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sinterblackwell · 2 years ago

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kay’s favorite reads of 2022

and now we're finally here for my personal best reads of 2022!! there’s still so many other books i’d have loved to mention previous to this post or as a bonus, but that would have ruined the fun of the challenge that was compiling only a select few titles. i could always write another post in the future but for now, here were the top top top books that absolutely stole my heart, or just affected me so hugely i couldn’t imagine not having them on this list.

here’s to a hopefully good year and i hope i could find even more stellar reads in 2023 that could potentially change my life as these ones did :’)

warning: again….very long lol

but first…….

honorable mentions:

- the bright lands by john fram

“I texted you Sunday night because I thought I could learn to be like you.”

this book not making it to the top 10 breaks my heart just a little because it was one of my first reads of this year and i was absolutely convinced by the end it would be on my top reads list. and it still is, it…..just so happens i read a lot more books after this one that climbed up the ranks :’) but i still wanted to showcase this story here.

joel & dylan’s sibling relationship was one of the highlights of this book for me, among other things, as you would see here and here.

but yeah, i found the last quarter of it to be absolutely epic. to have found out that some other readers had mixed feelings about how chaotic it got, it makes me love it even more because it was an Experience™️; one that had me all in due to the slow & haunting nature the story had for the first half and then it all builds up to quite a cataclysmic & emotional finale.

if you want to hear more of my thoughts about this story, here’s my review for it (x). it’s one of my favorites that i’ve written :’)

- summer sons by lee mandelo

After midnight on a pitch-dark stretch of road, tasting the finer edge of human fragility in the glare of wrong-way headlights, though—there death was a pressure on the sides of the neck, gripping where the pulse beat hardest.

a southern gothic horror that also happened to be another one of my first reads of the year!! the writing pulled me in completely but most importantly of all, it was andrew’s pov that really swept me away, just as well as the relationships he shared with characters such as eddie & sam.

this was a read that i picked up sometime late last year but was hit with a case of right book, wrong time. i was really excited to pick it up in the beginning of this year for its second try and the timing worked out perfectly, thank the gods. again, the writing was absolutely incredible and i loved how the author explored the grief of losing someone who was everything to you in all ways that are undefined, and the missing fractures that come with what was left unspoken.

andrew was so lost in that grief and in his haunting that the moments where other characters pushed him to anger or just to feel something were very intense and so so well-done. i always knew if this story didn't make it to my top 10 that it would have its place as an honorable mention and so here we are :')

- headcase (necessary evils, #4) by onley james

“You like this, like being my sole focus. It’s okay. I like that you like it. If you don’t want to admit it, if your pride is too great, then I can take the choice away from you, if that’s what you want. Slide that cuff back on your wrist and I’ll give you what you want.”

fun fact: this book is my most surprising read of 2022. i didn’t list it in this post because i wanted to have it stand on its own here where it belongs. i also genuinely think if it wasn't for my #10 pick, it even could've made it to my top 10, i am that obsessed with this title.

i did not expect to love this as much as i did, coming in with low expectations since some other reviewers expressed their apathy/dislike for the story. this just goes to show that you can always turn to reviews if you want, but always take them with a grain of salt or otherwise you’ll have missed out on a potential gem, just as this title is to me.

this book is worthy of an entire post on its own, i simply couldn’t get enough of it. asa & zane had me obsessed when i first read their story back in august and to this day, i still am absolutely invested in their dynamic. i loved asa’s character and i loved zane’s own connection to the mystery that’s at the center of the story, which was pretty traumatic, and it made all the events of the plot hit really hard.

i also discovered a whole different side to myself that i didn’t know existed until reading this book so that was definitely something to be reckoned with.

- henry hamlet’s heart by rhiannon wilde

For an immeasurable stretch of time, we’re not Lennon and Hamlet, or two people who want each other, or two people at all.

There’s never been a proper membrane separating us the way it does other people; we’re connected, and it runs so deep. I know, from how much this hurts.

i remember this book just being one of the best ya books i’ve ever read. it’s a story i’d love for a lot of teenagers to read, whether it’s in australia or all across the world, this story is for the youth.

the author’s writing style made it so that i was genuinely enthralled with henry’s pov and the friends & family he holds close, most notably lennon. there were so many scenes i loved and quotes i highlighted, it was just such a soft & hard-hitting book that i remember when placing it on my bookshelf after finishing it, my heart literally felt heavy because i experienced so much with these characters and i didn’t want to let this story go. i never will.

- the child thief by brom

“DEVILS, DEVILS, DEVILS FOREVER!”

note: the writing in this at times was weird, i have to admit. the way the author would include strange descriptions of women’s bodies left me feeling uncertain of what i was supposed to do with it; very reminiscent of some of stephen king’s books lol, but…..

outside of that, this book was just a complete mindfuck as a dark peter pan retelling that was all about these lost kids and their leader who was equally as lost but carried a magic inside him that could sweep you away. despite having read so few, i love love stories that are like a mix of horror & fantasy because the way the scales go from left to right so often, it makes the book that much more captivating and i enjoyed how much adventure there was to find in here.

there was a lot of grit & darkness to be seen in the violence these characters engage in and the traumas they’ve all endured. i think what makes that quote i inserted so special is that **SPOILER** it was the final words of one of these devils, aka peter’s lost children, who absolutely worshipped him despite all his faults, simply because he gave them this escape from their own damaged home life. this devil gives his life for peter and that was the problem, that was something that nick, one of our main characters, absolutely loathed peter for because they deserved better than this, they deserved better than to have to lose their life in some fucked up blaze of glory.

nick as a main character was such a brilliant pov to read from, and very ironically, too, because he strongly reminded me of paul adams from alex north’s the shadows—aka a character i absolutely despise. the good thing with nick is that even in his attitude that he knows better than all of peter’s other kids, he still has his own kind of naivety and is clearly struggling when it came to the relationship he had with his mom and all the anger he’s festered up because of the harsh life he was dealt with and is being thrust into further. he felt very relatable and brings peter down to earth at times, even as he butts heads with other characters. his commentary on the book added to the humor that was very present throughout, which was partly what made this book so fun to read at times.

this story was such a wild mix of different things: horror vs. fantasy, humor vs. somber; dark vs. light; adventure vs. violence. there’s so much magic but it’s all taking place in a crumbling Neverland and we watch as these characters navigate their toes between both worlds and battle their own demons, even if it means fighting with each other. the last quarter of this book was what solidified my big feelings for the story and so yeah :’)

now!! here we go for the winners (hehe 🤭) who made it to my top 10!! 🎉

10. the awakening (lore & lust, #3) by karla nikole

“There isn’t anyone else, sunshine. Only you.”

it is with sinking silence that i express that my feelings for this series have been dampened a little over time and so i can’t quite honestly say that i’m still as obsessed with it as i was all those months ago (exhibit a). the reason why i made the choice to include it in here and not in my honorable mentions (as was briefly toyed around with) was because despite how much or how little my feelings have changed over the course of time, i’ll always remember my excitement about this book, jae & jun’s story, specifically.

i was absolutely enthralled with this author’s version of vampires of different ranks and the way they navigated society as they found love and created families and shared business ideas as some oversaw their realms. i was obsessed with the writing, and how lyrical and sophisticated it sounded—almost too sophisticated when i think back to it, but it was still all together really charming. something i loved about jae & jun’s story was that that fancy charm was still there but both characters shared this dry humor and they had such an easy chemistry that had me smile so much. i loved how even in a story that was going to be focusing strictly on these two relatively new characters, i personally had no qualms with it because i loved the way these two interacted so much, and getting to learn all i could about them was fantastic.

the dominican representation with jun will always mean the world to me because it feels rare enough as it is in the publishing industry to see dominican characters as the leads but in a fantasy?? it was everything. it was everything to learn about how closely jun held onto his heritage because it reminded him of all the good moments with his mom, helping to alleviate the bad that came with being raised by his abusive & patronizing father. i appreciate how the author went about carefully exploring the trauma that came with being raised in such a strict household, and how that affected jun's perception of the bonds that are held so highly in vampiric society. jae's pov was such a breath of fresh of air in his own well of sarcasm and genuine wonder, so enlightening as someone who works in the medical field and who has his own revelations to be absolutely mystified with.

i stated in my goodreads review for this book how the more of the story i read, the more it felt like it was being written for a very specific audience and that audience was me, and that was just really cool. there were secrets that were unfolded and tensions to pave over, but also such sweet & heavy moments that made my heart ache a lot throughout the course of the story. just like with game changer by rachel reid, i constantly found myself coming back to this story in the midst of reading other books because i was just so charmed by jae & jun, they were so memorable. feelings may have dimmed on the entire series as a whole but these two were a heartstopper, and a power couple in their own right, i'll never forget them.

9. with a vengeance by freydís moon

I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.

this was my first read from this author, and it completely changed everything for me. i think, having read headcase by onley james previous to this story, i knew very well what i was getting into regarding how dark the romance would be and that i may actually be into it, so to have had this book actually end up in my top favorites of the year feels astronomical.

it wasn't just being obsessed with kye and eli's dynamic, and how much chemistry they had with each other (which is pretty vital in all romances, so i'm being repetitive here but still); i really fell in love with the author's writing here. i love how you can describe it as a southern gothic horror of its own, because of how vivid & dark the atmosphere was in the muggy swamps of louisiana.

i love how being that this is a villain origin story, the villian was someone who absolutely stole the stage and who had so much heart and fiery anger inside them. i mentioned in this post that moon has such a brilliant way of writing these stories where it's all about reclamation, it's all about gaining back agency in your own body and of your future. the symbolization with death in this story is a heady one (absolutely obsessed with the quote i inserted above), and kye wanting so much to just be gone, only to revive with such a powerful force left me floored.

i'm really thrilled that i found this story when i did, and i wish so much that more people can get into it and see how brilliant the book is, because it really is; it's life changing.

8. the hacienda by isabel cañas

"There is only One who decides who burns and who does not . . . Let His will be done."

my words can never be enough to fully express how much i love how this story made me feel. the closest that i can give is this quote by alexis henderson from a goodreads interview when she was questioned about what kind of horror she’s into, and she listed the hacienda as one of her recommendations:

"To me, a book that is truly frightening is one that evokes the senses and explores the complexity of fear. If a book can make me feel not just afraid—but disgusted, dread-filled, shocked, psychologically, or even existentially disturbed—that makes it all the more frightening. That’s a book that will get under my skin and haunt me long after I’ve finished reading."

the atmosphere of this house that beatriz moves into was so creepy that it genuinely did evoke a sense of fear in me. i loved her & andrés’ pov, for their fear felt so vivid that i couldn’t help but be afraid for what they were going through. i wouldn’t say the story is very slow but it really gets to you with how hauntingly beautiful & creepy the writing is, and it all builds up to quite an explosive ending.

the forbidden romance, too, added a nice touch that i was absolutely obsessed with, adding to the tension that was already stacking up quite a bit in this novel. i loved what @/perpetualpages from booktube said in one of their monthly wrap-ups about this story so if you’d like to see it to get the full scope of how amazing this story is, here’s a link of their own review.

overall, the fact that this story was so fucking close to winning “best horror” in the 2022 goodreads choice awards and still lost (and to a book i have never even heard of until then 😵‍💫) is one of the worst heartbreaks i faced this year, but well….it was best horror to me :’)

7. bellamy (sons of the fallen, #5) by jaclyn osborn

“We were enemies, yet each time we met over this past year, I just wanted to pull you close. You became the one thing in this world I didn’t want to hurt. But villains never get their happy endings. Or so I thought.”

it was knowing phoenix as the enemy since the first book and then finding out he & bellamy were meant to be together, and it was a complete storm after that. i’ve talked about these two so much on here, i just…bellamy & phoenix were a true force to be reckoned with. i wish i hadn’t spoiled it for anyone of their connection because now if any of you were interested enough to pick up the series from the start, the surprise element of this reveal wouldn’t hit as hard.

this is one of those times where i genuinely wish i could wipe my memory of it and get to relive their love story again because it truly was epic. the buildup to their story was books in the making and the author crafted it so well with raising the emotional stakes of it all, starting in castor and then electrifying their connection in daman & gray's stories, it was....everything. also just plain iconic because out of all the brothers, for bellamy to be the one to fall in love with a demon……very in-character for him, honestly :’)

but really, yeah i just think it was absolutely brilliant what the author did with these two, and i loved how in the knowledge of this fated mate bond that is the center of each romance in this series, it felt much more serious in the context of bellamy & phoenix because while yes, they're soulmates, they still had that choice when they fell in love with each other. this bond was what made it difficult for them to be kept apart but they had to navigate the trouble with being on opposite sides in this war against humanity. once they spent that time together and they just fit immediately......it was like a wall of emotions flooded out between them, like there was that spark and it suddenly turned into a fiery showstopper. i don't know how best to word it but it was something bellamy and phoenix said here:

bellamy: Our fated mate bond went deep, but I felt a shift inside me… like I was beginning to choose him rather than merely follow a destined path.

phoenix: “Fate brought us together, but I stand here because I want to be. I choose you, Bellamy. I always will.”

yeah, they're one of my most favorite pairings ever.

+ alastair (sons of the fallen, #7) by jaclyn osborn

i am not, in fact, cheating by doing this because both bellamy & alastair are part of the same series and so they both count as one. while i loved the romance in bellamy & phoenix's story, though, i wanted to also mention how much the brotherly relationship between the Nephilim brothers means to me and alastair's story, the finale of this entire fantasy series, is the best example of showcasing it.

it was the ultimate tearjerker when seeing how much these brothers aren't just risking it all for romantic love, but they're also fighting to be by each other's side. they've been through so much together and they've lived so many centuries back to back. while they have their fun and tease each other a lot, they face moments where they witness each other fall in this book here and through alastair's pov, it was heartbreaking.

i talk about it more at length in my goodreads review here but this entire series will always have a special place in my heart for a multitude of reasons and the song i inserted above--"brother"--is the best symbol of them, and partly what made me further grow attached to all these characters,so i'm really sad to be seeing them go. the reveal that there will be a companion novel released in february with each couple getting their own short story makes me feel so lucky and i'm just so happy for the author because i can tell how clearly the sons of the fallen universe means to her.

her author's note at the end made me emotional because there's so much that a reader doesn't know behind the scenes and for her to open up about what writing these characters have done for her and her relationship to writing, it made my connection to the series that much stronger because i could see all that she had put into it and what more she will be adding to it in the future, all with fresher eyes.

(p.s. this book gets special bonus points because simon actually has a role in the story!! who would've thought?? this is a grudge i held privately to myself for a while with only one rant about it (x), but something actually came out of it!! would've still loved to see more of simon in the other books tho)

6. moth (monstrous, #5) by lily mayne

I’d been convinced I’d be alone forever, never getting to experience any kind of intimacy like this.

And then he’d appeared, bluntly but gently telling me that he wanted me just as I was. Even after seeing the monstrous parts of me. He’d still wanted me.

…..“I love you.”

for a good couple of days or so, i was really wrestling with whether or not i should actually put moth & charlie's story above the league of gentlewomen witches. the force of their love and their entire book just became a whole comfort its own, one that was filled with a lot of sad reveals and long treks across the Wastes where the pair connected in a way that i could've never expected.

moth had spent so much of his life as a half-monster being shunned by both humans & monsters alike and to actually get to hear from him more often than wyn, edin, aury, and gloam in their own books was one of the best writing decisions ever. meeting him in the rycke, there was some mystery to him due to a grudge another character had against him and his unknown origins. to officially meet him in his own story and see charlie coax moth out of his shell with his gentle & compassionate nature was such an emotional journey, and i just loved how we got to learn a lot about charlie as well after briefly meeting him as hunter's best friend in edin. the pair of them in this book and in all those bonus short stories on the author's website made me grow an attachment that is hard to rub off and i don't think it ever can, with a monstrous christmas in the camp the ultimate cherry on top.

the romance was absolutely gripping, and so was the plot as we actually get to visit the cities that the military have taken control of in light of the monsters tearing through the fold that led into the human world. it was because of this book that i really got a sense of where the overarching plot might be for this entire series and it had me more excited for what's to come next for all these characters. at the end, another thing i was left most excited with was getting to potentially see moth visit the monster world for the first time, a place he was never able to before due to how shunned he was but now with charlie and monsters like wyn & gloam by his side, he'll hopefully get to learn even more about where he came from and where he could go from now. charlie is such a huge comfort character so i'm also looking forward to getting to hear more of his wit and charm that had other characters already taken by him and even the ice queen moth himself. i'll be rereading this story quite a bit in the meantime and i'll continue to for a long while, which is something i'll always appreciate.

5. the league of gentlewomen witches (dangerous damsels, #2) by india holton

Witch and pirate danced through like shadows in the lamplight, portending night, leaving everyone blinking and enchanted.

in the simplest words, this book made me really happy. that's why it naturally made its way to the #5 spot.

some of the books on this list did the same thing, yes, but what made this one stand out was just that it was such pure fun. the adventures these characters get into are ridiculous as hell and the humor was absolutely unbelievable, and i had such a memorable time with every second of it.

i absolutely loved charlotte's character; i loved seeing her get to tap into her magic in a way that she never got to before, but in this story she lets it go free and she experiences such wonderful joy. her relationship with alex was so good, i loved loved loved their banter and how much they just fit, just like cecilia & ned in the wisteria society of lady scoundrels; except with alex & charlotte, it was like were like on a whole other level, i was absolutely enamored with the way they were so taken in by each other.

this is one of those comfort books that is genuinely a comfort in all the ways it made me smile & laugh as i enjoyed these characters' deadpan humor and their expertise in criminal activity & making their afternoon tea. it was incredibly romantic in all the best ways and had a main character like charlotte who stole the spotlight in more ways than she believes herself, the literary heroines she speaks so often paling by comparison, as is just my personal opinion. she deserves the world and she gets it.

this entire ensemble cast gets their fun and holds the spotlight and i'm absolutely geeked over the next book that's to come in this series so i can see them all again. they're just....everything.

