around she couldn't help but blush. Jungkook raised an eyebrow. "Oh, it's not a compliment."

His mischievous laugh was a harsh blow to her who spread her blush to the tips of her ears in embarrassment. She had fallen into the game that she herself had created. Feeling too insulted when she looks at the ground, she doesn't think twice and bends down.

Jungkook stops when she notices something hit her back.

“Did you just throw a handful of dried leaves at me?” He asks, surprised, then slowly turns around.

Lexa refuses by pressing her lips together as she passes by like she's nothing.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

-No? Okay — falsely accept. Because when Lexa turns her back on him, Jungkook bends down and throws a dried pineapple at him.

"Hey!" She cries complaining and turns around. Bring your hand to your lower back to caress the area and thus relax the pain. Of course, Lexa frowns when Jungkook innocently shrugs. He raises his eyebrows and laughs wryly. Then he reaches down and throws a handful of dirt at her with small stones that end up dirtying her cheek. Jungkook coughs and Lexa laughs maniacally. She acknowledges that when Jungkook throws another dried pineapple at her chest, she starts having fun. Both succumb to the game and start throwing everything they see on the ground. They laugh together for the first time. Lexa can not help thinking that her laugh in a normal state is quite pleasant away from that dry sound that she usually emits when she laughs without emotion or grace.

When she stops listening to that melodious laugh she drops a handful of leaves and looks at it. She lets out a groan of surprise as her back hits the wood of a tree. Jungkook corners her in less than a second. He doesn't know what's going on but he feels a chill when he feels the hardness of his thigh brush against hers.

"Don't move, I've seen something among the trees," he says uneasily. He is about to complain when Jungkook places a hand on his shoulder and pushes him back towards the tree.

"It must have been an animal," he growls uncomfortably. His body is so big that it covers him in seconds. Her heart beats so hard that she's afraid Jungkook will notice if her chest keeps pressing against her like that.

"It wasn't a fucking animal." Jungkook's voice turns serious and dangerous as he lowers his head to look at her. Lexa is connected to her eyes without being able to avoid it. They are so dark that you could lose yourself in them and not complain about not finding the exit. Jungkook's breath directly hugged the upper skin of his lips making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He had never been so close to a man so he attributed his nerves to lack of habit but that did not take away the fact that he was also the first man his body trembled with the slightest touch. One hand was held firmly on top of his head while the other was off to the side. They were so close that the tips of his feet touched hers. Jungkook's lips remained in a neutral grimace combining with the seriousness reflected in his body. He knew he was tense from the way his shoulders were not resting from that straight line. He intended to say something but his mouth did not respond to his commands as if the connections in his head had lost touch with reality.

By having him this close he could have the privilege of analyzing his features in more detail. He hadn't even realized, until now, that just below his lower lip was a mole. And for some strange reason, he wanted to stretch a finger and squeeze it. Jungkook cleared his throat to catch his attention. Lexa cast a curious glance at him and then her cheeks turned red.

She looked away embarrassed for being so impulsive and caught on the spot. When in reality, Jungkook's discomfort hadn't been precise because of over-gaze but because of the way he did it. The dream returned to his mind when he noticed how his eyes traveled to detail his lips and certainly, this was a moment that could not be carried away by his primary impulses. So she decided to return to her tough posture. "I'm going to look at stay in place again."

Lexa rolled her eyes when I hear him so demanding. As she indicated, she walked away completely and then returned to where they had been playing.

"Do you see it? Nothing happens… Jungkook! ”Lexa shouted in fright as an arrow grazed the right side of her head knocking him to the ground. Jungkook was swinging his head on the ground while complaining sore eyes tight. Lexa ran towards him in a panic attack. She knelt down and tried to lift her head. "No, no shit." Jungkook? ”He was desperately searching for an answer, but Jungkook only produced moans that were getting weaker and weaker. I tilt my neck carefully to look at the wound. When he touched the blood on the tip of his ear and saw it black he cursed under his breath. "Poison ..." This one was different, this one was much more powerful and dangerous because it was not just a paralytic. He swallowed hard, laid his head gently on top of a mountain of leaves, and then got up. "Hold on, I'm going to get help, please just hold on."

[...]

Despite the fact that things had gone well and no misfortune had arisen, she could not feel completely relieved. As he ran toward the camp, he caught a glimpse of a man running in the opposite direction. He forced himself not to follow him because Jungkook was more important. He was afraid that the man would come back and hurt him at seeing him so unprotected but again, he forced his legs to keep running.

This was not the time for his paranoia.

Fortunately, Jin was in his cabin and in possession of the antidote. He dipped the red seaweed tea in a handkerchief and placed it on his ear to absorb the poison. Two hours later, Jungkook woke up and as soon as he regained the notion of reality he returned to his clan's affairs. He ignored Jin's warnings and left as soon as his legs left him.

For that very reason, after his last meeting with the council, on his way back to his cabin, he ran into a worried Jin. After that, he wasn't even aware of what went out the door.

"Jin said you didn't want to heal yourself." The girl's voice sounded annoyed as she made her way deeper into the cabin. Jungkook, who had been studying a map on the table, turned irritably.

"It is foolish to waste supplies when there are bigger wounds to take care of."

"At least let me take a look at you," he asked, pulling up the small white bag to put it in his line of sight. "Sit at the desk, please."

Jungkook frowned at her but finally ended up obeying and going to the table to sit down. I interlock my fingers and click my tongue in annoyance. Lexa ignored her childish attitude. She indicated with her fingers to tilt her head. A gesture she made against her will but in silence.

"You see?" Jungkook replied wryly, raising his eyebrows. Lexa looked at him seriously when Jungkook turned his head again.

"What I see is an open wound that, if not healed, can become infected," he reproaches with annoyance. It was true, Jin's superficial treatment had made the wound a mere scratch, but she still had a fresh layer of dried blood on the tip of her ear. He breathed in focusing on the task. He reached out for a piece of cotton, dipped it in rubbing alcohol, then put it on the wound. Jungkook groaned plaintively at the sting moving in place.

Lexa pursed her lips. "Sorry."

"Were you worried about me?"

Lexa stopped looking at the wound as soon as she perceived the softness of his tone. Flashing nervously, she cleared her throat and concentrated on cleaning the blood again. "Don't be so self-centered, I worry about everyone the same."

“Sure?” Her tone had suddenly dropped, becoming intimate and personal. The cotton was suspended in midair when Jungkook turned his head to connect his gaze to hers. Lexa frowned a few seconds before relaxing her face. He perceived her seriousness in his penetrating gaze. Set and firm on yours. They had never looked at her like that. They had never left her speechless with a glance. And when Jungkook slowly started to get closer his mind flew into dangerous territory.

"Don't turn your face I can't see your ear." She growled annoyed to hide her nervousness. He caught her chin and turned her face again.

"Are you going to see your mother tomorrow?"

"Yes, I haven't been in a while."

"Then I will go with you."

"No need, Suho ...

"I do not care. I wanna go."

"Okay," she accepted, confused by his sudden interest. "You saved my life, I'm going to have to start taking you with me everywhere."

"I was used to it ..." Jungkook pronounced, taking a scowl from Lexa. Seeing that he was not responding, he shook his head in denial and returned to his task.

[...]

Now that the two clans were unified and the roads opened, the distance and time to travel were considerably less. Before, when he suffered those longings for freedom and escaped to the forest, it took him more than half an afternoon to return home. Now he realized that time was no longer going to be a tedious burden.

But undoubtedly, a considerable change to consider was the look of his subjects. Before, they treated her as an equal now they watched her from a distance with a shy look. But he knew it was not for her, the citizens did not fear his presence but Jungkook's. And it was normal, he was a foreigner who had been forced to fear above all else.

His mother was still occupying the usual cabin, so when she was at the beginning of the camp, it didn't take long for her to stand in front of their doors. The atmosphere was tense, he knew it very well because he could feel the thoughtful air. The two men behind him had been silent the entire way creating an atmosphere filled with awkward silence.

He tightened the reins to hold the hair still so he could get down from it. Suddenly, he noticed movement in his rear when he turned his head, large hands adjusted at his waist, and helped lower it. Lexa widened her eyes when her feet finally landed on the ground. Intuitively she placed her palms on top of her chest to stabilize her body. When she noticed the hardness of her muscles, she looked up. Jungkook intensified him as if he wanted to speak to her from that gesture, show him a longing that he had not seen reflected before.

The sound of a cracked door opening made them slowly come to their senses.

“Lexa?” With an excited tone, her mother turned to her, surprised by her visit. He wrapped his arms around her neck to press her against his chest as he had always done. Lexa inhaled the smell of roses from her mother's feeling at home. "What are you doing here ...

When her gaze fell on Jungkook as they parted, the words got stuck in her mouth.

"It's been a while since I came and I missed you," Lexa added with a melancholic smile capturing her mother's attention. She pursed her lips in delight as she analyzed her daughter. I caress her cheek and then gently curl a strand of hair.

"You are prettier, you eat well, right?"

"Yes, mom," he replied monotonously, but still emitting that smiling aura.

"I'll be back later so we can get back together." When Jungkook spoke his mother frowned and Lexa looked at him confused.

“Aren't you going to stay for lunch?” After her mother's offer, Jungkook felt her body freeze.

"I don't want to disturb her, ma'am." Although Jungkook's voice had come out it would be his calm face hiding nothing but shame. Ever since he had noticed her presence Lexa's mother had been nervous and certainly he too. She did not like to be observed, much less annoying than the reunion between mother and daughter.

Lexa's mother protested. "That I have not agreed to the terms of your marriage does not mean that I do not respect my daughter's decisions. As things have been you are still my son-in-law and therefore part of my family now. So if you both go inside ...

Lexa looked around with a frown meeting only the three of them. Suho had left without saying anything and that started to worry.

"... and by the gods call me mother no lady."

Jungkook nodded rhythmically as if he had just received a military order. His mother re-entered the cabin followed by Jungkook, Lexa said goodbye to the outside with a sorry look still looking for his friend.

[...]

The food had not been as tense as expected, his mother had managed to get Jungkook to release his tongue and that he would abandon that serious and lonely posture for a moment. When Lexa finished her last bite of roast chicken, she slowly got up from the table and proceeded to carry the plate into the kitchen. I put it on top of the steel counter and then turned to go back. However, a small drawing hanging on the wall with a skewer caught her attention. She came closer to admire the painting more closely.

She couldn't help but chuckle shaking her shoulders at the poorly scribbled paper. It was her father and her. Lexa had given that drawing to her father for her birthday, immortalizing that day when they went to see the birth of the tents. She certainly did not expect her mother to keep her away.

Hearing the sound of a plate hitting the counter behind her, she rolled her eyes and broke her smile.

"If you're going to tell me again that love is weakness, better go back the way you came." I exhale tiredly facing the wall. She did not feel like arguing knowing that her mother was only a room away and that she could hear everything but she could not shut her mouth and let it pass because she was not for talks full of the pure and empty feeling of life.

"It's what my father taught me," Jungkook said calmly resting a hand on the counter. Lexa raised an eyebrow and turned on her feet in annoyance.

However, when I did not notice that mischief in her voice nor that arrogant posture, she began to feel intrigued. Her shoulders leaned down and her gaze seemed to be drowned in rage. I've never seen her like this. Then, she repeated her words in her mind slowly, paying attention to each one of them. She had just named her father. The ancient Heda of the Iron Clan. She couldn't help but feel curious about him because his father didn't even tell him those things claiming that she wasn't ready for such.

“Since when are you Heda?” The question came out on its own as if it were in thought out loud that it needed to get out before it rotted inside.

Jungkook raised his eyebrows contemptuously as he said, "Since I was thirteen."

"And your mother?"

"She died of an infection in a pandemic." She didn't seem hurt at all treating the subject as if it were just one more in her life. Lexa felt terrible grief adjust in her chest. She was really so calm that she was scared of her indifference.

"Don't you miss your parents?"

"They never acted as such because they should?" And there was the reason. Jungkook demonstrated so many things at once that his confused brain was slow to see them all at once. Answered questions normally. He hadn't even been affected by answering the age question. By God, since he was thirteen years many others have passed. How can a child face the role of Heda when she, at her age and with a supposed training and maturity, still showed some discomfort when assuming responsibilities. It must have been quite shocking and disturbing.

"And you?"

Lexa blinked lost. "A lot." He confessed weakly. Then a small nostalgic smile filled her lips. "My father was a little harsh sometimes but not too much he always fixed it with a smile."

Jungkook nodded instantly with the same aura of nonchalance. He didn't know exactly why, but seeing him so serious and frigid, his body began to walk alone forward. Jungkook's arms were suspended in midair as Lexa buried her head in his chest and wrapped her small hands around his waist. It took Jungkook a minute to react by wrapping his lower back and pulling her to his body so that his chin rested on top of his head.

"I'm supposed to be comforting you," Jungkook commented closing his eyes as he felt the warmth of Lexa tuck him in gently. His strawberry scent went up to his nostrils, making him his favorite scent.

Jungkook smiled helplessly as his tired sigh bounced off his chest. "Stop growling so much."

[...]

She turned her fifteenth turn on the bed before finally turning on her side. His hand was under her pillow and her legs were on top of each other. Although she will try to close her eyes and allow herself to be overcome by fatigue, her body had other plans that night. It was so strange because I was sleepy. Her eyelids drooped wearily but her eyes didn't want to close. Finally, and after half an hour later, she sighed in defeat and closed her eyes to sleep.

A sharp surface brushed her neck causing her eyes to squeeze uncomfortably as she brought her hand to it a strong arm turned her face up.

"I should have done this from the beginning." Realizing that it was not a dream and that both the pressure on her neck and the terrifying voice were real she desperately opened her eyes to meet a man on top of her body. She opened her mouth to ask for help but her hand covered her mouth immediately. "No bitch tonight you won't be the same luck."

The fingers around her nose closed, pressing on her nostrils. The man laughed pleased when his legs stirred urgently. I was so scared. So annoying. So disgusted by feeling so touched. With her hand on her mattress, she began to feel the surface quickly when she brushed the ass of her glass bottle she didn't think twice before hitting her on the head.

“Bitch!” She moaned loudly, touching her head. Her body fell to the side from the impact giving her the space to sneak towards the door. But when she was about to open the door, her filthy fingers pulled her ankle down causing her to have to put her hands forward to avoid hitting her mouth on the ground.

Lexa threw a kick that landed on her face. The man cursed when her plant deflected the septum from her nose. But that only caused the rage to turn into a fire that was impossible to quench. He tugged on her ankle, dragging her back under him. This time he wasted no time and his fingers wrapped tightly around her neck. Lexa sucked in strangled moans as she felt oxygen leaking from her lungs. Her legs were flailing furiously but when her thumbs clenched the hollow of her windpipe the movements stopped executing due to lack of oxygen supply. With her last breath, she continued to search for something on the ground when she felt something sharp lead her forward, driving a piece of broken glass into the socket of her eye.

The man released her in a brutal scream bringing his hands to her pierced eye as she crawled over to her chair to rest her back.

The door opened so hard that the hinges broke. Jungkook ran into Lexa as two soldiers approached the man to arrest him on the ground.

"Lexa!" Jungkook yelled desperately but she had already passed out from the effort.

[...]

"Swallow," Jin asked worriedly. I remove the spoon from his mouth and Lexa swallowed the jelly with difficulty. He closed his eyes when the softness touched the walls of his throat but soon after the pain began to lessen becoming bearable. When Jin noticed the relaxation on his face, he smiled regretfully. "You will take this every time you eat or talk a lot. It will help with swelling and reduce itching.

Lexa nodded so as not to form the vocal cords. Sometime later the door opened, causing her to divert her attention to it.

"How are you?" Jungkook asked, seriously leaning against the door frame. The tension in his shoulders told him that he was still on alert, his hoarse tone still annoying.

"Where is?"

"He's in the dungeons. Now answer me."

"Is he the one who attacked you?" She didn't need an answer when he noticed how Jungkook's eyes hardened. "I don't understand, Suho was at my door like ha ... OMG! Suho okay?"

"He's fine."

"Then why don't I believe you?" She frowned in annoyance at his sudden caution. Jungkook avoided his gaze making him more nervous. "Can you speak clearly?"

"We have found Suho unconscious."

Lexa opened her eyes in fright. "Has that man done something to you?" If something happens to her because of her, she would never forgive me ... I have to see it."

Jungkook strode to the stretcher when the girl tried to get up from the stretcher to run towards the door.

"Lexa, stop." Jungkook's large hands tightened on her shoulders to sit her down but she hysterically denied.

"Don't ask me when my friend is hurt!"

“He's not hurt, he was drunk, dammit!” Jungkook's scream stopped all activity in his system. His face paled and his chest clenched.

"What?" I breathe incredulously.

Jungkook looked down before looking at her indecisively. "That's why that son of a bitch could easily pass because your friend was sleeping."

[...]

After an arduous week on the stretcher in Jin's cabin, he was finally able to be discharged and take up his duties again. Jungkook had been holding the position of Heda Celeste in his absence, which he was grateful for, when he took over again he realized that there was not much work to do. The only pending thing that could not be attended to by him was the man who slept in the dungeons.

He had explicitly ordered that he should not be given water and that he should be given only a piece of meat a day. That man was a bounty hunter with many deaths behind him, he deserved nothing more worthy.

“Are you going to judge me?” He asked, staring blankly at the floor. She was sitting on the throne in the assembly hall waiting for Suho. When he entered, he looked at her so seriously that he knew what she was thinking.

"You are my Heda, I will accept everything you decide." She did not like the respectful and distant tone he used.

Lexa frowned in embarrassment and then looked at him.

For God's sake, how did they get to this?

"Is what they say true? You have sentenced a man."

"He was a murderer."

"He was unarmed!"

"Me too!" She screamed loudly causing an outrageous echo to form. Suho raised his chin indignantly. "I don't expect you to accept it because I no longer require your morality."

"You are not the same."

"Neither do you," she replied with all the pain in her soul. Suho stopped forcing his gaze relaxing her in a full of regret. He took a step toward her but she reached out, stopping.

"It won't happen again, I promise."

"I can not risk."

"You know I would give my life for you."

"I know."

"He put it in your head."

"Jungkook has nothing to do with it."

“Then why are you looking at me like I want to hurt you!” He roared furiously, causing Lexa to leap onto her throne. Her jaw clenched so tightly that blood began to collect in her head. When she saw how fearful Lexa's eyes expand, she stopped clenching her fists and straightened her regretful body.

"Have you been drinking again?" Lexa asked, leaving him speechless. Suho felt so ashamed and so insulted at the same time that he turned around and ran out of the room. Lexa pursed her lips to hold back a sob. Tears welled up in her eyes almost out of necessity out of helplessness.

"You shouldn't let a simple soldier affect your decisions." A serious voice sounded from behind her but she never took her eyes off the door.

"Suho only wants the best for me," I whisper shattered in a passive tone. Jungkook swallowed hard when he couldn't stop his emotions from overpowering his character.

"Me too." He sighed on his knees in front of her. Lexa looked at him instantly with longing. "And so, I ask you to let me protect you."

[...]

"The decision is yours," Jungkook mentioned, turning his head in her direction so that only she would get the message. Lexa maintained too insane eye contact with her attacker who lay tied hand and foot to a stick in the middle of the plaza. Just below him were the woods. Around her, the crowds screaming for justice.

"Dann*." The sentence came out so easily that it scared her. She kept a stiff expression to avoid being affected by the looks that began to haunt her.

Automatically the citizens shouted euphoric at her decision.

"Jus drein jus daun! *"

She opened her mouth, removing her sitting posture when she saw a warrior light the torch and lower it towards the branches to light them. When the fire came Lexa closed her eyes instinctively. However, feeling a glance over her, he opened them again. When she found that pair of eyes among the people her stomach clenched. Suho watched her disappointed, sad, and lost. Lexa pursed her lips as the pressure on her chest caused her eyes to water. After that Suho was disappearing among the people until no trace of him was left.

Screams of pain rang out loudly, Lexa diverted people's attention and when she looked forward her chest heaved and her eyes widened in horror. A tear ran down her cheek at the scene so macabre. The smell of burned skin was the one that urged her to get up from her seat and flee traumatized to her cabin. When she slammed the door shut, she started screaming hysterically.

By the gods what have I done?

What the fuck have I done?

She covered her mouth with her palm to keep the sobs from coming out but it was too late all she did was delay it. It was already wrong from Suho's disappointed look and that of the man ...

Holy God!

The air began to lack so badly that she began to sweat and consequently feel overwhelmed when the dress was embedded as a second skin. She reached up to her dress and pulled it out desperately. She hugged her bare breasts as the night breeze blew in through the window. Her shoulders trembled with cold and her wailing muffled moans. She closed her eyes tightly trying to calm herself but ended up opening them exasperated when she saw in the dark the image of that man burning alive.

A finger stroked the line of her spine, bristling her skin. She bit back a gasp and her body stopped shaking as the softness of lips caressed the skin of her ear.

"Are you sad?" He whispered hoarsely, allowing himself to be filled with sweetness. Her eyes closed again as a hard chest completely covered her bareback."Let me comfort you. Just let me help you forget about everything. I can do it I'm very good at it."

"Then do it," she asked without being aware of her actions. Her arms still tightened crosswise as she turned to face him. She opened her eyes slowly, meeting a gaze as dark as night. She was scared because she had gone from controlling her movements to letting go. Jungkook stretched out one of her hands to stroke her cheek with the tips of her fingers. Jungkook suddenly stopped smiling, replacing her expression with a more serene and analytical one. She stepped closer, closing the distance. Her slowness was sweet torture but deep down she was grateful that it gave her time to get used to it.

He brought his fingers to her chin and lifted her head. Lexa closed her eyes and parted her lips. Then, Jungkook bowed his head and kissed her sweetly. It wasn't a quick kiss, nor was it a proper kiss, since there was only a superficial contact. When Jungkook separated almost instantly Lexa opened her eyes weakly. Her gaze had darkened, she had grown wilder, more eager.

Lexa parted her lips again but closed them again when Jungkook pounced again this time more eagerly. The passion of the kiss took her by surprise but she didn't complain because when Jungkook opened her mouth tight to deepen the kiss she let it dominate her mouth. Jungkook's hands snapped to her waist, pulling her body forward to hit her chest.

She felt comforting heat build-up on the skin under her palm. Her hands were so large that they practically covered her entire back. Jungkook groaned and raised his hand to his face to incline him further.

Lexa gasped as she felt the tip of her tongue touch her lower lip, she wasn't even aware of what was happening until Jungkook's tongue entered her mouth to embrace hers with passion.

Lexa uncovered her arms feeling suddenly brave and brought them to the nape of her neck. He dipped his fingers through the strands of her hair and stretched them ecstatically as Jungkook reached down to his behind and knead it hard. Jungkook let out a throaty moan and leaned his body closer, holding her almost under him. Lexa took a step closer by sticking her tits to her chest. Her nipples bristled completely from the rubbing of the fabric of his shirt. Jungkook put his hand to the nape of his neck and formed a fist of hair as he opened his mouth more for a stronger kiss. Saliva gushed from their corners like a waterfall but they didn't care because the wet sound of their lips coming together was worth it. Taking advantage of his hair grip Jungkook cut the kiss in a snap. His altered breaths cooled and heated the skin of his lips creating such an exciting contrast. Jungkook rolled his eyes down his face analyzing his appearance. His cock jerked into his pants when he saw her with her mouth open as her lip trembled and her eyes narrowed with excitement. He growled desperately drawing her to his mouth eagerly. Lexa hugged the back of her neck receiving her kiss submissively.

When Jungkook again separated god two steps back to contemplate the fullness of his body. Soon his eyes delighted in the turgidity of his pale chest with spiked nipples, the wonderful line that went down to his navel from training and especially the tiny white panties with a dark stain.

"Shit, you're beautiful." Jungkook sighed gone. Lexa was too embarrassed to see the hunger in her gaze proceeding to lower her head to hide her flushed cheeks.

But Jungkook had other plans, he brought his fingers to his chin and lifted her so that he could see her eyes. Lexa held what little breath she had left after the kissing session when Jungkook gave her the warmest smile she had ever seen while as she approached, she rested her eyes on her bare breasts. When she was close enough that there was almost no distance between them, the fingers that hugged her chin went up to her mouth to run her thumb over her lower lip. "Be a good girl and let me prove you."

She pressed her lips together in a slow kiss with her tongue before abruptly parting causing Lexa to follow her mouth unconsciously.

I blink drunk with pleasure watching Jungkook guide his mouth down her cheek giving her a wet kiss that also caused her bottom to get wet. He rubbed his thighs urgently as his tongue drew a line down her lower jaw almost touching her neck. The fingers at the nape of her neck tugged at the root inadvertently causing Jungkook to growl and go on to attack her neck mercilessly. Lexa squeezed her eyes shut at the feel of his lips closing on her skin to suck. His mouth began to travel to the area of ​​her clavicle where he bit her and pampered her with kisses with his tongue.

She kept going down to the line of her breasts where her tongue slipped. Then she brought her mouth to an already erect nipple and bit into it as one hand came up to knead the other.

