#A little bit “she would probably have worked in a library if she wasn't killing demons with a magic sword”

[meonlyred]

Our Lady of Sword and Faith

[vivwritesfics]

No Need To Ask - CS55

Chapter Thirteen - The New Norris

The Norris' were a notorious crime family in the UK. One of many. With Norris, the head of the family, running operations with his son, Lando, they work to keep Y/N Norris, Norris' daughter protected. Life in a crime family wasn't something they wanted for her.

But with tension with one of the Spanish crime families rise, Norris and his now deceased wife come up with only one plan, offer their daughter to the Sainz's or risk an all out war.

Big things to come

1.6K words

Series Masterlist

Carlos’s pawn was the first to go. He sat back in his chair, waiting for Y/N to ask her question. The pawn was clutched tightly in her fist as she sucked in a deep breath. “What do you want from me?” She asked him as she stared deep into his brown eyes. They were gorgeous, but they were deadly.

Carlos lot a lazy smirk crosses his face. His shirt was unbuttoned, his sleeves rolled up. You’ve never guess that he was in England for a funeral. “I don’t want some sweet wife that I can easily scare and manipulate,” he answered.

Y/N glared. “That wasn’t what I asked.”

“Try again next time,” he said and began moving his pieces.

They went several goes without anybody stealing a piece. At last, Y/N had his knight in her possession. This question was a bit easier, more direct, and designed to rile him up. “So, you can cheat on me. But what if I was to sleep with another man?”

“You mean that little Australian rat?”

“Just answer the question, Carlos.”

Carlos cleared his throat, but his features remained cool and calm. “Simple. I would have him killed. And maybe you, as well.”

“You’d have me killed?”

“That’s what I said.”

Suddenly Y/N knew what she had to do, knew how she was going to get power over him.

They continued playing, Y/N’s game maybe not as good as it could have been, since she was concentrating on other things. Carlos stole one of her pawns. They hadn’t discussed what he was to get if he stole a piece, but Y/N had just guessed questions, the same as her.

“Do you want to be my wife?”

It sounded like a proposal, but it wasn’t. And it scared Y/N. If she answered wrong would he be rid of her? Toss her to the side like a used rag? But, if she said yes, he would know she was lying. She’d done nothing but cry since she’d arrived in Spain.

“No,” she answered honestly, heart beating erratically. “But I want to. I want to want to be your wife.” And that was the gods honest truth.

As the game continued, so did the questions. Y/N was winning, and therefore she got her questions answered. Sometimes Carlos wouldn’t answer directly, leaving her to try ago, but, by the end of the game, she found out all she needed to know. She knew exactly what she needed to do to force his respect.

Because it wasn’t something she had to earn, she wasn’t going to strive for respect from this monster. She was going to command it.

On their last day in England, Carlos had the meeting with the other heads of family. Y/N spent those last few hours wondering the halls of the house she once called him. it still felt more like home than the building she shared with her husband. She spent time in her bedroom, where her possessions still were. Lando would probably keep it that way, waiting for the day she finally came home. Even if that day was never to come.

It was strange being in that room now. So much had changed since the last time she was there. She looked through her wardrobe, picking out some outfits to take back to Spain. Packed away some black heeled boots and made her way down to the library, to try and get into her mothers desk one last time.

This time, she didn’t care if she destroyed it to get its secrets. Lando wouldn’t care, either.

So, while Lando was being announced as the new head of family, Y/N was using whatever she could find to get into her mother’s desk. She started with a screwdriver to pull apart the drawers. When that didn’t work, she moved onto smashing the entire thing apart.

The desk didn’t hold secrets, as Y/N thought it would. One drawer was full of pictures of Y/N, Lando and their father. The few normal moments they had as a family. Christmas morning and their summers getaways. They were cute, good memories, but they weren’t what Y/N was looking for. So, she kept searching.

There was one other thing Y/N’s mother kept in her desk. A manila folder that was covered in dust. Brushing off the dust, she opened the folder and pulled out a piece of paper.

An agreement. The agreement of Y/N’s hand for Carlos. She read down it, through the details, what each family would gain from this. Her mothers signature sat at the bottom of the paper, along with her fathers and Sainz’s signature. And then there was the date.

Seven years ago. This paper was signed seven years ago. The agreement was put into place seven years ago. Her fate had been decided for her seven years ago.

She tore it up. There was no telling what the consequences would be, but she did it anyway. It had been sitting in this desk for the last five years, anyway, who but her would know if she destroyed it?

Y/N picked herself up. Rage like no other bubbled up inside of her. For the first time ever, she couldn’t wait to get back to Spain.

She waited in the living room for Carlos and Lando to return from their meeting with the heads of family. Carlos already had their bags ready to go, in the corner of the room. She sat on the couch, playing with Lando’s cat. Well, he used to be their cat, but not since Y/N moved to Spain.

“Oh Suki,” she mumbled as he held him up above her, his little front legs stretched out. “I’d take you with me but you’d hate the heat.”

Suki let out a little noise and Y/N let him down, pulling him into her chest. He sat there, rather unhappy, but the ragdoll cat let her hold him close. He didn’t purr, but he didn’t try and wiggle out of her grasp, either. “Thank you, Suk,” she whispered and kissed the top of his head.

The door opened and Y/N let go of the cat, letting him run off to explore. She herself stood and brushed off her skirt, smoothing it down. The outfit of today was a black skirt with a loose, white blouse. She had cute black boots with white socks that just about peaked over the top. It was cute.

She barely got any time to say goodbye to Lando. As much as Y/N wanted to wrap her arms around him, to ask him how the meeting went, ask if anything was different now that he was Norris.

But Carlos didn’t give her much of a choice. He let her say a quick goodbye, let her throw her arms around him, but then they had to go. Y/N would have fought back, but this wasn’t Carlos’s thought. This wasn’t because he wanted to be nasty that they had to leave as soon as possible. Carlos had obligations in Spain he had to attend to, meaning they had to leave the minute the meeting was over.

During the plane ride back to Spain, Y/N sat where she wanted to. Carlos sat opposite her, and Y/N didn’t move away. She watched the clouds coming past as she sipped her drink.

Nothing much happened on the plane journey, and I won’t bore you with the details of the car journey back to the house. Y/N and Carlos didn’t speak. It wasn’t uncomfortable, they just didn’t need to.

That night they slept in separate beds. That was to be expected. Yes, Y/N had stood up to him, but not that much had changed.

It wasn’t until the next day that she stepped up her game. Y/N strode up to Carlos’s office door and knocked. She went to knock, but, as with every time she had tried before, his men stopped her. But Y/N wouldn’t let that happen “I am his wife and I will go where I like,” she said and knocked once again on the office door.

She didn’t wait for a reply before she pushed into his office. He could have been fucking anybody, and Y/N wasn’t going to care. But he wasn’t. Carlos was simply doing paperwork when she walked in.

She strode over, body filled with confidence, and leaned against his desk, looking at her husband. “I want to go shopping,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Go on, then,” Carlos answered and grabbed a notepad from his desk drawer, making a note of something.

Y/N leaned in closer. “I want to go shopping, Carlos. That means I need money and permission.”

Carlos put down his pen. He looked at his wife and pulled his wallet from his pocket. “Miguel!” He shouted and one of the men guarding the door ran into the office. He stood, staring at his boss as he waited for his command. “You are to take my pretty little wife shopping,” he said and Miguel nodded.

They had an exchange in Spanish; Y/N only just managed to pick out a couple of words.

So, Miguel took Y/N shopping. He didn’t speak to her, just watching over her as she picked out different dresses. Most were black, some short, some longer. Y/N picked out some shoes to go with them. They were elegant, expensive dresses that she was going to use for every day wear. Carlos’s card paid for everything. Y/N didn’t care for the price tags as the filled Miguels arms with bags.

When she was satisfied with the success of her shopping trip, Miguel drove her back to the house. She headed straight to her room, putting away her new dresses and shoes. And then she got changed into one of them, the one she deemed to be the sexiest. That was what she wore to give Carlos back his card.

When she walked into the office, his jaw was on the floor.

Taglist (open): @multi-universe21 @formulas-bitch @gills-lounge @weasleyswizarding-wheezes @carlossainzwho @f1lov3r @samaib11 @charli123456789 @queenofmanydreams @ironmaiden1313 @vellicora @glitterf1 @80sloverry @lightdragonrayne @moonayu @bellsalabanccini @topguncultleader @handsupforamiracle @cmleitora @ashy-kit @jenniferrvsesi @barcelonaloverf1life @sbella13 @nicolettecallednikki @darleneslane @thehufflepuffavenger1 @champagneproblems17 @aespie @yukheizcigarettes @rewmuslupin @hollie911 @ashy-kit @ririgy @stqrgir1 @zaynzierulez @minkyungseokie @rafaaoli @carolinesainz @ashies-ln4op81aa23 @measimp

[raviolirash]

Gift.

Astarion struggles finding a gift for his love.

Astarion was a great charlatan. When it was time to put on a charade, he didn't have a humble bone in his body. Bragging about being the master of everything, how everything suits him, how he is a vampire of endless talents and beauty and clever words. How he's above everything, how flowers are overrated and never make good poisons.

He couldn't even pretend to be good at... this.

They all had some downtime in-between trying to solve a murder and taking down a tyrant, just every day things. Most scattered to explore the city for the remainder of the day. The Baldurians of their party sought out friends they wanted to say hello to before the city inevitably burns down again, the wizard was trying not to faint in the giant library, Halsin was probably feeding ducks to quell the stress this cursed stone city was choking his heart with, and Lae'Zel was most likely threatening a blacksmith and making him reconsider his career choice as he no longer sees the point.

Vėlė got dragged away by her old friend for a little while, to cause some unknown trouble with a few other drow they recognized in the city. It was never a good sign.

As for Astarion? Astarion was hiding in the shadows, counting the sweat beads on the merchant not too far away who has had to deal with the vampire's malice filled glare for the past hour. The malice wasn't aimed at the merchant, just at his own situation.

Romance didn't come easy to him. It all was quite new. He was worried that he'd overdo it, that he was very frightening. Worried that he didn't do enough. Worried that he couldn't do enough. Hells. After Cazador's defeat, the pit in his brain which used to house thoughts of vengeance had to be filled with something.

In turn, he subconsciously tried nothing. The problem at hand was that he actually wanted to try. Try something that involved more than him sitting with her and talking about how he has no idea what to do. He knew the basics of romance of course. Flowers. Dinners. Trips to faraway lands. A star in the sky to look at. A song in her heart. But none of those seemed right.

So, often he turned to what he knew best: being an asshole. And so he spent the time he was thinking about his problems getting on the salesman's nerves. He was an asshole, and he was the most comfortable being one. He could do that. Assholing was his comfort zone, an asshole was who he always was.

But was it who he wanted to be?

Maybe a little bit of an asshole, a little less than who he always was, but would that be enough? He knew Vėlė loved him, but how far would she put up with his nonsense before she snapped? He almost hit that limit the night before they killed Cazador.

His thoughts were heading into a very uncomfortable direction and he put a swift stop to it. He has gotten better at doing that.

Point was, he felt like he had to try, if this was going to work. After everything. Because no one knew when the world would end.

Astarion thought about her tattoos. Small birds and flowers were the most prominent subject. Surely something she allowed to become a permanent fixture on her skin was something she really liked. On the other hand, Karlach was inked with Zariel's name all over her body. Not to mention the markings on his own back. Vėlė has only talked fondly about her tattoos, how she got them to have control over herself, so there was that.

The gods wouldn't bless him with it being simple, and stopping at that. Every damned flower and every bird had a meaning, and there was the possibility of buying her a flower that represents a reminder of something awful the spider queen did to her. Or getting her a wooden bird symbolizing a creature which eats the heads off people happily in love.

Damn. He was stuck in the stupidest impasse.

He knew what she liked and didn't like, he knew what was on her body and what wasn't. What she would like and what she wouldn't for the most part. But the damn idea of a gift made him very awkward.

Before anyone could blink, he had pilfered a book from the flower merchant and went back to the bench to read it. A book about flowers and their meanings. Huh. Looks like the merchant was a bigger sham than he was.

He skimmed over it. Anything that resembled a sussur flower was a no-go. Most of the things in the book did sound like the author wanted to maximize their profits by making things up.

Oh, how cute would it be to just simply say 'I saw this, and thought of you'. Finding a rose in a blighted place and telling her what a rare and beautiful thing she was to find amongst darkness. He had to become a bloody scholar. Averting his eyes from the endless names of flowers in the book, Astarion saw the merchant panicking as he checked every pocket of his, frantically mumbling something about a book and missing coin. He grew increasingly more and more erratic for every second that passed, with it culminating in telling a customer to hold on a minute as he went out to find a Fist.

Astarion put the book behind his back with an inconspicuous whistle. Nothing to see here.

Although, he did find some relief and camaraderie in that the merchant was a fraud. None of this helped with his problem, however. He could steal something for her, maybe? No. A stolen chain with a pretty rock felt inadequate, and by the gods they had quite enough of that already. A custom piece of jewelry wouldn't get made before the city starts burning.

Astarion pulled out the dagger she made for him, using some magic that - truthfully - he wanted to know very little about. He knows what happens to pretty men who stick their noses in Drow magic.

Nevertheless, that dagger was the catalyst for this particular catastrophe going on. Flowers just wouldn't cut it compared to this. Compared to everything she has done, really. The glowing heart on the dagger left a lovely trail in the air when the threw up the dagger to catch it again with flawless technique, then letting it dance between his fingers.

Gods, please take pity on the fool who fell in love.

Calling defeat, he sought her out. The city will actually start burning prematurely without the two being there to guide the rest of the companions. Astarion found her in the Elfsong enjoying a meal, with the other patrons as far away from her as possible and a notable smell of blood in the air which explained some things. Even with Astarion out of the Elfsong's rotation, it wasn't free of creeps. Alan couldn't complain as she paid extra for the trouble.

"Hello, my love." Astarion watched her face light up at the words as he took a seat across from her. He tossed the stolen book on the table with exhausted abandon, unfortunately catching her attention with the thud.

"What's this?" Vėlė swallowed her food and wiped her hands on a cloth before inspecting it.

"Oh, just rotten fruit of a hard day's work." He complained. "I had to humble an absolute fraud. This city needs to have standards when it comes to swindlers, honestly."