4. ocean’s echo by everina maxwell

Tennal’s mind was the mirrored universe itself.

it's hard to really put into words why this book is so high up on this list. i really liked winter's orbit last year and was so genuinely excited for this companion novel that is set in the same universe but follows very different characters. sci-fi isn't a genre i read that often but when i do, the titles under that belt always tend to stick to me somehow and in this one, i just loved the world that the author was building here in the cosmos.

i loved how plot-heavy this book is and yet the characters are what majorly push the narrative as tennal & surit's voices really take the story to new heights. their bond is one that has a bunch of twists & turns and seeing the way they grow closer & closer over time, in a way that you wouldn't expect, i was obsessed with how well they came to understand each other. tennal's character, specifically, i resonated with a lot in a way that felt reminscent of mickey in icebreaker by a.l. graziadei, as i also talk about in this post. their personalities are very different but the feelings i have for these two characters is so strong that seeing the journeys they go through in their own books was similar in its brilliance.

in tennal's case, his self-destructive nature and the way it was so hard to predict what he'd do next made me think about how other readers might hold him at fault in the beginning, which is kinda understandable. for me, though, i just found him to be a really well-crafted character who had a lot of charm to him and was intelligent in a way that could easily get looked over because of superficial impressions. surit's character was also someone who really added to this story in a way where his analytical mind helped me in taking a step back and understanding what was going on.

both voices were pivotal to my enjoyment of the story and as much trouble as i have talking about the why, my conversations with a friend who loved this book just as much as me were one of the best things about my whole reading experience and for that, that's why i listed it so high. between winter's orbit & ocean's echo, the fact that the latter evokes stronger feelings for me for unexplained reasons also plays an important factor.

i've been babbling so much on here, so let's crack on now that we're at the top 3 :')

3. the winners (beartown, #3) by fredrik backman

Look up at the roof. Only you and me on the planet. We’re alone. No one’s going to hurt us.

i always knew this series would end up in my 'best of' list because the way that fredik backman writes is so completely heartwrenching but comforting as well. reading this final book here, though, i was left feeling quite a bit empty.

with such a large cast of characters, you would think quite a few might fall under my radar but i can never forget any one of them. yeah, there were some standouts over others but each & every voice in this series--in this small town called Beartown and even another town called Hed--they all added so much to what made such an emotional reading journey for me and i wouldn't trade it for the world. seeing all the good & bad of what ice hockey means to these characters and what they mean to each other was amazing, and the big kicker with this finale here was some of the new characters we meet--matteo, ruth, and mumble--who....are connected to the first book in a way that reshaped everything i thought already knew up to this point in the series.

there's so many decisions made in these books here that force you to trash any black & white thinking because backman captures the faults & hopes of humanity so carefully in his hands and he creates characters with so much dimension to them that makes it sometimes easy to hate them but in other cases, hard to as well--it's all about perspective, you see, and every reader's thoughts are subjective depending on our own personal experiences. the experiences of these characters are all laid out on the table here and it's up to us as the readers to decide how we'll take them. with whatever choice we make, these characters have lived while others have lost and the best thing that i could do at this moment right here is carry the memories of them for the rest of my life, to be honest.

they mean that much to me and i want the best for them, even in the knowledge that there's still probably more sad moments to come--we just won't be there to see it any longer. such a heartwrenching story, as said earlier, but it was really funny, too, because that's just like all humans. you can cry one minute and then laugh the next, you can feel bitter about some things while wrestling with the joy that some of these characters have.

this book was a lot :')

2. echo by thomas olde heuvelt

“When I smile, you don’t have to be scared of me, okay?”

i just loved sam & nick so much. this was what i would describe as a cosmic horror, with the mountains being an entity that really made my skin crawl in all the intense scenes of terror that these characters face. i loved the way that the author began the story and jumped between two different timelines that added to the impact of the horror, and i loved loved the ending. i don't have much of a review up for this book on goodreads and it's haunting me greatly, especially because i still have a hard time talking about it now. it was just incredible, i had a memorable time with it.

as compensation for my short thoughts, here’s a post that shares how amazing some of the writing was 🙇🏽‍♀️

the fact that it was my #1 read for so long (i read this back in march) only to then got beaten by a hairsbreadth of a second by the title that's up next will always get to me because it was so close. but second place really isn't terrible in the grand scheme of things so here we are.

1. stars (executive power, #2) by tal bauer

This is the land where all things die. Where everything ends.

just like bellamy & phoenix were books in the making in sons of the fallen, this #1 spot here was a whole series in the making, starting from all the way back when i first picked up bauer's enemies of the state. this story was worthy of tal bauer getting the "best new author" title and "best director" in the book oscars, but i had to play fair and as a reward, i got tal bauer to beat thomas olde heuvelt for best read of 2022 so that has to be something.

this high honor is all because of sasha & sergey, and it's because of how chaotic things got in this finale here. i can pinpoint the exact moment that i knew this book would be top favorite read of the year, but i can't and won't sell it out because it was so epic, i wish other readers could be curious enough to dive into this series to see what i was talking about.

it's all about the secrets that these characters hold, that their governments keep close to their chests, and it puts others at risk in a way that was a complete mindfuck but was handled so brilliantly by the legend tal bauer himself. i just love how genre-breaking this story was--it's a romance but it can also be called a horror at some point; it's a sci-fi but it's a mystery as well with thrilling elements. it's hard to pinpoint where exactly this story straggles the line and i enjoyed every moment of it.

i enjoyed how much sasha & sergey waxed poetic of each other and how this duology was for them. i loved how we got to see some of our favorite characters from the entire executive saga return back in their own povs to provide context in moments where sasha & sergey couldn't. i loved the way the author explored sasha's love for space, and how that love was connected to sergey in a way that made me, an aro, fall further in love with the soulmate trope. i just....love how all out this author went with this story here; the writing was beyond the beyond, and it got so sad at times, and i appreciated all of it. the ending made me emotional because this was it as far as i was aware, and it had been such a long run in this saga.

first with the executive office series and then here with executive power, it was epic as hell, i will never get enough of it. i'll never get enough of the author, who next to freydís moon, was my best new author as he contributed to what made this reading year so impactful for me. i had read most of his entire backlist all in the span of two weeks in october and then further more in early december, which is just mind-boggling to me because i have never experienced this with an author before. before tal bauer, i had read the most books from rick riordan himself because of the entire percy jackson universe but here, it was more than just one universe, there were so many books!!

stars wasn't even my last tal bauer read but it is my most favorite and the enormity of it will never be lost on me. i don't ever want it to.

and that's a wrap!! happy new year, everyone :')

#❣️#I DID IT #happy new year everyone 🙇🏽‍♀️#i copy & pasted all of this on google docs and it came up to like 11-12 pages so it’s practically a whole book collection of its own :’)#still had a lot of fun #booklr #Spotify

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icey--stars · 3 months ago

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thank you so much for the tag @potatoplace !!! <3 I had a ton of fun answering these oml...

Describe your writing process from idea to posting/publishing:

Normally I get an idea while belting out lyrics to my next favorite song on repeat, while reading or writing, or sometimes while just blanked out during school. Then I'm stuck in a daydream trance for the next hour (then I panic write the bare bones of the idea before I forget) and it just nags me for weeks until I start writing it.

I end up writing a shit ton of it for the next few hours when that finally happens. Sometimes that writing spree doesn't happen if I know the story requires more worldbuilding/planning so instead it just bugs the ever-living hell out of me. From there, it is entirely up to the gods whether I continue/start writing it. (we don't talk about how many WIPs I have...)

Normally I go from a beginning setting (ex. forced proximity situation with azris) and have an end goal (ex. they fall in love). I live for the development of a story and its characters above all. It all depends on how much of a grip a story has on me whether I continue writing/planning it or not. Now editing... that is my least favorite part. So sometimes it happens, sometimes I just throw it out with the words "fuck it." (Clearly, it doesn't end up too badly lol)

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

I can be either, but I find myself with much better stories if I just let my brain word vomit on the page. As I explained earlier, I have a setting and an end goal. Sometimes there's a few major points I want to get to in the middle that are written down (again, entirely up to the gods whether they actually happen). Sometimes (if the story is long enough) I have the bare bones of plot points written down that I plan on addressing. And they're normally plot points that can be achieved in many different ways, no matter how you got there.

I have planned entire stories before (ex. my on-hiatus long azris fic) but for some reason, they tend to get written slower because well... I already had the crazy idea processes happen where I decide what's going to happen in the story. Still works though 🤷

What do you listen to when you are writing?

Anything and everything. Is than an answer? Not rap, decidedly (but I don't really like that to begin with- only a few). Sometimes its epic strings instrumentals. Sometimes I'm singing my current obsession songs while I write (we don't question how it makes me focus better). Sometimes I play the most depressing music I can find. Sometimes I find random playlists online that just have the right vibe to them. It really just depends on what appears on my youtube page XDD.

What’s your drink of choice(while writing)?

I'm... very boring. I don't really drink anything other than water in my daily life (sometimes juice) so... water...? (It's because I hate carbonation)

Promote yourself! What’s your favorite thing you’ve written?

Honestly... it's gotta be my impromptu series, "i want to break these bones 'til they're better" because it just ended up so well written?? I have no idea why. My other two actually major series can perish. I want Azris. XDD

{ ao3 } "i want to break these bones 'till they're better" series: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 - A short series where it starts out as the classic enemies to lovers one bed trope and morphs to killing Beron brutally... to smut and feelings.

Share a fic of yours that you think is underrated/deserves more love.

... there's two for likely completely different readers.

Born For Tragedy because hell yes, assassin OC. Also, so traumatized, my LORD??? what the hell was I doing XD

{ ao3 } And then... After Everything You're Still Mine and its Part 2... We'll Keep You Safe because I'm SORRY... but AZRIS and their BABIES??? *sobs* they're so cute and Azriel being protective of Evera in part two made me cry while writing. GO READ its fluffy and adorable and FUCK *sobbing continues*

Do you have any advice for new writers?

Two different sets of advice:

First, READ! No matter whether its fanfiction, a book, or some random ass thing off the internet. Just read. It's the stupidest advice that you've probably heard a hundred thousand times already... but just read. It helps. There's not some magic to it XD

Secondly... enjoy some crap writing. I personally have probably over 60+ SJM fics alone that are never going to be published. But that's because it was me crap writing what I really enjoyed. The ones I really liked, I come back to and rewrite in a whole new way because who said that the story can't go two directions?? Don't put ANY pressure on yourself to be writing for the audience. I don't think I've posted writing in 6+ months but honestly? It's kinda nice. Just enjoy. If there's something that you want feedback on but don't want to post, find a friend (or me) and share it. Or re-read, fix what you want as you go, and then post it. If there's mistakes, fuck them. Just enjoy writing, alright? Write for yourself. And don't feel pressured in any way.

What is a writing style/technique that others do really well that you'd like to get better at?

I cannot for the life of me write proper descriptions of anything without staring at an image and then still failing to describe it. So anybody want to slide me some of your description powers?? I'll give you dialogue powers in trade?? XD I have conversations all day with myself so I can write dialogue. But the minute someone asks me to describe what something looks like... yeah, good luck buddy.

Is there a character you were surprised you enjoyed writing as much as you did?

I will be completely honest... I hated Eris until I read that last part in Silver Flames. I just thought he was the worst. Then I read azris fics. Then I read these sad fics about Eris and fuck if that didn't absolutely scream angst at me... I didn't think I'd enjoy writing Eris as much as I did, but he's now one of my top two characters to write (guess who the other one is hehe). The azris ship took a hold of me and has yet to let me go because I am LIVING for this angst.

uhm... anyway that was a lot. I'm gonna tag... @chunkypossum, @futurehunt, and @ladylokilaufeyson5 (no pressure and my deepest apologies if you've already been tagged <3)

Writing tag game by @bonecarversbestie !!

I was tagged by @thelov3lybookworm 💖 thank youuuu

Describe your writing process from idea to posting/publishing

Normally an idea will pop into my head while I'm at work - my job is physical and can be pretty mindless, so it's perfect for coming up with entertaining stories! I normally end up running through the plot of what I want to happen a few times before I even get to writing, so I have a good mental outline of the story. When it comes to the actual writing part, I tend to go full speed ahead for hours. Also most of the time I'm smoking a lil bit, I find being just a lil stoned can help move the writing process along. I veeeery rarely edit my works except for mistakes I notice as I go. And once I'm done, I post right away, pasting it into the app and editing it to look how I want. I give myself as little time as possible to second guess my writing lol

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

I'm normally a plotter, I like to know what I want to happen, but if fun ideas come to me in the moment then I go with them! Very rarely will I have an idea that I don't think about and plan for at least a few hours beforehand.

What do you listen to when you are writing?

So many things... Taylor Swift, Halsey, Chelsea Cutler, Blackpink, and more, but those are the main artists I listen to while writing. I also end up having stuff on in the background, lately it's been between Grey's Anatomy and Gilmore Girls.

What’s your drink of choice(while writing)?

I love me a monster ultra, strawberry dreams has been my fave since it was put out! Coffee too, and water of course (I'm a big water hoe)

Promote yourself! What’s your favorite thing you’ve written?

Probably You Can Have It! It's such a fun, cozy world that Reader lives in, and I'm sooo excited for all the plans I have for her, Feyre, and Rhys!!!

Share a fic of yours that you think is underrated/deserves more love.

This was tough... You guys give all of my stories so much love, none of them ever really feel left out! The only one that I think deserves more love is probably Omega Needs, it's my first fic on here and I love how I've changed the dynamic between Feyre and Rhys, and all the shit going on in the Spring Court. I just love them 🥹

Do you have any advice for new writers?

Just! Keep! Writing!!! I have been a new writer at so many points in my life, and every time I've enjoyed myself, but this time feels different. I've pushed myself to keep writing and not reread my fics to death before posting, and that has helped immensely with how I've approached writing this time around. Also! Write what YOU want to read! I know that I don't feel motivated when I'm not very interested in the story, so make sure that you like what you're writing!

What is a writing style/technique that others do really well that you'd like to get better at?

Ooo definitely the style where the pacing matches so well with intense emotions, like the punctuation and everything changes to match it. And also poetry! I love the way people can capture a feeling so perfectly.

Is there a character you were surprised you enjoyed writing as much as you did?

Definitely Shitty Azriel from my tears ricochet. I'd thought I might have a problem making him hateable but still like... acting sweet to reader even with all the lies that she didn't know about. But I didn't, and the response was an overwhelming "fuck you Azriel" (which I delighted in, thank you guys 😂)

I'm tagging @mira-says and @icey--stars, don't feel pressured or anything tho!!

#tag game

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dreamsclock · 3 years ago

Note

I remember someone thinking of an au with villain!dteam, where George breaks Dream out of prison and Sapnap joins them because George is all he has left. And now, with the whole Michael thing, I can't stop thinking about that.

you inspired me to write like no other inspiration has in A WHILE, holy shit i forgot how much i loved writing c!dteam stuff, especially when they’re being bastards !! calling this au the > nothing beside remains au because it’s my favourite line from the poem i listened to while writing this + i’ll probs write more of this lol anyway this was epic, thank you for the inspiration bossman :)

warnings: threatened c!tubbo + his son michael hurt, c!george + c!sapnap are villains, unhealthy coping mechanisms, sleep deprivation, codependency, explosions, threats

"So here's the deal," George says, eyes glinting with a malicious light Sapnap hasn't seen in his friend for months, "you're going to give us your little nuke, or we're going to find and kill Michael."

Tubbo is white as a sheet, but stands his ground. "You know," he replies, voice hard, "there's absolutely nothing stopping me from blowing the both of us up right now. The nuke is button operated, and I keep it in my inventory at all times. A blast that big is enough to kill us both. A blast that powerful is strong enough to kill you three times over. Boom. Dead."

George laughs, and it's unhinged, eyebags dark from too little sleep and hair ruffled from too much of it. Not for the first time, Sapnap wants to check in on him, wants to lay a hand on his shoulder and give him a little hey, you doing good? look that he knows only George will understand. But now isn't the time or place: Tubbo doesn't even know he's here, and if he blows his cover, George will be pissed.

"Good thing I have five lives," his best friend says wryly, and his words are dripping with the euphoria of getting to do what he wants with no repercussions; nostalgic, Sapnap remembers when the whole SMP had been like that, before the disks and wars. Well, there had been consequences, but they hadn't been serious, there hadn't been stakes - Dream had been casual about them, a long suffering parent for the SMP rather than the person he'd become later, and Sapnap knows George misses those times. They both do. "You wouldn't kill me, Tubbo. You wouldn't kill you. You're literally out of options."

In Tubbo's hand, a button materialises. There's a dark look on the kid's face. "I'll do it," he says, stubbornly, "I will blow you up, George. I'm not letting you get this nuke. I know what you want to do with it."

"Come on," George drawls, and for a moment, he sounds so much like a crueller, meaner Dream that Sapnap's heart hurts, "don't be an idiot. Just give me the weapon, Tubbo. Make this easier for everyone."

"If I press this, I win." Sapnap winces at the sound of Tubbo's voice. "I don't care about dying, George. I care about- about not letting this fall into the wrong hands. If that means I have to blow both of us up and everything in a hundred mile radius-"

"Even if it killed Michael?" George goads, and Tubbo freezes.

"Michael will survive. He's in Snowchester."

Unable to help himself grinning despite the wooden ache in his heart, Sapnap takes that as his cue to pull himself free from the bushes, releasing his grip over Michael's mouth that had stopped him making noise. "Is he?" He asks, snickering. "You're sure about that?"