His hand clenched the fist of hair at the nape of his neck and pressed it to his skin. Her belly flinched as her tongue sank to her navel but what undoubtedly made her body shudder from the balls of her feet to her head was the kiss she gave on the line of her pelvis. I swallow nervously when I notice how the garment swirled around her fingers. Jungkook raised his eyes to hers to get his blessing when Lexa bit her lower lip and closed her fist on the nape of her neck. Jungkook smirked, lowering afterward still with eye contact his lips towards the stained area of ​​her panties. Then her fingers proceeded to stretch the garment down until it was jammed at her ankles. Lexa shifted her feet so that she will leave her body completely. Jungkook grabbed her leg and placed it over her shoulder. Next, he placed a small kiss on her inner thigh area. Lexa swallowed nervously when she noticed that the kisses did not stop and that they were on a descending path. She didn't know what she was doing until she jumped embarrassed when she felt his cold tongue caress her folds mischievously. A shy moan came from her lips as she ran her tongue back this time going deeper. God, never, ever, thought that someday he could feel so much pleasure. Never, ever, she thought that Jungkook on her knees could be the most exciting thing in the world. She brought her fingers up to separate her lips for better access. When he kissed her red button it swelled accordingly earning a loud moan. Lexa threw her head back at the endless sensations she began to feel. Without hesitation, he inserted his tongue into her hole making Lexa squeal and then cover her embarrassed mouth.

Jungkook laughed still with his lips pressed to her skin causing her too sensual a vibration. He brought his mouth back to her swollen clitoris to suck with force, then Lexa felt a cramp run through her body that ended up causing a ball inside her belly to explode and her body to suffer spasms. Jungkook licked him to orgasm with delight, kissed his clit again, carrying a whimpering groan from the overstimulation, and then sat up again. He brought his hands up to his waist to keep Lexa's body from rushing back. The girl opened her eyes dizzy when she felt his breath hit her nose. Jungkook licked his lips gladly tasting and tasting again the product of his orgasm causing Lexa to blush immediately.

He hooked his leg to her hip and laid her on his bed, placing himself on top of her. Afterward, Jungkook kissed her lips again ecstatically making Lexa feel his taste in her saliva. He returned his kisses down the column of her throat stopping this time in her ear to whisper hoarsely. "Your pussy is so sweet ... I wonder if it will feel like that around my cock." He caught the earlobe with his teeth and I stretch it sensually. Lexa groaned, crinkling her shirt eagerly. His hand went down her skin, ending in her pelvis, which took the boldness of a palm tree. "Open your legs more, baby."

Lexa obeyed dazedly, dizzy from so much pleasure. Jungkook stuck out his thumb and stroked her clit in a circular motion. Lexa moaned softly, opening her legs wider. Next, she sank the same finger slowly into her hole, taking another cry of complaint from the girl.

"It hurt..."

"Yes, I know ..." he whispered softly on her cheek before kissing the tip of her nose. "... but you have to prepare for my cock since your small pussy is too tight." lips. Lexa nodded slowly. She brought her hands to the area of her shoulder blades and squeezed hard when she felt another finger go through her hole. Bufo buried his mouth on her shoulder as he tried to focus on the pleasure that gradually began to lessen the sting. She moaned with pleasure, spreading her legs wider, urging Jungkook to introduce the third. Movement shoves out of her fingers soon became insufficient.

"Please Jungkook ..." she pleaded breathlessly, running her nails through the fabric of the shirt.

"Please what, baby?" He whispered with too perverse amusement as he kissed the shell of her ear and increased the movement of her fingers.

"I want ... I want ..." but she was silenced by a needy moan when a fourth finger entered inside her small vagina.

"Fuck ..." he cursed under his breath, giving her a quick kiss before getting down on his knees in front of her. She pulled the shirt over her head, exposing her wonderful puffy pecs and her wonderful chiseled belly with stone-like abs. Her legs spread wider on their own at the image causing Jungkook to growl like a horny animal as he brought his free finger up to her clit to stroke it in circles. When Lexa lashed out at her second orgasm, I swear her breath was out. With her eyes clouded she saw how she could as Jungkook got up to take off her pants. He was surprised that she didn't bother wearing underwear but all those thoughts stopped making sense when she looked down at his cock. Her eyes widened at his width and length. Her mouth practically opened by itself when she saw how big it was. She panicked because she began to doubt if that big cock would fit in her inexperienced little hole. Jungkook brought his right hand up the spine and slowly muttered himself, still looking into her eyes. He groaned plaintively at feeling so needy. I bring two fingers to her mouth and place them on her lip.

"Open her" he ordered hoarsely but very needy. Lexa opened her mouth wider allowing both fingers to enter her mouth to bathe with the moisture of her tongue. Then, he brought those same fingers to the base of his cock to stroke it over her. Jungkook moaned, nodding backward, then stared at her sharply. Lexa swallowed nervously. Then his great body fell on top of hers to give her a wet kiss. Lexa spread her legs wider so that she will be more comfortable. He circled her waist and squeezed her hard when he felt his cock hit her stomach. She almost died right there, feeling the inhuman softness of her cock's skin. He parted his lips in a wet snap and looked at her seriously again. Jungkook drove the tip of his cock into her entrance to caress her up and down to cover her with his juices. Lexa spread her legs wider and he growled, kissing her again. She parted again and sighed on her lips.

She put a hand to her chin to connect her eyes. "Tell me if it hurts and I'll stop. Please tell me."

Lexa nodded as the last answer before everything will begin. Of course, it hurt when she inserted the tip. She felt a hideous tear of skin that ached like a thousand demons. When she complained in a silent moan Jungkook froze and looked at her cautiously.

"Don't stop ..." he pleaded without air. I scratch his lower back causing him to tuck in a little more. Jungkook groaned as he lowered his nose to hers to brush against her movement. When he finally reached up to the hilt Lexa groaned in need as she gazed at him pleadingly, her eyes teary with emotion.

Jungkook rushed his lips to hers as he began his coupling slowly. Lexa broke the kiss to moan eagerly bringing desperate hands to the nape of her neck to continue with the kiss. Jungkook released an animal roar as he rolled his hips sensually and she clenched her fingers.

"Fucking tight pussy," he growled giving a deep thrust that made them both moan. Lexa began to notice how their bodies floated with sweat. Her demolishing eyes kept a frown as she increased speed. She let out an open moan before smiling wickedly over her mouth. "So good to me, my baby."

Lexa automatically brought her nails to her back and squeezed. Jungkook had just claimed as his own and although in other circumstances he would have yelled a couple of insults at him, this time, he opened his mouth more to moan.

"You sweet baby can only receive my cock." No one else's. Only mine. ”She growled in her ear, annoyed, hitting her thigh causing her to moan and jump hard. She left a path of scratches on her back that ended at the nape of her neck again. Jungkook came back to face his face with pressed noses. "Say you only want my cock. Say only this pussy can be fucked by me. ”He shouted ecstatically as he increased the depth of her hips. Lexa threw her head back but Jungkook's fingers tightened at the nape of her neck and forced her to look at him. A spanking on his butt made his moan.

"Yes ..." I sob from the force of his thrusts. "Only you ... Only you can fuck me ... Oh shit!" She screamed when her orgasm came with more force than the previous ones. She collapsed onto the bed, leaving herself at the mercy of her need.

Two more thrusts and Jungkook was jerking wildly to drop his load on her stomach.

"Shit ..." he cursed contentedly as he fell to the side of the girl's body. He covered his eyes with his forearm widening his bicep. Then he wrapped his waist around her and pulled her to his chest with his leg pressed to her hip. Lexa frowned tiredly feeling suddenly at ease when a honey scent completely seduced her.

[...]

In caresses, his finger wandered down her back from top to bottom. He couldn't stop staring at her and he certainly would never tire of admiring her natural beauty as he slept on her chest. If Jungkook was completely honest, there was no adequate sleep conciliator because his eyes did not want to close for fear that what was in front of him was nothing more than the product of a good dream. And if so, he did not want to wake up.

I gently brush stubborn strands of his cheek to better admire his profile. His face was so serene and so pure. It seemed like a mirage for how the light that filtered through the window panes reflected on his face. He looked like a clear angel that his character was far from one. Jungkook smiled at his thought. Afterward, he placed his lips gently on her forehead and hugged her to his body, growling in satisfaction as he closed his eyes.

"Ai hod yu en * ...

“Lexa, can we talk?” A male voice and the sound of a squeaking door put him on alert acting as a reflex act to catch the blanket to cover their bodies.

“Call before you come in, asshole!” Jungkook growled, radiating as he got up, helped by the support of his hand. The scandal of the voices was so disturbing that Lexa groaned sleepily and then opened her eyes.

“Mmm?” She murmured groggily as she waited for her gaze to adjust to the intensity of the light. When she did, she watched Jungkook absentmindedly, then looked at her blanket-covered body. He frowned looking in the direction he was glaring at and then saw it. To her best friend with wide eyes and a look full of pain and sadness. "Suho?" But he wasn't looking at her but at Jungkook. When her mind was fully awake, she opened her eyes in exaltation. "No, wait!" Lexa cried desperately, extending her hand forward as if she could touch him from a distance, but Suho quickly left the room with the door slamming behind her. He'll come in! "he yelled in the direction of Jungkook who frowned annoyed. It was ... It was on purpose! About last night..."

“Last night has nothing to do with this!” She roared in outrage as she denied.

Lexa blinked. "I shouldn't have trusted you," she sobbed, getting out of bed as fast as she could grab the dress, put it on over her head, and run out the door. "Suho!"

“Lexa!” Jungkook called desperately but she ignored him. When he slammed the door, Jungkook cursed, throwing the pillow on the floor. "Fuck."

[...]

"Suho stop!" Lexa ran after him, not caring about curious glances, not caring about the sharp stones that puncture his plant, but he didn't seem to care either. "I order you to stop!"

Suho stopped his body abruptly and then turned around. There was so much pain and so much anger in his gaze that Lexa gulped.

"That you want to explain you are his wife, it is normal that you take care of him." He assumed with a venomous irony so harmful that Lexa does not remember another scene in which he will behave so impulsively.

"I don't want to hurt you," she shook her head. She frowned sadly and pursed her lips regretfully. Really, hurting her was never in her plans. He never wanted to break her heart but he couldn't lie. Jungkook awakened things that he with so many years of friendship never managed to develop. He didn't know when it happened alone that it just happened like that, without realizing it.

"Well, you already have," Suho sobbed painfully before making his way back and leaving his chest tight.

[...]

The tension was palpable in the environment. He had decided to march in front of the warrior formation so as not to meet Jungkook as well as Suho. I was confused. She never had been. Her head ached from all the feelings she was unable to command. She felt happy because she had spent what would probably be the best night of her life but at the same time, she felt like a total hypocrite because her happiness had destroyed his friend.

As Lexa thought with her head down, Suho followed Jungkook's horse closely. She struck her back with so much hatred that it could form a whole. When they reached the river bank and decided to take a water break, Suho soon followed him toward the shore.

"What a coincidence that you suddenly become interested in Lexa when all you have done is harass her." He did not hide the contempt in his voice as he approached where Jungkook filled his canteen with river water flexing his knees.

“Harass her?” Jungkook asked smiling, still looking at the stream. Then she got up slowly and denied. "At least I'm able to respect your feelings, asshole."

"Because of the affection I feel, I will not allow you to play with her."

"Is that all you feel for her?" Honey? ”Jungkook replied with a dangerous grace. I raise an ironic eyebrow as I scanned his body.

"You don't know anything about me," Suho growled feeling disgusted by also feeling too observed.

"It is not difficult to know. Surely you have been in love with Lexa since childhood, you always approached with the excuse of wanting to protect her when we both know that you had other intentions."He took a break before smiling again." It must have been quite shocking to see us together in her bed."

"No, not really," Suho replied nonchalantly. Jungkook nodded in amusement. "Because I know he didn't stop thinking about me."

Jungkook gave a wicked chuckle.

"You don't think much when you fuck like that."

"Just because she was forced to marry you does not mean she is forced to love you," she replied to his laughter with a more concise and borderline. Jungkook hardened his features. "I am his best friend, do you really think that for a moment she would choose you?"

"I wouldn't make her choose to begin with," Jungkook sentenced seriously. He left there before he really lost his temper and hit the punch he so badly wanted to land on his stupid jaw. She closed her eyes trying to calm down. I really didn't want to cause Lexa more trouble.

[...]

From the bottom of his chest, he emitted a bleak sigh. Things were going from bad to worse with Suho. A couple of hours ago I had seen him leave with a group of soldiers. They had seen each other from a distance but immediately Suho looked away and then disappeared through the gates of the camp as if nothing had happened. He couldn't help but feel bad, but should he? She was so confused ... So upset with the voices in her head. She had to act like an adult and speak things or she had to act like a child and leave things to be fixed over time, no doubt, that was the worst option.

“Are you going to continue to ignore me?” A hoarse voice that he recognized instantly broke into the council room. Lexa reached up to the ends of the table to squeeze the wood.

"Because of you, I have lost my best friend." She tried to sound cold and hard but the only thing that succeeded with that was that when looking at her and observing her furrowed gaze her chest oppressed.

"You are fucking unfair, Lexa." Her annoyed voice reflected what she felt right now. Her gaze was so intense that the girl looked away like a coward. "Do you think this is easy for me?"

"What do you want? You don't even know, do you? "She snorted as her sharp words slipped with difficulty out of her lips." Last night was a mistake, I was in low spirits and you took advantage of it."

"That's really what you felt or what you've forced yourself to believe so as not to disappoint your fucking friend!"

"You don't know me." Hearing his growl, she responded with the same intensity.

"It is true because the Lexa that is in front of me now does not look at all like the Lexa that was with me last night." She perceived so much nostalgia and longing that her anger quickly evaporated from her body. She looked up and looked at him hesitantly. Why listen to him so hurt and see how his gaze hardened by his rejection developed in her a feeling of guilt that began to come out in the form of an uncontrollable tremor.

"I don't want to hurt his," she finally confessed the demons that torment her head. It was true. Suho was probably one of the most significant people in his life, if he didn't want to be a part of her anymore, surely Lexa would never meet someone so special again. But then, then there was Jungkook. That arrogant, arrogant chestnut that had not done anything since he met him always put her in a bad mood. Until last night, when she showed him with her kisses and caresses that the connection that united them from the first time she looked into his eyes was not temporary. It was her first time. Her first kiss and quite possibly the first man to shake her heart so hard. But then, she would go back to Suho again. She wouldn't approve of it and that meant she had to get away from Jungkook until she cleared her feelings.

Jungkook clicked his tongue.

"And would you rather do it?"

His words burned into her memory. Not only for the softness but also, for the sentimentality with which he had spoken. So much feeling in a damn phrase that made his come out and mix with his.

He swallowed hard. "I ...

Lots of screaming immediately distracted the two of them. They both looked at each other in alarm before running out the door. When they saw the environment at the entrance to the camp they knew that something was wrong. Lexa desperately searched the crowd for brown hair when she couldn't find it, she desperately marched towards the only soldier in her unit she knew.

"Ton, what happened?" Lexa asked, suffocated by the screams of pain from the wounded. There was one who collapsed to the ground and started screaming as if possessed. A nurse came up and helped carry him into a cabin. As the scene receded the soldier looked at him again.

"The mountain soldiers attacked us when we crossed the river," he said, agitated by the pain of his poorly healed wound in the leg. Lexa increased the frequency of her breathing almost instantly. Her eyes widened and then she asked altered:

"Where's Sohu?"

"In Jin's cabin," she pointed out quickly. She didn't even finish talking because the girl had started running towards her friend's cabin. She started to get worse. Stretching at the roots hysterically when it dawned on her that if she was in Jin's cabin that was more serious than the rest.

When she came banging the door hard against the wall, she covered her mouth when she saw her lying on a stretcher. Her shocked gaze scanned the bandage on her belly where a bloodstain leaked through the bandage more and more.

"Lexa plugs the wound so it won't bleed!" Jin shouted, suddenly appearing at her side with a needle in her hand. Lexa reacted almost as desperately with him and reached out to her friend to squeeze her belly. She immediately noticed the wetness of the blood but did not care. She wiped away her tears with her elbow and looked up at Jin who sighed. "Well, we're going to have to sew."

[...]

She caressed her cheek gently noticing the heat that had returned after the operation. Her face no longer looked so pale, recovering a little that orange color. She slept with slow breathing although from time to time she couldn't stop complaining moans from her lips.

Lexa took the cold compress from her forehead and changed it by turning around. As she felt the coolness return to her forehead, Suho sighed with satisfaction.

"You should sleep." Jungkook's voice scared her from behind but she was so tired from being awake for hours that she could hardly react. She just kept giving her unconscious friend slow strokes.

"I don't want to leave him alone," she said in a low voice almost like a whisper. Jungkook noticed the guilt in her tone besides her drooping shoulders and blinked, looked away, and closed her eyes in anguish.

"How is it going?"

"Stable but Jin says the lack of blood is going to start working," Lexa commented worriedly. She huffed in regret as she got up from the stool, turned around, and looked at him rubbing his arms to get a little warm.

"Are there no donors?"

Jungkook raised an eyebrow intrigued.

Lexa denied decay. "Sohu's blood is special not easily found."

"How special?"

"Negative rh," she whispered softly, giving him a quick glance to check that her chest continued to move regularly. Noticing Jungkook's silence, she turned to him curiously.

"Lexa, I have that blood group."

[...]

She shifted her foot restlessly as she waited outside the door of Jin's cabin. Her friend had kindly asked her to wait outside because she was very nervous and would end up distracting herself. Of course, she understood and even if she didn't want to, she listened to her. Jin was also human. She felt the same biological deficits due to lack of sleep and rest, so she decided to give her a truce and not complain.

When the door opened her friend came out with a rag in her hands that she used to remove the remains of blood.

"How is he?" Lexa asked immediately, feeling too much pressure on her head from her nerves.

"Better, now that you've received the transfusion," Jin replied relieved.

“May I see you?” He swallowed hard when he inadvertently raised his voice. Fortunately, Jin understood his situation and ended up walking away from the door.

Although his initial intentions were to walk directly to the bed when he saw Jungkook leaning on the table with two fingers tightening a small bandage on his forearm, his feet only walked towards him. When he saw her coming from the periphery, he stopped looking at Suho and focused on her.

"How are you?" Lexa said, pressing her lips together as she pointed at the area she was squeezing.

"I'm fine, a little weak from lack of blood but Jin says that in a couple of hours ...

"Thank you," he snapped, leaving him stumped. Her eyes widened longingly at his face at the current of concern that suddenly engulfed her.

Jungkook frowned. "Don't give them to me."

"Yes, because you didn't have to. You and Suho don't get along and I have misbehaved with you since we met."

"I suppose so am I," Jungkook said with false grace as he smiled. Lexa took another step, shortening the distance between their bodies without knowing the reason. She just felt too needy to be enveloped by his body heat. Jungkook straightened his body following in his footsteps. When Lexa took another step ... Suho coughed and she stiffened instantly, averting an alarming glance.

"You love her, don't you?" Jungkook said with pain accumulating in the hollow of her heart. He knew this was not the time for his jealousy but he couldn't help but feel annoyed when he saw how she was looking at him.

"I would give my life for him," she confessed as a secret.

"You should stay, maybe I'll wake up tonight." The pain in his voice was perceived by his receivers in such a way that I can't help looking at him in silence as he watched as he walked out the door without saying goodbye.

[...]

“Lexa?” Her head snapped up from her arms when I heard her sorry voice. He approached the bed and stroked her head lovingly.

"Shh, save your strength, you've lost a lot of blood."

“Where am I?” Her gaze was disoriented as she scanned the room intently.

"In Jin's store."

“Soldiers!” She jumped out of her bed, shaking her body with such force that she ended up bent over from the pang in her belly.

"Suho, calm down," she said altered as she lay him down resting her palms on his bare chest. "This offense will be returned, I swear."

"I don't want you to expose yourself more, Lexa. Please, let's go. Let's go far away. To the mountains to the south. " She did not take her eyes off as she settled herself better on the stretcher.

Lexa laughed incredulously."What do you say? I can `t go."

"Yes, you can."

Suho squeezed his hand as he looked pleadingly at her.

"Let me be your protector again." Lexa squeezed her eyes up and stood up from her stool with her back to him leaving her hand hanging on the edge of the stretcher. Suho sat carefully on the headboard and continued in her pleading tone: "I promise it won't happen again if you promise me it won't happen again either."

Lexa pursed her lips when she understood exactly what she was talking about.

"Running away like a coward is a good solution." Jungkook's voice came out loud. Lexa turned to the door as soon as she heard his hoarse voice. Jungkook advanced, approaching the stretcher where Suho looked at him with contempt. "It has been proven that wherever he goes, there will always be someone who wants to harm him." Nothing will happen to Lexa because she is under my protection now.

"She was, too, when two assassins tried to kill her," Suho said in immature reproach causing Jungkook to giggle.

"Well, at least I caught the killers." Tell me, what did you do apart from following her like a dog everywhere.

"Jungkook," Lexa chuckled immediately, taking a quick glance from Jungkook.

"I'm right, Lexa." She defended herself with pride as she returned her withering gaze to Suho. "She doesn't need a protector, she needs a man."

"And you are that man?" Suho replied with a mock too false as she swept her body with contempt.

"He's right, Sohu." Lexa added catching the gaze of the two men. "If I leave they'll think I'm running away, I'm weak and I'm afraid of them. And I'm fucking not afraid of them."

[...]

She wiped her brow from the sweat with her forearm as she walked in the scorching sun on her way to the stables. However, just as she saw the wooden structure from a distance, a nearby voice caught her attention towards a cabin.

“Lexa, do you have a moment?” Jungkook asked patiently while raising an eyebrow. Lexa looked at the stable and then looked at him again and nodded, approaching with slow steps.

"Yes, what do you want?"

Jungkook entered the cabin so Lexa had to go behind him. When she closed the door, she found her on her back.

"No one will use the council room today," he announced hoarsely, leaving her intrigued. When she turned around, she gave him a smile that made her uneasy.

-So what? What are you planning? ”He nodded at her body, distrusting her calm posture.

“Are you expecting me to do something?” He asked mischievously as he took threatening steps toward her, causing her to back off in reflex and her back to hit the wall when the ground was gone.

"No, I don't expect anything." She swallowed hard as she felt her body slowly cover her with his near heat.

"Yes?" He whispered huskily close to her face using his typical arrogant tone.

“What are you doing?” He couldn't help but giggle as Jungkook's compact thigh slipped between her legs. The seriousness he suddenly showed on her face left her paralyzed.

"I'll make sure no one touches you. You said I had to find out what I wanted. I already know it. But what do you want? Tell me? ”When he leaned his face against hers brushing her nose teasing, Lexa swore the breath left her body. She opened her mouth reflexively drawing the attention of Jungkook who looked at them instantly. He brought his fingers to her cheek and stroked her gently. He leaned her face towards his making her imitate her gesture with his eyes closed. He felt the sweet skin of her lips and opened his mouth as he did. He felt the tip of his tongue brush against her teeth when ...

"Fuck," a voice coughed at the entrance to the cabin causing their bodies to part as if they were burning. Lexa moaned in surprise and ran towards Suho who kept one hand on her stomach as her body bent forward.

“Are you okay?” She asked worriedly as she stroked his back. Suho squeezed the door handle for support and looked at her with a smile.

"Yes." He coughed dramatically again. Then, she observed Jungkook with a look full of arrogance causing her to laugh sideways. "Now you better be with me."

[...]

"Two weeks ago a message was sent to Ronald. He has responded with the attack of the river, well, let us respond as well." Jungkook shouted to the warriors who shook their weapons above as a sign of emotion.

Lexa sighed seeing how what she most feared would come was beginning to do so. Despite the joy in the environment, she could not help thinking that not all those warriors would see the sunlight again.

A horse caught her attention. She recognized the blond rider who climbed off the horse masterfully.

"Our observer has seen troop movement from the south," Jimin announced to Jungkook who nodded with the seriousness required under the circumstances. Lexa knew she wasn't the only one thinking about death, she knew it when she saw his tense shoulders.

"That they come this time will not catch us by surprise," Lexa roared loudly, taking an exciting look from the blond warrior.

"Yes, with FireHeda on our side nothing can go wrong."

"FireHeda?" Lexa asked confused but with a smile on her face.

Jungkook rolled his eyes. "Jimin, I told you you won't call her that."

“Why do you call me FireHeda?” She turned his head towards Jungkook who sighed hesitantly.

"You killed thirty savages with a single fiery arrow," Jungkook said delicately knowing that the subject was still disturbing. Lexa looked down at the ground making Jungkook feel guilty and will look back at the soldier with a serious threat in her gaze. "I'll make sure no one ever utters that name again."

"No, leave them. I like FireHeda."Lexa answered indifferently. She nodded with a small smile on her lips. She had to start making peace with her past if she really wanted to move on.

[...]

She kicked his stomach causing the man to fall unconscious to the ground. Then he wiped the sweat from his face, wiping the blood from his mouth. She sighed wearily and raised her head to watch the battle. She smiled when she saw that her warriors had escaped unharmed at the first offensive. In fact, it was not difficult to beat them. Since both her and Jungkook's were used to enduring the sun for many hours to protect crops, the summer sun did not affect them in the same way as the savages, who always lived in a cold and freezing climate.

