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the-red-mafia · 1 year ago

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The Assassination

Mad receives a call from Rhyme early in the morning with an odd request: help him break into Mrs. Gracy's house and rescue a boy she recently took in. After arriving at the house, it turns out things aren't exactly as they seem. Also available on Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/user/TheRedMafia Next Update: [Updated] Word Count: 2445

1 month after “The Catalyst”

Velvet nearly impaled Mad’s TV with a knife when they entered the kitchen. The robot quickly dodged and flicked on the light.

“Just me!” they whispered. Velvet stared at it before sighing.

“Damn it, Mad. What are you doing awake?”

“I could say the same for you.” The teen took a big drink of the energy drink sitting in front of them. Mad crossed their arms as she tossed it in the recycling bin.

“Couldn’t sleep.”

“Go figures,” the droid mumbled, “Well, I’m going to help Rhyme with something.” Velvet frowned.

“At 5:30 in the morning?” Mad shrugged.

“Said it was something to do with Eliza. Figured I might as well.”

“How long are you gonna be gone?”

“No idea. Why? Is something happening?”

“Mission this evening. Was gonna tell everyone when they woke up.” Mad’s screen went blank.

“What’s the mission?”

“Information retrieval. We’re breaking into a UPS building.”

“Of course,” Mad began, “I’ll be back before then. When are we leaving?”

“After dark.”

“Yeah, everything will be fine.” Velvet narrowed their eyes at them before sighing.

“Okay, have fun or whatever.” A smile appeared on Mad’s screen.

“Alright, see you later.”

“Bye-”

“And no more energy drinks! Go to bed!” Velvet rolled their eyes but waved goodbye to the robot.

Looking back, Mad wished it had stayed.

The guilt began to form in Rhyme’s stomach as soon as he saw Mad walking out of the Umbrella, a smile on their TV. It waved at him, and he waved back. Daylight was just breaking around them, yellows and oranges piercing the black sky.

Just follow the plan, Rhyme thought to herself, They won’t even know.

“Hey Rhyme!” Mad called out. Rhyme waved again. Mad must’ve picked up on Rhyme’s nervous demeanour because the next words out of their speakers were “Are you okay?”. Rhyme took a deep breath.

The plan, Rhyme.

“Not really,” the smile immediately disappeared, “I found out something disturbing this morning.” Mad stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“What?”

“Eliza’s adopted another kid. A little boy named Wyatt.”

“...Oh.”

“Yeah. Will you help me get him out of there?”

“Of course. What’s the plan?” Rhyme smiled.

“Thanks Mad. I knew I could count on you.”

Now onto phase 2.

“My plan is to break into the house through the attic. Do you need anything from the Umbrella?”

“I don’t think so. How long is it going to take?”

“Hopefully not long. Shall we go? I’ll fill you in on the way.”

Rhyme carefully opened the small hatch in between the roof tiles. The ship sat a couple dozen metres away in a small parking lot behind the estate. Mad watched as the teen slid down into the hole, their laser gun strapped to their back. She held herself up for a few seconds before landing silently on the tiled floor. He looked up at Mad and smirked.

“You coming?” he whispered.

“I am not that graceful.”

“You’ll be fine. No one can hear up here anyway. I was just doing that to look cool.” Mad chuckled and landed next to her.

“Well, you succeeded. Where now?” The room was an ugly shade of white, with several dolls dressed as angels lining the walls. Rhyme looked at each of them with disgust before gesturing to a door on the other side.

“There. If we’re lucky, he’s in my old room. Or one of the dozens of other kids' bedrooms Eliza has.”

“Why’s she so obsessed with kids?” Rhyme stifled a laugh.

“Don’t say it like that, you make her sound like a pedophile.” Mad shrugged.

“Hey, I don’t know.” Rhyme bit their lip to keep from laughing.

“No, she’s just obsessed with the ‘perfect religious family’. Living in the eyes of God or whatever.” Rhyme walked over to the door and held it open for Mad.

“After you.” The duo made their way down the hallway. As they walked, Mad could hear the muffled sobs of a child. They grew louder, eventually culminating in front of a white door. A sign hung on the door, reading “Wyatt” in fancy cursive letters. Rhyme scoffed.

“She did put him in my room,” he muttered, “Huh. She’s always kept it empty since I ran away.” Mad turned to her.

“It’s almost like it’s a-”

“Trap,” Rhyme finished. She turned to it.

“Are you still-”

“Yes. How old is he?”

“Five.” Mad was quiet before twisting the doorknob. It was pure white with light baby blue curtains covering a small window. A little boy sat on the bed, knees pulled to his chest. He had bright green eyes and platinum blonde hair that was cut short. He quickly turned away from the door and scooted towards the wall, pulling on the sleeves of his white polo. He was shaking.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Gracy!” He shouted, “I didn’t mean to get the shirt dirty, I won’t do it again!” Rhyme frowned.

“I see she’s no better parent now,” he mumbled. Mad stepped forward, allowing a smile to take over its screen.

“My name’s Mad. I’m not going to hurt you.” The boy’s shaking slowed and he glanced behind him.

“M-Mad?” The droid sat down on the bed next to him.

“Yep. I’m here with my friend Diamonds-”

“Rhyme,” Rhyme corrected. Mad looked at him.

“Right, Rhyme. We’re here to get you out of here.” Wyatt looked up at them.

“What?”

“Mrs. Gracy hasn’t been very nice to you, has she?” Rhyme asked, crossing her arms. Wyatt paused for a moment before shaking his head.

“But- she saved me from the orphanage, so I need to-”

“It’s not your fault,” Mad interrupted, “She’s…hm. She’s not a good person. I know a place where you will be happy and the people will be nice to you. Do you want to go?” Wyatt looked away as Mad held a hand out to him.

“M-Mrs. Gracy would be mad-”

“You won’t have to see her again,” Rhyme added, “She’ll be out of your life for good.” Wyatt turned to the thief.

“...she won’t hit me anymore?” Mad felt anger grow inside their soul.

“No. You’ll be safe.” The boy once again looked up at Mad and their outstretched hand. After a few more seconds of hesitation, he took it. Mad scooped him up and stood.

“Are you hurt anywhere?” Mad asked.

“J-just my arm. There’s purple skin.” He pointed at his right shoulder. Rhyme raised an eyebrow.

“Purple-skin?”

“Bruise, I’m assuming,” Mad replied, “Can I take a look?” Wyatt nodded. Mad rolled the sleeve up. A large bruise was forming, dark and purple. Mad’s screen turned off, startling the 5-year-old.

“You okay, Mad?” Rhyme asked, placing a hand on its shoulder.

“I’m fine. Let’s get out of here.” They rolled the sleeve back down. Rhyme nodded and turned around, letting Mad and Wyatt go in front of him. As soon as they stepped out of the door a loud alarm began to sound. Rhyme and Wyatt jumped slightly and the thief quickly pulled out her gun. Wyatt stared at the weapon for several seconds before burying his face against Mad’s shoulder.

“What’s going on?” it asked.

“They must have some kind of tracker on him. We’re gonna have company.” Mad slid their laser gun into their other hand and held it up. Shouting echoed from the stairwell a metre or so in front of them. A head popped up and Rhyme quickly shot a bullet into his shoulder. The man tumbled down the stairs, seemingly taking a few other guards with him. Rhyme grabbed Mad’s wrist and sprinted in the opposite direction.

“We’ll take the back stairs!” He began as a bullet flew by his head, “There’s an exit down there.” She pulled them down the stairs and towards a glass door at the end of a hallway. Three guards turned around a corner and stood in front of it, weapons raised at the trio. Mad fired a few shots at them before scanning the area.

There was one large door about halfway down the hallway that was pure white with gold trim around the edges. Paintings hung on either side, some depicting forests with bright white trees and some of a man with a crown of thorns on his head. One of Rhyme’s bullets collided with a guard’s knee and Mad grabbed him.

“I have a plan, follow me!” Mad pulled her and kicked open the door in the hallway.

“Mad, wait-” The robot pushed her in and quickly slammed the door behind them. They expected banging, maybe even shots through the door, but there was only silence. Rhyme was panting next to them and Wyatt choked back a sob.

