#I had to go over the jump of the fact that hes a Raccoon but after some time it came easy

[glow-autumz]

I just re-watched Guardians of the Galaxy vol 3 and it made me remember how directly after I watched it for the first time in the theater I thought to myself. "I just want to see him happy." And since then I've been reading Rocket x reader fanfiction like the morning paper and crafting fanart.

[eddiemunson-reader-shame]

Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader: Space Oddity, Part 1

In my ongoing quest to write more self indulgent reader inserts, I present to you: Weird Reader.

Sorry guys, but in school I played with the girls who pretended to be Warrior Cats, and ate lunch with guys who unironically did the Naruto run. The only thing separating me from this reader in this story is the fact that I mask in public and unmask at home.

[Chapter Two]

***

“You want me to play D&D with you guys?”

You watched with suspicious eyes as Mike Wheeler and Dustin Henderson nodded frantically, stirring the sweet, syrupy dessert of fruit cocktail in your lunch tray compartment. Staring at you was like staring at a taxidermy raccoon: you were dead eyed, but still positioned as though you could jump out and give someone rabies.

If he had been asked at gunpoint, Mike would have admitted that you were a last resort choice.

“Yeah…” Mike said cautiously, trying not to stare directly into your eyes.

Dustin smiled, leaning forward.

“You like D&D, right?” He tried, hopeful.

Everyone they had asked in Hawkins High had so far said no to subbing in for Lucas Sinclair, and Mike had balked at the idea of even thinking of asking you when they got rejected for the fifth time. You were even worse than the freaks of Hawkins High. The collective student body had come together as one to declare that you were a weird, mean bitch.

“I like what I’ve heard of it…” you mumbled, “I never played it before…”

Dustin’s face lit up like a Christmas tree.

“Really?” He asked, his geometric pattern button up nearly dipping into his open can of chocolate pudding, “Never ever? So you’d need to be taught?”

Before you could venture an answer, Mike pulled him back.

“Could you-… Could you just excuse us please? Thank you.”

You nodded slowly while Mike dragged Dustin away to a corner of the bustling lunchroom. While they conversed in hushed whispers, you sat there alone, the students sharing your space giving you a wide berth at the head of the lunch table.

“Are you out of your fucking mind?!” Mike hissed at Dustin, “You’re going to ask The Bitch to play, and she’s never even played D&D before?!”

Mike knew the stories. Robin had once asked to borrow a pencil from your jubilee of pens you kept in the pocket of your shortalls. Reluctantly you agreed, and then you had a meltdown when she took the flat contractor’s pencil with the He-Man sticker on it. Steve had told any of The Party who would listen about his encounter: even Eleven could perfectly recite the story about the weird girl who had flat tired Steve in the hall every day at 9am when he walked by Mrs. Click’s class, ruining the backs of his brown suede moccasins so often that his mom stopped replacing them after a while. His description of the perp matched you exactly.

Even Mike on his first day of school had been subject to your oddities. A casual lunchtime stroll found him tripping over a trap, made of plastic milk crates and dead branches you’d constructed by the football field. The encounter ended with him being subjected to your twenty minute screaming lecture on why it was rude of him to wreck the “houses” you’d made for the skinks that darted around the concrete walkways.

Mike Wheeler hated you because of reputation, but Dustin knew better than to fall victim to heresy. He had seen the drawings of dragons, daleks, dinosaurs, wolves and mermaids on xerox paper you had left behind once in the lunchroom. When he found you to give them back (you didn’t say thank you), he’d been gifted with a drawing a day later in his locker: a very detailed Spock giving the Vulcan salute, “Live Long and Prosper” written underneath in bubble letters above your loopy cursive signature. He still kept it taped to his Geometry folder.

“Dude, yes! Chill out!” Dustin hissed back, looking at you fondly from a distance, “You remember what Eddie said? ‘Find the little lost sheepies that need us’. Look at her, man. Doesn’t that scream little lost sheep to you?”

They turned to look at you simultaneously. After looking both ways to check the coast was clear, you commandeered Dustin’s abandoned chocolate pudding. Spooning the syrupy peaches, pears, pineapple, and single half of maraschino cherry of your fruit cocktail inside, you mixed the chocolate and fruit together. Lathing up the leftover pudding with your tongue, the spoon was licked clean before you tossed it vaguely into an indignant girl’s creamed corn, but she was too afraid to yell at you while you were armed with chocolate.

With great relish you began eating your concoction with your fingers.

Mike grimaced while Dustin just laughed.

“She’s perfect.” Dustin gushed, “And you should see her drawings, they’re badass!”

“Just because she’s a gross weirdo who’s good at drawing doesn’t mean she knows jackshit about tabletop games!” Mike growled, nearly gagging when he saw you mop up the leftover pudding in the can with your bread roll, “You bring a beginner into Hellfire Club, Eddie’s gonna blow a goddamn gasket! He’s already on the warpath because of Lucas’ championship game tonight, can you imagine what he’ll do when we bring in The Bitch?!”

“Mike, relax. Eddie’s not going to know she’s a novice. Everyone still flips through the handbook, they won’t notice if she does it. We’ll give her a crash course, I’ll even let her borrow my Player’s Handbook so she can come in looking like she at least knows the basics. And if Eddie does get pissed we can just… ease him into the idea that a succulent babe wants to play with him.”

Dustin made the shape of a curved figure with his hands, while Mike looked ready to punch him in the groin.

“You think he’s going to fold for a fat girl?” Mike snarled.

“… Shut up Mike,” Dustin said, immediately protective of you, “He’s going to fold for a cute girl. Look at her! Soft arms, round face, thick thighs… Eddie’s gonna lose his goddamn mind, man! That’s like his ideal type.”

They continued to argue back and forth, finally coming to a grudging resolution when Dustin dragged Mike back by the shirt to your lunch table.

“If this goes to shit, I know where you live.” Mike hissed quietly.

“Shhhh!” Dustin slapped Mike’s arm before looking back at you with a dopey grin.

You were staring down both of them, eyes flicking from Dustin to Mike. The empty pudding cup can was sitting exactly where it had been once full before, but the pop top was gone, and you were pretending like you hadn’t just gone to town on an unholy concoction.

“I made a decision.” You said suddenly.

The two freshmen looked at one another, before leaning in closer. Mike looked skeptical, but Dustin’s grin was nearly splitting his face in half.

“I’ll play with you guys.” You said after a few seconds.

Dustin couldn’t help but fist pump into the air, nearly tipping over backwards on his chair while Mike just grimaced like he was about to puke. An imperfect smile with chocolate teeth flashed at the boys, and you were just about to speak when Mike stopped the party.

“Okay, listen… if you’re going to play, you’re going to have to put in the work, it’s not like playing Monopoly.” He said, staring you down, “This is serious shit.”

You closed your mouth, head tilting to the side.

“Oh… I thought it was like, making your own characters and pretending to be them and stuff.” You said.

“It is, but it’s a lot more nuanced than that. Our Advanced D&D campaigns are different. We play very combat heavy sessions, we use actual strategy in battle. It’s not a goddamn tea party.”

“And Eddie takes the rules very seriously…” Dustin chimed in, “So we’ll have to familiarize you with the basics.”

“Eddie!?”

Both boys jumped back as you banged your hands on the table, getting up close and nearly crawling on top over to them. The students sitting next to you collectively jumped, the metal legs of their chairs scraping and making a horrid screech against the linoleum flooring.

“You mean… you’re talking about Eddie The Freak, right?” You hissed under your breath.

“Eddie Munson.” Dustin corrected, frowning when you called him a freak, “He’s the dungeon master of our club… of Hellfire Club.”

Your eyes widened, and your chest began to rise and fall rapidly.

“You’re right though. That is the very same freak.” Mike cut in, lowering his pitch hoping that feeding into the negativity would scare you away, “He’s a dick to newcomers. You might get the boot if he finds out we brought you in without having any background knowledge of D&D.”

His words made you shrink back, looking at your lunch tray and the little mess of chocolate you’d unknowingly splattered on your clothes. Dustin could have killed Mike, while the latter just looked smug.

And then… you began to giggle.

“Okay…” you smiled.

“Okay?!” Mike and Dustin repeated.

Mike managed to speak up while Dustin was still picking his smiling jaw up off the floor.

“You’re sure you still want to play?” Mike asked, panicking as he pulled out all the stops to get you to quit, “Eddie is not a patient guy with new players, he’s going to rip you to pieces and sacrifice you to the devil!”

You nodded quickly, breathlessly hyperventilating.

“Yeah…! I… If Eddie Munson is running the game… I really wanna play.”

Dustin gave a high pitched giggle of his own and shook Mike’s shoulder, absolutely loving the way your face broke out into a goofy grin. You didn’t even flinch at Mike’s attempts to scare you.

“You got a thing for him or something?” Mike ventured cautiously.

“Yes.”

You answered so unabashedly, with no hesitation, that for a minute it actually endeared you to Mike. Who knew that The Bitch of Hawkins High was actually a human being with wants and needs?

“Wait… are you serious?” Mike asked.

“Uh huh…”

You giggled, biting your lower lip and covering your burning face.

“I think… I think he’s really hot…”

If they had been drinking Tab, they would have spit the liquid out all over you.

“You think Eddie’s hot?” Dustin wheezed.

“Yeah… um… I’ve had this like monster crush on Eddie since I was in fifth grade. He did like this talent show and played the guitar real good, and he’s all loud and funny and crazy and I think he’s got a real charming smile…”

The cadence in your already deep contralto was lilting into a mezzo soprano the more you talked about their sadistic dungeon master, and you were rocking side to side in your plastic chair while Dustin and Mike just watched you make a complete ass of yourself.

This probably would have turned into two hours of blabbing, had not Mike refocused you and Dustin and begun to actually lay out the basics of TSR’s Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. No time to lose, back to business. If you were going to play with Eddie you had a lot of catching up to do. They had a spare set of dice, and Mike helped you roll for stats as Dustin began to write out a crude character sheet for you based on your imaginative ideas.

“We can probably make you a character very quickly.” Mike said, flipping through his own Mead Composition notebook as he checked past characters that had died valiantly in battle, “I have one you can use. Barbarians are stupid easy for first timers since you’re just hitting shit with a sword-...”

“I want a character based on my story I’m writing!” You exclaimed, and then you subjected Mike to your brief (lie) synopsis of one of many witchy characters who was cursed by a dark goddess.

It took a lot of adjusting and words that held no meaning to you, like “Domain of Trickery” and “Cleric of Shar”. The two freshmen helped you settle on a character that would be deemed useful for Hellfire’s campaign, and made sure to force feed you every rule and spell that Gygax and Arneson had conceived for your chosen class. True to his word, Dustin let you borrow the Player’s Handbook he carried with him at all times when the bell to conclude lunch rang out. You took it with promises that you’d give it back when you met them outside of the drama room later after school, already burying your nose in the pages when you walked off to your class.

The boys saw a different side of you that possibly no one else in the school ever had: a familiar side, a human side. A side that was brutally honest and sometimes a little mean, but just as vulnerable and relatable as anyone else. A consensus had been reached during their shared English class: you were definitely weird, but actually pretty smart and imaginative. Possibilities of keeping you on as a permanent member were being discussed when Dustin and Mike found you hiding behind the lockers just outside the drama room around three pm.

“What are you doing?” Mike asked.

You shook your head, clutching your fat trapper keeper to your chest and handing Dustin back his Player’s Handbook.

“Eddie’s in there…” you muttered, chewing on the spine of your trapper keeper covered in duct tape

“Yeah, he usually gets there with Jeff, Gareth and Frank really early, to set up the map and the dice towers.” Mike nodded.

From the rectangular slat of a window, one could see Gareth and Frank meticulously setting up Jenga pieces and miniatures on top of a slab of butcher paper marked in sharpie, janky cindrilical tubes painted to look like castle towers were set up at each place at the table (the dice towers, fashioned from Pringles cans, cardboard, glue and paint). Eddie and Jeff were deep in conversation, plugging in lamps and electric candelabras left over from the drama club’s last production of ‘Pride and Prejudice’. Inside the mood was almost holy, reverent (or like Eddie liked to call it: a softcore porn on Valentine’s day mood), and the boys couldn’t help the eagerness as they went to the door.

You, however, stayed firmly planted behind the lockers.

“What are you doing?!” Mike hissed, “Come on! We’re gonna be late because of you!”

“I don’t wanna go in…!” You snapped back, suddenly shy.

Mike looked at Dustin, ready to destroy him, while Dustin tried to talk you down.

“Hey, hey! Come on, it’s okay. Don’t worry! You have a good character, and if you need help you can just sit with me and Mike-…”

“But what if he doesn’t like me?” You protested.

“I swear to you on my mother that Eddie is going to love you.” Dustin said, trying to calm you down, “You’re great. You actually came with a character to play, and he’s going to be so happy that a girl is showing interest in his hobbies.”

You were about to turn tail and leave when you felt an iron grip around the meat of your bicep, pulling you forward with an unnatural strength born entirely of Nerd Rage.

“Oh hell no!” Mike said, pulling you kicking and protesting towards the door, “You’re not doing this to me right now god dammit! You’re going to get your ass in there, and you’re going to play! I didn’t sit through lunch listening to your weird edgy character backstory just so you could pussy out at the last minute! Now get your ass. In. NOW!”

With a harsh shove, you flew into the drama room – tripping on your own two feet trying to catch yourself – and spilling the contents of your trapper keeper all over the ground. Strong hands caught you before you face planted into the floor, holding you steady.

“Easy, easy!” Called out a familiar voice, “Goddamn... What the hell was that for, Mike?! You could’ve broken her nos-…”

Eddie Munson’s voice trailed off, and the boys watched as their fearless leader, their metalhead bard, began to stare open mouthed slack jawed at you.

“You told us to find a lost sheep.” Mike snarled, “So here she is.”

[yccoffeesimp]

Dan Heng looked at the grey-furred animal that rested in your arms. The raccoon stared back at him, still resting in your hold. Dan Heng wasn't even aware of how you even got a hold of it, especially how it let you just pick it up so easily.

After all, this was just to be a nice outing in Belobog to distract yourselves from the stressful events that recently have passed. Dan Heng barely went out of his room, his nightmares more frequent. You weren't so sure how you could help him being his partner. So you made a plan for the two of you to spend the afternoon together would help him a bit. It worked a bit, it wasn't so busy in Belobog today. Dan Heng probably couldn't be able to handle it if it was.

But during your little evening out, you both stopped at a large trash dumpster. Hearing noises coming from it. Thinking it could be a Warp Trotter, Dan Heng got Cloud Piecer out, with you taking your weapon out. You slowly walked towards it before immediately jumping at whatever was making the sounds. You lightly squealed, causing Dan Heng to begin to walk toward you. You were kneeling on the ground, immediately imagining the worst, Dan Heng rushed to your side before he saw the raccoon you now held.

