#I have a whole load of messages to reply to which I'll answer when I'm home!

[casdeans-pie]

I went to a Titanic Exhibition today

[dumpsterlmao]

what a way to confess - mammon

summary - levi suggests mammon to use the message forum event as an opportunity to confess to you his feelings.

genre - fluff and suggestive themes

mammon walks into leviathan's room without his notice. leviathan was startled at the sudden loud noise coming from the door. "mammon, can you even spare a second to knock?!" he scolded mammon but he ignored his words and continued to glance around his room. "levi, do you have any albums of mc's favorite idol group?"

mammon then eventually went through his stuff on the shelf which made leviathan reacted angrily. he got up from his chair, rushing up to mammon.

"MAMMON! FIRST YOU COME INTO MY ROOM WITHOUT SAYING ANYTHING THEN YOU GO THROUGH MY SPECIAL VALUABLE STUFF?" leviathan stops mammon in his careless antics. 

"ALRIGHT, FINE!" mammon had finally spoke a word after being unusually quiet since he got inside leviathan's room. "i'll stop messing around with your stuff if you help me out with something." he tells the frustrated and furious levi.

"so i've been thinking about confessing to mc-" his words were then cut off by levi. "wow, about time." he responds in a sarcastic tone. "yeah, yeah. you're not surprised i get it." mammon responds to his sarcastic reply. "but levi, you gotta help me out. just give me one of your album copies of mc's favorite idol group, will ya?" levi shook his head in response. "uh uh! no way i'm handing out one of my albums to a half normie!"

"WHAT?!" mammon facepalms then lets out a sigh when levi refuses to give what he wanted. "you have loads of their albums and you won't even hand out just ONE album?" mammon was stressed out trying to deal with the hard-head levi. "you think i have the money to buy an album when lucifer just hid my credit card again?" he continues to ramble again.

"well you see, i only said no because just giving mc an album as a confession isn't enough." levi's answer made mammon had a surprised expression. "oh, so you're a love expert now?" mammon gasps while letting out the loudest laugh. levi wasn't amused with his reaction. 

"cmon, let me hear it from you amateur! i'm willing to listen any advice you're gonna give me." he wraps his arm around levi's shoulder while ruffling his hair. levi then pulled away from him. "don't act so goody-goody around me!" he tells mammon. 

"ok so listen up. the school just held an event where all students must need to join. we basically need to write a note as a message to someone, then we stick it on the stock board where all the notes should be placed." he explains the whole thing to mammon. he then realized something from levi's suggestion.

"oh, so this event could be my opportunity to confess to mc?" levi nods. "yep! and you better be for real with your feelings this time mamon. this isn't an event to joke and mess around with feelings!" he said with the strict tone on his voice. "of course i won't! i've already made up my mind anyway." he tells levi. "besides, you should remind asmo about that and not me." levi rolled his eyes at mammon in response.

"but how can mc see my note when there's gonna be a lot of notes placed on the board?" mammon adds on another question to ask levi. "well, here's another good thing. you can also read out your message to mc onstage to make it more realistic." levi gave another suggestion. "and even though the stage is mostly used to give out a shout out to their best friends, you might be the first one on that stage to confess their feelings towards someone."

mammon seemed to be opposed to the idea. "uhm, that's gonna sound embarassing. i'll stick with the album, levi. no way i'm gonna read out my confession to mc to loads of people!" mammon didn't like levi's idea. "well if you choose to stick to your bland confession, mc would not think of you romantically." he reminds him.

"and levi's right!" asmo suddenly appeared making the both of them startled from his appearance in the room. satan also walked inside as he was with asmo. "since when did you guys get here?!" levi gasped in shock. "the door wasn't open. of course we'd get inside since we were curious of what's going on." satan answers.

mammon seem to have forgotten to close the door. "and i heard it has something to do with mammon and mc? oooh!" asmo couldn't keep his excitement in. "levi's right! use the message forum as your way to confess to mc!" asmo tells mammon. he was annoyed at asmo's pushiness. "AAAAH! ENOUGH! this thing was only suppose to be discussed between me and levi. why do you guys have to be included?"

"well, if you had close the door in the first place, asmo and i wouldn't be invested in your business." satan answers. mammon gives up on arguing as he let out a frustrated sigh. "fine, i'll go onstage tomorrow to read out my confession to mc." he had no choice anyway.

the three brothers were happy when mammon finally decided to take their suggestion. "FINALLY!" levi happily exclaimed. "goodluck mammon! we'll be there to watch you too!" asmo tells him. "WHAT?! i am not allowing that, nope nope!" mammon shakes his head in response while making a cross sign with his arms.

"you do happen to need an audience mammon. please give us the permission to watch you onstage." satan requests. mammon thought about what satan said and he was right. he actually needed an audience to save him from embarassment.

"fine, i'll let you guys be my audience." mammon had finally decided to let them watch. the three brothers cheered happily in response. "be an audience for what?" beel notices the commotion going on in levi's room. it was gonna be a long time to explain it to him. looks like someone finally forgot to close the door again.

today was now the day of the event. there was a big crowd of people being into separated into groups. "i assume all of you must have known the rules of today's event, seeing as it is only a simple task to do." you and the six brothers nodded in response. "yep, just write out a note then we're finished!" mammon confidently answered. the brothers who knew about mammon's planning smirked at each other at mammon's response to lucifer. only you and belphegor were confused at their reactions.

"it is only a simple task so i expect you all to behave during this event." lucifer reminded them and it was followed with their "yes" after. you grabbed a sticky note then began to write on the paper. you planned to write out notes for the seven brothers and with the people they are aquiantance with.

you unintetionally glanced at mammon's paper and you were shocked to see that he wrote everything in a small handwriting. you couldn't even grasp a word at his writing because it was too small. "mammon, the person you're gonna send that note to won't read that small scribbled handwriting." you point it out to him. instead, he looks at you with a glare.

"exactly, i did that on purpose. now mind your own business." you could only roll your eyes in response to mammon being stubborn as usual. you were the first one to finish out of the six brothers. you headed towards the board to paste your sticky notes that you just finished.

you were surprised to see the brothers following you as you were just finished with yours. "mc! do you have a note for me?" asmo asks with excitement in his voice. you nodded in response. "sure, just read it out there." you let out a smile to him. asmo reads the note you wrote to him and he had a happy reaction in return. "wow! you do love me so much, mc!"

he then starts to give you a tight big hug. mammon wanted to stop you both but levi just reminded him about the plan which made him held back from it. "oh, right the thingy. we planned" he muttered under his breath as levi nodded. "now, go up there." levi hurriedly hands out the note and album to him.

you saw mammon leaving early and it lead you to wondering why he was gone so suddenly. he was with levi before that. you felt someone poking on your right shoulder. "mc, read out my note i wrote for you." it happened to be beel. you nodded in response. "sure! can't wait to see what's on it." you accepted to read beel's letter. the compliments he had written there on the note gave you a big smile after reading. "thanks for the lovely note beel." you appreciated it. "no problem."

a voice that was coming from the stage has caught everyone's attention including you. you turned to see who it was and it was not whom you expected to be. mammon was on the stage holding a paper in his hand as he went towards the microphone. "i see that mammon decides to be in a good mood today." lucifer points out. no wonder mammon left you guys a while ago before he went up on the stage.

mammon cleared his throat before finally saying something on the mic. "ehem." the mic echoed which was enough for everyone to hear. "i wanna get things straight to the point since i'm really embarassed to be up here on stage." you were curious to know what mammon was gonna do on that stage. you guessed that the brothers except belphegor, might know a thing since they kept sharing bluffed laughs at each other.

mammon reads the paper he's holding and lets out a deep breath before saying something. "i'd like to give a shoutout to mc for being by my side since day one." you were shocked to hear your name being called. you gasped in surprise. "oh please, a 'shoutout'?" satan laughs at mammon words. asmo agreed with him as well. "he's too shy to say something else other than that." he responds to him. "thank you for being caught up with my troublesome antics. i know you're very fed up with it, but i'm glad to know that you're still with me despite all that."

mammon's message to you made you want to mess around with him for a little. since mammon loved teasing you, you should also do the same in return. "cause i have no choice, you fucker!" you yelled at mammon making him started. the brothers gasped in shock at your response. "you didn't refuse cause you were too nice enough to say something out your guts! take that you dumbass!" mammon confidently answers you back, raising his voice slightly for you to hear it.

"what else do you have there on your paper? HUH?!" you dared him to continue his little speech about you. mammon looks at his paper reading out the next lines he's about to say. "i'm just a stupid idiot who-" he then stops reading as he notices the word on the paper.

"LEVI, WHY WOULD YOU EVEN INCLUDE THIS?! HUH?!" levi lets out a loud laugh at the angry mammon. "then exclude it out you dummy!" he then continues to laugh as the rest followed. that's where you finally decided to challenge mammon with the speech he's doing.