Tubbo turns sideways to face him, slowly, and the expression on his face is hollow when he sees Michael in Sapnap's arms, looking sleepy and confused. "You found him," he murmurs, "I didn't think- I didn't think you'd find him."

"You kept him in the attic of your house, Tubbo," George rolls his eyes. "It wasn't that hard to find him."

Sapnap has to focus on George and on the exhilaration of action, of being involved in something, of being two-thirds of the Dream Team: if he looks too closely at Tubbo or thinks about what he's doing too much, he'll crumble. "What was that you were saying about blowing you and George up?"

Tubbo has never looked more stricken. Sensing his father's distress, Michael reaches out with a yawn and a questioning noise.

"It's okay, Michael," Tubbo tells him, voice wobbling, but holding strong, "it's okay. I promise. We’re alright?”

“He will be alright, if you give me the nuke.” George’s smile is as sinister as his implication. “All you have to do is hand it over, along with the button. It’s so simple.”

The knowledge of what George and Sapnap will do with that nuke after hangs over them like the weight of death. It’s not simple. Tubbo knows this better than any of them.

But he doesn’t have a choice.

Sapnap knows he and George are a lot of things, but when it comes to getting what they want, they’re the most effective people on the server.

Tubbo closes his eyes. Sapnap watches him resign himself to his fate.

“You’ll regret this,” the boy warns them, “this doesn’t have a happy ending.”

George’s glee is frightening. “It’s not an ending, Tubbo,” he tells him, “it’s the beginning.”

With shaking hands, Tubbo hands over the nuke and the button. George takes it eagerly, eyes widening, a laugh spilling from his lips, and in the same fluid movement, gestures at Sapnap to release the hybrid in his arms. Michael immediately runs to his father, who picks him up and holds him close, lips pressed together in defeat.

“You can’t free him,” Tubbo says, and there’s despair in his voice, “please don’t.”

“You can’t stop us.” George reminds him, pityingly. “Nobody can.”

George turns away from the kid as Sapnap falls into step with him, and they begin to head in the direction of the prison, George shivering by his side. Sapnap is sure his best friend is too far gone to feel the cold, too lost in his dreams and too far gone from reality, but when they’re far enough away that Tubbo won’t see them, he drapes his heavy coat over George’s shoulders. It drowns him.

“You looked cold,” he offers, when George glances at him questioningly, “it’s November, George. No point you getting sick now.”

George grins, lopsided, hazy eyes clearing a little in recognition of the gesture. “I’m okay,” he says, but they both know it’s a lie, it would be a lie if Sapnap had said it too, “you worry too much, idiot.”

Sapnap exhales roughly. Yeah, he thinks, I do.

But he nudges George to watch him grumble and wince, and follows his best friend to the prison, humming a little tune under his breath as he swings his axe experimentally. Sharp as usual, gleaming with freshly placed enchantments: George’s sword glitters with a deadly curve. People underestimate them without Dream - people forget how they, themselves, are a force to be reckoned with.

The sun sinks overheard. From the prison, birds take flight when they approach, cawing in alarm and warning.

“Ready, Sapnap?” George asks him, eyes alight in wild anticipation. The remorse over threatening Michael and Tubbo doesn’t seem to have any effect on him. The excitement of breaking Dream out - of the three of them being reunited, fuck the server, fuck the consequences - the Dream Team have been divided too long, and it’s about time the server remembered why they were so formidable. “Ready for some fun?”

Sapnap’s grip on his axe tightens.

His eyes focus on the looming prison.

“Oh Georgie,” he tells him, a fierce smile finding its way onto his face despite everything, “I’ve been waiting too long for this.”

(The moon doesn’t even get to rise before she’s interrupted by the nuke.)

(George’s smile is bloody, and the ocean water is painted black with crumbling obsidian.)

#> my writing !!#> nothing beside remains au #> sleeping beauty #> fireman sap #> nuke boy #> that one clock guy #tw sleep deprivation #tw unhealthy coping mechanisms #tw codependency #tw explosions #tw threats #tw death threats #tw dark themes

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churbo · 3 years ago

Text

hi here's a jojo sketch dump ill explain thoughts and tidbits underneath the keep reading ^_^

hiii sorry for no jojo i was doing this + real life stuff + oc stuff + L + ratio

first one is just dinopants doodles in like a modern (?) au i guess for summer uhhhh thats.... it i just like dinopants i think theyre funny...

second is a Caesar piece idea i had. thats really it there aint much beyond it lol probably wont be finishing it tho i dont really like da composition plus perspective is a bitch!!!!!!!!!!

third is older jonaerina because im soft and squishy like mashed potate.... you cannot convince me that jonathan would not grow facial hair to SOME degree if he got to be old okay it just... fucking makes sense think about it.... hes a teddy bear.... just add the facial hair and crap and BOOM.... grandpaified .....

fourth is ? jolymes ???? mermaid.? thing? idk i drew jolyne first and her face was wonky so i just made her into sorta of like a mermaid thingy ? and then drew hermes. I drew foof last minute to add in space theyre just chillin'

Moving onto one of the more doodley things, fifth is just. primarily anasui for some reason? I drew the right one first, didn't like it, googled anasui, and then tried to redraw that picture and it didnt work. so then i drew foof to just do something else and then they looked cute so i drew anasui as well and yeah... yeah ^_^

okay finally the obligatory golden wind doodles... i drew girono dying his hair bc i was waiting for the color to set in mine and it was my first time bleaching my hair as well soooo gotta do it to a character i like too! Nara dying his hair was just a little after thought. Completely forgot he dyed his hair before sooooo it doesnt make too much sense by accident. Fugo and Abbacchio brushing his hair is a VERY big hc i have of them bonding bc. white haired bitches ride and die together. Abba brushes fugo's hair to relax and just sorta. tap out while fugo reads a book and enjoys the physical closeness and just. general enjoyment of being groomed lol. Tangly ass hair though so abba has to like man grip the brush and gets bitchy about it. Finally its just Bruno trying to read a sign saying hot dogs theres no other context

if u read this i luv u mwah ur epic

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komikudikentalendo · 3 years ago

Text

Part 2 of my Gyftmas

Event by @undertalesecretsanta

I'm doing it in parts cuz I can't post more than 10 images at once lol

Sans as Frisk's dad + Gaster Blaster as a pet

Sooo this is my headcanon:

Post pacifist route

Frisk is a smol kid

Sans is working with human scientists and he often comes back home late. Today is a special day cuz he's walking Frisk to the school himself. Needless to say, Frisk is over the moon.

Papyrus is always there to take care of Frisk and their playful pet, Gaster Blaster. But he is delighted to see his brother and Frisk together after a week of tough work. He also kinda missed his brother 👉👈

"....looking happy there kid, do ya like school that much?"

Frisk looks at Sans with a happy smile and grips his hand strongly. They nod.

Today is a happy day.

Pls click on the image to see it with a better resolution

(I really got no ideia how to tie a gaster blaster up lol)

Bonus!

I actually had another ideia for the "Sans as Frisk's dad" but I didn't really go through it cuz I can't make puns.... Nor dad jokes. Lol.

But yeah, here it is

Oh my god! You guys are right!

That's too much power!

Sorry! Ummm....

L-lets just erase this then....

Any jokes that you would insert here? Cuz I got no ideia lol

Ink and Error interactions + One of the Star Sanses (I chose Blue) + Fresh messing with anyone

".... c'mon Error, just a little popcorn"

"Hands off."

Lmao I imagine that Error stole Underfell Sans popcorn just as he was about to eat it. C'mon let Ink eat a little >:/

I was actually going to do a bit more before the "WTF" scene. I was going to do Fresh infecting everyone in the show with his Freshness but I realized I don't really know how the parasite thing works and how it looks like lol. So i just cut it off.

Also, if it wasn't clear, the "show" they were watching was the AU Undernovela (it's error favorite "show")

Anything Temmie + Poketale

I kinda wanted to do based on that pokemon meme where there's a print of a battle between a Charizard (i think) and a little pokemon bird.vtge bird looks back to the player with a face that says : "you little shit. What do you think I'm gonna do huh? tickle his feet?"

(but I'm not finding the meme :(

But I think Temmie is not the one who needs to be SCARED right now ...

( idk, for me, all Temmies are sus)

So that's it!

I was really glad I received a lot of opcional prompts because Im used to do my drawings fast lol.

The one who gave me the prompts was @cali-the-temmie, and I just want you to know that I had a really fun time with all of this prompts, sorry if it got a bit too intense.

Hope you enjoyed this weird santa on your Christmas :)

The prompts that I didn't do were :

Epic and Cross interactions (with bruh's and Dude's included) - i didn't do it cuz I don't really know them enough to make their interactions

Sans joking about depression - i couldn't think about any funny pun. I ALREADY SAID IM NOT A PUNNY PERSON AAA

Anything Endertale- I couldn't think of anything interesting to do :/ ( EDIT: OH MY GOD I COULD TOTALLY HAVE DONE ENDERTALE FRISK AND SANS + SANS BEING FRISK'S DAD. BECAUSE THEY REALLY GIVE THAT VIBE AAAAAA STUPID ME)

Credits:

Ink- @comyet

Error and Fresh - @loverofpiggies

Blue - @p0pcornPr1nce

Poketale- @inkedaway

Undernovela- @pig-demon

And of course, Undertale - Toby Fox

#utss 2021 #gyftmas #undertale secret santa #my art

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whatareyousearchingfordean · 4 years ago

Text

Happiness Continues

Epilogue

Summary: The Ackles’ celebrate a birthday with their families.

Pairing: Jensen Ackles x Plus Size Reader

Word Count: 3.6K+

Warnings: Language, unprotected intercourse, oral sex (male receiving), semi-public sex

Author’s Note: Well, I can’t believe it, but here is the final installment to this epic saga (I can say that since I wrote it lol). I’m so thankful to each and every one of you who have taken the time to read. I sincerely hope it has lived up to your expectations. Many thanks to my constant cheerleaders and to @winchest09 for looking over this one. xoxo Alex

Catch up with the series masterlist and then check out Alexandra’s Library for more by yours truly!

Five Years Later

The island was littered with Tupperware, each one filled with pre-cut vegetables, meats, or cheeses. Y/n stood at the edge, humming along to the muffled music playing outside as she arranged the snacks onto servings trays. She was concentrating on the Halloween design she was putting together, missing the sound of the patio door opening and closing around the corner to the kitchen.

A soft ‘oof’ fell from her lips as a body pinned her between themselves and the counter. “I’ve got a full moon that’ll make you howl,” the voice of her husband was thick as he spoke in her ear, his arms coming to rest on the counter around her, effectively caging her in. Y/n reeled back from him, concern evident on her face as she turned her head. The couple made eye contact before bursting out in shared laughter.

“That was so bad.”

“Yeah it was really bad,” Jensen agreed, his body still shaking with amusement.

“I don’t even know what to say to that.” Y/n turned back to her task with a shake of her head.

“Uh, say you can’t wait to see my full moon because it’ll bring out the animal in you,” Jensen suggested, referencing back to the werewolf costume she had chosen for the night.

“Nope, not doing that.” Y/n was quick to shoot him down. “How long have you been working on that one?”

“Pretty much since you came downstairs in this little number,” his voice dropped as he let one hand fall to her knee, tracing the inside of her thigh up until it hit the edge of her skirt.

When her husband suggested Supernatural costumes, she hadn’t thought he was serious at first but he convinced her, not that it took much. She knew that she wanted to do something a little different than an angel or demon, choosing instead to emulate Garth’s werewolf family from the episode Sharp Teeth. So she got her nails done, bought a pair of yellow contacts and a silver bullet on a chain, and paired it all with a white turtleneck and plaid skirt. It was simple but she was satisfied with how it turned out. Her husband’s reaction to seeing it just the cherry on top she had not intended.

“You are such a guy sometimes,” she giggled, though she would never admit that it was one of her favorite things about him.

“Oh, you love it,” he purred, pressing the length of his body closer to hers, the hand that had been on her thigh now pressing into her lower belly. Her husband’s movement had Y/n biting back a whimper. “Been thinking about tearing it off of you all damn night. Care to come with me?”

“Have you lost your mind? Our entire families are outside.” Y/n dropped the cheese in her hand in surprise.

“They won’t miss us for twenty minutes,” Jensen shrugged. “There are a million people out there and a bouncy castle. Everyone is occupied.”

“Oh, you only need twenty minutes?”

“I seem to remember being able to get you off in fifteen once before.” Her body reacted to his words before she could stop it, arching her back against her husband who groaned as her ass pressed into him. The memory of that morning in his trailer had her biting her lip, the moment still clear in her head even if it did feel so long ago now. “Come on, leave the snacks for a minute.”

“Jensen...”

“Ah, it’s Dean tonight,” he interrupted her protest. “I know you’ve been dreaming of fucking Dean Winchester for the past eight years. So what do you say, sweetheart?”

“You don’t play fair,” she breathed as her body trembled at his words, heat pooling deep in her belly. He was right of course, it had been a fantasy of hers even before they started dating. And of course, he knew it without her ever needing to vocalize it. Jensen was playing her like a piano, hitting all the right notes.

“Is that a yes?” Y/n could hear the smile in his voice. She turned around in his arms and tried to put on her serious face.

“You better be fast, Ackles,” she asserted.

“Yes, ma’am,” Jensen agreed, swiping his tongue over the length of his lower lip before dipping in to kiss her hard and fast. He stepped back and took her hand, dragging her towards the garage. Stopping outside the half bathroom that sat near the garage entrance, he looked around before pushing her inside.

“So serious,” Y/n grinned at her husband as he shut the door and locked it behind them.

“Baby, you know I don’t kid when it comes to you,” he reached out for her, cradling her jaw in his hands as he tugged her body to his.

Their lips crashed together in a heated exchange, their mouths moving against one another in a rehearsed dance. She could taste the beer he had been sipping on all night as she sucked his tongue into her mouth and she relished in the flavor combined with her husband’s usual spice. Y/n slid her hands over the expanse of his shoulders, urging the flannel and canvas jacket that made up Jensen’s ‘Dean’ costume off his body. The fabric fell to the floor with a gentle thud. Once he was free, Jensen ran his palms over the globes of her ass, using his fingers to bunch up the material of her skirt to her hips.

“Fuck,” he groaned, finding her barely covered by the lace of her black thong. “You knew what you were doing to me.”

“I only hoped,” she admitted, taking advantage of his distraction to kiss along his jaw and down his neck. Y/n dropped her hands to his belt, unfastening the leather from the buckle as her husband dipped his fingers between her folds. A moan crept up her throat causing her to bury her face in his shoulder to muffle the sound.

“So wet for me already,” he noted as he continued to play with her. She could only nod in response, her shaky hands finishing her work of undoing his jeans. As the zipper came down, she wasted no time pushing his jeans and boxers below his ass and taking his hardening cock in her hand. He brought her lips back to his as she jerked him off, the couples gasping breaths making the air in the small room heavy.

“Spit on it,” his voice was gruff with his arousal as he pulled back from his wife. The grin on her face was wicked as she collected saliva in her mouth and dropped to her knees. She let it dribble slowly from her mouth and collect on the head before rubbing her thumb through it, mixing the drool and precum before spreading it up his shaft. “Yeah, that’s my good girl.”

Y/n looked up at him through her lashes, the yellow contacts she wore glinting in the warm light of the bathroom. Her husband had his lip caught between his teeth as she took his length in her mouth and suckled against the head before taking him as far as she could. Jensen bucked his hips, pressing himself to the back of her throat, causing his wife to gag. She released him and took a deep breath, trying not to laugh but failing.

“Get up here,” he laughed softly along with her, squatting a bit to help her back to her feet. Placing a kiss on the tip of her nose before he spun her around, Jensen bent her over the sink as he pushed aside the thin material of her thong and lined himself up with her entrance. Her chin dropped to her chest as he pushed inside her, stretching her cunt just right with every inch.

“Oh, god,” she gasped, the sound echoing in the room and earning her a large hand over her mouth. Jensen brought her back against his chest as he began to move, his tongue poked out between his teeth as he bit back the vibration in his chest threatening to escape. Y/n watched him in the mirror, the concentration on his face making her whimper with every calculated thrust of him inside her. The noise had his eyes snapping up to meet hers in the glass, a devilish smirk crossing his face.

“You’ve got to be quiet, sweetheart. Unless you want everyone to know how you are taking my cock like a good little slut,” he husked in her ear, his eyes never leaving hers. She nodded her understanding and he released his hold on her mouth, his hand traveling down to hold her throat instead. Her eyes fluttered shut as he applied pressure, his hips still fucking her mercilessly. “Keep your eyes on me, I wanna see you when you come.”

Doing as she was told, Y/n once again met her gaze with her husband in the mirror. She was close, the rubber band in her core ready to snap and she knew he wasn’t too far behind. His dick was throbbing inside her, making her walls flutter against the length of him. Her vision was beginning to darken around the edges as his fingers flexed against her throat. Jensen could sense she needed a little more and used the thumb of his free hand to rub tight circles into her throbbing clit. The orgasm hit her like a truck, a scream assuredly escaping her mouth had she been able to breathe. He relented his grip on her as her pulsating walls milked him of everything he had.

A knock sounded at the door just as he filled her used cunt with his come. Both of them snapped their heads to the sound, their bodies tensing. The handle jiggled against the lock and she knew something had to be said.

“Be out in a minute,” she rasped, hoping her voice didn’t sound too wrecked. Footsteps could be heard against the tile receding into the house after a beat. Jensen rested his forehead against her shoulder, letting out a shuddering breath. “We’ve got to go now.”