"Look, Dan Heng!" You smiled, slightly raising the mammal towards Dan Heng. "A raccoon?" He said, his shoulders falling a bit from the stress he had before now vanished. "Isn't it cute?" Dan Heng took a closer look at it. Soft grey fur with a patch of black fur on its face. It looked fairly cute but it had a little weird trash slop on its hands. "It is but I don't think you should be holding it.." He replied.

"Why not?" You asked, Dan Heng sighed. "It was just near a dumpster, there's no telling what it was doing or where it's been. Plus it could have several diseases for all we know." He answered."True.." You mumbled, looking at the raccoon in your arms. "Come now.. It's getting late, we should probably head back to the express now." You nodded in agreement, the both of you already heading back. Dan Heng and you soon arrived back at the Astral Express.

Pom-Pom being the first to greet you. "Well well, it's nice to see you two are safe and sound. Everyone else is already asleep or in their rooms." They said, the front lobby was empty. The lights dimmed, showing that everyone was in fact in the passenger cabin already. "Did we stay out that late?" You muttered to yourself. "It seems so.."

You and Dan Heng then walked to the archives, opening the door to the small yet always comforting room. Dan Heng's makeshift bed on the floor as always with an extra pillow beside it for you. As mentioned before he had his nightmares more frequently, so you began sleeping over to keep him company. Dan Heng took off his coat as you set down your bag.

"Imma go change into my other clothes in my room real quick before we head to bed, okay Dan Heng?" He nodded before you left. Your bag rested in a chair in the archives. It was silent as Dan Heng waited for you to return before something cluttered and the sound of something moving around sounded. Dan Heng looked around for a bit before the sound came once,

Dan Heng's gaze then landed on your bag. It was moving... As much as he respected your privacy and hated the idea of going through your bag to see what you had in there, he reluctantly walked towards it. Pulling back the zipper and opening the bag to reveal... "You've got to be kidding me.." He sighed, the same raccoon from before stared at him.

A small cookie in its hand that it seemed to have through the packaging it was in."Okay, I'm back- Oh.." You've returned to see Dan Heng holding your bag with the raccoon's head sticking out of it, munching on the cookie. "Care to explain why you have an animal in your bag?" He spoke. His tone was unreadable, you couldn't tell if he was annoyed, angry, or just tired. Maybe a mixture of three...

"Well, you see uh- Funny story.." "Mhm, I bet this will be interesting." "Well uh- It looked hungry and since we were already going back to the express. I let it into my bag and gave it some cookies..." You explained, rubbing the back of your neck.

Dan Heng's gaze made you a bit nervous cause you didn't know how this would end. Either with a lecture about bringing animals onto the express or a lecture about randomly taking animals. The possibilities were endless at this point. Your lover sighed once more. "Was bringing it on the Astral Express also within your plan.?"

"I mean... If I asked permission to keep it as a pet maybe?" You shrugged. "You can't keep a raccoon as a pet." Dan Heng groaned. "Who says I can't keep Jimmy as a pet."

"You can't keep- I'm sorry... Did you just call the raccoon Jimmy..." Dan Heng froze at you suddenly naming the animal. "What's wrong with the name Jimmy?" You asked, placing your hands on your hips. "I can't believe you already named it.." Dan Heng rubbed his temples, your bag set down on the same chair it was on before.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just tired.." Dan Heng said, his posture was slowly slumping. You walked up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Take a rest, I'll handle the raccoon." "Are you sure, I could go with you-" "Yes. I'll only be gone for a while but in that while, you should be resting." Dan Heng was about to say something else, but seeing how you really wouldn't back down from this, he stopped himself.

"Alright then, be safe.. and don't bring any other animals from Jarilo- VI.." "Can't make any promises." You shrugged. It was a few minutes before you left, the small animal going with you. Dan Heng turned to one of the tablets for the database. To pass the time of your absence, he figured to list something in a locked data folder.20 minutes passed before the door to the archives opened, Dan Heng turned to see you standing triumphantly, your bag was empty.

"Ta-da! I have returned!" You cheer. "Well done.." Dan Heng gave a short nod, his hands closing off the data folder he was in. "Now after a rather long day, would you agree that some rest is needed, oh wise Master Dan Heng." You smile, Dan Heng had a bland expression on his face, unamused by the title. "Please be normal for once." He replied.

"Augh- You wound me so.." You joke, walking to cut off the lights. Dan Heng was already under the covers of his makeshift bed before you crawled beside him. His head was on your chest while he melted into you. "Good night sleepy head.."

"Good night {name}.."

[alittlebitofloveliness]

The Outsiders Prompt Fic #12- I didn't know where else to go

This is for @ramennoodlezzzao3 who requested prompt eight with Ponyboy. Sorry for the wait, I hope you like this. I wrote it sleep deprived after work and it's unedited so I apologiz wfor any typos.

****************

Tap. Tap. Tap.

When Curly first hears the tapping on the window he thinks it’s his beloved Princess Chunko, aka the raccoon he’s been feeding and attempting to train for the past six months ever since Tim told him off for feeding her- the poor thing was a single mom who worked two jobs and Curly wasn’t heartless. He wasn’t about to let his girl down, ok?- and Angela said you couldn’t teach a raccoon tricks because ‘they aren’t like dogs, dumbass’. Shows what she knows. Curly’s managed to almost get Princess Chunko to shake his hand on command (she’ll do just about anything for leftover fries from McDonald’s), and she’s only bit him like, three times. 

However, when he pulls back the curtain (thank god Angel’s sleeping at her new boyfriend’s place tonight because she would be beyond pissed to get woken at one in the morning) it’s not his beloved furry princess he sees, instead it’s his beautiful, very human and also male princess. 

Right. He’s gotta be cool about this. Smart. Suave. Pony’s never come here so late at night before. Curly isn’t exactly at his best right now- he’d been planning to shower in the morning so he still smells like the desperation of high school and whatever boozy concoction Ma had thrown at him earlier- but he isn’t gonna like, turn Ponyboy down if he’s come here for a hookup. He’s not that stupid.

Except when he throws open the window he catches sight of the pure misery on Ponyboy’s face and all impure thoughts fly out of his head. (Ok, maybe not all of them- he’s a simple man and Ponyboy is Ponyboy and he’s also right there-  but  Curly is again not heartless so like 98% of the impure thoughts are banished. Maybe 97%.)

“Hey Ponyboy!”

Pony runs a hand through his hair. He sighs, and the sound is so tired it could give Tim a run for his money.

“Hey Curly, can I-” his eyes get shiny but he blinks hard and they’re normal again, “can I come in?”

Curly doesn’t bother answering, just grabs his best-friend-maybe-boyfriend-but we-haven’t-had-that-talk-yet-but-also-kiss-and-stuff under the arms and half drags, half lifts him through the window. Curly thanks his unlucky stars that Angel’s mattress is under the window because this was not an elegant maneuver, and Pony landed right on top of him. Like, right on top of him. Curly isn’t exactly complaining because this close he can see the freckle near Pony’s hairline and smell his toothpaste and whatever shampoo he uses, but Pony also completely knocked the wind out of him, and Curly’s is also a fifteen year old boy and attracted to Ponyboy so if Pony doesn’t move soon a different problem is going to make itself known and Curly cannot let that happen or he’ll have to jump off a bridge.

He shoves Pony off of him as gently as he can without being soft, and leads him over to his own side of the room. Angel will already be pissed enough that he was on her side of the room, nevermind the fact it was just to open the window, and Curly doesn’t want to add fuel to the fire. Sure, he loves making Angela angry but she also took a razorblade to his favourite hoodie last week and Curly isn’t willing to risk her ire right now. Things with the boyfriend she’s currently staying with are slowly but surely falling apart and Angela going through a breakup is a dangerous creature. Even Tim steers clear of her as best he can during her anger phase, and then they both decide to be a little nicer when Angel moves on to grief. 

Pony sits next to him and Curly wonders if he should’ve put a bottom sheet on his mattress, then banishes the thought because it’s stupid and because he doubts there’s a bottom sheet anywhere in the house- angel bought her own and guards it viciously. Still, he can’t help the anxiety bubbling in his chest. Pony is in his room, sitting on his bed. In all the time they’ve been hanging out he doesn’t think Pony has ever been in his room. And they’ve certainly never been alone in his room- or in Ponyboy’s for that matter since Sodapop Curtis is the world's most annoying cockblock and one of these days Curly is really gonna slug him.

Fortunately- or unfortunately, he really isn’t sure- Pony seems oblivious to Curly’s internal turmoil. In fact, he seems kind of oblivious to everything, staring blankly at the wall and biting his lip hard enough it might start to bleed soon. 

Rude, Curly thinks, if someone’s gonna be biting ponyboy’s lips tonight it should be him.

It’s kind of worrisome though. It;s not like Ponyboy’s the more, well, present even on a good day, prone to daydreaming and getting all focused in a way Curly doesn’t understand, but this seems different, worse somehow. The misery is still written across Ponyboy’s face, but there's an undercurrent of anger there too, and beneath that, fear.

“You good, man?” Curly’s never been great with emotions, never understood his own or wanted to help with others. He wants to help Pony now though, he just doesn’t know what to say. “You uh, you need anything?”

“No- yes- I dunno.” Ponyboy shakes his head, curling in on himself, and no, nope, if he bunches up it’s like he gets even more stuck in his own head and Curly refuses to let that happen so he yanks him until Pony’s head is resting against his shoulder, his arm around the guy’s admittedly very nice shoulders. “I didn’t know where else to go, I just- I couldn’t stay there. Not tonight. Can I stay with you?”

“Of course,” Curly agrees immediately. There’s a whole host of reasons why and he’s sure some of them are good but the only important one is the thought of Ponyboy Curtis sleeping in his room with him, “why though? Didya finally get tired of Sodacan cockblockin’ us?”

He waggles his eyebrows suggestively, expecting Ponyboy to roll his eyes but snicker like he usually does when Curly makes a suggestive joke, but instead he just sighs, his eyes getting all sad again.

“In your dreams Shepard,” he says, “but nah, it’s nothing like that, just…Darry and Soda are fighting.”

Curly blinks. That’s what Ponyboy is upset about? His family fighting? If Curly got sad anytime people were fighting in his house he’d have died of heartbreak years ago. Shit, Ma hadn’t gone a day without swearing at them in years, and Tim had told him just this morning he was a waste of space. Last month, he and Angel hadn’t spoken for over a week after she tattled on him to Tim about his plan to get into Buck’s race fixing scheme. 

Then again, the Curtis family- even their gang- wasn’t much like his own. They weren’t soft exactly, but they weren’t cold neither, which was something Curly had got used to at a very young age. Ponyboy on the other hand…well, he doesn’t have much ice in him at all.

“They’ve been mad at each other for days, and tonight it’s like they just blew up,” Pony continues, “like a match in a powder keg. They’ve been yelling off and on for hours, and everytime they start to shout it gets worse. They hardly even noticed when I left.”

“Darry won’t be pleased you ran off,” curly points out. He’s not good at emotions but he is good at being practical, at least when he’s trying to think like Angela, and he knows Darry Curtis will be mad if Ponyboy comes home late or not at all. Curly thinks the guy needs to lighten up a bit. One murder wrap when Pony didn;t even kill the guy shouldn’t mean he needs to be supervised 24/7. Darry needs to lighten up.

Ponyboy rolls his eyes.

“Shit man, you sound like Two-bit. I left a note alright? And if they’re really that worried they can get over themselves and come and find me.”

“What are they arguin’ about anyway?”

That was apparently the wrong question to ask because Pony’s face shutters again.

“That’s the whole problem! I dunno! I can’t figure it out and I listened to them argue awhile. It got real personal real quick, whatever they started arguin’ about probably isn’t why they’re mad now.”

“I’m sorry man,” Curly says, and he is. Rarely is it that he feels any sort of sympathy for other people’s issues, but Ponyboy curtis is not just anyone. In fact, he’s maybe the best person Curly knows, and he doesn’t deserve his house to feel like Curly’s does. The Curtis’ are supposed to be better than that. Ponyboy is supposed to have better than that.

Curly knows there isn’t much he can do. There never is, and with his penchant for fucking shit up he’s rarely trusted with even meaningless things let alone important ones, so he’s not usually armed with the skills to help anyone. However, in this situation, Curly knows what to do because it’s something he wished for every day or his childhood, and something that was never really provided to him no matter how hard Tim sometimes tried. 

Tonight, he can keep Pony safe.

“You can stay here,” he promises, scrubbing a hand through Ponyboy’s hair as an excuse to feel how soft it is without grease in it, “whenever you want. Just show up.”

“Really?”

“‘Course.”

That earns him a smile, a real one, the kind that makes Ponyboy sort of glow and Curly kind of want to kiss him and combust and jump out a window all at the same time.

“Thanks.” Pony murmurs, and Curly feels himself grin when Pony settles his head back on his shoulder, exhaustion returning.

Curly lets himself grin as he maneuvers them so that they’re squished together on his lumpy single mattress. It’s not the most comfortable position- Ponyboy is half on top of him and not in a fun way, his bony elbow jammed into Curly’s ribs, and his hair tickling his nose, but Curly wouldn't change it for the world.

Ponyboy is already gone when he wakes up the next morning, but that’s alright, Curly expected it, just like he expected the call that came when he was making breakfast and the light that has returned to Pony’s eyes when he sees him at school.

The Curtis house isn’t supposed to be like his own, and it isn’t. Ponyboy wouldn’t ever look this relaxed if it was. 

Even still, Curly reasons, it can’t hurt to keep his window unlatched. Just in case. 

[just-a-sleepy-idiot]

Herbert West Imagine: Being your Roommate and slowly starting to care about you

Why is he so cute it’s so unfair. Shout out to @herbert-west-did-nothing-wrong for being an archive of cool Re-animator content and furthering my hyperfixation hoho hehe

Content/Warnings: Gender neutral Reader, Some fake dating, Violence against Zombie animals, Dr. Hill is obsessed with Reader the way he is with Meg in the movie, Swearing, Herbert being addicted to the Reagent like in the uncut version & Withdrawal, Autistic Herbert West

When his unsuspecting Roommate turned out to be a Insomniac night owl his initial plan of secrecy had to be turned around. Or to be more specific, it was rather the very unfortunate moment when you happened to catch him wrestle the Re-Animated Raccoon that tried to claw through his labcoat in the middle of the night when he realized that he couldn‘t get around some explaining. „Get it off me!! Get it off me!“ He yelled, trying to keep the beasts treacherous little zombie hands away from him. „Fuck! Fuck, Herbert what the hell!?“ You yelled back while hurriedly grabbing a towel and trying to pry it off him with that. The Racoon ended up Re-Dead eventually, after an excruciating fight that showed you the extent to how fucking Undead that thing turned out to be. You stared at Herbert in Horror, he was heaving and leaning back against the Operation table he had set up. He was quick to jump and talk to you, „Listen-„

You were this close to demanding he‘d move out as fast as he had turned up that evening a few days ago, when he knocked at your door with the sign you had posted to the Hospital staff‘s board about looking for a Roommate. You were vaguely aware of what he was studying, at least you witnessed how strongly he defended his opinions about Brain death against Dr. Hill, who was the head surgeon of the clinic but also his teacher. And as such the older man was more than inclined to fail Herbert in class over his upfront disrespect. You were somewhat uncomfortable with Dr. Hill as well for a long time, and maybe the fact that Herbert openly disputed against him was part of the reason why you didn‘t turn him off when he turned up on your doorstep.