“What are you doing?”

Rhyme swung around and fired a shot that embedded itself in the wall just a few centimetres away from Eliza’s head. She sat at her desk with a disgusted look on her face.

“Eliza…” Rhyme muttered. Mad turned around as well, their screen powered off. The woman sighed and stood.

“Thank you, Rhyme, for bringing me my son-”

“He’s not your son,” Mad interrupted. Eliza glared at it.

“Legally-”

“Legally doesn’t mean shit,” Rhyme spat.

“Legally, you’re my child too, Rhyme.”

“Exactly. Doesn’t mean shit.” Eliza sighed and stood from her desk.

“Listen, robot…what was your name again?”

“Don’t-” Rhyme started, but Mad told her. A fake, vicious smile took over her face.

“Mad. I have some information that could be quite useful-” Rhyme fired a shot next to Eliza’s head and she stepped to the side.

“Ignore her, Mad. She’s talking crazy.” A loud thud came from the door and Mad quickly moved to stand in front of it. The guards shouted from the other side but the robot pressed its body against the wood. Eliza shook her head before reaching into a drawer on her desk. She quickly raised her own gun at Rhyme.

“Rhyme, dear. You know your robot won’t be able to hold that door for long. Why don’t you tell it to bring my child to me and no one gets hurt?”

“That’s not happening,” Mad interrupted. Eliza rolled her eyes.

“Would you be quiet, robot?” Rhyme’s next shot hit her square in her left shoulder, sending her to the ground. She let out a scream and the thuds on the door grew louder.

“Don’t talk to Mad like that,” he ordered. Eliza pressed a hand against her wound and sat up. Rhyme kicked her back to the ground. The woman held the gun in her right hand and fired a shot that hit Rhyme in the knee. The teen backed up a metre or so.

“Rhyme!” Mad called out. She looked back at them and shook her head.

“I’m fine, keep holding the-” Another shot hit Rhyme in his lower abdomen. Eliza laughed maniacally as she stood and kicked the thief’s weapon away. She placed a high heel on Rhyme’s gunshot wound, digging the end into it. Rhyme winced in pain.

“Get off her, Eliza!” Mad called out. She looked at it.

“What are you going to do about it, robot? Shoot me with your children’s laser?” Mad did exactly that, raising their laser gun and firing it straight into her chest. It sent her flying into a bookshelf, knocking dozens of various novels to the ground. Rhyme jumped to his feet and glared down at Eliza.

“Now kill her.” Mad froze.

“...What?”

“Kill her. She fucking deserves it.” Rhyme looked back at it. He had a wicked grin on his face and a determined look in his eyes.

“...I can’t.” Eliza struggled to get back to her feet across the room. The door behind Mad fell forward, the shouting even louder now. Mad jumped out of the way as dozens of Eliza’s guards streamed through the doorframe. They focused their aim on the guards, sending them flying around the room. Rhyme stood next to Eliza, scanning the room for her own gun and keeping the woman on the floor.

After Mad’s laser had hit nearly two dozen of Eliza’s men, Rhyme laughed. It wasn’t her normal laugh, the one that sent warm feelings up and down Mad’s soul. This one was dark and cold.

“Bye bitch,” Mad heard Rhyme mutter. The robot turned around just in time to see the teenage thief blow a hole in Eliza’s skull.

Rhyme only stared at Eliza for a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity. A wave of relief washed over her as the blood spilled onto the white carpet. He eventually snapped back to reality and spun around, landing bullets in most of the guards around. Mad stood frozen on the other side, staring at Eliza’s corpse. Rhyme shook away the guilt forming in her stomach and sprinted over. A few tears were dripping from Wyatt’s eyes when he gripped the robot’s wrist.

“Mad, we’ve got to go.” A few shots whizzed by and Rhyme quickly took out their source. Mad slid their laser gun onto its back and held onto Wyatt tightly.

“It’s okay, Wyatt, it’s okay.” Rhyme frowned.

Why isn’t he happy? Eliza’s dead. The thief pulled his friends through the door and down the hall towards the formerly blocked exit door. She kicked it open as footsteps echoed behind them. They ran until they reached Rhyme’s ship again, the door opening as she approached.

“We’ll be safe once we get on the ship,” Rhyme told Mad, but the robot didn’t reply. Once the door was safely locked and they were off the ground, Wyatt began to sob. Mad pressed the small child against them and slowly rubbed circles on his back. Rhyme looked away and winced as the pain spiked in his stomach.

It only took a few minutes for Wyatt to slip into sleep, leaving Mad and Rhyme alone on the ship. Mad layed him down on the captain’s chair and joined her at the console. They were quiet for a moment.

“...Are you okay?” it mumbled. Rhyme shrugged.

“Yeah.”

“Where are you going?” He gestured to the GPS.

“Back to my place to get you back to the Umbrella.”

“And what about Wyatt?” The teen blinked a few times.

“I…didn’t get that far in my plan.” Mad sighed and looked back at the five-year-old.

“Let’s all go to the mansion, then.” Rhyme frowned.

“Don’t you want the Umbrella back?”

“We can get it later,” Mad replied, crossing their arms. Rhyme frowned.

“Are you…mad at me?” She asked. The droid looked into the star-ridden sky and sighed.

“I just need some time to myself, Rhyme.” The thief stared at them for several seconds before sighing as well.

“Alright, Mahogany Mansion it is.”

#/the red mafia #/trm part 4 #/chapter 044 #/the assassination #/velvet #/velvet bolton #/mad valentine #/rhyme reuter #/wyatt gracy #/eliza gracy

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wannabecatwriter · 2 months ago

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A-Z Challenge: List your sims in order, trying to complete the alphabet.

Thanks for the tag, @treason-and-plot and @pink-chevalier

For this, I'm only picking Chronicles of a Pessimist, because the list is big enough as is...I've taken this a step further and tried to list out every sim who appeared in the story so far.

Also, for anyone curious, here's a useful site for listing things in alphabetical order. X

Tagging @dandylion240 @holocene-sims @nocturnalazure and @citylighten for this, but only if you're up to it.

List under read more.

Aaron Covington

Adolfo Dias

Alayna Price (sim made by @amuhav)

Alberto Garcia

Amanda Varner

Anette Dyer

Angela Langford

Anna Luis

Antoine Varner

Ariana Dyer

Ashton Byrd

Autumn Dyer

Bernadette Byrd

Calvin Linton

Candace Byrd (sim made by @amuhav)

Caroline Adams

Carson Wong

Chandra Smith

Cherie Pie

Consuelo Byers

Demarcus Wells

Dinah Zeeman

Donna Morelli

Donovan Adams

Douglas Byrd

Eddie Gritton

Edith Vane

Fred Carlson

Gracie Loveland (Appaloosa premade)

Harvey Gritton

Hubert Dyer

Humberto Costa

Hunter Bayer

Isobel Devane (sim made by @amuhav)

Jasper Dyer

Jerome Terry

Jerrica Lancer (Delia Bates)

Johnny Johnson (AP premade)

Josie Henning

Kade Myers

Kareem Pace

Kelly Lockett

Kevin Luis

Kimberly Price

Luis Dupre

Maria Villegas

Marissa Gold

Marty Henning

Mike Driver

Michael Ross

Mitchell Valentine

Noelle Dyer

Peijing On

Rachel Everett

Regan Zeeman

Rodrigo Salazar

Samir Zeeman

Shanna Das

Tammie Morelli

Tony Wells

Toya Bayer

Wendy Wong

William Dodd

Wyatt Parker

#A-Z Challenge

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hazeystar · 1 month ago

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5x9 live reaction

i was screaming and crying and that’s not a joke

also impressive the asteroid wasn’t brought up but now i’m just more scared for next week

praying for tarlos and firefam safety that’s all i want

yay judd in aa PLEASE

and owen is there yay

bring back grace we need her

oh sweet jesus judd you’re really going through it

nancy! marjan! tommy!