"or how about you ACTUALLY just go straight to the point without reading from your paper." you let out a smirk at mammon while crossing your arms. you could tell mammon was now even more embarrassed from his position on stage. "go on, i wanna hear it from your own words this time."

mammon drops the paper as he heard your suggestion. "if that's how you want to dare me mc, then i'd be happy to do it." he grabs the microphone off its standing and goes near to your direction. "HOW DARE YOU ACT SO OBLIVIOUS WHEN I HINTED OUT SO MANY TIMES THAT I HAVE A CRUSH ON YOU? YOU THINK YOU LOOK SLICK JUST BY DOING THAT? DO YOU KNOW WHY I'M DOING THIS? STANDING HERE ON STAGE LIKE A FOOL? TO FINALLY GET IT TO YOUR SENSES THAT I FUCKING LIKE YOU MC! SO GODDAMN MUCH!"

mammon's aggressive response made you very speechless. all you could do was gasp and not say anything. you felt butterflies from your stomach after heaing mammon's confession to you. the brothers were on the same level with you as well. they were also speechless from mammon's sudden aggressive actions. the atmosphere suddenly became awkward because you hadn't responded to mammon. it took you some a second to finally let out your true feelings to mammon too.

"well i fucking like you too! i only played around because you did the same with me in the first place!" you responded back to him with the same energy as he did. "HOW'S THAT FOR AN ANSWER?! YOU SHIT-ASS DIMWIT!" you raised your voice even harder at mammon. "THEN THAT SETTLES IT! WE LIKE EACH OTHER NOW!" he finally answered back without hesitation unlike you.

to your surprise, you caught the gift that mammon threw to you thanks to your reflexes. you quickly observed the gift and noticed that it was an album of your favorite idol group. mammon dropped the mic then got off stage to approach you. "i bought that with my own damn money. take it as an appreciation." you were too stunned to say something back to mammon. you then began to let out a laugh in response.

"wow! thanks for the gift mammon! i wonder if you still have the money to afford for our date." mammon went up closer to you which lead you both into making eye contact. "why yes mc, i do! you better meet me there early at the restaurant tomorrow night or you're dead for sure if you don't show up!" he leans in closer to your face. "bring it on." you fearlessly answered back.

since the way you and mammon talked felt very degrading and sarcastic, the brothers reacted very differently. they were expecting some puppy love to happen but it's not what they had expected at all. "that was awkward, considering so much people are here." beel had finally say something.

"you know now that i think about it, it looks like they got a weird kink going on." levi pointed it out. asmo agreed with levi's saying. "right? if that's how they show their love then it should be fine!" he lets out a genuine smile.

lucifer did think about scolding mammon for causing an inconvinience to the public but since it was for romantic intentions, that made him change his mind. you were now left to planning for your date with mammon after this school event finishes.

[lovesquarebebonkers]

Miraculous Soulmate AU (Ficlet)

If there's one thing that Adrien Agreste knows about his soulmate, it's that they are, without a shadow of a doubt, just about the clumsiest person to ever walk this Earth.

fell off a bench at school again, I am so so sorry

just stubbed my toe on my desk (currently taking my last breath as I write this) :(((

sorryyy, I absolutely FACE PLANTED trying to avoid tripping over a cat today, who was ADORABLE btw, but I'll try to do better, I promise!!!

Well, that, or they're a pathological liar who only says those things to keep him out of their actual business, but Adrien doesn't think that that's the case.

See, his soulmate is also quite possibly the sweetest person to ever walk this Earth, so that almost certainly makes up for all the mild scrapes and bruises that he often finds littering his elbows, palms, and knees, and even the lectures that he frequently has to endure whenever his father catches sight of them.

The way he sees it, they don't owe him an apology, or even an explanation, really, (it's not their fault that literally any mark that they weren't born with that appears on their body also appears on his) but they still go out of their way to write him cute little messages almost as soon as a new one, courtesy of them, pops up, which, as 'clumsiest person to ever walk this Earth' would suggest, is pretty regularly.

Although, Adrien guesses that they probably feel that they have to, what with the way that he'd taken a marker to his skin and carefully scribbled the words, 'Hi, I really hope that you're okay' next to a particularly nasty cut on his shin that had showed up one day.

It was around the time that they were both (presumably) at an age where it was no longer expected for children (who weren't as sheltered as he was) to come home all scuffed up after a day of being out and having fun with friends, and though Adrien hoped that his soulmate was just really into sports or playful roughhousing or something like that, he couldn't help but worry if they were being bullied or abused or something even worse.

omg hi!!! I'm good, thank you! :)

Not even a minute later, he watched in amazement as the letters slid across his skin, one by one, in response to his message– a message that he hadn't even really expected to be answered.

It was the first time that either of them had ever properly reached out, still practically kids and all, who weren't particularly interested in the whole 'person who was made just for you' thing as yet.

I'm just reallyyy clumsy, but I'm sorry that your shin is all messed up now too :(

I'll try to be more careful <3

Adrien had sort of panicked and simply sent a smiley face back, not knowing what else to say, but ever since that day, he's come to expect the neat lettering of his soulmate appearing somewhere near whatever new contusion that they're sharing.

It's been years now, and he still doesn't exactly say much in reply–

You honestly need to stop apologising! I'm just glad that you're okay <3

Need me to call a TOE truck? Haha get it ;)))

OH NO IS THE CAT OKAY???

– but it works for them, he thinks, (at least for the time being) and the messages always bring a smile to his face, even if he does still worry about his soulmate's well-being from time to time.

And honestly, how could he not when apology notes aren't even the only kind that they leave him?

Adrien's soulmate sometimes gives him song suggestions or movie and show recommendations too, or they just write to him to have a good day, and they claim that his all jokes are horrible, but send loads of laughing faces back at him anyway, and they doodle little pieces of literal artwork on the inside of his wrist when he asks for a 'tattoo,’ (which is probably what he likes best, even if he does have to cover them up during photoshoots) and it's just so, so nice.

They're just so, so nice, and it's not like he's pining away for them or anything, but Adrien thinks that he might actually be just as clumsy as they are, what with how hard he’s already fallen.

[musette22]

So the Seb hate train is starting over Pam&Tommy on Twitter after a tweet from an film update account linking the eonline article where a source says the show is very painful for Pam. We know she doesn’t want to be involved, but what is the point of all these sources speaking on her behalf? Should I take them at face value or wait for her to confirm? I think I’ll watch the show and make up my own mind. Either way I’m going to stay off Seb’s tag on Twitter until the show is over because people on there believe righteous anger allows them to behave abhorrently. I’ll just hide out here on your blog. Seb should too!

Hi darling! Thanks so much for your message. So, I'm getting a lot of asks about this at the moment (thanks to everyone who's sent me one, so far!) But I'm just going to answer this one for now and say everything I have to say on the subject at this point, if that's ok, because otherwise I'd just be repeating myself and filling this blog with discourse, and I'd prefer not to.

I'll put my full reply under the keep reading tag, because it's long! But I wanted to get this right, so that I can refer people to this reply when the subject comes up again (which it inevitably will) instead of having to write it all again! I've (very pretentiously) applied some headers to the below, so that anyone who's interested could also just skim it and focus on the bits that are relevant to them instead of reading the whole thing lol.

Let me just start by saying that I very much agree with your decision to stay out of Seb's tag on Twitter for the duration of the show, and also make up your own mind by watching the show! You're very welcome to hide out on my blog for the next few weeks, and I'd be honoured if Seb wanted to do the same, but also mortified because I yell about his cute little nose too much so that's embarrassing 😂 In the next parts I'm not addressing you specifically, nonnie, but the general you, just to be clear!

Haters gonna hate & protect your peace

But yes, basically, we all knew this was going to happen, once the show's release date came nearer. It's not a surprise that the haters are seizing their chance to jump on Seb's case again now. I fully expected them to, because they're really goddamn predictable.

That's not to say, by the way, that I think everyone who doesn't like the idea of this show, or wishes it hadn't been made, or that Sebastian hadn't taken the role, is a hater. That's absolutely not the case; I fully understand people's reservations (I have plenty myself). But the people who are disproportionately targeting Sebastian, and are saying nasty stuff about him that's unrelated to the show just for clout or to jump on the bandwagon etc. etc.? Those are just dumb haters, and they're not worthy of our time or attention.

I do very much understand that seeing Sebastian hate is upsetting and frustrating, and I also understand the urge to see what people are saying, or to argue with them to make them see what they're saying is wrong. But in my experience, 9 out of 10 times (if not more), the first only makes you miserable, while the second is useless. Those people aren't looking for a constructive discussion - they just want attention, clout, to belong, or to be mean, and they're not going to let you change their minds. And if you know you're sensitive to seeing negative opinions about your faves (as I am) then please do yourself a favour and don't go looking for it. Stay out of the Seb tag, block any nasty people you inadvertently do come across and focus on the spaces where you know you'll find likeminded people. It really does work and it really will make you feel loads better (I'm living proof!)

Minnie has feelings too (lol)

And just for the record - I do all the above because seeing negative opinions about my faves upsets me too, so I completely feel you guys. While I understand, though, it does also mean that it's quite hard sometimes when people come into my inbox to tell me about all the negative stuff they saw on Twitter - which I steer clear of for a reason. This isn't me telling anybody off, by the way; I'm just telling you guys in the hopes you'll understand and be mindful of it, going forward.

I try really hard to keep this a positive space, because I truly believe that focusing on the positive is a more worthwhile use of my time and energy than focusing on the negative, however frustrating those negatives may be sometimes. I don't mind the occasional rant or vent or difficult discussion, I do that too sometimes, but it's when it becomes a recurring thing or a trend that it gets tricky for me. Which is why in this case I'm choosing to just answer this one ask for now, instead of all of the asks I've gotten/will get on the subject over the course of the next few weeks. I probably will answer some more occasionally, but not all continuously.