But he showed you, he proved to you, that the insane claims he was using as his explanation were actually true. His research has led him to revive the dead, no matter the damage the body has taken before, because soon after the wretched beast you had just thought dead came back to life, if that absolutely murderous state it went into could be called life.

You were sat there, next to him and stared at the cadaver. Blood on Herberts shirt and loosened tie, and you in your silly Pyjamas. „Which is why I need your help Y/n.“ Your head turned quickly, „Help you?“ He scooted a bit closer, „Yes! You are the perfect assistant. You are hardworking, we work in the same Hospital and you have no functioning sleep schedule.“ You frowned at that, but well, he was right. „We could do something great, conquer Death!“ He put a hand on your shoulder and you looked him in the eyes for a very long moment. You let out a stressed out sigh, „for gods sake.. ok, alright. This is.. just insane, Herbert, but it‘s the kind of insane that I can‘t just leave be. I‘ve never seen anything like it.“ Herbert smiled, patting your shoulder enthusiastically.

That is how he got himself an Assistant by chance. As long as he could keep you motivated to keep going and pushing through the Horror his research would really benefit from the help you were providing.

You weren‘t as obsessed about working day and night as he was though, which is why you didn‘t react too pleased when he stormed into your room at nearly 4 in the morning to tell you about a new theory he had. He didn‘t really notice how you were snuggling a plushie, or how you had curled up in the moment as he ranted on and paced your room excitedly. You let out a long stretched moan and grimaced at him, “I was sleeping..!” You complained, but he didn’t really listen. Only when you threw a pillow at him he halted, looking at you in offense. “That was uncalled for.” “Apparently it is! I wanna sleep Herbert now gooo” you stood up and shoved him out of your room. “No bursting into my room while I’m sleeping!” He turned around, getting a last look at your sleepy, disgruntled face before you shut the door on him and went back to sleep. Only when he huffed and puffed, walking back down into the basement, he remembered how you have looked sleeping. Curled up like a Pillbug, he thought.

The next day he found that the lack of sleep had not really made you forgiving towards him when he tried to tell you about his findings. He clenched and unclenched his fists nervously, frowning as he tried to figure out his next step of action. Herbert never needed to prove himself to anyone or be particularly likeable to make it to where he was now, his work spoke for itself. So he genuinely didn’t know how the heck he was going to fix something that was well.. a person. He needed you to be cooperative, and pissing off his only assistant was not very beneficial to his work.

When you came home, Herbert was already sat there and stood up quickly. „Look,“ you already looked at him pretty much pissed, much like this night while you threw him out. He came forward and firmly held out a plastic bag, neatly wrapped inside was a piece of your favorite cake. „No more bursting into your room while you’re sleeping.“ He said, lowering his head without breaking his continuous eye contact. „Is that.. how did you know I liked that?“ He nodded, „See I‘m not always listening but my brain is always taking in information.“

You took the bag and raised your brows, a slight smile on your lips as you took out the cake. „Alright.. I accept.“ you said, putting down the cake to go into the kitchen to get a fork. „So what did you find out?“ He smiled as well, clapping into his hands and starting to explain it all. You came back with two forks. You made Herbert try some too, as it turns out he is more a dark chocolate kind of guy, and he makes a face when he finds things too sweet that makes you giggle.

Herbert was always eager to go back home and experiment after work, the days were Dr. Hill taught were especially agitating to him. „I feel like every minute I am forced listen to this man it’s diminishing my brain capacity.“ He complained every time. Those were days were he stayed in the lab until the sun rose, and listen, throwing stones in a glass house and all but this was too extreme. You noticed he was still up when you woke up to pee. Did he even eat dinner? You spied into the kitchen, no trace of dishes.

He was scribbling down a new variant to his substance he had thought of, it was brilliant! This would solve at least one of the major problems you had been encountering in your experiments, he couldn’t wait to put the chances into action and see how the reagents power changed. Herbert lifted his gaze without fully looking up when he heard the familiar creak of the wooden stairs. „You need to see this Y/n.“ He bickered you closer. He was surprised to find a plate with Pancakes in his field of vision. He looked up from them to you. You were in a different set of silly pyjamas now. „You didn’t eat. How are you gonna save me from Zombie Goldfish if you faint?” You joked and reached for his notebook to read his new results. He stared at you for a while, then said „Why do all of your pyjamas look like that.“ „Hey!“ “Also by now I deem you capable enough to bring down a Zombie fish yourself.” “That is the sweetest thing you ever said to me Herbert.” He shot you a look over his glasses.

Though, he ate the pancakes when you left and they were good. You didn’t make them too sweet. Judging from the way you giggled at his reaction to the cake you must have had remembered. Hm.

It was another night, another period of labwork he was up to with you. You were replicating the reagent for him into smaller, portable versions you could take into the Hospital to begin and document the reactions to human bodies with low dosages. You poured some of it too quickly and a cloud of poisonous gas errupted from the glass, you nearly fell back trying to evade it- your chair already tipped over and you closed your eyes, but the crash didn’t come.

You looked up, still holding onto the glass for dear life, and saw Herbert looming over you from behind the chair. He had swooped in and grabbed it from the back before you could fall. Why did this somehow feel.. close, the way you looked up at him that way. The way his knuckles turned white from gripping the chair, and the way he frowned down at you. You eyed his face. “You should avoid dying before I perfected my reagent.” He said, still holding you. Your feet dangled in the air, you put your head further back. “Don’t worry, I would come back as a ghost to haunt you.” “Why would you do that?” You raised your hands up to his face, cupping his cheeks, surprisingly gently. “I wanna spook you once, not see you as composed as you always appear to be.” Herbert swallowed, his eyes flickered over you for a moment. Your fingertips were warm against his skin. Why were you.. your lips parted in a smile. He cleared his throat and carefully set your chair down again.

“You really need safety googles, let me see if I have an extra.” He looked through his stuff, finding his thoughts trail off. He paused for a moment without noticing, briefly letting his eyes flicker around without really focusing on something. When he found them he turned around and gave them to you for you to try on. “Do I look good?” “You look safe. That is good.”

A week or so later you were both at the Hospital, working as usual. Herbert went to your station to discuss your next test subject, he happened to find an older man who was sure to die soon of his illness that he intended to try and Re-Animate. If the bodies weren‘t registerested in the Morgue in the first place it couldn‘t be traced back to the few with the authority of entering it, aka you. So if he just waited until the patient died and took his chance before anyone took the body he would make for a perfect test subject. When he arrived at your station he looked around for you, only eventually finding you cornered against a door by none other than the most dimwitted person in the Hospital; „Dr. Hill, I really need to be getting back to work..“ you said and tried to walk past him, but he blocked your way with his body.

„Now Y/n there‘s no need to be in a rush, I‘m sure someone will handle it. Surely you‘ll have some more time for me to discuss dinner.“ „Well.. um, like I said, I‘m sorry but I‘m already getting something with Mr. West tonight.“ The older man rolled his head back for a moment and laughed spiteful at the mention of his name. „Yes but you are rooming with.. Mr. West, so you will have plenty of occasions to eat with him. But you see, I am a very busy man and my company is high in demand. You should prioritize me making time for you.“

Herbert saw the way you smiled, and from what he had learned about body language over the years he would most likely interpret this as a sign that you were flattered and comfortable with his invitation- but there was something that went against that deduction; Your eyes. Either way he didn‘t look people in the eye or he did so to an extent that was considered staring. But he had seen you smile, at him, at the cake he got you, at the note he left on the fridge that said ‚Leftover Dinner left, Bag of Eyes right! Do not accidentally microwave‘ so he knew what you looked like when you smiled. And.. you weren‘t smiling with your eyes right now. You always smiled with your eyes, did that mean that your expression was simulated? Were you in distress?

He approached swiftly, clearing his throat to get Dr. Hill to turn around. „I shouldn‘t be surprised to find out that your ignorance isn‘t limited to your scientific research, Dr. Hill, but here we are. Y/n, I need to discuss something with you.“ You were more than happy to use the moment of Dr. Hill‘s bubbling irritation and slip past him and next to Herberts side. „Mister West.“ He said through gritted teeth, „It seems like you are compensating your inability to surpass me by taking something from me in reach, but let me assure you that a Roommate isn‘t as important as a Lover can be.“ When he said the last words he looked at you with a smug smile, not even hiding that he thought of himself as your suitor. You looked horrified.

„I agree. Now if you‘ll excuse us, it’s 3 PM and therefore Y/n‘s Lunchbreak.“ Herbert held eye contact with Dr. Hill as he put a hand on your back and led you away. The older mans eyes widened in disbelief at the implications of him agreeing, of the way he put a hand on your back when you left. „Are you saying you are-?“ Herbert didn‘t stop to listen and made you follow his pace as well. Did he just hugely imply that he and you were affiliated? Yes. Did he plan to do so? Certainly not, but it just happened to be the perfect split between pissing of Dr. Hill and helping you out of the situation and potentially even future attempts like these. How wonderfully efficient.

„Now, I wanna show you the perfect candidate for our-„ „Herbert“ he looked at you, eyes flickering over your features as he rapidly noticed a change in your expression. Your cheeks were reddened, your lips slightly pressed together. The redness even extended to your ears. „You are embarrassed. Or flustered. Which is it so I know for future reference.“ He observed and you blushed even more.

„Now the whole Hospital is going to think we are a Couple!“ He shrugged his brows and led you further through the Hospital, you whispered as a colleague walked past. „Potentially, since Dr. Hill is more concerned with spreading misinformation anyway than working.“ He paused, „Ah, I did not account for the possibility that you already have a crush on someone here. If they heard about that it wouldn‘t be to your advantage.“ „Yes, I mean, I don‘t but- now we gotta act like it in front of him too.“ He hummed in acknowledgement, well, surely that wouldn‘t be too hard.

He had you meet the man that he meant to Re-animate if everything went according as planned, you inspected him and gave Herbert a look. It was doable, his body was weak so in case of aggression he could easily be restrained for both your safety, and lastly the man had decided to donate his body to science anyway after his passing.

„I think I can ask to switch shifts to his station and make sure the beeper doesn’t go off once he passes.“ You said as Herbert walked you back to your station, „Then you distract the nurses while I get the body out in a Wheelchair.“ Herbert added and you nodded, slightly nervous about the whole thing already. Bringing a full human back to life.. was it even possible to conserve the refined parts of the human brain and personality or would it operate like the animals as well that he brought back?

You reached your station. Herbert surprisingly took your hand in his, your eyes widened yet you didn’t resist the gesture. Reaching out, he did that a lot, he does in when he fails to verbalize what he wants to communicate in an emotional extent. But people usually react with.. a leap of faith, and trust in him when he does this instead. Touch, hold onto their arm for a moment. And he reaches out for your hand now and you trust him, you let him.

„Listen, Dr. Hill is watching us.“ He said, and you blinked, eyes darting to your hands as you suddenly understood his gesture for what is meant- an attempt at portraying romance.

Your hands were warm, almost beaming with heat. It wasn’t uncomfortable.

„Would you consent to me pretending to kiss you for the sake of proving our lie. He isn’t close enough to actually see if our lips touch.“

You squeezed his hand and slightly stepped closer, breath hitching. „I consent.“ He studied you, sighing and wetting his lips. The way he looked at you, if he reciprocated eye contact at all, was always intense and yet this was.. as if he was actually taking in much more of you. Not just reciprocating a gesture to an intense amount, but actually looking at your face, all of it. Why did he feel his pulse raise? He took another step towards you and closed in- until there were centimeters left between your lips. Your noses slightly brushed against each other, your breath gently fanned over his skin. Both of you had closed your eyes, Herbert felt your hand on his chest clenching slightly onto his shirt. You radiated warmth, why did he want to have you even closer than that?

He stepped away again, opening his eyes. For a second he saw you, with closed eyes and a reddened face.

„I think that will suffice for a bit, depending if Dr. Hill has enough audacity to flirt with someone who is supposedly already committed.“ He concluded, straightening his glasses. He felt weird, somehow.. anxious? Anticipating? Frustrated? Disappointed? Hm. Hard to tell.

„Ah.. yup! Um, maybe it works!“ You said, swallowing and bidding him goodbye until work ended. And Dr. Hill actually walked past you that shift without saying anything else, purposefully not acknowledging you as it seems.

You felt anxious about going home that day, not really knowing what has changed exactly that made you feel that way. What did you expect to happen? Nothing actually.. happened! You did not kiss, this shouldn’t feel so Sitcom-ish. And yet-

you came home, the kitchen light was on but you didn’t see Herbert. He must be home, he was always tinkering with something as soon as he was free to do so after work. Sometimes he didn’t even wait until then, but right now there was no light coming from the basement. Only from his door, and that was unusual. You never even saw that man in a pyjama once! As far as you were concerned he had an identical set of clothes to sleep in. ‚I can get behind wanting to revive the dead but that is just weird Herbert‘ you once told him, to which he replied ‚at least I don’t sleep in something that is patterned with geese‘ which really only showcased your point.

„Hey, do you wanna eat something?“ You asked, not straightforwardly showing your concern. „Y/n..“ he muttered, and you frowned, now opening the door. What you saw was a very distraught looking Herbert, rummaging through his things with the small fridge he kept in there open as well. „Fuck- there are no probes in the right stage!“ he howled, hands shaky and room disheveled. „What are you talking about??“ he turned around but didn’t look at you, his eyes darted over the room panicking. „I can’t.. inject any of them at this stage this is..“ his breath hitched, you were putting the pieces together in your head. He was talking about using it on himself, and judging from the erratic state he was in he was physically addicted to it. He was pale too, the withdrawal must have kicked in a while ago. He behaved both impulsive and weakened. There is.. something you needed to do. He sat down on his bed, fidgeting and running his hands through his hair. „It keeps me awake, keeps my mind running.“ That didn’t even sound unlike him, it made sense for him to try and find a way to ditch any kind of the human experience he didn’t like. He did it with death so why not sleep too while he was at it.

„That means you‘ll go to sleep after a while, once your body gets exhausted enough from the withdrawal.“ He nodded, you sat down next to him on the bed. „The Hospital doesn’t have a the tools of dealing with the specific addiction you’re dealing with right now and we don’t have any reagents that are ready to fix either so.. I‘m gonna stay here ok? Monitor you so I know you‘re safe. I‘m gonna fetch that terrible Novel I‘m reading right now to distract you from the pain with a different kind of pain, hold on.“

And he let you do so- listening to you read the book to him while fidgeting nervously and running a hand through his hair or over his arm as he tried to let himself be distracted by what you were saying.