tommy i’m crying with you baby it’s alright

marj and tommy we don’t get enough of them

it’s marjan/natcha’s boyfriend i love this

tk shopping for beds i love him

i want chicken and waffles now

oh no not the afd calendar

and welcome back wyatt

we don’t have multiple swat teams?

judd you idiot don’t you do this

judd

judd i fucking swear

one time i say thank god for owen strand

fuck it flashed over

holy fuck judd how many bullets hit ya?

what’s wrong with judd’s hand? why has it been wrapped?

yea no man it’s mildly concerning how long you stayed standing there

yay marjan and joe

i love the purple and green it’s gorgeous together

im dying like joe here oh my god

joe i love the man that you are

MARRIAGE PROPOSAL OMG

bruh what do you mean marriage isn’t love what the fuck

nope nevermind im dying from the second hand embarrassment someone get me out of the restaurant HELP

please move on

please someone have another plot line

please

oh dear god send help it’s a roller coaster i’m on

let’s go back to anyone else

thank you judd and your meetings for saving me from dinner

oh no judd are you lying?

judd…. that’s not trying to get sober please

i actually don’t know which plotline right now is worse

because this hurts

charlie is with the grandparents?? oh no

judd let’s move you in with owen

omg i fucking called it

god joe is really trying and marjan babes your parents

wow ‘are you a firefox or a mouse’

they’re right, where does your happiness rank in this

yay paul in charge

god true sibling behaviour

tk you danger magnet of course you know how casts work

steph goddammit you were so close

HA nancy with the connection you go girl

yea judd part of you definitely resents grace

wait that was actually heartbreaking

i mean yes that seemed like a sign but try, try again please judd

welcome back wyatt

oh shit is that the reverend

tbh back to the call we could have explained that better

ems are you here in time?

thank fuck he’s awake

round 2? please

save me now

yay be brave marjan you got this

YAY

yes marjan tell them! fight for your future!

YESSSS

OMG WEDDING

THIS IS WHY TK IS IN A SUIT IN THE PROMO

WEDDING TIME BEFORE THE END OF THE WORKD

firehouse wedding

YAY TARLOS

yes carlos the arch is thin in the left your so correct

shut up this is gorgeous

pause the tarlos colour palette i love it

marjan you look stunning

OH RAFA WITH THE STUBBLE IM IN LOVE

YAY JOR AND MARJAN

bro who allowed firecrackers in the fire house

paul and mateo took their jobs very seriously

tommy baby are you okay

yay joe and marjan

i’m always thinking about grace me too buddy

rafa in that yellow shirt im in love, tk with the off white

that cake looks amazing

owen you really should have just moved him into your house

GRACE MY BELOVED COME BACK PLS

joe and marjan holy shit you guys are gorgeous

how lucky you gotta be to actually play the role with your partner

THE HAIR THE HAIR HOLY SHIT GUYS

i’m joe frfr right now

judd buddy, go to bed

judd what the hell man

be better

dump it in the sink

do it

omg the phone

is it gracie

GRACE MY LOVE

GRACE

grace was the real mvp of this episode and she wasn’t even here

#911 lone star #carlos reyes #tarlos #tk strand #911 ls #911 ls s5 #marjan marwani #tommy vega #judd ryder #grace ryder #paul strickland #mateo chavez #owen strand

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swords-and-starlight · 5 months ago

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ok i think this is my first time ever watching a show while it’s coming out so i’m gonna write out my reactions as i watch the episode for the first time, even though i’m watching it from streaming (i don’t have cable rip) and i already got a bunch of spoilers.

obviously spoilers ahead

CARLOS!! first time we’re seeing him with his friends this season! and he looks so good!

Natacha looks so good in green, man. they seriously need to have her wear it more.

TK Marjan and Mateo look so good in that shot even if the person they’re being mean to is Paul :((

i really want to see them actually play a whole game of catan it would be so fun

i fs know those two boys are from paul’s past. i thought they might be people he lost but i feel like people who bullied him would make more sense in the context of the nightmare?

i know this is gonna turn out badly but i feel like this dinner is going surprising civilly for now

“LT” aww

why is the chore chart so big i don’t think we’ve ever seen it before

this is kinda making me miss clipboard Marj

paul is gonna crash and burn poor baby

wyatt is so cute omg but i miss gracie

i missed judd soooo much he’s the ultimate cutie pie

paullll why you doing this to yourself

PAUL CALL FOR HELP JESUS

tommy is so nice actually i would never facetime someone i didn’t like just to check in on them

love tk and nancy giving each other looks lmao they’re so siblings coded

gina torres is literally the cutest woman on this show (with the exception of sierra) i love her so much

tk and nancy “it’s convenient” “a little too convenient” omg this feels like one of those disney movies where the kids are trying to solve their parents kidnapping or something

why does tk know that??

nancy loml keep being a dramatic suspicious bitch please

“the enemy is behind the gate” so dramatic for no reason omggg what’s cassandra gonna do?

love paul and owen bonding time, i feel like we barely saw owen interact with the house on a personal level so far this season

genuinely how does judd afford that house by himself especially when grace was out, he didn’t have a job, and he was taking care of wyatt

TOMMY UP TO SHENANIGANS AGAIN oh i’ve missed you devious bitch tommy

i love that tommy has just fully embraced her work kids’s delusional ideas and judds the one trying to talk sense into her now

aww i know judd and tommy have been best friends forever but i know if sierra was here she would be going to grace :(

PAUL BABY WHAT ARE YOU DOING

rich people are so strange

i already love jenna hope nothing happens to her

nancy and tk sending each other looks again lmaooo

ofc the elevator broke down

damn poor augie

aww ok they’re better now

WHAT THE SHIT why is she bleeding from her eyes!?!

it’s really cute that wyatt takes all of 126 medic teams calls it feels like he’s trying to look out for them after they saved his life

paul’s gonna get hurt and mess up on this call isn’t he

oh nooo paul it’s so hard to see him cry

i feel like we need more people to die yk like how does tnt consistently bring people back from the dead? like the kid that was trapped underwater in a frozen lake for at least ten minutes and was expected to make a full recovery but tk who was in there for ten seconds was in a coma? but it was for the drama so whatever

tommy’s hair is my favorite part of every episode. is she even allowed to be whipping that horse tail around?

weed pen lmao

judd is such a nice probie

ok so i was kinda right about the kids in paul’s dream

aww paul he must have been so lonely growing up

i’m sorry i can’t take the weed pens

girl miss melody how did you think poisoning your mom and getting ur sister suspended would be better than just asking to live with your mom

episodes almost over :((( i don’t wanna wait till next week

tkmarjan friendship i’ve missed you!

im glad joe and marjan are still together! they were so cute

PAUL!! i love this entire scene with my whole heart

controversial but i really love it when people choose logic and their personal values over love. this show does that so well. like with marjan and salim, they were both in love but marjan couldn’t see herself building a life with someone so flaky and that’s a valid reason to break it off! with tommy and trevor, i think it makes sense that tommy can’t love someone who might contribute to a family breaking apart.

i know that tk and nancy are gossiping about all of tommy’s drama right now

TOMMY CALLING HER MOM!!!

idk if this is obvious yet but tommy is in fact my favorite 9-1-1 character

anyway that’s a wrap i loved this episode

#911 lone star #911 lone star season 5 #911ls #5x04 #reaction #tommy vega #paul strickland

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thegreatimpersonator · 9 months ago

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Hi everyone! Here’s the newest addition to my Creator Shoutout Series (may 12 - may 24)! I want to appreciate editors and their creations that i love from the past 2 weeks. To track this series or look at previous shoutouts, please check out the tag on my blog *creatorshoutouts.

olivia rodrigo: guts (spilled) gifset by @swearphil

sabrina carpenter on snl gifset by @ayo-edebiri

orla gartland: little chaos graphic by @andtosaturn

succession gifset by @tolerateit

paramore: self-titled gifset by @7more

parks and recreation: ben and leslie gifset by @trueloveistreacherous

fallout: ella purnell behind the scenes gifset by @sersi

dirty dancing gifset by @andtosaturn

sabrina carpenter: emails i can send fan art by @gwcnstcy

gracie abrams: mess it up x risk gifset by @gracieabrarns

parks and recreation: ben wyatt gifset by @noah-price

scream 1996: stu macher gifset by @madalainepetsch

chappell roan gifset by @chappelroan

friends: monica and rachel gifset by @maddiebuckley

fallout gifset by @raiderlucy

spirited away + colors gifset by @simonghostrileys

sabrina carpenter: espresso on snl gifset by @tay-swifts

yellowjackets gifset by @bellamysgriffin

scream: sam carpenter gifset by @arcadiabay

chappell roan gifset by @chappelroans

schitt's creek: alexis rose gifset by @swearphil

scream 1996 gifset by @gracesledomas

gilmore girls gifset by @james-beaufort

yellowjackets: shauna and callie gifset by @taiturner

friends: rachel and chandler gifset by @blackthornluce

sabrina carpenter: espresso fan art by @bevsi

halsey: if i can't have love i want power gifset by @tolerateit

#*creatorshoutouts

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linskywords · 2 months ago

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From this post!