“Right,” he mumbled, pulling his softening cock from inside her. Y/n quivered as she felt the mixture of their release drip down her thighs. Jensen snatched a bit of toilet paper and cleaned her up before doing the same to himself. The couple swiftly fixed their clothes back into place before Y/n opened the door and peered out to make sure no one else was waiting. Jensen gave her a second head start before following after her.

As they came to the end of the hall, Donna looked up from her place at the kitchen island. She smiled sweetly at Y/n, her brows raising ever so on her forehead as she glanced behind the younger women. Y/n turned to see Jensen now appearing from the hallway. She flashed her husband a look before turning back to his mother.

“Oh, Donna you didn’t have to do that. I was just using the restroom,” Y/n tried to play off her absence, but she was still a tad breathless as she spoke. Her mother-in-law had taken it upon herself to finish up the task of refilling the snack platters in their absence, much to Y/n’s dismay.

“That’s alright. I came in to see if you needed any help, so I’m helping,” Donna waved her off as she looked back down at the job at hand. Y/n glanced over her shoulder at her husband, her eyes wide. Jensen gave her one curt shake of his head, urging her to move further into the kitchen. The older woman looked up as they reached the island, looking at her son this time. “Where were you at, honey?”

“Oh,” Jensen cleared his throat and pointed over his shoulder. “Um, Y/n asked me to check her car because she, uh, thought she bought another bag of pretzels but couldn’t find them.” Y/n had to admit he was pretty good at coming up with that on the fly and managing to keep his face straight, but she guessed that’s what decades of acting will do for a person.

“No luck I guess,” Donna noted that he was empty-handed.

“Nope, no pretzels,” Jensen agreed, his reciprocating smile tight on his lips.

“Alright, well the little ones are getting antsy, you might want to cut that cake soon,” Donna picked up the finished tray and headed towards the patio door but not before stopping to turn back to the couple. “Oh, and Jay?”

“Yeah, mom?”

“Your fly is still down.” She smiled sweetly before disappearing outside. Y/n spun to look at her husband, her mouth agape as he looked down and hurriedly zipped up his jeans.

“Oh my God,” she yelped, her hands flying to cover her mouth. Jensen moved past her with a huff and pulled open the drawer in the kitchen that held the candles and lighter for the party.

“Babe, don’t worry. It’s not like she is going to announce it to the whole party. Though she might tell my dad later,” he mused with a slight grimace.

“Don’t tell me that,” Y/n looked at him, the embarrassment written all over her face. Jensen chuckled at her as he used his free hand to pull her into his side. He squeezed her waist as he kissed away the wrinkles in the center of her forehead.

“Honey, we are married. I think everybody knows we have sex by now.”

“Sure, but they don’t know when we do it,” she cringed internally. “Or that we do it when they are in our house at our kids’ birthday party.”

Jensen leaned into her ear again. “You can’t fool me, you know? I know how much you secretly like everybody to know you are mine. It’s why you are gonna enjoy feeling me between your legs for the rest of the night.” He smacked her ass before leaving her standing in the kitchen as he rejoined the party. Y/n cursed him silently as she chased after him.

The sun was almost gone over the horizon, making it the perfect time to light the candles. Y/n made her way off the patio where the seating was filled with various adults and some of the older cousins and headed towards the hoard of children on the lawn and the bounce house.

“Who wants cake and ice cream?” She yelled as she reached the nylon structure. Her question earned a series of shrieks from the kids both inside and out of it. Josh, who had been watching those inside, helped her with getting them all out. They followed after the flurry of kids towards the house, arriving just as Jensen lit the candles.

The cousins surrounded the cake table. Ezra and Odette, who were nearly inseparable these days, found their way to the other side to surround Levi. Tom hung out with Mackenzie’s kids, having grown close in the past six years, and Shep tended more towards Josh’s kids, but they were all there, more grown than her heart wanted to accept.

The whole party began singing ‘Happy Birthday’ as Jensen grabbed the twins’ hands. He pulled them from the crowd of kids and close to the table, squatting down to hold them against his chest, one in each arm.

“Happy birthday dear Willa and Atlas, happy birthday to you!” The song ended with cheers from the party-goers. Jensen helped their kids to blow out the candles, the excitement written across their tiny faces as he cheered along with the rest of their family.

Y/n stepped up then and took Atlas from his father while the grandmas took over the cutting and serving of dessert. The twins got their’s first followed by the rest of the cousins and then the rest of the family. The handful of napkins Y/n held in one hand was no use against thawed ice cream and a toddler, the melted dairy getting everywhere. Not that their border collie, Poppy, was upset by the drippings hitting the edge of the table and the stone patio below. The parents however were a different story. Jensen was covered from Willa, and he had to permanently rid himself of the flannel and canvas jacket. Y/n had managed to keep her own clothes clean but the twins were out of luck. The two had to be stripped of their ‘Phil and Lil’ costumes before they were let loose again.

The kids spent the rest of the night running off all the sugar and excitement of the day. Surprisingly, it didn’t take as long as she had expected it to. By the time they were starting the bonfire, the twins were tapped out, trapping Jensen in his seat as they slept in his lap. The older cousins were also starting to slow down, enjoying the fire with the adults as the night cooled.

The fire pit sat not far from the creek that cut through their property; the night air filled with the sound of the crackling fire and undisturbed nature. Y/n sat back in her folding chair as she listened to the conversation being had around her by her loved ones.

“Mommy, can I sit with you?” Ezra stood next to her, evidently over sitting on the blanket with Odette. She nodded to him with a smile and helped him into her lap, allowing her oldest to rest against her chest. With the child growing more independent every day, Y/n was learning to savor the small moments like these, unsure of which one would be her last. Her head turned towards the bed of water to her right, watching the flames dance against the waves and tuning her ears to the rushing water.

“You know, in the five years you guys have been here, I have not been able to get over this view,” Jared spoke up from across the way with Gen sitting in his lap, after having followed his sister’s gaze towards the water. “I might have to move the family in.”

“Uh you do that and the horses are officially your responsibility,” Y/n laughed as she rubbed her son’s back absentmindedly, her hands running every so often through the blonde locks on the back of his head.

It truly was a beautiful property that had just gone onto the market when she and Jensen began looking. It was more than they initially had wanted to pay, but the seclusion and security couldn’t be matched. After everything that had happened, the couple took on a lot of new protective measures for their family. Moving somewhere more secluded was number one because while Chandler had gone to prison, he wouldn’t be there forever and he wasn’t the only crazy fan that lived out there. This way they could sleep again at night.

The ranch was almost forty acres of fenced property that cut through Barton Creek, just west of downtown Austin. It sat back off the road in a gated community, leading up to the nature preserve. There was even a barn for horses and a guest house. They were hidden from the world and that was just how she liked it. Now, she couldn’t imagine living anywhere else, even if it was a lot of work at the end of the day.

Jared and Gen had convinced the Ackles to let them fill the barn not long after they bought the ranch. After all, it had been their plan all along, just not housing her brother’s horses along with her own. Though they were here all the time to help out with the upkeep, passing it off sounded like a dream.

“I think we could make that happen, after all, two of the three are ours,” Gen agreed, laughing at her sister-in-law’s face. Jared joined in with his wife and Y/n couldn’t help but smile at them.

“But seriously, I love seeing you happy, smalls,” Jared acknowledged, his gaze flicking to where her husband was next to her. She followed his line of sight, finding her husband now just as out as their twins.

“Yeah, me too.” A grin spread across her face as she watched the three sleeping. She felt her chest swelling as she let the scene take over her, the emotions hitting her all at once as she watched her family were overwhelming.

There was a time when she had resigned herself to the fact that this was out of her reach. As much as she had been content with her life when she walked onto the set of Supernatural all those years ago, she couldn’t deny that at times it felt like something was missing. And this, this was what she had been missing. That feeling in her chest due to the overwhelming amount of pure love in her heart as she looks at her husband and their family that she has no idea how to even begin to quantify it.

There will never be words for her to express to him how she truly feels. Words can’t describe it. And when she looks at the three little lives they created together, that feeling only multiplies. He took a self-proclaimed independent woman and taught her what it truly meant to love and be loved by another person. Then he gave her their most beautiful blessings and she learned all over again that the heart will always make room for more love. But most importantly, he taught her how to be happy. All she needed to do was let it in because the happiness has always been there, and now more than ever, it always will be.

Thank you again, from the bottom of my heart, for reading, commenting, and enjoying. The Happiness Saga will forever remain close to my heart xoxo Alex

Forevers: @22sarah08 @akshi8278 @anathewierdo @atc74 @awesome-badass-cafeteria-sauce @briagallen @callmekda @dawnie1988 @deandreamernp @deanwanddamons @ellewritesfix05 @emoryhemsworth @foxyjwls007 @hobby27 @janicho88 @jensengirl83 @katehuntington @lyarr24 @malfoysqueen14 @miss-nerd95 @mrsjenniferwinchester @msmarvelouswinchester @polina-93 @sleepylunarwolf @stiles-stilinski-24-dylan @smol-and-grumpy @suckmyapplejacks @superfanficnatural @supraveng @talesmaniac89 @tatted-trina6 @thoughts-and-funnies @tranquility-or-chaos @waywardbeanie @winchest09

Happiness Continues: @afangirlreacts @anaelsbrunette @ashleyrose0117 @austin-winchester67 @cno92 @deanbowlegsackles @deangirl93 @deans-baby-momma @death-unbecomes-you @dvnmbabe @fangirl199813 @harryhook-lover @hoboal87 @itsdesiree86 @jbsgirl4ever11 @let-me-luve-you @linki-locks11 @lunarmoon8 @neverland14353 @onethirstyunicorn @parinarain @rebeccathefangirl @rebelemilu @smoothdogsgirl @spnfamily-j2 @squirrelnotsam @stoneyggirl @supernatural3002 @traceyaudette @winchestergirl82 @winqhster @zpandaqueen

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chickwiththepurpleguitar · 4 years ago

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For a prompt, maybe Bobby having a job in high school where he teaches guitar to kids and Emily and Mitch mistakenly sign Luke up for lessons? (Bobby just doesn't sound like a teenager on the phone) Belated congratulations on the 500 milestone, btw ✨

Here you go, friend! I hope you like it! My first jatp AU fic lol :)

Read on ao3 here:

Here’s the thing: Luke already knows how to play the guitar.

Has he ever taken a lesson? Officially? No, of course not, because he’s not a nerd. But he’s been learning from YouTube tutorials for almost six years now, been writing his own stuff for four, been the lead singer and guitarist of an epic, legendary rock band for two. He’d say he’s pretty well covered in the “knowing how to play the guitar” department, without some crusty old guy showing him the chords to songs no one’s listened to since the 60s in the grimy basement of a church two hours a week.

And yet, here he stands, on the sidewalk outside said church, guitar case in hand and a truly menacing grimace on his face, staring up at the hand-painted sign on the door detailing “Guitar lessons for kids! Room B38” in big block letters.

“Well?” Alex, who drove Luke here because Luke is currently not on speaking terms with his mother and father out of pure unadulterated spite, claps a hand on his shoulder, already stifling giggles. “You ready for your lesson, kiddo?”

“I will kick you out of the band,” Luke threatens.

“Then you can walk home.” Alex jingles his keys teasingly, then tugs Luke into a quick hug. “Come on, man, I think it was a nice gesture. Try to make the most of it, at least your parents are trying.”

Right, because the whole reason Luke’s here is because his mom thought the lessons would be a good reward for Luke passing all his classes this semester. Because she heard him complaining that Sunset Curve needed a rhythm guitarist to fill out their sound and decided that meant he needed to learn how to do it himself, even though Luke tried to explain to her that he couldn’t play rhythm guitar and face-melting solos at the same time.

Of course, she didn’t listen, and then his dad found a flyer for this guy Robert giving lessons out of the local church, and before Luke could say no, the first month’s worth were already paid for and he didn’t have a choice.

And he supposes Alex is sort of right. At least his parents know what a guitar is. At least they’re trying to be somewhat, relatively supportive of his music, instead of pushing him to apply to college or get a job over the summer like they did constantly until he ran away for six months after Christmas and almost died (he’s fine now, but that near-death experience really changed his parents’ tune).

At least they actually acknowledge that he’s in a band at all, unlike Alex’s folks, whose friends think Alex volunteers at homeless shelters in his free time, or Reggie’s, who just don’t care.

Luke knows he’s got it good, compared to his friends, compared to himself a year ago. But that doesn’t mean he’s gotta be happy about it.

“All right, I’ll pick you up in an hour,” Alex says, giving Luke’s shoulder another friendly squeeze. “Try not to pout so much, it’s unbecoming.”

Luke gives him the finger, and Alex’s laughter echoes behind him as he heads back toward his car.

And then Luke sighs, grips his guitar a little tighter, and heads inside. He’s already here, he might as well get it over with.

Room B38 is a tiny classroom deep in the bowels of the church, reserved for Sunday School or daycare or some other such activity. The door’s closed, so Luke knocks, and a voice from inside calls, “Come in!”

A voice that does not sound like it belongs to the crusty old man Luke had been picturing.

He frowns, wondering if maybe he’s in the wrong place, but tugs the door open anyway and maneuvers himself and his guitar inside.

There’s no crusty old man waiting for him. There is, however, a handsome (Luke can’t help noticing and then feels stupid for noticing), young man, no more than a year or two older than Luke at most, sitting in a comically small plastic chair and tuning an acoustic guitar.

“Hey,” Luke greets him, raising an awkward hand. “You’re… Robert?”

“Please—Bobby,” the guy corrects, laying his guitar down on the carpeted floor next to him so he can stand and shake Luke’s hand. There’s a gleam of confusion in his eyes, and he glances over Luke’s shoulder like he’s looking for something as he says, “You must be Luke’s… older brother?”

Oh, Luke is going to kill his parents. “Uh, no,” he says, clears his throat awkwardly. “No, um… I’m Luke.”

Bobby lets out an undignified snort, and then claps his hand over his mouth. “Sorry, sorry,” he says, still sort of giggling. “I shouldn’t laugh, it’s just—most of my students are in the four to twelve age range? I thought you’d be, like, eight.”

Luke rolls his eyes. “Well, I thought you’d be, like, sixty, so I guess we’re both disappointed.”

“Not disappointed,” Bobby corrects, and his smile makes Luke’s stomach flip in a way he’d really rather not analyze too closely right now. Bobby nods down at the guitar case in Luke’s hand. “Should we get started?”

Luke’s tongue feels dumb and thick in his mouth, but he manages to stammer something vaguely affirmative, and Bobby grins at him.

They settle into the kiddy chairs across from each other, and Bobby picks his guitar back up while Luke pulls his own out of its case.

He briefly considers pretending to actually need guitar lessons so that Bobby will have a chance to show off, because Bobby’s cute and funny and clearly cares about music, and Luke doesn’t know how to flirt.

But Luke also doesn’t know how to play guitar badly. So they only get about twenty minutes into the lesson before Bobby stops and says, “You don’t need me, do you?”

“I really don’t,” Luke apologizes. “I play lead guitar in a band, I’ve been teaching myself since I was twelve, my parents are just—” he starts to say stupid, then remembers Alex’s words and amends—“a little clueless about this kind of thing.”

Bobby puts his guitar aside and leans forward in his chair. “What, have they never heard you play before?”

Luke resists the urge to roll his eyes. “No, they have, they just. We’re looking for someone—my band and me—to play rhythm guitar for us? My parents asked why I couldn’t do it, and when I explained it to them, they thought ‘I can’t play lead and rhythm at the same time’ meant I couldn’t play rhythm at all. I don’t know.” He shrugs a little, busies himself with putting his guitar back in its case.

“I could.”

Luke looks up, frowning. “You could what?”

Bobby raises his eyebrows pointedly, nods at the guitar lying at his feet. “Play with you guys. If you’re still looking for someone, I mean.”

Luke’s heart skips a beat, and a warm smile spreads across his face without his permission. “Seriously, man? That’d be amazing! Here, let me give you my number and you can come over sometime and meet the band.”

They exchange information, and Luke spends a little too long staring stupidly at the contact in his phone that Bobby has named “Guitar Teacher <3”.

“Plus,” Bobby says, and Luke looks back up to see him smirking as he returns his own phone to his pocket. “Now I get an excuse to see you again. Since you obviously don’t need the lessons.”

“Yeah,” Luke agrees. “Yeah, I’d really like that.”

“But, uh, maybe don’t tell your parents that. Cause I can’t give them a refund.”

Taglist: @whenweremarried @sunsethimb0s @pink-flame @penguin0613 @fighttoshine @sunsetcurvecuddles @apples-bees @reggiescrookedteeth @brightattheorpheum @queenmolina @jandthephantoms @lexilucacia @sapphossidechick @acnhaddict @shrimp-colours @sunset-bobby @lenacarstairspotterstewart @conversationaltreestump @burntchromas @shellydominique @julieandthequeers @joyandthephantoms @it-tastes-like-lizard

#prompt fill #500 followers aaah!!#my fics #jatp #julie and the phantoms #fanfiction #jatp fandom #modern day/everybody lives au #bobby wilson #luke patterson #alex mercer #lukebobby #lobby

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bronan · 3 years ago

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Can you do Agura for the character game? 🥺 Loving all these asks!