You kept reading to him until 5 AM, Herbert was still struggling but getting more weaker by the hour. He frowned and closed his eyes here and there to rest a bit, visually displeased to be requiring that sort of thing. He muttered that it was wasted time he could use better, but his physical agony seemed to find a bit of relief in this. ‚You were usually asleep now‘, he said when he noted how tired you were at this point, ‚you should just go to bed.‘ He didn’t understand how stubborn you were on staying with him to look out for his safety even though he assured you he was fine. You were nearly drifting off to sleep yourself, resting your eyes as well when he asked „Why do you even care so much?„ Your answer was murmured as your consciousness slipped, „Because I care about you“ your head sunk more against the bed frame behind you since you both resorted to sit at the end of his bed.

Herbert stared at you, frowning once more but slightly bewildered. He was important to you? Personally? Your lips parted as slumber caught you fully in mere moments after those spoken words. If it wasn’t for what you said.. he would have never even thought about wether he reciprocated what you felt, but somehow he found that- he did care about you too. He had cared about your distress earlier and went to resolve it without fully acknowledging why, despite being highly agitated just by the thought of exchanging a word with Dr. Hill. He cared about your opinions on his Experiments. And he even cared about how you felt about him, and it wasn’t even fully based on the necessity of having you as his Assistant. He pressed his lips together.

Herbert straightened his glasses and looked over to you again. With a sigh he grabbed the blanket and put it on top of you, covering you up to your shoulder which made you intuitively sink further into the mattress. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes for a bit as well, fully keeping his stern expression as he slowly fell asleep as well without noticing.

For the first time in a long time he fell asleep again, and for the first time in a very long time he wasn’t alone.

I was literally non stop writing this since I watched the movie a few days ago. I would love to write more for him or maybe even write a part 2 of this? If ppl like this and want me to I‘d love to hear what you have to say. Comments get me motivated and keep the hyperfixation running

[mintaikk]

Moments in the Hunger Games that Dr. Gaul would hate

Dr. Gaul says that humans are naturally violent, and to prove her wrong, here are moments in the Hunger Games that show that they aren't.

-Lucy Gray comforting Jessup when he wasn't feeling well

-Lucy Gray crying and mourning when Dill died (Wovey in the book)

-Lucy Gray making sure Jessup ate despite her having the advantage if he didn't eat

-The first thing Lucy Gray doing in the arena was look for Jessup and run away with him so they could both have a chance at surviving, despite all the murder and chaos happening around them

-Lucy Gray comforting Jessup as he was dying

-Lucy Gray in general

-Jessup protecting Lucy Gray from the bats (rabid raccoons in the book)

-Reaper giving Lamina cloth and Lamina giving him food. Then Coral, Mizzen, and Tanner came and she warned him (in the book)

-Reaper collecting the bodies of the fallen tributes and covering them with the flag to give them proper respects

-Reaper warning Wovey when she was walking to the snakes

-Lamina killing Marcus. Ik it was still murder, but it was a mercy kill. She even comforted him before and stared at his body and curled up into the fetal position after

-Lamima has a lot of empathy in general and I love her so much and she's litterally just walking proof of Dr. Gaul's theory being wrong. Her name is litterally animal spelled backwards, which is what Dr. Gaul belived the tributes were. Violent animals

-Bobbin letting Wovey sleep on his shoulder

-In the walk to the cart, Bobbin was holding Wovey's hand

-Lucy Gray letting Wovey hold her hand before the games

-Treech protecting Lamina when Brandy was killed from the bullet

-Reaper going out of his way to protect Dill. I could make an entire post on this alone. But like, in every scene with them together, he's always looking out for Dill. Even when he jumped at his Mentor, he was looking at Dill before to see how she was doing. Dill's death is what made him want to honor the other tributes deaths. I can only imagine how that made their friends and families feel at home, to see the person they loved getting the respect they could in such violent games

-During the bombing, Marcus ran back to go get Lucy Gray despite thst fact that his chances of dying there were very high

-Ik he wasn't part of the games, but Sejanus going to spread bread around Marcus's dead body (I love Sejanus sm and I better not see y'all thirst over Snow anymore)

-In the book, there was no bloodbath scene. Most tributes ran straight for the tunnels, while Coral, Tanner, and Reaper went to get weapons, but even Coral, who was known for being violent, ran. Only Reaper stayed

-Reaper apologizing for having to kill the tributes the night before, and promising to honor them

-In the book, Teslee was running from the snakes and Lucy Gray came out of the tunnels singing so the snakes would be distracted so Teslee would have time to escape

-Screaming and crying and throwing up because Reaper killed Teslee but brought her body over to the other bodies because it's really all he could give her

-In the book, Lucy Gray and Reaper were the last ones left, and they procrastinated on killing each other. Lucy Gray killed him by getting him to drink poisoned water, not by any violence. She even closed his eyes when she realized he had died.

This was just the 10th Hunger Games. Damn. Imma go on to the other ones now

-Instead of of breaking their alliance by killing each other, Maysilee just left Haymitch saying that she didn't want it to come down to the two of them

-Haymitch staying with Maysilee as she died

-When Annie's district partner died, she gained serious PTSD, which should be proof enough that naturally, HUMANS DONT LIKE VIOLENCE

-Katniss volunteering to protect Prim

-Thresh smiling at Rue when she managed to steal the knife from Cato (this is so sweet to me, I love the District 11 kids sm)

-Foxface not killing anyone (that Katniss knows of) and running away, proving thst people are just trying to survive and not be violent

-Foxface and Katniss bumping into each other but then running away. Especially Katniss, because she definitely had the advantage

-Peeta joining the careers to protect Katniss

-Peeta telling Katniss to run when the careers were hunting her

-This wasn't shown to the audience, but Katniss said that if her and Rue were the last 2 left, she'd let Rue win

-Katniss letting Rue cuddle under the sleeping bag so that she could stay warm

-Katniss mourning the death of Rue by leaving flowers over her body and then giving respects to District 11. She even cried and threw her spear when Rue died

-Clove and Cato's entire friendship (also, Clove smiling at Cato while they were on the plane)

-Thresh killing Clove purely because of what he thought she did to Rue, implying that he wanted to protect Rue. (I like to believe that he didn't make an alliance with Rue the dame reason Katniss didn't make an alliance with Peeta in the beginning; he didn't want it to come down to the two of them). Despite that, he was still heartbroken when she died

-Thresh sparing Katniss's life because she was friends with and protected Rue

-Clove calling for Cato when Thresh was threatening her, and Cato coming to help (in the book)

-Cato crying and begging Clove to get up when she was dying

-Katniss mercy killing Cato despite everything (in the movie)

-Katniss and Peeta not wanting to kill each other and deciding to eat the berries together instead

75th Hunger Games

Yes, ik the rebellion. But I'm still counting it.

-Peeta volunteering to avoid having Haymitch go to the games

-Mags volunteering for Annie

-The female morphling (who I headcanoned as her name being Chassis) sacrificing herself to save Peeta

-Peeta staying to comfort Chassis and talking about how pretty the sky was

-Chassis and Autus (male morphling) teaching Katniss how to camouflage, despite her not knowing about the rebellion, and for all they know, she could try and kill them. But they still wanted to save everyone, so they kept Katniss alive

-MAGS. Mags is the best

-Finnick staying with and protecting Mags despite her chances of surviving being very low

-Katniss keeping Finnick alive, despite not knowing about the rebellion

-Peeta staying to comfort Katniss and Finnick during the jabberjay attacks

[sapphire-weapon]

Up to this point in SW, Ada's exposure to Leon has been:

Seeing him during the village fight and then ringing the bell for him

Seeing him getting choked out by Mendez, then watching him stumble his ass over to the gate, unlock it, and head back towards the village

Luis's radio call to him at the start of his castle section

Their very first scene together in his campaign

The "babysitting's tough, huh?" conversation

Seeing him run over to a dying Luis

The "I guess you're not heartless" conversation

That's it.

So, let's explore Ada's feelings as she goes through Separate Ways with regards to Leon, Ashley, and herself.

The very first time Ada hears Leon's voice, it's him teasing Ashley with:

"I wanted to go home, but Ashley had to see this castle first."

The very first time Ada speaks to Leon herself, the first expression of emotion he shows is when she tells him to leave Ashley behind -- and it's anger at her.

The very first time Ada sees Ashley in person, it's this moment ^^^ in the shots.

This is what I mean by SW making the main campaign feel like "The Leon and Ashley Show" from Ada's perspective. Of those seven encounters, four of them have been about Ashley. In fact, the only conversations that Leon and Ada have had up to this point have been about Ashley.

And this happens over and over and over and over again. Ada can't seem to catch Leon at all without Ashley also being in the picture in some way. The boat scene is literally the only conversation they have or moment they share where Ashley doesn't come up at all.

This is what I mean when I say that SW feels like Ada's being forced to bear witness to what her relationship with Leon could have been in Raccoon City if only she'd been honest and genuine with him up front.

The point of having Ada listen in on the "Ashley had to see the castle" line was so that she became aware of what the relationship between Leon and Ashley was actually like. It isn't just business between them; it's warm and playful.

And Ada rejects that, at first. She outright denies it to herself. That's what's really at the heart of her telling Leon to leave Ashley behind -- because Ada, at first, almost doesn't confront Leon at all. She damn near leaves the room before he walks in, but then she thinks better of it at the very last second.

The full line of dialogue of:

"Leave the girl. She's lost no matter what. You walk away now, and who knows? Maybe you'll live to meet me again. And then I might get you that 'greeting' you were looking for."

immediately follows her openly hitting on him ("Not a bad move. Very smooth."), to which he has no reaction. And so she gets more explicit with him. Let's break it down:

"Leave Ashley. She's not important. If you leave her, you'll finally get to have me. That's what you really want, right?"

That's why her actual line isn't framed as a warning. She doesn't double down on it when Leon pushes back on it; her response is: "Right. How about we continue this discussion another time?" It's not about Ashley turning or not turning -- it's not about Leon saving her. It's about Ada offering herself and then feeling "what the fuck" about it when the offer is refused.

But she still denies it to herself. That's why her follow-up line of dialogue once she jumps out of the window is a very coy "See you around, Leon." She still isn't ready to accept that she's been replaced as the focus of his attention and affection -- hence the pettiness of her "Babysitting's tough, huh?" line.

Her attitude only starts to change after Luis's death -- when his dying wish is for her to help Leon. So, Ada puts her pettiness aside and switches from demeaning and belittling Ashley to referring to her as "your friend" instead. It shows a degree of respect while still removing the overt affection from the equation.

But then Krauser runs off with Ashley. Leon's anger boils over, and he shoots Salazar in the face. And now, Ada's reaction is:

But when she finds him right on her heels because he's that fucking pissed and that fucking determined to go after Krauser for Ashley's sake, it still catches her by surprise. It speaks to the depth of Leon's concern and affection for Ashley.

Once again, it reaffirms that Ashley's not just a mission objective to Leon. It's personal, for him.

This leads directly into the boat scene, where Ada tells Leon that his greatest strength is still the love and compassion he has for other people...

... though it's not as if he hears her at all.

The next time Ada sees or hears from Leon, it's her walking in on the "for Luis" scene.

Even though Capcom went out of their way to make sure that Leon and Ashley didn't hold hands because they didn't want people to ship them, because, as we all know, holding hands is a universal sign of romance so that's exactly what they were talking about for sure and hi I'm twelve years old and I don't know how exaggerated anecdotes work what is this? anyway so Leon and Ashley hold hands in this scene even though that's not what Capcom wanted

I mean

Along with the pep talk scene, this is the most intimate scene in the game. Ada is intruding on a very private, vulnerable moment between Leon and Ashley that ends in a promise:

"For Luis."

This is Ada's affirmation that Luis wasn't jerking her around -- he was being genuine about wanting to help Leon and Ashley, and now they're committed to honoring his memory and granting him his dying wish.

And Ada's pettiness finally melts away -- at least, for a time. They have their way of honoring Luis, so now it's time for her to do it her way.

Suddenly, Leon and Ashley's closeness doesn't matter to her anymore -- because it's not about them, and it's not about her. It's about Luis.

Walking out of the comms facility, she hears Ashley successfully fighting off Saddler. Interesting framing here with the jet ski in the foreground.

But interestingly, Ada's focus doesn't fall to her.

There's actually not a single moment in this game where Ada says Ashley's name out loud. Ashley is either "her" or "the girl" or "the president's daughter." No matter how far she comes in this, Ada still can't let go of that last little bit of pettiness. It's still personal for her, and the only reason why Ada helps Ashley at all is because it also helps Leon, which in turn honors Luis.

So, she does do it.

But not for Ashley's sake.

And she isn't about to go out of her way, either.

And then we reach the apex of it all.

Ashley's watching Leon's fight with Saddler with her hands clasped against her chest as though in prayer, as embers float around her like fireflies. This is overtly romantic imagery. I've said this before but: this is so romantic in its imagery and symbolism that it's just straight up on the level of Final Fantasy nonsense.

And not only is Ada forced to reckon with that, but the first and only thing out of Ashley's mouth to her is an order. Not a request. Not a plea. An order.

And all Ada can say in return is:

"On it."

She's lost this fight.

Leon and Ashley (and Luis, to an extent) are a team, and Ada isn't part of that team. She sees it in this moment. Ashley is so comfortable in her place at Leon's side that Ada is a non-factor in the equation all together. That's why she wasn't in the lab with them. Ada acted as Luis's substitute, but in the lab, he was still with them.

"All of this -- removing the parasites -- this was Luis?" "Yeah. We're alive thanks to him."

The matching scars that Leon and Ashley end up with as a result of their radiation surgery are different from the matching scars that Leon and Ada have.

Leon and Ada's scars are a symbol that they once carried the same consequences born of the same mistakes.

Leon and Ashley's scars are a symbol that they once carried each other.

And that’s a huge fucking difference.

Ada feels that difference in that moment.

There is no "Who was that woman, anyway?" "She's like a part of me I can't let go" in this version of the story, because Leon has long since let her go.

And so her pettiness comes back. At the very end, she shoots her final shot:

It's a bookend for and a direct callback to what we were talking about earlier:

"Leave the girl. She's lost no matter what. You walk away now, and who knows? Maybe you'll live to meet me again. And then I might get you that 'greeting' you were looking for."

which really meant:

"Leave Ashley. She's not important. If you leave her, you'll finally get to have me. That's what you really want, right?"

and led into:

"Right. How about we continue this discussion another time?"

She's ready to continue the discussion. One last ditch effort to see if all love is lost between them.

Leon's answer is very clear.

The Leon and Ashley Show isn't over, but Ada's role in it is.

