#Like an Alma POV fic

[naoko-world]

Rules: Write the latest line from your WIP (or post where you last left off on in your art) and tag as many people as there are words in the line. Make a new post, don’t reblog. 

Thanks @immabethehero for the tag.

I have many WIPS...Like an analysis on Coco, a bruno x fem!reader during the time where Bruno was in the walls, the second chapter of Chispi and friends save Bruno, the 4th one of The Marvelous Mayhem of the Madrigals Minds, a oneshot sequel to Bruno's fangirl, a Mirabel autistic AU...

...I'll put the last for each of them!

Coco analysis:

Well, he couldn't return to them because Ernesto murdered him before he could.

Bruno x fem!reader during the Bruno in the walls time:

when flying away, and the footsteps you were pretty sure could be heard behind you when you ran home.

Chispi and friends save Bruno:

The saving group left very quickly afterwards, led by Julieta, carrying Antonio so they would go as fast as possible.

The Marvelous Mayhem of the Madrigals Minds chapter 4:

appeared next to her, looking curious. With a chuckle, she asked, "Well! Who do we have here?"

Oneshot sequel to Bruno's fangirl:

Alma breathed deeply before opening it to see a crowd of townspeople with worried faces.

Mirabel autistic AU;

as she was breathing heavily. "Mirabel! Are you alright?"

There! And I'll simply tag as may people as possible! Of course none of you have to

@omgcheez @unskilled-dabbler @jennjiart @aetherdecember @waitingonavision @emberkyrlee @panbelle @cloudy-encanto @overly-dramatic-artist @sharknadoslutt @princesa-pens-and-pizza @imperfectemeralds @panicand @mmollymercury @issychatter @egofan4evr @acewithapaintbrush @shuinami-main @thisismisogynoir @emeraldprophecies @redcookies-bestcookies @clownmoontoon @tiredlvna @sketchnwhatevrmain @milly-the-devil @cavatappi @chronic85doodler @reversia @arctictea @neon-green-eyes

[blissfulalchemist]

I started a new play through of xvi over the weekend ✌️😘

[fujoshirat]

+Strawberry Magic! ♡ 30 Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!♡+

Chapter 1: A New Power?

Summary: When virgin Pro Hero Shouto turns 30, he gains the magical ability to read the minds of people that he touches. After finding out that his personal assistant has a crush on him, everything changes and Shouto finds himself lost in the stressful game called love.

Pairing: Todoroki Shouto x Reader

Warnings: aged up characters, mention of virginity (at the end), this entire fic is and will be written in Shouto's POV! It is nevertheless a self-insert reader fic, but just a little warning that Shouto may act a little OOC :)

There is definitely something wrong with him today. Shouto does not know what, but there is something off about him. Maybe it's the fact that he has finally turned 30.

But what's so special about 30? It's just a year older than 29. Maybe it's the coffee.

Yup.

Definitely the coffee.

♡ Two hours ago ♡

"Surprise!!" Confetti and streamers fill the room. All of the agency employees, from heroes to the janitor, are clapping and cheering. With an expression of shock mixed with bewilderment, Shouto blinks, not expecting the pleasant surprise. His assistant, Y/N, walks up to him. Adorned with a big smile on her face, she holds up a bouquet of pink lilies and tulips, as well as Shouto's usual coffee order. There is also a silver gift bag hanging by her elbow.

"Happy birthday, Todoroki-san! Each one of us pitched in to buy these flowers for you, and we also brought individual gifts." Shouto reaches out to take the gifts and coffee. "Ah, thank you."

Then, it happened.

'Oh, I'm so happy for Todoroki-san! He looks so pleased! I hope he likes my gift!!!'

Shouto's eyes widen slightly, and he ends up masking his embarrassment with a cough. "Thank you again, L/N-san, for the gift." Before Y/N could respond, however, his other employees swarm him with their gifts, whirling him away from her. Kirishima swings an arm around his employer and former high school classmate, congratulating him on turning 30.

"Hey! Congrats man! Here's your gift!"

'Todoroki-san is so manly! I hope he enjoys the gift I got him!'

His one of his student interns from his alma mater, Mitsuru, places a neatly wrapped cupcake in Shouto's hand. "Sensei! This is for you! Happy birthday and thank you for choosing me to intern here!"

'Oh! Pro hero Shouto is so cool!! I can't believe this! I hope he enjoys the cupcake I made!'

Shouto gives the student an approving nod. "Thank you, Mitsuru." As he is given gifts from everyone, he can't help but look down at his hands in confusion.

'What was that?'

♡ Real Time ♡

Looking at the coffee, Shouto groans and shakes his head. 'No, it can't be the coffee. I drink it every day and this has never happened before.' His gaze flickers to the large pile of gifts from his employees. He reaches for the closest one, the silver gift bag he recognized to be from Y/N. Opening it up, he finds a box of chocolate-covered strawberries and his favorite brand of strawberry milk. Shouto puts it all back in the bag and starts opening the rest of the gifts.

Halfway through the third gift bag, there is a knock on his office door.

"Come in."

Y/N enters the room with a folder and boxes in her arms. Smiling cheerfully as always, she speaks up.

"Hello Todoroki-san! I'm here to drop off the reports completed by your interns about patrol with you yesterday. Where would you like me to put these?" Shouto gestures to an empty spot on his desk.

"You can put them there." He curiously eyes the two boxes in her hands.

"What are those?"

"They're special birthday packages from pro heroes Deku and Dynamight." A soft smile forms on Shouto's face. Of course his friends would give him birthday gifts.

"Ah, thank you for bringing them to me." He reaches out to hold them, not expecting to hear Y/N's voice in his mind again.

'Oh! He opened my gift already! I hope he likes it! I wonder, did he notice my hair? I woke up early to curl it. Oh-'

"L/N-san, your hair looks nice."

Y/N looks at him and blinks her eyes. The voice in Shouto's head trails off. "I... thank you, Todoroki-san!"

'Oh good lord! He complimented me!! How did he know I put in the effort?! Ah, I'm so happy!'

She lets go of the packages and bows. "Todoroki-san, you have no scheduled meetings today. All of the reports that you need to sign are in the blue folder underneath the interns' reports. I hope you enjoy your birthday!"

"Thank you, L/N-san. Please give the interns my thanks for completing their reports."

After his assistant closes the door to his office, Shouto bites his lip nervously.

'Crap. I forgot that I was reading her mind... Did I expose myself?'

...

After exiting the elevator, the pitter patter of rain fills Shouto's ears. He walks towards the main exit of the hero agency building, where he sees two of his employees chatting. Kirishima groans.

"Aw man, the weather didn't mention rain!" Kei, one of his fellow hero coworkers, laughs heartily. "January rain is much better than having prolonged snowfall though! Kirishima-san, I have an extra umbrella. Would you like it?" "Really? Thanks man! This downpour is crazy!"

The two of them notice Shouto and wave.

"Boss! We're heading out now!" Shouto nods. "Of course, thanks for your hard work and for the gifts."

Both men smile and run out into the downpour.

Click. Clack. Click. Clack.

The familiar sound of Y/N's heels fill the room. She gasps.

"Rain? Are you serious!?" Shouto hears his assistant let out a soft huff, so he turns around.

"L/N-san, will you be clocking out now?" The shorter woman nods. "Yes, but I'll have to wait here for a bit until the rain stops." A sheepish laugh escapes her lips. "I didn't realize that it was going to rain, so I forgot my umbrella."

Not long after she says that, Shouto takes his umbrella from the umbrella rack.

"You take the subway, right? Why don't I escort you there?"

Y/N gasps and shakes her head. "It's okay, sir! You don't have to! Besides, I need to stop by the bookstore for a bit, and I really couldn't trouble y-" "No, it's quite alright. I insist."

Grabbing her hand, Shouto leads Y/N outside under the umbrella before she can resist. "I- alright, thank you very much, Todoroki-san."

The short contact between his hand and hers teaches Shouto something he never knew about before.

'Oh god, I like him so much.'

...

The bookstore is only a few minutes away from Shouto's agency, and soon, they reached the shop. Though the exterior was quite small, there was an awning where two other people were waiting under until the rain settled down. Closing up his umbrella, he turns to Y/N.

"I'll wait out here. Take your time, okay?"

She nods with a smile.

"Alright, thank you again, sir!"

As Shouto waits for Y/N to finish shopping, a poster on the window of the bookstore catches his eye. Inspecting it closer, it seems to be an anime adaptation promotion for a popular manga series.

However, as he reads the sign, Shouto's eyes widen and his jaw drops to the floor.

'No way... I can read minds because I'm a...!?!'

'Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! will now be getting its own anime adaptation!!'

A/N: omg omg omg! My first fic! That's the end of chapter 1, and words cannot express the elation I'm feeling! I really hope you enjoy this little indulgence of mine >w< Chapter 2 is in the works already, and so I'll try to get it out as quick as I can! Thanks for everyone showing interest so far :]

~entire fic and notes written by me: fujoshirat!

[cecilysass]

Milagro Fic Recommendations

These are good for any time of year, of course, not just February 14. But here are my favorite fics related to the season 6 episode Milagro, a long time favorite. (And @sisterspooky1013's favorite episode of all time: happy VD, girl!) I’ve been reading and sifting through these for some time, and I have tried to include some from all eras: newer AO3 fics, some written right after the ep aired, etc. But I'm sure I've missed some, so hit me with your own faves, please.

Because of Milagro's ending, this entire genre of fic tends to be heavy on the hurt/comfort and angst (which is fiiiiine by me), but that’s not all that’s here. Many of these are smutty, but not all.

Adagio - Terma99 A meditative, peaceful take on the aftermath of Milagro by a veteran author that includes both agents realizing something they had learned. Lovely.

Alma - 6hoursgirl (@sixhours) A lovely hurt/comfort Milagro piece. This one is Mulder POV, which is a little less common for post-Milagro, I think, and I like this characterization of Mulder as desperately wanting to help Scully, desperately wanting to protect her, but also a tiny bit scared of the intimacy and relationship he feels they’re on the cusp of. He’s so good-hearted and also a little dysfunctional here, and I love it.

Bated Breath - dreamingofscully (@dreamingofscully) This one has an original take on Scully's experience; it leaves Scully with clarity and new direction in her relationship with Mulder. DreamingofScully tends to write a more confident, in-charge Scully in the MSR than some do, and I appreciate it.

Beyond the Strokes of a Typewriter - storybycorey (@storybycorey) When Scully is stricken and ashamed that it’s been so long since anyone has seen her as a woman as Padgett did, Mulder is pushed to revelations. Mulder 3rd person POV. Very good smut build up. And nobody does a gorgeous feelings reveal from Mulder like storeybycorey, man.

I Believe - Diana Battis There are a lot of lovely, heartfelt hurt/comfort fics about the aftermath of Milagro (for obvious reasons), but this one is especially well done. Viewed from Scully’s third person point of view, it focuses on Mulder’s capacity for tenderness and guilt. Plus some smut.

Don’t Look Up - ArtemisX5 After Padgett's hallway revelation, Scully is horrified that she has no secrets left. But you know, Mulder is much slower on the draw than she gives him credit for. There is also such moving hurt/comfort in this.

Intimacies with Strangers -mldrgrl (@mldrgrl) This mid- and post- Milagro piece has Mulder and Scully simmering in tension and then boiling over. Their relationship is complex and painfully entangled, and I love how it plays out. There is also excellent Scully characterization. This one helps me to get more fully why she might have been drawn to Padgett initially, something I struggle with in the episode.

La Madrugada - h0ldthiscat A carefully told tale of RST that takes both characters seriously and is sincerely moving. Excellent.

Lacuna - Aloysia_Virgata (@aloysiavirgata) This is a longer work, not really a classic post ep per se. But I love this moody, angsty casefile set right after Milagro. This Scully has not come to terms with her emotions, is thoroughly freaked by how she reacted to Padgett, and hasn't even entirely worked out how she feels about Mulder. There is Scully/other here, but the ship is steering home. The end of this is so moving, but cw: dark themes in the casefile, extreme violence against children, traumatized agents.

Still Life - Seek_Its_Opposite (@seek-its-opposite) Ah, this is such a thoughtful and exquisitely written Scully character piece — and it contains some truly beautiful insights about Mulder, too. It suggests the heartbreaking idea that Mulder’s way of showing Scully respect (giving her distance) is continually hurting her. So tragic (and consistent with canon, e.g. Never Again.) One memorable line: “Every one of their fights is about how to care for one another, every last one.”

Alma Gemela - matchingfabric (@matchingfabric) After the events of Milagro, Scully (and Mulder) get accustomed to platonically sharing a bed for comfort. This is a slightly different take on post-Milagro. Exceptionally, irresistibly sweet. Oh, and smutty.

What did I miss? Tell me. And yes, I'm working on my own short Milagro fic that will be coming soon-ish.

[fanficsforheartandsoul]

New Recruit | Simon Riley x Masked!GN!Reader

To keep this as neutral as possible since anon did not specify the gender, this is written in 2nd POV. 