With a disappointed sigh in himself, Astarion returned to playing with the dagger. He wondered if he threw it hard enough it could hit the ceiling. Just as he was getting ready for it, he got distracted by her voice

"Lily of The Valley. Apparently it means returning to happiness." Vėlė had the book right next to her arm, comparing the the illustrations of the flower in the book to the one on her arm. "So it doesn't mean 'Corellon has pissed in a garden', after all."

Astarion huffed: "I suspect that in Lolth-ian every flower has a name that loosely translates to 'the devil known as Coronal of Arvandor is pissing somewhere'."

He thought about it some more for a moment, as her laugh echoed through the tavern. A lovely sound he couldn't get enough of. He continued. "Don't you tell me that I am that far off the mark. I think I've heard some family of tulips translated as 'Defecating on The Seldarine's feet'."

"Hey, now. It's not all about Corellon." Vėlė giggled. "I also heard the Menzoberranzan commoners call roses 'The Goddess who is singing at the moon, and is also a whore'. Lolth's words, not mine."

Vėlė continued flipping through the book, always stopping to comment when she found a flower that was also tattooed on her, her smile growing with every new discovery, and sometimes sighing in contempt when the symbolism was inaccurate.

And all the rogue could do was smile back like a love sick fool.

[litnerdwrites]

"We don't treat Elain and Nesta the same because Elain Apologised,"

Elain and Nesta aren't the same people. They can't be compared. While I understand that Nesta said some cruel things in that cabin, so did Feyre. While Nesta could've made things a bit easier on all of them, so could Feyre. They both have reasons to apologise to one another, so if you're going to condemn Nesta for not doing so, then Feyre deserves the same treatment.

But if Nesta did want to apologise, what makes you think it would be the second that Feyre got back? And in front of fae, no less. Nesta is complicated character who carries herself with pride and is considered a very private person, and is described as being queen like multiple times. The two have more issues to work through than just a few mean comments, and the moments they have the most sincere heart to hearts, are when they're alone. Without Rhysand peering from behind a door way, listening in and commentating whenever he feels like.

Looking back, in ACOTAR 1, we learn some of the myths humans tell about the Fae including that they can't lie, and they have to and that if you catch one, then it has to tell you what you want to know. Both of those turn out to be false, since fae can lie, and Ianthe caught the Surreal, but we learn in ACOWAR that it wouldn't tell her anything.

We can assume this means that the rules the fae follow in our mythology are the same ones that humans believe about fae in ACOTAR, meaning it's a fair assumption that one of the many stories about fae include never letting yourself be indebted to them. Saying things like 'thank you' or 'I'm sorry' comes across like as owing them something, and Nesta is, at this point, under the impression that doing so will cause the fae to hold it over her head and use to demand things of her for as long as she lives, if not ask something straight up impossible to make her more indebted to them.

On top of that, Feyre just asked her for a favour that could get her and Elain killed. The Mortal Queens could've just decided to have Elain and Nesta arrested and executed for collaborating with fae, or have them exiled even. It wasn't a small thing that Feyre asked for, and basically peer pressured her into, with Elain. So it's understandable that pleasantries and apologies are the last things on her mind, when her and Elain's life could be forfeit at any moment.

Even if Rhysand offers to protect them, what could he do? Nesta's under the impression that the Fae hate humans, look down on them and would treat them horribly if she crossed into their lands. Moreover, she has a whole life there, that they're suggesting she could drop to move to the other end of the country without so much as a message to their father? Or an idea of what's waiting for them? To abandon their home, friends, family and peoeple?

For what? Potential servitude? Amongst creatures she were taught were slave driving monsters? To live under her little sister's rule (cause even if she wasn't HL at this point, as fae, she has significant power over Nesta. Plus the ruler of said land they're offering to take her too openly favours Feyre, and kind of Elain but hates her, so she'd basically still be living by Feyre's whims) for the rest of her short life? Literally what part of that is appealing?

So Nesta not apologising to Feyre at that dinner, makes sense. Our girl had bigger things to worry about. She probably would have if she Feyre didn't outright abandon her to deal with her trauma alone, only showing up when she wanted to parade Nesta around at parties for her own joy, without considering how it feels to her. Or when her court, who don't like her and whom she doesn't like either, show up to insult her, and blame her for having trauma.

If Feyre and Nesta had more moments like the one in the library, or the one all three had after Az and Feyre rescued Elain, Nesta would've likely healed and apologised on her own. If the IC had just stayed out of it, then all three sisters would've figured things out, on their own. The IC just want something to complain about, so like the CON and the HC, they make a problem, and they complain that it exists.

Also, if I remember right, Feyre herself said she wanted to start over at that dinner. So unless Feyre or Nesta want to bring it up or talk about it, why does any of her family get to hold it over her head for the rest of immortality? Feyre literally just called it water under the bridge and all three of them were going through their own shit at the time, so let them actually work through their own issues privately, and I'll bet that they'll solve it on their own within a year.

[calbeloved]

little agatha thing post aop cause she makes me sick <3 enjoy and just don't look too closely cause my thoughts aren't Coherent today and my own hands are shaking a lot so ignore it if you see any mistakes or something doesn't make sense at all im gping off vibes today okay yay thank you

Turns out, taking care of wounds is more complicated than she thought. Medicine in general, really.

Her foot still aches and shoots up with pain and makes her want to cry and scream and die each time she moves it; sometimes even when she doesn't– even bandaged, even after she did all she could.

She… should probably go to a hospital. In every book she read, on every website, they say to go to the hospital if a wound is severe– she does not know a lot about what classifies as a ‘severe wound’ but she supposes being shot would count.

They told her to not get in their way. Agatha isn't entirely sure how to avoid that, but she knows she doesn't want to meet them again. She doesn't want to die.

…Still, she is not in her body and still underage, and while she doesn't know much about Gabriel's parents, she doesn't want to risk the hospital calling them. The police could be informed too, depending on what… those guys did.

So. She did it on her own. The bullet wasn't deep in the skin, thanks to the shoe, but it still hurt. She dug it out and disinfected it all, and packed it with gauze and tied off with bandages. Didn't cry at all. Doesn't limp at all and doesn't shake when she changes the bandages and applies the oliment; it's all fine and she is fine and thinking of it all doesn't make her sick.

She went into the school exactly one time when she was sure nobody was inside. Took a few books into her backpack from the library (the ones that weren't completely destroyed, anyway) and ran off as quickly as she could. She doesn't stay in her mom's apartment for long either; the police didn't care enough to keep watch of her when her mom got arrested, but again, she doesn't /know/ what those guys did or said– they could be looking for her right now. She did kill someone.

So she hides in abandoned buildings and in tight alleyways, and reads her books. The normal ones she keeps for when she's more tired– the book she reads when she can process it.

She starts keeping an eye out for people walking with hoods on. She starts recognising the tattoos and the way weapons look hidden under clothes. When her leg isn't bothering her as bad and she feels confident, sometimes she tries to talk with some of them.

…or tries to get brave enough to do so, anyway.

She just needs a bit of time, that's all.

Still, she knows all of them– most, at least, have their own knives. Agatha doesn't have her own knife, but she does own a simple kitchen knife that's small (and for cutting fruit) and could potentially work for rituals. It's enough for cutting skin open, and that's really all she needs for now.

Today, though, Agatha is sitting in Mister Alex's apartment.

He's dead now.

She saw it in a newspaper and knows perfectly well it wasn't any sort of car accident or whatever else they're talking about. Not at all feeling sick, she read his file from the school to find out his address; until the end of the month comes and the rent isn't paid, nobody should bother her here. She knows this part of the town well enough; nobody really concerns themselves with what happens here, as long as the money is right.

It's dangerous, yes, but Agatha has to learn how to be dangerous herself, doesn't she? This is the first step. It's fine.

She sits on the sofa with a knife in one hand and an apple in the other.

Somewhere far away in her mind, she remembers her mom making a “salad” to go with the dinners they had– carrot and apple, grated and with some sugar. Agatha never got to peel them; “you're too young to be using knives” her mother used to say.

But her mom is gone now– has been for a long time, even if she was still staying near then. And Agatha isn't a little kid anymore.

If she wants to be able to do more rituals, she needs to get better. Using a knife skillfully and without hurting herself is important, she knows. She needs to be fully in control. Not afraid of hurting herself.

“Fruit,” she murmurs to herself, and tries not to wince too much at how her voice sounds. “Fucking stupid.”

Stupid doesn't mean not important, she has learned. She can be as pissed as she wants, as long as she gets the job done.

So Agatha takes a deep breath to calm her shaking hands and lightly digs the knife into the skin of the apple. Slowly and carefully, she starts peeling it off without raising the knife; goes in circular motions, around and around.

It takes no more than a few minutes. She looks at it and just sighs. It looks awful. She either presses too lightly and leaves some parts of the skin behind, or presses too hard and takes away big chunks of the inside part.

With now sticky fingers from the juice– that don't remind her of anything else; not of feeling Gabriel's– her own blood, not a warm, disgusting and red fluid staining her whole, she just reaches out for the next apple. Wipes off her hands on the couch. It's not like she's going to be here for longer than a few weeks. It doesn't matter how much of a mess she makes.

Practice makes perfect, after all, or… whatever they say.

She can do this. Just has to pretend her fingers don't shake and her foot doesn't hurt so much that she's afraid she's going to have to go to a hospital eventually, where they're going to have to cut it off or something. It's fucking stupid. She's strong, for fuck's sake. She can deal with it all herself. She never needed anyone else, so she doesn't need anyone else's help now.

Obviously.

[befuddled-calico-whump]

Total $hit$how: Bombs Away

in which Joy overcomes her boredom

cw: adult language

previous ///// masterlist ///// next

×~×~×

Things went from exciting to uneventful in record time. Even though they were on a supposed ‘tight schedule’, all they did was train and practice and practice and train.

Joy was no stranger to training overkill; she'd experienced it plenty in the army, but that at least made some sense. The army was full of dumbass kids who came in not knowing which way was up. Here wasn't. 

...With maybe the exception of Harbor. The guy looked thirty, but sure as hell acted like a dumbass kid. It was hard for her to pinpoint how old he actually was.

Not that it really mattered. No matter their age, skill, or background, they were all monkeys in the same shitshow.

They'd been here for close to a week now, and they still hadn't been given more info for the all important file. Not to mention the fact that the mission made no sense to her.

Sure, they were all skilled. Jericho had proven he could bust down cyber walls better than a digital wrecking crew, and she'd seen Benji crack every lock Sahota tossed his way in seconds. Even Kaius, for all his insufferability, was adept at finding little details the rest of them missed. And though Harbor followed directions about as well as a deaf rat would follow the pied piper, he still had the biotech to give him an edge on whatever Sahota tasked them with.

Skills aplenty. But why couldn't whoever’d sought them out just helo some mercenaries to whatever floor the secret tech shit was on and bust it up? Why did it require so much finesse? If it was so important, if leaving the program alone would potentially doom the city, what was with all the secrecy? And maybe most importantly, why couldn't the almighty Sahota and Vic do it themselves?

It probably wasn't her business. She probably just didn't care enough about the polite subtleties tech conglomerates required to give a shit.

But the powers that be demanded secrets and fine tuning, so fuck it, she'd play their game.

Training was fun enough, but Joy could stand to complain about their downtime options. As far as she could tell, they could either read, work out in the gym that was set up on the far side of the training room, or mindlessly wander the hallways.

She'd checked out the little library, and hadn't found many books she was interested in reading. There was barely a shelf's worth of nonfiction; old equipment manuals and biographies of people she’d never heard of. There was a significantly higher amount of classic literature. The kind of shit you had to read in school, and probably her least favorite genre. She'd sifted through the paperbacks anyway, if only out of boredom. The most worn book was a copy of the dreaded 1984, and when she flipped through its pages, she found tally marks. A shit ton of them, like someone had been bored and just wanted to see how many they could make.

There were maybe a hundred to a page, carefully drawn in the margins. Weird as they were, Joy couldn't find anything that gave them context, even after devoting an evening to checking the rest of the books for markings.

Maybe someone had a weird sense of humor and just wanted to put down 1,984 tallies. Either way, it didn't seem worth it to lose her mind over, so at the end of the night, she'd just shelved it and gone to bed. That had only been day two. Who knew how much time she'd have to kill while waiting for the mission to kick off?

The compound was woefully lacking in the engineering department. It didn't even have a proper toolbox, at least not one she'd been able to find, and Joy resorted to swiping little bits of cutlery and disposables to build shit. Nothing useful, just little things to entertain herself.

Day three, she made a working crossbow out of toothpicks and dental floss. Day four, a tiny model plane crafted from broken plastic cutlery. By day seven, she was on the verge of dismembering the AC unit in her room, just to see if she'd be able to fix it without a manual.

Joy pondered if it would be worth it as the crew stood half-awake on the sparring side of the training room, waiting for the morning’s session to begin. Of course, she didn't exactly have tools, but maybe she could improvise something.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed everyone else suddenly look towards the door, and made an effort to point her gaze in the same direction and pretend to pay attention, even though her mind was elsewhere.

It was Vic who walked in. A little weird, since it was usually Sahota strutting through the doors, but Joy brushed it off.

“Good morning, everyone,” Vic said.

“Good morning,” she parroted with the rest.

Maybe she could find a butter knife in the kitchen? With enough dedication, she could probably shape it into a half-decent flathead.

“I heard you've all been doing well in your training,” Vic continued.

What if she ran into an allen bolt though? Well, if it wasn't recessed she could probably finger-loosen it with enough dedication, but if it was—

“Today I'm going to test your skills.”

Joy's gaze suddenly sharpened. A test? That was new. Did that mean they were finally close to getting this show on the road? She raised her hand, and waited for Vic to look her way.

“How are you gonna do that?”

“I've laid out a mock mission. I'll give you all an objective, and see how quickly you can meet it. And perhaps more importantly, how you meet it.” He folded his arms, offering a friendly smile. “I'm afraid I haven't had the time to watch every one of Sahota's sessions. I’d like to see how it's coming along with my own eyes.”

“Where is Sahota?” Kaius asked from beside her.

“He's on a mission. A real one.” Vic chuckled. “Can't come to the phone right now and all that.”

“What sort of mission?”

“Well now, I can't go handing you all the details, Mr. Manak. I'm sure you understand.”

Joy had already assumed Sahota was going somewhere. This morning, she'd caught him and Vic in the kitchen and she swore they'd been about to kiss. She'd awkwardly excused herself then ran to tell Jericho.

Poor Jer needed something to distract himself with. The two of them had learned that there was no wifi in the computer lab way back on day one. And since they couldn't leave the compound and didn't have communication devices of their own, that meant they were effectively cut off from the rest of the world.