YES also I'm glad you're enjoying them because I sure am having fun doing them

send me a character and i’ll list:

favorite thing about them - I love Agura for all of her strengths and weaknesses. She’s the only girl on this haphazard team of unruly boys and you never get the impression that she’s struggling or forcing herself to fit in with them. She steps right in as the much-needed right hand to Vert, she keeps everyone else in line, she rallies the team in Vert’s stead when they need to focus, she’s the big sister when you need it. On the flipside, she gets frustrated, angry, and fed up, but she never lets her feelings own her and she always comes out on top and stronger for it. She’s the kind of person you really want as your right hand, someone who will be real with you and isn’t afraid to grow, too. I really, really love all of the characters in bf5 because they felt so human and Agura is really up there in that regard. Outside of loving her as an individual, I love how she interacts with the team. She can be stern but you have to with these guys. She can also be fun, and understanding. She struggles with wanting to be in control of her life and her actions and doesn’t want anyone to ever take that away from her. I think she acts cool and composed most of the time but has anxiety about being in control, and it was really cool to see her actively struggle with that in the show. She’s far from perfect and that’s probably what I love the most about Agura.

least favorite thing about them - This isn’t anything I dislike about Agura it’s just something I wish I’d gotten from the show. I really wish we’d had a big moment where Agura was leader. I know she’s stepped in for Vert before, but it would have been cool to let her have her moment of just epic leadership, maybe Vert was down for a couple episodes or something and she had to take up leadership and come to grips with the reality that Vert wasn’t there to back her up at that moment. With a lot on the line, watching her maybe fumble, pick herself up, and also pick the team up would just be awesome. And to piggyback, Stanford breezing in line as the second-in-command in that moment?? YEAH BABY

favorite line - god idk why I can’t remember ANY lines from the show ever. I only remembered Simon’s line because I watched that episode recently and it’s burned into my memory. After I post this I’ll remember something, just watch. 😒

brOTP - agura/spinner, she basically designated him Little Brother and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it. I love their dynamic, I love seeing Spinner work himself into a lather trying to get to her and Agura’s just like “I have SO many brothers you are going to lose this fight every single time” and Sherman’s just like yep lol. - agura/sherman as well, I mean.. if she’s hanging out with Spinner, there is a good chance she is also hanging out with Sherman. And I’m sure she loves to hang with both of them at the same time, but I think there are times where Agura seeks out Sherman, only, maybe when she needs someone who understands her. I could see her just hanging out like, near Sherman while he works on something and maybe she’s playing on her phone or reading or something and Sherman’s just happily working away at whatever he’s doing but knows not to bug her unless she speaks up first. You know it’s like that thing cats do. I think Tezz does it too. Anyway Sherman did you know you are actually so calming - agura/vert I know I talked about it on the vert one but what if you didn’t see that one what then. In my eyes they’re equals on the team in terms of leadership, basically if either one gives an order you listen, lol. Vert doesnt need to be absent for Agura to step in and I think he super duper appreciates that and trusts her a lot. Outside of battlezones I can see them just being content to chill together and hang out because they’re both pretty relaxed for the most part. I headcanon Vert as an only child so I think Agura basically pulling him in as a brother would make him really happy, he’s not used to having siblings and he gets this sense of found family within the team and has this really strong bond with Agura especially. He’s used to being the leader and needing to uphold that position with the team, but with just Agura around maybe he can chillax a bit more and not have to worry about being such a good role model, lol.

OTP - I believe in grace/agura supremacy 🙏 We didn’t get to see much of grace’s personality but well what else was I put on this earth to do except take side characters and do whatever the hell I want with them. I think that Grace pursues Agura because Agura has NO game and is, in fact, mega awkward when that cute girl at the diner is paying a lot of attention to her. wow weird agura weird. 🤨 Grace got tired of all these men trying to win her hand in marriage or whatever she is going to be the one to chase Agura and Agura is gonna get CAUGHT baby. Grace loves the hunt I know she does. I bet Agura stays late at the diner one night and helps Grace move some stuff around like it’s no big deal and Grace is like “wow agura you are SO strong” and feels her arm muscle and Agura’s just 😳 😳 😳 😳 😳 😳 god it’s so cute I can’t

nOTP - hmm.. you know, I don’t think I really have any I feel that strongly about to call it a nOTP. I only really ship her with Grace, though.

random headcanon - Agura is confident, cool, outgoing, and strong but when she’s faced with a very very cute girl who is hitting on her, she becomes a stuttering mess. Girl has NO game. I know I said it above but I gotta drive this home like she is SO bad at actually flirting. It’s adorable as hell and Grace 100% does things on purpose to get her all flustered. Girl... - Agura misses her family a looooot like a lot a lot but the bf5 reminds her of her siblings and it makes her feel at home and comfortable there. She gravitates toward people like Sherman and Vert when she’s feeling upset, because they tend to read her social cues better than others and will let her hang without bothering her or making it worse.

unpopular opinion - I don’t know if I have any...

song i associate with them - Control by Zoe Wees makes me think of her

favorite picture of them

honestly agura...mood

#ask #hot wheels battle force 5 #battle force 5 #agura ibaden #long post

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kaistarus · 4 years ago

Text

Drunken Christmas Party Confessions

Pairing: Nishinoya X Reader

Words: 2.2K

Summary: Nishinoya and Tanaka are throwing a Christmas party and maybe he’s had too much ‘hot chocolate’, but you’re really working that ugly sweater.

Notes: This is a college au, so that’s why they have dranks. Thanksgiving is over and it snowed where I live which means it’s officially Christmas. Which means it’s time to write too many Christmas/Winter themed fics. I don’t make the rules lol

Masterlist

Nishinoya wasn’t the brightest crayon in the Crayola 64 box sharpener included, but he knew three things for damn sure. When given the option you should never let Shoyo DJ a Christmas party, buying Christmas trees from Amazon is only a good idea if you pay attention to the size chart, and you looked really good in an ugly sweater.

Nishinoya swayed back and forth to the tenth rendition of ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’-apparently the only song Shoyo had on his Christmas playlist-while shamelessly watching you with hooded eyes. You looked so pretty in the ugly reindeer sweater that you’d stolen from his closet ten minutes before this party started. He could practically hear your laugh from across the house as you sling an arm over your stomach, gripping onto Yachi’s shoulder for stability.

He pursed his lips. Yachi’s joke probably wasn’t even that good. Nishinoya was a million times funnier than her for sure.

“Bro, are you even listening?”

“Hah?” Nishinoya rolled his head toward Tanaka who had apparently been talking to him.

How long had he been there?

“I said I think I’m finally going to make a move on Kiyoko,” Tanaka said with a lopsided grin, gazing over Nishinoya’s shoulder where Kiyoko probably was. Nishinoya wrinkled his nose and took a sip of the spiked hot chocolate from his classy red solo cup.

Tanaka must be drunker than he was if he thought this was the first time he was making a move on Kiyoko.

“That sounds super awesome dude.” Nishinoya tuned out Tanaka again, his eyes trailing back to where you were leaning on the false-granite countertop, smiling so wide the corners of your eyes crinkled.

You were so cute. Did you know you were the cutest person to ever exist ever?

“Do you think that’s a good plan?”

“Uh-huh, yeah. For sure.” The corners of Nishinoya’s mouth quirked up when you waved your hands around, your face expressive and your lips moving quickly as you told Yachi a story of some kind. He loved how passionate you got over the littlest things.

“Dude, you’re definitely not listening,” Tanaka was close to Nishinoya’s ear now and if he had his usual reflexes he probably would’ve jumped. “What are you staring at?”

The coolest person in the whole world.

Whoa, he should definitely tell you how awesome you are. You would be so wooed at how profound and suave he was.

Without a word he exited the one-sided conversation with Tanaka, ignoring the offended gasp, and made a wobbly bee-line for the kitchen. He handed off his hot chocolate somewhere along the way to some random party-goer. He was a man on a mission and hadn’t bothered paying attention to who had been the victim.

“....guchi said he tried to pretend it was his brother’s.” Yachi was having a hard time getting through the sentence without laughing, Nishinoya observed once you both were in earshot.

“Why would it be in his closet if it was his brother’s!?” You snorted with another belly aching laugh that made his heart skip.

“That’s what I said!”

“Hello ladies,” Nishinoya slid up against the counter opposite you and Yachi and definitely didn’t miss the ledge with his elbow his first try. That would have been embarrassing.

Yachi’s hand covered her mouth and her body shook lightly. How dare she laugh at his epic moves.

“Hello Noya,” you smiled at him in the way that made his heart feel all funny. Like, when he made a really good receive that made adrenaline course through his veins except he was also wrapped in fluffy blankets on a cotton candy cloud.

He gave you a finger gun and closed one eye in an attempted wink, “I thought this was an ugly sweater party. Not an… uh…” He squinted at the tray of desserts behind you. “Good looking sweater party?”

You blinked at him, not saying a word due to what he assumed was how stunningly swept-off-your-feet you were while Yachi glanced between the both of you adorning a sly smile.

“I’m going to go,” Yachi pointed toward the living room where Nishinoya and Tanaka had placed their pathetic miniature plastic tree. “Talk to you guys later.” She winked at you when she left and Nishinoya felt like he should analyze that one, but he was not up for critical thinking.

“So,” you gave him a once-over which made him smile dopily back at you. “You look like you’ve had a good night.”

“I cannot remember the alphabet.” Nishinoya said confidently, giving you two thumbs up. Another rendition of ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ began playing and Nishinoya whipped his head toward the living room where Shoyo was standing conspicuously near the speaker. “Shoyo, I swear to god!”

“It’s a Christmas classic!” He shouted back, getting in a defensive stance in front of the speaker. “I’ll play it as many times as I want.”

“Not in my house you son of a-” Nishinoya began climbing over the counter for the quickest route to fight the orange-haired punk when you reached out and grabbed his wrist. He looked down at your amused smile with wide eyes.

“Let’s go outside.”

“But it’s snowing,” Nishinoya pointed out the obvious before his slow to process brain realized he’d be alone with you. He nearly fell on his face hopping off the counter. “Outside it is.”

Nishinoya had you walk in front of him to the front door, like he assumed a gentleman would, and behind your back he gave Hinata an ‘I’m watching you’ gesture. Hinata stuck his tongue out and it took every bit of self-control Nishinoya had left to not go over there and teach him why he shouldn’t disrespect his elders.

“Here,” you were offering him his red winter jacket by the time he turned around, already having put yours on. His heart warmed that you had remembered what his coat looked like-ignore you two walked to class together multiple times a week. He still knew you were the smartest and nicest and coolest person ever for bothering to remember that detail about him.

He flung his coat on and trailed after you into the winter night. A shiver racked his body at the drastic temperature change when he stepped onto his snow dusted porch, the white fluff falling lightly from the sky.

Nishinoya loved snowy nights. More specifically he loved how the sky was lighter than it should be, a shade of pink that only seemed to exist during a quiet snowy evening where the snow was sparkling and untouched. Before it became disgustingly dirty from cars on the streets or crushed by people’s footsteps as they walked across campus to classes they dreaded.

He was also a sucker for throwing snowballs at an unsuspecting Tanaka, but that was a separate story.

He had zoned out so hard he hadn’t noticed you brushing off the front step of his porch, clearing off a place for you both to sit. You patted the space beside you and without thought he was already down.

“It’s pretty,” you admired, looking out toward the freshly covered lawn.

“Yeah,” Nishinoya said, focusing on you. Even with the porches overhang the snowfall’s slight angle caused snowflakes to collect on your hair and jacket. He wanted to reach out and touch one, but clenched his fists instead.

You glanced over and caught his blatant staring, but he was too at peace to be embarrassed. He just enjoyed looking at you, especially when your nose and cheeks were painted red from the winter’s cold. Or maybe you were blushing. Maybe you were as affected by his presence as he was yours.

That would be nice.

“I’m happy,” Nishinoya proclaimed, glancing out towards his untouched lawn. He should build a snowman… What was that little thing from that Disney movie? Sven? No that’s not it. He should build that though. That would be sick.

“I’m glad,” your voice came out barely above a whisper and oh yeah he was in the middle of something important. He felt his heart do the skipping thing again that only happened around you. He wondered if you knew the effect you had on him.

Nishinoya gave you a lopsided smile, “I like being with you.” He leaned back on the porch with the support of his hands. “But you make my chest feel funny.”

“Funny?”

“Yeah,” he rubbed his coat over where his heart was currently beating sporadically against his rib cage. “Like, when I do a good Rolling Thunder.”

“I make you feel like Rolling Thunder?”

“No, that doesn’t...” Nishinoya put a hand on his forehead. That wasn’t right at all. He tried to reach past the thick layer of fog in his mind for the right words, but it was too dense. “It’s like… when you’re sick, but then someone makes warm soup and after you eat it you don’t want to vomit anymore!”

You just stared at him which led him to believe he didn’t explain it well.

“Okay… how about when you go to McDonalds in the summer thinking the ice cream machine is broken, but it’s not!” He threw his hands up, excitedly. “So, you thought you were going to suffer, but you end up getting a sundae.”

You were still looking at him with a brow raised and this was turning out to not be his night.

“Um… Oh oh oh! it’s like when you really have to poop and you think somebody else is in the bathroom, but it turns out there’s not! That relief you feel when you finally get to just let it-”

“Okay,” you put a hand over his mouth and his eyes lit up with elation. Hell yeah, he did it. He was fucking shakespeare. A true poet. English classes would be studying this moment for centuries to come. “I have no clue what you’re trying to say.”

“What?” He pulled your hand off his mouth. “How?”

“You just told me I feel like a poop.”

“No, you feel like the relief during the poop, not the poop itself!” He rolled his eyes. It seriously wasn’t a hard concept to grasp.

You blinked several times before your eyes slowly widened in realization. “Are you trying to tell me you like me?” Then a hand flew to your forehead. “Through poop metaphors?”

“There were several metaphors actually but-”

You punched him in the shoulder and he rubbed it with a whine. He had never confessed feelings before, but that probably wasn’t a desired reaction.

“You can’t just do that while you’re drunk, you asshole.”

“Wow, name calling seems a little uncalled for don’t you-”

“I can’t kiss you when you’re drunk.” You let out a frustrated groan and buried your face in your hands. “I can’t even fully trust that you mean it.”

Nishinoya’s jaw went slack. His brain was half functioning, but kissing definitely sounded like good times. Wait, what was that last part? Trusting him for, huh?

“I don’t lie,” he tilted his head slightly confused. “I don’t care if you don’t like me back, but I would never make something like this up to hurt you.”

You peeked up at him wearily, which still made his heart drop a little, but when you nodded he felt better. All that mattered was you trusted him. He didn’t care about much else in the moment. Although that kissing comment had not been overlooked.

“I also…” Your face turned a deeper shade of red than the snowy weather had allowed and Nishinoya definitely settled on you blushing. “Don’t not like you.”

Double negatives was a trip for someone who’s brain wasn’t at full capacity, but he worked it out. He beamed at you and bounced lightly in his seat on the porch step you both resided on. He could easily work with that. More than work with that it was everything he’d wanted.

“We should probably do something about it then,” he suggested, his smile softening as he gazed at you through hooded eyes. “I have a feeling I’ll be hungover tomorrow.”

You cocked your head to the side, clearly confused at his topic change. “A genius observation, yes.”

“We should go get a hangover brunch since I’ll wake up miserable at noon,” he propped himself up by placing his cheek in his palm. “Hangover days are always best when you spend them with your favorite people.”

The corners of your mouth quirked up into a smile as you reached over, brushing some snow out of his hair and lightly trailing your knuckles down his cheeks. “Yeah, sounds like a date.”

Nishinoya hummed in agreement, wanting to do little now beside exist with you and watch the snow as it fell from the midnight sky. He was exhausted. His brain had done way too much work that night and he needed to lay down.

He peeked back over toward you, adorning a content smile on your lips and he sighed deeply.

Nishinoya had never been the brightest volleyball in the basket, but he knew three things for damn sure. After watching a movie over fifteen times he apparently was still incapable of naming the main cast, alcoholic hot chocolate was his new best friend, and he liked you.

He really really liked you.