How will this affect Sebastian?

If you're worried about how the dissenting voices and hate will affect Sebastian personally: I am too, to some degree. But Seb undoubtedly knew that this show would stir up controversy, and yet he decided to sign up anyway. So he knew what he was getting into, and I'm sure he's knows better than to stalk social media platforms during this time. What's more, he's (unfortunately) already been through worse, and we've seen he's come out on the other side just fine, maybe even stronger. He'll most likely avoid the discourse as much as possible, and it will die down again eventually (it always does, until the next thing happens) and he'll be ok!

If you're worried how this controversy might affect Sebastian's career: don't be. Sure, he might lose a few fans, but he'll gain many, many more. When it comes to issues like these, there's really no such thing as bad publicity. Casting directors and other industry professionals care about people's skill and marketability, not about the ethics of their professional decisions. They know that if Sebastian hadn't signed up to play this part, someone else would have, and they also know that playing a bad guy doesn't mean Sebastian is also a bad guy (because they understand the concept of acting, unlike many fans). Moreover, the early reactions to it from people in the industry who've previewed some episodes have been largely positive, so I actually think that despite the controversy, this is going to do big things for Seb's career.

The show itself

I've also seen some new statements by 'sources' about Pamela's alleged opinion on the show, but I'm not going to put too much stock in those, because lord knows it wouldn't be the first time people sell or promote fake stories to the press for money or their own fifteen minutes of fame. That said, however, I wouldn't be surprised at all if Pamela truly does have an issue with this show. It makes a lot of sense to me that she would, but unless she speaks out about it herself (and I feel like she probably will at some point), I'm not going to discuss the rumours on my blog. Like you, nonnie, I will instead watch the show and make up my own mind about it treats Pamela and her story (and I hope to god it will be done sympathetically).

I won't deny that I also would have preferred it if they had never made this show in the first place, because despite the professed good intentions of the writers and producers etc., it does feel kind of iffy to me too. However, the show has been made, and while I wouldn't have watched it if Sebastian hadn't been in it, Sebastian is in it and it's a project that I believe could be a very significant turning point for his career. So I'm watching it, for Sebastian, and I'll be hoping and praying it doesn't fuck up (much more).

If you're not comfortable watching the show, or you don't think it's worth watching even for Sebastian - that's absolutely fine and super valid. Nobody has to watch this show or consume content about it. We all get to make that decision for ourselves, and I don't blame anyone for opting out, and I'm sure neither would Sebastian.

I have been and will be tagging any content to do with the show with 'pam and tommy', so anyone who wants to avoid that content but not unfollow me can blacklist that tag. Alternatively, anyone who wants to unfollow me over this is very welcome to do so, without any hard feelings. I'm all in favour of protecting our own peace and curating our own fandom experience! Anyone who sends me hate over this, however (which has already happened a few times), will be blocked without a second thought.

Fan blog vs discourse blog

Lastly, I just want to say that this is first and foremost a Sebastian Stan (and Chris Evans, and Steve and Bucky) fan blog - not a discourse blog. This place is meant to celebrate these guys and their work, and I want to keep it that way at all costs, or I don't really see the point of it, you know? This is supposed to be my happy space (and hopefully other people's also); a good and positive addition to my real, personal life. If the struggles ever started to outweigh the snuggles on this blog, it wouldn't be worth it running anymore, imo. But since I have WAY too much fun here, I'd prefer it if that never happened!

Alright, I think that's all I have to say about this for now. I hope this clears some things up. If anyone still has any specific questions for me, don't hesitate to let me know, but please be mindful of what I said under the heading 'Minnie has feelings too' (lmao I'm so sorry for how pretentious that sounds but I figured it would do the trick lol).

Love you all! ❤️

[echo-three-one]

Run run run....

Table of Contents

Previous Chapter : Going Dark - Part 1

Chapter 23 to another story made by Ray (echo-three-one) Comments and Reviews appreciated! I hope you enjoy! Love you all ❤️

Going Dark - Part 2

John "Soap" MacTavish

London, United Kingdom

Soap never knew that the bloody guy would pull that trick off his sleeve. He's been sick of the same ringing he first experienced when they went out with Francine.

So he did what he could and quickly got up to his feet as soon as he saw Alex attempt to halt the hostage on his tracks. That bastard's going to pay for stomping on Alex like that.

With comms down once again, he had to act fast, stomping down the stairs, never leaving sight of the runner. He could sense someone following him and assumed it's any of Roach, Price or Jack. And it looked like Ghost caught wind of what happened too.

"Oi! Let's flank him!" Soap roared across the empty streets as Ghost and Roach split ways and ran toward their target.

They're not kidding when they said the Shadow Company is at par with the 141, the guy ran like a horse which Soap never expected from his build. He could see Ghost and Roach sprinting from his sides, one wrong turn and he's done for, but he still had one last trick. 

He raced to the emergency stairs as his heavy feet clanged against the metal. Soap followed, optimizing the steps on edges to gain on him. Going up the rooftops was his biggest mistake.

"Bollocks, he's still running!" he announced as he felt his ears crackling. 

"Well…. st….by…. do….airs.." His earpiece crackled through the static. It's recovering but they're already far off MacMillan's truck where their line connected.

He leaped. Soap almost stopped in his tracks as the runner courageously leapt across the huge gap and rolled on to the next building. He braced himself and continued dashing across the roof and did a mighty leap, his arms circled like he was swimming and he carefully placed his feet to perform a proper land and rolled.

That's going to hurt as soon as the adrenaline fades, but he quickly got up and made use of his remaining burst of energy. 

The runner stopped in his tracks as soon as Roach emerged from the opposite fire escape, raising a pistol pointed straight at him as he raised his hand in surrender.

"Nowhere to run now." Roach said, cautiously walking near him. He's aware that his phone is still inside his pocket and that they had no idea when it'll go off again.

He didn't talk, but he looked panicked. He was sweating all over and his face was beyond recognizable. It looked like he's out of options.

"Tell us Where Shepherd is…" Gary pointed the loaded gun on his head, the desperation in Gary's eyes were obvious.

"There's an abandoned plane graveyard near Afghanistan…" he whimpered. His voice was shaky enough to warrant the truth.

"What's he doing there?" Soap added.

"He's trading the blueprints for the I.P. Address… Please that's all I know" he begged and they quickly left the place, walking back to MacMillan's car.

"You got something?" Ghost asked as soon as Roach's feet landed on the dark alley.

"A place. In Afghanistan." Roach answered.

"And he also had the I.P. Address.." Soap added.

"But that's impossible… didn't Samantha already forget about it?" Ghost asked but there was a quiet pause. Their brains almost looked like working together.

"Holy Crap." Roach finally broke the silence.

And from that moment they realized the other reason behind Samantha's memory returning. One way or another, her memories were once again toyed with.

~

"So how was it?" Price asked the team that ran off to chase the runner.

"We got an address. An abandoned plane yard in Afghanistan." Roach replied. Soap turned to Alex as he sat at the back of the jeep tending to his wound. 

"You okay mate?" he asked walking close to his ally, who was wincing in pain.

"The guy's boots are heavy." He chuckled and so did Soap.

"Listen, Alex. We heard that Shepherd has the I P. address, did Samantha tell you anything about remembering it?" Soap asked as the whole team fell silent and turned to the two.

"Not really. What's bothered me is that she remembers everything except after when Shepherd explained his plans to her… Could it be that…" Alex trailed.

"She remembered because they undid their operation on her…" Jack continued. The whole group stood in silence. 

Price's phone rang and delivered them with more bad news. It looked like while chasing the runner, Shepherd had caught wind of their activity and had some of London police scour the nearby streets for them.

"Da, It's time to go, my comrades." Nikolai announced as soon as Price relayed the message. Their ride home was compromised.

"Where to?" He asked.

"I know a place." Soap said.

TRAIN STATION

It looked like Soap's hunch was right. None of the people onboard to Scotland mind about the faces of the fugitives flashed on the news recently. 

Their day packs had reserved clothes and they opted to change to something more civilian. Soap could smell the fabric conditioner France used to wash his newly bought clothes and couldn't help but miss her. If they weren't on a rush, Soap could've topped up for international calls.

"How long is this trip? 7 hours?" Price asked a civilian with surprised expressions.

"Wow. It's like a plane ride, but I'm still in the same country!" Jack cackled at the idea. He does have a different sense of humor. Just as Alex described him.

The rest of the team took this time to rest, they sat on the emptiest part of the train, away from the people that might recognize them and report their presence.

"I've contacted Samantha. It looks like they're having a small problem over there." Alex said.

"Someone saw one of us fugitives and tried to get inside the house to claim his bounty. At first they just talked him off but he's persistent now. So they decided to fly to our location and regroup there. And Soap, where exactly are we going?" Alex asked. Soap took a careful look around his team and felt nervous about his decision.

"Our old house. In Scotland. It's far off civilization. I think no one would look for us there." he muttered, gaining a nod from Price and Jack. Soap sighed in relief as soon as they thought of it as a good idea. Roach actually felt excited despite having to go there by train for seven hours. He immediately made that decision a few minutes ago without anyone's approval, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

"Hey, you three… Thanks for chasing that runner while we were out. Go catch some sleep. We'll watch over this train. It's going to be a long trip." Price nudged and Jack nodded. Soap gave a pair of earbuds to Price, the old man immediately looked at him with question.