How many fics have you worked on since January? 12, not counting snippets I've started and not finished. (I posted 299,668 words, which is so painfully close to 300K. Should've been less concise somewhere...)

What’s something new that you tried in a fic this year? I had never written a wandering heart story before, and I'd never posted two stories with overlapping timelines in conjunction with each other. I'd never written an ace romance. I'd never written a four-person polycule. I'd also never turned anyone into a worm.

What piece of media inspired you the most? (This can be the fandom you wrote the most for, the one that spawned the most ideas, the one you thought about the most, etc.) I would have to say anonymous tumblr asks.

How many fandoms did you write for this year? Just the one!

What ships captured your heart? I wrote a lot of Jack/Nico this year and a lot of McDrai, and a lot of assorted others. I'm really enjoying the overlapping recent eras of USNTDP players and siblings.

What characters captured your heart? I just want Connor McDavid to be happy 😭

Did you write for any new fandoms or ships this year? So many new ships! Roope/Wyatt, Jamie Benn/Joe Pavelski, Jack/Quinn, the Edmonton polycule, Macklin Celebrini/Will Smith.

What fic meant the most to you to write? Oh man, tough call. Maybe the one where Connor turns into a worm.

What fic made you feel the happiest to work on? Probably the Where You Lead 'verse fics. Writing sub perspective is just the best.

What fic was the most satisfying to finish writing? Probably Help Me Hold Onto You, the Trevor/Jamie WYL story. I had had so much of it in my head for months by the time I started writing it, and the fic itself was such a long journey.

What fic was the most difficult to write? Like a Handprint on My Heart, the Jamie Benn wandering heart story. I made Jamie waaaay too depressed in the first draft and had to tear it all out and start again.

What fic was the easiest to write? The Great Leon Draisaitl Lookalike competition. Practically that entire story came to me in the shower, and then I wrote it in a single morning.

What were your shortest and longest fics posted this year? The Great Leon Draisaitl Lookalike Competition was the shortest at 2,092 words. Help Me Hold Onto You was the longest at 75,926 (though the Quinn wolfverse story will almost definitely be longer than that when it's all posted).

What were your go-to writing songs? I don't usually listen to music while writing, but I did get into Gracie Abrams and Maisie Peters and Olivia Rodrigo this year.

What was the hardest fic to title? Titling is the WORST. I either have a great title from the start, or it's a nigh-on impossible quest. The Hughescest story and the 1988 wolfverse timestamp were both posted around the same time and I had titles for neither of them, and then the titles I found were annoyingly similar to each other (What a Fire Feels Like and And His Heart Is Burning). Kinda Wanna Kiss Your Boyfriend (If You Don't Mind) was hard to find and required a lot of discord brainstorming. And I spent a while agonizing over various possibilities for the Jack wolfverse story, Like Juliet or Guinevere or Eloise, because I wanted to use a Marianne quote from the Sense and Sensibility movie but I also didn't want people to think Jack was going to die. 😅

What's your favorite title of the year? I'm really fond of But the Punchline Goes, from the Roope/Wyatt soulmate story, because I think it fits the story on its own and it also has the delightful (to me) easter egg of being the lyric from All Too Well right before Taylor snaps back at her ex about their age difference ("I'll get older but your lovers stay my age"), which was very relevant to the fic. I also really like Proof Enough of a Broken Heart, because Quinn is SUCH an Elinor Dashwood.

Share your favorite opening line: I tend to use opening lines as sort of...preliminary thesis statements? Things to be disproven? Something like that. So most of them contain a big chunk of the story premise but aren't necessarily all that punchy on their own. My favorite is probably from the Will/Mack story: "Mack finds out he’s pregnant in the usual way: from a blue stripe at the bottom of the toilet bowl." Totally confusing and a piece of worldbuilding I continue to be delighted with.

Share your favorite ending line: How dare you make me look at the last lines from all my stories. Last lines are the worst.

Share your favorite piece of dialogue: Don't know if it's my favorite, but what's coming to mind is Mitch and Dylan at the end of The Great Leon Draisaitl Lookalike competition, after Dylan has successfully set Connor up with this guy who is totally not just actual Leon Draisaitl, nope. Dylan is congratulating himself on finding such a good lookalike, and Mitch is like, “You used to play in the pacific division, right?” “Yeah, why?” says Dylan. “No reason,” says Mitch.

Share your funniest line: Woof. No, that's way too hard.

What's something that surprised you while you were working on a fic? Did it change the story? I was super surprised by how intensely piney the ace!Quinn/Brady fic got. I thought my ability to write pining was powered to a large extent by sexual tension, and it turns out that was not true.

What writing programs did you use? Did you write by hand? Scrivener, baby! Hahaha I would not be able to write this much by hand.

If you had to choose one, what was THE most satisfying writing moment of your year? Moment? Sheesh. I don't know, writing is a pretty satisfying activity in general.

Did you do anything special to celebrate finishing a fic? Posting feels like enough of a celebration for me.

How did you recharge between fics? I don't, really. By the time I finish posting a long thing, I've spent so much time editing that getting to start drafting again is refreshing in itself, and short things don't really require a recharge.

Did you create fanworks other than fic? Not unless you count responding to tumblr asks.

How many events did you take part in? (bangs, exchanges, ship weeks, zines, prompt memes, they all count!) Lol, I think just the HRPF CestFest. Though a lot of my stories were prompted, directly or not, by people on tumblr.

If this were an awards show, who would you thank? My wee hrpf discord. makeit-takeit. My irl bff who gets to hear all my story ideas in great detail despite not being into hrpf. My husband who thinks it's great and not ridiculous that I spend all this time writing.

What's left on your to-do list for 2024? Not much, fortunately, since it's over.

What would you like to write next year? Ah, the most important question! I of course want to finish the Quinn and Jack wolfverse stories, which is more about editing at this point. I have 2-10K written on no fewer than four different Where You Lead 'verse stories, and I'd really like to finish at least some of them (::cough:: Connor ::cough::). I'd also maybe like to start wolfverse stories for Trevor and Cole; I have somewhat specific plans for Trevor, and some vague notions for Cole. Aside from that, who knows? Maybe more WillMack, maybe some Nate/someone (Jo???). There are a lot of other couples I've been meaning to add to the wolfverse (gotta add TK/Patty to at least ONE of my 'verses). I've had a psychic wolf companions McDrai story bouncing around in my head for a while. Would still love to write a Persuasion AU (maybe that's the Nate/Jo). A Cyrano de Bergerac AU would also be fun, maybe via tindr. So many possibilities!!

#2024 in review #my fic

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abubblingcandle · 7 months ago

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Augusnippets Day 4 - Stalking - Strike Back (TV)

cw - aftermath of torture, implied eye trauma

Will never thought he would have to defend attacks from his own team but the Project Tennebrae reveal tore everything apart. He runs. Before Donovan can do anything to stop him he runs. But his head hurts. He doesn't really know where he is. All he knows his he needs to run. AU where Jensen doesn't die but not everything ends up ok when Donovan's murder fails

Here on AO3 @augusnippets

Will stumbled, falling against the upcoming wall. The grit scraped at his palms as he frantically pushed off to get his feet underneath him.