#nishinoya yuu #nishinoya x y/n #nishinoya x reader #nishinoya yu x reader #nishinoya yu #nishinoya yū #nishinoya #nishinoya oneshot #haikyuu!!#haikyuu x reader #haikyuu #haikyu!!#hinata shoyo #tanaka ryuunosuke #nishinoya imagine

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birdkujapropaganda · 3 years ago

Text

my completely biased and official rating of every keyblade ever:

Kingdom Key: absolute classic. excellent design for the like, mascot keyblade. very simple, vaguely key shaped. i hate the mouse head though it's so stupid and makes no sense. and i hate mickey. 9/10 minus a point for the weird mickey keychain

Oathkeeper: wonderful. amazing. never boring. excellent design love the heart and wings and all the significance. and that the keychain is kairi's charm? terrific. 10/10

Oblivion: brilliant. awesome. phenomenal. again excellent design the wings and chains and purple crystal are absolutely perfect. love the crown keychain. 10/10

Ultima Weapon 1: literally just a sword with some filigree on it. nice. too much yellow and i don't like the weird cyan gradient on the guard. 7/10

Kingdom Key D: d for disgusting. i don't have any other comments i just hate it. 2/10

Keyblade of Hearts: yeah that sure is an anti-keyblade. love the simplicity and the heart in the negative space of the teeth. and that it doesn't have a keychain, that fueled a lot of theories for 12yo me 8/10

Lady Luck: i think i don't like this one bc to get it u need to use a white trinity but you can't do that until near the end and i have way cooler blades to use. the design is pretty ok, don't really get the card keychain tho. 5/10

Olympia: oh the sight of this one makes me irritated because the kh1 strategy guide uses this in one of the pictures for the fight against possessed riku. it did not help me win. and i hate short keyblades. love the clouds and columns though 7/10

Jungle King: kinda ugly but i appreciate that it looks kinda handmade. also like the butterfly keychain bc it doesn't look like it fits but it Does. also the first good alternate blade u get in the game so. 8/10

Three Wishes: not bad but it doesn't stick out to me either. also doesn't scream agrabah to me but also it does? 6/10

Pumpkinhead: NICE. very long and very cool. the teeth looks like bat wings and a pumpkin so very epic. 9/10

Wishing Star: so pointless i already have pumpkinhead. also short. cute design though i like the gears. 5/10

Crab Claw: i never used this one because it stuck out so ugly in Halloween Town </3 i love blue and crabs though so 8/10

Fairy Harp: I HATE YOU DIE. short and stupid. does NOT remind me of neverland at all. 1/10

Divine Rose: pretty nice but short and lategame. always thought its existence was kinda weird?? like thanks belle but why. i have oblivion. 7/10

Spellbinder: for some reason i really don't like it. i like blue and the circles are neat. the handle looks really painful though. 4/10

Metal Chocobo: kinda ugly lol. love the holes and chocobo keychain. 8/10

Lionheart: oh i am so biased by recoded. absolutely excellent keyblade. design's kind of weird tho where are those lions going. 9/10

Diamond Dust: so i was really confused because i thought this was khux-only or maybe bbs keyblade but apparently it's kh1 final mix only. you know what i got as a reward for fighting the ice titan? sephiroth. you know what i got for fighting sephiroth? NOTHING. it was my favorite khux blade though so grrrr 7/10

One-Winged Angel: grr bark bark final mix again fuck you. kinda weird design though like what is the teeth? a meteor? should've been a wing. nice guard though there's not enough hand room. excellent keychain obviously. 8/10

Ultima Weapon 2: very similar to the first but blue and symmetrical. very good learn from your mistakes. 9/10

Way to Dawn: YEAAAHHHHHHH BOY HERE IT IS PERFECT EXCELLENT GREAT DESIGN WONDERFUL LORE. HAS WINGS. THE EVOLUTION FROM SOUL EATER. THE LACK OF THORNS ON THE HEART. 10/10

Destiny's Embrace: very cute!! my favorite part is the name. i wish it wasn't so like. stereotypically girly though. like you look at the destiny trio's keyblades and can immediately pick out which one is The Girl's. 9/10

Star Seeker: i wanna hate it because it's mickey's/yen sid's but honestly it's so nice. the stars and moons and comets and gradients and colors... wonderful 9/10

Rumbling Rose: oof. weird and ugly and gross. keychain looks like a ladybug from far away. 3/10

Hero's Crest: bring the clouds back. i don't really get the design but i like columns. 5/10

Monochrome: super cute!! i don't like Timeless River but this fits it so well and has cute hit effect. 8/10

Mysterious Abyss: i always get this one way late in the game so it's always pretty pointless oops lol. also the design doesn't really say atlantica?? 3/10

Follow the Wind: another weird miss but i like this one more. nice wheel shaped guard, and that the keychain is a cursed coin. 6/10

Wishing Lamp: now THIS is the agrabah keyblade. very nice and elegant. looks like the palace! 7/10

Decisive Pumpkin: THIS ONE 😭😭 it's so ugly but it's so strong so i have to use it but it's so ugly. it does look like jack's idea of christmas so points i guess 😭 4/10

Circle of Life: also pretty ugly. and short. sorry simba. 3/10

Sweet Memories: shrek voice it doesn't even have attack. i don't like winnie the pooh so that's definitely influencing me. makes cute noises iirc and looks pretty cute. 4/10

Photon Debugger: this one should look pretty cool but my brain is saying it's bad. i think the giant red ball by the teeth are throwing me off. love the neon blue tho 5/10

Gull Wing: why the weird space in the name. anyway. i really want to love this keyblade bc i love X2 but it's really bad. i'm so sorry YRP kh did you so wrong. excellent keychain choice though. 2/10

Guardian's Soul: MUCH better thank you. auron my beloved <3 the lines are very appealing and i like how simple it appears. also looks like auron's swords. 8/10

Sleeping Lion: wayyy better than lionheart. looks kinda like a gunblade! again though what are those lions doing. 8/10

Fenrir: my car key got in a fight. 1/10

Bond of Flame: looks like a bad first draft of axel's keyblade. either the teeth or the guard should look like a chakram, pick one. love it though. 7/10

Two Become One: MY BELOVED <3 excellent design, so so so roxas i think he should use it. very excellent i love the little twist at the top. checkered handle is a little weird. 10/10

Fatal Crest: lol i was so mad when i first saw this because it looked like one of my oc's keyblades. i like it now though, it's a dragon!! pretty neat bro 8/10

Winner's Proof: oh this one is so cute. if it wasn't a reward it would be really weird and bad. surprisingly elegant! and there's even 13 mushrooms on it! 9/10

(shoutout to portadorx on deviantart for the 358 keyblade refs)

Missing Ache: YOU. interesting design, though it says roxas more than ventus to me. great first alt keyblade. 7/10

Ominous Blight: very edgy names in this game <3 looks like guardian's soul, which is interesting. i don't like yellow but it works bc blight 6/10

Abaddon Plasma: what a cool fucking name. so many yellow keyblades. but very cool looking i love roxas' aesthetic 8/10

Pain of Solitude: this is just pink missing ache. 8/10

Sign of Innocence: SO COOL. idk what's going on in most of these blades but i love it. 9/10

Crown of Guilt: come on. it doesn't look like a crown. big disappointment. very cool though 6/10

Abyssal Tide: so cool!! i love blue and fighting in midair <3 the teeth kinda looks like waves 8/10

Leviathan: weirdly furry looking. very cool guard 6/10

True Light's Flight: looks like two become one if it was only one. the top kinda looks like the nobody sigil 9/10

Rejection of Fate: SPEAR. epic name too, but i think it should swap names with true light's flight. very cool but i don't remember seeing it in name. kinda awkward bc it looks like it should be a spear 7/10

Midnight Roar: sooo cool. the orange handle pops without looking wrong... nice. also the teeth kinda look like a bat. 9/10

Glimpse of Darkness: ugly. weirdly bulky and hollow. short. 3/10

Total Eclipse: weirdly bumpy sword. i like how the orange looks like it glows. 5/10

Silent Dirge: GoD but purple. 2/10

Lunar Eclipse: TE but purple. 4/10

Darker than Dark: Hello 😳TLF but purple 10/10

Astral Blast: Abyssal Tide but yellow. interesting choice, but kinda clashes with the blue accents 7/10

Maverick Flare: Ominous Blight but red... excellent. very nice. 8/10

Twilight Blaze: Abaddon Plasma but red... also excellent. very epic. 9/10

Omega Weapon: props for not looking like any of the ultima weapons. very interesting and spiky but i kinda don't like it. 6/10

Aubade: kinda weird. "draws forth its wielder's personality"... ok. looks light elemented. 7/10

Wooden Stick: lol 10/10

Umbrella: not what i would've chosen but lol 10/10

Zero/One: WONDERFUL, EXCELLENT, AMAZING. i can't really explain why i love this one so much it's just very good. 10/10

Earthshaker: very solid design. not much to say it's just nice. love the colored guard. 7/10

Ends of the Earth: love that it is so clearly an earthshake upgrade. makes u realize how incomplete the first one is. 9/10

Dreadgnaw: kinda silly looking lol those are teeth. love the red bit in the center. looks very similar to earthshaker in a good way. 8/10

Chaos Ripper: looks like EotE but in a bad way. i don't like the weird teeth. it's also almost impractically long but i'm here for that. ALSO THE EYE. NICE. 7/10

Rainfell: oooo i love this it's so simple but so nice. very elegant 9/10

Stormfall: less nice. looks like a rainfell upgrade though. also kinda looks like master's defender which makes sense but i don't like it. 6/10

Brightcrest: GORGEOUS. PERFECT AND WONDERFUL. SO PRETTY. i wish it was kairi's. kinda looks to ornamental for aqua? but good for her. 10/10

Wayward Wind: none of ventus' blades look very ventusy to me. this one looks like an extra training one they had sitting around. cool shape though 5/10

Frolic Flame: NICE. looks like lea's frisbees! i like fire and fire designs so but it's a little awkward looking 8/10

Lost Memory: ok so first off WINGS. EXCELLENT. love that the only color is the heart. very cool and epic but i don't understand why it doesn't have a reverse grip handle. or the pointy bit at the tip. but still 10/10

Void Gear: hiii vanitas :) so anyway in my totally unbiased opinion this is the best keyblade ever obviously. love the gears and red accents and it's just super cool. the eyes and chains... vanitas character development keyblade when <3 10/10

Void Gear (White?): still very cool, love the simple contrast going on. 10/10

No Name: i didn't know this one was also called no name which is kinda lame. but i love the keyblade it's very cool. super glowy and i love the time design. 9/10

Crown Unlimit: I almost really like this one. very neat design, love the crowns and twists and glow. 7/10

Master's Defender: literally so plain and boring. i don't care if that's the point give it some frills. nice design though :/ 7/10

Broken Xblade: love the broken bits and the weird rust color. wish one of the kingdom keys was more broken and i think the top bit should be broken too. 7/10

Wooden Keyblade: sobbing and crying and tears. this is literally so cute and good and i love that it looks like Ends of the earth. or the kingdom key i guess. 10/10

Treasure Trove: i never expect to like this one but it's actually pretty nice :) wish the gems looked like they were spilling from the top and not leaking from the bottom. 8/10

Stroke of Midnight: also surprisingly nice! the guard kinda looks like a pumpkin which is cute. just a very cute design. 8/10

Fairy Stars: rad as hell. absolutely love this design very appealing. like how point the stars are. 9/10

Victory Line: i hate this one. maybe bc i don't like the world. kinda ugly and the teeth look awkward. 3/10

Mark of a Hero: ok we brought the clouds back but the weirdly buff trophy arm fucks this up. the blade is also just kind of a column, nothing going on there. 4/10

Hyperdrive: super cute!! love how the blade looks like laser fire and engine streams. the teeth are weird again though, and the handle looks like a bee 8/10

Pixie Petal: SO much better than fairy harp. this one is very cute and these teeth actually fit with the rest of the design. kinda short though >:/ 7/10

Sweetstack: oh this is so cute. a bunch of ice cream scoops!! why are the teeth oranges and what are some of those flavors. why are cones on the guard soft serve. 8/10

Ultima Weapon bbs: NICE. A SWORD WITH SOME FILIGREE BUT ALL IN BLUE. LOVE the wayfinders on it, very good for them. wish it wasn't just blue since it seems so aqua-centric but it looks nice soo 10/10

Skull Noise: LITERALLY SO PERFECT. THAT'S SO TWEWY. INCREDIBLE. the headphones and mr mew keychain... wonderful. only thing is that the name is kinda weird. like it makes sense but sounds weird. 10/10

Guardian Bell: i like it more than i think i would. elegant looking, and i love the gargoyles on it. hate the sentient gargoyles tho. 8/10

Dual Disk: VERY cool! looks like it has a reverse grip. the teeth are really cool and i love the bright blue. 9/10

Ferris Gear: eh. pretty cute but i think my pinocchio bias is acting up. the gears are nice, reminds me of wishing star. 5/10

Knockout Punch: SO COOL. really love the spikiness and colors and that the guard looks like the monkey. unfortunately for it, i don't like monkey. 8/10

All for One: the design's nice and it matches the world... but eh. 5/10

Counterpoint: so fun!! the violin guard is great, and the blade looks so cool. the teeth are a little awkward looking, it goes up too much. 9/10

Divewing: RAD!. just a sword with a heart on it and i love it. just so fucking cool. and the guard looks like a wing so 10/10

Sweet Dreams: so cute :) in love with the meow wow on top, but the teeth go up too much again. and i think there should be some komory wings on it. 7/10

Ultima Weapon DDD: NICE. almost identical to the kh1 blade, but blue and BETTER. the wings above the guard and the crown coming out of dream eater sigil... brilliant. 10/10

Unbound: not a hit 💔 just kinda weird and unfinished looking? and the lime green bit is off-putting. the hear at the top is nice. 2/10

End of Pain: ok mood shift hello. looks like it should be one of terra's evil blades. at first i was thrown off but looking closer it's so cool. the wings and eye at the top... the horns above the guard... the butterfly and gazing eye (buttereye) keychain... magnificent. the blade reminds me of x2 dark knight paine's sword. 10/10

Ocean Rage: looks pretty cool at first but the monstro mouth guard is literally horrifying i don't want to look at it anymore 1/10

YMX's keyblade: apparently has no name and is different than the one in bbs. nothing new really to say since it looks pretty similar but the goat head on top is super interesting. how much did No Name (luxu) influence young xehanort... 9/10

Mirage Split: absolutely perfect. i can't think of anything that isn't positive to say. the stained glass, the heart by the teeth, the thin lines, the gradient, wings, pointy, the keychain, literally all perfect. 10/10

Nightmare's End: also utterly perfect. i don't like yellow but it works here and looks great. the cyan gradient is startling but matches MS so i love it. all the colors in the stained glass are wonderful. 10/10

Starlight+: a little guady. but i love how the stars look like comets. the twisted blade looks neat too, but what's the point of the pointy bit on top. 7/10

Treasure Trove+: love that it looks golden and gem encrusted. very rich looking, but the cart is still leaking gems. 8/10

Lady Luck+: NOW the card thing makes more sense, i love how its incorporated throughout the design. more more interesting than the original. 9/10

Three Wishes+: looks like fire?? which is way cooler but why??? i like it more but where's the agrabah. 8/10

Olympia+: CLOUDS. like that zeus is in the clouds, but they took my columns. and the cyan handles are really weird. 7/10

Divine Rose+: excellent. what it should've been all along. the iridescenty guard is suuuper pretty and all the leaves and vines are great. 10/10

Moogle o' Glory: a lot happening here but i love smacking shit with a moogle head. there's so much happening and i don't really get it. 7/10

Fairy Stars+: i didn't know it could get better, the teeth is super cool looking but i wish the twisty blade was more visible. 9/10

Sleeping Lion+: love that it turns that metallic light blue color, very pretty. and the handle looks more like the gunblade! very nice looking and i used it a lot but the top is very weird. 9/10

Counterpoint+: let's take all the fun and exciting bits from the original and crANK IT UP TO ELEVEN. wait. stop. go back it's too much. very pretty still i love colors. 8/10

Fenrir+: my car key recovered from that fight. looks wayyy cooler and looks like ff7. hate the cyan glow though it feels weird. 6/10

Darkgnaw+: took me forever to find an image bc i keep calling it dreadgnaw. much cooler than the original, it looks like it's gonna bite you. the purple is also very nice. 9/10

Missing Ache+: POINTY. super cool but how does ventus twirl it around without poking himself. the colors are fun and it looks rad. 10/10

Diamond Dust+: i used this one the most <3 very pretty i love shades of blue and purple :) looks kinda icy but the top is weirdly flat. 9/10

Bad Guy Breaker: there's so much happening calm down 😭kinda nice but there's a lot to look at. also this world irritated me. 4/10

Gula's Keyblade: #leopardus4ever. as you can see, this keyblade is perfection. fun and spiky and lightningy. i think the whole blade should be lightning tho. 10/10

Aced's Keyblade: do any of these have names. anyway what a dreadgnaw ripoff 🙄 it suits him but guess what. i don't like him. 5/10

Ira's Keyblade: i don't like ira either but his blade is fucking great. love the teeth so much, and the colors. very pretty and cool 8/10

Invi's Keyblade: absolutely gorgeous. i love the flowing lines and little vines. love the colors and also it's super long. 9/10

Ava's Keyblade: girl this hurts to look at on a white background. very pretty though, i love how wispy and cloud-like it is. looks delicate which is great considering she'll kick anyone's ass. 8/10

No Name: unfortunately, this is absolutely wicked. look at it. it's wonderful. the goat head looks so much cooler than the other animal heads somehow, and i love the hollow center of the blade. and the teeth look like a claw, a little. just so fucking cool but i hate everyone who uses this. 10/10

Shooting Star: super pretty, i love how this one flows. i wish the blade went down to wrap around the guard though, instead of cutting off. 8/10

Hero's Origin: they took away my clouds again. i like that half of it is just. zeus. the lightning bolts are cool, but the handle and guard don't really match. 6/10

Favorite Deputy: you are not my favorite deputy fuck you. i don't like toy story but i do like cactuses. 3/10

Ever After: this one's nice :) the guard is super pretty, but i wish there was more going on with the blade. 7/10

Happy Gear: this one's kinda ugly but i like it soo. the energy canister guard is cute. 7/10

Crystal Snow: i hate it so much. it's boring and the keychain is olaf and i don't like frozen. 1/10

Hunny Spout: pretty cute :) the honey jars remind me of sweetstack. i like the wooden handle. 7/10

Wheel of Fate: cool as hell that's my boat. love that the blade looks like a mast that's so cool. wish it wasn't so gray though. 8/10

Nano Gear: ah, here's the color. i like everything except how the nanobots look at the top. it's just kinda gross. 7/10

Grand Chef: oh this is so cute. but why is remy the teeth. poor rat :( but it looks very nice i like how the Tower goes into the guard 8/10

Classic Tone: fuckyoufuckyoufuc. i hate this one. pretty ugly and i don't like it. 2/10

Starlight: SO GOOD. very simple but i like that. looks mysteriously similar to the kingdom key? i love it but it needs a little more going on. 9/10

Ultima Weapon 3: LOOK AT IT. ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE THEY CAN'T MAKE A BETTER ULTIMA WEAPON. the silver and red look so good and it's spiky and cool. and the red is glittery!!! why? i don't care it's phenomenal. the spiky heart teeth. that it looks like it's moving. i wish i could break my rating scale. 10/10

Braveheart: riku kingdomhearts stole my fucking car key. we've all heard the complaints i'm not repeating them 1/10

Star Cluster: it's really nice >:( mickey switch with riku pleaase. the star theme is really cute and the colors are nice but why does it look so similar to the kingdom key. 8/10

Flame Liberator: i don't like the name but ok i guess. the keyblade is so fucking cool though. it's what bond of flame wanted to be. i love fire and it looks like it moves so hell yeah. 9/10

Xblade: still can't decide if i like this or not. How do you hold it comfortably. Love the glistening spiky bits. 8/10

#that's all of them holy shit #you are required to read this #might make another list with all of them in order if i feel insane enough #kingdom hearts #pere's bullshit #kh #keyblades

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jlalafics · 4 years ago

Note

Ok so you just wrote me a gorgeous drabble and here I am wanting more, bc you’re just too good. On my way to the gym this morning I almost crashed my car bc I saw sexy construction workers and was wondering if sometime in the future you would maybe consider ConstructionWorker!Peeta? Maybe Katniss almost crashed her car staring at that ass? Lol sorry for being so needy... 😘

I hope you enjoy @mrspeetamellark, trying to think up a story title and story cover concept right now because I’m liking this Everlark so much.