There are some spanish sentences here and although I’m actually learning the language with Duolingo (lmao) I used a translator for this, I apologize if it sounds clunky. I googled how to use gender neutral forms but I’m not sure if I did it correctly sooo.

Also, this is very short because I can’t for the love of god, produce words and a correct sentence in my head at the moment.

Fandom: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022)

Warnings: Ghost is OOC, Ghost might have a kink or more than one, Typical COD Pew Pew is Mostly Omitted, Injuries

Summary: A new member joins taskforce 141 for the hunt of Hassan but you are not what the others expect. Something sparks in Ghost when he shares eye contact with you and you two are on the same eye level.

Word Count: 2,3k

If you want to be tagged in my stories send me a pm with the fandom/character name! Or comment on the fic :)

Masterlist

It was already unusual for the taskforce to get a new member. Therefore it was even more unusual to get one in the middle of an important operation in another country. 

It wasn't exactly convenient but when would it ever be?

Fact was that Hassan Zyani, a major of the terror organization Al Qatala escaped their grasps.

They needed to work with Mexican Special Forces to follow his tracks, so if it was one more member or two, it didn’t really matter now. 

Yet it was quite a surprise when Ghost and Soap heard the news.

"Someone will join you in México, a new member of the taskforce. I wanted to introduce the lieutenant a bit later, but Chryso was in the country anyways, so I guess now is as good as ever."

Ghost listened silently to his captain on speaker phone while Soap asked the questions lingering in his head; what kind of muppet name was Chryso? And why would the soldier join them right now when they had something so important to do?

Trusting a stranger in a hostile environment wasn’t exactly an easy thing to do.

Price ignored Soap’s words deliberately and continued: 

“Chryso is already known to the Los Vaqueros and Alejandro and as you're aware they know their way around in Las Almas. Be nice and protect your backs. We will talk later and I’m sure Chryso will answer any questions you have.”

Great, Ghost thought and looked at the flabbergasted Soap who stared at the phone display showing the end of the call.

“He just hung up?? What the hell... I feel like someone just told me my sister got married in secret and I have to meet her husband.”

He raised an eyebrow but the other obviously couldn’t see it behind his skull mask.

“You have a sister?”

Soap blinked.

“No, but if I had one...”

Ghost sighed. He hoped that the new addition to the team wouldn’t mess up their operation and would focus on the task at hand. Catching Hassan.

-

You startled out of your sleep when you heard your call sign.

“They’re arriving in 5, Chryso” said Felipe, the Los Vaqueros soldier who was on the look out with you in one of the abandoned shacks close to the village where intel suggested Hassan Zyani’s location.

Your last undercover mission had taken a toll on your body and you tried to make up for it by napping whenever you could. Felipe’s humming had made you drowsy and apparently your consciousness had slipped away for a bit.

A quick glance at your combat watch proved that you had slept more than an hour and you sat up straight quickly.

“Perdón, you know my last OP still got me fucked up... Did anything move?”

“No pasa nada.”

The man waved his hand dismissively and watched as you stood up and stretched your arms. He had to tilt his head slightly to look up to you. Felipe's eyes wandered over your mask and then he said:

“They’re staying put and keeping quiet.”

You breathed out and rolled your shoulder. Maybe you shouldn’t have slept in such an uncomfortable position...

You were about to meet two members of Taskforce 141 - your new team - and group up with them and the Los Vaqueros to participate in one of their missions. No chit-chat and icebreakers, just business, straight-up. 

This was how work had always been with Captain John Price for the few times you had fought together, so it didn’t exactly bother you. But it was making you a bit antsy that he wouldn’t be part of the operation.

You weren’t exactly keen on entrusting your back to total strangers. Not with your... special circumstances.

Your habit of wearing a mask 24/7 often confused other people and many soldiers had treated you slightly differently due to it. Whether it was done deliberately or subconsciously, it often hampered with the beginning of your new relationships until people finally got used to it. Which usually took a while. Seen by the lack of other soldiers accompanying you and Felipe.

Strangely Price didn’t seem to react much to your mask. Maybe that was why you felt comfortable around him. He didn’t treat you any different, he had just looked at it once and then moved on. 

You hadn’t told him why you were wearing it but if anyone had to know, you would probably feel most comfortable telling him.

And when you had signed the contract to work as a new member of taskforce 141 you had mulled about doing it. Possibly when you would first see him again. You had believed that it would be today.

But he wouldn’t be part of this mission, which he told you 2 days ago. Instead Lieutenant Simon Riley and Sergeant John Mactavish would cover your back. 

You had heard their names before when Price talked to you about joining the taskforce but you didn’t know anything specific about them besides their names and ranks.

And Rodolfo and Alejandro didn’t let anything slip when you asked them if they knew anything about the two soldiers.

They did know more than you but based on the little smirk around Alejandro’s lips they purposely kept information from you, which annoyed you slightly.

But well, Alejandro was a colonel, furthermore the leader of Los Vaqueros and he obviously had to be informed about his allies in such a special operation. 

You knew not to question him and he wouldn’t keep anything dangerous from you, he wasn’t like that that’s what you could tell based on the few days you had spent at the Las Almas base. He kept his soldiers safe, had to in the corruption-filled town. 

And you would meet the other taskforce members soon anyways.

So you decided to focus on the task at hand and ignore everything else. Whether that would involve strange looks and stupid comments about your mask or not.

The Al Qatala terrorist had to be caught by all means. The files you had received told you enough about the threat he posed to basically everyone in this world. He wouldn’t escape your grasp. Not under your watch.

You strapped your black vest tighter and checked your gear.

A low hum announced the distant approach of some vehicles and Felipe looked out the window to see 3 black jeeps drive down the dirt road.

“They’re inbound.”

You nodded and followed him out of the room down the stairs.

-

"I have a feeling you'll fit right in, just like Y/N."

Ghost was still mulling over the strange comment of Rodolfo Parra, when they spotted the army checkpoint and Alejandro explained why they had to evade it and he forgot the words quickly.

However, when their convoy arrived at the other side of the river in their AO, he and Soap exited the truck and a few seconds later when he first exchanged eye contact with you, he remembered the words instantly. 

You had just moved out of the shack, following a Los Vaqueros soldier. Your back was turned towards the convoy when the man told you something and he gesticulated while you checked your back pockets.

Ghost noted that the soldier talking to you was at least a head smaller than you. You were clad in back and his interest peaked when he realized that your head was covered by a hood. Oh...?

He followed Soap behind Alejandro and Rodolfo and walked up to you while the other Los Vaqueros soldiers readied their guns and spread out. 

“No me gusta el hecho de que no tengamos refuerzos” he heard you say through your clenched teeth and your counterpart hummed in agreement. 

Alejandro coughed and you turned to face them while he introduced you to him and Soap. Your eyes roamed over them and they lingered a bit longer on him, which made Ghost’s heart beat quicker for some reason.

“This is lieutenant Y/N L/N”, the colonel announced and the smirk on his lips suddenly made sense. He just stared and Soap did the same. 

“Just call me Chryso” you said and gave Alejandro an annoyed look that the other ignored and you turned your head back to look at Ghost and you stretched out your hand. 

Ghost’s voice was rougher than usual when he told you his name: 

“...Simon Riley, but call me Ghost.”

He shook your hand with a firm grip. Hazel and e/c eyes met, both hidden in the shadows of a mask. He caught a glimpse of your spirit in the e/c shade and noted that the skin around your eyes was also hidden behind black makeup.

“Nice to meet you, Lieutenant.”

Fuck, he thought when he realized that he could gaze directly into your eyes without lifting or lowering his head. 

And bloody fucking hell, he thought when he realized that in a very strange way he found that mask of yours attractive. Like you were mirroring him, like you two belonged together, like you were meant to be his and he was meant to be yours. 

There were not many things that Ghost found immediately attractive upon meeting someone. 

He considered himself to be more of a “character”-person than someone who cared about appearances first but there were some things that just drew him in...

Pretty smiles for example. Or the hint of a strong character in one’s eyes. But what really invited his immediate attraction was what Soap had called the most surprising and strangest thing ever when he accidentally spilt this piece of information during one of their long scouting sessions; when someone was just as tall as him.

There was just something about someone being his height that created a spark in his chest. 

“That’s a fucking kink” Soap had said back then. Looking at you now and considering the growing feeling in his chest, the scot might have been right.

He let go of your hand before he was holding onto it for too long but he kept his eyes on you even when you had already turned towards Soap to shake his hand.

“Sergeant John Mactavish, but call me Soap.” 

The sergeant shook your hand enthusiastically and grinned from ear to ear. He glanced at him and Ghost’s alarm went off in his head.

“You have pretty long legs eh? How tall exactly are you?”

You blinked and Ghost couldn’t stop himself from groaning inwardly when he saw slight confusion and annoyance in your eyes. 

“Roughly 6′3 if I remember correctly.”

Soap looked at him but Ghost ignored the stare deliberately and when Alejandro told them to follow him, you immediately turned away from them and hurried to fall into the colonel’s and Rodolfo’s step.

“Oh dios, lo dijo.” Rodolfo said and laughed and Ghost cursed himself for not learning more Spanish on the way here when you groaned. He was about 99% sure this was about your interaction just now.

"¿Dijo que?" Alejandro asked, his voice now lower as they moved closer to the houses, weapons raised.

"Una de las tres cosas que Y/N odia a que le pregunte.¿’Por qué Chryso como apodo’? ¿’Por qué llevas una máscara’? y ¿’Qué tan alte eres’?”

Rodolfo muttered and while the colonel laughed quietly you only sighed.

Ghost didn’t understand what exactly was going on but based on the mocking tone Rodolfo used for his last few words, it was probably something bad. He also mentioned your call sign and he was smart enough to know that the conversation was most likely about them. 

As much as it bothered him, they had already reached the stone wall so he turned his attention to the mission at hand.

“Where’s Hassan?” he asked.

“White two-story building at the back”, Alejandro replied and two seconds later they entered the gate and he didn’t have time anymore to think about your height, nor your skull mask that seemed to compliment his own and the fact that your utility straps nicely showed off your thighs. 

-

But all these thoughts and much more rushed through his mind after he had helped you out of the river. 

It had already been hard for him to breathe with his mask but your experience with yours had been much worse, the cloth wasn’t exactly made for missions involved with water and you - in your words “almost got waterboarded back there”. 

Added to the harsh landing in the river and the bullet graze on your left arm, you weren’t exactly feeling your best and you felt exhausted for a moment, so much so that you had to drag your limbs out of the water when it was your turn. 

The soldier in front of you turned around and you looked up at him from your cowering position where you had temporarily bandaged your wound.

Ghost offered you his hand and you took it. 

“Thanks” you huffed and he pulled you up with more force than necessary which messed with your balance and made you take a step forward. 

He could see a waterdroplet on the tip of your eyelashes and his heart stuttered when he noticed how close you two suddenly were. Your loud breathing made his ears tingle and he took a step back, though not letting go of your hand. 

“You good, Chryso?”, he asked, ignoring his imagination where you were panting for a different reason. Jesus Christ, you were injured. And he hadn’t even seen your face yet.

You nodded and he let go of your, pointing at your left arm. 

“I’ll bandage your arm in the car, that wrap is a sad excuse of first aid.” 

You huffed in annoyance but he saw how your eyes turned into slight halfmoons again, showing him that you were actually smiling.

“Whatever, lieutenant.”

You walked past him, waving your hand in dismissal and he followed you, a small grin on his lips, definitely not sneaking a glance at that ass in those wet black cargo pants. 

-

“I’m really curious... What kind of muppet name is Chryso?”

Alejandro snorted. “Y dale.”

You sighed beside Ghost while he secured the re-wrapped bandage. Soap looked at you through the front mirror.

“We had this guy in my unit, Turner, he was a huge biology nerd. When he first met me, he just said ‘Chrysocyon brachyurus’  which is the scientific name for the maned wolf in South America.”

Soap tilted his head in confusion when Alejandro laughed. “Okay...?”

The colonel tapped the steering wheel. “They have really long legs, hermano. Really long.”

[maryangelex]

To Be Alone With You

Simon “Ghost” Riley x f! Original Character

A/N: Hello!! This is my first time writing fanfiction ever and I'm so obsessed with Ghost I thought I'd give it a shot. This is written with an OC in mind, but I'm writing it with nothing descriptive so it can be read as reader-insert, only mentions callsign "Angel" and some character background for plot purposes. Unless y’all would like to read about my OC! Anyways, enjoy, and let me know what ya think!!!!

Summary: A new member gets added to task force 141, and Ghost can’t keep himself together for long.

Warnings: NSFW! MDNI! Third-person POV, Smut, p in v sex (fantasy), masturbation, strong language, horny ass pining, descriptive language, combat injury, blood, military inaccuracy, game inaccuracy, OOC Ghost (?), not proofread, first fic

The 141 Task Force was a well-established team, led by Captain Price, Lieutenant "Ghost" Riley, and Sergeants "Soap" MacTavish and "Gaz" Garrick. As a team, they dove head-first into danger, every risk necessary to be taken, and they did a damn fine job every time. Regardless, Laswell thought this new mission in Las Almas called for new additions to the force.

