#Ilmari Huotari

[koskela-knights]

Night In Deer Springs

[room-665]

The return of the prodigal son. And with his tail between his legs. Did you come to beg for forgiveness?

[mistysblueboxstuff]

had to do one of Ilmo/Ilmari

[imsmallfry]

its the same picture

[changethecircumstances]

even at your ugliest, I always say / you're beautiful and sick like me

[honestlyvan]

Remedy coming into my house to call me out by fucking name.

[athmyr]

This is the ritual to lead you on🦌

The fact that there's a whole film within the game is still insane to me. Truly a transcendental work of art.

[ahti-the-janitor]

I tell my friends I find Peter Franzén attractive and they go "valid". I tell my friends I find Peter Franzén extremely attractive especially when he is stabbing a guy to death in a ritual sacrifice and suddenly it's "ummm" and "what the hell"?? smh🙄

[amiracleilluminated]

[koskela-knights]

It's Out of Touch Thursday

[the-labyrinth-of-me]

... and then... when he finished it... he took Return and left me behind

[oozeandgoo-art]

threw some colors onto a sketch of ilmari from last wednesday's class

[the-hidden-writer]

A Piece of True Fiction: Chapter 13

An Alan Wake 2 fic. Spoilers for Alan Wake 2!

Summary: Aleksi Kesä manages to slip out of the spiral and film he was trapped in.

Saga Anderson, caught in the middle of Wake's horror story, finds a man that looks identical to her partner in the middle of the woods. He's lost, confused, and only seems to speak Finnish. Saga has to try and uncover the truth as well as trying to save her family. Where did he come from? How did he get here?

And where's her Casey?

Chapter Summary: Saga asks Ilmo for help. Words: 2,457 AO3 Link: [Here!] [First part] [Previous part] [Next part]

A Piece of True Fiction

Chapter 13: Brotherhood

“So let me get this straight. Alex Casey, who is real and was partnered on the case with you, is trapped in the lake right now.”

“Yup.”

“And this is because the man in there, the one you busted your ass to save, is a metaphysical conjuration from the Threshold under the lake and took his place.”

“Mhmm.”

“And you’re in possession of a potential Object of Power- which is a whole other conversation we need to have, by the way- that Wake says he’s bound to and can use to ‘fix’ what you claim to be a false rewritten reality, originally written by Wake himself but edited by his, quote, ‘evil doppelgänger’?”

Saga cringes. Having the facts laid out straight in her head made everything seem straightforward, but hearing it spoken back to her starts to make her feel as crazy as she sounds. Still not as crazy as Wake, at the very least.

“If you mean the Clicker, then yeah, that's right. And I’m just passing on what Wake said,” she answers.

Estevez continues to hear her out, though not without a heavy slice of doubt.

“But you won't give it to him now because… why?”

Now that’s a question with a simple answer.

“Because I don't think losing Casey is something he wrote into his story. Maybe he can fix his own mistakes- he’d better- but I don't know how he’d be able to fix something he doesn't know anything about. Or maybe he could, but I can't risk Casey’s life like that.”

“So you want to perform a ritual on… ‘Kesä’, did you say?”

“That's right.”

“Okay, yet another paranatural crime right there but… fine, I digress. So this ritual, the one the Cult of the Tree has been performing, is one where you want to take out his heart to purposely infect him with the Shadow and somehow exchange him for Casey?”

“It’s something like that, but that's why I need to talk to Ilmo to figure out the specifics.”

Estevez shakes her head. “Okay, I can't brush that one off. Rituals are dangerous as is, but in an uncontrolled environment? This ritual is murder, Anderson.”

“He’s not real,” Saga counters, not dwelling on the way Estevez speaks of the concept of rituals with what sounds like experience.

“According to who?”

“Alan Wake.”

Estevez frowns. She takes a breath and looks Saga directly in the eye.

“I know how it all sounds,” Saga says with a wince before Estevez gets the chance to say anything. “I just don’t know what else I can do. I followed Wake’s directions with Nightingale's heart and that ritual worked, so I just need to trust that it’ll work again a second time.”

“I don’t like this, Anderson. Not one bit.”

“Neither do I,” Saga admits. “But I have to try.”

There are a few tense moments of Estevez simply staring at her. Her eyes scan over her face as if looking for something in particular. Saga shows no pretense. She doesn’t like this, but she’s determined and she’s going to try whether she gets permission or not.

Estevez seems to realize that and releases a resigned sigh. “Alright. Go talk to Koskela. You have me as backup as long as you deny my involvement, if it comes to it.”

“Thank you,” Saga says, and she means it from the bottom of her heart. She can tell that Agent Estevez must be going against her bureau’s rules by helping her, so she’s grateful for the sentiment.

Estevez shakes her head. “Just go. And be careful.”