Thanks for the prompt, doll! <3

_____

“Yes, move that meeting to the afternoon,” Katniss told her sister. “Snow wants to meet about the Gilmore divorce proceedings.”

“Got it,” Prim replied from the speakers of the car. “Where are you?”

“Just turning onto our block,” she informed her. “It looks like they’re finally renovating the building next to the office…”

Katniss’ eyes were suddenly drawn to a figure standing out against the rest of the men gathered at the site. He was leaning against one of the wood slats that surrounded the property, blond and broad wearing a fitted white t-shirt.

Suddenly, his eyes drew up to meet hers.

Azure blue greeted her own steel ones, the man’s mouth widening into a smile, his expression warm and sweet.

Before morphing into panic—

“Holy fuck!”

Katniss swerved just in time to avoid a squirrel crossing the street and just barely maneuvering her car from crashing into a tree. She managed to save face, making the turn into her office’s parking garage and then into her assigned space.

“Are you alright?” Prim called out. “For a moment there, I thought I lost you.”

Katniss turned off the engine, taking in a calming breath.

“I’m fine. I’ll be up in a minute,” she responded before hanging up.

This is what she got for even looking at a man. It was a sign from the gods telling her to focus on work and not on her lack of a social life.

Too bad, though. The man was awfully cute.

++++++

“Peeta!” Turning, Peeta found Finnick—one of the other construction workers and his childhood friend—heading towards him. “Your dad said that we could take our lunches now.”

“Fine with me,” Peeta agreed, pulling off his construction helmet and tucking it under his arm.

The two headed down the street, grabbing some sandwiches from a nearby deli before heading back.

“So,” Finnick began, as they sat down at the tables set-up in front on the construction site. “I saw that your lady almost damn near crashed into a tree this morning.”

“She isn’t my lady,” Peeta muttered, unwrapping his sandwich to avoid his friend’s teasing eyes. “She’s just a beautiful woman who I happen to admire—who would never look at someone like me.”

“She did notice!” his friend exclaimed. “That close call happened because she was looking at you. Maybe you should go over to her office building and introduce yourself, ask if she’s okay—”

“No, no, no…” Peeta shook his head. “She’s high class and I am…me.”

“Peeta—” Finnick looked to him in concern. “You are a good guy. Stop being so hard on yourself. Just because one woman couldn’t look past your circumstances, doesn’t mean they all will.” His friend’s sea-green eyes darted behind him. “In fact, I’m going to help you out—”

Sticking his middle and index fingers into his mouth, Finnick let out a loud whistle.

“What are you doing?” Peeta asked in confusion.

His friend ignored him, looking behind Peeta and pointing at him.

Then, he was being yanked by the forearm from his seat and being slammed against one of the wood slats of their construction site.

Up close, her eyes were smoky and full of fire—because she was pissed.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” she demanded. “I am not the kind of woman who needs to get whistled at to feel like she’s hot. In fact, it’s downright demeaning! If you wanted my attention, all you had to do was introduce yourself like a normal person—”

“Wait!” She stepped back, but her grip on the front of Peeta’s shirt didn’t let up. “I never whistled at you. It was my friend; the idiot with the red hair who is currently trying to skulk back into our construction site, so you won’t manhandle him like you’re doing to me.”

The woman turned just in time to see Finnick guiltily rush into the construction site.

She immediately released her grasp, her olive complexion flushing scarlet.

“Oh. I’m sorry.” The woman let out a nervous laugh. “It’s just been a hell of a day so far. I almost crashed my car this morning—” Her grey eyes widened. “It’s you!”

He held out his hand to her. “Peeta Mellark.”

She took it and Peeta let his thumb brush against her rich skin. “Katniss Everdeen.”

“Now that we’ve officially met,” he started. “Are you okay? It was a close call this morning.”

“I’m fine,” she assured him. “It’s just been so busy with meetings and I have to go grab lunch—”

“Split my sandwich with me,” he offered. Peeta nodded at the still wrapped sandwich on the now empty table. “Or I’m pretty sure there are few birds that would be happy to take your half.”

Katniss flushed. “You sure?”

“I insist.” He led her towards the table, pulling out a chair for her. After sitting, he pulled one of the wrapped pieces out and handed it to her. “Turkey and provolone, no tomatoes.”

“That is my exact order at Sae’s Deli!” Katniss said as she unwrapped her half.

Peeta grinned. “It’s where I got it.”

“So—” She placed her sandwich down and turned to him. Peeta examined her, perfect posture, a heart-shaped face, and smooth shoulder-length waves greeted his appreciative eyes. “—why did your friend whistle at me?”

Peeta let out a breath.

“The first time I came by to examine this construction site, you came to your office,” he explained. “You were wearing a red romper and your hair was in a braid. You were about the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Ever since, I guess I just looked out for you. Finnick just happened to notice and thought he could help things along…”

Peeta waited for her to recoil or grimace. It sounded pathetic, the way he always made sure to look out for her black BMW in the mornings. However, to him, it was just not a good day if he didn’t see her lovely face, even if it was just through her car window.

“Did you want to have dinner?”

He turned to her, his jaw dropping. “What?”

Katniss blushed, her eyes going to her lap.

“I think you’re cute and I almost crashed my car looking at you,” she revealed slowly. “And it seems like a sign that we should look into whatever this is. Also—” Her eyes met his, glowing brightly. “No one has ever called me beautiful.”

“I find that hard to believe,” he said softly. “I would love to have dinner with you. You have to let me pay, though.”

“Is that some sort of manly-man bullshit?” she retorted with a grin.

“No, my mother would kill me if she found out that I didn’t pay on the first date,” Peeta explained. “She’d think that it would be a horrible start to our epic love story.”

“I like your mom already,” Katniss told him. “How’s six sound?”

“Perfect.”

“Katniss!”

They turned to find a pretty blonde and a dark-haired woman with a squared gaze approaching.

“My sister and one of my associates,” Katniss told him. She reached into her pocket, pulling out a small case and taking out a business card. “My cell number is on it—text me when you can, and we can go over details for tonight.”

“Sure,” he replied in a daze.

Taking her sandwich—they both had foregone eating—Katniss stood, but not before pressing a kiss to his cheek and giving him a breathtaking smile.

“I’m looking forward to tonight.”

+++++++

Over texts, Katniss and Peeta decided to meet at an Italian restaurant close to her apartment.

“I can’t believe you asked that guy out!” Johanna, her roommate and one of the other lawyers in the firm, said from her seat on Katniss’ bed. “You, who won’t even agree to coffee when any other man offers, asked a construction worker out to dinner.”

“He’s not just a construction worker,” Katniss protested. “He’s Peeta Mellark, a guy who I think is really nice and easy to talk to—”

“And let’s not forget the ass,” came a shout from Prim, who was searching in Katniss’ walk-in closet. “Don’t act like you weren’t looking at it when he got up to go back to work, Katniss.” Prim stepped into her bedroom, holding a deep-purple dress with a v-neckline and three-quarter sleeves. “I knew you tried to hide my birthday present! Put this on so he can rip it off you.”

Katniss scowled at her. “Who taught you to talk like that?”

“You did,” Prim retorted with a cheeky grin. “Now, go and get ready. I’ll lay out some underthings for you.”

Katniss headed towards her bathroom.

“Prim, I’m not sure how long it’s been since anyone’s been down there,” Johanna quipped. “You might want to pick something that covers that jungle.”

“I’m on it,” her sister replied as Katniss was about to close the door. “Tonight, we’re just emphasizing her boobs.”

“Good luck with that,” her friend retorted.

++++++

Their dinner was going surprisingly well.

Katniss hadn’t been on a date for almost a year and she had worried over the thought as she walked over to the restaurant

That was until she saw him.

Peeta cleaned up nicely, meeting her in a dark green sweater, fitted jeans, and brown oxfords. In his hand was a single pink peony, which he held out to her after kissing her cheek in greeting.

They both settled at their table, ordering quickly (eggplant parmigiana for her and lasagna for him) before falling right into easy conversation.

Peeta’s family owned the construction company that he worked for though, he was the only family member who worked onsite besides his father. Peeta’s mother worked at the home office as the company’s administrator. He had two brothers, one of which owned his own bakery business and ran it with his wife who had been his high school sweetheart.

“I think you’d like Delly,” he told her. “She’s very down-to-earth which works out perfectly because Rye is all sorts of insane. He’s the kind of guy who will wake up in the middle of the night to make the perfect chocolate cake. Luckily enough, Delly is the kind of girl who will stay up and write out everything he’s done because he’s forgotten by morning.”

“And, your other brother?”

“Runs a small hotel upstate. It’s the perfect place for Christmas,” Peeta said. “Andy and his partner Gale turned the place into one of the top hotels to experience wintertime. It does help that they both have a great sense of style.”

“So, your brother is—”

“Gay as the day is long as he would put it.” Peeta grinned. “He and Gale have been together forever. They’re one of the most stable couples I know.” He met her eyes. “How about you?”

“I grew up about an hour out of the city. My parents were high school sweethearts, married right out of high school. Had me about a year after their wedding and four years after me, Prim was born.”

Katniss stopped for a moment, taking a long sip. This part was always the hardest to explain.

“My father passed away when I was six and Prim was two,” she continued. “My mom brought us here to the city to stay with my Uncle Haymitch while she got back on her feet and find a job. We woke up the next day after arriving at his place and she was gone.”

“Oh God, Katniss—” Peeta reached over, covering her hand with his. “—I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t feel sorry for us. It was probably the best thing she could have done for us,” Katniss told him, her voice still a little thick. She gave him a wet smile. “Feel bad for my Uncle—single guy in his prime having to take on two young girls. Did you know when I got my period, he bought five different types of pads? I know, too much information—”

“I like learning about you, Katniss,” he told her. “Every little bit I’ve learned, I like.”

“I feel the same way.”

It was true. Everything she learned about man before her had only compounded the growing feelings inside her. Peeta was breath of fresh air in her staid routine and every bit of time with him made her feel like she was slowly coming back to life.

Peeta squeezed her hand, she didn’t realize their hands were still pressed together—but she didn’t mind it.

“Go on,” he urged with an eager smile. “Tell me more.”

“When I was in sixth grade, my uncle came for a parent-teacher conference and met my teacher, Effie Trinket. A year later, he married her. She’s great, got me through those tough girl years. She and my Uncle are disgustingly in love.” She snorted, taking a long sip of water. “That’s my odd little family.”

“Have you heard from your mom?” Peeta asked curiously.

Katniss shook her head.

“I don’t have a real desire to. I’m not mad at her anymore, but I can’t say I’d be thrilled to see her again. Prim doesn’t even remember her. She calls Uncle Haymitch and Aunt Effie Mom and Dad.” She sat back, giving him an embarrassed smile. “That was more unloading than I intended for a first date.”

“Honestly, I’ve been watching you for a while,” Peeta revealed. “Finnick is sick to death of hearing me talk about the gorgeous brunette next door. That’s why he whistled at you; it was to save his ears from my own insecurities when it came to you.” His face had gone red. “I know you’re some big-time lawyer and I’m just some guy—”

Katniss shook her head. “You’re not just some guy.”

Peeta grinned. “I hope not.”

After he paid for dinner, they decided to walk to her apartment since it was a warm night.

As they strolled down the block, his hand brushed against hers before carefully grasping her fingers. Katniss took the initiative, entwining their fingers together, and Peeta turned to her, lifting her hand to press a kiss to her knuckles.

She felt the heat rise up her body, her center twisting at the feel of his rough lips to her skin. She had to wonder how those lips would feel against the rest of her body, specifically between her thighs.

It had been a long time since she had sex.

“Nice place,” Peeta said as they approached the luxury apartment complex. “I know the company that worked on them, Beetee Latier is a smart guy and I’m willing to bet that this place is very up-to-date when it comes to virtual assistance.”

“I’ve never tried it, but Johanna has said that she can tell the apartment when it’s too cold,” Katniss told him offhandedly. “And it raises the temperature according to what is comfortable.” They stop outside the entrance and she turned to him. “Thanks for dinner and the conversation.”

“Thank you for giving me a chance,” Peeta replied.

His hand reached, cupping her cheek and his thumb brush against the edge of her bottom lip before dropping to his side. Katniss felt every nerve pulsate at his touch and she had desperately fought the urge to take his thumb into her mouth to taste him.

She wanted to ask him to come up, but her need to not seem so desperate dampened her longing.

Reaching into her purse, Katniss took out her keys, giving him a shy smile. She quickly kissed him on the cheek.

“Good night, Peeta.”

His hand reached to a tendril of her hair, caressing it with his fingers as if he were trying to memorize the feel of it between them.

When Peeta met her eyes, her breath caught at the desire in his darkened blues. “Good night, Katniss.”

“Fuck it—”

Katniss snapped, her keys dropping to the ground in a loud clink, as her arms wrapped around his neck and she pulled his mouth against hers. Peeta gasped in surprise before catching himself and circling his arms around her waist to pull her close.

He tasted delicious, her tongue surrounding his as she feasted on him. Her hand reached to grasp at his hair and the moan that tumbled from his mouth cause the fire inside her to flare. She had never wanted anything or anyone as much as she wanted the feel of him against her.

His lips slid off hers, pressing to her neck, his tongue sampling her.

“What are you doing to me, Katniss Everdeen?” he asked breathlessly, the intensity of his question sending shivers through her skin.

Katniss met his eyes, her chest heaving as she felt the rapid beat of her heart.

“I’m taking you upstairs.”

So, there’s going to be a 2nd part to this. I’m having too much fun.

Yeah, I’ve been shipping Gale with the eldest brother since TWC.

#mrspeetamellark #request #constructionworker!Peeta #lawyer!Katniss #Everlark #Everlark Fanfiction #Modern AU #Rated MA #Rated E in later part

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emilycollins00 · 4 years ago

Note

Hey! In honor or spooky season and my recent haunted world trip, may I have the A3! Boys (any assortment up to you) reactions to a s/o whos terrified before going into the haunted house like completely horrified but then once they go in the S/O isn't afraid of anything? I found out recently that anticipation absolutely kills me, but like a actual good spooks from a quality haunted house does little to nothing to scare me lol.

Thank you for the request, dear! 💕 I wanted to do something since the begining of october but couldn’t think of anything. Fortunately this came up!

Happy pre-halloween everyone, enjoy! 💕

Troupes with not scared! Reader in a haunted house

All righty! Here we are going to divide the whole dorm into three big groups:

The ‘I was kind of worried about you some more than others, but if you say you’re okay...’ group: Yuki, Misumi, Tsuzuru, Omi, Tasuku Juza, Sakyo, Tsumugi, Hisoka

Yuki

He would never understand how you can go from being terrified to okay

Just a few moments ago you were almost stopping the circulation in his hand? Now you are looking around humming, geez

After glancing at you, seeing you really are fine, he focuses his attention on the next thing he loves most: clothes

He’s SO disappointed though

“Those are some low-quality clothes, is this their way to scare us?”

“Yuki”

“They won’t fool me even if everything is dark”

“Yuki, please just… act scared”

“Why should I, it’s only their mix of red and pink what makes me shudder”

Mizumi

Smiling and swinging his arms the whole time

Misumi’s so happy you are not looking so horrified anymore!

Grabs you by your hand

He’s so excited to be with you because??

IT’S TIME TO LOOK FOR TRIANGLES IN THE DARK

“Look! That man has a big triangle in his chest, let’s ask him if we can take it!”

This ball of sunshine knows no fear

“MISUMI, NO”

You both get scolded by the actors on your way out

Tsuzuru

Tsuzuru is good with haunted houses but doesn’t want you to force yourself

You assure him you are okay and so, when he sees you are calm after entering, looking around even slightly excited, he smiles

Is he really going to keep smiling though

Everything is cool until someone in a clown costume jumps at his face??

Just like the next one, and the next…

“Why do they keep jumping only on me?!”

“Tsuzuru, calm-”

Another shriek comes from behind him

“DON’T ‘TSUZURU’ ME Y/N, WHY ARE THEY LIKE THIS”

He ends up exhausted as you pat him in the back on the way out

Omi

Yes, you are not scared at all now, but this one still goes full mom-mode, taking your hand through the haunted house.

“Look Y/N, that’s an awesome decoration, right?”

“Omi, I’m fine, don’t try to distract me”

He slightly scolds the actors with a smile when they shout and holds you close to him

“Omi, we are dating, you are not my caretaker”

“Haha, you are right”

“...”

“Would you like to go to eat after this? It’s been-”

“OMI”

Omi protection squad 24/7, whether it’s necessary or not

Tasuku

Thinks the whole concept of entering even if you are scared is stupid, but agrees to enter

Surprised to see you better the moment it starts but doesn’t comment on it

A monster appears. You tilt your head. Tasuku hums

“I see… but I still think coming from behind and surrounding us would have come across better”

"Tasuku, stop focusing on the acting for once”

There’s an awkard silence between you three

Tasuku stares at you, and then at the confused monster

“...I’m just saying the reaction would have been better if-“

Juza

He was worried about you as you both waited in line

You really looked horrified

Now… you are fine? You are not making it up are you

He tenses at the shrieks though, trying to remain composed to save face

“Juza, are you breathing?”