"She goes by 'Angel'", Laswell states, sliding a file across the table to Price.

"Right," he responds, opening the manila folder with extensive records and information on the new member. "I can see why with a face like that. Looks like a sweetheart," he scoffed.

"She was top of her class in the Naval Academy and a Navy SEAL, one of the handful of women on the job," she started, "She's just as skilled as your boys Garrick and MacTavish, maybe better. She's taken down guys the size of your Lieutenant"

Laswell would've only noticed someone with actual talent, and Price knew this, he trusted her well enough to know she was a no-bullshit kind of woman. And given the information in the file in his hands, Angel sure was an ironic callsign.

"I trust you, Kate, so I know this dove's not gonna disappoint", he said glancing up at Laswell.

A lot of hope and expectations laid on her shoulders on Price’s behalf. Ghost had been notified about the new member upon his arrival with Soap in Las Almas. The two of them emerged from the evac and touched down on their new base. Friendly introductions were made between their other two new members for their time being in Las Almas, Rudy and Alejandro; then she came along, introduced by Price to the task force.

Soap looked like a kid on Christmas morning, fawning over her all giddy and jovial. It was like he’d never seen a girl before, she thought. He made multiple charming and flirtatious remarks at their first introduction, no shame in that one that’s for sure. But she liked the amicable dialogue, she knew they’d get along with him bringing some light to being in the suck.

Meanwhile there was Ghost, stoic and rigid. He shook her hand and gave her a cold yet approving handshake and introduced himself. Of course she already knew all about him, or at least what the gossip and folktales about him said he was; a direct, quiet, intimidating bloke that could kill with a glare and had an arsenal of skills, absolute killing machine with only his whit and sick dry humor saving him from being nonhuman. All she did was gawk at all 6’4 feet of him and get sucked into his expressive yet mysterious eyes. She’d never been so starstruck by a man before yet she kept her composure in front of him. Yet her mind couldn’t help but wander like a high school girl catching the first glimpse of her crush.

Ghost was a man of few words in general, but especially with people he’d just met or started working with. He kept it professional and distant, mainly because he never knew how long they’d last in a mission, so he kept his expectations low for everyone. Angel was an exception though, she piqued his interest. He had read her file handed over to him by Price prior to meeting her, and they both shared the same interest in her and her skills on the field: sharp sniper, close quarter combat expert, trained medic, the list went on with what she was capable of. The difference was how much more intensely Ghost had looked at her file. He would never admit it, but in reality he was captivated. In a professional level of course, nothing else.

Missions together went smoothly. She proved her skills and more time and time again. She made a good pair with Soap since they were out to work together the most often. Same as her with Gaz, they were a match made in heaven when it came to recon and agility missions. The three of them were insufferable, though, pestering and bickering with each other like triplets both in the field and off duty. Ghost was being driven mad, he already had enough with MacTavish annoying him through the radio, now he had to deal with Angel adding fuel to the fire. She did make him smile, though, sometimes even made him hold back laughs but God forbid anyone in the team knew he was a bit keen on her. Thank God for his mask hiding that away from everyone.

The team was cohesive with her as a new member for the months to come. Ghost didn’t think much of anything, not much of her besides quiet admiration and camaraderie, especially since she mainly worked with Soap. No big deal.

Except, after a mission gone awry and things getting sticky making the team struggle to get out alive, and Price having to chew out Angel and Soap for being careless, he decided it was best to change partnerships. Now, Soap was assigned to work with Price, and Angel with the Lieutenant, to teach her a thing or two and keep both of them in check under better supervision.

This is when shit hit the fan for Ghost, when he first stepped into the murky waters that were his feelings, the ones he didn’t even know he had.

Working with Angel was odd to him. He expected for it to be like how he worked with Soap, coordinated with the occasional friendly and comical banter they shared over radio. And it was like that with Angel in the beginning, the two made an amazing pair given their similarities in skill, traits, and resourcefulness.

It was too good of a match, though. Things were starting to get heavy for Ghost. He was starting to care too much about her, to get too protective of her in the field, the distance was getting shorter between them each mission.

On a supposedly easy intel mission, shit had gotten ugly really fast and really badly for them.

“Fuck, L.T.,” she panted, the two of them hiding behind a column of the building they were trapped in, getting shot at from all directions. “I’m hit, get my med pack will ya?”

“Fuckin’ hell, kid, you’re the medic, not me” he growled, rummaging through her gear for the first aid kit.

“No worries L.T. it’s not even that bad” she said with a breathy chuckle. The wound was oozing and spurting blood from her abdomen, her hand pressed against it keeping the pressure as best she could. She looked up at Ghost, who was fumbling with the kit finding a bandage to replace her hand on the wound with. He returned the gaze but his was colder and reprimanding, as if saying this is not the time to fuck around.

He pressed his much larger hand on her abdomen and although not visible he was concerned, a bit scared even. What the fuck was this? He’s never been this scared about a partner. He’s lost enough to not care as much anymore, to be used to it by now. So why was he so breathless and shaken by this girl’s injury?

“I’ll guide you, Ghost. The bullet went through. It looks real ugly with all this gushing but it hit my flank. See? Nothin’ important got hit” she said to him reassuringly, lifting herself up from the floor and lightly twisting to show him the hole the bullet went through on the right side of her waist. The two meet their gaze, his softened by her reassurance.

The two made it out of the building and back to the evac. Angel had guided Simon to tend to the wound and patch her up, and in return he basically carried her out of there.

That night back in HQ had Simon stressing, not because of the mission, not because of Angel’s injury, but because he was so god damn confused about what was clouding his mind so much. This new feeling he had. He felt restless and dazed by it. He felt like he failed that mission entirely by allowing Angel to get hurt, a new instinct to protect awoke in him. That night he couldn’t sleep, no amount of cigarettes out the window of his dorm calmed him down or made him make sense of these newfound feelings and fears.

From then on he was her shadow, and their distance became shorter as a result. Cheeky remarks, overly friendly banter sometimes escalating to flirty insults and jokes. Then came the light touches between the two, accidental of course. And his symptoms got worse each day.

His sleepless nights went from worries and memories of the battlefield to that of what a teenage boy would worry about.

He wanted her, and it was so hard for him to admit that to himself. He wanted her closer to him, he wanted the light touches between the two to become more comfortable, heavier, needier. He wanted her carnally. He thought about the times she was paired up with Johnny, how the two of them clicked and it sent him into a spiral. What if she laid awake at night the same way as him, but thinking about Soap? Or Gaz? Hell, even Price? Or none at all, and he was just horny and pining for her like a creep.

He thought of the softness of her skin when they touched, when she tended to his wounds how feathery her fingers felt in comparison to his calloused ones or the cold ones of any other nurse back at the base. How he hair swung in a braid when he was watching her back during missions. How she smelled when she was close to him, she smelled womanly with the salty tinge of her sweat from busting her ass on the field. It made him feral to think of her at the hands of another man, but he felt so stupid for it because it was the most plausible thing to happen, more so than for her to reciprocate his feelings, or at least for her to let him fuck her, at least once to get it out of his system.

Simon’s new nightly routine was of pacing around HQ finding something to busy himself with like paperwork or a smoke outside. He made his way back to his dorm after enough busywork and attempts to tire himself out. When he went to open the door to his room, she was there, leaning against the arch, and standing there as if waiting for him, with a sly smile plastered on her face.

“Can’t sleep?” She questioned.

“I could ask you the same thing”, he said, standing parallel to her.

She moved from the door as if inviting him to open it, which he complied with.

“Maybe we can help tire each other out”

Next thing he knows she’s sitting naked on his bed, baring herself to him. He’s standing at the foot of the bed looking down at her, admiring the sight in front of him. She’s putting on a show for him, caressing her breasts, down to her stomach and the space between her legs.

“Open your legs, sweetheart,” he says huskily “I know you want me to see.”

She spreads her knees, exposing her soaked cunt that she tenderly and slowly strokes. He’s salivating at the sight, as she slides her fingers through her folds, teasing herself, with her other hand massing her breast, taking a nipple between her index and middle finger. He watches her moan and throw her head back as she circles her clit, slowly, applying the right amount of pressure that sets her body alight.

She goes at it for some time before dipping her fingers in her hole, saturating them in her slick before reaching out to his unmasked mouth which he takes in with a low hum at the taste of it.

Except none of that actually happened, which is proven by Simon waking up alone in the darkness of his room in a cold sweat. He’s in pure terror, his face hot and red under his mask. Fuck, did he just dream that? He’s even more mortified by the tent his rock hard dick is pitching under his sheets.

Fuck, this can’t be fucking happening.

He gets up from his bed immediately, beelining for his en-suite. There’s no fucking way he’s caving into dreams like that, he feels like that’s disrespectful to his teammate, like his body’s betraying him. He removes his mask, turns on the cold shower and steps in, ice cold water hitting his scalding skin. His head sinks between his shoulders, hands placed against the wall in front of him as he lets the water hit from above, as he looks down at his erection.

It’s not helping, it’s not going down.

All he thinks about is the image of Angel sat pretty and baring herself to him in his bed. Of her hands traveling over her body. He brings two fingers to his lips, imagining hers, imagining how sweet she must taste. He closes his eyes and he’s taken back to his dream.

Fuckkk, he thinks. Now it’s not just his body that’s betraying him it’s his whole damn self, he’s giving in completely as he wonders what’s next. As he wonders what would happen if he took those dainty tender hands with those pretty painted nails and wrapped them around his thick throbbing cock. What would happen if he let her stroke him slowly with a mix of her slick and his spit.

Simon brings his own hand in the shower down to his cock and he strokes himself with that scenario playing in his mind behind his closed eyelids. He relishes in the feeling of his hand stroking himself, slowly at first like he pictures Angel would, then increasing the speed.

He thinks about what it would be like to have her mouth on it instead. Oh her full juicy lips, red and smooth, how they’d stretch around his girth, inching down from tip to base.

“That’s it, pretty girl”, he whispers with his eyes still shut and his hand still relieving his cock in the shower.

He thinks about her gagging on his length as he’s encouraging her to take more and more in until the hilt, until it’s encapsulated by her throat. He squeezes his dick thinking about it as he strokes it some more, picturing her bobbing her head at the same rhythm and speed as he’s using on himself. He’d put his hand on that braid she’s always got and grasp it firmly as he commands her head and dictates how deep and fast she can suck him off.

He’s a mess in the shower, moaning lowly and groaning to himself. He lets his head rest on his forearm against the wall, the water running down his back and his hand squeezing and pulling at his cock. His mind wanders some more and now he’s picturing his spit-covered cock lining himself with her pussy, slowly spreading her open, loosening up the tightness of it, molding her to his length. She’d make the cutest noises, they’d drive him insane. Her moans and mewls shooting straight to his cock, making him twitch inside of her. She’d feel so warm, wrapping his dick in her sopping cavern, making him feel whole like she’s a missing piece to his puzzle.

Simon’s stroking himself faster now, panting under the water, cupping his balls with his other hand as he imagines pounding into Angel, imagines the sounds he can pull from her and thinking of the sight of her splayed out under him as his dick is buried deep inside of her, then pulled out and rammed back in, keeping up the speed of his hand.

He’s at it for a few moments more, moving his hips and thrusting himself into his own hands as if he was fucking her. Until he starts to feel that burning pressure at the pit of his stomach, as his balls feel tighter with his release about to happen. And then he snaps. White hot ropes of cum shoot out of his cock, dripping into his hands and out onto the tile of the shower, flowing down the drain. He’s gasping and groaning, cursing at himself as his thighs vibrate from his orgasm. His mind a haze but fuck, he feels good. Like a moment of catharsis.

Now the struggle is gonna be looking at Angel without thinking of his late night activities. Now he’s given into his desires and carries more of the burden of wanting her without being able to have her.

A/N: WELP… Please leave some thoughts if you got this far, thanks for reading <3 divider credit to @cafekitsune

[nightlyrequiem]

The Other Side of Paradise

1) No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Cross posted from AO3

Ch.1, Ch.2, Ch.3, Ch.4, Ch.5, Ch.6, Ch.7, Ch.8, Ch.9, Ch.10, Ch.11

You try to make the best of your life working at a small bakery in a city with rising cartel violence. One slower day, a man starts harassing your coworker. Despite the obvious threat, you stand up to him anyway. Unbeknownst to you, Valeria just so happened to be there to witness it.

A/N- All chapters containing smut will be labeled mature. The fic is fully written with the whole thing on AO3 but chapters on Tumblr will be posted one a day.