Which leaves her to wonder who and what, exactly, she'll be the next time she and Leon meet now that her status as The Love Interest has been completely and utterly usurped.

[lvstfv1]

— '' Stop Waiting ,, ♫.*

> re6!aeon

✦ [ the ending we've all needed. ] ✦

✦ [ fluff, angst ] ✦

word count :: 1,428 words

not proofread !

'Let me breathe for once,' she cursed in her mind, the thin leather sticking to her sore legs, reflecting the orange light of the sunset as she struggled to fight for her life; time was running out. She almost had enough. The metal sleeves of machine gun bullets flooded the ground with ringing noises filling the scene along with crackling sounds of the fire caused by this atrocious disaster. Alone yet again, she had to keep going, and so the attacking continued under pressure.

He chanted once again, never ending, like an irritating piece of gum stuck under her heels. "You'll be mine," too bad, she was born in a fucked up world like this one. She was born to live like an independent woman, with the potential to have a powerful yet peaceful job, and a nice living environment with her family in China. In spite of that, only forced to fight for her own peace, and the corrupted world's. The unwanted criticism from everyone pushed her back, but not too far away to fall off the edge.

Just as everyone expected, Ada had no one to rely on. No one at all. The only person that would remember her, would only be those few, most already gone to be remembered. She had thoughts of them, kind of as a motivation to keep her going, knowing that she does not want to lose any more lives she shared a memory with.

She wasn't the easiest to be knocked down, was she? Ada was agile and had inevitable mercenary skills most of her life. She had no one to rely on. That is a constant reminder for her. To remember the fact that she was alone, and at the mean time, the fact that she was a survivor. She had that slight sting in her heart everytime she thought about her lonliness, regardless, she was exceptionally used to it by this age.

Revisiting the situation, a simple spray of bullets removed her from her cloud of thoughts, the fog fading away, and instead, plain darkness right infront of her eyes. Ada was knocked down. Darkness lurked her head, her exhausted form collapsing on the end of the bridge.

Silence filled her ears, only a light ringing inside of her ears.

Who could come and save her? Barely anyone knew her and her true intentions. She was hunted by the BSAA, and a bad reputation diffused amongst the population. Ada wished she had lived a normal life. The only person who could remember her, did. He always had. Not Simmons, not Chris. That someone she had barely hung out with, yet knew the best of her.

"Ada!" That voice echoed in the distance, the unconscious spy laying almost lifelessly on the ground. The man's eyes widened in agony. A bolt out of the blue, Leon never knew she would fall this hard. Fall in what way? Every way. A risky jump from that perished elevator, his partner, Helena watching in anxiety.

'Come on.. get up,' Leon repeated with panic in his mind before actually reaching out, hesitant. "Please be okay," he prayed with his heart, holding onto Ada for dear life as he fired with anger at the sickening monster. She felt it. Emitting warmth, a strong body, at last shielding her body as it absorbed the uninterrupted bullets, rough, thick hands carrying the weight of her delicate body. "Ada.." He muttered with growing fear and hurt.

Come on, Leon. He'd missed out on her his entire life. It wasn't his fault entirely, as Ada distanced herself from Leon, because she knew she could never get his trust back, seeing his growth for almost fifteen years. How? it was just that they suffered that horrendous night in raccoon city together, and since then, they were stuck together. What an event, making two mutual pining folks lingering onto each other's presence for over a decade. It all happened too quick.

Ada could not comprehend the situation. Being as intelligent as she was, a cold joke, seeming to warm up their interaction more. "I was just resting my eyes," Leon thought it was foolish that she tried to build herself back up when he could be the one protecting her now, especially after years with Ada unconditionally being his guardian angel. It was the time for him to repay. Although in the end, we understand their way of loving and who would end up saving each other before one of them leaves again.

Ada had always thought, she was incapable of loving. Growing up in an environment where she had to stay mysterious for her own good, she handled her emotions well, well enough until that night. The thought of hurting Leon projected back to her a little too extremely, exposing that vulnerable side of her that she never even knew had existed. Betraying missions after missions to make it up to him, although he didn't really notice them. Yet, he understood. Leon definitely did.

Simmons, his obsession with Ada only turned her stomach. So many choices she could've picked, why Leon?

As he hung over the edge of the bridge, that hand that just held her getting demolished by the stomach-churning antagonist of the century. "Can't always get what you want, Simmons," a sharpened rod of metal piercing through his cracked body as he fell forward, landing to be wrecked by the vigorous flame. A smirk lingered on the corner of Ada's plump lips, satisfied and relieved.

Leon chased after Ada on the other side of the building as she pulled a smooth getaway, with her grapple hook, that had been durable for ages.

"Ada-" He immediately grabbed her arm firmly, not allowing her to move away, his shiny eyes with a glimpse of hope as his eyebrows locked together.

Her head tilted down as she stopped her movement. She broke the silence with a scoff, full of emotions buried deep under it. "You know I can't stay." Ada finally had a proper response, but the last thing he wanted to hear.

A slight curve on his chapped lips, reminding him of when he pushed Ada away on their second meeting. "Ada-" Leon called out, bluntly blocking her way, his mind full of hope that she would get his meaning. She didn't mind, an intrigued expression on her pretty face. "Hm?" Her arms crossed infront of her chest. She was anticipating.

Hesitation filled Leon's facial expression. It seemed like he was struggling with making the right decision. 'Come on Leon. Haven't you seen what I've done for you for all these years?' Ada's eyes spoke, eyebrows began to close together as the air got denser.

Ada had distanced herself and shut herself down for too long, not begging for his attention yet beginning her own radiation. Leon was the spark she needed to fill that hole of darkness within her, although, she knew she didn't deserve him at all.

"I don't want to see you for the last time."

His shaky voice seemed to hit a nerve in her body, a strong one. Eye contact was lacking, air stiff and tense, bodies frozen as the world kept quiet around them, only the crackling of the fire could be heard.

They finally made a decision to face each other. 'So cute,' she whispered instinctly to herself. His teary eyes seemed to wetten her own pair too. Leon gulped loudly, holding himself together so he wouldn't shatter like he did as a rookie; although that part of him was still in there, somewhere. Maybe younger three years, but hes a vulnerable puppy at heart, courageous government agent at sight. It was overwhelming for the both of them. How could Ada reject this offer? She wasn't exactly working for anyone now. She didn't have to run away, did she? Her heart was racing, breaking her scale of being the spy she was. It could change their lives, 'it' referring to the decision she had to make after desolated events between them.

A gut wrenching feeling festered within her. Ada never wanted to distance herself away. Lovers was all she wanted to be, despite her distancing away during every interaction between them. She knew what she wanted.

"Mm." She hummed willingly. Not exactly an exciting tone, although she knew damn well how much joy and relief she was in.

Sore and awkward arms wrapped around each other's torso in an instant, tears drenched their shirts. Warmth was spread amongst them, as all that could be heard were their joyous sobs and hearty chuckles.

[idyllcy]

from one admirer to another : scrambled

pairing: leon kennedy x reader || masterpost: from one admirer to another

synopsis: from one admirer to another, an online penpal service, allows for two people with common interests to write to each other without ever revealing their actual address! Luckily for both you and Leon, you get matched up! What do eggs and Christmas even have in common anyway? sure hope it's that modeling business and NOT that Ada Wong addiction.

featuring: reader as scrambled eggs // leon as christmas

Dear scrambled eggs,

Thank you for that Ada print. It's going into my shrine (you were weird first, alright? Don't go calling me weird now.) and the fact that it's signed? crying screaming throwing up. Also, how dare you call yourself her day one? I was there when she first debuted you can NOT be more day one than me (joke).

I like my eggs in the form of shakshuka. If you haven't tried it before, you really should. It's delicious. It's basically eggs in tomato-based sauce with a ton of other spices and god it's so good I could just die. My favorite season... probably Thanksgiving. I know turkey gets pretty boring at times, but the cranberry sauce that my friends make is so good it's criminal. And, yes, I am unfortunately no different from you, but that's our secret, alright? I think I do an okay job of pretending to be normal at work.

Life updates... I had a shoot with a random model two weeks ago and I'm unable to get the way their hand felt on my bicep out of my head. I felt like a teenager all over again when they did. I'm not a teen anymore, and it's been a hot minute since I have been. Is this the curse of working with attractive people as a model? It was my first time seeing them, and the director didn't even refer to them by name, so my assumption is they don't do that many shoots. Maybe I'll be lucky and never see them again? Big day for losers in love (me). I'm kidding. I'm moving too fast. This'll be over in a couple of days. It's not like they're as hot as Ada— but they're pretty damn close. Got any advice for a loser who's just fallen in love at first sight?

Other than that run-in with the model, I got a couple of days off last week which I was supposed to enjoy, only to get absolutely obliterated by okaokra's newest chapter on glhf <3. Why am I an Ada stan who likes angst. Why am I cursed to love the way okra writes? I am not immune to the Ada brainrot or whatever the youth are saying these days. Every time I think of Ada I feel a little more like those twitter artist reaction memes of them biting wood.

The good thing about being only semi-well-known in the industry though is the fact that I can still sneak around at local events as a fan. It's nice that masks are so accessible nowadays. I'll be stopping by at the Ada-themed cupsleeve event in Raccoon in a couple of days, so I'll probably mail you a little something from that. So, if my letter finds you late, my apologies.

Oh, right, since we're on that topic. Merry Christmas, and happy new year.

See you around? Christmas

The cupsleeve event is relatively easy to sneak into for Leon. He puts on old glasses from college and a jacket that makes him look a lot younger than he really is, and he orders an Ada drink, grinning at the table on the side when he spots a familiar face.

"You're an Ada fan?"

You blink up at him, visibly surprised, and he takes a step back.

"Sorry, I thought you looked familiar—"

"No! I'm the same person. Yeah, I'm a big Ada fan. I'm running the event this time, actually. I model for spare money to host events like this." You scratch your cheek. "Wanna enter the lottery?"

"And what would I get?"

"A limited edition, signed, Ada photocard."

"What is this, Kpop? —take my ten." He hands you a bill nearly immediately, and the two girls at the table with you jump in their skin.

"Wow, you're down horrendous, huh?" You hand the ten to the girls, patting his shoulder. "How should I get the stuff to you? You have to leave a social or something."

"Mm..." He clicks in his twitter handle, and you blink slowly.

"Can I bid for it?"

"That was not the plan, but I mean—"

"You'd have to out-bid them." One of the girls get up to put their hands on your shoulders, and you scratch your cheek.

"How much did you pay for it?"

"The base price is two hundred dollars." You grin.

"Mm... and if I give you three hundred?"

"It's signed, so no."

"Shame." Leon clicks his tongue. "I would've paid good money for that photocard."

Leon turns his head at the sound of the door opening, eyes widening as Ada herself steps through the doors to her cupsleeve event. The people in the coffee shop yell as she does, too many people crowding around her to beg for a signed autograph on their cupsleeve.

"Guys, give her a little space." You call from the table.

The people ignore you, and you scoff.

"Do you need—" Leon's cut off by your actions instead.

You grab the megaphone on the table and nod at the workers, most of them covering their ears as you yell.

"CAN YOU GUYS GIVE HER SOME SPACE, PLEASE?"

The megaphone renders everyone quiet, and Ada laughs.

"I'll sign one by one at the table. Please let me sit first. I just finished a shoot." She waves thank you to everyone as she takes your seat, and you ask her if she needs anything to drink. Leon finds that it's almost as if you planned it, and as Ada meets eyes with him at the table, his heart flips.

She's literally so hot. He's going to pass out.

"Well, since you're here. Do you want a signed cupsleeve too?"

"Yes, please." Leon fumbles as he hands her his cup, looking for a pen, and Ada hums.

"It's good. I brought a sharpie."

"Can you sign my arm— wait, that would violate my contract." Leon purses his lips.

"Do you model?" She asks almost naturally, signature smooth on his plastic cup as she hands it back to him.

"I started just a little ago."

"Any major goals?"

Leon steps to the side to let the other fans get something signed. "I'd like to have a shoot with you one day."

"I look forward to seeing you at a shoot one day, then." She hums. "Who knows? Maybe we'll meet at a runway too. What's your name?"

"Leon. Leon Scott Kennedy."

Leon's heart flips into this throat, and his cheeks turn red.

God, he's going to pass out.

prev letter : masterlist : next letter

[atmilliways]

Wrong On The Money (11-12)

parts 11 & 12 of ?? | 1076 words | Teen+

Blackmail fic on Ao3 | on tumblr

Summary:

Giving the kids rides home from Hellfire meetings is wreaking havoc on Steve’s gas money. It also involves the double-edged sword of Eddie being there.

11.

Giving the kids rides home from Hellfire meetings is wreaking havoc on Steve’s gas money. It also involves the double-edged sword of Eddie being there. Two birds, one stone—but seeing him always stirs up feelings in Steve’s chest that he doesn’t know what to do with, so the audience isn’t ideal. 

“About that total,” Eddie says one night, in the hurried rush between the kids piling into the Beemer and exchanging bills so either no one saw or the older club members assumed it was a simple drug deal. “I need to charge interest.”

Steve pauses, peering at Eddie, whose expression and body language carry more of the tension from their first run-in than he’s seen in a while. His first instinct is to ask about his uncle, but he’s not supposed to know about that and doesn’t want to get Dustin in trouble for telling him.

So much for a straightforward total. There’s some jewelry in his parents' room that his mom hasn’t missed in months, and probably won’t ask about whenever she bothers to stop by the house next. Maybe he can sell it, help both Eddie and himself out.

“Sure, why not,” Steve sighs. 

It’s Eddie’s turn to stop and frown at him. “Really? No protest, just like that?”

Steve angles a thumb over one shoulder, pointing back at the Beemer right as one of the kids (his money, if he had any left, would be on Mike) gets to the horn. “No time,” he says with a tight smile of his own.

The car honks again as he turns to go. He was right; Dustin has shotgun, but Mike is the one leaning up from the back seat to lay on the horn. 

“Mike! Patience, dictionary, look it up!” Shaking his head, Steve starts towards the car at a brisk pace, throwing a quick “See you next week, Munson” over his shoulder.

12.

What the fuck was that, what the fuck was that?

“What the fuck was that?”

Jeff’s voice mirroring his exact thought makes Eddie jump at least half a foot in the air. Gareth and Frank are already headed to Frank’s car, a fact he notes with confusion because—

“I told them you’re giving me a ride,” Jeff explains. “Figured it’d give you an opportunity to share about whatever’s going on with you and The Hair lately.”

“There’s nothing going on,” Eddie mumbles, jamming both hands deep in his jeans pockets to tuck the wad of bills he’d palmed from Harrington safely away. He slouches off towards his van where it sits alone in the deserted parking lot.

“Then he’s shit at buying drugs,” Jeff shoots back, following, “because he didn’t take anything with him. Come on, Eddie, how long have we been friends? I was right there getting that rabies shot with you after you tried to house train a raccoon, man.”