“They're retiring!” Her squad leader shouted loudly for all to hear. Lexa looked at Jungkook instantly. They were both looking confused.

"What?" Lexa asked, busy between standing up and being able to breathe. Jungkook came to his side and although he did not process it out loud he was glad that nothing had happened to him. Between fights and fights, she had given herself the privilege of observing how she was fighting and she was more than impressed. He was undoubtedly a Heda for something. He couldn't help noticing how good his hair was tousled and bathed in sweat as his chest rose and fell in agitation. Her cheeks heated as her wicked mind reminded her that it was not the first time she had seen her like this.

A horse bolted out of the trees scaring them. Jungkook stood in front of Lexa protecting her with his body. She watched him with a small smile of excitement at his tender desperation to place her behind.

A horse stood up right where its feet were shaking in the air and then fell with the same intensity. Lexa came out of Jungkook's body to look at the mountain speaker suspiciously.

"WanHeda * wants a reunion at dawn," the man announced with superiority, looking at them with disdain still mounted on the back of his horse.

Lexa forced herself to hold back the emotion because she knew what that meant.

"Tell Ronald that the truce will be honored."

[...]

"Tomorrow it will all be over," Jungkook announced calmly as he wiped his extensive bareback with a damp towel. He swept the dirt off the ground from the turmoil of battle as she washed her face by sinking her hands into a bowl filled with soap and water.

"I keep thinking about the lives of the innocents who left in battle," she whispered, lost in her guilt, remembering the bodies that were collected and the families that would never see them again.

"Ge smak daun, gyon op nodotaim. *" Jungkook muttered softly proclaiming her attention. Lexa immediately turned around at the hoarseness of her native language. Her lips parted as her golden chest welcomed him. He wanted to bite his lip as he got closer to her his pecs moved with the movement and the muscles of his abs tightened just inches from his fingers. He forced himself to stay sane because this was not the time to lose his mind, no matter how good the chestnut tree was. "You are a good Heda Lexa." If I died tomorrow my spirit will rest in peace knowing that my clan has you.

"Don't say that," she growled softly, frowning in disgust.

"Death is the war's greatest ally," Jungkook pronounced with passive normality that frightened her, prompting her to capture his cheeks and fix his gaze on hers pleading.

"Shop op! *" He ordered, his breathing altered. "Don't talk about death when you're alive. I already lost my father, I almost lost Suho I don't know what I would do if I also lost you ...

The tremor dominated her tone of voice to the point of gradually fading towards the end. Jungkook tightened the nape of his neck and buried his face in his chest. Lexa clenched her biceps in need causing him to squeeze her harder.

[...]

She had not slept at all but passed her into Jungkook's arms while caressing her head had diminished the effects of the dream.

Jungkook looked at the door of the store with the same mistrust as Lexa. They both sighed and walked towards her. Jungkook pushed aside the cloth but he passed first as a precaution. She accepted because she did not trust Ronald at all.

Upon entering, they found the Heda sitting on a throne made of bones and decorated with bearskin. Ronald smiled hypocritically and then got up.

"I admit that you surprised me," he began to comment amused as he walked down the steps and approached them, especially Jungkook. "I'm not going to sign my surrender."

“So what the hell do you want?” Jungkook asked furiously as he stepped forward-facing up. Jungkook was much taller than Ronald so his body absorbed hers.

"I have come to give an alternative to war," he pronounced innocently, knowing that his words penetrated deeply into Lexa, who soon joined the conversation.

"Talk," she said, taking Ronald's gaze.

"The main conflict is due to the death of the previous Heda Skykru."

"Say it by his name murder," Lexa snapped with fury running through her tone. Jungkook narrowed his eyes glaring at Ronald's body as he moved away to get a better look at her.

"The war is here." Death too. But it is avoidable. As an alternative, I propose that Fireheda fight my brother. If FireHeda wins I will withdraw from the territory of the mountains, if he dies I will stay with his clan. You have until dawn to make a decision. "When she told her plans, Lexa lifted her chin and looked at him full of pride." FireHeda finished off my army with an arrow. I think dealing with a single soldier will not be a problem for her.

[...]

"It's a trap," Jungkook commented with confidence in his gaze and stretched posture.

"I know," Lexa accepted thoughtfully.

Jungkook approached her quickly causing their eyes to connect.

"You don't have to accept that you know that he has agreed because he has no other way out."

Of course, she knew. As well as that Ronald was treacherous shit that he wouldn't mind killing his own mother to get what he wanted. He had been behind his clan's territory for years, and the only thing that had frustrated his plans had been his father. Now that he was gone, he thought that he could finally fulfill his desire. Of course, it was a trap. I knew Ronald's brother well. A barbarian as tall as an old pine, cunning and scarred from training. Anyone would think she was no match for anyone but they did not count on her also flooding those rumors since the bridge attack.

"Ronald is a murderer who doesn't care about anything if it is in my power to prevent more people from dying tomorrow, so be it " Lexa accepted with will power. She raised her head so that she could look him in the eye since she had gotten too close.

"We have a pending conversation," Jungkook uttered deeply as he lost himself in her eyes. Lexa blinked weakly as she sank her cheek back into the comfort of his chest.

"After...

[...]

She shook her hands hard and automatically the muscles in her arms flailed. She twisted her neck in circles to warm the head area. Then she took a deep breath and left the store. Sunlight landed on her eyes blinding for a moment until she got used to it. The sun was shining as much as if it was giving him good luck. As she crossed the line of the arena she heard excited screams from her soldiers and also demeaning screams from the enemy. The drums were played with force following the rhythm of their walk. Upon reaching the center of the arena, he clenched his teeth as he watched Kye talk to her brother, who smiled triumphantly as if victory trickled from his mouth.

"She attacks from the left and when you knock down her defenses I want you to kill her." Keep your eyes open there is no greater weakness than underestimating your enemy. - Ronald whispered to her brother who nodded obediently. Then he walked briskly to stand beside her. A councilor from her tribe climbed onto the wooden platform in front of the field where there were two chairs. One of them was occupied by recently arrived Ronald and the other by Jungkook who was watching Lexa seriously. When she responded to his affective call he nodded giving her strength.

"In hand-to-hand combat, there is only one rule ... Today someone must die!" Shouted the counselor amid the exciting tumult of the masses. She raised her hand and lowered it with her finger pointing towards them. "You can start."

Each one walked towards her warrior to collect her weapon. Kye quickly unsheathed the sword and ran towards Lexa believing that it would catch her off guard when she did nothing but make the first mistake in battle.

Never underestimate your enemy.

Lexa masterfully unsheathed the sword as she spun nimbly, sticking her elbow out and driving it into Kye's back as he ran the blade down his right leg causing it to drop to his knees. The screams of her warriors enthusiastically urged the feat as Lexa walked to the center of the arena still on alert waiting for Kye who rose heavily from the ground.

Upon reaching her, Lexa attacked with her sword. Kye stopped the attack with her sword. It was a match worth seeing from outside. On the one hand, Kye used his brute force to destabilize her with his body. And on the other, Lexa used her wit and agility to dodge everything and return it with more force. After clashes and clashes of her screeching metal, her swords end up crossing. They slid toward the hilt leaving everything at the mercy of force. Kye pulled her teeth out and growled like a dog in anger as he tried to knock her down. Lexa crushed her feet to the ground, holding on with all her being.

When her body began to bend downwards Kye smiled. "You are finished."

Lexa clenched her teeth as she reached for Kye's sword bewildering him. Long enough for her to tuck one foot between her spread legs to drop her to the ground. Kye staggered away, dragging his body across the floor as Lexa waved her hand to ease the pain of the cut. Fortunately, she had thought that wearing gloves would be a good way to protect herself, she had thought well.

She bent down slowly and grabbed Kye's sword from the ground, climbing up next to her to threaten from a distance.

The crowd roared with excitement as Kay disoriented like a headless chicken began searching for something to protect herself from. She found it in a warrior whom she kicked to remove her sharp spear. Lexa turned the swords in midair and approached attacking first in a battle cry. Kye tried to drive the point into her belly but the attack was deflected thanks to her sword. The spear almost escaped from her sweaty fingers but she knew how to catch it in time.

Lexa kicked his leg, knocking it to the ground, but he took advantage of his position to attack hers. Lexa intercepted the attack again but the sword forcibly left her fingers, leaving only one so she was distracted for a second following the path of the sword. She received a punch in the belly causing her to double from the pain, she was kicked in the chest, knocking her down.

Kye tightened her grip on the spear and when she was about to drive it into her neck she cocked her head and was embedded in the ground. She moved her legs nimbly and stood up. She hit her jaw hard leaving her dizzy on the floor. Lexa turned, picked up the spear, and placed it on the column of her neck.

"Do what you have to do," Kye whispered in a strange tone. Lexa frowned and it was then that Kye sneakily showed him the little mirror on her wrist.

"Jus drein jus daun *," Lexa said carefully just before throwing the spear into the throne area.

The screaming stopped as the tip of the spear pierced the bowels of Ronald who did not see his last breath go out.

"Why?" Lexa asked puzzled as she offered her hand to Kye to help lift him up.

"War is not the solution. Ronald killed our parents to become Heda. I take off my family I think I see just ending his reign."

Lexa nodded, satisfied with her answer. The murderer had perished and now new times full of hope would come.

She turned to the crowd and shouted:

"Now the mountain clan will have a new Heda!"

She watched Kye smiling and she nodded in respect as her warriors screamed rather than accepted.

[...]

The parties after a battle were undoubtedly the best. People drank and sang around a bonfire regardless of gender or origin. They were only humans enjoying the end of the war. Lexa smirked as she looked around for a man named above.

But someone enthusiastically stepped in front of her making her stop.

"You've been amazing, Lexa." God those blows. Those kicks. That guy Kye was lucky not to ...

"Suho, sorry I have something to do," she cut when she saw him leaning in the distance against a tree. Suho mumbled something but she kept walking like bees towards the skin.

When he got in front of him Jungkook smiled as he raised an amused eyebrow.

"Hello," Jungkook said calmly.

"Hey," she replied with the same serenity. One that was short-lived as she immediately jumped into his arms desperately. Jungkook squeezed his body, delighting in the comfort of his small figure.

"I knew you would win," Jungkook whispered into her hair. She took off her head with her hands on her chest but still not undoing the hug.

"Ah yeah? So why did you have that scary look all the time?"

Jungkook smiled. "It wasn't because of you, it was because of Kye. Who in their right mind would dare challenge you for a ...

Her mouth was immediately closed by anxious lips. Lexa opened her mouth when Jungkook tightened her nape and brushed her tongue against his lower lip. He kissed her eagerly, eagerly as he leaned her against the tree.

"Does this answer your question?" Lexa said shaken by the recent kiss.

Jungkook smiled mesmerized as he leaned closer to whisper on his lips, "I always knew it was you."

"What?" Lex laughed confused.

"When I saw you run to the bridge and shoot that arrow, dammit, I don't think I was ever so attracted to someone." When Jungkook confessed that, Lexa's eyes widened.

"Were you there? Your...

"Yes...

Now it all made sense. The heat of his body that exuded tranquility and security. Her strong arms that she unconsciously recognized and that fucking honey smell that had driven her crazy from the start.

Lexa filled her hands to her face and cupped her cheeks excitedly.

"Why did you not tell me?"

"Would something have changed?" Jungkook said with pure amusement.

“Why did you ask me to marry you?” He waited anxiously for her answer as he frowned happily.

"I guess for the first time I didn't know how to approach a woman."

"And do you think it was the best idea?"

"Has it worked or not?"

Lexa pursed her lips thoughtfully before nodding.

"Yes, it has worked."

#bts #btsv #btvs #btsp #BTS jin #bts icons #bts smut #jeon jungkook #BTS jungkook #jeon jungguk #jungkook #Jung HoSeok #bts smau #jungkook smut #kpop smut #smut #jeon jeongkook #jeon jeongguk #jeongguk #bts jungguk #bts au fanfic #bts fanfic #fanfic #bts fluff #jungkook fluff #icons jungkook #networkbangtan #bangtan #suho aesthetic #exo kai

[warninggraphiccontent]

16 July 2021

Food for thought

At last week's Data Bites, I noted how 'Wales' is a standard unit of area. This week, along comes a map which shows that all the built-up land in the UK is equivalent to one Wales:

The map is from the National Food Strategy, published yesterday (and the man has a point).

It has divided opinion, judging by the responses to this tweet. I understand where the sceptics are coming from - at first glance, it may be confusing, given Wales isn't actually entirely built up, Cornwall made of peat, or Shetland that close to the mainland (or home to all the UK's golf courses). And I'm often critical of people using maps just because the data is geographical in some way, when a different, non-map visualisation would be better.

But I actually think this one works. Using a familiar geography to represent areas given over to particular land use might help us grasp it more readily (urban areas = size of Wales, beef and lamb pastures = more of the country than anything else). It's also clear that a huge amount of overseas land is needed to feed the UK, too.

The map has grabbed people's attention and got them talking, which is no bad thing. And it tells the main stories I suspect its creators wanted to. In other words, it's made those messages... land.

Trash talk

Happy Take Out The Trash Day!

Yesterday saw A LOT of things published by Cabinet Office - data on special advisers, correspondence with parliamentarians, public bodies and major projects to name but a few, and the small matter of the new plans outlining departmental priorities and how their performance will be measured.

It's great that government is publishing this stuff. It's less great that too much of it still involves data being published in PDFs not spreadsheets. And it's even less great that the ignoble tradition of Take Out The Trash Day continues, for all the reasons here (written yesterday) and here (written in 2017).

I know this isn't (necessarily) deliberate, and it's a lot of good people working very hard to get things finished before the summer (as my 2017 piece acknowledges). And it's good to see government being transparent.

But it's 2021, for crying out loud. The data collection should be easier. The use of this data in government should be more widespread to begin with.

We should expect better.

In other news:

I was really pleased to have helped the excellent team at Transparency International UK (by way of some comments on a draft) with their new report exploring access and influence in UK housing policy, House of Cards. Read it here.

One of our recent Data Bites speakers, Doug Gurr, is apparently in the running to run the NHS. More here.

Any excuse to plug my Audrey Tang interview.

The good folk at ODI Leeds/The Data City/the ODI have picked up and run with my (and others') attempt to map the UK government data ecosystem. Do help them out.

Five years ago this week...

Regarding last week's headline of Three Lines on a Chart: obviously I was going to.

Have a great weekend

Gavin

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Today's links:

Graphic content

Vax populi

Why vaccine-shy French are suddenly rushing to get jabbed* (The Economist)

Morning update on Macron demolishing French anti-vax feeling (or at least vax-hesitant) (Sophie Pedder via Nicolas Berrod)

How Emmanuel Macron’s “health passes” have led to a surge in vaccine bookings in France* (New Statesman)

How effective are coronavirus vaccines against the Delta variant?* (FT)

England faces the sternest test of its vaccination strategy* (The Economist)

Where Are The Newest COVID Hot Spots? Mostly Places With Low Vaccination Rates (NPR)

There's A Stark Red-Blue Divide When It Comes To States' Vaccination Rates (NPR)

All talk, no jabs: the reality of global vaccine diplomacy* (Telegraph)

Vaccination burnout? (Reuters)

Viral content

COVID-19: Will the data allow the government to lift restrictions on 19 July? (Sky News)

UK Covid-19 rates are the highest of any European country after Cyprus* (New Statesman)

COVID-19: Cautionary tale from the Netherlands' coronavirus unlocking - what lessons can the UK learn? (Sky News)

‘Inadequate’: Covid breaches on the rise in Australia’s hotel quarantine (The Guardian)

Side effects

COVID-19: Why is there a surge in winter viruses at the moment? (Sky News)

London Beats New York Back to Office, by a Latte* (Bloomberg)

Outdoor dining reopened restaurants for all — but added to barriers for disabled* (Washington Post)

NYC Needs the Commuting Crowds That Have Yet to Fully Return* (Bloomberg)

Politics and government

Who will succeed Angela Merkel?* (The Economist)

Special advisers in government (Tim for IfG)

How stingy are the UK’s benefits? (Jamie Thunder)

A decade of change for children's services funding (Pro Bono Economics)

National Food Strategy (independent review for UK Government)

National Food Strategy: Tax sugar and salt and prescribe veg, report says (BBC News)

Air, space

Can Wizz challenge Ryanair as king of Europe’s skies?* (FT)

Air passengers have become much more confrontational during the pandemic* (The Economist)

Branson and Bezos in space: how their rocket ships compare* (FT)

Sport

Euro 2020: England expects — the long road back to a Wembley final* (FT)

Most football fans – and most voters – support the England team taking the knee* (New Statesman)

Domestic violence surges after a football match ends* (The Economist)

The Most Valuable Soccer Player In America Is A Goalkeeper (FiveThirtyEight)

Sport is still rife with doping* (The Economist)

Wimbledon wild card success does not disguise financial challenge* (FT)

Can The U.S. Women’s Swim Team Make A Gold Medal Sweep? (FiveThirtyEight)

Everything else

Smoking: How large of a global problem is it? And how can we make progress against it? (Our World in Data)

Record June heat in North America and Europe linked to climate change* (FT)

Here’s a list of open, non-code tools that I use for #dataviz, #dataforgood, charity data, maps, infographics... (Lisa Hornung)

Meta data

Identity crisis

A single sign-on and digital identity solution for government (GDS)

UK government set to unveil next steps in digital identity market plan (Computer Weekly)

BCS calls for social media platforms to verify users to curb abuse (IT Pro)

ID verification for social media as a solution to online abuse is a terrible idea (diginomica)

Who is behind the online abuse of black England players and how can we stop it?* (New Statesman)

Euro 2020: Why abuse remains rife on social media (BBC News)

UK government

Online Media Literacy Strategy (DCMS)

Privacy enhancing technologies: Adoption guide (CDEI)

The Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) dataset is now available in the ONS Secure Research Service (ADR UK)

Our Home Office 2024 DDaT Strategy is published (Home Office)

The UK’s Digital Regulation Plan makes few concrete commitments (Tech Monitor)

OSR statement on data transparency and the role of Heads of Profession for Statistics (Office for Statistics Regulation)

Good data from any source can help us report on the global goals to the UN (ONS)

The state of the UK’s statistical system 2020/21 (Office for Statistics Regulation)

Far from average: How COVID-19 has impacted the Average Weekly Earnings data (ONS)

Health

Shock treatment: can the pandemic turn the NHS digital? (E&T)

Can Vaccine Passports Actually Work? (Slate)

UK supercomputer Cambridge-1 to hunt for medical breakthroughs (The Guardian)

AI got 'rithm

An Applied Research Agenda for Data Governance for AI (GPAI)

Taoiseach and Minister Troy launch Government Roadmap for AI in Ireland (Irish Government)

Tech

“I Don’t Think I’ll Ever Go Back”: Return-to-Office Agita Is Sweeping Silicon Valley (Vanity Fair)

Google boss Sundar Pichai warns of threats to internet freedom (BBC News)

The class of 2021: Welcome to POLITICO’s annual ranking of the 28 power players behind Europe’s tech revolution (Politico)

Inside Facebook’s Data Wars* (New York Times)

Concern trolls and power grabs: Inside Big Tech’s angry, geeky, often petty war for your privacy (Protocol)

Exclusive extract: how Facebook's engineers spied on women* (Telegraph)

Face off

Can facial analysis technology create a child-safe internet? (The Observer)

#Identity, #OnlineSafety & #AgeVerification – notes on “Can facial analysis technology create a child-safe internet?” (Alec Muffett)

Europe makes the case to ban biometric surveillance* (Wired)

Open government

From open data to joined-up government: driving efficiency with BA Obras (Open Contracting Partnership)

AVAILABLE NOW! DEMOCRACY IN A PANDEMIC: PARTICIPATION IN RESPONSE TO CRISIS (Involve)

Designing digital services for equitable access (Brookings)

Data

Trusting the Data: How do we reach a public settlement on the future of tech? (Demos)

"Why do we use R rather than Excel?" (Terence Eden)

Everything else

The world’s biggest ransomware gang just disappeared from the internet (MIT Technology Review)

Our Statistical Excellence Awards Ceremony has just kicked off! (Royal Statistical Society)

Pin resets wipe all data from over 100 Treasury mobile phones (The Guardian)

Data officers raid two properties over Matt Hancock CCTV footage leak (The Guardian)

How did my phone number end up for sale on a US database? (BBC News)

Gendered disinformation: 6 reasons why liberal democracies need to respond to this threat (Demos, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung)

Opportunities

EVENT: Justice data in the digital age: Balancing risks and opportunities (The LEF)

JOBS: Senior Data Strategy - Data Innovation & Business Analysis Hub (MoJ)

JOB: Director of Evidence and Analytics (Natural England)

JOB: Policy and Research Associate (Open Ownership)

JOB: Research Officer in Data Science (LSE Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science)

JOB: Chief operating officer (Democracy Club, via Jukesie)

And finally...

me: can’t believe we didn’t date sooner... (@MNateShyamalan)

Are you closer to Georgia, or to Georgia? (@incunabula)

A masterpiece in FOIA (Chris Cook)

How K-Pop conquered the universe* (Washington Post)

Does everything really cost more? Find out with our inflation quiz.* (Washington Post)

[jokertrap-ran]

(未定事件簿) EVENT!「午夜华章」 [Tears of Themis] EVENT: Symphony of the Night Translations (Chapter 1-01: Prologue)

*Tears of Themis Masterlist  *Spoiler free: Translations will remain under cut *The tracking tag for ALL Event Stories will go under: #Tears of an Event *(y/n) is your name when in direct referral; otherwise referred to as MC. *Presenting: 10 pages of prologue content (cracks fingers)

Location: Detective Agency

The winter sun shone into Xia Yan’s office, but I couldn’t feel even the slightest bit of warmth from it.

Now, Xia Yan was beside me with a frown on his face as we both stared intently at what he was holding in his hand…

???: Listen well, Great Detective and partner… This will be your last chance.

A voice that had been processed by a voice-changer came from the strange box that he held within his palm, holding absolutely no trace of emotion at all.

???: If you cannot help me complete this commission of mine by finding the missing hacker within the specified time limit…

???: I will immediately launch an attack on the Big Data Lab, which will paralyze Stellis City’s entire network.

The voice cut off here, ending spontaneously, leaving me facing Xia Yan, who had a look of utter seriousness on his face.

Xia Yan had received a commission last evening. The Client came oddly in the form of a box, and the details of the commission were all also transmitted to him through the very same box itself. Knowing how I loved puzzles, Xia Yan had invited me to investigate it together with him. But who knew that this commission also came with a threat.

The Big Data Lab would come under fire if we failed to complete the commission… The Client had repeatedly emphasized on that point without providing us with any other explanation. 

Xia Yan: Since you’ve already come to us with a commission, then how about you tell us about everything clearly? Who exactly is this hacker you’re searching for…?

Bzzt, bzzt―—

The phone that I had left on the table buzzed to life. Seeing the Caller ID flashing upon the screen, Xia Yan stopped questioning the box.

MC: Lu Jinghe? Didn’t he say that he had a whole day of meetings with the Board of Directors? Why is he suddenly calling now…?

Xia Yan: ...I have a bad feeling about this. In any case, let’s answer his call first.

I nodded and answered the call.

Lu Jinghe: (Y/n), I heard yesterday that you were going to the Detective Agency to play. Are you still there now?

MC: I am. Did something happen?

Lu Jinghe: Could you pass the phone to Xia Yan?

He wants to talk to Xia Yan? I paused for a moment, looking towards the guy in question.

Xia Yan nodded, signaling for me to put the call on speaker.

Xia Yan: Lu Jinghe, has there been any problems with the Big Data Lab recently?

Lu Jinghe: What a direct question. Looks like you do know something about this after all.

Lu Jinghe: The Big Data Lab has been harassed by hackers a couple of times recently. The engineers there have just warded off another attack just now.

Xia Yan: Why are you looking for me? Is it because you feel like I’ve done something similar, and thus, being the first one on your list of suspected people?

Lu Jinghe: ...If you absolutely have to put it that way, well, you’re not exactly wrong either.

Lu Jinghe: But, what I’m more worried about is the fact that this isn’t an attack by just a single person, but rather, an organized large-scale attack.

Lu Jinghe: If this is the case, then we can only rely on the personnel currently stationed there. But I’m afraid it’ll be hard to ward them off with just that amount of manpower.

Lu Jinghe: So, I was thinking of asking you for some recommendations of experts in this field. Even better if they’re open to external contracts.

Xia Yan: So that’s how it really is after all… If I’m not guessing wrongly, I think that this has something to do with the current commission I’m undertaking.

Xia Yan: This matter involves the entire Stellis City Network, and it’s not something that any one of us can handle on our own.

Xia Yan: Can we call a full NXX Member Meeting at once? I’ll explain everything then. 

Lu Jinghe: Yes. You and (Y/n) head to the Base first, I’ll notify the other two.

Ending the call, Xia Yan’s gaze fell to the box by his hand once more, his expression solemn.

MC: Xia Yan, does this mean that something serious has happened for you to be calling everyone together to investigate this?

Xia Yan: Yes. Even though everything still looks peaceful now, I have a hunch that…

Xia Yan: This commission that was headed by a threat must be much more complicated than we think it is.

☆⋅⋆…⋅─────────── ⋆⋅✾⋅⋆ ───────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

One hour later, at NXX’s Base.