Tags/Warnings: Fluff, Angst, Dual POV, Happy Ending, Plot with Porn, Graphic Violence, Inappropriate Use of a Knife, Masturbation, WLW

Valeria sat in her office. Her head lowered and her nose bridge pinched between her forefinger and thumb. She enjoys the power, money, and fear that comes with her position but God, she never thought it would be this stressful or irritating. Los Vaqueros. Alejandro and his sorry excuse for a special forces unit have been a thorn in her side since she came into power almost ten years ago. Valeria takes one slow drag from her cigarette. Smoking is a habit she's been meaning to quite for a while now, but she just can't seem to stop. It's hard to let go when it's so good at clearing her head and just letting her think.

She's doing something good here. Well, she's doing something bad. But she's doing it for the greater good. She's making the city stronger and giving back to the economy. She's no worse than a politician. She blows out a gray ring and pushes a hand through her short dark hair. Sure, she's selling drugs but what's wrong with that? Valeria doesn't get what the big deal is. Drugs hurt people but she's not forcing anyone to take them. People make their own decisions. Supply and demand. If she doesn't do it, someone else will. Why not have it be her?

Valeria taps her short, pink nails on the oakwood of her desk. A whole warehouse of narcotics was raided today. She'll retaliate, Get back at Alejandro. Of course she will. Nobody crosses El Sin Nombre and gets away with it. With the police and most of the military in her pocket her word is law. She makes a mental note to get some of her men to look into the attack. Figure out who participated in the physical raid. She'll make examples of them. Valeria stubs out her cigarette and gets up from her chair with a groan. Stretching and taking satisfaction at the few muffled pops that come from her back. For now, she needs some stress relief.

She takes her time in driving to a bakery. One she's been frequenting since she was a child. El Oasis De Ila. No other bakery can compete with the pastries made in Ila's. Valeria drives through the city. Her city, admiring how far it's come. She passes by a mural painted on the side of a building. Her moniker tagged in the middle of it. She's proud. Las Almas breeds strength and creativity. They aren't called The Souls for nothing. Garnering support from the general public wasn't too hard to do. Funding a few hospitals and schools goes a long way with people. She drives by people who have no clue who she is. She revels in that, too. Her identity is knowledge that only she, and a handful of other people know. There's power to be held in secrecy.

Valeria arrives. Parking a few streets down. She gets out and basks in the warmth from the sun. Ignoring the armed men patrolling down the roads. She leisurely walks into the bakery. There are a few people inside. A gaggle of older women and a young man sitting by himself. Two women flit around behind the counter like hummingbirds, a girl not likely older then sixteen and a woman closer to Valeria's age, you. You disappear into the back as Valeria approaches, presumably to prepare more pastries. Or maybe Valeria is just so intimidating that you'd rather hide.

The girl casts a few nervous glances over Valeria's shoulder as she speaks.

"Hello." She greets. Valeria lazily looks over her options in the display.

"A concha, please." She replies. The girl nods and grabs one for her. Putting it on a little plate and handing it over.

"Two-fifty."

Valeria hands over the cash and takes her concha over to a secluded corner. She sits down, appreciating the dim lighting. Whatever will she do to the people involved in the crime of inconveniencing her? A simple execution wouldn't be enough. Normally it would be, but Valeria has been in a particularly foul mood for a few weeks now and needs to take out all this pent-up frustration on someone.

Valeria notices the man in the corner calling over the girl. She scurries over to him. Anxiously messing with her curly mane of hair. She watches as he leans in and says something. His leery expression and the girl's increasing, obvious discomfort makes Valeria curl her lip in displeasure. She's never had much patience for men. It only dwindled when she went to school with them, and shriveled into nothing when she joined the Mexican Special Forces. The man's body language gets more aggressive. Valeria can only assume the girl denied his advances.

She wills him to not make a scene and draw attention to the bakery. But of course, his ego is larger than his brain. He stands up and grabs at the girl who stumbles back. The older women swiftly leave. She's about to get up and intervene, to save herself the hassle of dealing with the police, when you come out from the front. There's an angry glint in your eye as you put yourself between the man and the girl without hesitation. Valeria can't tell if you are brave or stupid. The man is not only bigger than you, but also carrying.

You look back at the girl.

"You can go home, Elaine, there's no more work to do today." You say gently. Elaine doesn't seem to think twice before walking out the door. Leaving only Valeria, the man, and the bakery worker inside. Valeria sits back down. Curious to see where this goes.

"I don't know or care who you think you are," You start venomously, trembling as you face the man. "But you don't get to come in here and harass people. Get the fuck out." The man- who Valeria finally remembers is called Rojan, bristles. Squaring his shoulders as he advances towards you. You back up slightly.

"You think you're some big hot shot, but you're nothing more than a sad little animal incapable of controlling himself." Valeria is a little caught off guard by the fury in your voice. As if by terrorizing Elaine, he had wronged you personally. "The day someone puts you down is the day the world is slightly better." Valeria thinks you need to work on you insults but considering you're facing a man twice your size she'll give you a pass.

Rojan starts reaching for his gun when Valeria stands up. It has the intended affect because Rojan's eyes dart over to her. She scowls at him. Wondering how he could be so stupid as to shoot a woman in broad daylight. In public. In a bakery on a busy street. Honestly, it's like they get dumber every year. Rojan recognizes Valeria. Not as El Sin Nombre but as 'his' top sicaria. He backs down. The only smart thing this dumb ape-of-a man has done today. He gives you one last sneer before storming out. Valeria watches as your shoulders slump. Maybe with relief but for all she knows you could be into being threatened and are very disappointed that he left.

As you turn and walk back behind the counter Valeria has already gotten up and walked out. Taking her concha to go. She walks back to her car and calmly gets in. Thinking about you. You have a spine. She wonders if you'd make for a good recruit. Probably not, she decides. Something about you screams goody-goody. You're pretty enough though. She's sure she can find another use for you.

[xxavengingangelxx]

Behind Blue Eyes 1/1

Summary: What exactly happened to Val between days 6 and 10 after she was captured? Why did she suddenly become so compliant? From Graves’s POV. Because, well because Val doesn’t remember. For the simple reason that Graves doesn’t want her to. Maybe out of kindness (because those days were rough), but maybe because generally, a brainwasher doesn’t want their target to remember being brainwashed. 

Inspired by one of my fave YouTubers, Dark5.

I thought about titling this Your beauty never really scared me, a line from one of my favorite songs, Mary on a Cross by Ghost. Just because reader is gorgeous (yes, all y'all are gorgeous!) and Graves wants her but while her beauty might have intimidated other men, of course it didn't intimidate Graves cuz he's a narcissistic used to getting what he wants ;)

Warnings: Torture (nothing graphic), brainwashing, threats of harm, general mindfuckery, etc. This is sadistic Las Almas Graves, a heartless mercenary, kk? ;)

Tags! @unicorngirly1, @c0d-lvr, @bellgraves. I had a taglist when I was posting more often but I lost it so please let me know if you'd like to be added :)

-

This is connected to my fic Long Way from Home, link to the first part below. It's a fic where Graves captures 141's translator in Mexico thinking she has valuable information. She undergoes torture enhanced interrogation techniques thanks to Graves and Shadow Company. She holds her own much better than Graves thought she would.

-

It took 6 days to finally break Val. She finally let go of information that wouldn’t have harmed anyone anyway. Those homing beacons we got from her were old, and she knew that. She refused to give them up for the simple fact that she was defiant. Shepherd’s happy she broke. But he said he’s still flying down. He said he wants her actively working for us.

He told me I have 4 days. 4 days to bring her to our side. I told him that’s impossible, that it took a lot longer than that to essentially brainwash someone. Yes, she’d broken but not willingly.

He told me I knew what to use to do just that. Brainwash her. I know what he was referring to. But no. I didn’t want to. It might kill her.

“Ten Minutes to Midnight,” Shepherd told me.

He told me to do it or he’d kill her. In front of me.

So I relented and went to a computer with some heavily encrypted files. The kind of computer that had a case designed to live through nuclear war and electromagnetic pulse attacks. I pulled up something I learned from the CIA in my dealings with them.

The file titled 10 Minutes to Midnight: The Brainwasher’s Handbook.

The below might sound brutal but just remember I did it to save her life.

-

Val had no idea where she was. The last 24 hours had been a blur and her life had been turned upside down. Everything had changed…everything. Well, her life had changed since Las Almas, I’m certain. Pretty sure she’s never been held captive before.

She’d broken. And that’s what mattered. She was still sedated, somewhat. I couldn’t tell if she was passed out due to exhaustion or if she was still drugged. Maybe both.

But I only had 4 days so we had to fast track this.

She was dead weight when I picked her up. She was definitely lighter than the last time. She was clearly choosing not to interact with me (full on scowled at me before I picked her up and it was hard not to smack her) so when I got back to my barracks I sat her up on my bed, against the wall.

I told her, “We’re not done yet.” And the terrified look in her darker eyes told me that this just might work. Poor thing was still so tired and weak.

We had to be careful here because we didn’t exactly want to erase her entire identity. We needed Val to keep her identity. But she just had to want to work for us. She had to be more violent. Just not towards us like had been for the last 6 days. Seriously, it was getting annoying and exhausting having to be on edge in case she took a swing at me anytime I was within arm’s reach of her. She knew it would result in her getting her ass beat but she seemed to think it was worth it, saying she liked seeing me bleed (she scratched a lot, too).

I tried, really tried to do things the easy way.

I asked told her to come work with me.

And, well, she said fuck you. So disrespectful.

I walked away. Because I wanted to fucking hit her, push her into the wall. But there was a better way to start things. She wanted water and who was I to tell a lady no? I just added a benzo to it. She was out like a light. It was comforting, just watching her sleep, listening to her breathe.

I moved her to what we call one of our soft interrogation rooms. It wasn’t a cell, it wasn’t a concrete cube like she’d been locked in before, but it certainly wasn’t comforting. Just your basics, nothing else: somewhere somewhat comfortable to sleep and less harsh lighting than the rooms (yes, rooms as in multiple because we’ve been moving her to base after base every day) she’d been in before. With one main difference: have you heard of white torture? Everything in that room was white, everything she was allowed to wear was white. It was a form of sensory deprivation that made people easier to brainwash. I made it clear to my men: Val doesn’t leave this room. This is the only room we’d convince her to work for us in. And after she came around, she was never to see this room again.

Because it might trigger memories of how she used to be.

Anyway.

Brainwashing is easy. And it’s not like I have to spend 24/7 with the target. A few of my men were trained in CIA techniques so they knew where to pick up when I needed a break. Val would be worked on 24/7.

Step 1: Assault on identity          

Telling the target they’re not the person they think they are. I told Val she wasn’t who she thought she was. She thought she was an inseparable part of 141. She saw Price as a father figure and the other boys as older brothers. Well, except for Johnny for the simple fact that she used to fuck him. I’d make sure he stayed extra far away from her. He might be a potential trigger for her.

No, you’re not a part of 141. No, you hadn’t known them for years. No, you could not trust them with your life. They’ll kill you if the catch you. Or help lock you up in a military prison the rest of your life. No, they’re not going to forgive you for betraying them, even if you told them it was under torture.

She put up one hell of a fight against this and it was certainly admirable. She even attempted to escape two hours into the ordeal when one of my boys opened the door to that room. But if the first step doesn’t get accomplished, the nine other steps won’t either. So every time she would deny my statements, I would hurt her. Nothing too bad, of course. I couldn’t leave too many new injuries on her. Just stress positions, pressure points, and keeping her awake. I feel like she’d had enough physical abuse coercion.

After 12 hours of repeated verbalizations and some pain she became noticeably less cocky and sure of herself. Hour 14, she sounded confused for lack of a better term. Granted, she had been kept awake for more than 14 hours but she appeared really confused. I asked her to confirm her identity and she seemed even more confused. She whispered her name, but it sounded as if she was asking a question. But I could tell she was doing it only because she was scared. She wasn’t turned yet but this is only the first step so of course she wasn’t.

Her beliefs and her identity were weakened. Not broken yet but weakened. And so I moved onto the next step.

Step 2: Guilt

This step is generally more violent. It has to be. This is where you convince your target they’re the scum of the earth…a horrible person. I told her that 141 were war criminals and that she had helped them. I had to do this step in full uniform to add to the effect. She always showed more fear when I showed up in uniform. I was the only thing with color in that room so she was dead focused on me. She was desperate to look at anything that wasn’t snow white, even if it was her tormentor me.

Yes, Val, you’d helped war criminals. And you resisted my men and I, who were not anything close to war criminals. That we only killed when we had to. And that we certainly didn’t take advantage of females in our group like Soap had done her.

Predictably, she got violent.

So, unfortunately we had no choice but to respond in kind. Of course, no serious injuries. But she felt pain nonetheless. The more hours that ticked by, however, the more exhausted she became and the less she fought. She wasn’t even trying to cover her ears and scream over us to go the fuck away or to shut the fuck up anymore after about another 12 hours. She stopped just screaming into the dark void of her room. She just listened.

But one thing that she would not stop reacting violently to (as in swinging, scratching, kicking, biting, you name it) was the suggestion that the Scot of 141 had taken advantage of her. That was fine, we could drop one or two items off our list. So we left that one alone.