Eddie gets in and starts the van, looking anywhere but at his friend. “What are you poking at this for? Let it go, it’s not that big a deal.”

Yes it is. Yes it is and I am in over my head, I am so in over my head it’s not even—

“Dude,” Jeff says flatly. “I can see you thinking a mile a minute.”

So Eddie cracks. He drives out to the middle of nowhere and parks in a field, and tells Jeff everything, hardly stopping for breath the entire time. He outs Harrington, which he's literally being paid not to do. He outs himself (which, nothing against Jeff, but he was kind of hoping to get the fuck out of Hawkins before anyone besides his uncle found out). He talks about how the doctors keep extending the time Wayne is on the medication, not happy with some sort of results from blood tests, and having to ask for interest.

“And he’s going to do it,” Eddie says, winded by disbelief of this fact as well as everything else that's tumbled out of his mouth like a goddamn avalanche. “He didn’t even ask how much. That must mean—I must have really intimidated him, right? What if I’m ruining his life?”

“Oh bull,” Jeff scoffs, finally elbowing a word in edgewise. “Nothing I saw tonight implied he thinks you’re intimidating. Look, wait a minute—did you just say you’re gay?”

Eddie freezes. “I . . . sort of did, yeah.”

“. . . And the best you can do is a crush on Steve Harrington? 

He flushes, pulling clumps of his hair to cover his face with both hands—mortified, but also hiding a manic grin. They’ve been friends for years, and while Eddie hadn’t expected Jeff to call him a fag and spit in his face, it would’ve been too much to expect this kind of easy acceptance.

That done, he starts patting his pockets for a joint, because god he needs one. “Uh, apparently? He’s, I mean, he looks like that, but. . . .”

“But a total douchebag,” Jeff supplies. “Man, I get it, most of the girls in this town would call me a nerd or have their boyfriends beat me up as soon as look at me.” He pauses, accepting the joint when passed to him with a look he sometimes gets when trying to puzzle out one of the traps Eddie's set in a campaign. “You’re right though, it’s weird. I never would’ve guessed blackmail because he didn’t even seem, like, mad.”

Eddie pounces on that, nodding hard. “Yeah, exactly! You know, he never even asked why I wasn’t worried that he’d tell people about me? I had an answer all lined up too, I was going to be all—” he drops into one of his villain character voices, low and gravelly— “Everyone knows I’m a freak already, they don’t need confirmation. You, on the other hand, are prime real estate for the gossip mill to go to town on.”

Jeff smirks. “Well, that’s true. But you’re only threatening to tell his girlfriend, right?” When Eddie nods again, he simply shrugs. “So, maybe he’s not worried that she’ll spread it around. I know Buckley from band class, she’s decent. Could explain why he’s so relaxed about the whole thing.”

“But then why is he paying?” Eddie wails, getting both arms in on the question. 

“No idea. Maybe all that hair is weighing down on his brain.”

“Fuck off,” Eddie grumbles, but he doesn’t mind. It's a relief to tell someone, even though he's still not sure how to feel about the whole mess.

[neo-my-geo]

HELLO THERE THIS ASK IS ENABLING YOU TO RAMBLE ABOUT THE DND AU!!!! AA!!!!

Thank you for this wonderful Christmas present, anon! I would love nothing more!

Time for some rapid fire random fun facts about the gang!

1. Scout

- Most of his brothers are full orcs, and the ones that aren't are half-goliath. He's a hard-core runt of the litter.

- He lost his foot after cussing out an incredibly powerful warlock and getting cursed. No healing magic could bring it back, so Dell took it as an opportunity to practice his prosthetics!

- He makes his Bonk himself. It is not sanctioned by the church.

- Scoutma is an orc paladin, and Scout loves her very much.

2. Jane Doe/Merasmus

- The inside of his tome shares an uncanny resemblance with Merasmus' apartment. Merasmus exclusively experiences the world through hearing what Jane says, so he's usually about 40% sure he knows what's going on. Jane can enter and exit at will, but Merasmus is bound to it.

- Going by how Jane describes him, Merasmus is about 89% sure Spy is a raccoon. He keeps a tally chart.

- Jane likes to boost his jumps by pointing his tome directly downward and casting fireball. Yes, this goes about as well as you'd expect.

- When Jane casts a spell with his tome, it's actually Merasmus firing it out of the window of the apartment into the void. They find their way out in around 2-6 seconds.

3. Pyro

- Pyro is often regarded as one of the most powerful sorcerers in the area; the only reason he isn't brought on every mission is because he doesn't use a lot of discretion when casting evocation spells.

- He has attempted (and nearly succeeded) to usurp a red dragon and their hoard before. The only reason he failed was because he had to go home for dinner.

- Dell is his favourite teammate by a long shot and he doesn't usually bother hiding it. He likes his cooking.

4. Heavy

- That is his legal name. He cracked a floor tile when he was born.

- Don't mistake his lack of a weapon for a lack of skill. He doesn't use a sword because he doesn't need to.

- Heavy worships the art of battle, and hasn't quite found a god that exemplifies it to his standards. A handful of dwarven gods have been fighting to have him as their warrior for the last hundred or so years.

5. Ta'Vish "Tafish" Degroot

- It's pronounced 'tah-vish.'

- He's a bit vain about his appearance and takes the longest of anyone to get ready in the morning.

- While he will usually be the first of the group to suggest talking things out over instant aggression, he will shift tracks entirely the second a firebomb is placed in his hands. That's the point of no return.

- Merasmus is still the reason he lost his eye. It was turned into a beholder that stalks the group from a distance and tries to attack them every few weeks, but it's no match for a group with a vampire, dragon(?), and legend-worthy paladin.

6. Dell

- He's the backbone of the guild, other than Pauling. He's very very good at making magically-infused inventions, including his own and Scout's prosthetics.

- His cannons are named Byron, Barnham, Bowie, and Odessa. They each fill their own niche, and Dell loves them all like they're his children.

- Byron is a wild card that will fire at anything he's pointing at. He's great at clearing a room.

- Barnham fires small healing pulses. They aren't a replacement for an actual healer, but they feel a hell of a lot better than being in death saves.

- Bowie is a flamethrower, incredibly patient, and great at standing guard in front of dungeons. He's Pyro and Sniper's favourite.

- Odessa is the largest, oldest, and packs the biggest punch, but she also takes much longer between shots than the others. She likes taking naps by the fireplace.

- Dell invented a self-moving wagon to get the party around. It's called the Subaru (no relation).

7. Dr. Ludwig/Archimedes

- He recently escaped being trapped in a pocket dimension for several hundred years, so he's still getting used to current society. He met another, absurdly dickish vampire while he was there, but he ditched him on his way out.

- He and Heavy are tied as the best hand-to-hand fighters in the guild. Point the two of them at a target and rest assured they'll be reduced to a fine red mist. Just maybe don't send them on bureaucratic missions.

- Whenever the beholder attempts to ambush them at night, Ludwig is happy to fight it off on his own. He sees it as a fun challenge.

- Archimedes is a lich, and Ludwig is his lair.

8. Sniper

- He's BLU, has 125 hit points, and an average walking speed. His loadout is stock, other than swapping his vest for a cloak.

- He still has his rifle, but he uses it sparingly because Dell is still working on mass-producing .30 caliber rounds. He's been aching for his huntsman ever since crossing over.

- He's still getting used to all of this, so be nice to him ok?

9. The Spy

- Yes, he includes the prefix when he introduces himself.

- Being both a soulknife and a changeling, his abilities include telepathy, shape-shifting (as long as it's into a medium-sized biped), invisibility, and the ability to summon knives with his mind.

- He dumped CON, so a light breeze can knock him over.

- Thieves' Cant is his first language, and it sounds suspiciously similar to Parisian French.

Thank you very very kindly to @pinapin for letting me use your sketches because I'm stuck away from my computer! Everyone say thank you pinapin

[agonycrossbow]

Up to this point in SW, Ada's exposure to Leon has been:

Seeing him during the village fight and then ringing the bell for him

Seeing him getting choked out by Mendez, then watching him stumble his ass over to the gate, unlock it, and head back towards the village

Luis's radio call to him at the start of his castle section

Their very first scene together in his campaign

The "babysitting's tough, huh?" conversation

Seeing him run over to a dying Luis

The "I guess you're not heartless" conversation

That's it.

So, let's explore Ada's feelings as she goes through Separate Ways with regards to Leon, Ashley, and herself.

The very first time Ada hears Leon's voice, it's him teasing Ashley with:

"I wanted to go home, but Ashley had to see this castle first."

The very first time Ada speaks to Leon herself, the first expression of emotion he shows is when she tells him to leave Ashley behind -- and it's anger at her.

The very first time Ada sees Ashley in person, it's this moment ^^^ in the shots.

This is what I mean by SW making the main campaign feel like "The Leon and Ashley Show" from Ada's perspective. Of those seven encounters, four of them have been about Ashley. In fact, the only conversations that Leon and Ada have had up to this point have been about Ashley.

And this happens over and over and over and over again. Ada can't seem to catch Leon at all without Ashley also being in the picture in some way. The boat scene is literally the only conversation they have or moment they share where Ashley doesn't come up at all.

This is what I mean when I say that SW feels like Ada's being forced to bear witness to what her relationship with Leon could have been in Raccoon City if only she'd been honest and genuine with him up front.

The point of having Ada listen in on the "Ashley had to see the castle" line was so that she became aware of what the relationship between Leon and Ashley was actually like. It isn't just business between them; it's warm and playful.

And Ada rejects that, at first. She outright denies it to herself. That's what's really at the heart of her telling Leon to leave Ashley behind -- because Ada, at first, almost doesn't confront Leon at all. She damn near leaves the room before he walks in, but then she thinks better of it at the very last second.

The full line of dialogue of:

"Leave the girl. She's lost no matter what. You walk away now, and who knows? Maybe you'll live to meet me again. And then I might get you that 'greeting' you were looking for."

immediately follows her openly hitting on him ("Not a bad move. Very smooth."), to which he has no reaction. And so she gets more explicit with him. Let's break it down:

"Leave Ashley. She's not important. If you leave her, you'll finally get to have me. That's what you really want, right?"

That's why her actual line isn't framed as a warning. She doesn't double down on it when Leon pushes back on it; her response is: "Right. How about we continue this discussion another time?" It's not about Ashley turning or not turning -- it's not about Leon saving her. It's about Ada offering herself and then feeling "what the fuck" about it when the offer is refused.

But she still denies it to herself. That's why her follow-up line of dialogue once she jumps out of the window is a very coy "See you around, Leon." She still isn't ready to accept that she's been replaced as the focus of his attention and affection -- hence the pettiness of her "Babysitting's tough, huh?" line.

Her attitude only starts to change after Luis's death -- when his dying wish is for her to help Leon. So, Ada puts her pettiness aside and switches from demeaning and belittling Ashley to referring to her as "your friend" instead. It shows a degree of respect while still removing the overt affection from the equation.

But then Krauser runs off with Ashley. Leon's anger boils over, and he shoots Salazar in the face. And now, Ada's reaction is:

But when she finds him right on her heels because he's that fucking pissed and that fucking determined to go after Krauser for Ashley's sake, it still catches her by surprise. It speaks to the depth of Leon's concern and affection for Ashley.

Once again, it reaffirms that Ashley's not just a mission objective to Leon. It's personal, for him.

This leads directly into the boat scene, where Ada tells Leon that his greatest strength is still the love and compassion he has for other people...

... though it's not as if he hears her at all.

The next time Ada sees or hears from Leon, it's her walking in on the "for Luis" scene.

Along with the pep talk scene, this is the most intimate scene in the game. Ada is intruding on a very private, vulnerable moment between Leon and Ashley that ends in a promise:

"For Luis."

This is Ada's affirmation that Luis wasn't jerking her around -- he was being genuine about wanting to help Leon and Ashley, and now they're committed to honoring his memory and granting him his dying wish.

And Ada's pettiness finally melts away -- at least, for a time. They have their way of honoring Luis, so now it's time for her to do it her way.

Suddenly, Leon and Ashley's closeness doesn't matter to her anymore -- because it's not about them, and it's not about her. It's about Luis.

Walking out of the comms facility, she hears Ashley successfully fighting off Saddler. Interesting framing here with the jet ski in the foreground.

But interestingly, Ada's focus doesn't fall to her.

There's actually not a single moment in this game where Ada says Ashley's name out loud. Ashley is either "her" or "the girl" or "the president's daughter." No matter how far she comes in this, Ada still can't let go of that last little bit of pettiness. It's still personal for her, and the only reason why Ada helps Ashley at all is because it also helps Leon, which in turn honors Luis.

So, she does do it.

But not for Ashley's sake.

And she isn't about to go out of her way, either.

And then we reach the apex of it all.

Ashley's watching Leon's fight with Saddler with her hands clasped against her chest as though in prayer, as embers float around her like fireflies. This is overtly romantic imagery. I've said this before but: this is so romantic in its imagery and symbolism that it's just straight up on the level of Final Fantasy nonsense.

And not only is Ada forced to reckon with that, but the first and only thing out of Ashley's mouth to her is an order. Not a request. Not a plea. An order.

And all Ada can say in return is:

"I'm on it."

She's lost this fight.

Leon and Ashley (and Luis, to an extent) are a team, and Ada isn't part of that team. She sees it in this moment. Ashley is so comfortable in her place at Leon's side that Ada is a non-factor in the equation all together. That's why she wasn't in the lab with them. Ada acted as Luis's substitute, but in the lab, he was still with them.

"All of this -- removing the parasites -- this was Luis?" "Yeah. We're alive thanks to him."

The matching scars that Leon and Ashley end up with as a result of their radiation surgery are different from the matching scars that Leon and Ada have.

Leon and Ada's scars are a symbol that they once carried the same consequences born of the same mistakes.

Leon and Ashley's scars are a symbol that they once carried each other.

And that’s a huge fucking difference.

Ada feels that difference in that moment.

There is no "Who was that woman, anyway?" "She's like a part of me I can't let go" in this version of the story, because Leon has long since let her go.

And so her pettiness comes back. At the very end, she shoots her final shot:

It's a bookend for and a direct callback to what we were talking about earlier:

"Leave the girl. She's lost no matter what. You walk away now, and who knows? Maybe you'll live to meet me again. And then I might get you that 'greeting' you were looking for."

which really meant:

"Leave Ashley. She's not important. If you leave her, you'll finally get to have me. That's what you really want, right?"

and led into:

"Right. How about we continue this discussion another time?"

She's ready to continue the discussion. One last ditch effort to see if all love is lost between them.

Leon's answer is very clear.

The Leon and Ashley Show isn't over, but Ada's role in it is.

Which leaves her to wonder who and what, exactly, she'll be the next time she and Leon meet now that her status as The Love Interest has been completely and utterly usurped.