"What's this? A hearing aid?" Price asked.

"Our runner wore that so it might be the reason he wasn't affected by his own blast." He muttered before crossing his arms.

"Thanks, mate. I'll let someone have a look at this." Price nodded and Jack immediately inserted with a suggestion.

"I know someone near Glasgow. A close friend of mine." 

"That's great. He's closer." Price agreed and Soap slowly drifted himself asleep, trying to rest his tired legs all while also trying not to worry about Francine.

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND

The never shifting scenery of the road home sent John MacTavish into a little nostalgia trip. The sound of trains screeching across the station reminded him of so many things from the past.  The road they're walking along now was the same road he's walked on everyday of his life, and now after a lot of years, he can't believe he's back.

"I don't see anything nearby,  are you sure we're not lost Soap?" Roach asked.

"We aren't. The house is just obstructed by the trees. They've grown taller since I last left." he replied enthusiastically. He looked obviously excited to see his home.

As soon as they reached the short curve, a huge cream-painted house greeted them from the distance. He could hear Alex and Roach's collective oohs and aahs every step they took closer.

"When you said old, I was really expecting it to be abandoned." Roach mused.

"It is, actually. My parents are off… somewhere else." he replied leading the way inside the house. The pool was already dirty and most weeds already outgrew the fences.

Soap pushed the huge wooden double door open and was greeted by the same visage of their entrance way back when he was a kid. Same pictures hung on the walls of his adventures as a kid up to the recent photo of his graduation. His mom was always proud of him no matter what, but he couldn't forget the way she looked at him once he chose to enlist to the riskiest job ever.

The rest of the team helped themselves to discovering the inside of the house, looking at photos, sitting on the couches and grabbing a glass of water. Soap quickly gave them a tour of the house and that they're free to pick a guest room of their choice. It was appropriate that they'd feel comfortable after a tough day.

"Nice place you got here, comrade. Why'd you give this all up for a life that's always hanging on the ledge?" Nikolai asked, tapping his shoulder. 

"I don't even know." he muttered and Nikolai chuckled, making his way to the living room. The team was quick to adapt to the place. Roach and Ghost already chose their rooms and he assumed they already attempted to recover while the three older men gathered around the television and watched the news. Alex was by the telephone, probably contacting Samantha. He wanted to check on France himself, so he planned to go to his room and make a call.

"The New York attack stopped." Price discussed with Nikolai and Jack, the three began speculating about a lot of things. Soap would love to join in the conversation but he decided to update on Francine first.

His room looked the same as when he left, the same shade of blue wallpaper, the same color sheets that were changed weekly and the same things on top of his bedside drawer.

Dialing her number, which he subconsciously memorized, he immediately placed the receiver on his ear and anxiously waited for her to pick up the phone.

"Hello?" her voice sounded different over the phone, but it still sent shivers across his spine as soon as he heard it.

"Hey. It's me." he replied.

"Angelo?" she asked, her voice almost sounded like she's fighting herself not to laugh.

"It's John." 

"I know, silly. Who would mistake you for anyone else with that accent." she retorted.

"Do ya like it?" he teased, making sure he emphasized his Scottish accent well.

"Why'd you call?" She changed the topic. She wasn't budging on his teasing, but he knew she's already blushing on the other side of the line.

"Did Price give you the landing coordinates?" he asked.

"Yeah. Maxine looked it up on the map. It looks like a shady house in the middle of nowhere. Who are you?" she joked.

"Great. I'll see you here. I-" he hesitated. He wanted to tell her how much he misses her. But even with his oozing confidence, he felt like chickening out this time.

"Yeah. We're on our way. Take care out there John." She said and dropped the call. Soap sighed and plopped himself on his bed, deeply sighing at his actions. This girl was making him crazy… and the funny thing is he's all fine with it.

Next Chapter : Going Dark - Part 3

Notification Squad my Beloved

@smokeywhalee @samatedeansbroccoli @enderio @beemybee @whimsywispsblog @ricinbach

[gvf-imagines]

Part 1

(Josh/Danny/Jake/Sam x reader)

Warnings: alcohol use, self harm scars

word count:  3252

Thanks to @callmekane for beta reading this fic!

A/N: I’m excited about what this story will bring! This is going to be a very smut filled fan fiction series where the reader has a very sexual and open relationship with all of the boys! I know some people won’t like it I’m sure but all criticism is welcome! Please leave comments and let me know what you think and of course if you have an idea for the story I’m totally open to hearing your thoughts! I hope you enjoy it my friends ❣️

If you’d like to be on the tag-list so you know when I post part 2 just message me or let me know in the comments!

—————————————————————-

You smiled as you ran off stage, the fans were still screaming and kept screaming until the next band took the stage. The air was electric, so many people, all here to enjoy the great communicator that is music. You closed your eyes to take it all in, to just listen and feel. You couldn't believe you were here, playing in front of this many people. This year you shared the stage with another up and coming band by the name of Greta Van Fleet. You hadn't heard of them before recently and they were actually really good. They had so much soul and passion in their music, it was true, raw talent. 

You watched from the side stage as they played their eclectic set. The singer, Josh, really got the crowd going. He had so much energy and was really fun to watch. His voice was incredible, unbelievable even. He had this raspy, elegant twang in his voice, that truly matched perfectly with the music his band was producing. The drummer, Danny (if you remembered correctly), had such a powerful and classic Drumming style. It was full of life and emotion , just like you, he put his all into his performance. He was focused and truly the heart of the music. There was a guitarist and a Bassist, unlike your band which only consisted of you and your best friend. You, the drummer and your friend the singer and guitarist. The bassist, Sam,  had a very cool way about him, his body moved with the music in a way that seemed beyond his control. The guitarist, Jake , was stunning, his hands danced along his guitar so expertly, you could tell he truly enjoyed his time with his instrument. 

When they finished their set, the crowd erupted in a wave of applause and cheers, like bright yellow and orange fireworks booming through the air, you watched with your minds eye, in awe as they exploded and cracked in the sky. The Boys bowed and waved before walking off stage panting and sweating.

“Nice job!, excellent show” you comment smiling. Danny returned the smile with a grateful nod. 

“Aw thank you, I'm sorry I don't think we had a chance to meet before the show, I’m Dan-” he began.

“You're Danny, Sam , Jake , and Josh” you said, pointing to each of them and smiling. They all returned the smile, there was positive energy just radiating from them, you could feel it like a blanket of warmth resting over you. 

“My name is (y/n), it's so nice to meet you guys!” you chime happily. The lead singer, Josh smiles at and you think you catch a small wink as well, making your heart skip a beat. Perhaps you were seeing things. God he's handsome, his sparkling brown eyes, he had more structure in his jawline than you had in your entire life His chestnut hair was gorgeous and curly, his whole look just attracted you to no end. 

Fuck. 

“Hey your performance was super amazing too, your voice is absolutely incredible” Sam complimented, his voice popped all the bubbly thoughts of josh that foamed in your head. Thank goodness. “Yeah! You did an excellent job (y/n). Its one thing to be a good singer when you have three other band members to help you sound good, but you were out there all alone, just your voice and you still blew that crowd away” Danny added. You were blushing for sure now. 

“Yeah your voice is crazy good, we're honored to play alongside you” Jake chimed. 

“Oh wow you guys are gonna make me cry” you chuckle “thank you so much, that means a lot coming from someone with your talent” you reply. Sam waves his hand incredulously as if you were hyping them up and making them out to be better than they really were.. You weren't. They are  awe inspiring musicians.

“Water?” a stagehand offered walking over with a cooler. 

“Oh thank fucking Christ” Josh rendered making a bee line for the cooler. You chuckled, and now that you thought of it your throat was extremely dry from singing as well. Jake nicely offered you the bottle he grabbed with a smile. A true gentleman. 

“Thank you!” you offer as you grab the bottle from him. You practically ripped the cap off and chugged the whole bottle. It was delicious and cold and ran over your tongue and down your throat with a refreshingly cold bite. 

The five of you stand there and re hydrate for a minute before Sam speaks “we should go grab a drink!” he suggests with a slight raise of his perfect eyebrows. The guys look at you in waiting. 

“You wanna join us?” Josh asks, flashing a pearly white smile. You look around at them for a mere second before responding. 

“Sure! Yeah that sounds fun” 

“Right on, I think I saw a bar down the street we can go to” Jake claims as you all head to the doors behind the dressing rooms. 

Rain began to expel from the dark clouds above you as you all headed down the road. Cold air kisses your skin causing you to shiver slightly, you only had on black leather pants and a pink floral pattern blouse that you tied up a bit to expose part of your stomach. It was late, must have been almost midnight by now, the air was heavy with moisture and you could smell the rain soaked cement under your feet. 

“Are you cold?” Josh questions as he walks beside you, he startled you a bit. You smiled and looked at your arms, they were dotted with goosebumps. 

“Yeah kinda” you reply sheepishly. Josh instantly takes off the jean jacket he was wearing and handed it to you. Jake and the others were a few feet behind the two of you carrying on a conversation about the show. You reached out and accepted the jacket, Josh's gaze nonchalantly floated down your arm, his face fell when he noticed the deep scars that peppered across your skin near your wrists. You notice him looking at them before he brings his gaze back up to meet yours. Your cheeks burned with embarrassment and you quickly put the jacket on. 