Which did make sense, considering all the top secrets they'd supposedly be exposed to. Not to mention the fact that the base’s location was probably a secret in itself.

Joy could deal. Her family was used to her going months without contact. Jer, on the other hand, was used to working from home. He had a kid now, a six year old daughter, and fuck had it really been that long since she'd last seen him?

They’d only had a semester's worth of compsci partnership before she'd deployed for the third time, but they'd really hit it off. Kept in touch, more or less, though she'd never mentioned her shady weapons dealings and he'd never mentioned his secret hacker missions. Which made them even. And now their respective skills had brought them back together, so Joy couldn't complain.

She was a little hurt that he'd never mentioned his kid, but given his skillset, she got it. You could never be too safe when you had both a family and a dangerous hobby.

“Her name's Arabella,” he'd told her, passing over a wallet-sized photo of a grinning girl with an assortment of wildflowers poking out of her softly-coiled afro. “Her mom took that on her birthday this year. She wanted a fairy princess party. That's the reason for all the flowers.”

“She's adorable.”

“She's a handful,” Jer said, smiling a proud-dad smile as he put away the picture. “She's the only reason I agreed to do this.”

Joy didn't have to ask what he meant. She didn't know what was at stake for the rest of the team, but for the two of them, it was just as much about protecting their loved ones as it was staying out of jail. It wasn't the government she had to worry about, or pride, or how society might judge her family. It was old enemies. People who would see her picture on the news and suddenly know where to look for her weaknesses. She imagined Jericho was in the exact same boat.

Vic clapped his hands together; a relatively soft sound, but enough to jerk her focus back into the moment.

“If everyone is ready, I'll brief you on your tasking.” He strolled over to one of the built-in metal cabinets that lined the sparring area, punching in a code on a keypad that prompted the doors to slide open. Inside, on the shelves, were what Joy could only describe as high-tech basketballs.

Or at least they were roughly the size and shape of a basketball. Most similarities ended there. They were smooth metal, with fine seams that suggested interior electronics, and a lense that was almost like… no shit.

“Are those robots?” Joy blurted out, forgetting to raise her hand this time.

Vic smiled. “Sharp, Miss Cavan. They are. Or drones, rather.” He took one in his hands, thumbing a button on the side, and the thing whirred to life, lifting itself from Vic’s grasp and hovering there.

Joy watched it with wide eyes. How was it floating? There was no propelling system or engine she could see, was it—?

“Electromagnetism,” Vic said, as if answering her thoughts. “We have a weak field that covers the training grounds.”

“Fancy stuff,” Jericho murmured.

“Is that our task?” Benji asked, gesturing at the drone. It swiveled in the air, facing its camera towards him, and he took a cautious step back. “Those… thingies?”

“On the contrary,” Vic said, moving to activate the other two. “The drones will act as a stand-in for armed security guards. They'll attempt to prevent you from reaching your goal.”

Benji gave an exaggerated wince. “But the drones aren't armed, are they?”

“They are.”

Joy's eyes flew to the trio of bots, scanning for weapons capabilities. Based on their size, they didn't have the carrying capacity for ammo or a full auto system. Not that she assumed Vic was willing to shoot them, but…

“Each drone is equipped with the equivalent of a cattle prod. Nothing that'll do permanent damage, but enough to give you a sting.”

Benji took a bigger step backwards. At this point, Joy was probably the only one in range of said ‘equivalent of a cattle prod’, but she didn't care. If anything, she wanted them to come at her so she could watch how they deployed their attack. Fuck, she’d give her left arm to take one of these apart. Maybe Vic would let her mess around with their armaments? She could probably devise a ranged electrical attack, if she could just get a look at the internals. She'd done similar shit in the gun shop, and she'd worked with some low-grade drones when she was still running arms overseas. Shouldn't be too tough to combine the two.

“What is our task?” Kaius took a step forward, so that he was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with her, his eyes on the drones. “What goal will they be trying to prevent us from reaching?”

At that, Vic drew out another metallic device, this one boxy and covered in so many screens and buttons Joy figured most were just for decoration.

Vic set it down, typing a quick sequence into a keypad next to the cabinet. A giant sound, like stone dominoes, echoed out from behind them, and Joy whirled around.

The concrete pad that stretched between the sparring mats and the gym equipment was moving, shifting around like tectonic fucking plates and rearranging into something that looked like an abstract painting; huge cement cubes stacking into a maze of stairs that nearly reached the ceiling.

“Holy shit,” Joy whispered. “How does that work?”

Vic chuckled. “I can’t give away every secret, Miss Cavan.”

“Can I come work for you guys?”

“We'll see.” He hefted up the metallic box, fidgeting with some of the buttons and dials on one of its faces.

“Alright, team, listen up,” Vic said, raising his voice to draw their attentions back from the newly formed obstacle course. “This,” he held up the box, “is a bomb.”

Joy raised her eyebrows, again scanning its surface. If it was a bomb, its fuzing was total overkill. But given her current surroundings, she guessed she shouldn't be too shocked.

“It's… like a real bomb?” Benji asked, but Vic’s only reply was a smile. He pressed a button, and the side facing them lit up in a garish, movie-style countdown. Digital red, seconds already ticking away.

“Shit,” Benji muttered.

“I trust you understand your goal then.” Vic pressed another button and the box spun out of his hands, hovering alongside the drones for a moment before disappearing into the maze of concrete that now stood in the center of the room.

“Evade the drones. Disarm the bomb. You have one hour.”

He grinned at the collection of shocked faces surrounding him.

“Try not to die.”

×~×~×

tag list:

@theonewithallthefixations

[undiscovered-horizon]

You've probably already received a request like this, but would I be able to request a part 2 to the one-shot you wrote about the Corinthian having a crush on Dream's s/o.

[Original Post] | [Part 3] | [Sandman-inspired playlist] | [MASTERLIST] | 🫀REQUESTS ARE OPEN🫀

Corinthian didn't care much for books. Truthfully, they didn't care much for him either - whichever one you'd open, he'd be the villain. The Nightmare. Nonetheless, he had found himself inside the library but not because he was interested in reading. Instead, it was the reader that captivated him.

Like a stalking predator, he hid between bookshelves at a fairly inconspicuous distance from the daybed you were sitting on. Behind you was one of the many stained-glass windows that Morpheus seemed to be exceptionally fond of. That one, however, was very personal - it presented none other than you. Undoubtedly, it was the beloved king's whim, a monument for his undying devotion. With the colourful glass behind your back, you resembled a deity leisurely spending time in their own temple; a halo of sunlight around your frame revealed your holy nature. Considering how much Morpheus was willing to do for you, such a statement wasn't far from the truth. Perhaps that willingness was the one thing that had made all the difference: one could die for you and the other kill. Which one was the true declaration of unconditional love, I wonder?

The quiet rustle of the page you were turning did not reach Corinthian's ears - he was too far away. But such little noises didn't interest him anyway, they were nothing more but static that audaciously jarred him. Your little expressions were much more captivating, giving away what emotions the book was eliciting from you: surprise, confusion, anger, shock... Your fingers barely grazed the yellow paper as though you expected it to rip or tear with even a little bit of harshness. Would your hands feel equally gentle against his skin? Corinthian inhaled sharply in an attempt to chase away the forbidden thoughts that made his heart tremble. Occupied with his voyeurism, he didn't notice a very expected guest:

"Corinthian?" Lucienne asked confused. She looked at him from above the rim of her glasses; her eyebrows were raised about as high as they possibly could. There was a stack of books in her arms. "What are you doing here?"

As best as he could, Corinthian acted unbothered. "My job," he lied through his teeth. Yes, he was quite exceptional at that. "Lord Morpheus asked me to keep an eye on his beloved. There have been some... unfavourable whispers going around."

Lucienne watched Corinthian for a moment. Honestly, she wasn't aware of any 'whispers' of that sort but if that were true, perhaps it really was for the better to not discuss unrest in the open. "Don't be a nuisance," she warned him before leaving. She passed by you but never forced your attention on herself. Considering how much time you had spent among those bookshelves, you had become part of the library in her mind. Lucienne never said it out loud, as she didn't think it was important enough, but she truly appreciated your silent company. Strolling through her 'domain', she was putting back the books in their rightful places.

A quiet humming echoed through the library - Marv, undoubtedly. He had a curious habit of singing old songs while he was working. The pumpkin-headed scarecrow had no rush in his footsteps, humming some forgotten Frank Sinatra melody as he walked between the tall bookshelves. Ladder in one hand, a bucket of paint and a paint roller in the other, he appeared completely relaxed and carefree. He was probably done for the day and planned on enjoying his leisure to the fullest.

"Good day, your highness," Marv called out while passing by you, making Lucienne look over her shoulder. She wasn't going to quiet him just yet. "You're looking dazzling as ever!"

You looked up from your book with a wide smile on your face. Is this what rapture looked like? "Thank you, Marv," you answered with a flustered giggle in your voice. Corinthian wondered if he knew words sweet enough to drown in that melodic laughter. Was there any better way to die? "Good day to you, too."

Marv passed by Corinthian's hideout without noticing him. Soon after, Lucienne let out a tired sigh and marched out of the library for reasons only known to herself. Once again, he was unbothered in his relentless prayer to the only deity that deserved praise. There was a tea set placed on the table in front of you. Steam from brewing tea dispersed the sunlight coming through the stained-glass window. From his observation, Corinthian knew that you had a habit of getting consumed by different activities that you'd forget about the tea and drink it cold. A strange thought run through his head: he could, after all, set those bookshelves alight to make sure your tea is still hot for when you feel thirsty.

The silent calmness of his lovesick voyeurism did not last for long. Corinthian hid further among the books and wooden contraptions upon noticing a hem of a black coat. Barely peeking through the small gap between shelves and tops of books, he watched the sickening scene unfold:

Your face lit up as you looked away from your book. In a manner too excited for Corinthian's liking, you closed the volume and were about to put it on the table, next to the tea set, when your hands suddenly retracted - Morpheus probably told you he, still, had some other affairs to take care of. Then, in a quite unexpected act, Dream took off his heavy coat and placed it around your shoulders. Your expression softened as you took in a deep inhale of the fragrance lingering on the material. Pomegranate and old parchment. Corinthian didn't even notice his face contorted into a disgusted grimace as he watched Morpheus lean down and gently kiss the top of your head. A quiet giggle left your mouth but it was mostly muffled as your husband was holding you close to himself for a moment. Letting go, after what felt like hours of Corinthian clashing his teeth, Morpheus left the library the same way he had entered - never passing by the watcher's nest, thankfully.

Was that all he was going to do?! Disturb your loneliness for a mere minute, feed you crumbs of his attention, then leave again? What sacrilege was it to claim one's devotion to a god but never bleed on the altar of their mercy? Morpheus could give you anything and everything but not what you wanted. Not what you deserved. Gods craved sacrifices of all that bought pain and sorrow to give away, did they not? Of elements that kept undeserving creatures alive? Blood, tears, bile, marrow... Corinthian would give you all of that only to beg for your forgiveness for such a scarce, unimportant gift. But the one to whom you promised your forever, he gave you a coat. And perhaps that has made all the difference.

He had absolutely no clue what possessed him as he walked towards you. There were no words that he could say on that day that would change the current course of events, no spell that would make you break your sacred vows. Perhaps during Corinthian's creation, Morpheus accidentally poured into the Nightmare his own powerlessness in the face of your inexplicable majesty. If that were true, then Corinthian was simply answering a primaeval call weaved into the very calcium of his bones, iron floating in his blood; he was made to devote himself to you but lacking Morpheus's self-restraint, instead of making a sacrifice on the altar of your love, he longed to be the sacrifice. If he had no place by your side, he'd happily lay at your feet.

The tea was probably already cold when you remembered its existence. Letting out a quiet sigh at your typical forgetfulness, you reached for the kettle but did not notice one of the cups was in the way. The realization came a little too late - your forearm had already nudged the porcelain dish.

But instead of the sharp sound of chinaware breaking against the tiled floor of the library, you were made aware of someone's presence:

"Careful," Corinthian said as he placed the cup back on the silver tray.

"That was quite remarkable," you murmured more to yourself than to him. Shortly after, you looked back up at him with a grateful smile. "Thank you. Have a seat." Your hand vaguely pointed to the empty cushion beside you. "If you're not needed elsewhere, of course," you added right after.

There was, quite literally, nothing that needed his attention more than your friendly offer. You don't deny gods when they invite you to eat at their table. "I'd love to," he answered with a smile. Despite his dislike of Morpheus, Corinthian had to admit that Dream equipped him with exquisite charm, which he was going to use to the fullest.

Without useless questions, he took the porcelain kettle and began pouring tea for you and him. A bittersweet, fruit and aniseed, aroma filled his nostrils. In some poetic way, that's exactly what his daily life had smelled like for the past countless decades - cyanide and honey.

"You know, I've always thought that Morpheus gave you an excellent name," you confessed while watching Corinthian carefully pour tea. For a vicious nightmare, he really did impress with his poise like venomous snakes allure with their colourful scales arranged into fantastic patterns.

"Really? I have never given it much thought," he lied. Your hand brushed against his as you took the cup from his hand. Corinthian clenched his jaw and forced that charming, polite smile to stay on his face as he tried to chase away dreamy images of your fingers caressing his face ('How would your knuckles feel against his lips?').

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud," you quoted. "It's from Saint Paul's letter to Corinthians. Your name, I believe, is a reminder for every sentient creature of what truly matters."

This moment - that truly mattered. The minute in which you acknowledged his existence although it was hardly deserving of your attention.

"Beautifully said, your highness."

You were right next to him, your knees nearly touching, and yet it felt as though you were entire realms apart. That heavy, black coat; the aroma of exotic fruits and antique books - a wall separating you; a malicious reminder, that he meant nothing in the grandeur of your life, that there was another to whom your thoughts, hopes and dreams belonged. Corinthian was an unimportant, unnamed tourist gawking at Mona Lisa.

A shy blush crept unto your cheeks. "You're being too kind, dear Corinthian," you said with a gentle smile on your face before taking a sip of the tea.

Mona Lisa stares ahead, in the general direction of the tourist but never explicitly at him. He moves along - there are others that want to stare too - but looks over his shoulder countless times as though one day, in the endless ocean of admirers, she might return the loving look. Hope dies last but she's also the mother of fools.

____

A/N: when I watched The Sandman for the first time and they said 'The Corinthian' my first thought was Bible and St. Paul's letter. The second thought was 'daughter of Corinth' (prostitute) lmao

[mothmage]

13 Books Tag Game

tagged by @disregardandfelicity (thank you <3)

i read a ton of non-fiction for academic and interest reasons, but i'm only considering fiction for this!