The world spun around him and his footsteps pounded in his ears as they pounded the pavement. Will used the wall as a crutch, like someone lost in a maze, to get as far away from here as he could.

He had to get somewhere safe. There was nowhere safe. Everything was wrong. Everything was lies. Everything hurt. He couldn’t think through the pounding behind his eye. Gracie had been right. He should have stayed in hospital. He wasn’t fit to be in the field. He shouldn’t be in the field anyway. He was just the fucking computer guy.

Someone honked as Will dashed across the road. He just had to get as far away from here as possible. Then he could stop. Then he could rest. No, no he couldn’t because the team had to know. He had to tell the team they couldn’t trust Donovan.

Another wall. This time on his blind side sending Will sprawling on the floor. No, no. Adeena would be following him. He knew too much she had to be following him. He didn’t have time to stop. Will stumbled up to his feet but his head swum, spinning on his neck as he tried to work out which way was forwards. Hospital, yeah he should probably be in the hospital. But then people would ask questions. Questions that would lead back to Donovan and Section 20. No, no hospitals.

“Sir, sir are you ok?” a faceless voice matched with a distant hand on his arm. He was going to throw up. The pain was a phantom of that chisel pounding into his skull. Even his remaining eye couldn’t see anymore. Why was he running? Where was Gracie? Wyatt? Mac? Why was he in the field without his team? He shouldn’t be in the field anyway. He was just the fucking computer guy. Although he got in just as much trouble when he was in front of the computers.

And there it was. He remembered. He needed to run.

“Will, there you are.”

No. No No No.

“Thank you miss. I was so worried,” Adeena cooed, her cold harsh grip replacing the faceless woman’s soft one on his elbow.

“No, no,” the begging fell out of Will’s mouth desperately instead of rattling around his brain.

“So sorry. My brother here has a serious concussion and must have forgotten where he was. I need to get him back to the hospital,” Adeena’s words faded in and out between Will’s struggles. Nothing he could muster was enough.

“Oh don’t worry about it I was just concerned. He really should be in the hospital,” the woman’s voice became more distant. She was leaving. No, she wasn’t leaving, Will was leaving. Adeena was pulling him backwards.

Next moment they were moving. A car? Must be a car. “What am I going to do with you Will?” Adeena sighed.

“Help,” he managed to choked out, a sob coming with it as his muscles spasmed with the pain.

“Yes. Ok. Let’s get you some medical care. You shouldn’t be running around with an injury like that. Maybe I was too hasty in taking you out of the equation. For some reason the rest of our team are quite fond of you.”

Will knew he should be doing something. But neither eye would open. Neither arm would move. He needed to tell Gracie something. He needed to run. But maybe he could do that after.

#candle writes #strike back #strike back fanfic #will jensen #cw aftermath of torture #cw eye trauma

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lovinbarzal · 2 years ago

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✧ our song ✧

wyatt johnston x fem! barzal reader

summary: in which mat barzal's younger sister sister falls for the rookie record breaking star player

chapters —

coming soon!

blurbs —

coming soon!

ig edits —

it's over

at a glance

goodbye

break up?

background info —

y/n barzal is a actor/songwriter. she's been featured in albums alongside taylor swift, harry styles, and gracie adrams. she's had one album out (sour) and has been featured in many movies/shows such as scream 4/5/6 ( jackie roberts), cobra kai (clara larusso), bridgerton (hyacinth bridgerton), and many other small roles.

a/n olivia rodrigo doesn't exist in this au. i love liv tho <3

YOU CAN FIND ALL OF THESE POSTS UNDER THE OUR SONG AU TAG!

#our song au #wyatt johnston #wyatt johnston x reader #dallas stars #hockey au #mat barzal #mat barzal x reader

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bcolfanfic · 5 months ago

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side b of young vets au/the ev x helen x jeanie story still consumes me if you dont mind me asking about it i'm interested in how all that changes the dynamics between the kids.

i think you said in an older post that the blakely kids and the crosby kids in side b essentially grow up like siblings and i kinda assume that isnt always an easy smooth thing?

i loveee side b too it’s so horribly sad but. i think it’s an interesting predictiment to put everyone in and i like writing it. in my last writing fandom before this one i spent like almost 2 years with my friends developing this insanely deeply developed poly/throuple ship au where the throuple had kids so this is a dynamic ive thought about *a lot*.

but yeah it is. complicated. it’s easier when the kids are all little because they don’t really see it as something out of the ordinary save for croz being gone. makes mostly perfect sense in their little heads that croz/daddy died so now they live with ev and helen because they’re their family too (: and the adults don’t need to really explain past that.

then it gets more complicated as they get older and their friends at school have questions that they don’t know how to answer and their relationships with each other feel more loaded.

especially with wyatt and the crosby kids because his dad is dead too. wyatt feels like they Understand him and they feel like wyatt Understands them. which can sometimes make sawyer and gracie and the other blakely kids feel a little isolated in the bigger dynamic of things because it feels like wyatt and the crosby kids have their own secret club/language that they aren’t privy to. which leads to them not always getting along the best when they’re tweens/teens and don’t know how to handle those emotions in the most rational way.

but it smooths out with time. they all love each other and share a special understanding. even the ones without a dad dad- because that aside they all grew up in an incredibly unique home situation that no one “gets” but them.

#young vets au side b #ev x helen x jeanie #wyatt nash

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voidvannie · 6 days ago

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❝ 𝓐nother 𝓑aby?! ❞

✦. ── 🎶it's the little things you do that make me want you and the not so little things that make me need you. 🎶 things, maggie lindemann

✦. ── pairing: trevor zegras x grayson kelce

✦. ── main masterlist things masterlist

✦. ── in which . . . grayson and trevor are visiting philly when her parents tell her she's going to be a big sister yet again.

𝙽𝙾𝚅𝙴𝙼𝙱𝙴𝚁 𝟸𝟶, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟺

"Be careful, please!" Kylie's voice carried through the house as Grayson stretched across one of the couches in the living room, Jason stretched out on the other as a random tv show played on the screen.

Wyatt and Ellie's giggle's filling the air, Bennett having gone down for a nap thirty minutes before.

After moving in with Trevor, Grayson decided that she wanted to go back home to stay with her parents and sisters for a few days, especially since her boyfriend was on a road trip with a cluster of hockey games to play.

So far, Grayson had spent time with both Jason and Kyle, even joining her dad and uncle for a new episode of New Heights, and she had spent a lot of her time just being in the presence of her three little sisters who absolutely were thrilled to have their older sister back.

"Hey, Gray." Kylie walks into the living room with a wooden box in her hands, a pretty pink bow wrapped around it, "Your dad and I got you and Trevor a gift. But since he's not here, we just decided to let you open it."

The eldest of the Kelce children looks up at her mother with squinted eyes, looking between her two parents as they had been sharing secretive looks with each other since her plane landed and she was picked up from the airport.

"I'm scared to even open it....neither of you just give either of us a gift for no reason. Especially just out of the blue like this." She's cautious as she takes the neatly wrapped box into her hands, sitting up so that she was sitting on her butt on the couch instead of laying on her side.

Jason playfully rolls his eyes as he turns his attention to his oldest daughter, "Jeez, it's not going to eat you alive, Gracy."

"Hmm, you say that..." Grayson mumbled as she pulls the ribbon from the box, pulling the lid up and freezing as she peered inside, "You're fucking kidding me!"

Inside the box was a pink sweater in Grayson's size with the words "big sister" stitched to the front, along with a few positive pregnancy test and an ultrasound.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" She's quickly off the couch with the box sitting on the cushion as she stares at her parents in complete shock.

"I wish we were kidding." Jason shakes his head with a sigh, "I'm really out numbered now, five girls. What am I gonna do? At least I have a future son-in-law, hopefully, so I'm not totally alone."

"Yep, you're gonna be a big sister yet again." Kylie smiles softly at her daughter, watching as she lets out a quiet squeal to be mindful of her sleeping baby sister, "We haven't told the girls yet because we wanted to tell you first. Your grandparents and Travis don't even know just yet, but we're gonna call them to let them know."