“I-I’m sorry, I didn't mean to stare” he says softly, looking down at the wet street. You knew by the tone in his voice he wasn't judging you. His look was filled with concern, not judgement.

“It's alright, people stare all the time” you responded 

“It doesn't bother me so much anymore, i'm used to it.” you added. Josh nods, a sad look still lingers on his gentle face. His jacket was warm, his scent filled your nose, it was comfortable and soothing, much like the rain that fell from the sky. You looked at him out of the corner of your eye, you could tell he was thinking about something, he had that  thousand yard stare stuck in his eyes. You hadn't known Josh for long but it's not hard to tell when someone is enthralled in thought.

“How long have you been singing?” you ask, trying to pull him from whatever trance he was in. 

“A long time, most of my life really” he answers with a smile. Talking about his music clearly made him happy. He in turn asked you the same question. You laugh before responding. 

“Honestly I've only been singing for a few years….drumming is my real talent and I've been doing that for most of my life, coming up on 18 years” you explain. Josh’s expression shifted from a smile to a look of surprise.

“Wow that’s awesome , are you self taught?” he asks again. You nodded “my dad taught me a few things here and there more when I first started out but, mostly I've taught myself” you said. Josh chuckled with a nod.

“That is really cool” he replied, you could tell by the tone and instance of his voice that he was genuinely impressed. 

“Oo careful on the compliments you've never heard me play before, just because I've been playing for a long time doesn't mean i’m any good” you joke, Josh laughs, shakes his head and nudges your shoulder. 

“Well have to get you behind Danny's kit some time” he implores. Hearing him say that made you happy, it meant he wanted to see you again. 

“You guys did really good tonight, I cant believe I've never heard of you guys before really. It wasn't until my manager told me who I'd be playing with at the festival that I started looking into you guys.” you admit. 

“Thanks you did an excellent job too, i really loved that first song you sang, ‘salt is my sugar’ I really resonated with that one, truly felt it, there's a lot of emotion in your lyrics.

“This is it,” Sam announces opening the front door and holding it for everyone to walk in. the smell of smoke and dark liquor hang heavy in the air. An ACDC song played over the speakers. It wasn't very busy, there was an older man sitting at the bar, a couple younger people playing pool and a few others scattered in booths. It was a total dive bar, a hole in the wall, which was just your style. You all sat at the bar on squeaky worn out bar stools. 

“What can I get you?” the bartender asked, perching himself up with his arms rested on the bar as a washrag sat, oh so typically, on his shoulder as he awaited your response. Jake looked at Josh with a raised brow giving him that ‘get a load of this guy’ look. 

“I'll have a beer,” Danny ordered. 

“Me as well please” Jake adds.

“Southern comfort and seven up for me please” you order next. 

“Hmm I'll have a long island iced tea” Sam says. You look at him holding back a chuckle Huh didn't take him for a long island iced tea kinda guy but to each their own. The bartender looked to josh. 

“Salty dog please” he requests.

“Put your IDs on the counter” the bartender instructs as he turns around to collect everyone's drinks. The five of you did as you were told and laid out your IDs. 

“So where are you guys headed now that the festival is over?” you asked playing with a stained, old coaster that sat in front of you. 

“We’re going back to Michigan for some well deserved time off” Josh responds. 

“For a little while anyways” he adds with a smile. 

“Hey I live in silver city!” you reply happily , silver city was a small town in Michigan closer to the upper peninsula. 

“Small world” you added. What are the chances the two of you lived within a few hours of each other and never met until the both of you played a festival in Los Angeles. 

You turn your attention to the combination of alcoholic drinks that the bartender set in front of you. Everyone reached for theirs offering quick cheers before taking a drink. The carbonation of the seven up burned against your throat before the alcohol sent the warming sensation through your chest and stomach. 

“Ah yum” you said, wincing from the sharpness of the alcohol. Jake laughed as he watched you.

“Not very convincing,” Sam says smiling. You laugh and take another drink. You watch Josh stir his drink lightly with the small straw it came with, he notices you looking. 

“Ever had a salty dog before?” he asks, hoping you say no. 

You simply shake your head in reply. He slides his drink closer to you. 

“We can share if you want, it's really good?” he offers. You look at the pink drink in front of you. 

“What's in it?” you ask. 

“It's just gin and grapefruit juice with a little salt around the rim,” he says. 

“Oh god that sounds horrible” you laugh.

“It's actually not that bad” Danny pipes up with a shrug.

“He made me try it a few weeks ago,” he adds. 

“Alright I'll take your word for it” you smile at Danny. You look back down at the drink. 

“I promise I didn't spike it” Josh chimes.  You laugh loudly, why would he even say that? 

“That's exactly what someone who spiked my drink would say” 

“But I guess I trust you guys” you add before taking a healthy sip of the beverage. 

“Hmm that's not bad!” conclude, it was much sweeter than you thought it would be, it kind of reminded you of orange juice and vodka. Josh nods with an I told you so sort of look on his face. 

“Here, try mine,” Sam says next, handing you his glass. 

“Alright you try mine too” you reply with a smile. Sam's slender fingers brush against yours as he grabs the drink from you , your eyes look to his and he winks. 

Oh god, I can't be attracted to two of them. Honestly, who were you kidding? You were insanely attracted to all of them, how were they ALL so cute and gorgeous? Not fair to the rest of man-kind. 

“Wow this one is super good!” you remark going in for another drink of the long island iced tea. 

“Yeah can you believe there's like 8 different alcohols in there? No tea at all” he laughs, you laughed with him. His laugh was sweet and light, like orange sparkling shards of glass dancing through the air. The five of you began talking about life and learning a lot about each other, ordering more drinks along the way. You could tell the mix of drinks was beginning to take effect on you, you felt warm and relaxed. You were standing next to Danny now, he towered over you, this man was truly a beast.the smell of his cologne wrapped around you. It was oaky and mossy with a hint of citrus, you couldn't help but feel an electrifying pull of attraction to him.

For fucks sake, you curse yourself.  

A few games of pool (which, it turns out Jake is like a God at pool) later you all found yourselves back at the bar carrying on more conversation, albeit more slurred now. It was much easier to open up to people when alcohol was involved. You rolled the sleeves of josh's jacked up, exposing your arms as the alcohol was making you extremely warm.

“What happened to you?” the bartender asks loudly. You and the guys all look at him with hints of confusion. 

“I got the worst concoction of my parents DNA possible” you joke , the boys laugh. Jake nudges your shoulder. 

“Shut up you're gorgeous” he says softly. You give him a quick smile. 

“No. Your arm. What happened to your arm.” the bartender says again, nodding to your scars. You hated when people asked that question, like they didn't know why you had those scars on your wrists. Very few things leave scars like that on skin. You looked around at the guys, josh looked pissed and the others looked saddened as this was the first time they had seen your scars, and they knew damn well what it was from, they weren’t as stupid as this bartender. The air of the bar had shifted, the mood went from fun loving to hostile very quickly. Fuck this guy.

“I got in a fight with a weed wacker” you retort sarcastically. The man rolls his eyes.

“What happened? Did your little boyfriend break up with you? Flunk a class? Your puppy ran away?” he was mocking you. You said nothing in return.

“You're just another one of those emotionally confused little girls, no reason to hate her life.” he continues. For some reason he was trying to upset you , and you had no idea why, you'd been nothing but pleasant to the man since the moment you entered the bar.

“First of all i'm not a girl, I'm a woman. Who pissed in your Wheaties this morning man? You're mad because you got all D’s in high school and now you're stuck serving losers like us in this shit hole, pretentious, sorry excuse of a bar? Go fuck yourself. I don’t hate my life.” you answer , anger pooling in your throat. 

“Hey man. Lay off.” Danny says with a look of warning. 

“Of course you don't hate your life” the man says ignoring Danny completely. 

“You just do it for attention, think if you slice yourself up maybe someone will feel bad for you huh? I've seen your kind before girl.” he speaks again. OK now this idiot was pissing you off. You never did it for attention, attention was the last thing you wanted, especially when it came to your scars, you wished you could erase them.

“Look, I've got three things to say to you,” you reply with an irritated sigh. You stood up from your stool and stepped closer to the man. 

“One” you say, holding up your pointer finger giving the illusion that you were going to list reasons of argument to him. Instead you ball your hand into a fist and punch the guy right in his fucking jaw with all your drunken might. To your surprise (and no doubt everyone else's) the bartender fell to the floor, you knocked him out.. Everyone was wide eyed and silent 

“Lets get outta here” Josh says, breaking the glistening silence in the bar, noticing everyone looking at the five of you. Jake grabbed a bottle of Jack before all of you ran out of the door. None of you could suppress your laughs as you took off down the street. Out of breath you all keeled over in a field of grass a few feet from the tour buses in a fit of laughter. You sat down on the wet grass and looked up at the clouds. Danny sat on your left and Sammy was on your right, Josh and Jake sat in front of you and you all formed a small little circle. 

“That felt good” you say softly, referring to punching that shit head of a bartender. Sam laughed.

“Yeah that was awesome, I can't believe you knocked him out” Jake chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. The air went silent again as you all sat with your own thoughts. Your face slowly lost emotion as thoughts of what the man said swirled around your mind. You tried not to let what people said to you about your scars get to you too much but it was hard sometimes. Danny noticed your expression and you felt his hand draw soft circles on your back.