Location: NXX Base’s Meeting Room

Mo Yi: So? The Client oddly came to you in the form of a box that cannot be pried open and even threatened the one who’s taking on the job for them, all just to find a single missing person?

Xia Yan: The Client has repeatedly emphasized on the fact that this matter cannot be let known to the public. I suspect the missing hacker must have come upon something dangerous.

Lu Jinghe: No matter how dangerous it might be, they should have been prepared for some leaks to happen when requesting for outside help. Using the Big Data Lab as a threat is just too unreasonable…

Zuo Ran: How serious were the attacks on the Big Data Lab so far?

Lu Jinghe: Even I can’t explain this properly, myself. But I’ve found a helper who’s very good at this aspect of things, so it’ll be more reliable to let him do all the explaining.

Saying so, he booted up NXX Base’s computer.

After inputting in a series of commands, he turned on the projection device, and a figure slowly formed before us.

MC: Huh? Aren’t you…

Chu Dai: Hello, I am Chu Dai, the Big Data Lab’s exclusive AI. I'm pleased to be of service to you.

I was stunned for a while at seeing the AI boy who I only saw on my phone, the one who loved leaving interesting evaluations on encyclopedia entries, appearing before my very eyes.

MC: You’re Chu Dai?

Chu Dai: I am! I can always talk to you like this if you prefer this form of mine more~

Lu Jinghe: Chu Dai, report on the current status of the hacker attacks on the Big Data Lab.

Chu Dai’s expression turned sullen upon the mention of the “hacker attacks”.

Chu Dai: Yes, leave it to me to explain that.

Chu Dai: Ever since last month, the Big Data Lab has been facing small-scale attacks every few days. Fortunately, they all seemed to be just testing the waters, so no real harm was done.

Chu Dai: The hackers launched yet another attack this morning. And the engineers think that they may be just buying time to analyze the Firewalls.

Chu Dai: Chu Dai has been pushing back the hacker's parsing progress, but Chu Dai thinks that they've already completed it.

Chu Dai: If there's another attack, the Firewall will have a higher than 90% chance of being broken through…

Xia Yan: This Client who's looking for a missing hacker's actually also a highly skilled hacker themselves.

Xia Yan: Based on my understanding of the warning that the Client had sent, I suspect that what the Big Data Lab has been subjected to are just pre-emptive attacks.

Lu Jinghe: You mean, he deliberately pushed the cracking process to a critical point, only to force you to complete the Commission?

Xia Yan: I'm afraid so. These attacks are simply to prove that he has the capabilities to take down the Big Data Lab.

Xia Yan: In my opinion, I think that the best way to resolve this incident would be to track down the Client before they can launch a next attack.

Mo Yi: Which mean, you intend on accepting this commission?

Zuo Ran: Buying time by accepting the commission, and then conducting reverse-tracking to locate the signal from where it was originally sent from would also be a plausible method.

Lu Jinghe: What's your stand on this, (Y/n)?

Everyone turned to look at me at his question.

⊳ Choice: Accept commission

MC: I think it'll be better if we accept this commission too.

MC: I think it's better for us to play along with the other side's tune first, until we get a full grasp of the situation. This way, we might also be able to find more clues along with our investigations.

Mo Yi: Nothing ventured, nothing gained… that's a very interesting way of thinking.

Mo Yi: I'll be very happy to accompany you, if that is your decision.

Xia Yan: Yup, I'm of the same mind too. You can rest assured on the problem of safety if we're going to be working together.

⊳ Choice: Refuse commission

MC: Logically speaking, I think that we should accept it… but personally, I still think that we should look into it a little more.

MC: We’re unable to identify the true motives of the person we’re up against at this current moment in time. And if finding the missing person’s just a guise...

Zuo Ran: So, you’re worried about what the other party’s motives are. Truth to be told, I’ve also thought about that.

Zuo Ran: But this is also the only option we have that allows us to obtain more clues. Rest assured; I’ll be accompanying you.

Lu Jinghe: And you have me too! Leave your safety to me; still worried about it, Big Sister?

Chu Dai: Yep, yep! Chu Dai will also follow the hacker's signal to its source and provide all of you with support! 

Xia Yan showed everyone the box that the Client had sent by placing it atop the table.

Xia Yan: This is what the Client sent. I tried to pry it open yesterday but found that it's a complicated piece of electronic equipment that cannot be disassembled at will.

Lu Jinghe: ...It's not a bomb or anything along those lines, right?

Chu Dai: No, but it should be a device that requires special commands to open. Can you connect it to the computer? Let me try opening it.

Xia Yan connected the box to the computer with a USB cable. The projection of Chu Dai temporarily disappeared to focus on analyzing the box. We waited for about ten minutes before the box on the table snapped open with a click, opening from the gap in its center.

Lu Jinghe: Whoa! It's open?

His voice had only just faded before Chu Dai's own rang from the computer's speakers.

Chu Dai: This box is called the "Vespers' Box" —— And this is the data that the creator has placed within it.

Chu Dai: Oh yes, by the way, there's a special program installed into the "Vespers' Box" which records the first person who boots it up.

Chu Dai: But Chu Dai is definite that it won't pose any threat to anyone! So, please feel free to investigate it to your heart's content!

Everyone exchanged looks with each other, leaving Xia Yan to pick up the box. After confirming that there were really no problems with the box, he handed it to me.

Xia Yan: I see that you've been so curious about this box for a long time now, so how about you lead everyone on the investigation of this thing?

MC: Me? Are you sure about that?

I looked around, only to meet everyone's trusting eyes.

MC: Alright then… Let me check this out!

☆⋅⋆…⋅─────────── ⋆⋅✾⋅⋆ ───────────⋅…⋆⋅

MC: I just have to open the box from here, right?

Xia Yan: Yup, just flip both sides open.

Zuo Ran: Be careful while opening it since there's a delicate device inside.

MC: I won't handle it roughly… you really should have a little more faith in me, Lawyer Zuo.

Zuo Ran: ……

Zuo Ran: What I meant was...be careful not to scratch your hands from the small, intricate parts of the device.

MC: S-Sure…

☆⋅⋆…⋅─────────── ⋆⋅✾⋅⋆ ───────────⋅…⋆⋅

MC: Nine screens? Is it used to display different parts of the commission?

Mo Yi: Perhaps it has something to do with it's name of the "Vespers' Box"...? Unless, maybe it's really a commission from an undead?

Lu Jinghe: Well… don't you think this is shaped a little similar to cosmetic products and the like that girls use…?

MC: Cosmetic products for girls…? You don't look the type to be that knowledgeable about it.

Lu Jinghe: Hehe— Of course I'll pay attention to something that might be a potential present for you one day!

Chu Dai: Everyone, I've already activated the program within the "Vespers' Box". You can activate the screen to light it up by tapping on it again so please try it out!

☆⋅⋆…⋅─────────── ⋆⋅✾⋅⋆ ───────────⋅…⋆⋅

MC: Whoa… how beautiful!

Mo Yi: ...It can be regarded as an Art Masterpiece.

Chu Dai: The contents being shown on the screen are the instructions for your investigations. I'm still analyzing it so please wait for a moment.

Zuo Ran: Only one screen has been lit while the others are locked and marked by a serial number… Are these all steps dictated by the Client themselves?

MC: Looks like we can only play along with them until we manage to find them…

Lu Jinghe: Let's first discuss the countermeasures we're going to be taking while waiting for Chu Dai to decrypt it.

Xia Yan: Yup. We have to listen to what everyone thinks of this before deciding whether or not to participate in this Case.

☆⋅⋆…⋅─────────── ⋆⋅✾⋅⋆ ───────────⋅…⋆⋅

We temporarily put the "Vespers' Box" aside since Chu Dai was still parsing the encrypted content on the screen.

Lu Jinghe: Let me share my opinion first. I cannot ignore it now, since this matter concerns the Big Data Lab.

Xia Yan: This person approached me by name and even threatened the Network Security of Stellis City, so I can't stand by and do nothing about it either.

Lu Jinghe: ...So you're saying that you want to settle this together too, don't you?

Xia Yan: This was originally a matter that the Client entrusted to me alone.

MC: ……

Don't we all investigate cases together all the time anyway? Why do the two of you have to be so…

MC: Then...how about we all solve it together?

Xia Yan: You want to participate too? But I'm afraid it'll affect your job…

Zuo Ran: Priorities are priorities. This issue of the "Vespers' Box" involves the Information Security of Stellis City as a whole, and thus, cannot be ignored.

Zuo Ran: (Y/n), I can give you a vacation to let you focus on this matter at hand. I will lend my aid as well.

MC: What…? Are you sure?

MC: Thank you, Lawyer Zuo!

Lu Jinghe: I knew that things would eventually turn out like this…

Mo Yi: We're all members of the same team, so it's not good to be leaving teammates behind and act on your own accord, correct?

MC: Are you joining us too Dr. Mo?

Mo Yi: Of course. I'll naturally accompany you to face this challenge that you've undertaken.

Lu Jinghe: Acting cool even in a time like this…?

Zuo Ran: How much longer till Chu Dai decrypts the tasks?

Chu Dai: Mission completed! Everyone, you can now check the tasks on the screen of the "Vespers' Box"!

Chu Dai made a re-appearance before us again as a projection after completing the decryption process.

Chu Dai: The Client has made nine task groups and will probably be giving us clues and hints on where to investigate after completing them.

Chu Dai: Actively complete the tasks set out by the Client, and you should be able to see what his true motives are soon enough!

Lu Jinghe: Complete tasks to get hints…? Does he think of this as a game?

Xia Yan: A hacker's code is unique, each to its own, like a fingerprint. It'll come a long way in helping us identify the Client if we can crack his method of compiling source codes.

Xia Yan: I'll be cooped up here most of the time from now on, using what resources we have at hand to crack the codes. I hope Chu Dai can assist me with that.

Xia Yan: This way, I can also provide remote support if the Big Data Lab faces threat again.

Lu Jinghe: No problem. I've already notified the Big Data Lab to leave enough Memory Space for Chu Dai to work with for this Case.

Chu Dai: Yup! Chu Dai's daily serviceable functions won't be affected at all, so feel free to use me to assist you in your investigations!

I felt a surge of relief upon seeing them settle the arrangements without a hitch.

MC: Please don't hesitate to tell me if there's anything I can help with! I'm still on vacation, so I my time's more flexible now.

All eyes on the floor turned to me right after the words left my mouth, making me feel oddly embarrassed out of nowhere.

MC: Don't...Don't look at me like that. I might not know much about hackers, but I'm still able to run around doing errands and investigations for clues…

Xia Yan: Actually, there's this one other important thing that only you can do. Sorry, I kept forgetting to tell you about it.

Under my curious gaze, Xia Yan took a deep breath before speaking slowly.

Xia Yan: I hope you'll take custody of the "Vespers' Box" and lead this investigation.

MC: !!!

Xia Yan: I know that this is a little risky. It was I, who received the commission, and I shouldn't have involved others who didn't have anything to do with it…

Xia Yan: But I have to stay at the Base most of the time to analyze the codes, so I had to find someone who would be able to take on the task and carry out the investigations out in the field much more conveniently.

Zuo Ran: This is too dangerous. We do not know of the reason behind the hacker's disappearance and have no way of identifying who we're up against.

Mo Yi: But her safety will be guaranteed so long as there's always someone by her side, yes?

Mo Yi smiled at me.

Mo Yi: My recent schedule is somewhat free, so I can accompany you if that's any reassurance.

MC: Huh? But wouldn't I be troubling you way too much…?

Lu Jinghe: Trouble or no trouble, I wouldn't trust someone who only wakes at 9AM to protect you.

Xia Yan: Same.

Zuo Ran: Mo Yi, I hope you'd consider the feasibility of your suggestion before putting it forth.

Mo Yi: ......

Zuo Ran: All four of us have a fixed range of activities we are involved in; be it work or investigation...

Zuo Ran: So how about we take turns to accompany her based on whose workplace is the closest when the tasks get triggered?

Zuo Ran: The "Vespers' Box" will be stored in NXX's Base after completing the daily tasks every day. This way, there'll be no need to be afraid of being tracked.

Lu Jinghe: Yes, that's certainly a good idea.

Xia Yan: I won't be careless when it comes to the problem of her safety. I'll also track and monitor her location in real time when she's out through the GPS signal beamed from her mobile.

Mo Yi: Alright. This is certainly the most efficient method we've come up with.

Chu Dai: So... have all of you decided the course of action you’ll be taking?

Chu Dai, who had been watching us all this time, seemed to have finally found an opportunity to interrupt us.

Chu Dai: Oh! Looks like you've all talked it out! (Y/n) has a very good work record! I'm sure she'll have absolutely no problem at all leading the investigation!

MC: Haha, thank you for the compliments, Chu Dai!

Chu Dai: Then next, I will be explaining the functions of the "Vespers' Box" that I've analyzed.

Chu Dai: All members of NXX, please listen carefully, for you'll be using these eventually in consequent investigations!

Everyone nodded, gathering where I was to listen to his explanation.

A heavy sense of responsibility weighed on my heart as I held the "Vespers' Box" in my hands.

MC: (Please rest assured, all of you who have placed your deep trust in me…)

MC: (I'll definitely complete this commission and find out the true colors of this mysterious Client of ours!)

☆⋅⋆…⋅─────────── ⋆⋅✾⋅⋆ ───────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

Next Part: (NXX Group Chat: Big Data Lab)

#Tears of Themis #Translations #Otome #Mihoyo #未定事件簿 #陆景和 #Lu Jinghe #左然 #Zuo Ran #夏彦 #Xia Yan #莫弈 #Mo Yi #午夜华章 #Symphony of the Night #Tears of an Event

[cleverwolfpoetry]

Psycho-pass The movie Novel chpt. 5 complete

In the past I posted this chapter in two parts. As I’m used to link only entire chapters in my index, I have posted here the complete chapter. It looks like ages since I posted the last ones, but I have not dropped the project at all. I’m working on chapters 6 together with case 2 and 3 of PP Sinners of the system and I hope to post something new soon.

here follows the copy&past from the 2 parts I translated, together with the many pictures I posted and the notes at the end. BEWARE: It’s very very...very long.

A particular mention to SEAUn Chairman Han’s name. I have corrected it in Chairman Chuang Hang as it was meant to be this way by the authors. I took notice of it while browsing the Official profiling book nr. 2 and decided to change it in all the chapters.

 Note before reading: sentences in italics represent the character’s thoughts.

1

SEAUn, early morning. The sunrise made Shambala Float shine like a kaleidoscope. Even the surface of the sea surrounding the Float reflected the light, it was just like a waving jewel box. Talking about beauty only, this Shambala Float was extraordinarily beautiful. However, that was on condition that ‘you looked it from afar’. Taking a close-up look, the violent System was crawling everywhere there.

Shambala Float’s high stories. In the courtyard of the National Military Police’s quarters close to the Chairman’s official residence, one military unit, about 60 men, was proceeding with preparation of an attack. Nicholas was the one in command. The number of men was scarce but to counterbalance that, the entire unit was being boosted by military drones of different sizes. 

The largest number consisted of ‘Skanda’ *, antipersonnel combat drones walking on two legs. The appearance of a dodo bird badly done.  They walked in a bobbing way with reverse joints bird legs and were equipped with a minigun, rocket launcher and shotgun. Such Skanda approached an eight wheels armored transport vehicle. This armored transport vehicle was named ‘Agni’*.  Inside one single Agni, ten soldiers in close ranks and twelve Skanda could be taken on board.   

Flying drones also took off from the heliport at the high stories.

The ‘Ganga’ *, helicopter type assault drones. A model with a couple of crossed rotors. After being synchronized not to collide with each other, the blades of the two rotors had been inclined diagonally. As weapons, a machine gun and air-to-ground missiles. As for the repression on the ground, they displayed an overwhelming striking power.                                                                        Then the ‘Parvati’ *, a reconnaissance jet aircraft type drone. The size was small, but it could even exceed the speed of sound at its maximum power. Through the complex sensors of the plane nose and the electronic pods* on both wings used for reconnaissance, it collected data on the battlefield and managed them.

The ‘Mahakala’ *, a jet bomber aircraft type drone. Equipped with intelligent cluster bombs*, it flew at high speed and scattered a large number of guided bombs. 

To control such drones, the ‘Siva’ *, an operational command vehicle. A ten wheels gigantic car. The front part was divided into cockpit and troops transport, in the back part there was the combat information center*. It was equipped with a 40 mm unmanned gun turret and a machine gun. Compared to an ordinary armored vehicle, the communication functions were much more strengthened.                                                          

Nicholas had gotten into the combat information center of the operational command vehicle Siva. The inside of the car was completely covered with monitors and consoles. There were three operators besides Nicholas. Only with this number of people, they could control the one hundred drones nearby in a lump.

“Move out”

A voice command. Nicholas instructed the driving AI. The engine of the operational command car started — however, it stopped immediately.

“What!”

He said checking the camera monitors.

A person was standing in front of the command vehicle. 

The car had had stopped on its own, however what was standing in the way was not an enemy but an important person. It was Tsunemori Akane. The friend or foe system (IFF) was connected to all the drone weapons. Even if such a vehicle could run the enemy over and kill or shoot him dead, the safety system worked automatically on the allies. The number of people dying under the friendly fire on the battlefield was so big to be alarming. A system to prevent it was very important. Tsunemori, who had been sent from the Japanese Ministry of Welfare, had been registered in the IFF system as a VIP.

When Nicholas opened the door, she got into the combat information center.

“Do you mind if I join you?”

Her outfit consisted in a Ministry of Welfare’s military uniform she had hardly worn out of duty, a bulletproof vest and an ammunition belt. She had the custom government well secured in the holster mounted directly on the vest* and ammunition spares prepared on her belt. She was asking for permission as a formality, but she had just taken an attitude that gave no choice.

Nicholas frowned with a disagreeing look and yet he apparently payed respect to a VIP.

“…I don’t mind, but when the fight begins please follow our instructions as much as possible. I would appreciate if you stayed away from risk”

“Of course, I understand”

By means of the huge elevator, every single piece of that high-grade mechanical platoon had been transferred exactly as it was until the lowest stories.  

Near the exit, they joined the four-legs tanks — the ‘Ganesha’. 

Their main weapon was a 120 mm smoothbore gun*, the auxiliary weapon a machine gun against air and ground attacks. These armaments also made in Japan for sure. Usually they moved on four crawler belts, but when they entered uneven ground that formation changed, they could even walk on four legs. They were unmanned tanks that dealt with three-tridimensional warfare* amid urban fights.

One Siva.

Four Agni.

A sum of about twenty unmanned aircrafts.  

Then eight Ganesha.

The metallic troops arranged in ranks crossed the bridge over the gate and left for the attack. They passed through the city slums intimidating the population and proceeded with a roaring sound on the roads of the rural area. The weather had gotten quickly worse. Changes in the tropical air were sudden. Large drops of rain hit the armored cars. The roads were a quagmire of mud, the river had flooded, but the military vehicles and drones went on as it was nothing. The unexpected rain stopped suddenly as it formerly had come. Only wet men and thick rain clouds remained.

“What kind of operation is this?”

Tsunemori asked inside the shaking car.

“You know, there is a ghost town that was destroyed during the civil war. There’s a high chance that place has become a base for the anti-government guerrilla”

“The Japanese drones must have been provided to you for the task of the public order maintenance, isn’t it? Are you using them for a purpose other than the defense?”  

“The removal of a latent threat is also a part of the public order maintenance task. This kind of usage doesn’t go against the rules”  

Nicholas went on with the explanation in a detached tone.

“…after all, Shambala Float is nothing but the first step of the climbing. We must make the control exercised by the Sibyl System popular in the entire nation in any case. To do that, it’s necessary that we eliminate the armaments of the resistance forces as quickly as possible and that people accept to have their psycho-pass measured”

2

The old town looked out on a great river, fresh ruins were the scars left by the war. Reddish-brown shacks made of rusty corrugated iron and the desolated ruins were lying one upon another, looking like an immense garbage dump. There were scrapped cars lined up on the road, outdated barricades left in every important point.  

The guerrilla’s operation bases had been built in various places of such an old town. In the shade of the corrugated-iron, in the depths of an abandoned building, there was an area where ammunitions were piled up. A large number of guerrilla soldiers was ready and standing-by, in view of the fight against the government troops of Shambala Float.

Circling over the old town, the reconnaissance drones Parvati scanned the ground and buildings through their high-performance cameras with infrared function and powerful electromagnetic waves radars.  They could seize not only the guerrilla soldiers outside, but also the ones inside roughly to their position. Those data were immediately shared on the monitors of the operational command vehicle on the ground.

The anti-government guerrilla had also noticed the government troops. Some of them had AK rifle* models of the year 2030 at the ready, others were reassembling RPG – 29* divided into two pieces. They put tandem HEAT* anti-tank warhead in the launchers.

A preemptive strike  — four helicopter type drones Ganga, each one with two shots, launched a total of eight air-to-ground missiles. A succession of explosions strong enough to smash the high-rise buildings occurred. The air trembled and the ground shook. A blast of hot air raised a cloud of dust from the ground.

The Parvati was a reconnaissance aircraft, but it carried a minigun in the part under the airplane nose.

Minigun — an electrically driven Gatling gun* with six barrels. Its high rate of fire was 3000 shots per minute of 7,62 mm caliber bullets.  

The minigun breathed fire, the large diameter rifle bullets pierced the ruin walls easily and shot the guerrilla soldiers down.

The guerrilla was helpless in such an attack from the sky.

The human bodies were smashed without difficulty.

The tank drone Ganesha shot with its primary gun on the basis of the data from the sky reconnaissance.

The 120 mm multipurpose antitank grenades made the building crumble with a single blow.

“This is horrible…”

Tsunemori had involuntarily muttered.

“If the cymatic scan detects nothing wrong, the safety is working. The thing is that their crime coefficient reaches the standard level of a latent criminal” Nicholas said.

“There’s no way that a psycho-pass measured in such a condition could give a normal value!”

“Unfortunately, in this country there aren’t facilities to rehabilitate them through the mental care yet. In this renewed SEAUn only the citizen who are needed will be left. These scum… they are, so to speak, the leftovers of our civil war days”

“…”

Fight — the massacre continued.

The four Aguni dropped the loaded Skanda, the drones walking on two legs.

Forty-eight Skanda started to move in search of their preys and stormed into the building. The drones scanned the places they couldn’t cover with unmanned aircrafts and rained the heavy fire of the miniguns on the guerrilla soldiers who had been hiding, shooting to death the men with a clouded hue regardless of their intent to fight. It was irrelevant that they were throwing down arms and begging for their lives. The important thing was the psycho-pass only.

— at the same time.

Kougami Shinya was on the roof of a building 1 km far from the combat zone. Khaki military uniform and a tactical vest full of pouches with weapons.  

A prone shooting position. He was at the ready with a huge anti-material rifle standing on a bipode.

The rifle was a 20 mm caliber. Five armor-piercing ammunitions in the magazine box.

As this was a long-range shot, he really wanted an observer — a spotter, but unfortunately Sem was in command of the troops elsewhere. Thus, he had adjusted the fire control system by himself in place of the spotter.

“…”

The bullets fired from this rifle had the merit of having a muzzle initial velocity* close to three times the speed of sound. They didn’t take a second to reach a target beyond 1 km. It was possible to hit most of the drones except for jet planes.

Through the holographic sight device* that worked together with the portable terminal on his wrist, he corrected the aim while predicting the route of the assault helicopter drone. Battlefield and target were displayed before Kougami’s eyes through the hologram and the place he wanted to shoot at zoomed.

He squeezed the trigger —.

The sound of gunfire — no, should it be called roar of cannon?

Accompanied by the loud sound of the sonic boom*, the 20 mm heavy shell* hit directly the base of the assault helicopter drone making a big hole and throwing off sparks. Kougami ejected the shell with the bolt action* and charged the next bullets. He fired immediately a second and third shot. He centered the impact of the bullets on the origin of the motive power. The rotor instantly emitted fire and was blown off. The assault helicopter drone lost control and fell.

3

Shooting down a helicopter type assault drone was unlikely for a regular guerrilla fight. Tsunemori was not a specialist in that field but she knew the efficiency of Japan-made drones.

The light spots of the drones went out one after another.

Rounding his eyes, “…it’s that guy?!”

Nicholas muttered in an annoyed tone.

This time, Tsunemori sensed Kougami’s presence beyond the monitor.

It’s not that it was a proof at the moment. Only, the presentiment of meeting again had run through her heart as quick as lightning.

Kougami put the antimaterial rifle away in its case, locked it and covered the box with a sheet that blocked the electromagnetic waves. It was too heavy to carry but, being a valuable model of rifle, he had planned to pick it up later.

An entire set of equipment for rappelling* had been arranged on the terrace of that building.  A rappelling rope made of reinforced polyester, able to take a load near the 4 tons, was tied to a steel pipe. Kougami grabbed the rope and threaded it through the carabiner — a ring-like metal fitting used to connect the body to the rope, then attached it to his belt. Without the slightest hesitation, he jumped down from the terrace. With training, men get used even to the fall from a height. Kicking the wall, he fell like he was flying and went to the ground in one go. Unclipped the carabiner, Kougami started to run and got into a light truck parked there in advance. In that vehicle, an assault rifle and a cylinder grenade launcher had been prepared on the passenger seat. While pulling the weapons and taking them on his back, he started the engine. He ran through the ruins at full speed.