"Oh my, God." Her bottom lip begins to tremble as she pulls her mother into a hug, the two hugging each other tightly, "Holy shit, another sister."

Jason grinned as he stood up from the couch to wrap both his wife and his first born child into a tight hug.

"Oh! I need to call Trevor and tell him!" Grayson quickly pulls away from her parents, reaching for both the box and her phone before she raced towards the stairs so that she could call her boyfriend in private.

Kylie smiles up at her husband, "Well, she took that better than I thought that she would."

"She took it exactly how I knew she would take it." Jason chuckled, sitting back on the couch, "She loves being a sister."

"Oh, I'm not disagreeing with you on that. She's a great big sister. And Trevor will be a great big brother. All our girls have him wrapped around their fingers.”

Upstairs in her bedroom, Grayson sits criss-crossed on her bed as she waits for the FaceTime call to go through, grinning big as her boyfriend's face finally connected.

"Hey, gorgeous." Trevor grins from his end of the FaceTime, "Hold up...why do you look so happy right now? Should I be worried about some other guy making you smile that way?”

“No….well, I did hang out with Jamie a few times since being here, but no.” She shakes her head before he smiles grows even more. “But no! They’re having another baby!”

Trevor’s eyes grow wide before a smile pulls on his lips, “Another girl for you to train to have all us guys wrapped around your fingers, huh?”

Grayson shrugged with a smirk, “You love us anyway.”

“of course I do, your my girls.”

#🗄️⌇ trevor zegras x grayson kelce #🗄️⌇ grayson kelce au #🗄️⌇ jason kelce daughter au #🗄️⌇ travis kelce niece au #🗄️⌇ things au

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the-red-mafia · 1 year ago

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The Strike

The Red Mafia launches their offensive attack on the B.A.D. mansion with the mission of killing Unor. The plan runs smoothly until they find out something shocking: Unor knew they were coming.

Also available on Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/user/TheRedMafia

Next Update: [Updated] Word Count: 4150

A/N: It's time for The Red Mafia finale. Are you ready for it? New story next Saturday, the 30th. The end of an era. Be there.

8 days after “The Lost”

December 7th, 2364.

That was the day two thousand soldiers were scheduled to storm the Mahogony Mansion to retrieve the Red Mafia. Two days before the planted documents said they were supposed to.

7:30am.

That was the time the 5 mafia members left the mansion, geared up from head to toe. Mad said goodbye to Rhyme, who they left behind to watch the mansion and Wyatt. They all loaded up onto the Umbrella, a tense feeling in the air. The ride was nearly silent as Velvet sat in the captain’s seat, running through the plan in her head for the twentieth time.

Entering through the East entrance, the group splits up. Maroon and I move towards my mom and evacuate her to her ship. Mad, Solana, and Thorn enter security to disable the alarm system and redirect the ships en route to the mansion. We meet them there once Mom is evacuated safely, hacking into the defence mechanism and rigging it to attack any B.A.D. ship landing nearby.

They looked back at their teammates. Solana was sharpening their spear for the third time and checking the gun and dagged stashed on their utility belt. Mad was on its phone, presumably texting Rhyme. Their laser gun was already attached to their back and a small knife sat in their jacket pocket. Maroon was leaning on Thorn, who was staring down at the gun in aer hands. The prince had been against carrying the weapon at first but eventually gave in. Maroon also had one, though it was in its holster currently. Velvet also had a gun on her hip, along with Kil-layye Mo’ore, her staff, and her dagger.

All of the B.A.D. ships should be heading to the new location, a random planet two galaxies over. Unor wouldn’t bring his actual body on the mission, so it should still be at the house. We’ll use the access to the security cameras to locate where he is and move in on his location. Maroon and Thorn will restrain him while I-

Velvet looked at Maroon, who smiled back at her.

While I end this.

Mad will stay in the security office and monitor the positions of the other B.A.D. ships. Solana, and Thorn if needed, will stay behind at various points in the mission to take care of any guards remaining at the house. Once Unor is dead, we’ll evacuate to the Umbrella and return to the mansion.

“About a minute till we get there,” Mad reported. Velvet took a deep breath and stood.

“Alright. Everyone, any last-minute questions?” The group was quiet, and Thorn shook his head. The Umbrella entered the atmosphere and quickly zoomed around the house, landing outside. Mad began opening the door and Velvet quickly stood, drawing Kil-layye Mo’ore. Voices shouted outside but Velvet quickly threw the sword, silencing them. Mad looked back at the team.

“Solana, Thorn, you ready?” The two unbuckled themselves and joined Mad at the front. Maroon let go of Thorn’s hand and ran to catch up with Velvet, who was now out of the ship. The guards were already incapacitated on the ground when they approached the door. Velvet typed in a passcode and a light blinked green. The others joined them in front of it.

“Mad, you guys are going to the right. Maroon, we’re going to the left. Once I get this door open, we’re sprinting. Clear?”

“Clear,” the droid replied. Velvet twisted the doorknob and shoved it open. She led the way to the left, Maroon right behind her. Their teammates ran in the opposite direction. They were silent as they ran but shouts echoed behind them. Maroon looked back.

“I think they’re fighting-”

“They’ll be fine,” Velvet stated, “Stick to the plan.” Maroon took a deep breath and reached up to their comms.

“Guys, you okay?” Half a minute passed, Velvet’s heart racing.

“Yeah, fine. Just ran into a lot of guards outside the security room,” Thorn replied, slightly out of breath. Velvet frowned.

“But there’s never that many guards there.”

“Maybe he changed it since you left,” Solana said, “We’re entering the room now. You guys?” Velvet began to slow as Nala’s room came into view.

“We’re about to enter too. Talk to you in a bit.” Velvet pushed the door open, surprised to find it unlocked. Nala sat at the computer in the corner, still in her pyjamas and sleeping cap on.

“Mater!” Velvet called out. She turned around and a bright smile appeared on her face.

“Velvet!” She quickly stood and pulled them into a hug.

“Back already? It’s only been a week since-” Velvet pulled away and looked her in the eyes.

“Mom, we’re here to get you out of here.” Nala frowned and glanced at Maroon, who nodded.

“Get me out- what are you talking about?” Velvet grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards the door.

“I’ll explain later, but we’ve got to get you out of here.” Nala pulled her wrist out of their grip and stared at her child.

“Velvet, you’ll explain before you try to pull me anywhere.” Velvet glared at her.

Why is she being so difficult all of a sudden?

“Ms. Nala, we’re here to break you out of the house and get you somewhere safe,” Maroon started, stepping forward, “It’s not safe here right now. I promise you, we just want to keep you safe. We don’t want you to get wrapped up in what’s going on right now.” The CEO frowned and crossed her arms.

“And what is that?”

“We’re killing Unor,” Velvet said coldly, grabbing her wrist again. Nala’s eyes widened but she didn’t resist as Velvet pulled her out of the room and down the hall. Voices shouted down the hall and the assassin raised their sword. Several soldiers turned the corner.

“Close your eyes, mater,” Velvet ordered. The woman looked between her daughter and the guards before obeying. The leader, with the large B.A.D. logo on his chest, stared at Nala.

“They’re taking Mrs. Bolton!” he shouted, aiming his gun, “Don’t let them get away!”

“Maroon?” Velvet asked. The younger teen nodded. The guards’ bullets were blocked by a wall of large mushrooms. One grew right in front of her. She let go of Nala’s wrist and jumped, sailing over the wall as she threw Kil-layye Mo’ore. It sliced through the leader’s neck and embedded itself in the guard’s shoulder. He let out a loud scream that was cut off by a mushroom growing underneath him and launching him into a wall. His unconscious body crumpled to the ground.

Velvet summoned her sword back to their hand. The remaining two guards backed up but hit the wall of the hallway.

“No…” one of them breathed. Velvet smirked and threw the sword, slitting their throats. Maroon gently led Nala through the mushroom wall and handed her off to Velvet.