She still hadn’t slept by the way.

Step 3: Self-Betrayal

I told her to admit that she was bad. I told her over and over amid physical okay and sexual threats. Although she, as always, resisted, under the threat of breaking her arm, she agreed in a desperate tone of voice. Because I promised her she didn’t want to have a serious injury on-base, that it would lead to misery. She agreed that she was a bad person because of her job and the people she worked for.

I forced her to admit that her parents were bad people, clearly, and maybe that had been passed onto her. Genetics and all that shit, right? She admitted, on demand, that she was a bad person.

And after she did that, I let her sleep. Only for a few hours. Just long enough to where she slept deeply enough to where a simple ultrasonic wave caused a concussion without leaving marks or making her any the wiser. But weaking her to the next part.

Step 4: Breaking Point

Psychic driving: Strap a someone (preferably concussed) down, give them paralytic drugs and make them listen to a repeated statement hundreds if not thousands of times. Then, you just break them down with something called depatterning which uses drugs, electric shocks and sensory deprivation. The result? It destroys your target’s personality. Then you get to replace the personality with whatever you want.

The only issue we ran into is that we couldn’t quite erase her entire personality or identity. We still needed Val to be Val. Just anti-141 Val. Maybe a version of Val that was a little more trigger happy. A version of Val where maybe, just maybe, she’d kill for us. The CIA would do that shit to people for days, sometimes weeks, we just did it for 36 hours.

And after about 36 hours of that shit, she was almost totally different. After she had been unstrapped, she seemed numb. She gave me this look, this broken, shocked look and then she just broke down. She started screaming and crying about how she didn’t know where the hell she was, who she was, what she stood for. She actually begged me to tell her who she was. Later that night she was convinced she was back in Las Almas. She got psychotic. She wasn’t there. She had fallen off the brink and it was time to pull her back.

Step 5: Leniency

This is kind of like the Stockholm syndrome building stage. She heard me come into her room and she instantly backed up, retreating against the wall, eyes focused on the floor. So I soothed her, promised I wouldn’t hurt her. I mentioned that because she was making progress in trying to make up for all the bad she had done and that I wouldn’t hurt her. I asked her if she wanted something, anything to eat. She told me she wanted a burger and fries. Simple enough. So I got them for her. It was the first time she’d something other than white rice in days.

But I made sure she knew that the only reason I was doing this was because she was making an active effort to make up for all the bad she had done beforehand. I started showing up in civilian clothes. She agreed to make an effort to right the wrongs she had done in the past. Later that night, She got to sleep in a warm room, a normal room for the first time (i.e. not a white torture room). She got to sleep in a warm bed all because, I kept telling her, she was changing herself for the better.

While it may not seem like much, after days of torture and interrogation followed by now days of brainwashing techniques, these small acts of kindness make her think I saved her life and that she owes me. She even said she felt obliged to me and so clearly there was increased trauma bonding.

Step 6: Compulsion to Confession

Next I told her that she could do something for me after everything I had done for her. I told her she could help herself feel better, too. How? By confessing that her past life had been a mistake full of bad deeds. I told her she could confess to me. And while she resisted at first, a little prodding eventually convinced her.

She confessed that her whole life she had lived a lie, that she had been brainwashed by the military to believe she was doing good, but that in reality, she had done horrible things. Her job had turned her into a horrible person. She confessed all of this.

And the best part? She thanked me.

Step 7: Channeling of guilt

Val started this stage on her own.

“I feel bad,” when I asked her why, she gave me this perfect answer about how she had done bad things with her life. She didn’t know how to fix things, she told me. How could she fix things, she wondered, if she had been doing them for such a long time?

She couldn’t have said it in a better, more perfect way. When I asked for the specifics of what she had done wrong, she had no idea. It’s not uncommon for subjects to be confused as to the specifics of what they’ve done wrong. So I told her that her previous identity and belief system were the source of her agony. What she had believed in were the cause of her pain. And I told her that if she wanted to alleviate her guilt, that she would reverse her identity and her beliefs. She could still be saved, I promised her. I told her she wasn’t a bad person but that her beliefs were bad. Easily fixable, I promised her.

While I didn’t take into account how many hours each stage took, the stages lasted shorter and shorter.

Step 8: Releasing of Guilt

This step involved convincing Val that it wasn’t she that was bad but that her previous beliefs were. She smiled for the first time in days and asked if this meant that she could fix what her past beliefs had made her do. I promised her that’s exactly what it meant. All she needed to do was denounce the people she had worked for and denounce that belief system.

To test her, I handed her her dog tags (we’d taken them from her to prevent a third suicide attempt). She wanted to melt them down because she said it reminded her of her 141 days.

I told her not quite because we might have to work with them again in the future.

This was when she realized that she wasn’t a bad person but that her previous beliefs had made her bad. And that she could make up for it by working with us and for us.

Step 9: Progress and Harmony

The path to ‘good’ was helping my cause, I told her. If she really wanted to make up for the things her past beliefs and dedications had caused her to do, she would follow the instructions I gave her. She agreed and this is where generally, the abuse use of force stops. I don’t need to hurt her anymore because she’s agreeing. She’s so far gone that abuse is unnecessary and might work against me. I gave her the illusion of choice (when in reality I’m not giving her a choice) in that she can choose between going back to her bad, evil ways or that she could choose a better path. I reminded her that her old ways had burdened her with so much guilt that they had led to a mental breakdown.

Remember that breakdown you had a few days ago? I had asked her. She nodded. I told her that her guilt had been so overwhelming that she had broken down and I had saved her. In order to prevent another breakdown, she would choose my way. Needless to say, she made the right choice.

Step 10: Final confession and rebirth

Who are you? Still Val, just a better person (she’d actually forgotten her first name as a result of this and maybe the almost week of torture we dealt her before). She said she was more than willing to work with me.

To make sure, I told her I needed to try something.

Downers and Uppers is what the CIA called it back when they did it.

My medic 10-4 and I got ahold of amphetamines and benzodiazepines. He set up an IV of each on each arm.

I watched as he drugged her with the ‘downer’ until she was almost asleep. Then he injected her with the ‘upper’ which jolted her awake and sent her heart rate skyrocketing.

Round and around it went, up and down. And holy shit did she reveal more information about 141. Some theories of downers and uppers that suggestions made during this interrogation technique seem to…for lack of a better word…stick.

She couldn’t lie during this hellish cycle. Literally could not. When I asked her if she’d work with me, without hesitation, she said yes.

And that’s when I knew we were done.

Well, almost done. The only thing left was to use ultrasound to re-concuss her and erase or bury the memories of the past 4 days deep.

Then I carried her back to my room. 10-4 said she should be able to sleep it off.

-

I told Shepherd it’s done. With a few hours to spare. I got her changed into more comfortable clothes I’d kept with me from one of prior nightly liaisons.

So then I picked her up again, led her back to that cold, sterile, cell. She’d wake up here and remember being tortured but she wouldn’t remember us coaxing her to our side.

She continued sleeping it off until I decided to really test the waters. I knew that because we did a shortened version of Ten Minutes to Midnight (its supposed to take weeks, ideally), there were going to be some kinks.

And that was confirmed when she watched me step into that cell.

“What do you want?” she whispered. At least she wasn’t charging at me or yelling at me.

“How long have you been here?” I asked her.

“I don’t know. You’re using all kinds of sensory deprivation.”

“10 days,”

And she snapped up at that. “No way,” she claimed.

So I pointed out how far along her injuries were healed. “Surprised you don’t remember screaming when we stitched ya up seeing as we didn’t use anesthesia.”

“Val, you were gone,” I paused before adding, “You don’t remember ripping that IV outta your arm and saying you wanted to die?”

She shook her head.

“You’re lying,” she said. She then pulled up her sleeves and saw the numerous IV track marks and the slices into her skin from her suicide attempts (One from a piece of glass, like seriously? And the other from ripping that IV out of her arm).

“You’re lying!” She yelled. And then she shoved me. For a second there I thought I was gonna have to drag her back to the drawing board. So I issued one warning: “Next time you put your hands on me I’m gonna break your arm,” and where before she would have dared me to, swung at me, scratched me, she complied.

I stepped closer towards her and she muttered I not get any closer. “When did you get here?” I asked again. I tossed her my watch. The look on her horrified face almost made me feel sorry for her.

“Havin’ a rough night?” I easily took my watch out of her trembling hands. “Tell you what. Come hang out with me tonight.”

She gave me this scared look. So I promised that as long as she wasn’t violent, I wouldn’t be either. She was also apparently terrified of my boys so I promised they wouldn’t lay a hand on her either.

She full on flinched when she heard me lock the door to my room. So I told her to relax, that we weren’t doing anything she wasn’t comfortable with. She was so confused. She had no idea she’d broken and she had no idea she’d been brainwashed.

So I wasn’t totally taken off guard when she walked up to me and kissed me. And I sure as hell found out that night that she was definitely on our side.

The clock just ticked one minute closer to midnight for you, 141.

-

Learn more! This fic was also inspired by a video from one of my favorite YouTubers, Dark5.

[gaywizardzone]

deliriously in love with your dgm fanart. i stumbled into a full course buffet. exquisite, splendid, 10/10 no notes. do you have any DGM fic recs, bc i have suitcases full of DGM recs,

ok first of all thank you so much!! dgm is i think the thing i've drawn the most fanart for in my life cumulatively? in many bursts of insanity over the years. lol. so i have a lot of fun drawing it and i'm very honored that you like what i've made so much. also re: your other ask my worstie and collaborator ozwuv and i are working on it together since you sent it to both of us (we made a joint google doc to combine our perspectives lol) so the answer might not come from me but you'll get one!

second of all i am kind of an old livejournal era hag in terms of my taste in fanfiction in general and my history with this series in particular, so there are exactly three things in here that are less than a decade old and two of them are from 2016. naturally this means that a lot of it is now divergent with some details of how the plot and characterization and etc has actually gone (sorry to everyone back in the day who thought kanda was looking for some missing sister or something. one truly could not have possibly seen all of that coming). that said they still hold up to me in terms of general character dynamics and being fun and well written and such. recommendations also depend on what you like! i will generally not put that much shipping in here because there aren't that many of those i've read and would recommend in the first place (no hate to our strong and beautiful yaoi warriors, i used to read nearly anything back in the day, it's just that not too much of it has stuck with me) but there are some things that are so iconic to me that i could not in good conscience not include them. lots of this is kanda-centric because i like him :) putting it all below the cut

Hard Living by metisket - the aforementioned ship fic that's too iconic not to include. changed my brain chemistry when i first read it many many years ago. i seriously considered making it the only thing i put on here for a second just for the bit. To Me this is actually such a classic that it transcends shipping. the humor is very sharp and funny and i'm so in love with the concept of dying young for them meaning getting old early first and having to deal with it all together. they're so damn hilarious. it should happen to them. it does in my dreams. it never will but in my head there will always be a world where it does <3 i love to draw fanart of them as old decrepit men at 35 and maybe i'll post some of it someday. obviously it was written pre-alma so you just have to accept that it's wildly inaccurate in that regard. anyway pretty much anything this author has written for dgm is really good, i will put a few more metisket favorites on this list but check it all out even if i didn't include it. also this particular one is the inspiration for my most favoritest kanda fic <3 below

Blooming From the Mud by zarinthel - this is not just me shilling fic by someone i know. i am an absolute kanda diehard and this is really THE fic for me in terms of like hitting all the things i love about him. zar number one kanda understander. incredibly funny and compelling i don't care if you don't know anything about bleach (i don't either i haven't read it since middle school) or that you haven't read the fic it's inspired by (though you should) or that it's unfinished. you all should and in fact must read it. kanda's life is both so sad and so hilarious because of how sad it is and his pov here is just so excellently funny because he really is such a funny individual. also not a slash fic though it does really highlight how close and kind of insane his and allen's relationship is in a way that i find extremely delightful and accurate and just wonderful. they make me sick (positive). really good. so if you're a non shipper but you care about them you should read it and if you're a shipper you will also certainly enjoy it anyway so you should read it. truly for everyone!

Chimera Obscurant by moonsheen - i tend to struggle with most kanda/alma fix-it fanwork i've encountered despite loving them dearly because i rarely feel like anyone evokes the way their relationship is both strong and a bit unsettling (at least to me) without swinging around into being too edgy (i fully admit i have not explored super deeply because i get frustrated easily so i'm sure there are things that would appeal to me that i'm missing). this is one of the very few things i've read for them that i've been like yes i think this is beginning to get at the kind of atmosphere i want to see. if i remember correctly this was written before kanda came back to drag allen into accepting support and friendship so i'm just like "oh whatever" about its incompatibility with that. fanwork for ongoing stuff truly creates divergent timelines in my head. anyway this is the most nsfw thing that will end up in here and it's not particularly explicit, but heads up that it is there in case you're averse to that

In his Heart by harukami - another kanda/alma but just kanda technically. i read this and was so delighted that i made a :D face in real life. i've assimilated this into my worldview like i think this is something he would do. he's crazy like that.