“That guy was an idiot. He was just being an asshole” Josh said softly, you nodded, knowing he was right. Maybe it was the alcohol or maybe you were just really that sad but a tear fell down your face and your voice cracked as you spoke. 

“I just feel so alone sometimes” you wiped the tears away as quickly as they fell. You could feel all of them watching you with sympathetic eyes.

“Everyone's got their vice (y/n)” Danny said quietly, his hand still grazing your back. 

Josh rolls his shirt sleeve up and reveals dozens of little horizontal scars covering his shoulder. He grabs your hand and you look up at him to meet his gaze. He stroked your hand with his thumb and gave you a comforting, gentle look. 

“You're not alone”

[tintin-is-my-life]

- FANFICTION - 1st part

An Unexpected Meeting

In these radiant weather, Tintin was walking around the flee market, hoping to find some reading treasures. Suddenly, he froze. He had just noticed a magnificent antique: a Caravel.

He looked at it more closely: "The Unicorn" as it was called. Tintin paid the seller, but at that very moment a man rushed to the stall. He was an American, wearing blue felt clothes. He asked Tintin if he didn't want to sell him the beautiful ship. The answer was no, of course. After that, the man warned him against ill-intentioned people who might be willing to do anything to take the ship. The man got further and further away, and finally left.

Suddenly, a voice was heard:

Wonderful...oh... it's just wonderful...

No need to wrap it up, I'll take it as it is, you don't mind if I pay by check?"

An other interested party... thought Tintin.

The salesman answered: If you want to buy it, address it to this boy!

The man replied: I see... so let the boy name his price...

It's not forsale, Tintin replied.

The man introduced himself : My name is Ivan Ivanovich Sakharine. I recently acquired Marlinspike Hall. And,this ship, as you must surely know, has always been part of the estate.

Tintin: Of the late sea captain?

Sakharine:Yes, but the family has suffered great setbacks. They lost everything! They've gone from bad luck to bad luck. . . Let's talk about. . . generations of drinking and irrational behavior.

Tintin: I'm sorry, but as I told you before, it's not for sale. Goodbye,sir.

Sakharine turned to the seller, asking him if he had any idea who he was dealing with.

Seller: You don't know him? It's Tintin. A famous reporter, he is very well known in Belgium but also in the whole world.

Sakharine: I've never heard of this... kid at all. * squinting eyes and looking scornful* Besides, I've only been in Brussels for a short time. He said as he watched Tintin goaway. Then he left without saying a word.

Meanwhile, Tintin returned to his apartment. He had questions in his head. First of all, why did this boat attract so much covetousness? And what secrets could it be hiding?

Tintin put the boat on his cabinet and went to the library. He needed to learn about the history of this caravel. He learned that "The Unicorn" was in fact a ship in Louis XIV's fleet, and that Louis XIV had offered the Captain, Sir Francis Haddock, a priceless treasure as a reward for his loyalty.But the ship was attacked by pirates, and only the Captain escaped.And ever since then, the family has been under a curse.

In the book, an inscription caught his attention:

"Only a true Haddock can discoverthe secret of The Unicorn..."

Later, Tintin returned home and discovered in amazement that the boat had disappeared. On this discovery, he decided to go where he was sure to find it, at Marlinspike Hall, in other words, the present home of Mr.Sakharine.

He arrived on the spot and without surprise, he found the model ship. But suddenly he received a blow to the head and collapsed.

Sakharine : Welcome to Marlinspike Hall !

Tintin went straight to the point: I came to retrieve my property !!

Sakharine: I'm sorry. I am not sure I follow you...

Tintin : Oh, I think you do !

Sakharine: I'm afraid you're mistaken, Mr. Tintin!

Tintin: There's no mistake ! It belongs to me!

Sakharine: Are you sure?

Tintin: Well,of course I'm sure, I took it home, I put it on the cabinet in the living room. A cat came in and dropped it while I was chasing it ! But, hum... (clears throat) How can that be? The mast is intact....It's not my ship.

Sakharine: It certainly isn't your ship, young man! This one I've had for a very long time.

Tintin : I am sorry, it looks identical.

Sakharine: Well, look can bedeceiving !

Tintin: Yes, indeed, but I don't understand ! Why did Sir Francis make two ships exactly alike? And you have one already ! Why do you want another one ? What is about this model that would cause someone to steal it ?

Sakharine: Goodness me! Why so many questions?

Tintin: It's my job, there could be a story here. That's what I do, you see.

Sakharine: Well, it's not a great mystery, Sir Francis Haddock was a drunkard, and a hopeless reprobate. He was doomed to fail and he bequeathed that failure to his sons !

Tintin: So it's true! The Haddock line is cursed!

Sakharine: What else have you find out ?

Tintin:What is there to find?

Sakharine: That depends what you'relooking for !

Tintin: I'm looking for answers,...Mr.Sakharine.

Sakharine: You're looking in the wrong place. ...It's late! I think you should go home, young man ! Nestor! Take him home!

The butler named Nestor met Tintin at the door and said, "It's too bad, sir... That the mast is broken on your model,sir... I hope you've found all the parts, things get lost so easily.

Sakharine called Nestor back, who finally greeted Tintin before closing the door.

A few minutes later, Tintin went home. He took the keys out of his pocket before he realized his door had been forced. When he entered his apartment, he discovered that all the rooms had been returned, but absolutely nothing was missing. Meanwhile, it was clear that this burglar was looking for something specific, but what?

Suddenly, Tintin saw a light under one of the pieces of furniture, especially the one where he had put the caravel down a few hours earlier. He went down to look, and found a small cylindrical silver-colored object. Inside it was a scroll :

Tintin returned to his office to examine what he had just found.

Then he read the manuscript:

"Three brothers joined , three Unicorns in company sailing in the noonday sun will speak. For'tis from the light will dawn. And then shines forh the Eagle's cross. »

Just after the message, strange signs were written.

Tintin doesn't really understand the meaning of all this:

I don't understand what it is. But it explains why they ransacked my apartment. He must have been looking for this, and they didn't find it. Which means...they'll be back...

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, the concierge went to see who it could be at this hour. Going down the stairs, Tintin recognized the voice of the man he had met in the flee market : the "American". He told Mrs. Pinson that he would take care of it.

The man called out to Tintin: My boy, is that you?

Tintin: What do you want?

The man:Listen, I won't tell you everything, but I swear to God, I never thought he would kill for that !

Tintin: Who? Who are you talking about?

Man: I'm trying to tell you that your life is in danger!

Tintin: Answer me, WHO?

The man didn't have time to answer because suddenly he was shot. He collapsed in the hall of the building with just enough time to leave a clue. With his blood, the man had indicated several letters that made up the word: "K-A-R-A-B-O-U-D-J-A-N."

The next morning, Tintin received the Dupondt for the investigation. The man who had been targeted was called Barnabé Dawes, and he was a very high-ranking Interpol inspector. The Dupondt retrieved the newspaper for evidence and left. Tintin walked them to the door. He stepped out for a moment to say goodbye to the Dupondt as they left. He didn't notice that a man had just stolen his wallet, in which the scroll was. Indeed, earlier in the morning, the Dupondt told Tintin that they were on the trail of a pickpocket who had been raiding the city and its surroundings for several weeks.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Meanwhile, on the boat Karaboudjan...

The ship's captain, Kathrynn Haddock, was busy making an inventory of the goods on the ship, when suddenly one of her "crewmen" injected her with a syringe of a powerful soporific. It was Tom, one of the ship's employees, under the command of a certain Sakharine.

Sakharine had become an intruder on the boat. And now that the captain was out of harm's way, he could take complete control of the ship. Kathrynn found herself trapped in her own boat, in her own holds.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Meanwhile, while Tintin was quietlywatching the Dupondt leave, he was stopped by two so-called "deliverymen"... who immediately applied a chloroform swab under hisnose. The two men loaded him into a crate and drove him to Karaboudjan.

Tintin woke up chained to a cage. Hesoon realized that his pockets were being searched.

Sakharine arrived in the hold andexclaimed:

Tom, Alllan! Have you found it ?

Allan said, He doesn't have it !

Sakharine : If it it is not here, then where is it ?

Tintin, barely awake, answered: Where iswhat?

Sakharine : The scroll from The Unicorn, apiece of paper like this !

Tintin: You mean the poem ?

Sakharine : Yes...

Tintin: The calligraphic poem ?

Sakharine : Yes...

Tintin : Who was in a cylinder ?

Sakharine: Yes !

Tintin : Concealed in the mast?

Sakharine : YES!

Tintin smiled a little and said: Idon't have it !

Sakharine went into a black anger.

He brandished the sword he had hiddenin his cane and threatened Tintin.

You know the value of this scroll,otherwise why would you want it?

Tintin: Two caravels, and two scrollsforming part of an enigma, you have one, you need the other, butthat's not it, there's something else...

Sakharine: I'll find it with orwithout your help. I advise you to think about how useful you are to me...

Sakharine and her henchmen are on theirway back.

We'll deal with him on the way, he says.

By the time Sakharine reached thebridge, he was angrier than ever.

Ah! He's lying, he must have thatmanuscript, the question is what did he do with it ?

Allan : We searched it thoroughly, boss!

Sakharine : I want you to go down there and makehim talk, break every bone in his body if you have to!

Another henchman of Sakharin's cameshouting:

Mr Sakharine, Mr Sakharine, the Captainhas come to her senses, she's conscious and accuses us of mutiny. Shesays you turned the crew against her!