“We’re almost out, Mom,” the teen muttered, retrieving Kil-layye Mo’ore.

“What changed?” Nala asked, “Why now?”

“Unor was planning to attack our home. We’re attacking first before he can.” Nala opened her eyes and looked down at Velvet.

“He wouldn’t hurt you-”

“He already did,” Velvet snapped. Nala’s eyes widened.

“What-”

“Can we talk about this later, Mom? So I can work on getting us out of here safely.” Nala looked away.

“O-okay. We’ll talk about it later.” Velvet took a deep breath and reached up to their comms.

“Mad, alarm system update?”

“Deactivating it now,” the droid responded, “You should be good to exit now.”

“Okay. We’re taking Nala out now.” Nala frowned at Velvet but didn’t say anything. The assassin led her out the door at the end of the hall and towards the parking garage in the back of the area.

“Where’s your ship, Ms. Nala?” Maroon asked. The woman gestured upwards.

“On the top floor.” Velvet groaned.

“Of course.”

“It’s fine, Velvet. I’ll get us up there,” Maroon said. They grew a mushroom in front of the group and hopped on. Nala’s eyes widened as Velvet led her onto it.

“What…” she breathed. Maroon smiled nervously as they grew it to the top floor.

“Maroon’s powers,” Velvet clarified. Nala turned to them.

“It’s….beautiful.”

“T-thank you, Ms. Nala.” They stepped off of the mushroom and Nala led the way to her pink ship.

“Where am I supposed to go?” she asked. Velvet pulled out a small piece of paper and handed it to her.

“These coordinates. Do you remember Rhyme Reuter?” The CEO closed her eyes for a moment.

“That was one of Mrs. Gracy’s foster children, correct? The brown-haired one whose mom died in the mining accident?”

“That’s the one. She’s waiting there with a kid, Wyatt. He’ll help keep you safe there while we deal with things here.”

“But where am I going?” Velvet took another deep breath.

“The Mahogany Mansion,” Maroon answered, “Our home.”

Wyatt was fast asleep on the couch, so Rhyme turned off the Johnny Darlington episode the mafia had put on before they left. He sighed and walked into the kitchen.

I hate that I’m not with them, she thought, opening the fridge and grabbing out one of Velvet’s energy drinks, I should be there in case anything happens to Mad. He popped open the tab and took a sip. The liquid was clear but tasted like raspberry and peach. The carbonation tickled her throat as it went down.

Hopefully Velvet won’t mind me drinking their shit. Rhyme walked back into the living room.

She won’t mind if they all die because I’m not there. The thief paused and shook her head.

No, don’t think like that. They’ll be fine. Just focus on your job. As if on cue, Rhyme’s phone dinged. He pulled it out.

Message from Velvet. Looks like Nala’s on her way. A loud engine sound enveloped the mansion, sending a chill down Rhyme’s spine.

“That can’t be her,” he mumbled. She quickly set the drink down and scooped Wyatt up in her arms. He stirred slightly but stayed asleep. Rhyme sprinted up to the second floor and opened Mad’s door. After setting Wyatt down on the bed, Rhyme locked the door using the key Velvet had given him. He glanced out of the window.

A grey B.A.D. ship had landed outside, and several armed men streamed out. Rhyme cursed under her breath.

“Looks like I’m up,” he muttered. He ran back downstairs and grabbed his backpack from the couch. She unzipped it slightly right as the door fell the the ground.

“Spread out and find them!” Someone shouted. Rhyme pulled out their gun and turned the corner. He fired at the guards, hitting a few in the chest. They recoiled slightly but the bullet didn’t pierce the armor.

Shit, Rhyme thought. She grabbed the bag and dodged out the door, the men shouting behind her. A bullet whizzed right by his ear. Rhyme’s heartbeat raced as he pulled a bomb out of his bag. She glanced back.

Here goes nothing. She chucked the bomb behind her and it exploded on impact with the ground. Screams from the guards enveloped her ears. Behind her, the guards laid on the ground with various limbs missing and blood colouring the grass. He threw another at their ship, for good measure.

She walked back around the bleeding men, some shouting for help. Rhyme silenced a few of them before reaching one still standing near the doorway to the mansion.

“W-who are you?” He demanded, raising his rifle. Rhyme raised an eyebrow.

“You don’t recognize me?” She taunted, “Why, I’m offended.” He fired a shot but Rhyme stepped out of the way. He raised his pistol and shot him in the chest, sending him flying through the mansion’s doorway. He slid to the ground and hit his head on the stairs.

“Shit-” he muttered, “Shit shit shit-” He reached for the radio attached to his belt but Rhyme shot his hand.

“I don’t think so.” Pain exploded in Rhyme’s left side and she quickly doubled over.

“What the fuck-” she muttered, looking down. His black and white shirt was torn and blood was now dripping out.

“Now, boss! Call for backup!” Someone shouted behind her. Rhyme quickly shot the downed man in front of her in the head before turning around and shooting the one holding a gun.

“Nice try, asshole,” she muttered. The air was still as Rhyme looked at the various corpses on the front lawn. His side throbbed and he quickly pressed a hand against it.

“Madbay, right,” he breathed. Just then, another ship began descending onto the soil. Rhyme groaned.

“I don’t know if I can take another fucking squad-” She turned around to see a light pink ship hit the dirt. The door slowly opened revealing, not another squadron as Rhyme had anticipated, but Mrs. Bolton.

“Oh thank god,” he said. Nala rushed towards her.

“Rhyme! It’s lovely to see you dear. After you went missing-” The CEO stopped in front of her and glanced around. Her eyes widened at the men lying on the ground. Rhyme reached a hand out.

“Mrs. Bolton, I promise you this is not what it looks like-” She looked up at Rhyme and quickly locked onto his bleeding abdomen.

“Oh my-” she breathed, “Did you get shot?” Rhyme glanced down at the wound.

“Oh, that? That’s nothing I haven’t dealt with before-” Nala took her hand and walked towards the door.

“Is there a medical area in the house? You’ll need stitches, not to mention getting the bullet out.” Rhyme broke her hand free, causing Nala to turn around to look at her.

“Yeah, there is. Go inside and to the left. It’s labelled ‘Madbay’.”

“Well, come on then.” Rhyme waved her on.

“I’ll be there in a minute. I’ve got to do something out here first.” Nala frowned and crossed her arms. “Rhyme, I have no doubt whatever you need to do can wait until after you receive medical attention.” Rhyme smiled at her.

“I’ll be fine, Mrs. Bolton. It’s not too deep. Go on ahead and you can find all the supplies. I’ll just be a minute.” Nala took a deep breath and sighed.

“Alright, but hurry.”

“I will.” The CEO walked into the Mahogany Mansion and took a left toward the Madbay. Rhyme waited a few seconds before walking inside and dragging the corpse of the squad leader outside. He collected all the bodies into a large pile and threw a bomb into the centre. She backed up and detonated it, causing various limbs to fly onto the surrounding land. Rhyme placed a few more bombs around the perimeter before entering the mansion once again.

Just in case, he thought, I won’t let Mad down.

Thorn watched Mad rapidly type commands into the computer. Their fast-moving fingers almost made his head spin. Solana was holding the door closed on the other side of the security office. No one was on the other side, but the elf wasn’t planning on taking any chances.

“Okay, they’re all redirected,” Mad mumbled, “Hopefully they all listen to the new orders.” “We have Rhyme at the mansion for a reason,” Solana added. Mad nodded slightly.

“Although I hope he doesn’t have to do anything.”

“Nala’s on her way to the mansion now,” Maroon’s voice came through the comms, forcing Thorn to smile slightly.

“Perfect timing. I just got the new orders sent out to all the squadrons,” Mad replied. Thorn laughed slightly at the echo from the comms. Mad turned to look at them.

“You okay, Thorn?”

“Yeah, fine. It’s just kinda funny hearing your voice through the comms and right next to me.” Mad chuckled.

“You’re right.”

“Always positive, Thorn,” Solana added. The prince shrugged.

“Well someone’s gotta be the team clown. Otherwise Velvet’s going to make everything way too serious.”

“True, true.”