Economies of Scale by liketolaugh - last kanda and alma one but this one's here less for the romantic aspect and more because i'm so endeared by the idea of fresh out of the lab kanda being so angry and miserable but also completely blindsided by all the stuff there is in the world. ten year old who is learning about so many new animals. really funny and cute and sad.

siblings, probably by scarlet666 - this one's for the kanda and lenalee enthusiasts. the best friends lovers. i love them so dearly i put the level of energy people usually put into shipping into their bestie-isms so naturally this was for me. huge shoutout to this person for writing 20k words about them if nobody else in the world has my back i know they do. i have the memory of a goldfish and this is long enough that i can't really scan quickly to refresh my memory and make more detailed comments but i know it deserves a spot on here. my note from when i bookmarked it just reads AUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH but i never leave a comment in that field at all usually so that speaks volumes i think. life is so beautiful sometimes. peace and love on planet earth <3

Welcome Home by metisket - for the rest of this list i am about to hit you with the metisket beam. the author whose work i most fondly remember from my youth by far, which means that's what's stuck with me and what half of my recs will be. i love this one dearly because i love a normal person perspective in insane anime settings type of fic and reever is so delightfully normal and longsuffering and also funny as hell. love how his relationship with komui is in this. not a ship fic and am not recommending it as such but it did make me in the back of my head go "komui/reever is almost like roy/riza without the war crimes for people who are cringefail mad scientist enthusiasts." sane responsible second in command type slash babysitter who is devotedly loyal to crazy irresponsible boss but also wants to kill him a little bit. they're so great to me

Growing Up by Accident by metisket - just so kanda and allen and the way their relationship is. having the exact same feelings about something but approaching it so differently that they want to attack each other. love them 4ever. the way metisket writes allen's internal voice is also delightful to me (like not JUST here but in general). he's so jaded and funny. probably my favorite allen to read out of anyone who writes him ever. and kanda is always just so...kanda.......<3

Sand Castle by metisket - (smiles and blood leaks from the side of my mouth) i love you allen walker. i love this look at allen's growth pre-series from cross' perspective and how he managed to become the hilarious twisted convoluted wonderful little freak that he is. allen is so.....everything to me truly i would never have it any other way. really kind of darkly funny but also like agonizingly emotional. delightful

Mask and Mirror by metisket - love this take on what the inside of lavi's head is like, and also the way all the character dynamics shine through even in such a short thing, they're all so wonderfully cute and funny. the sense of humor is really great. lenalee didn't even make a real appearance but even the brief mention of how she and kanda are had me giggling.

in the circus series by metisket - certified classic. i love timcanpy pov and this whole thing is just so emblematic of my fond memories of old dgm fanworks. i love anything that highlights the way they're all just so immensely fucked up to the point that it's actually incredibly absurd and funny. i'm pretty sure metisket's LJ has more mini outtakes from this series but i'm too lazy to dig through the dgm tag right now so i'll just link it so you can do it yourself if you're interested.

lastly if you're looking for someone to share your recs with you're free to! i am on a personal level picky as hell and my taste in styles and approaches to fanwork was forged in the livejournal mines and has not evolved with the times LOL but i also don't judge <3

[manic-fanfic]

I have a thread of my stories and wips on Twitter, thought I'd share here too! Generally all my stories are fluffy with big sappy feelings, sentimentalism, humor, and low to no angst. Always a happy ending, guaranteed. Basically I like writing comfort fics. Here's a link to my works in AO3.

💕💕💕

Rated E. Big feelings, pining, flirting. Strangers to Friends to Dating-But-They-Don't-Know-It, to Okay-They-Figured-It-Out to They-Are-Basically-Married.

Stede is a lonely, jaded matchmaker for rich people and Ed a hopeless romantic romance novelist. After an unexpected meet-cute, these 2 strike a deal to help each other find love. Hm. Wonder where this is headed...

Also, there's a podfic!

🚕 🚕 🚕

Rated E. Stede in heels 👠 and some semi public sex.

A little time jump that takes place midway through Mismatched. Doesn't require having read Mismatched and won't spoil the main story. You just might miss a couple of references. Ed and Stede attend a Halloween party at Lucius's and they get up to some antics.

🎃 🎃 🎃

Rated E, mostly just domestic fluff.

A tiny blonde girl dressed as a pirate sneaks into Ed's bar to hide from her father. That's it, that's the meet-cute. Pub Owner Ed x Business Advisor Stede. Fluff forward, big feelings, smut, StepDad!Ed, and general good vibes.

🍻 🍻 🍻

Rated E

Canon, post reunion one shot. Ed and Stede's first time. Very soft and intimate. Stede just really wants to know how to take care of Ed. (written prior to s2)

☕ ☕ ☕

Rated T. Hallmark Christmassy.

When Ed Teach reluctantly returned to his hometown to care for his sick mother, the last person he expected to run into was his high school crush. Now out & divorced, Stede is struggling to run the local inn. If he doesn't get it together, it may be shuttered by Christmas. Can these two find a way to save Stede's inn, and maybe rekindle an old flame along the way?

🎄 🎄 🎄

Rated General Audience

Fluffy one shot. A young Ed notices a strange blonde kid trying to steal books. From a library, of all places.

📔 📔 📔

Rated General Audience

My work from the #AtoZofEdTeachZine! A soft lil 3k fic, post-canon Alma POV as she shares with her daughter memories of Stede and Blackbeard.

🍊 🍊 🍊

Rated General Audience , Microfic, based on the prompt "20 Years"

A short, sentimental glance into a canon retirement for Ed and Stede.

🎵 🎵 🎵

[lopsided-whiskey-grin]

Happy New Year, my fellow ghostsoap friends! (ﾉ^ヮ^)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧

Since I have been on a crazy COD hyperfixation lately and writing like a TON, I decided to make a Masterpost with all the links to all the Ghost x Soap fics I've written so far so they're all in one convenient place for your reading pleasure! I will keep the list updated as well, bc I definitely plan on writing lots more with all the amazing prompts I've been getting from you guys 🫶

Let's fuckin GOOOOO!!

Flashbang - Ghost and Soap stumble upon one of the Las Almas Cartel's drug labs trying to escape from the Shadows. They get much more than they bargained for when a vial of a new powerful drug on the market breaks open at their feet. It's going to be one long fucking night.

Rating: E

Tags:  sex pollen, mildly dubious consent, blow jobs, size kink, anal fingering, anal sex, choking, bottom Ghost, multiple orgasms, overstimulation, rimming, first time bottoming, frottage, praise kink, spooning, fluff, shameless smut, PWP, top switching

Links: AO3 /// Tumblr post

Word count: 7.4k

Status: Complete - epilogue may be added soon

Forgetting How to Breathe -  Soap goes and gets himself captured and Ghost will do anything to get him back.

Rating: M

Tags: Whump, Fluff, Kissing, Blood, One Shot, Hurt/Comfort

Links: AO3 /// Tumblr post

Word count: 1.8k

Status: Complete

Struck Speechless -  Soap sees Ghost shirtless for the first time and goes absolutely feral for his knockers. That's it, that's the tweet.

Rating: M

Tags:  Body Worship, Nipple Licking, Utter crack, One Shot, Prompt fill

Links: AO3 /// Tumblr post

Word count: 1.6k

Status: Complete

I Knew Him -  Soap was never the same after he lost Ghost all those years ago. He still has nightmares about it. But when he learns Makarov is back after taking Ghost from him, he'll do anything to exact his revenge. Until he discovers Ghost was never really gone. (Winter Soldier/Cap AU)

Rating: T and up

Tags:  Winter Soldier AU, Angst, Established Relationship, Lost Love, Nightmares, Brainwashing, One Shot, Prompt fill

Links: AO3 /// Tumblr post

Word count: 8.8k

Status: Complete

Careful, Johnny -  Soap and Ghost have to hide in a small utility closet to escape their pursuers. Things get a little heated in the cramped space. Not that Soap is complaining.

Rating: E 

Tags:  Frottage, Smut, Tight Spaces, Top Ghost, PWP, One Shot, Prompt fill

Links: AO3 /// Tumblr post

Word count: 1.4k 

Status: Complete

Never Have I Ever -  After a long night of celebration, Soap overhears Ghost say something he wasn't supposed to.

Rating: T and up

Tags: Alcohol, Drinking Games, Never Have I Ever, Unrequited Love, Mutual Pining, Prompt Fill, Drunken Confessions, POV First Person,  Kissing, Making Out, Neck Kissing, French Kissing

Links: AO3 /// Tumblr post

Word count: 2.2K 

Status: Complete

Wreckage -  Ghost has been captured while out on a solo mission and Soap goes on a rampage to bring him home. But will Ghost ever truly believe he deserves to be saved?

Rating: E

Tags: kidnapping, torture, fluff and angst, hurt/comfort, blood and injury, guns, whump, bathing/washing, spooning, nightmares, kissing, hand jobs

Links: AO3 // Tumblr post

Word count: 5.9k

Status: Complete

Falling Hard - Ghost and Soap have to infiltrate a posh masquerade party, posing as a romantically involved couple to gather important intel. But the charade just might push their feelings for each other a little too far.

Rating: E

Tags: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Kissing, Fluff and Angst, Mutual Pining, Requited Love, Public Hand Jobs, Frottage, Semi-Public Sex

Links: AO3 // Tumblr post

Word count: 5.2k

Status: Complete

My ask box is always open if you want to drop me a prompt for these two handsome boys! I have a few already in the pipeline, but I’ve been so obsessed with this pairing that I’ve been writing a lot more than I have in a while, so keep those ideas coming!

Cheers to an awesome New Year full of Ghostsoap! Happy reading! 

[reds-skull]

Hi I’m the work anon from earlier

Wow your revenant fic was amazing! I’m so glad I got to read it from start to finish and watch as your story grew and took shape

I adored Soap and Gaz’s friendship but I also adored how Ghost trusted and was friends with him too especially when he asked him for advice! 😭 (there’s so little of their friendship the fandom and it sucks ) Price was best dad and deserves all the hugs (and cigars for dealing with his sons squad every day) Rudy and Alejandro (and the vaqueros) were adorable and had the 141 backs from the start, they were ready to throw down! Grave’s got what he deserved I hated him in this fic so much (great job) he was such a smug smarmy bastard until the end. Farah and Alex were so sweet they were like the favourite cousins that got roped into the family drama (I still want Fahra to BITE shepherd you know as a treat!) Laswell knows things and is scary she will happily help people reach the find out portion of their fucking around.

The reapers were so cool!!!! Especially with how they combined I was not expecting that, was legit shooketh (I now imagine limbo as a pitch black ocean full of burning stars (I also have a couple questions regarding it I would like to asked later please?)) Soap’s reaper was warm and kind Ghost’s was cold and clinical together they’re so much more?!?! Like it’s poetic there the best version of themselves together (like ghoap)

Speaking of ghoap they’re so in love it’s sickening all I could imagine during the vows was Price “listening in” and then getting Laswell to hand the boys a bloody wedding certificate so sweet 😭

Thank you for putting in the time and effort to create something so beautiful for so many people have a lovely day or night you deserve a break after all of that hard work!

And with all my admiration fuck you for making me cry (again)

Hello work anon! Hope it went easy haha

I feel like there's a few versions of Ghost headcannons floating out there, one is basically "the man believes he's broken beyond repair, he doesn't think he's human, all he does is focus on work" and the other is "yeah he went through really fucked up shit, but he holds himself together pretty well, and while it's hard for him to find someone he trusts, the people close to him are priceless."

I like both versions, but this time I went for the latter. I love love love Ghost and Gaz as friends (mw4 please give me them interacting), and you can see that in my comics as well lol.

I made Graves such a little bitch that everyone hates from the start lmao.

I didn't plan for Rudy and Ghost to interact that much if I'm honest, but because Soap wasn't the POV and I wanted to have the Vaqueros more prominently in the story (it does take place mostly in Las Almas after all), Rudy's initial reaction to Ghost's mask was the perfect opening for a deeper friendship.

Farah and Alex weren't too active, if I make a sequel, I think I'll make it focused on the situation in Urzikstan. Farah deserves to take her own revenge and get her happy ending...

I love your description of Limbo, especially because I mentioned in the fic that Ghost loves seeing the stars, because it's the first thing he saw after he was Reaped (and now Soap created stars for him in the void).

I'd love to hear your questions!

Ghost and Soap, like someone else commented, are practically married on all levels beside legal lmao. I never planned for them to be so fuckin' whipped for each other tbh, like the vows at the start were not planned at all. I just looked up Celtic wedding vows, and it was literally so perfect for them ("I give ye my Body, that we Two might be One./I give ye my Spirit, ’til our Life shall be Done."? Couldn't fit more to their story), I just had to add it.

Thank you for reading and commenting! I wish this break was voluntary, but my semester is ending in 3 weeks and I have many projects to finish, so I have to prioritize that for a while T_T

[cheetee]

Hi! Do you have any headcanons about what Dolores' and Mariano's (like, the Mariano from Rumble Thy Bellyful) wedding will be like?