Sakharine : Well, don't just stand there, give hera shot!

Yes, Boss, they say.

Allan and Tom went back to interrogateTintin, who unfortunately had no means of escape.

Well, this time, you're going to tellus where the scroll is ! Said Allan.

Tintin: I've already told you that Idon't have it.

Allan: All right! We'll have fun then!Tom, you joining the party?

Of course, he said, closing hisstitches.

Allan took Tintin's hair to hold hishead and started kicking him in the stomach.

*Cough*... Tintin spat blood.

After a few minutes, Allan pulled out agun to try to get something from Tintin. But it was more to scare himthan anything else, because Sakharine hadn't ordered to kill him inany way.

Allan : You're going to tell us where thescroll is, or else you can say goodbye to your life !

He placed the gun to his temple.

Obviously, Tintin didn't say a word. Helooked at them scornfully and mockingly.

Allan, very upset by the situation,kicked him in the face, then continued with a punch. He then grabbedTintin's collar. And looked him in the eyes.

Allan : You should tell us, becausewe're really going to end up killing you if you don't.

Tintin, about to faint, tried to say afew words.

Allan: What ? I can't understand whatyou're saying ! (Allan didn't realize that Tintin had actually calledthem idiots.)

And with those words he hit him again.This time, his body couldn't resist anymore, Tintin fainted.

Allan : We won't get anything out ofhim now.

Tom: Yeah, let's go tell the boss! And,it's not going to be a party... He hasn't told us a thing...

When they arrived in Sakharine's cabin, Allan and Tom told him that Tintin hadn't confessed to anything aboutthe parchment's hiding place. And, of course, Sakharine became furious:

I told you to make him talk, not to make him sleep! We're wasting precious time while this kid "rests"...In the meantime, go about your business as a sailor. And, Tom, beforeyou do that, you'd better check that Haddock is all right. I don'twant her to find out about our shenanigans. It's much too early forthat now. She mustn't find out. It'll make revenge all the sweeter. He said, rubbing his hands together.

Next on another post ^^

[whats-the-story-tc]

21st of April, 2020

"The One with the Fairy Tale"

(Pssst! If I were you, I'd read this post first before starting this new one!)

I cannot believe this is my life.

A couple minutes before the 8 AM rush hour, a Google Classroom notification from V arrived. Then another. Someone likes a spam, I thought, before opening the first one.

Sigh of relief. It was only the essay I'd already sent her. On to the next one, the detailed info on what we were covering today. The play on the table is both figuratively and literally a fairy tale. V, pretty critical of the play and its character work itself, made sure to bring one particular monologue to our attention, which tackles a rather difficult topic in a pretty simple play about love and longing — human mortality. "(It's my particular favourite, too, but don't let that influence you.)" She wrote after explaining what it was. The last paragraph though, now that was something else. "For those of you interested in an A level (here you imagine me looking at certain people)" she began, and my eyes widened as I read it. Sure, there are literature buffs in both classes, but... I can't help but think it was first and foremost an indirect to me. I mean, I'm probably the biggest nerd out of all of us, and she's always looking at me anyways... I want to dream big and say she wanted me to see it most. I mean, it's a link to an incredibly long essay. The situation speaks for itself.

"Look at this silence," V said as she entered our server at around 11 AM. Once she was here, we (as in all of us) started chatting about the break and quarantine. "It has been Sunday for two months." I declared, V immediately continuing the thought: "That part of Sunday, no less, where the line between the previous week and the next one blurs." Couldn't have said it better myself.

As V spoke about the story, I just leaned back on my bed, letting myself get immersed in the explanation and the sound of her voice while trying to imagine everything. After a while, it all started sounding like the plot of Mozart's opera, The Magic Flute — especially when V said that our protagonists, a human boy and a fairy girl, both had companions of the same sex along the way. And as soon as she said those companions are actually married, I waited for her to take a tiny break in speaking and said "How surprising." According to Bookworm Friend, she laughed, but I couldn't hear it clearly because someone made a noise. Then she said "Obviously..." and basically shaded the whole plot line, though I don't remember the rest of the sentence. And guess what she brought up immediately? That's right. The Magic Flute. I was floored! "That's what I was thinking, too!" I chimed in immediately. She took the words out of my mouth! And, soon as I said that, I got a text from Bandana Friend.

BanF: "Wow the twinning"

It's official, folks. Even from a distance, V and I are sharing a braincell.

Serious shit went down in class, including pointing out some... very suggestive imagery that caught us all off-guard because the thing she mentioned isn't inherently suggestive, but okay, V, you do you. (Obviously, I'm not going into detail here, nor sharing the conversation Bandana Friend and I had here because... this is simply not the platform.)

But what I can share is a really funny bit that caused a bit of a pandemonium in the separate class chat none of our teachers are in. You see, about half an hour into class, The Boyfriend sneezes with what is probably the volume of a medium-sized family house collapsing. About five seconds of absolute comical silence follows, then we just hear V saying "Sorry. I'm sorry." before carrying on. All this caused quite the stir, featuring texts like:

BanF: "The whole house just quaked"

and

Classmate: "Jesus who was this 😂😂"

Classmate: "Tell me it wasn't [V]"

S: "No, her man"

Classmate: "Good heavens I thought it was her 😂😂"

and

S: "I laughed so hard that I thank God I was on mute"

So yeah. That's on that. Bit later, with the words mentioned here, V ended class, and there I was, on Cloud 9, dancing around my room and humming Disney songs from the sudden serotonin charge. That was probably the moment I decided to read the play V spoke about. You see, she didn't assign it because the wording is quite difficult (the text is quite old) and students usually struggle with it, but she said that we wouldn't lose anything by reading it, if we wanted to. And thus it happened that I sat down on my balcony at around 5 PM with the first chapter open on my phone, ready to read.

I knew she'd be right. I trust her opinion and my reading comprehension skill suffers at the stake of my absolute inability to concentrate for longer than 10 seconds. But guys. Some of the longer sections I had to go over at least three times before I understood what was going on! An hour or so must've passed when I read the last line of the first chapter, and the butterflies in my stomach took flight. It was time to text V about it. It was my original plan, anyway. Figure out how right she was, then tell her about it. I was already incredibly nervous, trying to stick to what I'd planned on writing. My fingers typed on autopilot and as soon as I was done, I could barely believe I was actually going through with this. But alas, you only live once, carpe that fucking diem. One big breath. Two biiiiig breaths.

Send.

S: "Well, Miss, I'm not saying you were right about the text of [the play], but I've only read Chapter 1 and I'm already doubting if I even speak [my native tongue]... 😅"

I immediately tossed the phone on my bed and ran away panicking. What will she say? How will she react to seeing it's me again? What does she think? Am I funny enough? Am I bothering her? When will she reply?

Half a minute later (!!!), I see the icon of The Platform That Shall Not Be Named on my screen. No. No. No. Nonononononono. I picked the phone up and unlocked it with a shaking hand. I was not prepared for what I was about to read.

V: "Hahaha, well, babydoll...You do. You're just not used to [the old-timey wording]."

I only had the time to sink to my knees, eyes wide, lips agape, when the next message followed.

V: "Though, once you're already through it, I'm curious about your opinion on the play's stageability. 😄 (given such a word exists)"

You bet your asses all air left my lungs. Not only did she call me babydoll again, now in a way that I could forever remind myself of it, but she basically just prompted another conversation! She wants to talk to me again! And I'll have you reminded, V's basically trusting my judgement based on the scriptbook I showed her at the dawn of time, that she'd never actually seen in action! I wonder what I did to earn all this trust...

S: "I'll see at the end and tell you :)"

V: "Alright :))"

Then, all brave from the double smiley, I had a really stupid and impulsive thought. (Don't yell.) Me being the little shit that I am, I googled stageability and took a screenshot of no results having been found. I took a screenshot, cropped it and sent it to V, my head being completely empty as I did. I acted purely from gut feeling.

S: "Tough luck this time, it seems😄"

V: "i thought so!"

(I can only hope she took it as a joke. But, the way I know her, she probably understood. Still, the me of right now, exactly two days and two minutes later, wouldn't do it.)

And this is where it ended. This is where I ended. My hands, my legs, even my lips were trembling as I tried to process the sudden load of emotion overcoming me. What did I just do. What did we do. What happened here. All this just echoed in my head, and I went ahead and texted every friend I wanted to tell in all caps.

BanF: "WOAAHHHH"

BanF: "you guys have really warmed up to each other"

Even now, as I was typing, I got the chills just thinking about this conversation. If it wasn't for the 'Miss' and my use of formal pronouns in the very first text, it would've just felt like two friends, who happen to both love literature, talking. And this really warms my heart, because there's this fantastic woman, who I genuinely think is one of the best influences on my life and... she just likes me for me. She immediately answers when she can, comes off genuinely happy to talk to me, prompts another thing I can tell her about and all but tells me that my opinion matters to her. Because this is her. I'm almost convinced that I will never hear her outright say that she likes me or she's proud of me, but, should I have any doubts, she does everything to let me know. I just misunderstand her sometimes, not knowing where to look.

When I tell you all this still doesn't feel real...

~ S ♡

[Every story I share here, no matter how specific I get with my wording, depicts actual events from my own life.]

[echo-three-one]

Chapter 40

THE ROAD SO FAR

It's not that hard to say goodbye. But it's really sad for the notable few who enjoyed it.