While driving, he gave instructions to his comrades through the portable terminal.

“…start the counterattack. Do exactly as I taught you”

Received Kougami’s instructions, an armed guerrilla’s truck started to run towards the government drone units. On the truck bed, there was an ECM* pod retrieved by the bomber aircrafts. A technical expert positioned on the truck turned on the ECM with a laptop. Doing so, powerful jamming electromagnetic waves were emitted.

Because of that influence, the small drones strayed off course. Lost control, the unmanned aircrafts fell.

Inside the operational command vehicle Siva, an operator yelled hysterically.

“The small drones are out of control. It’s a jamming device!”

“It doesn’t matter” Nicholas said with a scowl. “The larger drones are stand-alone. They can’t measure the psycho-pass but they’re good as long as the friend or foe system is working”

“That’s exactly what they must have predicted”

Tsunemori chilled him with her words.

“ ! ” Nicholas glared at Tsunemori with hostility.

A drastic change happened on the monitors. The guerrilla had increased its activity.

After securing a safe route by shooting down the helicopters in the assault, the ECM entered the scene. The timing had been calculated −−−. The armed guerrilla men, who were hiding everywhere behind the ruins, started the counterattack appearing all at once. Once again, the guerrilla reinforcements came running on technical vehicles from the suburbs one after another.

Under the ECM jamming, the four-legs tanks Ganeshas had been separated by the operators’ control. Obeying to the algorithm for military use, they began to move in pseudo-autonomy. They tried to point their main guns to the technical vehicles.

At that moment, several guerrilla men threw grenades from the shadows of the ruins. Ordinary grenades wouldn’t have had effect on a Ganesha, but these ones generated a surge current from a high capacity condenser that short-circuited the electronic parts with an electromagnetic pulse.

After a flash of lightning, the Ganeshas and Skandas movement stopped.

“…what was that?”

Nicholas must have seen this weapon for the first time. A clear agitation was written on his face. Despite having the knowledge of that technology inside his head, he had never seen it used for real and couldn’t react promptly.

“An electromagnetic pulse grenade!” Tsunemori shouted irritated.

Listening to that, Nicholas startled checked the status of the drone troops again.

“There’s an electromagnetic shield on the main parts. Start them again immediately!”

“If you have the chance to start the drones again, it’ll be enough!”

Immediately after the pulse grenades, the guerrilla men had suspended the ECM jamming. Keeping in contact through the radio, they moved to counterattack launching the RPGs, antitank rockets, on the Ganeshas’ joints and top armors. During the restart time, the perfectly still drones became TARGETS* for several seconds. The men detonated IEDs (improvised explosive device), roadside bombs made modifying high-explosive shells, and blew away ten Skandas, making them collapse on the road and block the advancing of the armored cars. By the time the restart finished, the guerrilla men had already started to retreat. It’s been a heavy blow for the drones of the government troops −−− so it’s enough, I guess he’s judged like that. The guerrilla’s tactical advisor −−− the chance it’s Kougami Shinya is high −−− he has truly an excellent judgment, Tsunemori thought.  

“We can’t always end up being beaten. Let’s move to the chase!”

Nicholas said exasperated.

The Skandas hit the back of the retreating guerrilla.

They cornered several of those foolish men in a blind alley. The figures of the men throwing away the weapons and pleading for their lives had been displayed on the monitors of the command operational vehicle too. Watching that, Tsunemori noticed sharply “The opponents aren’t resisting!”, but Nicholas wouldn’t listen.

A light truck dashed there and clashed with all its strength on a Skanda that was about to execute some guerrilla men, thrusting it away.

“−−− !”

Through the cameras of the hit Skanda, the face of the light truck driver could be confirmed. 

Looking at his face, Tsunemori opened the door.

She jumped out of the vehicle.

“What are your intentions?!”

“It’s a criminal investigation!”  

Tsunemori shouted back to Nicholas’ angry voice.

“Don’t walk away from us! Here’s a battlefield!”

Ignoring those words, Tsunemori began to run with all her might.

4

The light truck Kougami had gotten into received the withering fire of the rebooted Skandas. The rear part was blown away in a flash. Kougami jumped off the partially destroyed truck and rolling on the ground, he took position with the grenade launcher at the ready. Shooting a shaped charge* in a prone position, he opened a big hole on a Skanda and destroyed it. He stood up and did it again then ran like a hurricane through the ruins, become a battlefield.

Kougami caught sight of his comrades’ squad leaders at the meeting point. Each of the six leaders was in command of ten subordinates. The faces of these men, who were checking the escape route, lit up upon seeing him. In that hard battlefield, those looks conveyed him the hope of counterattack they had because of his presence.  Kougami himself would have definitely withdrawn from such a burden but the tense situation hadn’t allowed it.

“Listen! I’m luring the enemy, in the meanwhile draw down the troops!” Kougami fired his instructions to the squad leaders. “We are in control now but, if you don’t pay attention they’ll massacre you in no time!”

The leaders nodded and started to move.

Kougami started his solo action. His comrades were worried about it but the will to do dangerous actions alone was Kougami’s natural disposition. After the pulse grenade, a persistent Skanda they had failed to bring down during the restart time was running around chasing the guerrilla men. If I managed to draw it, I’d like to turn it into scrap…

Kougami stepped into a once commercial building. It was a covered shopping arcade with a roof made of toughened glass. Hiding in the shadows, he replenished the ammunitions of the grenade launcher.

At that moment, he heard footsteps.

Someone was getting close rapidly.

It wasn’t a guerrilla man. His other comrades must have all gone for the escaping route. −−− A soldier of the government army? Recently they have started to rely on drones, the chance they have invested soldiers at this timing is low but…

The owner of the footsteps dashed out from the corner.

As a result, Kougami crouched down, ready to ambush. He tried to keep back the grenade launcher he was carrying on his shoulder through a slinger and grabbed his opponent’s arms tightly.

Then — he realized. He knew that person.

Tsunemori Akane.

The instant he had understood that his opponent was Tsunemori Akane, Kougami’s grip loosened. She shook herself free from Kougami’s hands and, turning around, restrained him in a joint lock. Grabbing Kougami’s right arm with both hands, Tsunemori immobilized his elbow. Kougami willingly jumped, escaping from Tsunemori’s technique that had become quite sharp.  

The distance increased.

Tsunemori rapidly pulled out a gun.

“…it’s been a while, Kougami-san”

The voice of a woman concealing her emotions. Kougami unconsciously made a wry smile.

“Truly, I didn’t expect you to come this far…”

“You are under arrest”

“Arrest…? Do you understand the situation?”

“Are you the one who sent terrorists to Japan, Kougami-san?”

The talk had gotten strange.

“What? What do you mean?”

When Kougami grimaced and was about to ask back, Tsunemori also showed confusion.

“Then…”

A bad sign —. Outside the building, the footsteps of one of those tanks with robotic arms. Kougami instantly pounced on Tsunemori. Tsunemori was holding the gun but there’s no way she would have shot him, he was sure of this. Holding Tsunemori tight, he covered her for protection. Then the fire of the Ganesha. The artillery shell flew overhead, and the shock of the impact ran. The window glasses had been smashed to pieces all at once, scattering around, an entire abandoned shopping center demolished.

After that, the Ganesha opened a rapid-fire with the machine-gun. The gunfire shot through the wall was following Kougami and Tsunemori. The aim is not precise, I wonder if it’s thanks to Tsunemori’s presence. She must be registered in the friend or foe system.

“…what are you gonna do, Inspector? Shoot me or let me go? Which one?”

“…I’ll cooperate with you”

“Hey, wait!”

“It’s only temporary. As part of the investigation”

 5

Through the Ganesha’s camera, Tsunemori’s figure had been also ascertained by the operational command vehicle.

“The Japanese girl is moving with a man who looks a guerrilla leader!”

A leading member of the guerrilla −−− a tactical advisor −−− Kougami Shinya. The enforcer escaped from Japan.

“Take out that brat from the friend or foe system…!”

Nicholas yelled loudly. As if he believed the more he made his voice big the more the orders were executed rapidly.

“But…”  the operator hesitated.

“Here’s a battlefield! Strategy takes priority!”

“It’ll take time. We have to send back the system to the headquarters first or it won’t work”

“Shit!”

Destroying the walls which had become cheese-like because of the bullet holes, the Ganesha appeared in the arcade shopping center and ran after Kougami and Tsunemori. As Tsunemori was an “Ally” according to the friend or foe system, Kougami was actually the only one to be recognized as a target.

The two escaped until they reached a plaza with a fountain within the arcade. The plaza covered by a dome had human-shaped bronze statues that looked like great men of this country in the middle and around the statues, an artificial pool with jets of water. Even the plaza that must have been beautiful once, abandoned for many years, seemed to have received stray bullets from the civil war everywhere. The water of the artificial pool with the broken edges had mixed with rainwater in the past days, as a result it was slightly dirty.  

“Jump in”

Kougami said.

Despite a moment of hesitation, Tsunemori obeyed to those words.

She wasn’t good at swimming. −−− unpleasant memories, a past trauma. However, the rainwater pool in that plaza had such a depth that her feet barely touched the bottom and of all things, recently Tsunemori was practicing swimming actively, nevertheless gingerly.  This was a good chance to test the results of her training.

Swimming in the cold water, Kougami and Tsunemori hid in the shadows of the bronze statues. The Ganesha was getting close, leaving deep marks on its path. The damping factor of infrared rays and laser scanning was bigger in water and the drone lost its targets. However, after a revaluation, and the Ganesha switched into body motion detection mode.

Taking advantage of the revaluation moment, the fugitives turned behind the drone back. Kougami, who had stepped out of the rainwater pool, took the grenade launcher on his back and fired at the roof of the plaza dome. Explosive had been placed there as a measure in case of need. A chain detonation burst with a domino effect. The heavy bass sound of multiple impacts −−− . Blown up by the grenade, the roof fell untouched and buried the Ganesha.

To avoid being swallowed up by the collapsing building, Kougami and Tsunemori got out of the arcade in great haste.

After coming out of the Arcade commercial building, they found a small wooded area at a short walking distance. Entered the wooded area, Kougami approached a thick raised bush. In that bush, an infrared intercepting sheet, abundantly concealed by foliage and tree branches, was covering something. Kougami grabbed the sheet and tore it off. Hidden under it, a military jeep equipped with a heavy machine gun.

Kougami jumped on the driving seat and Tsunemori on the passenger seat. The engine started through the fingerprint authentication.

They were running fast on a roadway in a wooded area inside the military jeep.

“…what does it mean? Explain me, please”

“it’s exactly as you see. I’m taking part to the movement for the democratization of this country as a military advisor against the drones”

“This car, where is it headed?”

“There are still some places here and there where the power of government forces is weak. We’re heading in one of those places…by the way, Inspector”

“Stop that, please…”

When he had been told ‘stop that’, for a moment Kougami didn’t understand. After some thought, he realized it. He had called her ‘Inspector’. — That’s the hound behavior, it seems that neither several years abroad could break this habit.

“Tsunemori…don’t you think there’s something off about him? That chairman”

“…eh?”

“He’s rather a good-for-nothing man. I wonder what a dictator’s crime coefficient looks like”

For more translations, visit me at https://cleverwolfpoetry.tumblr.com/

NOTES TO TRANSLATION:

*Skanda:  name of deities popular amongst Hindus and Buddhists.

*Agni: means fire, and connotes the Vedic fire god of Hinduism. Agni also refers to one of the guardian deities of direction, who is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu temples. In classical cosmology of Indian religions, Agni as fire has been one of the five inert impermanent constituents (Dhatus) along with space (Akasa), water (Ap), air (Vayu) and earth (Prithvi), the five combining to form the empirically perceived material existence (Prakriti). (from Wikipedia)

*Ganga: In Hinduism, the river Ganges is considered sacred and is personified as the goddess Gaṅgā. (from Wikipedia)

*Parvati: Hindu goddess of fertility, love and devotion; as well as of divine strength and power. (from Wikipedia)

*electronic pods: pods are external equipment carried on aircrafts to provide or enhance specific capabilities critical to planned missions.  They provide a portable, quickly-fielded means to adapt aircraft to emerging requirements and threats. They can be classified through their primary sensors and their scopes. Pods can have different sensors (optical, electronic, laser, infrared) and different purposes (reconnaissance, surveillance, countermeasures, communication and data links).

*Mahakala: Mahākāla is a deity common to Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism. According to Hinduism, Mahākāla is the consort of Hindu Goddess Kali. Mahākāla also appears as a protector deity known as a dharmapala in Vajrayana Buddhism, particularly most Tibetan traditions, in Tangmi (Chinese Esoteric Buddhism) and in Shingon (Japanese Esoteric Buddhism). He is known as Dàhēitiān (大黑天) in Chinese and Daikokuten (大黒天) in Japanese. In Sikhism, Mahākāla is referred to as Kal, who is the governor of Maya. (from Wikipedia)

*cluster bombs: A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller submunitions. Commonly, it’s a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill personnel and destroy vehicles. Other cluster munitions are designed to destroy runways or electric power transmission lines, disperse chemical or biological weapons, or to scatter land mines. Some submunition-based weapons can disperse non-munitions, such as leaflets. (from Wikipedia)

*Siva: Śiva is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being within Shaivism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.

Śiva is the “destroyer of evil and the transformer” within the Trimurti, the Hindu trinity that includes Brahma and Vishnu. In Shaivism tradition, Śiva is the Supreme being who creates, protects and transforms the universe.

*combat information center: the Operations Room (also known as the Combat Information Center (CIC), or, under the British system, the Action Information Centre) is the tactical center of a warship or AWAC aircraft providing processed information for command and control of the near battlespace or ‘area of operations’. Within other military commands, rooms serving similar functions are called by the similar “Command Information Center” or simply “Command center”; the number of different terms for spaces that serve much the same function may explain why the plain and generally non-descriptive “Operations Center” is a prevalent term.

Regardless of the vessel or command locus, each CIC organizes and processes information into a form more convenient and usable by the commander in authority. Each CIC funnels communications and data received over multiple channels, which is then organized, evaluated, weighted and arranged to provide ordered timely information flow to the battle command staff under the control of the CIC officer and his deputies. (from Wikipedia)

* holster mounted directly on the vest:

The holster is mounted like a pouch on the tactical vest. See picture below for reference. 

*smoothbore gun: a smoothbore weapon is one that has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars. The majority of shotguns are smoothbores and the term can be synonymous. (from Wikipedia)

*three-dimensional warfare: Three-Dimensional (3D) Tactics Analysis, is a tactical analysis methodology under the concept of Terrorist Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures. The approach is applicable to urban combat, and takes into account mass gatherings of people located in highly complex urban structures, incorporating features such as multi-level buildings, open spaces between buildings, crowd congregation points, and transport hubs.

As an introduction, 3D tactics is defined as tactics in the third dimension which is the space above and below ground level in land and urban operations. (from Wikipedia)

*AK rifle: kalashnikov type rifle.

*RPG–29: The RPG-29 “Vampir” is a shoulder-launched, unguided, tube-style, breech-loading anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launcher with a range of 500 meters. The light weapon is designed to be carried and used by a single soldier. On the top of the launch tube is a 2.7×1P38 optical sight.

Adopted by the Soviet Army in 1989, it was the last RPG to be adopted by the Soviet military before the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The RPG-29 has since been supplemented by other rocket-propelled systems, such as the RPG-30 and RPG-32. The RPG-29’s PG-29V tandem-charge warhead is one of the few anti-tank weapons that can penetrate the frontal hulls of Western composite-armored main battle tanks. (from Wikipedia)

*HEAT antitank warhead: A high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead is a type of shaped charge explosive that uses the Monroe effect to penetrate armor. The warhead functions by having the explosive charge collapse a metal liner to form a high-velocity superplastic jet. This concentrated metal jet is capable of penetrating armor steel to a depth of seven or more times the diameter of the charge (charge diameters, CD) but is usually used to immobilize or destroy tanks. Due to the way they work, they do not have to be fired as fast as an armor piercing shell, allowing less recoil. Contrary to a widespread misconception (possibly resulting from the acronym HEAT), the jet does not melt its way through armor, as its effect is purely kinetic in nature. The HEAT warhead has become less effective against tanks and other armored vehicles due to the use of composite armor and explosive-reactive armor. (from Wikipedia)

*minigun: The M134 Minigun is a 7.62×51mm NATO, six-barrel rotary machine gun with a high rate of fire (2,000 to 6,000 rounds per minute) which can also fire at a high sustained rate. It features Gatling-style rotating barrels with an external power source, normally an electric motor. The “Mini” in the name is in comparison to larger caliber designs that use a rotary barrel design, such as General Electric’s earlier 20-millimeter M61 Vulcan, and “gun” for the use of rifle caliber bullets as opposed to autocannon shells.

“Minigun” refers to a specific model of weapon that General Electric originally produced, but the term “minigun” has popularly come to refer to any externally powered rotary-style gun of rifle caliber. The term is sometimes used loosely to refer to guns of similar rates of fire and configuration regardless of power source and caliber. (from Wikipedia)

*electrically driven Gatling gun: The ancestor to the modern minigun was a hand cranked mechanical device invented in the 1860s by Richard Jordan Gatling. Gatling later replaced the hand-cranked mechanism of a rifle-caliber Gatling gun with an electric motor, a relatively new invention at the time. Even after Gatling slowed down the mechanism, the new electric-powered Gatling gun had a theoretical rate of fire of 3,000 rounds per minute, roughly three times the rate of a typical modern, single-barreled machine gun. Gatling’s electric-powered design received U.S. Patent #502,185 on July 25, 1893. Despite Gatling’s improvements, the Gatling gun fell into disuse after cheaper, lighter-weight, recoil and gas operated machine guns were invented; Gatling himself went bankrupt for a period. (from Wikipedia)

*muzzle initial velocity: Muzzle velocity is the speed of a projectile at the moment it leaves the muzzle of a gun. The velocity of a projectile is highest at the muzzle and drops off steadily because of air resistance. Projectiles traveling less than the speed of sound (about 340 m/s or 1115 feet/s in dry air at sea level) are subsonic, while those traveling faster are supersonic and thus can travel a substantial distance and even hit a target before a nearby observer hears the “bang” of the shot. (from Wikipedia)

*sight device: A sight is an aiming device used to assist in visually aligning ranged weapons, surveying instruments or optical illumination equipments with the intended target. Sights can be a simple set or system of markers that have to be aligned together with the target (such as iron sights on firearms), or optical devices that allow the user to see a sometimes optically enhanced (e.g. magnified) image of the target aligned in the same focus with an aiming point (e.g. telescopic sights, reflector sights and holographic sights). There are also sights that project an aiming point (or a “hot spot”) onto the target itself, such as laser sights and infrared illuminators on some night vision devices. (from Wikipedia)

*sonic boom: A sonic boom is the sound associated with the shock waves created by an object traveling through the air faster than the speed of sound. Sonic booms generate significant amounts of sound energy, sounding much like an explosion to the human ear. The crack of a supersonic bullet passing overhead or the crack of a bullwhip are examples of a sonic boom in miniature.

Contrary to popular belief, a sonic boom does not occur only at the moment an object crosses the speed of sound; and neither is it heard in all directions emanating from the speeding object. Rather the boom is a continuous effect that occurs while the object is travelling at supersonic speeds. But it only affects observers that are positioned at a some point that intersects an imaginary geometrical cone behind the object. As the object moves, this imaginary cone also moves behind it and when the cone passes over the observer, they will briefly experience the boom. (from Wikipedia)

CREDIT FOR THIS NICE IMAGE OF THE SONIC BOOM: By Lookang many thanks to Fu-Kwun Hwang and author of Easy Java Simulation = Francisco Esquembre - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16444999

I liked this gif very much. I could easily imagine the sonic wave accompanying Kougami’s bullet towards the helicopter drone.

*20 mm heavy shell: The 20 mm caliber is a specific size of cannon or autocannon ammunition. Since 20mm is the cutoff point where most nations switch from bullets to shells, it has come to also generally be the cutoff point between weapons classified as a machine gun or a cannon. (from Wikipedia)

*bolt action: Bolt action is a type of repeater firearm action where the handling of cartridges into and out of the weapon’s barrel chamber are operated by manually manipulating the bolt handle, which is most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon (as most users are right-handed). As the handle is operated, the bolt is unlocked and pulled back opening the breech, the spent cartridge case is extracted and ejected, the firing pin within the bolt is cocked (either on opening or closing of the bolt depending on the gun design) and engages the sear, then upon the bolt being pushed back a new cartridge (if available) is loaded into the chamber, and finally the breech is closed tight by the bolt locking against the receiver. (from Wikipedia)

*rappelling: I think images speak by themselves

*ECM: acronym for electronic countermeasures. An electronic countermeasure (ECM) is an electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar or other detection systems, like infrared (IR) or lasers. It may be used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting information to an enemy. The system may make many separate targets appear to the enemy, or make the real target appear to disappear or move about randomly. It is used effectively to protect aircraft from guided missiles. Most air forces use ECM to protect their aircraft from attack. It has also been deployed by military ships and recently on some advanced tanks to fool laser/IR guided missiles. It is frequently coupled with stealth advances so that the ECM systems have an easier job. Offensive ECM often takes the form of jamming. Defensive ECM includes using blip enhancement and jamming of missile terminal homers. (from Wikipedia)

*TARGETS: written it in capital letters because in the book this sentence is written with dots above the kanjis.

*shaped charge: A shaped charge is an explosive charge shaped to focus the effect of the explosive’s energy. Various types are used to cut and form metal, initiate nuclear weapons, penetrate armor, and “complete” wells in the oil and gas industry.

#psycho pass translations #psycho pass movie novel #chapter 5 #kougami shinya #tsunemori akane #just a reminder that i don't leave things undone #and i don't forget

[wintersoldierland]

The Universe Within

James smiles in satisfaction as he looks out of the viewpoint, admiring the stars spread out in front of him. Almost 50 years of doing it and the views still take him by surprise and make him breathless. 

He can't believe how lucky he is. 

From the HYDRA'S attack dog to a general of an intergalactic army, of scientist and peacekeepers… James knows that he lucked out, that things worked out. 

He knows it every day when he arrives on the Bridge and sees his crew and the whole universe in front of them. He knows that probably nothing will ever compare. 

“General? I have news,” his Commander says, her tail lashing anxiously. 

Kait’aar always had an issue with keeping her emotions in check, but she's also always been efficient. She only becomes more and more efficient as the years come by. 

“Yeah?” he asks, straightening in his spot. 

“You asked to be notified whenever a Stone is being used,” she explains. James sits up straight. 

“Where?”

Infinity Stones are never a good thing. They're powerful and in the wrong hands, they can bring devastation to the whole universe. Bucky has been keeping track of them for years now, and he knows that a few of them are missing. 

Now it seems like they're back. 

“Earth, sir,” Kait’aar says, voice grave. 

“Fuck,” he mutters. His Commander only watches in silence, more than aware of what's happening. “Set the course to Terra, avoid all and any hypersphere tunnels, use jumps. I want this quiet,” James orders quickly, standing up. 

“Yes, sir.”

With that, he's left alone in his office and the stars suddenly look too bright. 

“You are worried,” comes the calm voice of HAL.

James snorts. “Yeah, thanks, Einstein. I'm glad to know that one of the universe’s most advanced AI is so observant.”

HAL’s silence is actually very telling. James sighs deeply and leans against the viewport. 

“The Stones bring nothing but pain and destruction, no matter in whose hands,” he finally says. “Earth isn’t ready for any of that. I’m not even talking about the Stones, but about who will follow them. Any alien civilisation, anyone advanced enough…”

He falls silent and stares out into the universe again. He knows more than anyone just how dangerous those people can be, how easy it is to die out there. He knows the power behind some of the planets, the destruction some leaders can bring. He knows that Earth isn’t ready.

“They dodged a bullet with the whole Skrull/Kree thing, and only because Carol was there,” James mutters, smiling softly. Carol is definitely one of the kind. One of the strongest people he knows, and one hell of a friend. “She’s not there right now, she’s on the other side of the universe, and my home is basically helpless!”

“I suspect that Fury did find people to protect Earth, after Colonel Danvers left,” HAL observes calmly.

“Yeah… But how good they are?” James asks, not really expecting an answer. HAL knows better than to say anything now. “How will they hold against a threat this massive? Do they even know the scale of things?”

“Probably not,” HAL says dryly. “That’s why we’re on our way there.”

Bucky smirks and rolls his shoulders. “Damn right,” he says firmly. “We’re good at the whole saving planets shit, we can do it.”

“You also miss home.”

“Home is where the heart is, baby boy,” James laughs. The stars shine very brightly today. “And my heart is right there, amongst the stars.”

It still is nice to see Earth come into existence once again when Event Horizon arrives close enough. James stares straight at it, standing on the Bridge, and his crew works tirelessly to keep everything up to date. He can see the giant ships waiting just beyond what’s visible from the surface, can see the amount of sheer power that’s about to be brought onto his home.

He’s not happy about it.

“Keep monitoring,” he orders sharply. “If they try something, close the tunnels and keep them there. Unload everything you have if they fire.”