WOW THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION... If I were to write that fic, how would it go...?

I think a lot of the story would revolve around Alma, Pepa, and Dolores, who would all agree upon a very big traditional wedding. I think it would be a lot of Alma & Pepa re-hashing what went wrong with Pepa's wedding as they carry out the bulk of Dolores' wedding planning, and Dolores, starry-eyed, completely indifferent to anything but the notion of marrying Mariano, totally neutral on every decision, outwardly stoic and inwardly just glowing with joy. I think both Alma and Pepa lose a little control of the situation, I think some stuff happens, I think it's probably Bruno's fault just because that's funny, and I think it all goes disastrously wrong...

And then Pepa and Alma look at each other, I think, re-living the moment last time, and reflecting on how things were done then, and now looking to Dolores and Mariano, because Mariano (with help from Mirabel and Camilo and Antonio, of course, who else, it's my fic) has put together this ragtag romantic thing for her and it's the only thing in the world she cares about. Dolores, in a ruined dress and no shoes, just radiantly happy.

And Alma and Pepa laugh it off, and Bruno finally manages to break the tension with laughter, and they hand things over to Félix, because he's the guy who knows how to have a good time under any circumstances, and they put together a messy little party anyway. ("Her wedding was just like ours," muses a dreamy Félix, "The most beautiful day in my life... Don't you remember?" And Pepa does remember.)

...

...Gosh, that was a lot more detailed than I was planning on making my answer. But there, that's how it would happen! I think Bruno would especially be the butt of this episode. I think Pepa and Alma learn something valuable in this episode and Bruno will never in his life learn why he shoudn't have made the rain joke at Pepa's wedding.

I guess Mirabel or Camilo's POV would appear somewhere. They're probably riffing about what they want from a future wedding, where every time they revisit the scenario Camilo wildly changes the gender and costume of his future wedding.

It's not planned, but Isabela ends up being the best man.

[callsign-bunnie]

Think of this as the fieldguide to my works

"I've never read one of your long form content, where should I start?"

Horror:

Mimesis - My OG horror fic, though definitely not my best Rodolfo Parra goes missing out of the blue one night. Alejandro will do anything to get him back. He'll tear through the Las Almas cartel if he has to. Even if it's just a body in a box, he will do whatever he can to get him back. When the 141 comes to Las Almas and they capture El Sin Nombre, he thinks he finally has his chance but... Valeria is insisting she didn't take him. She wouldn't take him. As he fights harder and harder to find his best friend, he starts to realize that the answer is much darker that maybe Alejandro would like to believe.

Remember Me - A FNAF AU that I took wayyy too seriously. Features Rodolfo, Soap, and Alex as the main characters, mostly Rudy POV. It started with a post on a forum. Rodolfo has spent the last few years of his life doing everything he can to cope with his best friend going missing. Drugs. Alcohol. Sex. Self Harm. Everything. He frequents dark web forums to buy drugs and other things to destroy his life and there, he finds a post about breaking into the Unquatrun Pizzeria. The very same pizzeria his best friend went missing. He shouldn't go. But he desperately needs answers. He needs to find his best friend or at least find out where he went. After all, the guy who reached out just wants a picture and the other one that answered has more than enough ways to help them break in. It'll be easy. Just get in, find answers, and leave before morning. It'll be easy. Won't it?

Romance:

Why Can't I Be More? - My first long form fic for COD, Alerudy Rodolfo and Alejandro have been sleeping around for years. It's meant to be no strings attached but Rodolfo wants more, though he's not willing to admit this to Alejandro. Alejandro wants Rodolfo to open up to him, Rodolfo fears rejection from confessing his feelings. On top of all this, the cartel problem is growing, day by day. They're being slowly cut off from the rest of Mexico. Everyone involved is being faced with a problem that may, one day, be no longer able to be fixed. Things need to change.

ABO:

Love and War - THE regency AU, arranged marriage, blah blah blah Rodolfo Parra, Prince of the kingdom of Artemea, is resigning himself to his fate. He will marry King Alejandro Vargas of the Red Kingdom, even if he is known for being a brute, even if it is made clear, in no uncertain terms that he will break Rodolfo. However, after the marriage, he finds Alejandro is... not what he was expecting at all. Prince Kyle of Drodora knew he would one day marry. He knew that he would not get to marry for love. He was an omega, he'd be a bargaining chip, a way to build alliances. He'd accepted that... Hadn't he? Roach does not want to marry Lord Riley. He refuses to be complacent in a fate he does not want and he hates the Queen of the Red Kingdom. He does not wish to be Queen of Drodora some day, and he does not wish to sit pretty and content with a monster such as Lord Riley. Horangi, an omega disguising himself as an alpha in the kingsguard, has suddenly had a 6'10 and kind of rude alpha dropped in his lap. He doesn't quite know why, but he does know that he doesn't want the alpha. What the fuck is he even supposed to do with him, anyway?

Law Of Madness - Technically unfinished, but had a decent wrap up in CH10. Gets uploaded by Case and not chapter by chapter. Rodolfo Parra is a law intern for Lawyer Kate Laswell. He's been her only intern for close to two years, now, and he loves his job. However, when she picks up a case as a favor, his entire world is thrown into contention by two alphas accused of slaughtering an entire frat at a party. He's choosing to believe they're innocent, even if everyone wants him to believe they're not.

--

If You Liked:

Regency AU

If you liked it for ABO:

Law Of Madness - Technically unfinished, but had a decent wrap up in CH10. Gets uploaded by Case and not chapter by chapter. Rodolfo Parra is a law intern for Lawyer Kate Laswell. He's been her only intern for close to two years, now, and he loves his job. However, when she picks up a case as a favor, his entire world is thrown into contention by two alphas accused of slaughtering an entire frat at a party. He's choosing to believe they're innocent, even if everyone wants him to believe they're not.

Teacher's Pet - Finished, however open for prompts for the main throuple or any of the other ships Rodolfo and Alejandro have been best friends since they were children. Even after they presented. But... now that they're in college, things always seem to be pulling them apart. Enter Professor Phillip Graves. He's taken an interest in Rodolfo. He's older, but he's more mature than Alejandro. He knows how to treat Rodolfo. And he wants Rodolfo. That's more than Rodolfo has ever experienced, before, and he finds himself falling fast. However, Alejandro has seemed to very quickly get his shit together and suddenly he's practically devoting himself to Rodolfo. He completely turns around and their relationship is much better than it's ever been. So he falls even harder. Rodolfo's friend group soon becomes divided. Half don't want to see him hurt by an alpha who's much older than him and could easily exploit his position of power over him. The other half have suddenly decided they don't want Rodolfo to give Alejandro any sort of second chance. Both alphas also seem to be hiding things. Dark things. Dangerous things.

Phantom Of The Opera - About to be ported to AO3, but basically just another "Why Choose" ABO fic but this time for AleRudyGhost unfinished Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4

Beauty and the Beasts - Also not ported to AO3. Aleghostrudy with Beauty!Omega!Rudy and Beasts!Alphas!Aleghost Chapter 1 - Chapter 2

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If you liked it for drama:

Law Of Madness - Technically unfinished, but had a decent wrap up in CH10. Gets uploaded by Case and not chapter by chapter. Rodolfo Parra is a law intern for Lawyer Kate Laswell. He's been her only intern for close to two years, now, and he loves his job. However, when she picks up a case as a favor, his entire world is thrown into contention by two alphas accused of slaughtering an entire frat at a party. He's choosing to believe they're innocent, even if everyone wants him to believe they're not.

Teacher's Pet - Finished, however open for prompts for the main throuple or any of the other ships Rodolfo and Alejandro have been best friends since they were children. Even after they presented. But... now that they're in college, things always seem to be pulling them apart. Enter Professor Phillip Graves. He's taken an interest in Rodolfo. He's older, but he's more mature than Alejandro. He knows how to treat Rodolfo. And he wants Rodolfo. That's more than Rodolfo has ever experienced, before, and he finds himself falling fast. However, Alejandro has seemed to very quickly get his shit together and suddenly he's practically devoting himself to Rodolfo. He completely turns around and their relationship is much better than it's ever been. So he falls even harder. Rodolfo's friend group soon becomes divided. Half don't want to see him hurt by an alpha who's much older than him and could easily exploit his position of power over him. The other half have suddenly decided they don't want Rodolfo to give Alejandro any sort of second chance. Both alphas also seem to be hiding things. Dark things. Dangerous things.

An Academic Achievement - Finished, part 1 in a paused saga. Not ABO, College AU Rodolfo Parra, a pre-law major, is not going to college to fuck around. He is setting himself up for his future. He doesn't have time to go to parties in between Debate Club, an internship, 40 credit hours, and keeping with his chaotic best friend, Soap. Whatever, college wasn't meant to be fun. Alejandro Vargas, a business major and star of the football (soccer) team, is not taking college seriously. He happens to enjoy partying and drinking and having fun. College was meant to be enjoyed as the bridge between being a teenager and an adult. Both seem to be polar opposites when they're paired up in a math class, but maybe they're both what each other needs? Or maybe they end up hating each other. Who knows?

-

If you liked it for multiple plotlines:

An Academic Achievement - Finished, part 1 in a paused saga. Not ABO, College AU Rodolfo Parra, a pre-law major, is not going to college to fuck around. He is setting himself up for his future. He doesn't have time to go to parties in between Debate Club, an internship, 40 credit hours, and keeping with his chaotic best friend, Soap. Whatever, college wasn't meant to be fun. Alejandro Vargas, a business major and star of the football (soccer) team, is not taking college seriously. He happens to enjoy partying and drinking and having fun. College was meant to be enjoyed as the bridge between being a teenager and an adult. Both seem to be polar opposites when they're paired up in a math class, but maybe they're both what each other needs? Or maybe they end up hating each other. Who knows?

Teeth and Skin - Unfinished, another big AU but this one is a Zombie Apocalypse AU The zombie apocalypse went by rather quickly. Those who were immune survived, most of the rest died, in only a couple of months. Now, two years later, everyone is either “immune” or unknown. Of course, the only way to find out is to be bitten. Society will rebuild itself. Someday.

I also have two other AUs that are being built rn that are also big AUs and will have multiple plotlines and content.\

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Mimesis

Remember Me - A FNAF AU that I took wayyy too seriously. Features Rodolfo, Soap, and Alex as the main characters, mostly Rudy POV. It started with a post on a forum. Rodolfo has spent the last few years of his life doing everything he can to cope with his best friend going missing. Drugs. Alcohol. Sex. Self Harm. Everything. He frequents dark web forums to buy drugs and other things to destroy his life and there, he finds a post about breaking into the Unquatrun Pizzeria. The very same pizzeria his best friend went missing. He shouldn't go. But he desperately needs answers. He needs to find his best friend or at least find out where he went. After all, the guy who reached out just wants a picture and the other one that answered has more than enough ways to help them break in. It'll be easy. Just get in, find answers, and leave before morning. It'll be easy. Won't it?

Slasher Fieldtrip - Unfinished, I'm sort of out of ideas so it's on the backburner but has a fair amount of content in the meantime. Soap Mactavish does not have a good feeling about this fieldtrip for his college class, especially considering it's a fieldtrip to Simon Riley's house, who was widely known for murdering his entire family and then disappearing into the woods. And they just go to his house and mess around in it. Soap really doesn't think this field trip is going to end well. And when some girl runs out of the woods with a knife embedded in her skull, he knows he was right.

Slasher Party - ABO Slasher fic, AleRudy and Soapghost focused. Omega!SoapRudy and Alpha!GhostAle When Rodolfo and Soap go to a party in an abandoned school in the middle of the woods, Rodolfo decides not to expect anything. It's decrepit, it's creepy, it's dark, it's loud, and he doesn't really like parties, anyway. On top of that, there's this awkward tension between him and Soap, his best friend, that it's really not shaping up to be a great experience. Oh yeah, and then two murders start running around.

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Why Can't I Be More?

If you liked it for romance:

Why Can't We Be More? - GazAlex, set in the same universe, fake marriage AU Kyle Garrick has never considered Alex in a romantic context. They were little more than coworkers. And Alex was an ex-double agent as well. There was simply no room in Gaz's head for romantic feelings. Until there are and he spirals very quickly into a crush. It starts so simple, too. So stupid. It starts with a mission. A mission where he and Alex are sent to pretend to be married so they can catch a potential double agent who might be able to deliver missile locations to them. However, this mission is... weird. And all four catch onto it very quickly.

An Academic Achievement - Finished, part 1 in a paused saga. Not ABO, College AU Rodolfo Parra, a pre-law major, is not going to college to fuck around. He is setting himself up for his future. He doesn't have time to go to parties in between Debate Club, an internship, 40 credit hours, and keeping with his chaotic best friend, Soap. Whatever, college wasn't meant to be fun. Alejandro Vargas, a business major and star of the football (soccer) team, is not taking college seriously. He happens to enjoy partying and drinking and having fun. College was meant to be enjoyed as the bridge between being a teenager and an adult. Both seem to be polar opposites when they're paired up in a math class, but maybe they're both what each other needs? Or maybe they end up hating each other. Who knows?