1) The last book I read:

I know I just said I was only talking about fiction, BUT I recently read Audre Lorde's memoir, The Cancer Journals, and I would highly recommend it. Lorde was such an incredible writer (i would recommend her poetry, too), and this book is half memoir and half sections from the personal diary she kept during and after her journey with breast cancer. Lorde was a self-professed Black lesbian feminist, and had unique and powerful takes on womanhood, cancer, and life in general.

2) A book I recommend:

I always recommend Perfume the Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind! It's one of my favorite books.

3) A book that I couldn’t put down:

I've been working my way through Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles and averaging about two days per book, so...lol. I would also add Carolina de Robertis's Gods of Tango, I think I read all 400 pages in one sitting.

4) A book I’ve read twice (or more):

I loooove to reread books. One of my absolute favorite go-to comfort books is Bambi by Marjorie Benton Cooke -- it's not about the deer, it's sort of a romcom? The characters are all so vivid and fun! You have the main character, Bambi, who is a very Anne of Green Gables type character -- she's independent, imaginative, a bit of a daydreamer, loves to dance, and decides one day to be a writer. Then there's her adoptive father, the Professor, who is a mathematician and just an eccentric little old man. Then there's Jarvis -- the poor poverty-stricken playwright with his head in the clouds that very clearly thinks he's the main character of this story (he is, kind of. He's the love interest, but not in the way you think). That was long, but it's honestly one of my favorite books! Marjorie Benton Cooke wrote a handful of really fun books in her lifetime that just never got super popular (I also love Cinderella Jane and The Cricket, which are connected but can be read alone).

5) A book on my TBR:

My fiction TBR is currently sitting at 141, so...random selection: Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca! It was highly recommended by a friend.

6) A book I’ve put down:

I have a rule where, unless the issue is stylistic and I just can't bear the author's writing, I have to power through 50% of the book before I can quit, in case it gets better later. A lot of times, this works, and I end up really liking the book! But one book I tried my absolute hardest to like and just couldn't manage it (quit at 70%) was A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers. I found the narrator unlikable in an annoying way and the story itself boring (how do you make serial killing and cannibalism boring??) IDK. It came highly recommended and apparently was super popular, but it wasn't for me.

7) A book on my wish list:

Let us Descend by Jesmyn Ward! It came out last year, but I haven't had a chance to look at it yet (fingers crossed my library has a copy by the time I have some free time to read).

8) A favorite book from childhood:

Silksinger, the second book in the Faeries of Dreamdark series by Laini Taylor. The series was never finished, but the characters from Silksinger hold a special place in my heart. One of the main characters is called Hirik Mothmage, for reference how much I love this book, lol.

9) A book you would give to a friend:

Ooh, good question. I recently gave someone my copy of Boccaccio's Decameron, because I think it's funny!! I really feel like if people can get through the language, they'll be dead laughing at some of the stories.

10) A book of poetry or lyrics that you own

I have a handful! My favorite is probably a collection of Edgar Allen Poe's works that's bound in a nice cover.

11) A nonfiction book you own:

Many, lol. Mostly digital -- I try not to hoard physical books unless I really really love them, because I just don't have the space. Something I read a few years ago and still think about often is Dorothy Roberts's Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty, which talks about how the 20th century (U.S.) struggle for reproductive rights looked very different for white women and Black women (for Black women, it was essentially the right to reproduction). Her newer book Fatal Invention: How Science, Politics, and Big Business Recreate Race in the Twenty-First Century is a great follow-up read.

12) What are you currently reading:

Currently re-reading another memoir, The Surrendered: Reflections by a Son of Shining Path by José Carlos Agüero. Picking up Pandora by Anne Rice as soon as I have some time for fiction.

13) What are you planning on reading next?

Besides the rest of the Vampire Chronicles, I really want to read Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist (another friend recommendation).

No-pressure tagging: @eosphoroz @hekateinhell @lovevamp @aunteat @bubblegum-blackwood or anyone else who wants to -- tag me if you do, i love stuff like this!

[slashingdisneypasta]

Poppy is still going to be a princess in the Dragon AU... But I couldn't help myself and started imagining her as a dragon too and I have to share XD

So this probably goes without saying, but Poppy would be adorable as a dragon ^^ (at least I think so). Smartass can recover some of his bruised ego because she'd be smaller than him (still bigger than a human, but still. I've gotta work on their heights, so I can't give an exact measurement right now). She's got grey horns that curl backward like a ram, so they'd be better used for smashing or shoving than stabbing. She's got snow-white scales with some black spots dotting along her back, shoulders, and tail. Which could be good for blending in with the winter, but not for much else. I'm debating on whether or not she'd be insecure about her not having colorful scales like other dragons. She can still fly, though the membrane of her wings are actually a bit thicker than the others, allowing her to better use it to shield or defend, and they can't get torn as easily. She's got a bit of a sleek body, but it's not long and lithe like Psycho's. And she's actually got a strong bite, too. But it's not really noticeable unless she's eating. Or the rare cases she gets into fights. So although she can't hide in the wild, at least Poppy has plenty of ways to defend herself.

I'm thinking Poppy could be a burrowing dragon similar to Shiny. Though while Shiny found a crystal cave to call home, Poppy actually dug herself a nice, snug home that literally only she can fit in. She hopes someday she can make it bigger for a potential mate, or even just a close friend, but so far she's had no luck.

Also, she will never go on raides. She's actually pretty curious about humans, and during a snowy day, she'll try sneaking into a village to learn more about them ^^ she... May or may not snatch a few things she finds. Not personal belongings! Mainly yummy foods that the humans make ^^ if this girl did find a public library though, and knew that it was allowed to take books as long as you gave them back, she'd absolutely try to take some. She has a hard time reading the human writing, but she's trying! She loves their stories ^^

So I guess Poppy would be kind of like Stupid with how friendly and easy it would be to get along with her. Offer her some books, cooking, or little facts about your kind, and you've got a dragon who will share her wing shield with you anytime ^^

When word got around that the Dragon Patrol were wreaking havoc all over the land, Poppy was scared of them; she knows that she's not the strongest dragon (it's part of why she hides). But she did actually try to find them and ask them if they could stop. The humans did nothing to them! And they were making them afraid of their kind, and that would mean other dragons would get targeted and killed! This just wasn't good for anyone involved, not now or the long run. But as one might suspect, she wouldn't have the best luck :(

!! First of all she sounds so sweet (Of course) and I want to sit and read her and Stupid as many stories as she wants ^^

Second of all... imagine a Shrek au. Yes. Like Poppy is actually a princess, but she was cursed to be a dragon after sun down. And of course- Ben is lord Farquaad.

[reikurusu]

Ask Meme

I got tagged by the lovely @jalapenobee!! Thank you!! <3

Do you make your bed?

I neatly fold the cover open during the day so it can air out a bit? xD But when I go to bed, I always pull the mattress cover (whatever that's called in English) neatly because it often crumples up. But I don't daily make my bed, no.

What's your favorite number?

Not really.

What is your job?

I've worked at a local library for a little over a year now! It's really fun to do! I have to take care of the adult non-fiction section, which is more fun than I would've thought, as well as admin and helping people during opening hours. Right now, a colleague has been absent for 6+ months, so I've been taking on her section as well, which is youth (fiction and non-fiction) and comics. So quite a lot at the moment. But it's a really fun job!!

If you could go back to school, would you?

I'm not sure... I didn't hate going to school and it was actually a lot less stressful than adult life. I think I'd mainly go back to be my younger self again and maybe do things differently?

Or are we talking about going back to school at this age? If school was the only thing I'd have to focus on, and money and all didn't matter, I think so, yeah! Probably something creative or art history or something.

Can you parallel park?

I can.... But it's either perfect on the first try or I have to retry like 5 times. And if there's a car waiting while I'm failing... Yeah, we're going around the block again and try again afterwards.

A job you had that would surprise people?

I think my previous job. I worked in retail as a Saturday job during college. After graduation, I worked at a company for two years but I quit because it wasn't my thing and was lucky that the store I used to work at was looking for someone. I really liked working there and there was a lot of varied work (admin, window dressing, helping clients,...). But I feel like people at my current job (library) are surprised when I tell them I worked retail? I don't get it, though.

Do you think aliens are real?

Hmmmm... I don't think aliens like the stereotypical aliens exist, but there's no way the universe is this gigantic and Earth is the only place with life.

Can you drive a manual car?

It's the only kind I know how to drive. I've never driven an automatic car. I actually love shifting gears. It gives me something to do while driving, if that makes sense xD

What's your guilty pleasure?

Uhm... I don't think I have one? At least not something that no one else does? Nothing special comes to mind atm...

Tattoos?

None. I just have no idea what I'd want to have permanently on my body. So I doubt I'll ever get one.

Favorite Color?

Blue! All kinds of blue! But I really like a minty-blue, like this.

But lately, I've come to love yellow as well. I'm not sure why, but it's been making me happy for some reason.

Favorite type of music?

In general I either like a song or I don't like it. And because of this, my taste in music can vary a lot. I can like certain songs by a certain artist, yet despise the rest of their music.

As for favourite artists, I love Taylor Swift, The Script and Niall Horan. I think those are my top three artists (she says without any actual proof of it).

Do you like puzzles?

Like, riddles or jigsaws? If it's jigsaws, I haven't made one in years! I'd love to, with some music or tv show in the background, but I don't have the time for it. If it's riddles, yeah, I love riddles! Doesn't mean I'm good at them but I played my fair share of Professor Layton growing up!

Any phobias?

None that I know of. Like, I'm not a fan of creepy bugs and heights and blood and all those typical things, but I wouldn't call them phobias. Like, I'm not a fan of spiders, but I'd never kill one and just put it in a jar and take it outside. So nothing I'm insanely scared of.

Favorite childhood sport?

I don't think I had a favourite sport growing up? I'm not really the most athletic person. But I do know that I was decent at shooting basketballs into the hoop, even for being short lol

Do you talk to yourself?

... Do people not do this? I do this all the time??

What movie(s) do you adore?

I'm not sure if I have an actual favourite movie, but I love Tangled and The Lion King!! I also really love Back To The Future. *looks at dvds* OH! The Holiday and Love, Rosie as well!! I think these are all films I'm always down to watch.

Coffee or tea?

I'm definitely more of a tea person. I most often drink black tea with milk (like, at breakfast, in the evening and when I'm not at work, in the afternoon as well).

I also drink coffee but when I do, I have to have it with milk and sugar and often with some sort of syrup (vanilla, hazelnut or caramel). Or iced! Iced coffee!!

First thing you wanted to be when growing up?

I think I wanted to become a farmer? At least that's what my mum told me. I can't imagine being a farmer now, I think kid me thought it would be fun to have a bunch of animals and be outside all day. Grown up me knows it's very different from that. And very often not that nice for the animals...

Also a veterinarian! But.... Y'know, blood and cutting into animals... Pass.

I'm going to tag a couple of mutuals and followers I very often see in my notes, but obviously anyone who wants to do this, can!

And don't feel obligated to do this just because I tagged you! <3

@silversoulstardust @actually-the-devil @in-a-faith-forgottenn-land @keeeegs @aflockofravens @heytheredeann

[felixcloud6288]

Fullmetal Alchemist Chapter 45

How can this be? There's a Heist 3?

Scar meets May and May drops the bit of info that Scar's tattoo is based on Xingese Alchemy. He also mentions having a brother who was killed by a State Alchemist (likely Kimblee based on that dream Scar had in chapter 16).

Al does bring up a legitimate concern on the condition of his body. Ed's idea that he and Al might have crossed wires and Ed is providing nutrients to Al's body does feel a little far-fetched when first brought up though. I'm with Winry on that.

There's still more info gathering to be had, and just like with the library being destroyed before Ed could find Marcoh's notes, Lab 3 has been tampered with to keep Ed from investigating the tunnel system Al and Roy found during the Super Heist. And then Danny gives them the notice about Scar which includes the tattoo detail. So now Ed has reason to believe Scar was the Rockbells' murderer.

And then Ed decides to plan out Heist 3. Since some organization is always blocking their attempts to gather information, and the Homunculi are tied to that organization, and they need Ed alive for their future plans; if Ed's life is in danger, someone will have to show up to save him and then they can try capturing them.

But how?

This probably the first time Lin has revealed to anyone that he and Lan Fan can detect the Homunculi. This is also the first time Ed has gotten along with Lin since they met in Rush Valley, at least until Ed discovers he has to foot the bill for Lin's eating binge AGAIN.

The whole bit of Ed repairing everything in Central flowed like an advertisement. It opens up with a problem. The product (Ed) is shown shown in a flashy manner as it solves the problem while telling you about how great it is. Then a different problem is presented and we see the product (Ed) can fix that too. Then we have a montage of the product (Ed) being used for all sorts of scenarios. Finally, we end with a grand reminder of the product (Ed)'s name.

Ed even winks at the 'camera' at one point. Meanwhile Al is playing the hype man throughout the whole 'ad'.

Roy shows up and has an info exchange with Ed. Ed learns that Dr. Marcoh's been kidnapped and if Ed wasn't aware of it, Lust is dead. Something that occurred to me is Roy never heard Lust's name until after Breda's report. At this point, all parties collectively know there are at least 4 Homunculi (Lust, Gluttony, Envy, Greed). Lust is dead so she's no longer a major concern. Meanwhile, Greed's whereabouts are unknown. They know Greed and Envy's abilities. Gluttony is the probably one they know the least. Lin and Lan Fan are the only ones who know anything about how Envy and Gluttony fight. Also, Lin and Lan Fan are aware there is an entity named Pride, but they don't know anything about that one.

During the info exchange, Roy had to lean against the car and would periodically clutch his wound.

Ed is starting to push harder for info on Ishbal. Roy just changed the subject entirely.

When Scar attacks them, Al pulls Roy out of the way.

Ed and Al let Roy in on the plan for Heist 3 and he eagerly joins in to play diversion and miscommunication tactics. He seems to be a little too eager to cause mayhem and confusion amongst the higher-ups.

I love how Ed mockingly called Roy "Lord Colonel" and then Al used the same term when getting Roy to join in on Heist 3.

The couple Hawkeye robs at gunpoint are that rich couple from chapter 17.