Saga doesn’t need to be told twice. She leaves Estevez with one last grateful nod before the smile slips away from her face. It’s immediately back to business. She’s given up all hope for any sort of break until this is all over.

Or until she dies. But as long as Logan’s life is in danger, dying isn’t an option.

She enters the cell block.

Inside, the air is stale and carries the faint stench of vomit. It’s as dark as ever, though upon entering her eyes are able to make out the figure hunched-over on the bench of one of the nearer cells.

Saga approaches warily.

“I’m sorry,” a voice says from further down. Wake. “I tried eating but it’s been so long and… I-I couldn’t… I’m sorry. I’ll clean it up.”

She doesn’t have eyes on Wake, meaning he most likely doesn’t have eyes on her yet. She can hear him shuffling around, probably trying to get a look at who just walked in. This time, however, Saga isn’t interested in Wake.

Ilmo slowly lifts his head from where it had been resting on his knees to look up at her and Saga notices that he’s abandoned his hat. His eyes are red and swollen and his deep frown exudes a silent fury.

“Where is he?” he asks in a low voice.

He knows. Saga can tell that he knows about Jaakko. She doesn’t know how he knows, whether it be through supernatural means or simply the instincts of an identical twin, but he knows. 

She won’t hide it from him.

“I’m sorry,” is all she says.

“Saga?” Wake calls suddenly, his voice immediately perking up. “Is that you? Did you find the Clicker?”

Saga just observes Ilmo like a hawk, as if he’s the only other person in the room. The man is eerily silent.

Then he slams the metal cot with his fist with a loud clang and swears loudly, before a sob bursts out of him and he begins to mutter mournfully to himself in Finnish.

“I’m sorry,” Saga says again. Her twisted heart constricts even more because she’d been there at the time, and the guilt of not being able to save Jaakko returns full-swing as she watches his brother react to the news. In any FBI case, not just this one, informing the family of any deceased is the hardest part. Especially as a mother herself.

Ilmo wipes a hand over his face, leaving a slight sheen on his skin. He stands and walks over toward the bars. Saga has to once again fight the urge to take a step back. It’s surprising how much a hat (or, lack of) can change a person’s energy.

His fingers curl around the metal bars and he presses his face against them.

“How?” he grits out.

“He fell into Huotari Well,” Saga answers honestly. Her skin prickles from the tension in the limited space between the two of them. He's still acting in an aggressive way that seems strange to her, but she lets it slide knowing that grief can change a person. Ilmo curses again. He takes a few steps away from the bars and Saga releases the breath she’d been holding. 

Alan calls out to her again. She continues to ignore him.

“I am truly, truly sorry, Ilmo. I can’t imagine how you’re feeling.”

His eyes snap up to meet hers alongside a curt response. “No, you can’t.”

She’s sure he didn’t mean it, but the comment pierces into her heart and cracks it open like an eggshell, revealing her suppressed emotion hidden inside. She does understand. Her daughter, her only child, is dead because of this stupid fucking story. She knows the feeling and, though she’d said she didn’t at first to be polite, anyone insinuating that she doesn’t makes her very, very angry.

Straight away, she quenches the feeling. She has to keep a clear head. She forces herself to speak levelly.

“I promise I’ll give you time to mourn later, but right now I really need your help. I need to perform a ritual.”

That seems to catch Ilmo’s attention. “What?”

“Saga?” Alan calls inquisitively. Saga can see him peering through the bars.

Ilmo also glances in his direction and sends him a scowl (was that a growl? What’s going on with him?) before turning back to Saga, suspicious. “Why? What sort of ritual, what are you doing?”

“The ritual with the heart that the cult have been doing. I need to give someone to the Dark Presence and have them be Taken to get someone back in return.”

Ilmo, tear-stricken face and all, looks at her with utter incredulousness.

“Okay, now I’m confused. You said like a whole three different things there.”

It’s Saga’s turn to feel confused. “What do you mean?”

“The ritual we’ve been doing involves a heart, sure,” Ilmo explains, “but why do you want to make Taken? The heart ritual is to kill them using the switch- or the Clicker, I guess. The second they emerge from the lake, we kill them. We protect the community. We're the good guys. What kind of a cult calls themselves a cult?”

That… makes a lot of pieces fall into place. Things hadn’t been lining up in Saga’s Mind Place, although reframing all the evidence with the idea that the Cult of the Tree were killing Taken helps it make much more sense.

“And if you’re trying to trade in one person for another, then uh… that’s a whole other thing.”

“That’s the one I need.” Saga says with no hesitation.

Ilmo visibly pales, even under the darkness of the cell block. “Uh… are you sure?”

“Does it involve dropping a heart into a well?”

“Well… yeah, but-”

“Then I’m sure.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?!” Alan shouts, his timid confusion finally erupting into explosive anger.

Saga approaches his cell. This time, Ilmo calls after her. “Wait, Saga-"

“I’m getting Casey back,” she tells Wake plainly. “After that, I’ll do as you say so you can bring back my daughter. And Ilmo’s brother.”