Line It Up and Take The Shot - Mercenary Rudy, Alerudy focused, not really slow burn or I don't think so Alejandro Vargas, leader of the Los Vaqueros in Las Almas, has somehow landed himself with a target on his back. Rodolfo Parra has somehow ended up with his contract and the client wants a clean kill. Rodolfo grew up in Las Almas, he knows it well, but he'll need to balance knowing just enough to get close to Alejandro with not revealing just how much he knows. Posing as a military officer, he infiltrates the base and begins his plan. But there's something different about Alejandro. He can see through his disguises and walls. And Rodolfo starts to get dangerously close to him.

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In the same universe:

Why Can't We Be More? - GazAlex, a direct sequel, fake marriage AU Kyle Garrick has never considered Alex in a romantic context. They were little more than coworkers. And Alex was an ex-double agent as well. There was simply no room in Gaz's head for romantic feelings. Until there are and he spirals very quickly into a crush. It starts so simple, too. So stupid. It starts with a mission. A mission where he and Alex are sent to pretend to be married so they can catch a potential double agent who might be able to deliver missile locations to them. However, this mission is... weird. And all four catch onto it very quickly.

Grape Crush - GazAlex, sort of a prequel to ^, set when Gaz is a child Kyle Garrick is 15 and a half. It's the summer of 2011 and his family has decided to travel to the states on vacation. While there, he meets a completely gorgeous lifeguard who is too old for him, way out of his league, and just totally not an option. But fuck if he's not falling, anyway.

I'll Do It Myself - Alerudy as kids, framed as Alejandro telling a story Soap discovers Alejandro and Rodolfo were childhood friends and expresses that he didn't know as Rodolfo made it sound like they met in the military. Alejandro tells him why. When Alejandro is kidnapped while trying to meet up with Rodolfo to hang out, Rodolfo immediately goes to the police, where he's basically told they're not going to bother looking for him. Rodolfo decides to take matters into his own hands, since he's not going to let his friend die for no reason. Well, his and his sister's hands.

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Some people have expressed that they don't know where to go when they finish one of my fics, so here's a more comprehensive post of my more long form content and where to go if you liked some of my bigger fics. You can always ask me for individual fics and I'll suggest you some of my others

[stitchyarts]

Stitchy’s 2022 fic round up!

I’ve been having a really tough few months, so I thought it’d be nice to take a look back at my writing this year, and see the good! I did a lot of longer pieces that I’m really proud of. Maybe you missed a few, or maybe you crossed my path in one fandom, but would be interested to see what I was up to in another, too!

The Return- 1990 IT miniseries, Richie/Eddie, 26k. A backbreakingly canon compliant fix it. The Losers have lost their memory of IT and moved on with their lives. Eddie is resurrected, and starting over on his own terms- except for one tiny catch. Bonus Maturin!! 🐢

The No Weddings Vow- 1990 IT miniseries, Richie/Eddie, Richie&Bev, 30k. Essentially a remix of The Wedding Singer. Richie’s FWB Bev is marrying Shitty Reganite Tom, so he enlists Tom’s driver Eddie to help him sabotage the wedding! Bonus Richie Sister and Nieces, and Outrageous Old Lady Neighbor 👵🏼

Message in a Marmalade Jar- OFMD, Stede/Ed, 12k. A straight up post s1 Fix it! Stede chases The Revenge up the coast on a shoestring budget, Ed grieves Stede, and Lucius hopes somebody’s left alive who can read all these damn messages he’s sprinkling behind them. Bonus goats! 🐐

For a Scoundrel is a Wanted Man- OFMD, Stede/Ed, 4k. Just some established relationship lovey dovey smut. Bonus roleplay 🎭

Sincerely, Captain Thomas- OFMD, Stede/Ed, 4k. A post s1 fix it- done as an epistolary! While each is in harbor for repairs, and looking for some self-improvement, Ed and “Captain Thomas” begin exchanging letters. Bonus Mama Teach Feels ❤️

Ship Full of Nobodies- OFMD, Stede/Ed, 9k. A rotating door of POVs, as the crew encounter and are hired by the Caribbean’s Okayest Boss! Bonus Buttons Backstory 🪶

Crossing The Meridian- OFMD, Stede/Ed, 40k. Deaths have been faked, the dust has settled, and now the Revenge is off to start a new career. They just have to cross an entire damn ocean first. At least that gives a skittish Stede plenty of time for to acclimate himself to he and Ed’s physical relationship. Bonus Visting Your Boyfriend’s Hometown 🏚️

The Runaway Star- OFMD, Stede/Ed, 23k. Loosely a Stardust AU! Stede is a star with a literal heart of gold who’s looking for adventure, and Ed’s a worn out pirate who’s only too happy to trade his mantle for it ✨💛✨ Bonus Ed and Mary besties :^)

Alma the Spy- OFMD, Stede/Ed, 26k. An AU where Stede brought the family along pirating! Alma has a blast learning to swashbuckle from THE Blackbeard, who seems to like Father a whole lot more than Mother does. Bonus G rated Fudgeries 👻

That’s a Very Touching Story- OFMD, Stede/Ed, 49k. A divergence from canon, in which Stede is a touch telepath, and Ed has prophetic visions of people’s death. As they’re so deeply attuned, things can’t help but escalate to the most elaborate pirate wedding ever! Bonus silky things for Ed 👘

[nightlyrequiem]

The Other Side of Paradise

2) Sing My Praises and I Will Bow to You

Cross posted from AO3

Ch.1, Ch.2, Ch.3, Ch.4, Ch.5, Ch.6, Ch.7, Ch.8, Ch.9, Ch.10, Ch.11

You try to make the best of your life working at a small bakery in a city with rising cartel violence. One slower day, a man starts harassing your coworker. Despite the obvious threat, you stand up to him anyway. Unbeknownst to you, Valeria just so happened to be there to witness it.

A/N- All chapters containing smut will be labeled mature. The fic is fully written with the whole thing on AO3 but chapters on Tumblr will be posted one a day.

Tags/Warnings: Fluff, Angst, Dual POV, Happy Ending, Plot with Porn, Graphic Violence, Inappropriate Use of a Knife, Masturbation, WLW

You took the day off. You actually took a few days off. You feel cowardly hiding up in your apartment, but you were just too afraid of that guy coming back. You should really learn to think before you speak. Trying to be a hero only works out in books and movies. In Las Almas, it gets you shot.

Unfortunately, no matter how afraid you may be, the bills won't pay themselves. You get ready for work. Neck uncomfortably moist with sweat. The AC must be broken again. You can do nothing but hope it will be fixed before you get back. Otherwise, you'll have bust out the old fan to keep you at a reasonable temperature while you sleep.

You grab your keys, phone, and wallet and walk towards the front door. It's so quiet in your apartment that you're glad to be getting out, even if it is just for work. Staying holed up in your apartment for three days did nothing but remind you of how lonely you are. It doesn't help that the only notifications you received were full storage warnings.

You leave and start your short walk to work. Greeting the elderly man that owns the small corner store below your apartment. It's a nice day today. A little too warm but the sky is blue, and the trees are green. There are children running around. It would be perfect and picturesque if it weren't for the 'soldiers' skulking around.

You've spent most of your life living in Las Almas. Such a shame it is to watch it fall into the wrong hands. It's not like the cartel sprouted up overnight like an invasive plant. It belonged to La Araña, then sometime over the last ten years power shifted to El Sin Nombre. Whoever that may be.

The cartel has always been around. It just wasn't as big of a presence when you were a child. Whoever ran it back then had the decency to keep things lowkey. You spot a murial. Splashes of colour put together by someone who clearly takes pride in their work. Too bad the person used their talents to support El Sin Nombre.

You reach the bakery and walk inside. Eyes automatically scanning the crowded room for the man from last week. You almost feel sick with relief when you don't see him. You quickly go behind the counter and grab an apron. You're not entirely sure why they make you wear it. It's not like you are the one making the treats. More often than not you're on dish duty. Which is your first task today. Lucky you.

You go around back and begin to fill the sinks. While you're letting the dishes soak, your manager, Mateo appears behind you. Silent as a cat and scaring you out of your skin.

"Christ!" You exclaim quietly.

"Mateo." He corrects. Judging by his serious expression he's not here to have a friendly chat. "I heard about what happened on Thursday." He says. "I get what you were trying to do, but we have a good thing here." He continues. "Don't go bringing trouble."

He leaves before you can respond and you feel annoyed. People only ever talk to you to tell you what to do or tell you what you're doing wrong. You pick up a rag and scrub at a plate angrily. Although, you do see some sense in what Mateo said. You will be more careful in the future. That's what you tell yourself.

Your shift goes by pretty quickly. Afternoon turns to dusk. You go from dishes to working the counter, to cleaning. You're the only one closing tonight. You still have forty minutes left but you haven't seen a single customer in the last hour. You decide to start your closing tasks early, Mateo doesn't care. There are only five things left in the display case. Not one for wasting you decide to just put them in a basket to take home later.

You start sweeping. Pushing dust and crumbs and whatever else to the center of the room. The bell above the door chimes and you look up. It's Valeria. You straighten, feeling a little flustered because you weren't expecting customers. She sees the lack of other people and you sweeping.

"Are you closed?" She asks. Her voice is pleasant. Smooth and feminine.

"No." You reply. "What would you like?" Valeria turns to look at the display case and you follow her gaze. Feeling like an idiot when you remember you already took everything out. "Uh, there's still some stuff left in the back, I'll go and get it." You say quietly.

You set the broom against the wall and hurry off behind the counter, clipping your hip on the edge. You hope she didn't see that. You bring over the little basket containing leftover treats and take out a couple of mini cheesecakes and three cookies. Meager pickings but if she wanted better, she should've come in earlier.

Valeria looks over her options. She looks back up at you with a lazy expression. "Do you have any conchas left?"

"Sorry, this is all that we have." You say apologetically. She looks a little disappointed but doesn't comment. Instead, she just looks at you. It starts to border on rude when she finally speaks again.

"We went to the same school." She remarks. You already knew that. You're a little surprised that she recognized you. You didn't exactly run in the same crowd. You nod in response. "I don't quite remember your name...?"

You tell her and she nods. She doesn't share hers. Probably assuming that you already know it. Another uncomfortable silence settles over you two like a too-warm blanket. You're trying to think of something to say to ease the awkward tension when she speaks again.

"Do you make the pastries?" She asks, tilting her head slightly. You shake your own in response. Starting to pick up the food from off the counter. Putting the items back into the basket. "What do you do here then?" You look at her and study her expression. Wondering if she's being hostile. Her expression looks relaxed.

You move the basket to the side. "I help out." You reply. She can probably guess what you do. It's not like a service worker's tasks are top secret knowledge.

"Cleaning, selling treats, and security." She murmurs. "You're quite the package." So that's why she's talking to you. You were wondering why. She was here last week; she witnessed the events that transpired. You had seen her in her corner. Why should she care though?

You shrug. She continues. "That man is in the cartel." She states obviously. Because clearly you couldn't tell. "I've seen him patrolling."

"Yes." You reply. Suddenly a little less eager to talk to her. She's wearing jeans and a tank top that shows off toned arms and tattoos. Is she a part of the cartel? You feel a little judgmental for thinking that way. Don't judge a book by the cover and all that. Even though that's the whole point of the cover.

Leaning against the counter in a way you hope comes off as nonchalant, you try to do some damage control. Just in case she is in the cartel. "He can be whatever he wants to be," you say. "But he doesn't have the right to come in here and throw his weight around." Actually, that might not be the best thing to say to someone you suspect of being in a dangerous organization.

Valeria smiles. "You're right." She says. You feel like a child being told 'good job' by a teacher. "Some people seem to think that just because they have a gun, they're invincible."

You like what she's saying. Your feelings do a one-eighty, and you decide you do like talking to her.

"It's refreshing to hear someone be more honest with their opinions." Valeria praises. "I can respect that." You feel flattered. You know a few people who are pretty honest about their opinions but clearly, she doesn't. That's fine with you. As long as she keeps complimenting you.

Valeria's phone buzzes and she takes it out from her back pocket to check. You're caught off guard by how outdated it looks. Not everyone can afford or wants the newest phone on the market, but seeing a flip phone catches you off guard. Her easy-going expression falters only for a few seconds before she relaxes her facial muscles again.

"I have to get going," she says. "I enjoyed talking to you though. I'll be seeing you tomorrow." She gives no room for response or protest. She just smiles once then turns and walks out. You finish cleaning. Feeling slightly giddy. You also feel nervous, going over your conversation in your head.

You go home after closing and bound across the sidewalks. Feeling as light as a feather and bright as the sun. Your pleased mood sours slightly when you enter your apartment. It's sweltering and humid. The AC is still broken.