This is the first time Ed and Al have fought alongside each other since Al gained the ability to transmute without a circle. Their combo barrage of stone pillars really show how different their aesthetic tastes are. Ed made his pillars have dragon heads so the attack is supposed to be like him summoning monsters to attack. Al made his pillars a bunch of fists, so he treats the attack like a long-range punch.

Ed got hit on the head and his wound from Slicer reopened.

I wonder how that "negating the destructive energy" thing works. Was this some equal and opposite direction kinda force that cause both attacks to disperse their energy outward? Or did Ed maybe transmute his arm to keep it stable despite Scar hitting it with destructive force?

I wonder why Wrath decided to get involved in the first place. Maybe it's because he's the only Homunculus who can safely engage against Scar without causing suspicion. I'd guess the plan was to have Gluttony track Scar since HQ is getting multiple conflicting reports and then Fuhrer King Bradley would personally stop the terrorist who's been taking the lives of his soldiers.

When Wrath decided to attack, he was very deliberately targeting Lan Fan. The Homunculi know she was able to detect Envy and she was the one who remarked on Gluttony within earshot of Wrath. So as far as he is aware, Lan Fan is the only one who can detect the Philosopher's Stone and is therefore the much higher priority target between Lin and Lan Fan.

And of course, the question a new reader might ask is "Why didn't they detect Wrath's presence as well?"

Also, we can see that Wrath was jumping off the large nails embedded in the power pole Lan Fan was on. He didn't run up the pole.

And now for the last installment of the chronology thing.

Last chapter ended in the early morning, and Scar meeting May is also early morning as well. However, Ed and Al's scene prior to the start of Heist 3 takes place at night. So I would argue these two scenes take place in reverse order. Ed goes to visit Lab 3 and Danny finds them and gives them the notice about Scar's reappearance. Then Scar meets back up with Yoki the next morning.

At this point, all parties have converged on each other and the next several chapters aren't going to take place over multiple days so that's the end of the the time disturbance saga.

back

[t00nyah]

-07.28.23-07.30.23

decided to redesign my librarians a little bit and think what they would do if they get out of the library...they're so fun (the last guy isn't a librarian but he was so ugly i had to fully redesign him) i don't remember if those librarians were custom made or not (except i certainly remember that the first one wasn't) but uyhhuhuh yeah

in-game and pre-L corp sketches i made...2 years...ago...

each one separately with some lore under cut,..,.,.,.,.,,,

galina(she/her) before L corp had a funny case of being an urban legend just bc she killed people with her poems as an experiment a lot. yep. she can kill people by mentioning them in her poems and that's how she ended up parentless and went emo. but then not long after trying to stop being emo she got into L corp. where she kinda managed to try and be normal. doesn't write stuff much after her legend-retirement, but she's okay. (her lore is goofy but i like it and im leaving it that way)

after the library she became a fixer with narae, another librarian she got really close to.

narae(she/her) used to be a 6 grade fixer with her brother, mckenna, and sullivan, their good pal, who had a little brother that he also brought to office quite a lot. the siblings got tired and retired from being fixers and then boom they got invited to work at L corp. and they decided why not. mckenna died, but narae managed to restore from this in the library times.

as someone who actually knows how offices work, she started an office with galina, going back to business. sullivan's brother, tim, also ended up as a librarian after narae asked really nicely to unbook that random index proselyte. no-one knows where sullivan is, he just went missing one day and tim got into some bad influence. but tim probably also joined their new office, he wanted to become a fixer like his brother before.

'rittany(she/her) used to be a member of a funky syndicate. wasn't really enjoying her life there. she was almost killed in her childhood and saved by the green daze, who knew people who really wanted a child so kinda gave them her and they went along with it happily. she was trying to repay them all those years of care out of her own desire but ended up working for a shitty syndicate and got a little lost on what she's doing. then got a job offer from L corp and gladly changed her job.

she never was that good at violence, and didn't enjoy seeing such... i think after the library she ended up working at the flower shop and slowly getting some cash to go back to the district, the street, the house she used to live in, to see if her family is still there, see if they're okay.

orion, or the green daze(he/him) is just. a guy. literally. just a colour fixer bc i really wanted to have fun designing a colour fixer and that's it. he's a silly gooper with a kind heart but no actual sense of responsibility. saved a child and gave it away and disappeared. that's him. the guy. i just like roasting him for no actual reason i need to give him lore... but at least new design is cool!! the old one was so random lol.

(im very happy about giving him this new eye colour for betelgeuse, orion's alpha, being a red supergiant, and a silver(bluish) clip on his scarf-bandana-idk-thing with a dog for sirius(bc canis major is considered orion's dog), and changing skin tone was a great decision because making most characters white is very boring as it turns out and also his slight outfit style change makes me RAWARRHGRHG really cool one)

i wonder if he's alive...and what he's up to if he is...

[zooophagous]

Insomnia, like most forms of pain, can eventually become a way of life. For Artemis it had been carefully grown and twisted, like a bonsai, into a contained and functional thing. Dealing with creatures of the night, as the Van Helsing family did, if one lacked insomnia before, it became necessary to cultivate it.

That didn't mean it was without its drawbacks. Dawn was yet far away, the reasonable people of the Institute were long in bed, save for the security rotation, and there were precious few distractions to keep her occupied while sleep eluded her. She'd found some coco mix in the commissary, that would have to do. The only sound was the gentle hum of the refrigerator unit and the small clinking of her spoon at the edges of the mug as she stirred in the powder.

"Hey."

She turned around. "Oh, hey Troy. You usually up this late?"

"Are you?" He asked and sat down across from her. "I saw the light on and got curious. How are you doing? Strauss was acting moody after he talked to you so I assume it went a bit rough."

"Rougher for me than for him." She shrugged. "He had a few choice words for me, but honestly, it went ok. He wasn't overly mean about it. Asked some tough questions and that was it."

"So did he ask about Sylvain?"

"Yeah, and I told him about Sylvain. Maybe I should have told him all of this up front. I don't know. It seemed like the sort of thing you don't just unload on a stranger. Especially a stranger you need to listen to you. Is there a delicate way to tell a guy "Hey, we were trying to kill you and we changed our mind, do you want to help out our science project?" She snorted and drank her watery, tasteless cocoa.

"Yeah I get that. Still, maybe should have found a way to tell him before he figured it out on his own. Now he feels like shit over it. I could have told you this would happen when he got library access. Happened a little faster than I thought though, he seemed to know right where to look."

"Yes. Isn't that odd? Almost like a little birdie has been chirping in his ear. I'm still worried we have a mole. Has he told you anything else?"

"No. If anyone told him where to start digging, he wasn't about to name drop them. I get the feeling he's concerned someone will get hurt."

"Yeah, he's the one who's going to end up hurt if he keeps dicking around in secret. I know I haven't been the best about honesty. But I really, actually don't want to hurt him, which is more than I can say for anyone else who might be in his ear."

"I know, I know." Troy raised his hands in mock surrender. "You still might want to keep ahead of any other potential sore spots or secrets though. Better he hears it from you."

"You're right. I think maybe I thought I could protect him more if he knew less, but he's not a child. It was stupid of me. I guess I'll just have to pay the price of broken trust for it. Speaking of- make sure he doesn't run off again, will you?"

"He won't. He likes you too much." Troy stopped. Was he not supposed to tell her that? Maybe he wasn't supposed to tell her that. "Was he weird to you, when you talked about Sylvain?"

"A little. He was way more interested in her than anyone else whose name came up in the file. Why?"

"Well... I mean it's obvious right?" Troy chuckled. "Artie, he's had a major crush on you for like weeks now. And he sucks at hiding it. You really don't see it?"

"Oh I see it." She sighed. "I wasn't sure what to really do about it. It would probably be wrong to encourage it. I mean, I sort of... keep him in a cage. I control his entire life. It would be kind of fucked up to date him in that case wouldn't it?"

"Maybe. He's also way older than you. Both literally and like, in apparent age. Usually it's fucked up for an older dude to go after someone way younger than him but maybe in your guys' case it cancels out." He smirked.

"I don't think it works like that."

"I don't know. Do you like him back?"

"Well..." She shrugged. "I guess I'm not sure. I admit it's nice to have attention again, after Sylvain. I like him fine as a friend, he's not bad looking. I worry though. Am I just convincing myself I like it because it's convenient? It's not like I get out much and neither does he. If we had other options, would either of us still care? What's worse. What if I'm just exploiting it?"

"Exploiting how?"

"What if I'm using his feelings for me to buy cooperation?" She looked up at Troy. "It would make life much easier if I knew he'd consent to whatever we wanted because he wanted to please me. But that's not ethical. It's not a good foundation to build on. I already got out of one toxic relationship. I'm not about to start making a new one."

"Sounds like you have some things to think about. But whatever you do decide, I think you need to talk to him about it in plain English. Maybe I'm naive but if you're both rational, consenting adults who want it, I don't see what the hangup is. And if it doesn't work out, whatever."

"He's also way stronger than me so trying to get physical could be dangerous. Not to mention we don't know if vampirism is an STD yet."

"Just use the muzzle."

"Shut up." She laughed. "I'm sure we'll figure it out. And I'm very sure you'll be the first to know either way."

"What can I say, people talk to me." Troy got up from the table. "If you do let him down, just... let him down easy? He's sort of a sensitive type even though he pretends to be really aloof. And if you don't let him down, don't keep me up all night." He winked.

"Christ you're terrible." Artemis shook her head with a stifled smile. "Good night Troy."

"Night Artie."

[nickitxrres]

Lucien's Apartment

Where Nicki comes to hang out and wait for Ares at Lucien's place and they talk. @lucienmelaina and feat @aresmelaina

Nicki Torres

-Nicki walks into Lucien's place and immediately looks around- Hola! Ares not back yet?

Lucien Melaina

-he almost drops his coffee mug at the sudden appearance, still not really used to having other people in his house- God, Nicki, you scared me. No, he's not here. I'm pretty sure you are more familiar with his whereabouts than I am.

Nicki Torres

-Nicki is amused as she walks further in and just sits down on the couch- I was hoping he was back from his raid. I wanted to surprise him. I feel like I should be worried that he's not back yet, but then again..... -she shrugs- Guess if he's not back in like an hour I might go out and look. I'm sure he's fine.

Lucien Melaina

-he has to remind himself that Ares knows what he's doing, not let her words make him worry too much as he knows there is not much he can do anyway, so he focuses on Nicki instead- He's fine, he always is. Are you planning on waiting here until he is back?

Nicki Torres

That he is. -she leans back and nods- I was. Unless you have a problem with it.

Lucien Melaina

-he wasn't planning on spending his evening with company, but Nicki did not give off the vibe of a person you could easily say no to- Do you want a coffee? -he just asked, taking a sip of his own-

Nicki Torres

-she perks up and nods- That sounds great. -she bounces her foot before pushing up off the couch - she needed to be moving- So...you working on anything fun?

Lucien Melaina

-he pours coffee into a second mug from the cupboard and hands it to her- It's that fake coffee you bring back from raids, but it does the trick. -he leans against the counter, his eyes following her- Oh, I doubt that my efforts to keep humidity out of the library would interest you too much. I'm sure you have way more exciting stories.

Nicki Torres

-Nicki waits for the mug to be poured before taking it and a sip- Yeah, you're right, that sounds boring. I mean writing. You writing anything good?

Lucien Melaina

No, not really. -he shrugs, figuring his writer's block slash denial to put a pen on paper is not a good topic for a simple friendly conversation- Are you a reader, Nicki?

Nicki Torres

I am. -she swayed as she leaned against the counter- Shocking, I know. Loved those action pack thrillers and the occasional sappy romance novels.

Lucien Melaina

Not that shocking actually. The library stays stocked because you raiders care enough to bring back books, so I figured there must be something in it for you as well. -he looks over at her and smiles into his coffee mug- I didn't see you around the library a lot. Before Ares moved in, I mean.

Nicki Torres

That's probably because I spent most of my time outside the walls to stock your library. But I've been stuck inside the walls so now I've had time to do some reading. And spending time with Ares. -she pokes the inside of her mouth with her tongue- I'm sure you have a lot of fun stories about him when he was a kid.

Lucien Melaina

Oh, I've got plenty, but he may smother me in my sleep now that we live together if he finds out I shared them. I would have pictures too, but they didn't survive the apocalypse. -he looks wistfully into his almost empty cup for a moment before turning to Nicki again- So, you and Ares, huh?

Nicki Torres

Oh come on, now I absolutely need to know and I'm pretty sure I can convince him to not kill you. I can be very convincing. -She sways a bit as she leans against the counter -  Yep. Do I need to ask for your approval?

Lucien Melaina

He had a superhero phase. Walked around with a cape and everything, and that's all I will share for now. -he smiles at the memory, a laugh escaping when she wonders about his approval- Eh, he's a big kid. And I'm a little scared of what the repercussions would be if I didn't give you my approval.

Nicki Torres

-Nicki smiled quite joyfully- Oh, I wished I could have seen that! I'm asking him about it. -his answer she laughs at- Am I that intimidating?

Lucien Melaina

Fine, ask him, I'll sleep with my door locked. -he straightens up and looks at her, towering over her body in an almost ridiculous way, considering who is scared of whom- Oh, please, you know you are. But I like you, you know that, right? Always have. And Ares seems happy, so who am I to get in the way.

Nicki Torres

Nah, you'll be fine. I'll distract him enough that he'll forget. -She watches him stand straight up and finds it more amusing than anything else- I know I'm intimidating. Gotta be. But I didn't know you liked me. -She shifts a little bit- He really seems happy?

Lucien Melaina

Of course I like you, Nicki. I know we don't really hang out, but I see all you do for the town, all you've done for Mayra. It means a lot. -he shrugs, hoping he sounds earnest but nonchalant enough not to push her away- Well, I hadn't really seen him in a couple of decades, but happiness is pretty objective. Yes, he's happy.

Nicki Torres

-Nicki wasn't used to praise like this but it was nice to hear- Well, I'm glad I can give back to Redwood. And Mayra is my sister from another mister and I'll always look out for her. -She took a drink of her coffee - Well, he makes me pretty happy too. He's a good man and he saved my life.

Lucien Melaina

-he smiles at her, feeling less intimidated by the second- Look, Nicki, I deliberately don't want to know much about those raids you go on. I wouldn't sleep at night, even before my brother was involved. But please take care of him okay?

Nicki Torres

Oh don't worry, Roblito, nothing's gonna happen to Ares. I will always have his back.

Lucien Melaina

Okay, thank you. It means a lot. -he empties his mug, taking him a second to process her words- Did you just call me oak tree?

Nicki Torres

-Nicki straightens up as she is impressed - Muy bien. Hablas Español?