“You’re wasting time,” Alan hisses. “I can fix everything if you just give me the Clicker. It’ll let me rewrite reality to whatever you want, it’ll solve everything, just find it and get it to me. And what was that about a ritual?”

“You don’t remember telling me?”

All of Wake’s built up anger seems to evaporate in an instant. “I… huh?”

“I can’t help you.” Ilmo says suddenly, pulling Saga’s attention back toward him.

“You have to,” she says, hurrying back in his direction.

He shakes his head. “No, I can’t. It’s not because I don’t want to help you, I just can’t.”

“Why not?” Saga struggles to mask the frustration in her voice. This isn’t a hurdle she’d been expecting to face.

Ilmo sighs and scratches at his chin. “Okay, this might sound crazy, but Jaakko and I have dreams. Dreams where we’re, uh…”

“Not yourselves?” Saga finishes. “Jaakko explained it to me.”

She watches as Ilmo’s eyes well up with tears and he swallows down his emotion. When he next speaks, his voice is thick. 

“We’ve been fighting,” he says. “I’ve been fighting to not be that man. And that ritual, the one with the heart and the well, I’ve seen it in my dreams. That’s why I can’t help you, Saga. I’m already… I didn’t mean to punch that guy, you tell him that. I just don't want it taking hold of me. I can’t be that man. ”

Saga can see where he’s coming from. She really wants to be able to leave him alone and mourn, but she needs his help. Does she feel guilty and slightly selfish? Yes, she does. At the end of the day, Casey is one man compared to the many that Wake could save if she just gave him the Clicker now.

Except that one man is Casey. It’s the textbook trolley problem and she’s trying to save everyone on those tracks. The odds aren’t in her favor, but she’s going to try. If that means Ilmo has to leave his comfort zone and Estevez has to break a few rules, so be it.

“You won’t be. You aren’t. You won’t have to do it all yourself, I’ll help you where I can. What are the steps?”

She doesn't voice her inner thought that Ilmo is already acting in a more aggressive manner.

Ilmo shifts uncomfortably. “I mean… I guess you’re right. The one in the dream is pretty unique, anyways. It needed a specific guy- the, um… right, the steps. Pretty straightforward. Cut out the heart while he’s- uh, they’re still alive, recite the chant, drop the heart into the well. Sacrifice vanishes and the rescued rises up.” He pauses. “Saga, are you planning on killing someone?”

“Someone that’s already becoming Taken.” It’s a lie, but it’s easier than explaining everything that’s going on with Kesä in one succinct sentence. Plus, if she phrases it like this, it might make Ilmo more inclined to help her.

“Right…” He still sounds hesitant. 

Saga quickly changes the subject. “What’s the chant?”

“In the dream, it’s Finnish. In English it would be something like, um… ‘This is the ritual to lead you on. He returns and you’re locked in the room in turn.’”

All of Saga’s own hesitation about the ritual vanishes at that moment, replaced with relief and a bolster of determination. That’s exactly what she needs and is exactly what the other Wake described. Casey back and Kesä locked back in the Dark Place. She’s on the right track.

“I don’t want to do this, Saga.” Ilmo breaks through her thoughts.

“You’re performing a ritual?” Wake cuts in. “I swear there was something like that… I just can’t fucking remember…”

Saga leaves him to his rambling and tries her best to convey reassurance to the tense Ilmo. “I’ll be in your debt if you help me with this, Ilmo. Then we’ll talk things through and I’ll hear you out about what you and the cult were trying to do.”

“What?!” Alan yelps.

It seems to be against his own better judgment, but eventually Ilmo nods. “Fine, I’ll help. As long as you promise to stop me if I start acting like someone else. I have to be Ilmo Koskela.”

Despite everything, Saga gives him a small smile. “I promise. Thanks, Ilmo Koskela. I’ll have Agent Estevez talk to you about the specifics. I just need to make a quick stop at the nursing home, then we’ll make our way to Coffee World.”

She still fully intends to visit Tor and Odin. It had been her plan originally and Ahti mentioning it gave her the push she needed to actually complete that task.

Ilmo somehow looks even more uneasy at the prospect. “Coffee World? Huotari Well? Fuck, out of all places… You’d better make good on that promise.”

“I will. I’ll see you soon, Ilmo.”

Wake yells after her as she starts to leave. “Saga, wait! This isn’t right!”

Saga leaves. Until she’s ready to hand over the Clicker, she has nothing more to say to him.

aka the one where alan is kept out of the loop (literally? hmmm)

Thanks for reading!

[changethecircumstances]

Ilmo/Ilmari & Scratch

persuasion coercion submission assimilation

[koskela-knights-rb]

This blog cant be complete without Ilmari fanart 😏

had to do one of Ilmo/Ilmari

[amiracleilluminated]