The SIXth Ship

"Alex"

Sierra Leone, Africa

"Echo 3 - 1 to Hunter One One. We have confirmed the presence of a suspected SAM Turret. Advising not to deploy air support until it's down, over." Alex muttered over the radio as he lowered his scope.

"Copy that, Three One. We'll stand by for your go signal." Roach replied as Alex signaled his team to move forward, covering Alpha Team's six.

"This place is suspiciously quiet." Price muttered over comms.

"It's 5 am. Bad guys probably needed sleep too." Alex commented, scoping on what's head of Team Alpha.

"Well, I want Volt awake, so I could beat Nero's location out of him." Price spat.

"Guardhouse on the east. Single guard, fast asleep."Alex shot his suppressed rifle as the guard dropped to the ground.

"Good Night."

"I'm hearing an engine starting on our east." Soap whispered as Alex turned his scope east. There was indeed a truck load of food arriving at their base.

"Civilian delivery truck." Alex warned.

"Let him pass. He'll notice the dead guard and run." Price predicted and it actually happened as the innocent driver sped off away from the base.

"How long till he calls the cops?" Alex asked.

"Never. France already bribed the guy." Soap answered.

"What?" Alex was puzzled.

"Welcome to Africa." Soap chuckled and they hid into the supply truck while Price drove inside.

"Alright, we're in. Soap and France should plant charges on SAMs and Comms. Once their alarm rings we light things up." Price ordered as Alex's team advanced and circled the perimeter, protecting the gates.

"Where could Volt be hiding?" Alex asked.

"Could be anywhere. This base has lots of buildings." Rocket replied not far behind him.

"There are also six ships by the dock. He could be in one of those." Royce added.

"Alpha Team, we've got movement on your six. Looks like they're looking for their supply drop. They're by the truck and unloading their supplies." Alex warned as the three remained quiet.

"Tango by the guard house down." Rocket confirmed his kill as the body dropped on the ground.

"They're about to discover their dead allies. Prepare for the alarm!" Alex roared as their alarm system activated, dozens of troops from their camps emerged carrying weapons.

"Shit! I'm taking sniper fire by the rooftops!" Soap yelled over comms. Bravo team immediately turned their sights to the rooftops and took down the snipers with ease.

"There's no sign of Volt here. He must've woken up early. Rendezvous with me by the tower." Price muttered.

"Sir. This is Meat from Charlie Team. We've confirmed movement on the docks. No positive ID of Volt yet."

"Copy that meat. Proceeding to the docks." Price said as gunfire echoed through his comms.

"Seeing multiple reinforcements from the gate!" Alex alerted as they attempted to shoot down armored cars loaded with more enemies.

"Alex! This area is compromised!" One of his allies suggested as smoke started to cover their forest.

"Shit! We'll have to meet up with them inside! Change to assault weapons and advance to the gate. You two cover our six using thermals." The two nodded as Alex switched to his assault rifle, advancing towards the gate, taking down reinforcements as they arrived.

"Price? Soap? France? Sitrep?" He roared through comms as his team was now barraged with heavy fire as they hid for cover.

"This is Bravo Six. I made my way inside the last ship. Looks like he's trying to escape. France and Soap are by the docks taking heavy fire. I'll handle Volt from here. You hold out for extraction. It looked like we didn't have a choice." Price said.

Alex felt the heat of the explosion as the ground shook. Soap had detonated the charges they set and help was on the way.

"Roach!" Soap sounded hurt.

"Way ahead of you!" Roach said as the air support bombarded the base with grenade shells, blasting every enemy away as the ground troops recovered.

"Reloading for another round. Stand by." He said as the plane circled back.

"Okay team! Their numbers have reduced. Let's finish this." Alex informed his bravo team as they finished off the remaining waves of enemies, which were too resourceful as they also had attack hyenas, something they didn't expect.

"These dogs are furious!" One commented as they entered the gates, securing the whole base or what's left of it, for valuable intel.

"Echo Three One to Actual. Jack, it looked like they cleaned this place already."

"Actual to Three One. Looks like it. I guess their getaway ship had all his latest work."

"Charlie team found a way to follow them. Bravo team resume recon on the five ships." Jack commanded and the rest followed

"Copy that, Actual. Proceeding towards the ships with caution." Alex replied as they carefully pressed deeper into the base toward the pier. Alex wondered how many piers and ships had been involved on his missions. Looks like Nero doesn't trust air travel.

The ships were rusted and broken, but the components inside were new stacks of equipment possibly used for his bomb making.

"This sly guy hides his stuff inside these rusty ships." Alex reported, his voice echoed around the ship.

"We're all clear, Alex. This ship is empty of tangos." One of his allies reported.

"So are the other ones." Another one reported.

"We found the rest of Alpha team by the pier. Looks like Soap's injured." Said another.

"Copy that. Stay frosty. We have no visual of the entrance so reinforcements might arrive." Alex replied to everyone.

"Roger that." The rest of his team replied in unison. Roach's Air support chopper hovered ahead of them and followed the getaway ship, providing support to Capt. Price. Charlie team had borrowed some small boats to aid in Volt's capture.

"It's all up to him now." Alex muttered as they resumed securing the enemy base.

"So, how was your day?" Samantha smiled, slipping herself inside the covers as she lay down beside Alex. The tired man huffed out a sigh and looked at her beautiful girlfriend, whose eyes were staring at him longingly. It's been almost a month since the task force was created and they were on separate beds, but Alex always makes sure he sleeps over every time he's free.

"Oh, you know. The other kind of usual. We beat information out of Nero's bomb maker today." He said in an interesting tone.

"I know beating people is wrong, but when you've been played with by these kinds of people, it's kind of pleasant to the ears." She chuckled, her hand gliding on his arms and looked for his hands.

"Yeah. I'll never stop doing it until they get a taste of their medicine." Alex breathed and looked at Samantha. Her eyes that once looked blank and lost now looked happy. It was tragic how she just wanted to live a normal life but had everything taken away from her.

"What would you do when this is all over?" She asked, questioning his last statement.

"Well, I could finally take you out on a nice date. Maybe say hi to your dad or something." he blurted, making Samantha's eyes widen in surprise.

"Aww.." She smiled as she leaned in for a kiss, while Alex slowly lifted her so that she's now lying on top of him.

"Why is it that every kiss feels so different." She mused as she leaned for another one.

"Maybe because my love for you grows stronger every second?" He replied.

"Haha. You're funny." She said sarcastically.

"That I am." He grinned as they rolled over, giggling at whatever they were doing.

"I love you, Samantha." Alex whispered in the sexiest way that he could resulting to Samantha actually giggling in disbelief.

"I love you too, Alex." She replied.

"Now, go to sleep. I want you well rested for your work tomorrow." She added as she turned the lamp off. Alex groaned like a kid who doesn't want to go to bed yet.

"How can I sleep, when even in the dark, I could still see your pretty face." He whispered as Samantha laughed.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, mister." She said as she turned back, letting Alex hug her from behind. She always loved his warm embrace beside him, a feeling of security amidst all the times that she'd been kidnapped.

The next morning, Alex came back to the base after breakfast with Samantha. It has been a while since he had that and thought that it wouldn't hurt to go late once in a while.

"Where have you been?" Roach asked as soon as he got to the base.

"I overslept." he lied as Roach scoffed.

"You? Hahaha. Nice try. I know full well that no matter what happens you always wake up at the exact time." Roach laughed.

"Why? Is there something wrong with Volt?" Alex pressed on to the main topic at hand.

"The guy had a little fight. But he actually talked."

"Yeah? About what? Nero's location?"

"No. And This isn't like the official thing, it's just rumors. Price slept at the infirmary today and hasn't woken up yet. So the news is that his EMP tech is now capable of killing humans on a set radius."

"Shit." Alex hissed.

"I know. It could launch anywhere anytime and no one could hide from it. A whole new kind of killing weapon." Roach wondered, making them worry about what Nero's about to do.

"Volt better get talking soon."

"Yeah. He better." Roach approved with an encouraging voice.

Later that afternoon the whole 141 was briefed about a message sent from Nero himself. Thousands of humans, civilians and soldiers alike, were nuked just outside the American capital.

The blast didn't do much damage to infrastructure but machines and humans suffered more than ever. Some were able to withstand the mental damage while some were left in a trance state. Some who already had some form of mental problems suffered horribly and dropped dead on the streets.

It was estimated that about half a million people were affected as the nuke exploded by the ocean. Some say this was a miscalculation and others speculated that this was Nero's warning shot.

America had raised itself on high alert, any time Nero's troops would charge on American soil ignoring all authorities who wanted to stop him. This was it. His plan finally came to fruition.

As for the task force, they have located the main signal of the nuke's control. A place somewhere in Cuba. Alex and Jack knew this place was once visited by older CIA SAD members and rumors had it that one of their Black Ops comrades died there. It once housed the reverse engineered Greenlight nuke. Alex never told anyone in 141 about this as history would tend to repeat itself. He hoped that this was not the case.

This would be the lead that the rest of the task force will be focusing on. As the war rages, Alex was sure that the following days would be the toughest so, while waiting for any potential final lead and orders from above, they spent the rest of their time training for the final showdown against Nero.

Optional Chapter : The Fall of the Capital - Pvt. Ramirez

Next Chapter : FIVE Seconds

Notification Squad my Beloved

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