Lucien Melaina

Eh, más o menos. -he shrugs, the feeling of the language feeling unfamiliar first, but coming back to him like an old friend, easier than he expected- Estudié en la universidad, y después mi novio de muchos años era latino. Hace mucho tiempo que no practico. -he smiles sadly for a second at the memory- But yeah, I speak some, I understand even more. Sorry for taking away your chance to talk shit behind my back.

Nicki Torres

-Nicki hums in approval- Muy impresionante. No apologies needed. I would never talk bad about you. I was wondering how Aries knew quite a bit of Spanish. Did you teach him?

Lucien Melaina

No, no, I didn't. I doubt he even knows I speak it. Just like I didn't know he does. -it pains him to think of all the time in each other's lives that they have missed, but tries not to show it- We weren't... we weren't in touch back then, for a long time.

Nicki Torres

Oh? Can I ask how come?

Lucien Melaina

I was off in college back then, but our parents kicked him out. What came before and after that, I will leave it on him to share if he wants. With you and with me too, even if I wanted to tell you, I really don't know most of it. -he laughs bitterly, grabbing his cane and heading for a chair, unable to stay standing much longer- But yeah, we hadn't seen each other in a long while before he showed up here.

Nicki Torres

-Nicki watches Lucien move to a chair and she follows to sit down on the couch - I'm sure it's nice to be able to catch up after all this.

Lucien Melaina

-he sits in the chair, stretching his legs in front of him- It is, yes. And having him stay with me. I hope you don't mind my presence too much.

Nicki Torres

-Nicki shakes her head - Not at all. You are his brother. You have more right to him than me

Lucien Melaina

Oh, I don't think any person has a right on another. But you're welcome here whenever you want. -he smiles- As long as you don't make too much noise.

Nicki Torres

I can try but I make no guarantees. Ares makes it hard to stay quiet.

Ares Melaina

-he opens the door with some force, grinning- Hey, Luc, I'm back and I found something you're gonna- -he stops when he sees Nicki before his grin widens- Oh, didn't know you were here. -he walks over to Nicki and gives her a quick kiss- You two hanging out?

Lucien Melaina

-he is glad the conversation is interrupted by his brother's return, so he doesn't have to cover his ears if Nicki gets into more detail- I was just spilling your deepest darkest childhood secrets. -he smiles at him from where he is sitting, watching him and Nicki-

Nicki Torres

-Nicki hums in amusement to herself before the door opens and she turns to spot Ares coming through the door. She smiles as he seems incredibly happy to see her- Sorpresa, mi luz. -she leans up and kisses him back- I wanted to surprise you for when you got back and Roblito was keeping me entertained. So, what did you get?

Ares Melaina

Please tell me you didn't tell her about the superhero phase. -he makes a face, but turns his attention to Nicki- I found some cool new books. And some wood polish. -he gestures at Lucien's cane- So you can make it all shiny.

Nicki Torres

-Nicki looks at Lucien and smirks- Well, see, now you have to tell me more about this superhero phase. You can't just tease me like that!!

Lucien Melaina

How about I go downstairs to check those books and wood polish, and I leave Ares here to tell you that I was always the better Batman? -he uses his cane to stand up, heading for the stairs, intending to give them some privacy-

Nicki Torres

-Nicki nods at Lucien before giving her full attention to Ares- Siéntate, amor. I need to hear everything about this superhero phase.Q

[electrasev5nwrites]

Ninja Daily: AIC 18

"So, this is what you've been doing for the last month?" Raidou rubbed the back of his neck. "Gotta admit, I was expecting more thumbscrews. And less…" He squinted at the compass Yamato was using to change a detail on his plans- they were adding lateral braces to increase the likelihood of the building making it through a tsunami intact. "Less whatever that is."

Yamato's brow furrowed. "Me too," he admitted, drawing the addition carefully and scratching out a bit of math to figure out what that would do to the load-bearing wall adjacent. He glanced at Terumi, who was probably close enough to hear. "I think that was on the schedule, but there was a change of strategy. Welcome to your indefinite working vacation. Today we're making the first foundation. Are you helping me? I've not been assigned a lot of assistance for some reason. Almost like they don't trust their genin around me."

"That would be hurtful. You're a very trustworthy guy." The older man shook his head. "So, our working vacation, huh?" Raidou's mouth twisted. "That sounds familiar. You spoke to the…." He glanced at their Kiri escort and clearly decided against whatever he had wanted to call Uzumaki-san. "The Godaime Mizukage?"

If Yamato had to venture a guess, he'd say that Raidou had been leaning more towards 'the slightly crazy person' than the term of respect. Or maybe he was projecting. Maybe Raidou had had a perfectly reasonable interaction and she hadn't done anything creepy or abruptly nonsensical in the time they'd spent together. He did notice that the Kiri ninja didn't seem to know Raidou's name yet, so probably not.

"Yes," he answered belatedly. "That's the one. You know, she's been bringing me books." He paused. "From a library in Grass. I'm not sure what to think about that. I didn't know they had an architectural college, to be honest. That seems like a thing that I would know. I'm a little embarrassed that she knew and I didn't."

Raidou paused, probably wondering the same things. How was this person apparently all over the continent? Could that woman actually be the Mizukage, kami, who would have voted for a person like that to rule their country? When had that happened, anyway? Why had she chosen to fight the Yondaime Mizukage in her city and cause so much damage? Why was she pretending to be in Konoha?

Or… the other way around, maybe the one in Kirigakure was the body double or whatever was going on?

He didn't see her frequently enough to say definitively. And one would think that long-term visitors to Konoha would enjoy at least half the scrutiny that long-term visitors to Kirigakure did. Someone should have noticed whatever was going on if it wasn't more convincing in Konoha.

"When I was enjoying the city," Raidou said, dryly side-stepping around the espionage-y truth that all of them knew, "I did hear rumors that the new Mizukage defeated the fourth in battle and sealed away the Sanbi. It all sounded rather heroic. She's pretty directly credited with saving a lot of lives. People get a bit poetic about it."

Well. Actually, that was a pretty good reason to approve of someone's nomination to kage.

But was it true or just propaganda? Terumi's posture didn't change at all, making it impossible to gather any information from a reaction.

"Sealed the Sanbi?" Yamato wondered. "I hadn't heard that bit. You would think that we would know about a seal master of that caliber."

'Jiraiya-sama would, for certain. That could be very useful information. If I can get it out. If they don't kill me once I've outlived my use.'

If she was a seal master, that was probably how she was doing… whatever it was she was doing that allowed her to practically be in two places at once. Was it some type of clone sustained through seals that allowed her to continually feed chakra to it? Or.. Well. The only other explanation he could think of would be some kind of transportation technique. He wasn't an expert, but it was difficult to see how sealing could work to overpower a shunshin or anything like that safely. How had the fourth Hokage's transportation technique worked? There must be some way to do it if he'd done it, but…

Yamato had a horrible, sinking feeling.

It was just… The Uzumaki were supposed to be legendary seal masters, right? And if both the Nidaime and Yondaime Hokage could come up with hiraishin, then maybe it wasn't so crazy to think that a determined Uzumaki could be inspired by them and replicate it, or come up with something similar.

It wasn't- it didn't seem likely, but none of the options he could think of did. If she truly did have an instantaneous travel technique, that would account for the few and odd hours that she seemed to keep in Kirigakure, as well as the surprising amount of autonomy that Terumi seemed to have.

Working with that theory, the most compelling question was why she wanted to be in Konoha so badly that she would delegate reconstruction that she was obviously invested in. That… couldn't possibly be good.

"That's enough gossip." Terumi's voice was hard, but she wasn't looking at them. Was that- was that Kirigakure's rogue jinchuuriki approaching?

Yamato blinked hard, but the well-coiffed man really did appear to match up with his memories.

"Terumi-san," Utakata said, voice cold. "Good morning."

The smile she gave him was equally icy. "You must be very pleased that Mizukage-sama has decided you are fit to assist with something that matters." She indicated Raidou. "Try not to lose track of him, or banish him to the borders while he is in your care."

'That is incredibly unfortunate.' Yamato kept his expression blank throughout the sniping. 'If I'd been the one assigned to Utakata, I would have been out of here weeks ago, and Raidou wouldn't have had to stay and get captured himself. Bad luck.'

The blue-haired young man at Utakata's shoulder shifted uncomfortably, not looking directly at Terumi. Yamato could sympathize a bit. He wouldn't like standing between, say, Kakashi-senpai and Nara Shikaku, if they were acting like this.

Why was Utakata even here? He wasn't a recent deserter- he appeared to have left for personal reasons, not Kirigakure's political maneuverings. So there was no reason that the death of the Fourth would have brought him back into the fold, as far as Yamato could tell.

'Which means that there's something I don't know.'

Well. That was nothing new. Glumly, he watched Raidou leave with the jinchuuriki. They hadn't gone very far before Raidou obviously tried to strike up a conversation, body language friendly and open. He was rebuffed.

'Maybe he'll be able to get something out of Utakata.' Yamato turned his attention back to his work, making sure everything was in order before he would begin actually working with his jutsu. He didn't like the idea of using it for Kirigakure, but they couldn't seal away his chakra if they wanted him to use it. 'Terumi is far too clever for me to learn anything useful from her. But Utakata is younger, and seems less experienced.'

To be honest, one of the most intimidating things about the Godaime Mizukage was the fact that Terumi Mei seemed to take orders from her. He'd never seen Uzumaki-san in a fight, but he knew enough about Terumi to be very, very nervous. What that implied about the holes in his knowledge was concerning.

Really, in this line of work, it was what you didn't know that would make you miserable down the line. For example, what the Kirigakure shinobi didn't seem to know. He hadn't dared ask Raidou what had happened to their third, but he could guess. A guy like that would be halfway to Konoha by now, since the mission had ended with both of the senior members captured.

He couldn't be too smug, or relieved that things would work out. The thing that Yamato didn't know, sadly, was whether their junior member would be reporting to the Sandaime or to Danzo.

XXX

Gai stopped with the chopsticks halfway to his mouth, caught in a rare moment of open calculation. Kakashi glanced over to see what had caught his interest when food was on the line.

Oh.

He leaned over and stole some of Gai's soba on principle. Genma was staring shamelessly through the windows, and it was starting to become incredibly unsubtle. Didn't matter. She wouldn't be able to see in, anyway.

"Oh look, it's your incredibly shifty friend," Asuma said, noting what they were looking at. "The children-hating one."

Kakashi considered expressing his derision for that. "Whose friend?" he asked, legs tense under the table. "She seems to respect Gai a lot more than Genma."

Genma's nose crinkled, but he didn't actually disagree.

Gai practically beamed. "I am pleased to hear of the assessment you overheard! It was quite flattering." But he went back to polishing off his food, giving only a momentary frown when he noticed that he was missing noodles.

"It was suspiciously flattering," He ignored the wounded look Gai shot him. That wasn't what he meant, and Gai knew it.

"It's not exactly a secret that Gai's exceptional with taijutsu, but it's a little odd that some random Kiri-nin would know it off hand," Asuma agreed. His eyes were narrowed in dislike, even though Uzumaki had disappeared into the crowd. "They're isolationists. I know she could have investigated him after her initial confrontation, but the way she acted that first time is… concerning."

"By her behavior, it would not surprise me if she had heard of me before," Gai agreed. His brows were drawn low. "It was done so casually that I did not think to be suspicious when she redirected me from a fight to a race. In retrospect, this does fit very well with her recent admission that she would not like to fight me. It was cleverly done. She reminds me of my very excellent Eternal Rival, in fact."

Kakashi felt his back stiffen.

Asuma choked. Genma threw his head back and actually laughed.

"What."

"It's true," Gai protested, enjoying it just a little. "She is not as Cool and Hip-"

Asuma started laughing too.

"but she took similar postures, and she certainly feels the fire of a competitive spirit!"

"I can see it." Kurenai sat down, back from the restroom. "She does act like Kakashi-san on the clock. Maybe more when he was a little younger- a bit cocky, on edge. Before he mellowed a bit with age."

None of that was at all flattering. He glowered, feeling his shoulders creep upwards.

Kurenai was entirely unaffected. "She uses similar misdirection in conversation, although I think her general attitude may actually be worse than Kakashi-san's."

Asuma stopped laughing long enough to posit, "So, she's the female version of Hatake. Only she threatens her genin a lot instead of ignoring them to read when they irritate her."

Genma made a speculative face. "I really wouldn't be surprised if she was into Icha Icha. She just seems like the type, you know?"

That set Asuma off again.

Kakashi kicked him under the table. When Asuma made a wounded sound and looked over, he was already hiding his face behind a book. "Fascinating," he said, in his least interested tone.

"Do you think it's time to try again?" Genma fiddled with his senbon, picking at his teeth. "For Gai, I mean."

"I don't think there's any reason to wait longer. Our window isn't unlimited." Kurenai casually reached over Asuma and took his tea. "If Genma can't convince her to stay in Konoha, we should gather as much information as possible while we have her in the city. She is a figure of some concern. We should know about anyone who could compete with Gai or Kakashi."

"So, don't challenge her to a spar," Asuma said sensibly, taking Kurenai's cake in retribution. "She'll turn that down. But if you try smaller things- things that she thinks are harmless- you might be able to work her towards something more telling. And you could still learn about her personality and problem-solving to construct a profile."

"I had been thinking the very same thing," Gai said gravely. "I will try in the afternoon, once she has eaten with her team. Is it not noble that she spends so much time with them? It is inspiring."

"Is that what it is?" Kurenai asked under her breath. She didn't exactly approve of pushing your genin into a river. It had appeared to be completely unprovoked.

In Uzumaki's defense, Kakashi had contemplated the same thing many times. And the kid was fine, anyway. His teammates had laughed themselves nearly to hysterics when Uzumaki leaned over the bridge railing and made a rude gesture. It had seemed to help the team dynamic, actually. He was leaving town with Sasuke tonight for concentrated training, but perhaps once they were all together again he could give that a try.

The only hard part would be deciding which genin to dunk. Water might improve any one of them.

"She's got quite the routine planned for them," Asuma pointed out fairly. "She's clearly thought towards advancing their skillsets in a complementary way that plays to each of their strengths. I know she doesn't seem like she's been their sensei for a long time, but-"

"She's an experienced teacher," Kakashi agreed absently, drawn from considering the benefits of pushing each genin in a river. Maybe he'd just soak all three of them. It'd be satisfying. But would it serve the same purpose? Probably not.