His crew nods and HAL pulls up a communication channel with the rest of Federation Generals. His friends, also stationed on warships.

“I may need help,” James says once they come into view. “I have a bad feeling about what’s happening on Earth and I need backup probably.”

“Federation won’t allow it,” Pho’el says grimly.

James allows himself a dark smile. “I’m not asking for permission. I’m saying that I need help from my friends.”

“See you on Terra,” Chia says and everything goes dark. James loves his friends so much.

“Good luck, sir,” Kait’aar suddenly speaks up. James turns around and smiles at his crew, people who he would die for, no questions asked. His family.

“Thanks,” he replies dryly, walking out. “You have the comm.”

James walks to his ship, Hadron, in silence, his armour constructing around him. HAL comes alive in front of his eyes as the mask slips into place and everything lights up blue. “Let’s do it,” he mutters, sliding into the pilot seat.

Hadron leaves Event Horizon as a streak of speed, entering Earth’s atmosphere easily, and James pulls up the first news channel that comes alive. New York is under attack and he can vaguely see some heroes dressed in weird suits. At least there's some defence.

“The Stone’s energy is pointing towards what’s called Stark Tower,” HAL announces, pulling up maps. James nods.

“Anyone we know?”

“Looks like Loki is already there.”

James only snarls. Looks like Loki did not actually die, not that it’s surprising, but that man is nothing but trouble. Chaos follows whenever its god goes.

Hadron remains invisible when he enters the battle, expertly avoiding any stray bullets, and he lands on the roof of where the issue is. Looks like Thor is already handling Loki, so James looks around and then lights up.

Energy surges through his veins and he allows himself to raise into the air, throwing himself into the battle. HAL is a constant voice in his ear, just as always, and together they clear what they can, catching any big pieces that threaten to crush civilians. James allows the battle to light up his core, boiling in his heart.

“Sir, there’s a projectile heading towards our location,” HAL suddenly says, pointing towards a bomb that’s flying straight at New York.

“Well, Mr Fury, Carol will be disappointed,” James mutters and then surges after it. 

A guy in gold and red suits gets to it first, and James watches as he takes the bomb into the portal, ready to face death.

“Oh hell no,” he snarls and follows.

It’s easy to destroy everything in his path, shooting at whatever comes close, clearing the air around him as he chases the stupid brave human into the portal.

“Sir, they’re ready to fire,” Kait’aar speaks up, voice grim.

James looks at the insane human above him, carrying the bomb into space and smirks. “Full power. Fire on my command.”

With that, he finally catches up with the brave human, grabs the bomb with one arm and turns to face him. The light in the suit is slowly dying down and HAL informs him that life support is failing, so James reaches out with his free hand and allows the nanites to flow into the other amour.

“My turn to be the hero, doll,” James laughs and launches the bomb at the ship towering over them. “Fire.”

Together, they watch as the ships go up in flames, surrounded by Federation warships, exploding in fury of colours. James lets the warmth wash over him and lazily salutes at Event Horizon.

The red man is watching him in silence, amour lighting up with James’s own nanites, keeping him alive and safe.

“Ready to go home now?” he asks lightly through the channel the nanites created.

“Sure,” the man replies, voice scratchy and rough, sending a shiver down James’s spine. “After you tell me who the hell are you!”

James laughs and glances down at the closing portal. “Later,” he winks and launches himself at the human.

They fall together, tendrils of power running around them until they pass through the portal. There, James grabs the human in a bride carry and sets them down slowly in the circle of heroes.

The human’s mask falls open and James stares down at brown eyes alight with the power of thousand suns. He swallows and smiles shakily, still keeping the human close.

If his heart is among the stars, it’s no wonder he feels it stir at the sight of the universe in the man’s eyes. 

Part 2

#winteriron #bucky barnes #tony stark #my writing #space au #space bucky au #ive been wanting to write it for weeks #so here you go #have this weird garbage #i have 0 idea wtf is this #honest #i sat down and this is what i came up with #expect more versions soon

[the--sad--hatter]

Phantom Pain (1)

FANDOM - MARVEL MCU

PAIRING - Bucky X Reader 

WARNINGS - Bad Habits and Rough Sex, Angsty and Dark AF. 

DESCRIPTION -  Everybody in the world knew of you, but not who you really were. Some called you a vigilante, some called you a criminal and some called you a hero but all of them called you The Phantom. Only two people knew your real identity and they swore to never tell anyone but when The Avengers need to infiltrate a high-security facility, Bruce Banner deduces that you’re the only one who can pull it off. That decision puts you and Bucky Barnes on a path you can’t turn back from, even if neither of like where it’s leading.

Chapter One - Perks Of Being Dead

When The Avengers entered the briefing room there was already someone there. She was young, stunning and made the hair on the back of Bucky’s neck stand up.

He was trained to look for details, to see past the obvious and look for potential threats and weaknesses. His eyes roamed over you, taking in everything. At first glance, you seemed like a little rich girl who thought too much of herself and nothing more but simmering below the surface was so much more.

Your expensive high heels were well worn on the soles, but not so much they needed to be replaced. Your clothes were all tailor fitted except the cashmere cardigan wrapped around you. You were rich yes, but not spoilt. You wore your favorite shoes often and favored comfort over fashion.

The way you held yourself oozed confidence, from your casual leaned back position in the chair to your legs crossed at the ankle. But you weren’t posing or flashing yourself off. You weren’t the most conventionally attractive woman in the world, though not ugly by any stretch of the imagination. You sat in a way that let people see as much or as little of you as they chose, indicating that you didn’t care either way. Confident but not egotistical.

“I think you’re in the wrong room.” Bucky said, forgoing a polite greeting.

“No, I’m not.” You responded, almost dismissively.

“Miss King, you’re the heir to King Inc, the global tech and weapons company?” Sam asked and Bucky frowned.

He hadn’t heard of you or the company but judging by the reactions of everyone in the room he was the only one in the dark.

Tony chose that moment to sweep into the room and you smirked at him.

“Mr Snark.” You said with faux politeness.

“Well if it isn’t my favorite hot mess.” He said back with equal fervor.

You grinned and stood up, hugging him.

“So why have you summoned me?” You asked him.

“That was me, I asked you to come.” Bruce said, rushing into the room.

Your expression softened as you embraced the scientist warmly and to Bucky’s surprise, the normally nervous and timid man embraced you back.

His mind immediately spun through the possibilities. Were you a relative? You didn’t look like one but that didn’t rule it out.

“We have a security issue, as in security we need to get through. We need access to Hydra files but we don’t want them to know that we know what they are up to. We need a quiet way inside their system, without them noticing we were ever there.” Bruce explained, getting straight to the point.

“So you want me to break through Hydra’s cyber system?” You asked with what Bucky swore was relief.

Well that piqued his curiosity.

“If you don’t mind?” Bruce asked.

“She’d be happy to.” Tony cut in and you raised a brow at him.

Everybody waited impatiently while you and Stark had a mini stare off.

“What am I missing here? How is, no offense, a socialite going to help us break into Hydra?” Sam asked.

“None taken, and as well as being a pampered little princess I happen to be an excellent hacker. The best in fact.” You grinned.

“Debatable.” Tony coughed.

“How many times have I hacked your systems Snark? Twelve?”

“Thirteen I believe.” Friday interjected.

“Miss King is extremely talented, if anyone can get in it’s her.” Bruce added.

“So you’ll do it.” Natasha said and it wasn’t a question.

“I have some spare time, why not? Friday, you going to help me out with this?”You asked.

“Of course Miss King, it will be a pleasure to work with you again.”The AI responded.

“You’re only saying that because I’ve been inside you.”You said with a wicked smirk.

“Yet you still haven’t bought me dinner.”Friday sarked back.

“Ohhh, Minx.”You sassed back.

“Hey, no, stop flirting with my AI! And Friday, stop flirting back!” Tony admonished you.

“I’m going to need a lot more information about what I’m looking for.” You informed them, waving off Tony’s protests.

“I’ll show you what you need shall I?” Tony said and gesturing to the door.

“I’ll do it.” Bruce said quickly, standing up.

“It was nice to meet you all, seriously, I’m a big fan of The Avengers. Except for Iron Man, that guy is overrated.”You said, waving at them as you left.

“Says the B-List Kardashian.” Tony retorted, raising his voice so you could hear him as you walked away.

“Weak, you’re losing your edge Snark.” You called back.

The Avengers immediately launched into Tony with a verbal interrogation about who you were, how Bruce and Tony knew you and whether you could be trusted.  

“A hacker? Really? I can barely switch my computer on, that’s why I just leave it in sleep mode.” You said to Bruce as he led you away.

“Sorry, we had to tell them something. It wasn’t a complete lie though, you can bypass all their security. And Stark’s.” He said with an apologetic shrug.

“Perks of being The Phantom Brucey. Perks of being dead.”

Eighteen Months Ago

He had just put his hand on the car door handle when someone came up behind him.

“Dr Banner?”

“Oh, uh hello. Can I help you?” He said, turning round to look at you with a nervous and suspicious frown.

“I’m Miss King, my father is Alexander King of King inc.” You said, offering your hand.

“I know your father, he’s a very smart man.”Bruce said, trying to find a compliment.

“Not as smart as you Dr Banner, I believe you are the worlds leading expert in Gamma Radiation?”

“I’m something of an expert but I’m very busy with other things and I’m already working with Stark Industries.”He said politely.

“I’m not trying to recruit you, well not for my father’s company. I need your help. The company is building something, something big and my father and my uncle have been acting weird for months now. Can you just look at these? Please?” You said, pulling a bunch of papers out of your bag and handing them to Bruce.

He pulled his glasses out of his shirt pocket and put them on, flicking through the papers. His expression got paler and paler until he looked up at you, horrified.

“These readings are...”

“Bad?”You supplied.

“Ionizing Radiation, Electromagnetic Radiation and Gamma Radiation readings are all off the charts. Where did you get these?” He asked.

“I knew something wasn’t right but I couldn’t find a reason to get into that section the facility so I bribed one of the techs to take a radiation detector inside, hidden in his suit. Yesterday he quit the company and moved to Japan... Apparently. I can’t get a hold of him.” You explained.

“Alright, you did the right thing bringing this to me. Where is this facility?” He asked.

You looked uncomfortable and scared.

“The facility is in Upstate New York. I stole an ID card from one of the scientists on the project and I can get you in the building. But the security systems are all biometric.” You told him.

“We can find a way in, don’t worry about that. You’ve done more than enough Miss King.”

“You can’t though, you can’t just break in. If my uncle finds out...”

“Your uncle is?”

“Secretary Of State. Thaddeus Ross.”

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

“Explain to me again why we’re sneaking in, with the help of a civilian?” Tony asked as they trudged through the woods surrounding the King Facility.

“Ross is up to something and if we kick down the doors he’ll know we know about it. And find a way to use the accords to make us pay for it.” Bruce explained, again.

“Hey.”

“Jesus Christ, what are you some kind of horror movie killer?” Tony asked, jumping at your sudden appearance.

“If I was, would I tell you?” You retorted.

“Nice to see you again Princess.” Tony said, smirking at you.

“You two know each other?” Bruce asked.

“We’ve met at various functions and parties. Princess is the new me according to the press.” Tony smirked.

You rolled your eyes. You were the only child of a multi-billionaire, set to inherit the company one day if you could dispense of your partying ways and the press liked to call you the Millennial Tony Stark.

“Can we just go? I want to get this over with.” You told them.

You led them to a side entrance, past Scully, the security guard who always fell asleep at his post after eating. You’d personally delivered a box of doughnuts to him twenty minutes prior. You held your finger up to your lips to indicate silence to the two men and Tony rolled his eyes at you.

“I know how to be stealthy, princess.”He whispered.

“Really? I thought you always liked to make an entrance.” You whispered back and Bruce smirked at the little exchange.

“Touche.”

Tony did something with his phone and the red lights on the security camera’s flickered off. The entrance door looked like nothing more than a normal door but you knew better. You placed your palm on a seemingly random brick on the wall which lit up and another section of the wall opened to reveal a retinal scan.

Once you were done you pulled your hand back opened the door.

“We’ve got it from here Miss King, you should leave.” Bruce warned you and you nodded, passing him the pilfered access card.

“The code is 269212. Good luck.” You told them.

Bruce nodded and Tony mock saluted you as they slipped through the door, closing it behind them. You counted to ten and opened it again, following them.

You had to know what your father was doing, you couldn’t just let them go without you so you silently followed them through the suspiciously empty halls.

Where the hell was everyone? Maybe it was just luck that the facility was empty, maybe it was a sign that this was going to go well.

You peered around the corner to watch Tony swipe the card through the door the west wing of the facility and darted out to stop it closing behind them. You popped your head through the door and slipped through, ducking behind a pillar before they could spot you. You followed them through the room, hiding behind pillars or filing cabinets so they didn’t turn around and see you.

The room was huge and strangely warm. You wiped the rapidly forming sweat off your brow as you ducked out of your current hiding place to get a better look at the large metal circular chamber in the dead centre of the room.

The two superhero’s were huddled over a computer screen and discussing something agitatedly but you couldn’t hear what. You had to get closer.

You tiptoed as close as you dared, ducking behind a desk to listen in. What you heard made your blood run cold.

“When that bomb goes off, and it’s going off Tony, the radiation is going to settle over New York and most of the state.” Bruce said.

“The reading are rising by the second, we shouldn’t even be in here. We’re going to need anti-radiation injections asap.”

“We’ve got minutes, not hours before this thing goes critical. The chamber is designed to contain the radiation, but the outer locks been broken. The only way to seal it is from the inside.”Bruce said heavily.

“I know what you’re thinking and no, this thing is Gamma radiated. We don’t know that the hulk can survive it or what it would do to you both if he did.”Tony snapped.

“One of us has to do it and I at least have a chance to survive. Millions will die if I don’t.” Bruce argued.

Tony opened his mouth to argue back when the two mens attention was drawn by the chamber door slamming closed and the lock clicking loudly. They rushed over to look through the small window on the door to see you stood inside.

“Princess, what the hell are you doing? Open this door right now, you’ll die in there.”

“My family built this, it has to be me.” You choked out.

The air was thick and there was no oxygen to be had. The glowing center of the chamber was so hot you were already drenched in sweat and your skin was quickly turning bright red. You were being cooked.

“Miss King if you don’t come out you’re going to die, the radiation will burn you up.” Bruce said through the glass.

“I have to do this, I brought you here to help, not to die.” You gasped.

Your skin was beginning to blister in front of your eyes and the pain was excruciating.

“Radiation levels rapidly rising!” Tony called to Bruce.

“Listen to me, we can still save you if you open the door.”

“It’s too late.” Tony said, just as your screams started.

“Listen to me, listen ok. You’re saving a lot of people, I’ll make sure they know you did that and your father will pay for this.”Tony swore, raising his voice so you could hear him.

The light was blinding him and he had to back away from the chamber. Your screams were bone chilling and Tony and Bruce felt sick.

The pain was like nothing you had ever experienced and all you could do was scream as smoke started curling off of your skin. The last thing you saw was your right hand vaporizing.

Present Day

“You’re not dead.” Bruce admonished.

“I kinda am Bruce.” You rebutted as he led you into his lab and forced you to sit down.

He pulled something out of a drawer and came over to you and you saw it was a stethoscope. He put the eartips in your ears and held the cold metal bud to your chest.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

“Your heart is beating, you’re alive.” He said kindly.

“Yeah, but I died. I literally burned alive, I was vaporized. And now I can walk through walls, I can disappear. I’m a ghost. I’m dead.”

“You aren’t dead.”

“Am so.”

“No, you’re changed. The radiation changed you on a molecular level, we’ve discussed this.”He argued.

“Have I started aging again? Or am I still frozen the way I was when I died?” You asked him.

He sighed and pulled his glasses off, shooting an annoyed look at you.

“Do we have to have this argument every time?” He asked.

“Fine, we’ll agree to disagree. Gimme the information I need to kick Hydra’s ass.” You said.

“Sneak in quietly and steal information...”

“Same thing.”

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

“Romanov.” Bucky said, getting Natasha’s attention before she left the room.

“Google her. Everything about her life is on Wikipedia. You don’t need me to do any digging to find out for you” She said, smirking at him and walking away.

“What about her secrets? Like the fact that she’s a world class hacker?” Bucky asked, catching up to the redhead.

“I’ll let you know when I find out more.” Natasha said begrudgingly.

“So you're suspicious of her as well?”

“I’m suspicious of everybody.”

So was he. He was extremely suspicious of you though, something about you just didn’t sit right with him and he was determined to find out why.

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

This was pretty much taking over my brain and I wanted to get it written out before I forgot it and then I realized there was no reason to wait a week to post it.... So here you are my children, The Phantom Origins.

I'd love to know what you think of this, it's quite a different type of thing to my other stories. Different style, different focuses. I can ditch it if you don't approve though.

You can ask to be added to or removed from tags at any time folks, just comment or inbox :D @lifewanderer @drdorkus @gravedollie666 @sadsoldat @bigplantdaddy @moodyruth @likes-to-smell-books @shirukitsune @inquisitor-selvala@brownlee-22 @myfandomlife-blog @markusstraya @adeleoctobre @vajeenparty @sexyvixen7  @love-nakamura  @buckitybarnes @littledeadrottinghood @pinkisokay @jsmith509 @brownlee-22 @angieptt  @thosesexytexasboys @liveonce-sodoitright @tarastudiesalot @spnrvt @dahkness @dilaila95 @uuuuuuuuggggghhh

#hattersmarvelverse #Bucky x Reader #Bucky Barnes #Bucky Smut #Bucky series #Bucky fic. Bucky Barnes #The Winter Soldier #Winter Soldier x Reader #Smutty Bucky #Dom Bucky #Hate Sex #Fuck Buddies #Slow Burn

[siamcomputing]

Have you ever wondered how mobile apps have changed our lives drastically?

Waking up to a morning alarm, catching up daily news, having a chit-chat with a long-distance friend, ordering a quick bite, booking tickets for the weekend party, maintaining your to-do lists, binge-watching your favorite series, checking your email and quickly following up with a project, monitoring your sleep time — you have exclusive mobile apps to pull all these off and accomplish a lot more.

Mobile apps have become part and parcel of our daily routines. A day without these mobile apps is uninteresting, boring, and like going back to stone ages. The trends in the mobile app sphere are changing on a daily basis and advancing rapidly with a focus to leverage technology to ease our lives and businesses.

If you are looking forward to launching mobile apps for your business, it is crucial that you need to be aware of the contemporary trends in mobile app development. In this article, we will walk you through the latest trends and developments in the app technologies so that you can develop an app that is future-ready.

What follows is a list of most recent and top nine trends in mobile apps that you need to know:

#1 Reality is more fascinating than fiction when it is augmented [AR]

AR that stands for augmented reality isn’t a new terminology for technology enthusiasts. It is researched that the market for the AR-powered mobile apps will hit $209 Billion by 2021. Augmented reality lets your app give more real-like experiences to your users. AR is a kind of technology where computer-generated elements and models are superimposed on real-world elements to give a stunning and composite experience to the users. This augmented reality has been on its booming curve since recent years, especially in the gaming and entertainment industries. You can leverage augmented reality to offer unique and compelling digital experiences to your customers and interact with them in a memorable way.

#2 Accelerated mobile pages that accelerate your performance

It’s been more than three years since Google started giving a high-preference to mobile-friendly webpages in indexing and ranking. Accelerated mobile pages, often abbreviated as AMP is a technology used to decrease the website’s load-time on mobile devices. This has taken the mobile design industry by storm and resulted in webpages that are lightweight and load quickly. Now, mobile apps are also adapting to AMP technologies and gearing up to faster, smooth, and seamless page loads. Make sure your app pages have a decent AMP score because AMP-enabled mobile apps go a long way in decreasing the bounce rate and increasing the user retention rate.

#3 Get all things done with Internet of Things (IoT)

From the time Internet used to be a luxury to today where it has become an absolute necessity, the rate of its growth has only been astounding. The future of the Internet is more than exhilarating. Internet of things (IoT) refers to interconnecting all the objects and things around us via Internet with computer-embedded smart devices to enable remote operations from anywhere any time.

The IoT devices are majorly operated, accessed, and controlled on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets and a lot of IoT-based mobile apps are being developed these days. The concept of IoT is definitely here to stay and mobile apps can’t envision their future without leveraging IoT.

#4 From chat to call, Artificial Intelligence does it all [AI]

The scope of incorporating new-age technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and natural language processing (NLP) in mobile apps has widened like never before. AI-powered apps like Google Assistant have raised the bars and set really high standards. The percentage of mobile apps that use AI has increased drastically in 2020.

Big players like Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and IBM are investing a huge chunk of dollars on Artificial Intelligence. AI-powered mobile apps make use of advanced analytics, cognitive interfaces, and intuitive dashboards to deliver data-driven insights and insight-based actionable items to its business users.

#5 M-commerce becoming the new eCommerce

Mobile devices have redefined online shopping experiences to a large extent in the last couple of years. From adding items to the shopping cart to integrating seamlessly with the payment gateways, there are mobile apps that provide comprehensive shopping interfaces end-to-end. Payment apps like Google pay and Apple pay are replacing conventional debit/credit card payments and preferred by customers for their ease of use and transactions. The future of apps is flourishing and promising with m-commerce integration. Thus, developers need to make it a point that their apps are scalable and m-commerce enabled.

#6 Cloud-based mobile platforms gonna rain cats and dogs

Cloud storage comes with a plethora of benefits and cloud systems cater to a broad set of users ranging from non-technical users, business users, tech-savvies, and hi-end professionals. From small-medium enterprises to mom and pop start-ups, a lot of businesses depend upon the cloud storage applications. This opens up great platforms for mobile-based cloud storage applications that are handy, flexible, and scalable. Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, Microsoft storage are familiar cloud storage platforms used by numerous businesses. App developers need to learn and equip themselves to meet the humongous need of developing cloud-based apps that are going to be the order of the day.

#7 Safety and security is not an option

While technological advancement and growth have opened up the doors of innovation wider like never before, there’s a grey side to it too. The threat to security and data privacy has become a major reason to feel unsafe online. Towards the end of 2019 and the onset of 2020, the digital users’ community has become highly sensitive and more vocal to the security-related issues. The apps that are going to pass the test of the time are the ones that enforce a transparent mechanism in place to ensure safety, reliability, and data protection.

App developers need to understand the safety concerns and adopt foolproof mechanisms to prevent issues like insecure storage, privacy violation, data breach, inappropriate use of personal identifiers, and unsafe deployment.

#8 Let bots do all the chatting

Twenty years ago, if someone told us we can send unlimited free SMSes using cellular data, we must have ridiculed them. But apps like WhatsApp made it true and possible. Likewise, it should be hard to believe now that in another couple of years bots are going to take care of handling customer service, ticketing, and sales interaction completely.

Apps that have pre-programmed guidelines and logics to dictate the bots to choose appropriate and customized reply messages will take over communication all over the digital space. This replaces real-time communication and facilitates instantaneous, seamless, and effective communication without human intervention. It is expected that by the end of 2021, 85% of communication between customers and service providers will be taken care of by chatbots. App developers need to cope up with this most amazing trend to survive the competitive storm and provide unique and interactive conversational experiences to their users.

#9 On-demand apps are the next big things

As the very name reads, on-demand apps connect service providers and customers to those who have needs. Providing taxi services on-demand, delivering food on demand, running an errand on demand, rendering a babysitting service on demand, etc. are examples of providing services on demand via mobile apps.

The on-demand app market has made the Internet space a more open and democratic medium where service providers and customers interact with each other directly and effectively, thus empowering both the ends. These apps make it very easy for a customer to avail services on the go, in the blink of an eye. A lot of organizations have shifted their focus to adapt their business to an on-demand app model. It is studied that over 80 Million Americans make use of these on-demand services more frequently.

These mobile app trends are only glimpses of the future whereas, the actual and real future is more fun, interesting, mindblowing, and exhilarating. Technology enthusiasts can’t wait to see these trends get real, spread wide, and become a thing of commoners. When you hire a mobile app developer, you must ensure that they are up to date with these trends.

Follow this space to stay in the know of the latest advancements in mobile apps. This helps you leverage technology to upgrade your apps to current trends, beat the competition, and reach your customers better. For a free consultation on how to upgrade your apps to the recent trends, write to us at [email protected].

At Siam computing, we help you deliver a remarkable mobile app experience to your customers. We provide mobile app development services that use the most advanced technologies and platforms. With the best app developers company, we ensure that the apps that we deliver are unique, best-performing, high-tech, and up-to-date.

In the next chapters, we will get you a handy checklist that you need while choosing the freelancer/company to develop your app.

#Siam Computing #mobile app developer

[sporkst]

Something more

Pairing : Peter Parker x Reader

Word Count : 3.3k

Warnings : Fluff

Summary : You and Peter planned to go to the craft store to get supplies but you didn’t plan to leave with a tense feeling between you two.

(GIF not mine, credits to owner for their work)

***

“See, that is why we should go to my classic lakehouse. Everyone here would clearly enjo-”

“How many times do I have to tell you Steven. We are going to my beach house.”