[prince-toffee]

Friendship Bracelets

Beep. Beep.

Silver's bracelet lit up in a teal light, same colour as the markings on his body. It quickly captured Silver's attention. He read the message.

o - - -

o o o

And it repeated, over and over.

"Blaze is in trouble. We need to go." Silver panickly remarked in haste as he raised himself up from the sandy ground of the beach. His eyes glowed teal as the components of his armour, and cape, rose from the ground, swirled around him and encased him in the suit. He was already up and levitating in air waiting for Marine.

The young raccoon caught off guard, and still a little confused, was still in the middle of polishing off her sandwich that Silver packed for her for their beach day today. "W-- Wait?" She took another bite of the chocolate and crisps sandwich (which she called the Marine special), she spoke with her mouth full, "How do you know?"

"I just got an S.O.S."

"That annoying beeping? I thought that was your reminder to take your pills or something."

"No, it's not- OH SHOT I forgot to take my pills! Ah, nevermind that now, we gotta go." Marine noticed that he legitametly looked worried.

"Go where?" Marine finished off her sandwich and stood up. She slowly began to understand the urgency of the situation. The girl stopped for a moment and thought it through. Her mind landed on the answer. "Arachnos." At her side the girl had a gym bag with her personal royal armour, smaller and lighter but every little helped. She began to furiously rummage through it trying to pull it out. Silver lowered himself down to the ground. He gently helped the girl fish out the tangled up armour and helped her put it on.

"Yeah, Blaze sailed over today for the trade negotiations. The tensions between Sol and Arachnos were high, Blaze thought she could quell them. They must've taken her prisoner. Never trust a spider. I should've went with her, stupid, stupid."

"Yeah, but if you went with her you'd both be caught, right?" Marine proposed.

"... Yeah, maybe." That give him a small reason to smile. He adjusted the tunic of the suit one final time, he smiled as he looked over her, "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, wait-- you want me to go with you? Into the field? You're allowing me?"

"Well, I need someone to watch my back. And I could use a shipwright to show me the way across the sea." He replied with a smile.

"Wooo! Alright! Mission time! Blaze never allows me to go on missions! Let's go kick some spider butt!" She jumped up, punching the air excitedly. An aura of teal energy encased the young energetic raccoon and she began to float up into the air alongside the hedgehog. The two were enveloped in a large teal orb and they fired across the sky, over the sea, in the direction of the Queendom of Arachnos.

Marine turned to Silver as they soared through the sky, still pondering one question. "So... how do you know that the message was a call for help? I didn't see any message or recording." The young inquisitive girl asked puzzled, with one brow raised.

Silver just giggled at that. His markings ran across his whole body and face, lighting his whole person up, his equivalent of a blush. "It's a code. Something Blaze and I came up with a while ago. We didn't like the fact that we were so far apart from each other, constantly worried about the other waging their battles alone. She was always busy protecting her Queendom, I was always busy healing the future. So, we came up with the idea of the bracelets." He showed it off. "We promised each other that if either of us was in trouble, we'd sent the transmission and no matter where, no matter when, we'd race to the other's side. Always looking out for each other." He spoke with a dreamful expression on his face, clearly deep in thought about his partner, he turned to Marine, "You of all people should recognise the rhythm of the beeps. Dots and dashes." He raised his brows as he gave her a hint.

Marine pondered on it, scratching her chin in contemplation. Then it hit her! Her eyes grew wide. "Morse code!"

"That's right!" Silver exclaimed cheerfully. "Blaze had you on her mind when we came up with the idea. These quantum bracelets are difficult to make, but I'm working on one for you. Just to reassure us that you're safe when you're on your own."

"The message. It's just two letters. J. S. J. S. Over and over." She scratched her head.

"That's the code. The first letter of our names. Repeating over and over."

"J. S.?... Silver do you know how to spell? We don't have to teach you how to spell, do we?"

"N-- No. It's. Ugh. I'll explain it later. Which way am I turning?" He hide his growing blush behind his faceplate which he used to over his muzzle.

"West. That way." The young raccoon girl pointed in a direction of pure blueness, with no land in sight. But Silver trusted her implicitly. She had a nack for these things. He had great faith in her. "Silver?" He turned to her again. "Are you gonna be okay? With the-- with the spiders?"

"Who me? Yep. Yep. Yep. Spiders? Not a problem. Not for me. Nope. Nope nope nope. There's practically nothing horrifying about them. Definitely not thinking about how they'll lay their eggs in our brains. No. Not me." The more he talked the shaker he became.

"Oh boy."

---

Half an Episode Later

The rescue hadn't turned out how they planed. They got ambushed. The Arachnos forces were waiting on them. They were separated in the conflict. Marine was captured. She hoped Silver fared better, but he disappeared in battle as hordes of spider-troopers piled on him to overwhelm him. She hoped he was okay. But there was one positive. They threw Marine into the same jail cell as Blaze. Marine quickly rushed into Blaze's arms, "Blaze! You're okay!"

"Mari! Thank the Emeralds!" The cat embraced the small girl in a warm embrace. "I heard rumblings of battle overheard. Where's Silver?!"

"We got separated. I don't know where he is. But... But he's tough, he'll be alright, right?" She asked concerned.

"You are the coolest girl ever."

Worry was plastered all over the cat's face. She always feared for her partner's safety. But she had immeasurable faith in him. Blaze chose her words carefully. "Yes. Yes, he'll be alright. He's the strongest person I know. Nothing'll stop him from getting to us." She softly combed her fingers through Marine's head. That seemed to have reassured the girl somewhat.

The girl hadn't seem Blaze in days. The Princess was always busy with her royal matters. Marine didn't like to admit mushy feelings, but the girl enjoyed spending time with the cat. She looked up to her. Sure they argued. But when Blaze wasn't there for Marine, the raccoon felt... alone. She never had a guardian or a parent. But that didn't mean she didn't want one. The two were separated for sometime now, and it just felt good to be together again.

That was why Silver brought her to the beach for a 'fun day' as he called it. He hoped to distract the girl. Try to fill that void in her, the best he could.

"Now, let us escape. And bring this corrupt institute to it's knees." Blaze broke the hug and walked over to the bars of the cell. She placed her two hands on the bars and squeezed. The metal bars changed colour from red to orange to a pale yellow and the bars melted like butter. Blaze stepped through, absorbing the heat of the melted metal, cooling it back into a solid, making it safe for Marine to exit.

"I know." Blaze replied matter-of-factly, chin up.

"Wait. You could've gotten out just like that, the whole time? Why wait?"

"My capture was intentional. We knew Queen Arachna was scheming something, I simply needed to know what. I needed a closer look. Now I know. The Princess Alliance, the heads of every Queendom in Sol World are assembling tomorrow at The StarCrossed Gala. Arachna is planning to poison the event. And seize power while all the other governments are distablised. Now we stop her. Preferably take the whole castle down with us, hence my call to Silver."

Beep. Beep.

Blaze looked down onto the table in front of her, on it laid her confiscated armour, her two favourite dueling sabers, furred cape, and her bracelet. It lit up teal.

o - - -

o o o

And it repeated, over and over.

"Speaking of which. Silver's in trouble. Let's move." The bracelet clicked into her wrist and they departed upward out of the dungeons. As they scaled the stairs, they encountered more spider-trooper, Blaze and Marine managed to dispatch them with easy. These villains stood no chance against The Princess-Guardian of The Sol Emeralds and her apprentice. As they scaled upward a distant BOOMing became more and more audible. Silver. He was still fighting. Taking on hordes of the Spider-Queen's armada. Never stopping. He never would.

"I still don't get it." Marine groaned from behind Blaze.

"Get what?"

"The code. J. S. Silver said it's supposed to be your initials. But shouldn't that be S. B. Or B. S. It is BS." She murmured that part to herself. "You know, for Blaze and Silver?"

Blaze felt the heat rush to her cheeks. The tips of her ponytail flaring up in flame. "Yes. That. Well. It's our pe--... codenames for each other, yes, that."

"?"

"Jalapeno. Snowflake." Blaze murmured in embarrassment.

"..."

It took Marine a moment for her brain to process the information. After she did. A smug devilish smirk grew across her face. And the girl exhaled an ungodly demonic screech. She was rubbing her face. Running in circles. She was practically bouncing off the walls. Her laughter was unholy. Blaze thought for a second that the girl was possessed by some evil spirit. But no. It was just Marine squealing over her favourite ship coming true. "That's so cute! Oh my god! You love him!"

"Shhh! Quiet down! You're drawing attention." Blaze spoke angrily through her grinding teeth.

"He loves you. You love him. You love each other! Oh man! I've been waiting for YEARS! And you managed to seal the deal under my nose!" Blaze almost rolled her eyes out of her sockets. She groaned, turned around and walked on. "Jalapeno and Snowflake. This is too good! Hahaha! Oh this is the best day of my life! Nothing can surpass this."

"Ugh, I knew I was going to regret this." Blaze replied massaging the bridge of her nose.

[slifarianhawk]

Chapter 23: His Tracks

When I woke up there was no sign of Albert. He did say he had some work to attend to. That was just like him but I smiled standing up from my bed. One thought raced through my mind. I had Albert back.

"Oh now," I said rubbing my inner thighs and noticing several bruises over my creamy skin.

Next thing I know I felt someone pull me into an embrace. The familiar scent of leather filled my nostrils. A small kiss was planted on my cheek.

"How did you sleep my lotus?" Wesker asked spinning me around to face him.

"I slept well for the first time in years my darling Albert."

"Come, get dressed and I will make us some delectable crepes with mulberries your favorite." He said stepping from behind me.

He was wearing a light blue dress shirt and tan slacks. his signature shades covering his flaming eyes and his trench coat draped over his shoulder. The light was dim outside it was maybe six AM.

"There's no need for I can make breakfast. I said stepping into the kitchen of my suite. To my surprise, the table is already set. Two cloches on the table are sitting next to each other.

I heard a small chuckle, "I will always be a few steps ahead my dear lotus." He spoke pulling me into a kiss.

I quickly zipped back into my bedroom, changing into a tight-fitting grey blouse and black dress pants. I placed my com choker on my neck and stepped back into the main portion of my suite.

"As gorgeous as ever dearheart," Wesker said pulling out the chair for me.

I sat down and started to eat. The sweet berries melding with the creamy melted butter over a savory crepe with Brie, I forgot just how much of an amazing cook Albert was.

"My darling lotus I want to know more about how you found me I made sure to cover my tracks. Yet you still found me." He stated sitting down across from me his hands folded underneath his chin.

"Does the name Sliverdax ring any bells?" I inquired.

"That was the agent name of Jack Krauser when he was in SOCOM before he became my spy on the Los Iluminados." Wesker said slightly perplexed, "Why do you ask dearheart?"

"He was the first in my line to track you down, the UN had me find him. Mainly due to the fact he was the one who abducted Ashley Graham. However, what the UN didn't know is Sergei had a file on him because he was a spy for you. I reviewed and headed out as Alistar Lancaster for the first time."

Speaking with wesker about finding him was causing him some mild intrigue. I walked him through each step of tracking him down. How I was there in Spain with at the same time as an agent Kennedy.

(FLASHBACK)

"So your Claire's sister? The one who worked for Umbrella?" Leon asked with a slight glare.

"I was pardoned because the t virus and g virus vaccines were my products not to mention I was Umbrella's captive since the raccoon city incident. I get it if you don't trust me but we are partners on this mission and I'm going to make sure to get my target. Not to seem callous Agent Kennedy but it's my first time back in the field after my recovery and I don't want to fuck it up."

"That's understandable alright I'll give you a shot."

"Thank you, Agent Kennedy." We split up after the village he headed towards the church near the lake and I quickly headed towards the nearby trails leading away from the village.

(Timeskip)

When I next saw Agent Leon it was in the castle next to my target in a knife fight I quickly jumped from my ledge and landed beside Leon as he was drawing his gun.

"Didn't I teach you that knives are faster rookie?" Krauser said pulling his knife to Leon's throat.

"And don't you know major that two is better than one?" I quipped pulling out three long needles coated in a paralytic agent.

"So you the other bitch running around causing me problems." He said in a sneering tone.

"Better than the bitch in the red dress at least. Leon go tend to Luis, I'll handle this. I threw the coated needles and he blocked two. The third one pierced a massive scar on his arm.

"No chance you're doing this alone T," Leon said launching at Krauser with his knife landing four good swings on him.

Krauser jumped back and repositioned himself into a defense position, "Agent T? They couldn't even dignify who you are with a decent code name."

"They don't need to all that matters is that Pheonix Corps gets its first arrest and that Albert Wesker losses a knight from his chess board," I smirk noticing he started to lose his grip on his knife.

"Tell me where your boss is and I'll arrest you and let you live," I said throwing two more sedative needles both hit their marks then.......BANG.

Luis had shot at Krauser and he bolted. He stumbled a bit as he ran and I took after him. Leon called after me but his cry fell on deaf ears.

{Flashback end}

"I ran after him. When I caught up we fought but I mentioned how I knew the strength you were providing wasn't enough that he longed for more. That piqued his interest. He said that if I could give him more strength than you why not join him? Why work for the government? I told him I was with Phoenix Corps, not the government. He fled and I didn't catch him in time Agent Kennedy killed him. He told me on his dying breath that Ada Wong was the one I wanted and that he had no contact with you till his mission was complete." I said placing my plate in the sink as Albert walked up behind me.

"That was when she betrayed me then. Did she give you the dominant plaga then?" I sensed his anger starting to seethe.

"No, my beloved, she led me to nowhere it was my digging into Sergei's files that lead me somewhere. it led me to Spencer."

"Spencer? Not the triple agent I had planted in the BSAA or the agents in Willpharma? Spencer is how you found me?" He asked turning me around to face his burning golden eyes.

"Spencer pointed me to Tricell. Then everything just clicked love. I tracked a man named Irving selling the t vaccine made by willpharma. When I went to Harperville and when I found a biohazard, I mobilized the Pheonix Corps." I said stroking his firm jawline," They found the g virus sample collected in Harperville for sale on the black market. that was that I went to where the Tricell was most recently dispatched and I ended up in Kijuju. it was luck though I found you."

I heard him chuckle as strong arms wrap around my frame, "do not sell yourself short my dear lotus, I did not make my self easy to find. You and your sources are impeccable. You truly are an asset and the best part is you are my wife."

There was a knock at my door.

"Sigh always work to be done am I right." I walked over to the door leaving Albert's embrace.

Steve was at the door frazzled looking.

"Tabitha is Wesker with you we have a problem."

"I am here Steven what problem is there?" Albert asked.

"Excella is here."

Hey everyone slifarianhawk here wishing you a happy weekend sorry for taking so long but here's an up date for yea so enjoy some soft! Wesker

[nightwingshero]

❝  you don’t understand.  i need you safe.  not because i don’t think you can handle yourself but because i can’t focus on anything else if there’s even the smallest possibility you’re in danger.  ❞ -> for wren x leon <3

This prompt was honestly so perfect for them! Thank you so much! I had so much fun writing this and I love them so much.