Kurenai nodded, conceding the point. "And she's invested, in a way she wasn't just two weeks ago when she came here. That speaks to responsibility, doesn't it?"

"Like she's so used to being in charge that she couldn't help it." Genma leaned back, tipping his chair off the floor. "Maybe I've been trying the wrong tactic by trying to romance her."

"She does seem more interested when you're not acting invested," Asuma agreed. "Casual."

Genma shook his head. "No, not that. I meant that if she's really the type of person who accumulates responsibility wherever she goes, she's gotta be incredibly stressed. She doesn't confide in people- at least, no one here. So what she's been doing with me was just letting pressure out of that toxicity when she's about to boil over. That's why she wasn't interested in the dinner- romance isn't in the cards." He grinned, like a shark. "What she needs is a friend. A controlled release of that stress, by someone close enough to sense when she's weak and prod it out."

"Kami wept," Kurenai said under her breath. She might have rolled her eyes, if she was a less controlled person. "I never want to hear you talk about making friends in that tone again. You sound very strange, Genma-san."

He shrugged. "I think I'm right," he said. "I made romantic gestures, and I tried implying that I could help her by feeding her students and empathizing with them. She doesn't want or need a partner in that, or a love interest. She won't want my help. I think I'd be better off trying something that distracts from all that instead of convincing her that she'd have a support system in Konoha. Or if I let her think that I would take orders from her, but I don't think I'm that good of an actor. It's hard to imagine that she gave up independent work for a village- she's controlling. I'm not sure what Kirigakure offered her, but I hope we can match it."

Kurenai sighed. "I'm choosing to believe that you are not quite this calculating about your interactions with that lovely chuunin in Intelligence. Michiko?"

Genma made a noncommittal sound.

This wasn't a productive area of discussion, so Kakashi laid his chopsticks down. "Come on, Gai." He dug in his back pocket for enough to pay the bill and began meandering to the counter. "Try challenging her again, while I can watch. I've got to leave soon."

"YES!" Gai shot to his feet, and then actually jumped over the table to beat Kakashi to the counter. "That is an excellent suggestion. Surely this time she will accept."

Asuma reached for a smoke, shaking his head. "I know you're not going to let her see you, but that might be interesting," he said amiably. "She was twitchy about your team, and she deliberately spent that time with you in Wave. She wants something from you."

Kakashi gave him a bored look. "Surely you're not implying there's some reason that no woman would spend time with me without an ulterior motive. That would hurt my delicate feelings."

"I'm straight-out saying that," Asuma agreed. "I imply nothing." Then he winced, which was probably Kurenai digging her heel into his foot.

She gave the two leaving a polite smile, resting her chin on her palm. "Good luck."

Kakashi let Gai go ahead once again, being the flashy one drawing attention while he came in a moment later from another direction. Uzumaki had made it back to her training area and was sprawled on the grass. She was clearly in the process of picking up papers to keep them out of view, her attention focused on Gai as if she'd predicted his arrival.

'Is she a sensor? Or did she just react quickly enough that it looked like she knew ahead of time that he was approaching?'

Kakashi tuned out Gai's bellowing in favor of watching the Kiri-nin. The genin were watching Gai with more interest and less incredulity than before, so they weren't entirely hopeless. The pointy-faced one was actually looking a bit unfriendly.

It was Uzumaki's body language that was odd. She seemed comfortable enough around Gai. If he hadn't heard her admit that she was wary of him, he wouldn't know that she considered him anything other than a mildly pleasant acquaintance.

'She didn't categorically deny that she was stronger than Gai when her genin claimed that,' he considered, thinking over what that might mean. 'She just said that he was better than she was at taijutsu and that she doesn't want to fight him. That doesn't mean she thinks she would lose in a fight with Gai. Was she boasting? Or downplaying her abilities to teach her students the lesson about underestimating enemies?'

To be fair to everyone involved, her taijutsu was sharp. He'd not been at his best when they'd fought, but it was still clear to him that she was formidable in that regard. She considered herself a taijutsu specialist- but did that mean it was her only advanced skillset?

"an invigorating test of strength and perseverance!" Gai finished bellowing.

There was a moment of shocked silence, as the genin worked to process the fullness of Gai's enthusiasm. Uzumaki's face was calm, professional, distant.

Until it wasn't. She broke out into an incredulous smile, though her body language didn't warm. "Konoha-san. Do these look like the arms of someone who does more than a hundred push-ups for any reason other than direst necessity?" She pushed up her loose sleeves, revealing the outline of a muscled but slim bicep. Kakashi had seen less muscle on shinobi before- genjutsu and ninjutsu specialists, mostly.

But she absolutely did not look like she could perform exceptional feats of upper body strength.

"I would not presume strength by such a thing!" Gai put his hands on his hips. "I am well aware that the most graceful form can conceal strength. You need not think further than the emitable Tsunade-sama, or indeed, many of my lither coworkers and peers!"

Uzumaki's eyebrows moved up as she made a little pout, seeming to concede that he had a fair point. "Still, I prefer not to."

Gai hummed, which was the first time that Kakashi realized that he had suggested that competition fully expecting it to be rejected. "Then let us do glorious battle with cartwheels! I can do them with perfect form, until-"

"No, thank you," she interrupted, almost sounding bored.

"Jumping jacks! Tic-tac-toe! Janken! Or perhaps we will race-"

Her mouth opened-

"in the trees," Gai finished mischievously, which was a competition hilariously biased towards a Konoha nin. He was hoping she'd pick one of the games, then, and begin to relax.

Uzumaki made a considering sound and tilted her head. "Can't touch the ground, three times 'round?" she asked casually. "I think that the full village circuit would be an enjoyable run. And I've been sitting a lot today."

Kakashi frowned. Was she truly so cocky about her speed that she would agree to a race in an environment where her opponent had such a large advantage? Did she think she could win?

Gai was similarly surprised that she took him up on it, taking a minute to nod in furious agreement. "As you say!" He began stretching. "From the gates."

"Why don't we add a friendly wager," Uzumaki said genially. "Loser brings the others' team lunch tomorrow. I think it's fitting, since you're interrupting mine."

Gai actually flushed, because it was entirely possible that he had failed to notice that Uzumaki was in the middle of eating. He rallied quickly. "Acceptable!"

"We eat a lot," Uzumaki said, and for the first time, Kakashi realized that, actually, she was not being pleasant. This was her retributive streak."And I think that we'd like steak."

Her genin had developed concerning shark-like grins with the crudely sharpened teeth you could expect from Kiri-nin.

She was intending to wreak revenge for being interrupted, possibly because she was well-aware that Gai would continue to return unless she truly put him off.

'She absolutely believes that she will win,' Kakashi realized. His jaw clenched. 'That's… is it arrogant?'

It was not. It was not arrogant, because he knew she would win by the second lap. He wasn't sure how she did it, because he couldn't expend the chakra necessary to keep up in the race without being noticed. But she definitely did something.

He saw it once- she was running neck and neck with Gai, teeth gritted and limbs flying. Then she was simply ahead- no handsign, no chakra rising. She was keeping pace with him and then she was four inches ahead. Gai roared, gained speed, and gradually began to gain ground again, feet pounding.

It wasn't that it was an effortless victory- she was clearly working hard, and he would have said she was exceptionally fast even without…. whatever she was doing.

'And when he catches up, she'll do it again. She's doing that again and again to rub it in. Or maybe so that he can't say she cheated by leaving the route. She'd lose without it, but not by much. I think Gai's setting a personal best right now.'

He waited by the gate, leaning in clear sight with his book up as if he was waiting for Sasuke already. So he was in good position to see the finish. Uzumaki went a good ten meters past the finish line before dropping out of the trees and swinging in a slightly wavered walk towards the city line. Her fingers were trembling, a bit, when she lifted the hem of her shirt to mop at her face. He looked away so she didn't catch him staring.

Gai had barreled a good forty meters past the line in his failed charge to regain the lead, so it took him a moment to make it to the gate.

"Gai-san?" She cut him off before he could begin a speech about the nature of defeat and how he would learn from this experience. "I'm not changing my mind about the steak, but I want ice cream tomorrow, too."

"Are you certain you wouldn't like bath salts instead?" Kotetsu said under his breath inside the gatehouse.

His partner huffed. "Or a hospital stay," he muttered back.

"Those would be good too," Uzumaki allowed. She was too busy trembling and trying to breathe to notice them startle at the fact that they had been overheard at that distance.

Kakashi felt his mouth curve into a humorless smile. That was an interesting piece of information. They'd learned a lot from this.

'And it lends credence to what Genma said earlier- that it seemed like she could hear us on his headset. That means that we can't trust her reactions were as real as they seemed. She could have been feeding us information. And she's almost certainly realized she's under surveillance.'

"Hatake?"

She'd noticed him, and her expression was calculating enough that she'd probably guessed it wasn't a coincidence he was there.

He rallied by waving his book at her. "Afternoon," Kakashi said lazily. "Waiting on a student. So lazy. Late. Very inconsiderate to his poor sensei." Then he went back to his book as if he didn't care in the slightest.

There was a slightly hysterical giggle from one of the gate chuunin.

XXXX

She felt like hell. That was the best run she'd ever had, and she apologized to Hoseki in her mind for even thinking it. But it was true, she'd never ran that hard in her life. By the time she'd started to need that kind of speed, she'd been able to compensate with hiraishin. And she'd done that just a bit today, but only just a little. Just enough to be sure that she'd win.

Aiko stretched again, putting her forehead directly on the cool grass between her spread feet, arms sprawled over head. She pretended not to hear Yuusaku asking Keisuke if they should find a doctor.

Oh, wait. That required a response.

"I'm fine." She turned her head just enough to make the words clear. "I'm going to be recovering for the next two days, but I'm fine. Go back to work. You should be inspired. That's the kind of speed I want you to aim for."

"I would die," Yuusaku said matter-of-factly. "I would rather die. People aren't supposed to do that."

"Work, child."

They went back to working. Or at least they stopped chatting, which, whatever.

"I think I bought us a few days without Gai-san," Aiko said to the grass. "He's only a human, too." That wasn't said with quite as much confidence as she'd like. "He'll take some time to reevaluate and think of a new challenge. If he comes back. Maybe he's done."

She paused.

"Or maybe he'll propose a new challenge when he brings lunch tomorrow," she allowed. It was hard to tell with him. "Anyway, be proud of sensei. I got you a great lunch, I bet. A Konoha nin would know the best places to go, and he seems like he'd be generous in defeat."

She considered getting up. Briefly, she considered dying instead, because it would take less effort. But somehow she managed to pry herself to a sitting position, and then to standing. Aiko surveyed her team. "How is that jutsu coming, Yuusaku?"

"I think I'm going to get it today."

Aiko nodded weary approval. "Good, good." Before he could get too proud, she continued, "That's the first part of the technique I want to teach you. The easy part. The part that when I learned it, I spent about an hour on. I'm a little concerned," she said, words spilling out easily. "Once you're done, I want you to practice your control. I was thinking that running in the trees would be good practice for all of you, actually. It's a good control exercise, and faster travel in this environs. Plus, when else will you get the chance to practice it? If you need to fight a Konoha nin in the trees, you're not in a good place to stop and ask for tips."

"Oh my god," Keisuke said quietly. But no one actually argued, so she considered it good enough.

"Do that after I leave." She somehow picked up her knapsack. Her back was aching. "Until six. Once you all finish your current exercises. I'm going to go shower."

"And collapse?" Ryuusei asked.

Aiko nodded. "That too."

She didn't really remember the walk back to her hotel. It was a little embarrassing, but she was actually tired enough that she couldn't sense her observers. She was definitely not going to finish reading the last of those reports before five. Some of them were just going to have to wait.

A shower helped, a bit. She might have fallen asleep standing there if someone hadn't knocked at the door.

"No," Aiko said mournfully.

The knock came again, a cheery little tap-tapa-tap.

She sighed and turned off the water. She wrung her hair out, and wrapped herself in a towel without actually toweling off. When she opened the door, she immediately realized that she should have expected this.

"Heard you raced Gai." Genma seemed spectacularly amused. "Thought you could use some painkillers, dinner." He held up a brown box, spinning lazily from twine. "Maybe company."

Aiko considered it.

"That's…really thoughtful," she said slowly. It was suspiciously thoughtful. She knew perfectly well that he had ulterior motives for spending time with her, but it was still… too nice. She didn't trust it.

His face started to lighten, tension she hadn't noticed lifting.

She reached out, snatched the box, and slammed the door shut. Just to see what he'd do.

Genma coughed. "That's how it is?"

She narrowed her eyes. He sounded like he wasn't really that phased.

His sigh was heavy, but resigned through the door as she opened the box to see if it had what he said it did. By the heft and smell, it was probably dinner- for two people. "You know, I'm really not sure I deserve this kind of disregard. If you don't want me around, say so."

"I don't want you around," Aiko said absently, leaning back and beginning to untie the twine. "You're spying on me."

"Am not." Genma actually managed to sound indignant, though he kept his voice low. "My job is to convince you to stay in Konoha, not to report on your activities. I certainly haven't said anything about all that paperwork you're getting from nowhere, or the fact that you weren't in your hotel room when I tried last night. The ANBU probably think we had sex last night, by the way. It would have been pretty suspicious if I'd left instantly."

Was he telling the truth? Aiko felt her jaw grit and she set the box aside without getting the flaps open. "That's ridiculous."

"Which part of it?"

"All of it," she lied, but she opened the door and gestured for him to enter. "I think that someone would know if I was leaving my hotel room. Unless Konoha shinobi don't watch all the exits. Or you think I've dug a tunnel out underneath the bed?"

"I don't think that," Genma agreed genially. He reached into a pocket as he stepped in, bringing out a little bottle of pills with a clatter. "I don't know what I think, other than that you'd spook and my mission would be a bust if I came clean to Konoha about what I think I know."

She felt her lips twist into a smile that lacked humor. "You're terribly candid."

"I think it's been proven that you're a valuable resource," Genma corrected. He tapped the bottle against his palm twice, letting it rattle. "Too valuable for me to alienate over standard chuunin-exam espionage. You said you were a free agent just months ago." He raised an eyebrow. "And here you are, wearing a Kirigakure uniform. I think you're flexible."

"I'm wearing a towel," Aiko pointed out, but it was obvious that she was on the defensive.

"That's a pretty weird way of answering the door," Genma acknowledged, tone light. "Would you like to take a moment to get dressed?"

She considered it. Honestly… she was so sore that the thought of dressing was miserable. And it wasn't that she felt threatened by Genma. If she needed to fight him, weaponless, in a towel- well. She'd come out on top, or at least be able to leave.