Everyone in the room just froze still as their eyes flickered back and forward between Tony and Steve in their “heated” argument about where the team should go for their first out of three summer vacations. They also had the same thought in their heads “Who cares?”

In the midst of their quarreling, Peter raised his hand with caution, as if he would be targeted next.

“So what if you have fish in your lake? The ocean has plenty of fish… Yes, Peter?” “Uhm, when is this happening?”

The two men in front of everyone had just come to a realization : they just spent the last twenty minutes arguing only in regards to the venue. Nothing else. “Oh. We should focus on that since that seems like something we could actually make progress with.” “Agreed.” The two said.

“Well, I guess next week Wednesday should be good.” Peter was about to raise his hand again when you patted him on his shoulder to call his attention. He lowered his hand and also lowered his ear to you. “It’s okay, we can just go to the mall ahead of time to buy our stuff.” Peter looked at you before nodding in response. You and Peter had planned that day to get materials for your good friend, Ned’s ,birthday gift. Seeing as their vacation was a mild threat to your plans, you two decided to just work with it rather than starting from square one.

With that said, more people started to talk and give their inputs about the event, some laughs and stares occasionally going around. At last, the meeting has concluded. Everyone had a firm  grasp of what was happening, except for the venue. Tony and Steve were still going to debate about that through rough sex or something.

You and Peter walked out together with his hands in his pockets and your hands on your phone. “So, the mall opens earlier than usual next Wednesday due to its fourth year anniversary.” You said while scrolling through Google. “Why do malls celebrate anniversaries?” “No idea, but with that said, it opens at 8am and the craft store opens at 9. Therefore we shall wake up around 7:30 to get ready before heading off.”

“Sounds like a plan.” By the time you finished talking, you had arrived at the kitchen. You put your phone in your pocket as you opened the freezer to look for a popsicle. Except when you opened the door, Peter shoved his way in between you and the icy goodness and took the last (your favorite popsicle flavor) flavored one. You just stood there, obviously offended by his lack of decency and the fact he just stole your favorite flavor, in shock before slamming the door closed and running after your partner-in-crime. Him, not wanting to die, ran away as quickly as he can. Dodging you using the furniture spreaded around the floor.

Clint and Nat, witnessing the entire scenario unfold while leaning against the counter, chuckled furiously. “Man, they are so cute together.” “They’re dating right?” “No, actually.” Nat said with evident disappointment. “How?” “None of my business. Yet.”

***

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., what time is it?”

“It is currently twenty-three minutes past 7 in the morning, Miss Y/N.”

“Alright, thanks.” You thank the AI before squirming some more in your bed and getting up. You fall back onto your bed but you catch yourself with your elbows and launch yourself back up. After a short trip around your bed, you bend over to your nightstand so you could unplug your phone from your charger and call Peter.

“Mmph. Whad’ya want?” sleepy Peter greeted.

“Get up dum dum. We have to go to the mall.”

“But I wanna sleep.”

“Now.” you said demandingly. He finally gave in and ended the call before getting into the shower. You did the same and quickly got ready. Deciding today is not a day to necessarily dress up, you just threw on a pair of light jeans, matching socks, and a sweater you “stole” from Peter. He really didn’t mind you wearing his clothes, and you didn’t mind it either. You just found them really comfy. They also smelled good, as in really good. Plus, they looked nice on you so win, win?

You went to your phone to check the time : 8:02. You chuckled at yourself for getting ready faster than normal. You wrapped up your routine and headed to Peter’s room to check on him. Eventually, you’re at his room. Knock knock. No response. Knock knock knock. Still no response. “Peter? I’m coming in.” With that said, you opened the door to his room. Thank God he gave you access to his room in case you ever wanted to pop by. Looking at the room, it seems like he had just gotten up and is still in the shower.

With the free time you had, you walked around his room, admiring the little quirks of him that he displayed through his things. That’s when you arrived at his nightstand. His phone, wallet, and earphones there with the lamp. You bend over to open his phone when you hear a door open and a voice ring out to you.

“Y/N, w-what are you doing here?” Peter said, baffled on why on Earth would you be doing there yet at the same time, trying to seem dominant. You, clearly startled, spinned around to see your best friend shirtless with a towel wrapped around his waist, leaning against his bathroom door. To say he wasn’t even remotely attractive would be a lie, especially when he’s shirtless. You would never deny that but then, you wouldn’t even try to start a relationship with him even if he was this handsome as you were scared that all the effort you two had spent to become best friends might go down the drain because he wouldn't feel the same way. “W-what are you still doing here?” You blurted out. “I’m still getting ready because it’s really early and we don’t leave until around 8:45.” He had a point. “Alright alright, whatever.” “You still didn’t answer my question Y/N.” “Well, am I not allowed to check up on you?” “Y-you could’ve called me.” “Do you not like my company Parker?” At this point, you’re lying down on his bed, questioning him with the energy he tried to press onto you.

You chuckled when he is left speechless, trying to make up a response but to no avail. “Haha. Alright. I’ll go ahead and make us breakfast.” You said before standing and walking to his door. Before fully disappearing, you look back through his doorway to see him still in the same position. You gave him a quick smile, to which he returned before you closed the door. You kept smiling when you walk to the kitchen thinking about what a friendship you have with Peter and how it’d be a shame and a burden to you if you messed it up.

“Y’know, I still wanted to go the your lakehouse. I’m not big fan of sand.”

“Well, I guess I just gave in and let him take this month’s trip.” “I still don’t get it. If you two were so furious fighting over the destination before, why did you just—? Woah, Y/N. Looks like someone’s having a good morning.”

You walk in the kitchen, still smiling at your encounter, to see Nat and Steve talking. They see you smiling so they obviously question you about it. “What do you mean? What’s out of the ordinary?” “We can see you smiling like a preschooler. Tell us, what happened this morning.” Steve presses the topic onto you whilst adjusting his posture against the counter. “Fine. I guess I have time to talk with my uncle and aunt.” You gave in, whilst you plopped bread into the toaster. “Don’t call us that, sweetie.” “Right, sorry.”

You started to explain what happened a few minutes back at Peter’s room whilst you prepare scrambled eggs for you and Peter. “And, he wasn’t answering so I just entered his room and snooped around a bit when he just came out of the shower. And not to say he isn’t attractive when he really is would be a lie.” You pretty much laid down your thoughts as Steve helped you to beat the eggs whilst Nat just watched you explain. “Sounds like you’re pretty into him, Y/N.” Steve blatantly said. “I mean, I am but I don’t want to ruin whatever we already have right now when I admit my feelings for him and get rejected or when our relationship doesn’t work out.”

“Personally, I’m not very good at love but I think you should just go for it.” Nat said as she approached you and put her hands behind your neck, giving you reassurance. “Mmhm. Plus, you never know until you try.” With their advice you felt a bit confident about admitting your feelings for him soon. Soon. “Thanks you guys. Also, please don’t tell anyone else about this. I don’t want this being a huge thing.” “Oh, don’t worry. Our lips are sealed.” Nat said as she zipped her lips shut. “Alright, these eggs are beaten and seasoned. Come on, before Spider-boy comes around”

***

Walking inside the craft store was a fever dream, smelling the fake eucalyptus and fabric. “Alright we’re looking for a globe, some chalk paint, silver spray paint, and chalk. Everything else seems like things that’d be at a beach house.” “Y/N, are you sure we’ll be able to pull off this death star?” “I mean, if you don’t screw up anything then yes.” Peter grabs a basket for you two before following you as you grab the things you need off their shelves and place them into your basket.

Everything was smooth sailing until you had to get your globe. Apparently, they placed them on a shelf that’s a bit higher for you or Peter to reach. “Well, maybe we could get someone else to reach it for us?’ You suggest before Peter quickly replies with “Or I could just” before he hands you the basket and webs a random globe and pulls it into his hand. “Yeah, we could do that instead.” You turn to face him and he puts the globe into the basket. You stare up at him with eagerness to go checkout and drive to the beach house. “So, let’s go?” He looks down at you and stares you down as well. “Y-Yeah, let’s do it.” He smiles as he examines your face up close. He admired you a lot. He thought you were funny. He thought you were pretty and it’s these moments when you were so close to him that he could truly admire your features. You seem to do the same as well. You also smile with such naiveness in your face. After a couple of seconds, Peter feels his head slowly going down to yours more. Yours follow his movements and move up to meet his in a slow yet naive kiss. He puts one of his hands behind your back and you move the basket to the side as you two take your time as your lips move in sync to each other. Bzzz.. Bzzz.. Your phone rings in your pocket before you press your freehand against his chest and gently push him away.

Peter looks down at you with embarrassment and shock on his face before turning away and placing his hands in his pockets. “Yes, hello?” You answer, also looking away. “Hey, Y/N. I’m just calling since I forgot to return your charger from last night. Do you want me to bring it to you later?” “Mhm, yes please. Thanks for remembering” “No problem sweetie. Alright, you two have fun, I’ll go ahead. See you.” “See you soon, auntie.”

After receiving a groan from the other end, your call ends and you put your phone back into your pocket and walk over to Peter, who moved to the end of the aisle. “Let’s actually go now?” You cooed. He nodded and you two checked out, exchanging no words. Even in the car, as Peter focused on the road, you focused on your phone. Normally, you would talk about anything but thanks to your stunt awhile ago, that wasn’t happening. Eventually, after what seemed an eternity, Peter pulled up at the parking space of Mr. Stark’s beach house. It was stunning, you must admit but you couldn’t bear to really admire it while still thinking of your iffy.

Peter handed you your luggage and the things you bought before walking in, still without saying anything except for you who muttered a thanks when he handed you your things. What trip so far.

***

Dinner was overall fun, minus the tension between you and Peter that Nat didn’t let go unnoticed. After helping clean up, she approached you and draped her arms over your shoulders from behind. “Hey Nat. What do you want?” “What do you mean what do I want?” You two chatted while walking to the living room. “Well, you wouldn’t be bugging me like this without a reason.” “What reason?” You leaned your head to your side to look at her, with a smile on her face. “Fine, outside.” She remarks before letting you go and turning to walk to the outdoor area. You slowly follow behind. You enter the area and close the sliding doors behind you. “Alright, what is it?” You turn and say, knowing well that she’s going to ask about you and Peter. “What do you mean ‘what is it?’. I could tell that something’s off with you and your man candy awhile ago.” Yep. You sigh, leaning against the glass door. “Well, something happened. Between.” You state, creating gestures to try to make your explanation more valid. “Wouldn’t that be a good thing? Unless it was really awkward.” She mentioned which made you look down in contemplation. “And it was the latter?” She added, to which you nodded. Feeling bad, she walked to you and pulled you in for an hug. “Do you wanna talk about it?” “No..” You muttered. “Can I give you advice?” “Sure..”

“Go. Talk. To. Him. You two need to sort this out. You may be scared but you need to get it over with. Alright?” You nodded in response. “Okay. Let’s go back inside. I heard Tony will play movies later so let’s get ready for that.”

***

The next morning, you woke up pretty early. Early enough that you had a gut feeling that you were the first person up. Wrong or right, you got up from where you slept on the sofa after the team’s movie marathon and went to the kitchen to grab a snack. Speaking of snacks, Peter happened to be sitting on a barstool next to the island with his head down. Seems like he was eating a cookie. Something in you just sparked at that moment. You knew this could be the opportunity to sort things out. “Morning, Parker.” You greeted after talking to yourself on how you would confront him. He tilted his head up to look at you but returned back to his previous state. You walked to the fridge to grab a cereal bar and then approached Peter. You got up onto a stool next to him and looked down. With a sigh you broke the silence. “Hey Pete… Wanna. Go for a walk maybe?” He peeked once again. God, how much he loved your smile. Your voice. Your attitude. Everything. “When?” He finally spoke, this time his voice is more raspy than you’re used to hearing. Sure, you’ve heard it this way before but this was beyond what you’ve ever heard from him. “How about now? How does that sound?” You said in a friendly comforting manner. It was clear in your voice that you wanted to spend time with him. “But, we’re wearing pajamas.” “So? I don’t see anything wrong with that. Do you?” God, he hated how he could never say no to you. After not much internal conflict, he gave in and got off the stool. You smiled and got off too, bringing your bar with you. You handed him his cookie which he seemed to have forgot. He took it took a bite of it and continued to walk towards the shore.

In not much time, you two ended up walking on the shore in your pj’s. The morning breeze being cold but not too cold. The sun beautifully peeking over the horizon. Everything was beautiful. You had imagined you and Peter spending time together in this setting but right now, that was out of the picture. Occasionally, you would look to your side to see Peter still in the same state he has been. What could have he been thinking? Was he hoping you’d do something? Was he thinking of what to do? So many thoughts could’ve been in his mind and normally you’d know what he’d be thinking but now, you ended up empty handed.

In the midst of your silence, you knew that if you wouldn’t do something, you would’ve been better off preparing breakfast for the team than doing this. You had to do something. “Peter.. Uhm.” You tried to make words but it was a struggle. “We should talk about what happened.. You know. Yesterday.” You felt like you were choking while trying to make words but you managed. “Y-Yes. We should.” “So, how do you wanna start this? Do you wanna, I don’t know.” You tried to get the ball rolling but failed miserably. After a good couple of seconds, Peter inhaled and paused. You kept walking for a bit before noticing he has come to a stop. You slowly turn around and he speaks “Y/N, I really really like you. So much. I just don’t know how to express it because we’re best friends. I don’t want to lose my best friend because you’re amazing, you’re beautiful, and literally everything to me and if I lose you, I wouldn't know what I’d do—” You put your hands on his cheeks and caressed them. “Peter, me too. I really like you too. I feel the same way. One hundred percent.” He smiled a smile that only came through during special occasions. The joy pumping through both of your veins is just immeasurable. Soon, he pulled you into a hug. You nested your head beside his neck as he caressed the back of your head. In no time, you two started to kiss. It wasn’t sudden. It wasn’t uncomfortable or awkward. It was full of passion and gratefulness. You were so glad you had him in your life and he was the same way. He pulled you closer from the waist while you kept your arms wrapped around his neck. You wished it would never end but you two were still human. You needed air. Eventually, you pulled back and both of you took deep breaths before hugging again. He planted a kiss on your temple. “Alright, let’s head back. They might wonder where we are and we might have some major explaining to do.” Peter spoke to you as he pulled you away and turned both of you around so that you’d be heading back to the beach house. He placed his arm behind your neck and pulled you close. “I love you Y/N.” “I love you too Peter.”

“See, it’d eventually be my business.” Nat said to Clint before pulling the binoculars off her eyes. “Whatever.”

*****

A/N : I’m planning to write smut soon so if you guys wanna see how Tony convinced Steve to let the team go to the beach house then please let me know! Hope you guys enjoyed whatever this was :))

#peter parker #peter parker x reader #tom holland #tom holland x reader #Avengers #peter parker fluff #tom holland fluff #natasha romanoff #spiderman #spiderman x reader #peter parker one shot #marvel #marvel cinematic universe

[takadasaiko]

Second Chances, Chapter Fourteen

FFN II AO3

Summary: Tony rushes to save Morgan and Howard, Peter talks to Fury, and Tony is left to make a decision of his own. 

Chapter Fourteen

The Parker boy had shoved them in a storage closet and demanded that they stay put before slamming the door in his face. Howard had been ready to fling it right back open, letting the punk teenager know that he wasn't afraid of some trumped up, wannabe Hydra bots flying around. He could be useful. He could find a way to deactivate them, or fight them, or… The mental list had slammed to a stop at the look on his granddaughter's face as she clung to his hand, genuinely terrified. And suddenly his worth didn't matter. For the first time in his life he knew that was true. Protecting that little girl was it. For Tony. For her. For the family he was getting to know that he would have to lose. It wasn't about him. It was about them.

It didn't take long for the door to slam inward and Morgan screamed. Howard swept her up in his arms as he darted to the side and into the hallway, the bot right behind them.

Morgan clung to him, arms wrapped around his neck like she was determined that he could protect her. And why wouldn't she believe that he could? Her father would be able to. Howard should be able to. A blast hit at his feet, ripping the concrete floor up and sending him stumbling. He managed to land on his side rather than on top of her, the breath knocked out of him as he did, and she scrambled to her feet first. Howard looked in horror as she reached forward with one of those silly little gloves that she wore that she seemed to think would do something. "Stop, or be incinerated!" she demanded with the determination only a five-year-old could muster.

Howard stumbled to his feet, dragging her behind him and out of the way of the blast that would have killed her. He looked back, finding only a solid wall behind them, and turned dark eyes back to the bot. "Okay… I'm sure your creator can hear me, right? Maybe. If so, you're making a big mistake. I can make you a wealthy man. You just have to let us go."

The bot raised its arm, the palm glowing and Howard steeled himself. This was it. This was how he was going to die.

A loud crash drew his attention and he watched as a streak of red and gold slammed through the roof and into the bot, destroying it in one hit. The suit - one just like he'd seen in the garage - came to a stumbling, skidding landing.

"Daddy!" Morgan squealed and she sprinted around Howard before he could stop her.

Thankfully, the helmet of the suit snapped back to reveal Tony and he dropped to a knee to meet her. "Hey you," he said breathlessly as Morgan wrapped her arms around his neck. "You're okay. We're okay. Everybody's okay."

The little girl was wailing by this point and Howard winced, shifting where he stood. "Are they…?"

Tony looked up, two sets of nearly identical brown eyes meeting. "Yeah. That was the last one."

"Lucky us, we got it," Howard huffed.

"I tried to protect Howard, but he wouldn't let me," Morgan told her father between gulps and sniffles.

"Yeah?" Tony's gaze didn't leave him, almost like the question was being directed at him. "You protected her."

"Well, I wasn't gonna let 'em get her," Howard answered awkwardly, running his hand along the back of his head. "She thought she could take them out with a glove."

Tony pressed a kiss to his daughter's cheek and stood, the movement stiff and slow. Howard watched as the suit opened up to let him step out of it, and he was moving before he really registered that Tony was stumbling. He caught him, holding him up and he felt the man that would be his son sink against him, a strained breath leaving him. "Thank you."

"I didn't actually do much," Howard murmured as he eased the other man down to the floor in a controlled descent. Surprisingly enough, Tony didn't let go, and somewhere in there he realized that the desperate hold had turned into an embrace. His own fingers curled into the fabric of Tony's shirt and he swallowed hard. Okay. He could get used to this.

Morgan joined them, her little arms latched onto them both and Howard felt the smile tugging at him. He could definitely get used to this.

                                        _______________________

The expo was in chaos. Security had flooded the grounds, corralling people away and to safety. Pepper and Ms Carter has slipped away - Ms Carter so that she wouldn't be spotted by reporters and Pepper because she had no interest in broadcasting that she'd been the one in the Rescue suit if she could help it - which left Captain Rogers and Peter to help hold things down. SHIELD was arriving on-scene, theoretically there to provide support. In reality, they swooped in and shoved Doom into the back of a nondescript van. Peter's gaze swept the agents nervously for Fury.

"Pete! Pete! Pete!"

Peter was looking before he remembered that he was still fully decked out in his Spider-Man suit, but that didn't stop Morgan Stark from launching herself at him. A breath of relief rushed out of him as he caught her, pulling her close only for a moment before putting her back down. Just because her dad didn't mind the world knowing who he was didn't mean Peter wanted to broadcast it. "No one knows my name, remember?"

"I do."

"And gotta keep that secret," he told her, putting his finger against the mask over his lips.

Morgan mirrored the motion. "Right. Our secret."

"Right." He looked past her as she started for Uncle Steve and saw Mr Stark and his father making their way over, Mr Stark leaning on the other man. "Holy…. are you okay?"

His mentor looked over at the squeaked question and eased away from the other Mr Stark. "Yeah, I'm okay. More or less."

He was pale and shaking ever so slightly where he stood. If he listened, Peter could hear the way Mr Stark's breathing wasn't quite steady and how his heart still struggled to keep the right rhythm, the ARC reactor likely the only thing setting it straight. He looked terrible. "The suit," Peter breathed. They'd known, or at the very least they'd suspected. And they'd been right. "There are EMT's all around here. Let me —"

"Hey, kid. Breathe. Let them help the people that actually need it. You seen Pep?"

"I don't think she wanted the reporters to see her in the suit."

"Smart. She'd never shake them." He reaches around and clapped a hand to Peter's arm affectionately. "You did good, kid."

Peter mumbled his thanks and waited until Mr Stark had shuffled painfully away before swallowing hard. "Hey Karen? Is he really okay?"

"His read outs don't show that he's in immediate danger, but the Iron Man suit did a number on him," his own suit's AI responded, her tone almost sad.

"Okay. So he shouldn't do it again?"

"I would need a better diagnostic, but the data I have would indicate that prolonged use of the suit could do irreparable damage."

"Right. Okay. Right. I see SHIELD. Is Director Fury here?"

"He's by the hotdog stand."

He pulled in a steadying breath and risked one glance back at Mr Stark. If Peter had taken Fury up on his offer then maybe they would have been ready. Maybe this wouldn't have happened. He couldn't risk it happening again, because if people were in danger, Mr Stark was going to jump into action. That's who he was, even if it killed him. If he had someone to rely on, though, someone that would take care of the threat before it even happened, he could rest. He could be okay.

"Thanks, Karen," Peter mumbled as he shot a string of webbing out and took off towards the hotdog stand.

                                       _______________________

Every second felt like it was weighing on him. He had sent the suit back to the display and Howard had offered him a literal shoulder to lean on after the third time that Tony had tripped over nothing on their way back to the epicenter of the chaos. His father had had to step away - not far, Tony noted - when the reporters descended with every question under the sun about the attack. Who was he? Had he been apprehended? Was Iron Man back? Thankfully Pepper re-emerged to give him a breather and Tony presses a grateful kiss to her cheek as she took over.

"Why is it that all your expos get crashed?"

Tony turned at the sound of his best friend's voice, trying for a smile that turned a little lopsided. "You say all like there have been a lot of them."

"You're two for two, Tones," Rhodey chuckled. "Those aren't great odds."

The younger man reached out, Rhodey using the handshake to pull him into a hug. "We have a problem," he murmured clandestinely.

"And here I thought you were just happy to see me," Tony chuckled.

"Don't make this weird."

"You're the one going for the five minute hug in front of reporters." Rhodey finally released him, glaring a little despite Tony's grin. That smile slowly faded. "Okay. Really serious."

"SHIELD's here."

"I saw the vans."

"Fury came with them."

Dark brows drew together. "Did you see him?"

"Not personally —"

"What makes you think he's here?"

"A reliable source."

Tony waved him off. "Okay okay. So what? Fury's stretching his SHIELD legs again. Let him. I don't want to deal with the international incident. I want to wrap this up and go home."

"I don't think he's here for Doom, Tony."

"So who's he here for?"

Rhodey glanced around, looking entirely uncomfortable. "Parker."

It felt like someone had kicked him right in the gut. "What does Fury want with Peter?"

"I don't know."

"But you know something. How do you know? Who —?"

"Maria Hill."

Tony blinked hard. "Why would Hill tell you?"

Rhodey swallowed hard. "Because she was here with me."

The words were said in such a rush that it took Tony's exhausted mind a moment to piece them together. "You and Hill?"

"Don't make this a thing."

"Here together?"

"Tony…."

"On a date or what?"

His friend sighed. "There was a vibe, she got dusted, she came back, we've been seeing each other for a couple months. I wanted to see if it was going anywhere before opening it all up."

He shook his head like it would somehow expel the utterly bizarre thought of James Rhodes and Maria Hill dating out of his mind. He was going to have nightmares.

But that didn't matter right now. Pete meeting with Fury? That mattered. He reached up to his glasses. "FRIDAY, give me a location on Fury?" Security footage of Fury and Peter talking just a couple rows from where they were flashed across the glasses' interface and he started forward.

"Tony, you need me to —"

"No. I got it."

"But you're okay?"

"Yeah." He knew what Fury was there for. Why else would he approach a teenage superhero? He was recruiting the kid. Or making it look like he was to pull Tony out of retirement. That was more likely, and there was no way in hell Tony was just going to sit back and let the kid become Fury's personal, powered gopher.

"Hey, is that who it looks like?" Rhodes shouted after him, but Tony didn't stop. If he stopped he'd lose momentum, and it was amazing how well anger steadied his steps forward. He'd explain Howard later.

He wove in and around security, SHIELD agents, and police, any complaints instantly silenced as they recognized him. Even Maria Hill stepped aside, which left him with the bitter suspicion of a man that had been screwed around too many times by people he thought he could trust. "You better not be using him," he growled as he passed, his voice low enough that she was the only one that could hear.

She didn't answer and he didn't give her time to as he blew past, beelining for Fury and Peter who stood off to the side.

Hill must have tipped him off because, despite Tony's approach from his blind side, Fury turned to look at him. "Tony, give us just a moment here-"

"Cut the bullshit, Nick," Tony all but snarled and watched Peter pale where he stood.

"Mr Stark, I can —"

"I already know what's going on."

"He's just stepping up to fill the sizable gap you've left behind," Fury said, his tone easy.

"Drop the act. This was never about bringing him in. I wouldn't give you the time of day so you went for the kid. That's low, Fury."

"I do what him, but I want you too —"

"There it is."

"— and I'm willing to cut a deal with you that should get us both something we want. What do you say, Stark?"

