#* file // : 1998 — ( 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐋 𝟐 . )

[yngai]

RESIDENT EVIL 4 REMAKE  «  𝘈𝘊𝘊𝘌𝘗𝘛𝘐𝘕𝘎 .

the stench of stale pizza hangs in the air, it tickles her nose in a way she knows won't go away any time soon . it amazes her jill can breathe in here, a soul closed shut from the world outside, peering from the blinders through stained glass . a proper cleaning will require she bring along a gasmask . day's old takeout scattered across every inch of the kitchen, a half eaten pie greasing the table through the carton . there must be a delivery man out there making some really good money in this district, & he shouldn't share in her horror, jill's frame covers the mess when she opens the door . she has a way of taking up the scene, even in the small hallway leading into the rest of the kitchen .

there is no reason for ada wong to occupy this space, ever since she set foot in america she felt like a puzzle piece that doesn't fit, & for as much as jill valentine echoes the catastrophe of a college frat, turning her apartment into more of a den for her to stew on her own nightmares, she is out of place too . they are women of another world that struck one another like speeding cars on the highway, an impact they won't ever forget, a pointed gun down a damp alley after a few days of an ex-cop trailing an umbrella scientist . john was such a foolish man, her name was clogging the sink of his throat while she couldn't wait to peel herself away from him . in the ruins of his failure jill had found three letters & she carried them with her mania, a dozen red strings tied around a board of circumstantial evidence . she should thank him for that, no matter how their office romance soured her tenure at NEST, that he would lead jill to her . give her the respite that neither his presence nor his obsessive letters ever could .

@goblinis : ❝ i’m not used to having such good company . ❞

she perks up, a pleasingly sweet hum sung through the noise of a sponge wiping away at a week's worth of unwashed dishes . ada can't abide all that jill has become, she knows how easy it is to let yourself go when you have nothing to hang onto . hong kong is a thousand miles away & forever changed in her absence . she can't return home, not before her job is finished & there's dread sneaking into her resolve, that when this is over her resume will be bookended with a final note, that she has become a liability . ada can't allow jill to turn her own home into her reflection, to stare at yourself so deeply is to become distorted in what you are not .

“ an indictment of your fellow officers, or are you trying to butter me up, hm ? ” a smile flashed to the corner of the room, where jill leans, at the edge of her vision she could see jill content to watch her play domestic . so much for sharing intel, everything ada smuggles out of the lab would get lost in the mess . “ gonna give me a hand ? you've been eyeing me all night . ”

either way, ada doesn't quite seem to mind .

[yngai]

CONTINUED « @manhic​​ .

the night air is never colder than in raccoon city,  a city that grows dread on its walls like mould,  festering in between each brick .  it hangs above every resident,  within every dark alleyway,  at each window where shadowy figures observe as the people go through the minutia of their daily lives .  it makes for a nice contrast with the warm,  damp air of this bar,  betraying in its welcome,  a false sense of security .  an unusual hangout spot where umbrella’s all-seeing eye wouldn’t search for ada wong,  the lab assistant of a dr. annette birkin,  who treads the steel corridors of her workplace desperately trying to hide lipstick stains beneath her lab coat .  her time on the surface is spent somewhere within the city’s chinatown,  spinning tales of a life that isn’t hers to some sweet,  old store owner that wants nothing more than to listen,  unaware of the fiction .  a small piece of hong kong that staves off the choking grasp of home sickness,  a force that cares not for whichever role she plays,  whatever its purpose,  only for the woman she used to be . 

tonight she a mere informant,  treachery & subterfuge in the shape of a woman in red darting past sweaty patrons & the inane chatter of a busy saturday night,  finding her refuge from the prying eyes that take notice in the corner booth,  opposite the one person who could hold her interest .  her name whispered on their tongue,  an uncertainty that makes of the crevice across them a deep ravine they are brave to cross .  she has done well to scrub herself clean of umbrella’s stench,  [frequent showers,  disinfectants,  a menagerie of sprays & cleaning solutions that coat every inch of her apartment]  & still she can see doubt in jill’s eyes .  a hesitation well understood,  but in this scenario,  a waste of time .  ada rips through it with a question that sheathes a sharp observation,  “  do you find me sadistic ?  ”  if their arrangement were ever discovered death would be a blessing,  they rush towards that suffering headfirst & perhaps she finds a thrill in all of it .

jill’s answer does provide a certain satisfaction,  an affirmation of personal belief,  she has been dealt a bad hand & made the most of it .  they both have & ada’s response is a grin that harbours gratitude,  all she can do before the leading question is asked,

“  depends,  ”  the flash drive,  procured from her purse,  now dances between her fingers,  an offering just out of reach .  one of two copies made before her day at NEST had finished,  one for her shén yà contact & another for the hands of jill valentine .  a mutual goal among them that would justify this transaction would either be aware of the other,  a perilous collaboration with only the middle man knowing it's happening at all .  exposing umbrella’s darkest secrets to the world;  to seek their end,  to make a profit,  usurp their market share & replace them with a seemingly lesser evil .  whoever succeeds first,  it ends with ada wong the winner & before jill may take it,  she retracts her hand,  the drive held tightly between her thumb & index finger .  “  do you ?  ”  a brief chuckle that openly mocks,  feigned nefariousness beneath her eyes as the sensitive data vanishes from the conversation,  her attention on the colourful display rack to their right .  “  looks like a place you frequent,  what should i get ?  ”  what would you like to buy me ?