Besides, he'd seen more. So had half of Kirigakure. Whatever.

"Too much effort," Aiko said bluntly. "I was hoping that nudity would make whoever was at the door uncomfortable enough to leave."

"Plus you're sore as hell?" he asked bluntly.

She didn't want to admit weakness. But yes, obviously.

Genma made a tsk sound. "I'd offer a massage, but I imagine that you're not in the habit of letting near strangers sit on your back and do things you can't see."

Her expression must have been answer enough.

"Why Kirigakure?" Genma opened. He leaned against the wall. "Any of the five great nations would provide more security than a smaller one, or none at all. But Kirigakure- they're isolationists, they're in political turmoil, and they're not friendly to bloodlines. Not very friendly at all."

"I'm not worried about that." Aiko took a few steps away, considering doing something about her dripping hair.

He smiled. "And that's interesting, because it really wasn't that long ago that Kirigakure came to Uzushiogakure and killed nearly all your clan." There wasn't anything kind about the way he said that unfortunate truth. "Even if you're not holding a grudge, they can't possibly trust you."

Aiko remained silent. No, they didn't trust her, exactly. But they were in too desperate straits to protest against semi-competent leadership. If she was going to have problems with dissidence and sabotage, it would come after the worst had settled down.

"Konoha is traditional allies with the Uzumaki." He tapped the pills again. "And you'd know that we weren't just hoping to stick a bijuu in you- we've only got one of those. And as I'm sure you're guessed, it's nicely sealed away in an incredibly appropriate host." Genma raised his eyebrows. "A host who you're interested in. You have family in Konoha. Do you have family in Kirigakure?"

No. Aiko felt her lips thin, because that was a low blow. "It's pretty of you to say that Konoha is preferable based on old treaties with a country I'm obviously too young to have lived in," she parried. "Tell me again of what good friendship with Konoha did for Uzumaki in the last hundred years?"

He looked uncomfortable enough at the hostility that she had a thrill of victory. He'd made it personal, but he hadn't been ready for her to take it personally?

"Poor Kushina-san met a sticky end in Konoha," Aiko said, knowing she was going too far even as she did. But this was an old bitterness, something she'd been choking on since her cradle. "She made a sacrifice purely for Konoha's benefit, and what did that loyalty get her? Had she stopped breathing yet when someone made the decision to put that bijuu in her infant? Kushina-san consented to a terrible burden, but that child never did. He was just convenient, a subhuman vessel for Konoha's burdens and bitterness. Why would any Uzumaki want to live here, seeing how that boy is treated? I knew he was malnourished and unloved the moment I saw him. Do you ever wonder what Kushina-san would say?"

Genma was pale.

It felt like she should be shaking with fury, but her tone was low and cold and perfectly steady. "Keep that forked tongue behind your teeth, Konoha. Don't talk to me about how Konoha loves the Uzumaki."

'He looks like he's never considered that an Uzumaki might be bitter about the jinchuuriki business,' Aiko thought incredulously. 'Like he's never empathized with Naruto long enough to realize how monstrous it is to make that decision for an infant.'

And that, more than anything, was the final straw.

"None of you deserve to wear that." She nodded at the shoulder spiral standard to the Jounin uniform of Konoha, Uzushio's mark proudly displayed on people who callously used her family. "Get out."

His jaw clenched. She could hear the metal senbon click against his teeth. Slowly, Genma set the pills down on her bedside table and put his hands in his pockets. "Alright, then. I'll leave. I'm sorry that I took the conversation there."

She watched him, dislike heavy in her chest.

He waited a moment or two for a response. When he didn't get one, he gave her an awkward little nod and let himself out.

Aiko stood, simmering for a time. She could feel the Sanbi paying attention, rising to the upper limits of her consciousness in a way that he hadn't deigned to for weeks. He was angry too, he was the tempest and the fury and he was darkly satisfied just as she was to have lashed out at someone representing the hellhole where her kind had first been imprisoned, bound to this path by the actions of someone who hadn't the right to make that decision for so many, no right to set that precedent.

She blinked. She took a moment to sort through that feeling, not entirely certain if it was hers or if it was the Sanbi's. It…

'It applies to both of us,' Sanbi said definitively.

Aiko couldn't disagree.

In that moment, with fury giving her energy, it was clear that she couldn't sit around for the rest of the day. She considered her options. It wasn't terribly difficult as a choice- she got dressed in a cold, precise anger. She put on full makeup, she put her hair up, she pulled on the dress uniform and took a moment to check the full effect. Professional, polished, impressive enough for what she needed to do today. It ought to strike the right first impression.

There was actually very little chance that Konoha would think she had any energy to go sneaking out today. Not with the way she— she didn't hurt, actually. She didn't hurt at all.

Aiko paused, straightening her back just a bit.

'Don't get too used to it.' Sanbi wasn't friendly, exactly, but the old hostility wasn't there. 'It costs me nothing to help you heal. This doesn't mean I'll be giving you my blood and bones for your jutsu.'

Slowly, she nodded. "Thank you." Her voice struck the still air more loudly than it really should be.

He made a low sound that might have been a grumble, a deflection of the generosity he'd displayed. 'Don't you have a village to visit?'

"I do," Aiko said under her breath. "I think it'd be politer to deliver this letter in person, don't you?"

Fuck Konoha. They were slow, and she couldn't afford to wait on them and choke on their hypocrisy. Kirigakure was going to be leaner and meaner and they were going to get that way with or without Konoha's help.

XXX

When they got into the office, Sandaime already looked tired.

Genma slightly regretted that.

"Is she gone again?" the Sandaime asked, sounding like he expected very little.

He nodded. "Probably. And no, we don't know how yet," he added deprecatingly, before that could be asked. "We did, however, get an outpouring of information."

"Oh?" The old man was giving his full attention, eyes brighter. "What kind of information?"

"Our first emotional response," Hatake butted in. He looked and sounded about a hundred times calmer than he must be, because that was how he reacted to stress.

Genma didn't sigh, but it was close. "I got her angry," he admitted. "That wasn't my intention, but it was a significant break from the public face she's been presenting. I believe it was legitimate. I also believe that we now know why she went to Kirigakure, and that it was largely that it was the first opportunity she had to ally with a village she had no grudge against."

The caveat there was obvious. The Sandaime's gaze flicked to Kakashi, who had encountered Uzumaki before she'd joined Kirigakure.

Hatake shoved his hands in his pockets, apparent disregard rising in proportion with how uncomfortable the topic made him. "Uzumaki-san has comments about how we might improve our treatment of Uzumaki in general and Naruto in specific."

Lines slowly deepened on the Hokage's face.

"She was rather familiar and well-informed," Genma added. "Referred to Kushina-san by first name. She appears to have strong opinions about the relative morality of an adult choosing to become a jinchuuriki and an adult making that choice for an infant." His lips twisted, remembering the tongue-lashing. "Her feeling about the latter is 'no'."

"With a side of 'fuck Konoha,'" Hatake mused. "Her strong feelings cannot be emphasized enough."

"But she knew enough about the situation that I can only conclude she investigated." Genma steered the conversation back on track. "She was interested in Konoha. What she found made her angry and disillusioned, but she wants to be here." He paused, because this bit was risky. "If only for Naruto. She only lost her temper once I brought up the fact that she has no family in Kirigakure. She's very aware of that. I think that she could be convinced to tie herself to Konoha, if we allay her fears."

Her discomfittingly accurate fears, unfortunately. The track record between Konoha and Uzumaki that she rattled off had been well-considered.

Hatake sighed. "Well, I'd better be off."

The Sandaime eyed him incredulously, and Genma felt himself doing the same. Dismissing yourself from a meeting with the Hokage was rather impudent.

"Oh, it's nothing important." Hatake fluffed up his hair. "Sasuke-kun can wait a little longer if you prefer. He's a the gates, waiting to leave for training." He paused. "Probably. It's only been an hour."

XXX

It took some doing to get herself into a meeting with Nadeshiko's leader. They were small, and didn't have the large administration or -apparently- an especially busy day.

It was still, however, rather ballsy on her part to even hope to meet with the country's leader on the first day that she made contact. So Aiko was entirely blasé about being asked to wait four hours, shuffled from building to building and taken on one flustered tour of a historical landmark just to kill time.

She didn't have anything better to do in Konoha. And so what if they dared open the door and discovered she wasn't in there- were they going to accuse her of something? What grounds did they have?

'When we attempted to invade the privacy of a foreign delegation that we allowed in under strict treaty conditions, we couldn't locate them or any proof that they were engaged in any activities counter to our interests. We cannot speculate about how they escaped our notice, but we can't outright disagree if they say we must just have not noticed them walking out the door.'

Mm. That's the kind of statement every country wants to issue. Everyone else who caught wind of that would laugh themselves sick. The only thing that would accomplish would be making Konoha's security look weak.

The thought that the ANBU might have dared check in by now and that Konoha would be running the same calculations she had kept Aiko in a fairly good mood.

The meeting went well.

"I would not call you a liar, but I would need some assurance." Shizuka was hiding her nervousness, but not quite well enough. "It is… rather fantastical to think that Kirigakure's administration has changed so much in such a period of time. One of the great nations has never had a female leader. Among the smaller nations, Nadeshiko still stands alone. Have the times changed so much?"

Aiko didn't let her irritation show, because the other woman was being perfectly reasonable in thinking she was possibly an opportunist. "I understand your caution," she said. "I'm afraid that for a variety of reasons, we are not yet ready to publicly announce the change in leadership."

Shizuka eyed Aiko in a way that implied she could think of a reason or two that might be true. She probably didn't know that Aiko was pretending to be a jounin in Konohagakure in hopes of taking advantage of the chaos Orochimaru's invasion would cause. So she probably was not thinking of the correct reason. Still, she could think what she liked.

"We could, however," Aiko shifted on her zabuton, "make public that the Yondaime Mizukage has perished and that the Godaime has been decided. Would that be enough reassurance?"

The other woman took a moment to think it over, swallowing.

Nadeshiko wanted an alliance with one of the great nations. She was wavering. But she was suspicious of Kirigakure's motivations and honesty. It would not be the first time that a great nation used and discarded a smaller country.

"You are suspicious," Aiko said, ignoring the polite deflection that came. "That is reasonable. Without transparency in our agreement, you lack the protection of the international community's awareness of Kirigakure's proposed responsibility to Nadeshiko." She smiled, and it was a pleasant one, because she actually wanted a respectful, mutually beneficial relationship. "I propose a bonder. The nation of Iron is honorable, powerful, and removed from shinobi politics. Together, you and I, or our representatives, will deliver a copy of our agreement to the great samurai lord of Iron. He will keep it in trust, and know if Kirigakure is remiss in our duty."

Shizuka was still, calculations flickering behind her eyes. "Iron." She flexed her fingers slightly. "Iron is acceptable. I understand that this is a matter of some haste? We could draft up a preliminary agreement today and begin the exchange of humanitarian relief as soon as Mifune-sama has the papers."

"We can do that tomorrow, if the draft is made satisfactory in time," Aiko said, because keeping hiraishin a secret was not worth the human cost that would be lost by delivering the communication by foot. "I possess some small skill at crossing great distances quickly."

From the look on her face, Shizuka might not believe it. But she would when it was demonstrated. And she would see the benefit of tying herself to Kirigakure even more.

[noro-noro-noro]

had a lot of insane dreams due to attempting to sleep the entire day so i wouldn't have to deal with the temperature of my room. anyway. don't have most of them

- had a dream that I fell asleep describing the first dream to my friend bc I said that he was in it but by the time i woke up I forgot & all I'd written was a couple sentences about a couple inhuman things fightibg

- I had to kill somebody I think it might've been a failed clone of me or my sister but nothing was working. the skin wouldn't break no matter what. the eyes and throat and everything I was trying to gouge out or puncture or rip out with my hands and teeth just slid out of the way. bludgeoning her with a rock didn't work either - she would bleed but the skin wasn't breaking. I could feel her windpipe and get.my fingers all away atound It and yank on it but it wouldn't come through, and I could sink my teeth into thr bsck of her neck to get her spine in my mouth. anyway that didn't work either. I'm never allowed to kill people in dreams this always happens

- trapped in some fairly decent kingdom or something? in a library. like the prison we were in was a nice ish library with only one door and a halr collapsed secobd floor and impenetrablr windows. atlas omega strikers was also with us. it wasn't too bad of a place to stay except the king hated us and we would surely be executed before too long, but the guards had guns. also we weren't being fed. part of the library was flooeed also sincenthe floor was part collapsed. we could sneak around freely but if we were seen out of position we would be shot. the guns only worked on us - during one escaor attempt I grabbed a gun and shot this guy 30-40 times in the face, so his skin and eyes and mouth and nose were all destroyed and bloody anf skin and mrat flapping around, bht he wss fine. he wasn't phased. I'm seriously not allowed to kill people in my dreams. anyway the attempt failed but atlas was gone i think they shot him enough that he couldn't move and then dragged him in front of the king, who probably beheaded him with his giant golden sword.

then there was a part that focused more about the flooded corner - we ended up imprisoned underwater, but the flooded corner was somewhat opened to the water. there was the audio cue for a whale after a while. then a strange shark with purple eyes. there was a shark minigame - the shark was falling apart and badly put together and tangled arounr something it'd eaten, so I had to swim with the shark and try to unwrap it from the metal it'd eaten without it collapsing and close up all injuries and holes and fuse the flesh back together with the heal gun (functioned like subnautica repair tool) and after helping itnit turned dark and thr eyes glowed and it stuck around for a little bit. someone showed me that you could use a shark you were riding to access previously inaccessible parts of the map and save people who were locked there.

- lil nas x was a major character of this dream. he was travelling with us. phe was also still famous so people were lining up at my mom's house. it was night .I don't remember the plot of this early section. I ran down to the corner to look for something,g saw this giant banner hanging off where my neighbor Jacob used to live and iy basically was a message from Jacob like I had fun living here bye! even though they moved away while I was in college several years ago. I wanted to write a message back & I could see his parents packing through the front window but neither the girl I was with or lilnasx had a pen.

anyway we ended up on a small bus? or smth. it was red orange. we were also suddenly in Idaho. we haf to get to Missouri first but then we were in Idaho. and there was some kind of ghost thing possessing people randomly and people wanted to get on our bus to get outta there. it wasn't safe. but we couldn't let snyone on. eventually it culminated in some kind of ghost boss fight that wasn't going well bc I couldn't figure out the gimmick.