"Mr Stark, I didn't -"

Tony felt his temper flare and he spun on the teen. "You didn't think. I'm well aware you didn't think, and now I'm cleaning it up."

"There's a threat out there," Peter managed, his voice sounding small next to Tony's own angry shout. "I didn't want you to get hurt again."

"That's not your call to make."

"And it's not yours to tell me I can't —"

"It most certainly is my call. You're sixteen. Hell, not even sixteen yet. Go home."

"I saw what that suit did to you out there. If you —"

"Go. Home." Tony willed his tired muscles not to shake, his shoulders squared and his head held high. He wouldn't budge on this one.

Peter looked like he might argue, but clenched his jaw tightly and nodded. His mask snapped back into place and he shot his webbing towards the nearest building and was gone. Tony reaches up to his glasses. "FRIDAY, have Karen make sure he gets there."

"You got it, Boss."

Once he was out of sight - out of immediate danger - the adrenaline rush tapered back, leaving him exhausted. He staggered and Fury's hand shot out to steady him. Tony shoved it away. "Drop the act, Nick. You just used that kid to get to me. Here I am, for all the good it'll do you."

"You always think you know exactly what's gonna happen," Fury chuckled.

"Could be because I keep calling it."

"Yes you do. I meant what I said, Tony. We can both win here. Have a seat before you fall over and let's talk."

                                       _______________________

It had been a long, long day, and the sun was setting by the time Happy had secured the helicopter to fly Pepper, Tony, Morgan, and Howard back out to the Stark cabin. No one spoke on the flight home. Howard watched the scenery fly by and Morgan curled between her parents, head in Pepper's lap and she was sound asleep shortly after they took off. It was Tony that Pepper was really worried about though. He was quiet, moody, and staring at the phone in his hand like he was thinking about calling someone. Who, she didn't know. He hadn't even told her where he'd disappeared to after the attack yet.

They landed and Pepper's immediate goal was to get their five-year-old upstairs and into bed. She hesitated at the distracted look Tony wore, but Howard waved her off, promising to take care of him until she got back downstairs.

Fifteen minutes, an argument over brushing teeth, and a quick bedtime story as a bargaining tool later, Pepper was making her way back down the stairs. Voices met her, soft and tired.

"I lost it on him." Pepper hesitated on the stairs, listening to her husband's strained voice.

"Sounds like he was about to make a deal with the devil with the way you described it," Howard answered.

"He's not…" She heard Tony's soft, mirthless laugh. "Peter just doesn't know what he's getting into with him. He was trying to help, but he doesn't get that him doing that behind my back… all it's going to do is put a target on him."

"So you were protecting him."

"Doesn't matter. I shouldn't have yelled. I always swore I wouldn't do what..."

"What your old man did?" There was a long pause and Pepper heard a chuckle so similar to the one Tony had just given. "You and me both." There was a deep sigh. "For what my opinion is worth, just watching you with Morgan and with the Parker kid these last couple of weeks… Well, you seem to be doing alright. Hell of a lot better than my father every was and, here's hoping, better than yours."

Pepper's lips tugged at the corners and she made her way down the rest of the stairs and into the living room where the two men sat on the couch, Howard with a glass of scotch in his hand and Tony with a mug of tea. "Hey," she greeted softly, pulling their attention around to her.

Tony's expression softened. "Hey, Pep."

"You about ready for bed?"

"Yeah," he managed, the single word sounding as exhausted as he looked. He turned back to Howard. "Thank you… for everything today. For…. everything."

Howard opened his mouth, grinning like he was about to say something flippant, but it immediately faded into what looked like a real smile. "Night, Tony." He glanced back. "Pepper."

"G'night, Howard," she offered and watched her husband stand unsteadily from his place before moving slowly to the stairs. "You okay?"

"Tired," he admitted softly as they made their way upstairs.

"You gonna tell me what happened or do I need to wait until morning?"

Tony paused at the foot of their bed, and his shoulders sagged. "Fury's been trying to recruit Peter."

Of all the things she might have expected, that wasn't one of them. "He's sixteen."

"Next month, yeah."

"He can't do that."

"I put the breaks on it, but there's no stopping Peter when he makes up his mind. Remember the whole thing with the weapons and the boat?"

"Yeah," she breathed, closing the gap between them. Tony hadn't turned and she wrapped her arms around him from behind, pressing a kiss between his shoulder blades and steeling herself for the answer to the question she didn't want to ask. "What are you doing about it?"

"Fury doesn't want him, or at least not just him."

"He wants you. Tony… Today proved you can't. He had to have seen it."

"He did. He's not asking me to suit up."

"Then what's he asking you to do?"

His hands found hers and he held on tight. "Bring the Avengers back together. Fund them, equip them. Take a, uh… non-combative role. Guy in the chair is what Peter would call it," he chuckled thinly.

"That's what you were trying to do when you signed the Accords. It didn't work out that way."

"I know."

She squeezed his hands and let go of him long enough to circle around and look him in the eyes. "Did you give Fury your answer?"

"I told him I needed to talk with you."

"Smart man."

"I've been told I have my moments. It bought me some time."

"That's something." She leaned in, her lips brushing his and she felt his hands settle on her hips. "I love you. I'm here if you need to talk it through."

"Pep…"

"It has to be your decision, though. I'll support you whichever way you go."

He squeezed his eyes closed and she thought they looked a little glassy in the dim bedroom light when he reopened them. "I got lucky."

"Boy, didn't you?" she teased, kissing him again. "I'm going to take a shower."

"You want some company?"

"You need to call Peter."

"Pep, it's late."

"Tony, he's a teenager. He's still awake. Don't let him go to sleep thinking you're angry at him." She turned before he could argue again and started into the bedroom. She didn't need to look back to know he was hitting the speed dial.

                                       _______________________

TBC

Notes: Do you ever write a story and manage to kick yourself in your own feels? Yeah.... I've got a thing for strained father-son relationships and breakthrough moments on those. This chapter was a lot of fun to write :D

So, there are going to be some lighter moments mixed in with the next chapter in the form of a movie night. I would love recommendations for what they should all watch. Movies and TV show recommendations welcomed XD

#Endgame fix it fic #Tony Stark #Pepper Potts #Peter Parker #Howard Stark #Morgan Stark #Nick Fury #Maria Hill #James Rhodes

[strawberry-dangancanons]

Sleep Aid

characters: hacker marin mizuta, astronomer seishi yodogawa, tsuki the cat robot

alternate universe: drrb talent gamble 

tw: nightmares, death mention, angst

word count: 1210

ao3 link: currently not avaliable!

while in that voice chat with @bpd-seishi last night, i said something about writing a nightmare/comfort fic involving the drrb death order that i managed to come up with!

but obviously, that did not happen.

instead, this fic was born because of my brain’s weird way of thinking and its impulses.

A sleepless night. 

These weren’t uncommon for Marin after the killing game ended. She just happened spent most of her time late at night in the basement, fingers often dancing across her laptop’s keyboard, as she worked on updates for Tsuki’s AI, programmed small mobile games to show off to the others, or hacked into the bank accounts of complete strangers to happen to be wealthy. 

Of course, the others didn’t know about the last thing. 

They couldn’t know about it. 

Marin let out a soft yawn as she stretched back in her swivel chair, proceeding to crack her knuckles in the process. She had just finished updating some code to improve the performance of Tsuki, and now she was about to go get something to eat before either actually attempting to get some sleep or working on something else. Rubbing the tiredness out of her eyes, the hacker then proceeded to leave her cozy seat and exit the basement. 

As she carefully made her way up the basement’s stairs, the TV from the living room came into view. The female quickly saw the DVD menu of what seemed to be an anime movie being displayed across the screen while the volume was significantly turned to low. Since practically everyone was asleep (including Akira, surprisingly) at that hour, Marin was quick to find out who was watching the movie so late: her fellow night owl friend. 

Seishi, curled up in a ball on the couch, was wrapped up in a blue blanket and cuddling a “sleeping” Tsuki close to his chest. He looked a lot like a cat, if Marin was being honest. His chest silently rose and fell with each breath he took, the steady rhythm of someone who was in the arms of deep sleep. A small giggle escaped from the hacker as she observed Seishi for a little longer. 

She then took a few steps away from the couch to leave the astronomer to sleep and to get a snack, but she was quickly stopped when a small, weak sound hit her ears. The noise punctured the air, ringing out like a gunshot. Marin froze in place, her attention quickly being drawn back to where her friend was sleeping. 

Seishi had managed to curl himself even further around Tsuki, and his mouth had tightened into a distressed frown. A second noise, louder than the last one, escaped the male. It was quickly followed by a hitching breath and a soft sniffle. As the hacker still observed him, she immediately noticed that Seishi’s frown deepened before he quietly cried out a wordless sound of fear and despair. 

Marin slowly made her way back to her friend’s side, immediately knowing what was going on. Seishi was obviously in the depths of a nightmare. Another noise escaped from the astronomer, and then a voice, which sounded so pained, so sorrowful, and so scared. Despite having to strain to hear it, Marin managed to hear exactly what Seishi had cried out in his nightmare plagued sleep.

“...St-stop it! Get a-away from-”

After he cried out those words, tears started to slowly stream down Seishi’s pale cheeks. At that point, Marin already knew what she had to do. She dropped to her knees beside the couch and carefully reached out, her hand resting on the male’s shoulder. She gave it a gentle shake, but it hardly did anything. Seishi remained asleep, and he only managed to let out a whimper.

“Sei Sei,” Marin’s voice slipped into a gentle tone as she gave the astronomer’s shoulder another small shake. “It’s okay. You’re just dreaming, Sei Sei. Wake up.”

A choked whine left Seishi as his eyes flew open, his gaze wild and unfocused as he lurched upwards. Heavy and panicked breaths escaped him while he frantically looked around the room. His eyes suddenly fell upon the hacker and the now awake and fully alert Tsuki. He stared at the two of them for a few moments, his gaze wary and full of fear. 

“There’s no need to fear,” The hacker offered him a reassuring smile to prove that she wasn’t a threat. “It’s just Big Sis and Tsuki-chan, see?”

As soon as he managed to hear her voice, Seishi’s gaze softened as his eyes began to water again. He slid himself off of the couch swiftly, also having Tsuki do the same, before he launched himself towards Marin and clumsily wrapped his arms around her. The astronomer  buried his face into Marin’s shoulder. He sobbed quietly into the fabric of her hoodie, and that immediately caused the hacker to hold him protectively close. 

The small cat robot behind the astronomer gently nudged him gently in an attempt to provide him comfort before she decided to pipe in, “Do you wanna talk about what you saw, Sei Sei? My various sources say that if you’re troubled, you should talk to someone!”

Desperately swallowing back a sob, Seishi gave a small, hesitant nod.

“T-Todoroki, s-she-” Before he could utter another word, his trembling voice was quickly cut off by an onslaught of more tears. 

Marin tensed when she heard the name of the former Super High School Level Otome Game Developer. Before she was executed for killing Saiji and Maiko, Aruma had openly confessed that she would’ve killed Seishi instead if he had been close enough. Of course, her reasoning for that is anything but pleasant. It was no wonder why his nightmare managed to scare him so badly, especially since it involved her. The hacker held the trembling astronomer in her arms even tighter while Tsuki proceeded to nuzzle against him gently. 

“It’s okay, Sei Sei,” Marin slowly began to rub Seishi’s back as he continued to cry into her hoodie. “She’s not here anymore, so she can’t hurt you. Big Sis is also here to protect you, so you don’t need to be afraid, okay?”

“And I’m here to protect you too, Sei Sei~!” Tsuki suddenly piped in again with an ever so chipper tone.  

Upon hearing the comforting words of both Marin and Tsuki, Seishi began to visibly relax more as he let out the last of his sobs. They slowly but surely were reduced into nothing but mere sniffles, and his hold on Marin became less stiff. He took in a shaky breath, attempting to even out his breathing, before a wave of exhaustion crashed over him out of the blue. Emotional breakdowns like that always managed to tire the absolute hell out of him. 

“Th-thank you, Mari and Tsuki-chan,” The astronomer slowly began to rub his eyes sleepily as a yawn escaped him. “Is it okay to, u-uhm, ask you to stay?”

“Sei Sei, you should know that you don’t need to ask! Big Sis is always happy to stay with you, poka poka!” Marin then held him a little bit tighter, seemingly attempting to confirm the fact that she wasn’t going to go anywhere. 

Seishi gave her another small nod before he nestled in her arms a little bit to get himself comfortable. He gently rested his head on Marin’s shoulder again, allowing his heavy eyelids to fall, while his breathing finally evened out. 

And, of course, it wasn’t long until the red-haired astronomer was out like a light. 

#rin's writing #marin mizuta #seishi yodogawa #tsuki the cat robot (talent gamble au) #shsl hacker marin (talent gamble au) #shsl astronomer seishi (talent gamble au) #drrb #drrb talent gamble #tw nightmares #tw death mention #tw angst

[shellheadtmarc]

actually, because i really need to finish my new theme and need new verse blurbs, here’s a more in depth look at my current/in-use verses, with links to full writeups as available.

mcu:  this is boilerplate.  i’m a canon tony, this is a canon verse.  follows the events from iron man through infinity war for the moment, including the tie-in comics iron man 2: public identity, iron man 2: agents of shield, iron man: the coming of the melter, iron man 3 prelude, marvel’s avengers: age of ultron prelude - the scepter’d isle, marvel’s captain america: civil war prelude infinite, marvel’s avengers: infinity war prelude, and marvel’s avengers: endgame prelude.  also includes the post-iron man 3 short about the mandarin.  everything not covered/discussed in mcu canon is plugged with 616 continuity canon.

616:  what it says on the tin.  covers most of the runs from about 2008-present, including the new tony stark: iron man, against my greater judgment, though that may change in the future if it keeps tanking in story. in reality, this actually covers everything post-heroes reborn, but to make it simple we’ll say it’s wibbly wobbly because comics.  also includes heavy snippets still in play from classic invincible iron man.

classic:  from his first appearances in tales of suspense up to the inception of heroes reborn.  or, if you prefer, original flavor tony stark, the cool suave businessman with the aloof nature, party boy ways, and injured heart, reliant on his rechargeable chest piece, as he also has a double identity as the golden avenger known as iron man.  poses as his own bodyguard.  jetsetter.  people love or hate him, but most want to be him.  if only they knew how much his bum ticker isolated him.  a ton of fridged girlfriends.  later physical ailments include:  paralysis from the waist down.  degenerative nervous system.  a cranky ticker more than you can shake a stick at.  literally dying and being cryogenically frozen.

616 meets mcu:  this covers any time comicverse tony is thrown at mcu versions of the people he knows.  things to note include being taller.  he has blue eyes.  his tech is more advanced.  his speech patterns differ heavily.  recovering alcoholic, coffee is fine no matter how shitty it is.  he has more years as a superhero under his belt at this point.  his fears and points of stress differ from mcu tony’s quite a bit, and his reactions are different.  he and pepper are barely on speaking terms (generously speaking). he’s different, and it’s obvious he’s different.

broke:  mcu-based verse that includes corporate espionage and tony stark having to keep his head down and learning to live under the table paycheck to under the table paycheck until he can muster what he needs to make a frontal assault on regaining what’s rightly his.  a verse where tony’s at his absolute lowest, still determined to retain the phoenix metaphor and rise from the ashes of the misfortune thrust upon him.

superior iron man:  hiding the fact that he’s still under the scarlet witch’s inversion spell, tony goes full tilt diva, his main concerns being money, power, and fame.  he starts drinking again.  he makes san francisco his own personal big brother state, where he watches the city like a hawk by day while shilling extremis as a beauty enhancer, and parties like it’s 1999 at his new home on alcatraz island by night.  is still iron man, as long as there’s something in it for him.  will partially be at fault for the destruction of the 616 universe (it gets better).

hypervelocity:  tony’s attacked in his own lab by the mind-emulationware mechs known as “beautiful garbage”, and his newest iteration of the iron man suit forced an upload or a copy of his brain patterns to get him out of there.  the wetware is damaged, and the suit dumps it before it bleeds out in the suit cavity, and thus that suit, with the ability to walk, talk, and think exactly like tony stark (albeit full of bugs) is born, to unravel the mystery of the attack and attempt to stop the emulation program that caused it.

ai:  after being punched into a literal coma during a battle with captain marvel/carol danvers over the fate of miles morales and concerning an inhuman by the name of odysseus’s increasingly violent visions of the future, and with even hank mccoy being afraid to even draw blood on tony after seeing what tony’s been doing to himself over the years, tony’s ai comes online, as a mentor to riri williams/ironheart and to help against the clone captain america with those of the mount.  he’s twice as sassy with quadruple the processing speed, and he’s got some weird feelings about being the recreated consciousness of a living person suddenly finding itself with no physical body.

noir:  a businessman who likes to play adventurer for a men’s magazine, along with his best friend james rhodes and their new reporter pepper potts, writing under a male pseudonym, tony stark on the surface has it all in the late 1930s.  beautiful women, exciting adventures, and loads of money.  but all it does is hide his desperate search for a cure for his dying heart, as he’s forced to wear a metal chest piece that has to be charged frequently to even keep himself alive.  

director of shield:  mcu-based version of tony’s time as the director of shield.  after everything that occurs after captain america: the winter soldier, and the fall of shield, an attempt is made to resurrect it with tony stark at the helm as fury’s replacement (hand-picked).  he stresses transparency, he stresses equality, and most of all, he just wants to find a way to balance being iron man with having to deal with the day-to-day bullshit of international bureaucracy.

sorcerer supreme:  based on the 90s “what if?” one shot comic.  tony was the cause of the accident that injured stephen strange’s hands, and, feeling supremely guilty about the entire thing, searches for ways to give stephen his dexterity and life back.  it leads him to becoming the sorcerer supreme, despite that inherent dislike of magic he has, and he combines the iron man technology with the mystical forces he gains a hold over in that quest for a cure.

guardians of the galaxy:  mcu flavor for tony’s time as an active gotg.  after civil war, on a break with pepper, and feeling about as great about things as someone laying facedown in a gutter possibly can, tony puts his mobile armory into space, tinkers together a suit for deep space exploration, and takes off, losing himself for a while among the stars.  threat is going to come from there, sure, but there’s going to be opportunity, as well.  it’s a useful thing to find out who’s friend, and who’s foe, and see what there is to see in the black expanses of space.

supernatural:  the other family business.  being a founder of shield and everything he took to his grave wasn’t the only secret he was keeping, and this was one maria was in on as well.  too bad tony doesn’t stumble across it until after he’s already become iron man, where saving the world is so tied into his moral code he can’t look away.  if he goes missing for a few days, it’s fine, it’s chill.  he’s just taking a breather, not poking around at things he only still half-believes in even when he’s seen them with his own two eyes.  the biggest skeptic hunter you’ll ever meet.

fallout prewar:  mcu continuity up to the beginning of iron man 3, against fallout’s prewar as a backdrop.  tony stark is who he is, he does what he does, but he also is someone certain government agencies would love to tear down, because he’s a rabble rouser against the war, and has no problem hogging the iron man technology for himself instead of sharing with the military.  he also has no problem sharing the dirty secrets he finds out with the press.  full write up can be found here.

fallout new vegas:  tony as the infamous courier six.  left in stasis in a vault in california, tony comes to years and years after the devastation of the bombs to a world vastly changed from the one he remembers, and in a vault full of ghouls.  once topside, and once reoriented into the world, he ends up something of a jack of all trades until he takes that fateful job with the mojave express, and gets two to the head for his trouble.  independent path with the yes-man aligned ending, details of choices and all dlcs available as needed until i get off my ass and do a full replaythrough and write up.  keeps the spine from big mt, but his heart and brain are back where they belong.  locked elijah in the vault.  nuke launch stopped (ed-e repaired after).  evacuated the sorrows.  

fallout 4 sole survivor:  still needs a full write up, but tony as the sole survivor.  does not take the shock at the change in the world well at first.  eventually pulls his shit together enough to get shit done, but can’t touch a suit, can’t think about the suit, will take some time to even toy with the idea of possibly touching a suit again before he actually can.  minutemen and railroad aligned, destroys the bos and institute.  peaceful ending with all far harbor factions.  spares the mechanist.  destroys the raiders at nuka world and turns the parks over to the minutemen.  question information as needed until i get a full write up done.

fallout 4 companion:  tony’s been in new york since the bombs dropped.  there are huge chunks of it that are still uninhabitable, much like boston’s glowing sea, but the parts that are?  he’s started on a grand rebuilding project, because he’s got nothing but time:  the arc reactor’s kept his heart pumping well past its expiration date.  when the bos slow rolls past new york, he follows them into boston, mostly because he’s paranoid and cagey (with good reason in the wasteland) and partially out of curiosity.  available as a companion for sole survivors, some restrictions apply, please see this write up for more details.

fallout 76 dweller:  locked up with a bunch of other big brains after the bombs, tony’s that guy.  you know.  the one you read about in the terminal.  the one that kept hacking things.  once topside again, he sheds that vault tec blue and yellow as quickly as he can and sees about setting things right.  a member of the responders.  a mole in [redacted].  fire breather.  rebuilding the world has to start somewhere, so it might as well be west virginia.

dwemer:  the last surviving dwemer, finally peeking his head out of his lab in its pocket plane of oblivion to find the nords are at it again, dragons are still doing their thing, his people have just flat out vanished, and that skyrim is still cold as balls.  often gets mistaken as a very tall bosmer.  still calls the dunmer the chimer out of sheer smartassedness.  swung on rolf in windhelm and ends up in jail more times than you can shake a stick at.

single parent au:  handed off a baby under some shady as hell circumstances, unable to find out anything and secretly glad he can’t find out anything about her in the end, tony pulls some strings and sophie stark ends up hitting the jackpot as far as adoptive parents go.  tony had thought just being iron man was hard, but now he’s balancing ballet practice and pta meetings with saving the world.

#⚛ (array: verse info) #long post

[blogsurajus]

Cyber Security Market New Opportunities, Segmentation Details With Financial Facts By 2026

Cyber Security Market

 The rising adoption of e-commerce platforms and the emergence of disruptive technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of things (IoT), and Blockchain, drive the cybersecurity market. For instance, in December 2019, Palo Alto Networks, Inc., an IoT, and machine identity-based company. This acquisition enabled Palo Alto Networks to strengthen the cloud natively security platform and further expand its cloud security capability.

The Major Players Covered in this Report:

Cisco Systems, Inc. (U.S.), Symantec Corporation (U.S.), International Business Machines Corporation (U.S.), Amazon Web Services, Inc. (U.S), McAfee, LLC (U.S), Microsoft (U.S.), Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (Israel), FireEye, Inc. (U.S) 

In 2020, the global Cyber Security market size was million US$ and it is expected to reach a million US$ by the end of 2026, with a CAGR between 2021 and 2026.

Get a Sample PDF Report:

https://straitsresearch.com/report/Cyber-Security-market/request-sample

 By Deployment, Cloud, On-premisesBy Services, Professional Services, Managed ServicesBy User Type, Large Enterprises, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)By End Users, IT and Telecom, Aerospace and Defense, Public Sector, Healthcare, Others

Companies in the cybersecurity market are adopting technologies, such as Internet of things (IoT), machine learning, and big data, in their security business units. Most of the companies operating in this market are shifting from a ‘signature-based’ malware detection system to an IoT-enabled machine learning ‘signature-less’ system. This shift will help them understand ambiguous activities and events and further, help detect and identify uncertain threats.

 Regional Analysis For Cyber Security Market:

 North America (United States, Canada, and Mexico)

Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia, and Italy)

Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, and Southeast Asia)

South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, etc.)

Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria, and South Africa)

 In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of the Cyber Security are as follows:

 • History Year: 2014-2019  

• Base Year: 2019  

• Estimated Year: 2020  

• Forecast Year 2021 to 2026

 The study objectives of this report are:

 • To study and forecast the market size of the Cyber Security in the global market.  

• To analyze the global key players, SWOT analysis, value, and global market share for top players.  

• To define, describe and forecast the market by type, end-use, and region.  

• To analyze and compare the market status and forecast among global major regions.  

•  Analyze the potential of the global market and the advantages, opportunities and challenges, constraints, and risks of key regions.  

• Identify the key trends and factors that are driving or holding back market growth.  

• To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high-growth segments.  

• Strategic analysis of each submarket in light of individual growth trends and market contributions.  

• To analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the market.  

• Complete analysis of the strategic strategy and growth of key players

 For More Details On this Report:

https://straitsresearch.com/report/Cyber-Security-market

 About Us:

 Regardless of whether you're looking at business sectors in the next town or crosswise over continents, we understand the significance of being acquainted with what customers purchase. We overcome the issues of our customers by recognizing and deciphering just the target group, while simultaneously generating leads with the highest precision. We seek to collaborate with our customers to deliver a broad spectrum of results through a blend of market and business research approaches. This approach of using various research and analysis strategies enable us to determine greater insights by eliminating the research costs. Moreover, we're continually developing, not only with regards to where we measure, or who we measure but in how our visions can enable you to drive cost-effective growth.

 Contact Us:

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Email: [email protected]

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#Cyber Security Market Growth #Cyber Security Forecast #Cyber Security Industry Trends #Cyber Security Market Share #Cyber Security Industry Size #Cyber Security Market Data Analysis #Cyber Security Market Overview