It was mostly the screaming that made standing there hard, but it didn’t matter, that was secondary. Women and children cried to themselves as I gently pushed their shoulders, urging them along and guiding them to the safe zone as fathers, husbands, and brothers did their best to stay strong. “Nobody panic, just keep moving! We have a safe zone for quarantine set up just over there! Medics will be around to assess you! Food and water will be handed out!” After everything I had seen over the last few years, after everything that happened in Raccoon City, I thought I would be used to it by now, but I didn’t. It wasn’t easier, it never got easier. A woman passed and gripped my hand tightly as I tried to point her in the right direction, but she just sobbed and smiled, thanking me and praying in a language that I didn’t quite understand. All I could do was offer her a reassuring squeeze of her hand in return and gently guide her back to the crowd. “Stay with the crowd, you’re safe now!”

No one replies, I don’t think any of them understand me, but they got the idea enough to go where we needed them. Exhaustion threatened to overcome me, but I forced it down. We had been at this for hours. The outbreak was thankfully limited to a specific area, but that didn’t make it any less heartbreaking to watch, no less traumatic. Some days were harder than others where I was thrown back into my 21-year-old self, frightened and alone, running around a city full of the walking dead. Not entirely alone, I reminded myself, allowing the thought of him comfort me as much as the situation would allow.

I say nothing as Alex appears at my right, standing just behind my shoulder and watching as the last of the stragglers finally stumble into the arms of waiting TerraSave volunteers, all prepared to help those in need. Alex let out a low whistle at the number of people that had been evacuated, but I knew the casualties far outweighed the survivors. They usually did. Eager to shove that thought aside, I finally speak.

“Claire moves fast.”

Alex glanced at me, her dark eyes looking me over carefully. “She doesn’t hesitate to jump to the rescue. It’s one of the reasons I love her. Such a hero. I think she might save us all one day.” I didn’t ignore the way her voice became soft at the mention of her girlfriend, which was so contradictory towards how roughed up she was—grime and blood painting her tan skin too easily.

“Chris?”

“Not sure. Last I heard he was with Jill, but I’m not sure if they’re gonna show up here. Something came up with Imogen.” Another glance from her as I let out a scoff, the redhead immediately making me want to strangle her without her even being present. Sometimes I wondered just how much I could get away with if she ever mysteriously disappeared. “I heard that an agent was sent in. That your boy we should be expecting?”

I tried swallowing, but the arid air seemed to make it impossible. Everything felt so dry even as the sun began to set. It wasn’t that I didn’t know the answer, it was the fact that I knew that answer and it made me even more nervous. I was used to jumping between the Redfields—helping Chris where he needed and offering counseling where Claire wanted to offer it. Alex joked often about how I didn’t know how to stand still, but I was just eager to use every skill I had.

It also made the lonely nights less frequent when he was gone.

“Ah shit, there he is.” Alex called in surprise, her voice taking a lighter tone as her hands rested on her hips. Sure enough, Leon appeared from the crowd with one of the military officers in charge of the security and keeping those things from getting an inch out of the perimeter they had set up. He didn’t look too different than any other time I had seen him, his usual blue shirt with the same damn pants. The leather jacket was a bit new though, not that I exactly minded. Alex sighed. “Does he ever like…change it up? Like, I’m pretty fucking sure he’s had the same damn haircut since I’ve met him. Guess if it works, why fix it?” As if hearing her, Leon’s attention shifted and finally landed on us. The soldier he was talking to said something else, but Leon just nodded without even looking at him before he started walking towards us. Another heavy exhale escaped from Alex. “This is soooo not the double date I had imagined.”

I fight the urge to tell her to fuck off, not when she helped get my mind off things. Alex was a lot of things and dependable was one of them. You could always rely on her to have your back or to joke at the most inappropriate times—sometimes it made me want to hit her, other times it made me want to hug her. As Leon finally came close, his eyes never quite leaving me, I was thankful that Alex stayed. “Leon.”

“Wren.” He breathed out and I almost lost it right then. It had been a while since we had seen each other, one of the longer stints, and it was the constant reminder of the situation—and Alex—that kept the tremble out of my voice and my knees from giving out completely. “I thought you were working with Dr. Spencer.”

“Ainsley is working on something with Rebecca. Carlos volunteered to stay behind—”

Alex snorted. “He practically begged. So whipped—”

“Then we got the call about this.” I finished as I gestured back towards the small town in the middle of nowhere. “We got the call, Chris couldn’t make it out, I guess. Alex and I are here, Claire just got here with TerraSave.”

“Yeah I just saw her.” Leon replied as he looked back, his thumb gesturing over his shoulder. “Seems she’s got her hands a bit full.”

“A bit.” I tried to offer him a smile, but it didn’t quite meet my eyes. This wasn’t the way I wanted us to see each other again. Leon shuffled and crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes glancing at Alex. Taking the hint, she cleared her throat and smiled at me.

“Right, so I think my lovely lady is waiting for me to swoop in and make her life easier by giving her someone she can order around.” She backed away while doing awkward finger guns. “If you need me, radio me.” I gave her a quick nod before turning to Leon.

“They debriefed you.” It wasn’t a question, but he answered anyway.

“They did.” Taking a deep breath, I turn and look back at the town we had just come back from. There were soldiers walking the perimeter, everyone on the lookout just in case. “I have to go in, there’s something I’m ordered to retrieve.”

My head whipped around. “Something here? What?”

“That’s classified—”

“Classified, right.” We finished the sentence at the same time as I nodded. It wasn’t that I was bitter about it, I understood—it wasn’t something I was a stranger to. Glancing towards the town, my heart grew heavy. “Its…just like Raccoon City, huh? Every time we do something good, it’s great. But then…history repeats itself and we’re thrown right back there…” I trailed off with the memories threatening to take over completely. Leon was silent for a moment and as the silence grew tense, I decided to brush it off. “Well…that’s fine. You don’t have to tell me. I’m assuming you’re ready to go?” I barely gave him a chance to nod, I knew him well enough. He didn’t come here totally unprepared. It was a battle to tell him that most of the time, things never went the way we wanted when it came to that. The mission to retrieve Ashley was more than proof of that, but I wasn’t eager to bring that up. “That’s fine. I can grab some ammo and supplies; I’ll go with you. Let me—”

Leon reached out and grabbed my arm gently, stopping me before I could take a full step from him. I frowned as he leaned forward a bit, whispering to me even though it was barely audible with the chaos around us. “No. You should stay here.”

“What?”

“You came here to help Claire, right? Stay and help her.”

I scoffed lightly, almost amused by his words as I gently stepped out of his hold. “I came here to help, period. Now, let me help you.” Leon just shook his head and my brow furrowed. “Why? You know I have your back.”

“I know that.”

“Then what’s the problem? I’m just as good at fighting, Leon. I may not be able to just roundhouse kick someone in the face the way you can, but what I lack in that, I make up in shooting zombies in the face or throwing knives. I’m sure you remember I’m a very good aim with a shotgun.” I argued, throwing in the fond memory of how we met to try and loosen him up, trying to convince him it was fine—I was fine.

He looked away for a moment and shook his head. “I know—Its not about that, Wren.”

“Then what’s it about?” I asked, stepping closer to press him. “C’mon. We’ve worked together before, we do that rather well, if memory serves me right.”

“I said it wasn’t about that—”

“And we’re partners, remember?” I asked, putting up my pinky with a small smile, hoping it hid the hurt or the way my heart was starting to twist in an uncomfortable manner. Leon just looked down at me, his blue eyes full of emotion, and as the seconds passed, I waited but he didn’t lift his pinky. My chest twisted even more as my smile fell, something so small impacted me so greatly as I searched his face, my tightening from the confusion and hurt. “Leon?” This wasn’t what I was expecting. I swallowed as my heart pounded, begging for some sort of answer. I waited for a sarcastic joke, some stupid one liner he’d throw my way that would make me roll my eyes or just tease him right back—flirty and fun banter to keep the dark away. But none of that happened. I clenched my fists tightly as I looked at him fiercely. “Partners. I am coming with you, Leon.”

“No, you’re not. I can’t take you with me, I—just please, stay here. Claire needs the help—”

“You need the help!” I hissed and pointed towards the town. “You need me in there with you. I can fight, Leon. You know I can—”

“Its not about that, Wren.” He repeated earnestly, but I wasn’t having it.

“Then tell me what it’s about Leon, because from where I’m standing, it doesn’t make any fucking sense.”

“You don’t understand.” Leon took a step closer as his voice became full of emotion, his fingers digging into his chest as he continued. “I need you safe. Not because I don’t think you can handle yourself but because I can’t focus on anything else if there’s even the smallest possibility you’re in danger.”

I blinked and stumbled back half a step, not sure exactly how to feel as his words wrapped around my mind and began to truly sink in. Shaking my head in what almost felt like denial, or just not quite understanding the way he seemed to believe, I breathed out in disbelief. “I—Leon, nothing has changed—”

“Everything has changed.” He cut me off as he closed what little distance, I had put between us, and his hands began to cradle my face. “Everything.” I just shook my head more. “Since…fuck, since the beginning. Since we had to fight our way through the city, since…what came after that. Then I thought I lost you, only to run into in that damn village…everything is different.”

“I had your back in all of that.” I insisted, a lump forming in my throat as I gripped his arms tightly, my thumbs rubbing reassuring circles. “We got through all of it fine, we can do this together. We always do.”

“There won’t be a second where I won’t be worried about you, where I could make a mistake because I can’t help but make sure you’re okay.”

“And if you leave me here? How do you think I will feel? Constantly worried, not knowing if you’re getting out alive and wondering if me not going is the very thing that ensures that you don’t?”

Leon jerked back slightly as if he was shocked by the words, but it didn’t last long. “I trust you with my life, but I need you to trust me with it, too. Its…I need you to just sit out on this one.” I go to protest, but he quickly shakes his head as his thumb gently caresses my bottom lip, and I keep silent as he continues. “I just…I know what’s in there, Wren, and I just…need you here.”

“I…I fight all the time, Leon. I work with Chris…” It’s a feeble attempt at this point, we both know it, but he respects it all the same.

“If there’s anyone here that I trust with my life completely, it’s you. Of course it’s you. But fighting in Spain…scared the shit out of me. Just this once, please…just stay.” Leon softly pleaded as he pressed his forehead against mine. “For me.”

The tears were hard to fight when I replied, my voice thick with them. “You better come back, or I’ll kick your ass, Leon Kennedy.” His laugh was more of a sigh of relief as he kissed my forehead.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” Pulling away, I glared at him through teary eyes.

“I mean it. If something happens to you, Alex and I are going to drag you out so I can kill you myself.”

“Fair enough.” He offered a slight smile as he raised his pinky. “It’s a promise?” Glaring at him for a few more seconds, I finally wrapped my pinky around his.

“I hate you for this.”

For the first time since he showed his face, he offered his smug smirk, chasing away the heaviness between us. “We both know I’m good at making it up to you. See you soon.” I swallowed the lump in my throat, but my chest continued to ache as he disappeared.

I turned and began to make my way into the quarantine zone, intent on making sure I was so busy that I wouldn’t allow myself to think, and as I spotted and headed towards Alex and Claire, I couldn’t help but mutter to myself. "Just had to fall for the fucking cop.”

[sapphire-weapon]

May I ask why exactly you dislike Infinite Darkness? I thought it had a pretty solid story and I found Leon pretty good. I'd love to hear your elaborated opinion. :)

I haven't watched ID since it first came out, so I can't give you a super detailed breakdown of it, but here's what I do remember:

I felt like the writers didn't know what they wanted Leon to actually be in terms of like... which side of his character they wanted to show off. He seems to go through sudden mood swings, and I remember at several points just being like "Dude he's all over the place. Is he off his meds or what's going on here?"

There were a lot of moments that were just logistical nonsense. Again, I can't remember exactly, but I do remember going "so are they ever going to explain that?" And "how the fuck did she even get there?" At several points.

Like, I do remember Leon fucking shooting Jason in the heart for treason, but when Shen May engages in the exact same shit that Leon called treason, he just went "WELL I'LL JUST SEE WHERE THIS GOES IG. DON'T WANNA JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS..." like homie you just fucking murdered a man over this what do you mean???? I know you want to fuck her but Jesus christ.

Infinite Darkness did Claire so dirty that I straight up cannot remember what the fuck she was even doing in it. The only thing I remember about Claire in ID is her getting kidnapped and having to rescue herself. And then she and Leon get into a big dumb fight at the end, AND THE FIGHT ITSELF MAKES NO SENSE

omg it's coming back to me now. If Leon's intention was to withhold evidence from Claire, why the fuck bother to tell her that he'd salvaged the evidence at all?? There was no fucking reason for him to do that. Like, was he trying to just hold it over her head and be a dick about it? What the fuck was the intention there? "hey Claire I got the thing that you've spent the entire plot duration looking for. And I'm not going to give it to you. See? See it in my hand? I have it. Not for you, though. Get fucked."

And then for Claire to get that pissed at him and rag on him for his bad judgement and decision-making and then NOT throw Sherry in his face or mention her at all is like... why. What's the point. Why did you manufacture this stupid drama between them when there was already something there that you could have used that was more organic and would make more sense???

ESPECIALLY SINCE THE WHOLE THING WAS ABOUT HOW UNTRUSTWORTHY THE GOVERNMENT IS AND HOW THEY DON'T ACTUALLY GIVE A SHIT ABOUT SURVIVORS OR RACCOON CITY AT ALL AND

I'm getting mad all over again LMAO

And also like!! The whole thing with Leon having a crisis about how he doesn't feel like a hero YET STILL LOOKS ASHLEY'S DAD IN THE FACE EVERY SINGLE DAY AND THE SHOW GOES OUT OF ITS WAY TO SHOW PHOTOS OF HER?? There was no acknowledgement of the fact that Leon actually saved her and did do a good thing, and I don't know why or how they just missed it and instead had to resort to that Patrick jobber to try to tell Leon "no it's OK man you're still a hero to me" like what the fuck

And the fucking

Villainous plot

It was the fucking Jenova Project. IT WAS JUST THE JENOVA PROJECT. Someone in the US government played FF7 and then turned around and went "HEY I GOT A REALLY BAD IDEA" and started putting dudes in tubes and fucking with their genetic makeup.

I actually said the words out loud while watching "so is Jason Sephiroth??????"

Shen May's entire character was completely worthless, she accomplished nothing and died for nothing. And Jason trying to give a sad, dramatic monologue while he's a big gross bulging Birkin monster was one of the funniest things in RE ever, and that was super not the intention by the writers for that scene.

It was just a mess. It was a mess of missed opportunities and bad plot decisions made by stupid characters who accomplish nothing.