“We’re approaching the security office now,” Velvet said, “Mad, any luck locating Unor?”

“On it right now.”

“Radio when you guys are close and I’ll open the door,” Solana said.

“Got it. Be there soon.” Mad typed a few more commands into the keyboard. “Now where is Unor…” it muttered. Thorn watched as the droid flipped through several camera feeds.

“What about his office?” Ae asked. Mad flipped to it, but no one was inside.

“Damn, I thought we were gonna have it easy,” Solana mumbled.

“Guys, come in,” Velvet whispered through comms. Thorn straightened up.

“We’re listening, Velvet. Go for it,” Solana answered.

“Maroon and I are hiding behind some chairs outside the office. You’ve got a full squad about to be right outside the door. Stay quiet and we’ll take care of them.”

“Copy that.” Mad hit the mute button on the keyboard, shutting down all the sound from the monitors. Solana pushed harder against the door, and Thorn raised his hands. It was silent for a minute until screams echoed against the walls. A body must have hit the door because it shook violently and caused Solana to move back slightly. After a few seconds, the screams stopped.

“They’re taken care of, Solana. Let us in.” Velvet was slightly out of breath, and Thorn could barely make out Maroon’s heavy breathing as well. Solana opened the door and the two teens came in. Thorn caught a glimpse of the bloodied corpses outside before the elf shut the door again. Thorn shook their head and refocused on Maroon.

“You okay, Mar-Mar?” it asked. Their friend looked relatively unharmed, just exhausted.

“I’m okay. You?”

“Fine.” Velvet joined Mad at the control panel while Solana remained at the door.

“Any luck?” Mad shook their TV.

“I’ve searched all the cameras several times. He must be somewhere without direct camera access.” Velvet frowned. “But that’s impossible. Every inch of this place is attached to these cameras. Unless…” Velvet’s eyes widened and they lightly pushed Mad out of the way.

“Unless what?” Mad asked. Velvet didn’t answer, instead opening up a new terminal and typing in another command. A green ‘Access Granted’ screen appeared before it cut to a new camera feed. Unor was sitting on a chair directly across from the camera. His eyes were closed, but he was tapping his foot. A vent sat right above him, blowing air that moved his hair slightly. There was nothing else in the room, just a concrete floor surrounded by deep red wallpaper.

He was dressed in the same suit he had been wearing when Thorn had first seen him. His black hair was slicked back, presumably with some kind of gel. He held a pistol in his right hand but held some kind of folder in his left. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes. Unor winked at the camera and then the feed went to static.

The Red Mafia was silent. Velvet put her face in her hands before looking back at the cut-off feed.

“He knows we’re here,” they mumbled.

“But how?” Solana questioned, “We didn’t tell anyone that’s not here right now. Unless-” The elf glanced at Mad.

Rhyme.

“We’re not pointing fingers,” Velvet snapped. The entire mafia turned to look at her as she continued.

“Now is not the time to question anyone. He knows, so what? We’ve gotten this far. We’re not turning back now.” They turned back to the keyboard and pulled up the normal camera feed. They flipped to a camera that seemed to show a dead end in a hallway, except for a large vent near the floor. A few guards leaned against walls and Thorn saw the familiar stickered door from a week ago.

“The room he’s in doesn’t have any door or entrances that’s not through that vent,” she began, “The vent system is connected to this one, which is upstairs and to the right. The plan isn’t changing: we’re still killing Unor.” Maroon reached out and grabbed Thorn’s hand. The prince gave a reassuring squeeze before turning back to Velvet.

“Mad, do your best to restore that camera feed. I doubt he did anything to the actual camera, just turned off its connection. I think you’ll be able to reconnect to it.” Mad nodded and stepped up to the keyboard. Velvet moved out of its way.

“The rest of us are heading upstairs. Solana, you’ll keep the guards busy while Maroon, Thorn, and I get into the vent. From there, the plan continues as normal. Is everyone clear?” The Red Mafia’s leader looked at each one of them and received a nod. Thorn gave Maroon one final squeeze before letting go of their hand.

“Let’s do this, Mar-Mar,” he muttered. Maroon smiled weakly.

“Yeah.” Solana opened the door slightly and peeked out.

“We’re clear.” Velvet moved next to her.

“Alright. Follow me. Thorn and Maroon, you already know where we’re going, so you’ll cover our 6. Solana, you’re in the front with me.”

“You got it, drama queen.” Velvet chuckled slightly before throwing the door open.

“Now!” she whispered. They booked it to the right, where stairs quickly came into view. The group sprinted up them and Thorn grew several vines to block anyone following behind. Velvet continued to the right as shouts came from the left. Maroon blocked the hallway with a wall of mushrooms just as bullets began flying at them. The two magical teens switched off making new walls as they ran down the hallway.

Thorn spotted the camera above them and the guards on the walls. They pushed themselves up and raised their guns.

“He was right! Capture them!” One of them shouted. Velvet threw Kil-layye Mo’ore, but the guard side-stepped out of the way. Solana took to a guard in front of him, dodging a shot and stabbing them in the stomach. The elf knocked the gun out of his hand before ripping his spear out.

Velvet rolled under several bullets before summoning her sword. They chopped off one of their heads right as a bullet grazed her left arm. Velvet didn’t flinch and turned to the guard that had shot it. A mushroom sprouted from the guard’s mouth as he gasped for air. They fell to the ground, unconscious. Thorn looked back at Maroon, whose hands were raised at the guard.

“Thorn, behind you!” Solana shouted at him. The teen quickly spun around to see several guards break through the vine wall. He raised his hands and vines attached themselves to their ankles. Several of them tripped while others continued on. Solana pushed the teen out of the way and sliced through the guard’s body armour. Thorn pinned them to the ground and reinstated the wall.

Metal clattered to the ground, causing them to turn around. Velvet had ripped the vent to the ground, Maroon standing over them. Thorn turned back to Solana, who had several guards surrounding her. The prince used a vine to push them back before drawing their gun.

I hope this works, he thought. Ae fired a shot at one of them that collided with one of their arms. That guard fell to the ground, giving Solana the chance to fight off the other two. Behind them, Velvet muttered something to Maroon. Thorn couldn’t hear their response, instead focusing on fixing the wall once again. After a few seconds, Velvet shouted over the sound of the fight.

“Thorn, stay here with Solana! The guards are going to keep coming, so he’ll need you here!” Thorn paused and turned back to look at them.

“But-” Maroon smiled at them.

“We’ll be fine! Solana needs you here.” Thorn’s heartbeat raced. A thousand possibilities ran through aer head, most ending horribly. Their eyes were locked with Maroon’s.

“Are you sure?” He shouted back. Maroon nodded. Thorn glanced back at Solana, who was once again getting slightly overwhelmed by the guards. The prince took a deep breath.

“Okay! Stay safe!”

“We will!”

“And Velvet?” the prince added. The assassin turned to look at him.

“What?”

“Make sure Maroon comes back alive.” Velvet paused for a moment before nodding.

“Promise me.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“Promise me, Velvet.” She glanced at Maroon before looking Thorn dead in the eyes.

“I promise.”

“Thank you.” Velvet disappeared into the darkness and Maroon kneeled down on the ground. They glanced back at Thorn before joining Velvet in the vent. Thorn stared at the empty air for several seconds.

“Thorn, I could use some help here!” Solana shouted. Thorn quickly turned around and fired a few shots in the guards’ general direction. Several of them turned their focus to them.

“Who’s ready to dance?” Thorn asked, raising his hands. The guards responded by raising their guns. The prince smirked and glanced at Solana. The elf sliced through three or four guards before taking a breath. Thorn turned back to the approaching guards.

In a few seconds, they were hanging from vines attached to the ceiling while Thorn ran forward to help Solana.

#it’s time #the finale begins. are you ready for it?#/the red mafia #/trm part 4 #/chapter 047 #/trm finale #/the strike #/velvet #/velvet bolton #/solana #/solana roison #/mad valentine #/maroon #/maroon pembrooke #/thorn alviar #/nala bolton #/wyatt gracy #/rhyme reuter #/unor bolton

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