You almost can’t walk with your boyfriend so close

“...yeah”

End up laughing as he holds you so he doesn’t beat up anyone that randomly appears by instinct

Sakyo

He dragged entering inside because you looked too scared

Why would you even do that to yourself, are you an idiot? You pressed you just needed to do it

“I won’t be waiting for you to caught up, understood?”

“A-all right!”

After seeing you are okay though, he’s low-key glad you are enjoying it

Plus, he doesn’t have to deal with any shouting

You discover nothing phases him??

“As expected from my lovely yakuza”

“Care to repeat yourself”

After one glare from him, the actors are also quick to back off

Tsumugi

Tsumugi kept telling you to leave the queue, you didn’t have to do it

But after entering you look fine?

“Are you sure you are okay, Y/N? We can still...”

You laugh, “I’m fine, Tsumugi”

You convince him to relax and enjoy the attraction. Maybe he follows your comment too much

“That murdering scene was really well done!”

“Y/N, look the way they try to fight the killer in such a tiny space”

“I need to remember how great they...”

You are not sure if you are in a haunted house with your boyfriend or watching streets acts in a closed place

Hisoka

You both just walk like it’s a walk across the park until one monster appears

He looks so deadpan you are glad you were not scared

Who knows what would have happened if you had had to drag him around the place scared

“Hisoka, you okay?”

“Mhm, this place just… makes me sleepy”

“Makes you what now”

Hisoka just leans on you every chance he gets

You both unconciously damaged the ego of the actors

Not a single scream from any of you

The ‘Aw, weren’t you supposed to be scared?’ group just what’s wrong with them: Kazunari, Itaru, Chikage, Masumi, Azuma, Homare, Banri

Kazunari

Makes an instablam live out of it to record you.

What? He thought it would be cute, you holding onto him scared!

Instead, he realizes you are so damn cool??

“Sup y’all~ we are in a haunty house, say sike! And with me is…” he shows your face, you glance at the phone

“...Y/N?”

“Brutal. How are you doing, mysterious hunter?”

“Uh…Good now”

“SO BRUTAL. Hear that everyone?? My partner is just too epic to get scared!”

He’s so focused on you that barely takes notice of the scariness of the place

Itaru

Itaru keeps asking you if you are okay after you both enter

“I told you I am! You don’t have to worry”

He sighs “Ah... was hoping to see a scared Y/N, guess that’s still unlocked”

“...You had the chance to follow what I said with a smile, you know”

He laughs under your deadpan stare

After a while you notice he’s not near you anymore?? “Itaru? If you try to do something weird...”

“Y/N, this looks just like the zombie armor of my last gameplay…GG”

You have to actually DRAG him out I swear this man

Chikage

He’s curious to see how you would react because before entering it looked like you were on your way to death

Glancing at you now, everything looks fine? He’s sad he can’t tease you

Becomes somewhat of a tour to entertain you

“See, Y/N? That’s wrong. The whole blood bath is better to do it in the shower because…”

“Chokers like those really do nothing to…”

“Maybe I should tell them how to make murder scenes more accurate?”

He chuckles under your stare

The haunted house isn’t the one who’s scary

Masumi

He’s sad you aren’t as terrified as you looked at first???

“Why the hell do you look betrayed”

Masumi just really wanted to protect you

He decides he can still do that

Doesn’t stop dragging you and holding you close every chance he gets

“Masumi let that death grip go, I told you I’m fine”

“I’m taking precautions”

“But I’m-“

“Precautions”

Azuma

He looks at you, smiling in silence for a while “You look better than before, I’m glad”

“Yeah! I don’t know, guess it was the whole anticipation thing”

He stares at you blinking. You narrow your eyes, what-

“Y/N, Is that a real cocroach on your back?”

You turn around horrified, what the...?!

There’s nothing there

He laughs

“Azuma what the heck!”

HE IS STILL TRYING TO GET YOU SCARED IM-

Also, Azuma calling cute at every single monster that appears

Homare

Homare is intrigued about how you would react inside

He was hoping to do a poem about the beauty of fear

Glancing at you, he sees you are not afraid, to which he ‘hums’

Well, it’s fine, you did look georgous smiling

“It doesn’t matter if you are not afraid dear Y/N, let us enjoy this ghostly and dramatical affair before us!”

“Homare? This is not the time to-“

There’s nothing that would stop him now, you had given him enough material as you waited anxiously on the line anyway

Banri

You swear, you can’t take HIM ANYWHERE

He thought you would be scared so somehow gets bored when you don’t jump what the hell Banri

His solution? entertain himself with the place

Pretends to get a panic attack and flips off the actors

You both are banned from the haunted house for misbehavior

“Y/N, come on, I said I was sorry”

“No, you are not”

“… pfff, yeah you’re right”

Finally, the ‘I was supposed to protect you or enjoy our qualitity time but ended up screaming too loud and/or ragging you around’ group: Citron, Sakuya, Muku, Tenma, Taichi

Citron

Forget about being horrified, excited or whatnot, the second-hand embarrassment is real with this man

“DO NOT BE AFRAID Y/N, I KILLED AN EVIL DEMON ONCE IN MY HOMELAND, I KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH THIS”

You try to speed up the pace

Citron is blindly hitting and kicking thin air as he screams ‘who is it’

He didn’t even notice you weren’t scared honestly

“I protected you well, yes, love?”

“Uh… yeah”

Sakuya

He jumps a lot, admiring how well you end up managing now

“Y-you sure you are okay, Y/N?”

“Yup! How about you, Sakuya?”

“Oh, I’m… UGH!!”

He doesn’t try to run because it looks like you are enjoying the attraction.

Also, still wants to protect you if something happens to you? my heart

Sakuya holds on to your hands for dear life. He makes you promise you that you won’t leave each other’s side.

Poor boy has gained a few years but he’s so proud of how cool you looked

Muku

Insert big shriek anytime something moves, poor boy had never experienced something so scary at this big scale

Well neither had you, but you looked fine now??

He keeps trembling, doesn’t let go of your shirt

You said you both were going to face your fears, why is he the only one horrified now??

“I’m sorry Muku”

You both end up having a break afterward to calm his nerves. He’s so embarrased

“W-was I brave…?

And this. This is were you lie and say yes

Taichi

Man, he is SO excited because??? He can hold you if you are afraid!

It’s. His. Chance

Or not

Why is he the one who hides behind you it wasn’t supposed to be like this

“GAAAAAH!!”

“You okay, Tai?”

“I JUST SAW SOMETHING MOVE, I SWEAR LET’S GET OUT THE ROOM PLEASE Y/N!!”

You become his knight in shiny armor, he’s so awestruck

For nothing really?

Taichi is too loud, no one is even bothering you anymore

He still clings desperately on to you

Tenma

Fakes being fine to keep appearances although he’s not fine and absolutely all of us know this

Sweats so much as you both wait in line and just why are you going to do this to yourself and to him

“I-I guess if you are THAT afraid we can leave, Y/N”

“No, I want to try it at least once!”

Containing his breath until a gross spirit appears murdering people

Tenma doesn’t scream, the boy IS DESTROYING HIS THROAT

He doesn’t care if you are now okay with this. If he goes down, you are going down with him

“S-stop. Tenma stop grabbing me!”

“SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!! YOU KEEP MOVING Y/N OR WE ARE GOING TO GET KILLED!”

Never again

________________________________________________________

Tag yourself because I would SO be Tenma if this was real life.

Have a wonderful day! 💕

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chazz-anova · 4 years ago

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Chapter 4

Fandom: Far Cry 5 Word Count: 16k Pairing: John Seed/OC Summary: After being kidnapped by John, Veronica is presented with a whole new world of problems. A/N: Guys I don’t know how, but I finally powered through and finished this chapter! It got longer than I intended, but there’s a lot going on lol. Fair warning, there is a relatively steamy scene in this chapter! Not smut, but enough to warrant a heads up.Thank you to everyone on here who inspires me daily to keep chugging and shout out to all my mutuals and followers who reblog my OC content! I love you guys 💛💛🌼

AO3 Link Here!

Veronica’s head pounded, and she felt dirt beneath her hands. She tried to move an arm and found she couldn’t move at all. Panic started to rise in her as she remembered taking a bullet in the leg at Woodson’s Pig Farm, then she’d blacked out. “This one?” She heard a man’s gruff voice ask.

“No, this one.” Another voice corrected. Barely opening one eye, Veronica saw she was on the ground next to another woman and two men stood over her. “Don’t seem very worthy…” The first one commented and leaned over, taking a closer look at her.

Directly above her, the other man responded, “It is not for us to judge. Deliver her unto the waters, the Cleansing begins tonight.” With a shrug, the first man bent down and hoisted her over his shoulder.

The woman struggled to stay awake, but blackness swarmed at the edge of her vision, creeping in slowly until it overtook her once more.

The next time she awoke, she was wet. As she tried to take a breath, she realized she was underwater. The deputy coughed and sputtered, choking on air as she was pulled up out of the water. In front of her, she could just make out headlights illuminating the lake, framing at least two others who were being guided out of the water with her. “We must wash away our past, we must expose our sin. We must atone, for only then can we stand in the light of God and walk through the gates of Eden.” Preached a voice that chilled her to the bone.

Veronica’s vision cleared incrementally, and she finally saw John Seed on the shore of the lake. As the other hostages passed him, he anointed their heads with something. When it was Ronnie’s turn, he stopped and met her eyes. “Take the others and go. I need to cleanse this one personally.” John muttered darkly. The man guiding Veronica released her shoulders, and she stood in front of her enemy. Though her vision was now clear, the world still swam with stars around the edges. Her thoughts felt muddled from the Bliss both in the bullet she’d taken, and in the water.

John handed the book he’d been reading from to the peggie as he went to the trucks behind them, and the deputy caught a glimpse of the tome. It was white with gold trim, and the Eden’s Gate symbol was embossed on the front.

A moment later, the truck started up behind them and rumbled away into the night. John rolled up his sleeves slowly, anticipation coating his gaze. His blue shirt was only half buttoned, offering a view of his defined chest. V saw the sin of ‘Sloth’ had been carved there, and then crossed out. The scar didn’t yet look too old.

John’s steely gaze never left hers, and he tilted his head to the side as he observed her. Suddenly, he grabbed her arms and forced her down into the water. Veronica fell backwards as he caught her off guard, and futilely slapped at his arms and chest as she breathed in swathes of lake water, filling her lungs with the fluid.

Just when she thought she was going to pass out again, he brought her up for air. “Sinner…” He sneered at her, as though her very presence offended her.

“Fuck.. you!” She sputtered out, learning how to breathe once more while spitting up water.

Rage contorted John’s features at her defiance and he stiffened, about to thrust her down once more. Just before V hit the water again, a voice behind them called out, “Do you mock the cleansing John?” And the man froze.

Behind them, another truck had pulled up and Joseph Seed stood in front of it. He stared at them, his presence cautioning John. “No, Joseph, I-”

He was cut off by Joseph hushing him before he could finish the thought. “Shh. You have to love them, John. Do not let your sin prevent that. Bring her unto me.”

Hesitation and a hint of resentment passed over the Baptist’s features, and he paused only a moment before obeying his brother. John jerked Veronica out of the water, practically dragging her to where the Father stood.

V resisted as much as she could, but could still feel Bliss coursing through her system as stars flew in and out of her vision. Joseph got face to face with her, reaching upward to cup her face in his large hands. The deputy tried to shy away from the intimate act, but found that she couldn’t.

“Despite all that you have done, you are not beyond salvation. You’re not here by accident or by chance, you’re here by the grace of God.” Joseph’s words held weight, and she felt the first flickering of temptation for a simpler life. “You’ve been given a gift… now all that remains is to see if you’ll embrace it or cast it aside.” The Father stared into her eyes, pleading with her.

Tears welled up in Veronica’s eyes, and she felt them running down her cheeks despite the water that still clung to her. She thought of her friends, and the thought of saving them felt more distant than ever. ‘I could just let all this go. No more favors, no more killing. I could be free. I need to do this.’ V’s Bliss addled mind tried pushing her further, and she frowned. ‘No.. I can’t abandon them.’ She thought, becoming more confused as the drug clouded her brain.

In front of her, Joseph turned to his brother. “This one shall reach the Atonement… or the Gates of Eden shall be shut to you John.” As he said this, the man reached for the other and pressed their foreheads together. Though the action was kind, the warning was still clear. The two looked at each other for a moment more, and Joseph turned to take his leave.

Veronica observed John watching him go, a kind of sadness in his eyes as his brother got in the truck and left them. His gaze slowly turned back to Veronica, and he regarded her with barely contained anger. “You will confess. Every sin you’ve ever committed, no matter how petty, no matter how small… I will pull them all from you. Then we’ll see if you’re worthy of atonement.” He chuckled derisively, as though she was beneath her.

The deputy boiled with wrath at his dismissive attitude, the familiar feeling wrapping around her like a cozy blanket and giving her strength. John once again grabbed her arm, intending on taking her to his own truck, but didn’t get far. V resisted his pull, and he tried to jerk her up the slope of the shore. Using his own momentum, Veronica pulled the both of them to the ground.

John released his grip on her, and planted both hands on the ground to try to help himself up. Before he could stand, Ronnie rolled over and pushed him back down. He landed on his back, the air rushing out of him on impact and stunning him.

Seeing her opportunity, the woman scrambled over and climbed on top of him, pinning him to the ground. Her hands searched frantically along his sides for a knife she desperately hoped he’d be carrying. John thrusted his palms upwards, trying to push her off of him; but Veronica held fast, bearing down with her hips.

Finally- she felt smooth leather and followed it until she felt cold, solid metal. With a sharp breath, she pulled the blade from its sheath and up in an arc. Underneath her, John’s eyes widened and he grabbed one of her wrists to throw her off balance.

Veronica could feel his heart hammering as she met his eyes and brought down the blade in a smooth motion. The knife drove hilt deep into the wet silt directly next to the pair, inches away from them. The world seemed to stop and the only sound was their heavy breaths. They held each other’s gaze and neither of them could move.

The unspoken question hung in the air and John released her wrist. He silently held up his hands in the classic ‘I mean no harm’ position, and Veronica’s brow furrowed. They stayed like that for a moment in shared confusion, considering what this meant; and then the deputy swung a leg over and swiftly got off of him. The moment she stood completely- she started running, leaving John on the lakeshore.

Weighed down by her wet clothes, V struggled through the woods and resisted the urge to look back. ‘What the fuck was that!!’ The woman yelled at herself, not understanding her own actions. She ran until she physically couldn’t, and stopped to catch her breath. Each time she inhaled, her lungs screamed with the exertion.

Around her, the woods felt as though they were closing in. She thought of the feeling of John’s knife in her hand, she pictured plunging the knife square into his chest and feeling his blood running through her fingers. This train of thought made her sway, almost nauseated. She stood there hunched over for a few moments- willing herself back to reality.

Once her breathing returned to normal, Ronnie looked around her. She was surrounded by trees, small animals rustled through the fallen leaves on the forest floor and an owl could be heard somewhere among the pines. No other noises reached her, and she took a deep breath. What had happened back there? Why had she spared John? Why had he spared her? None of it made sense, and the woman wanted to crawl into a warm bed rather than think on it any further. Instead; she continued on through the woods, hoping to come across a road.

It was only five minutes later that Veronica could hear the sound of gunshots coming from the top of the slope she was climbing up. She froze, wondering if the others had discovered her absence. Men and women yelled up ahead, and she knew she had to advance.

As the deputy finally came out of the woods, she was confronted with a full on battle. The citizens of Hope County that formed the Resistance had taken up arms- and were engaged in an epic clash against John’s men.

She was faced with a long dirt road leading up a hill, a concrete building serving as a security post stood a little ways ahead. Black Eden’s Gate flags adorned the structure, marking it as their territory; atop the gate, peggies shot down as many members of the Resistance as they could.

“Out of the frying pan and into the fucking fire it is!” Veronica huffed, exasperated. She took cover behind a rock as bullets flew past, trying to figure out the best course of action. Only a moment later, a green Jeep careened up the hill, screeching to a halt next to the rocks V crouched behind.

Pastor Jerome hopped out of the vehicle along with a couple Resistance members, and the man grinned upon seeing her. “Deputy! I’m glad we aren’t too late… though I expected to find you almost up the hill to John’s bunker.”

Relief washed over Ronnie- almost overwhelming her. “Is that where we are?” She yelled over the gunfire, her voice sounding distant and disoriented even to herself.

“No, this is just the security gate; the bunker is at the top of this hill! There are more folks still trapped though that need saving. Are you in?” Jerome asked while digging through the back of the Jeep.

V took a few deep breaths to steady herself, knowing she didn’t have much of a choice. “Nowhere I’d rather be!” She replied dryly as she dashed over to meet him behind the vehicle. “Tell me you have some extra guns?” The woman inquired, peering into the back.

The pastor pulled out an M60 and loosened the strap for her before handing it over. “Your favorite!” He joked before loading his shotgun. “You ready?”

Loading her weapon, Veronica felt the effects of the Bliss finally starting to wear off completely when confronted with the adrenaline of battle. “It’s now or never!” She affirmed, loading her own weapon and looking down the sight.

They nodded at one another before rushing out from behind the Jeep. Jerome instantly took out one cultist with a shotgun blast to the chest. Veronica was close behind, firing a hailstorm of bullets towards the concrete gate, taking out one and wounding another.

From behind them, a blue truck with a mounted gun pulled up; firing rapidly at the peggies. A couple of them were sent flying- and a cultist threw a grenade into the truck bed with an audible clang. “Grenade!” Ronnie yelled, diving for cover behind another boulder. With an earthshaking crack, the truck exploded into a fiery blaze, consuming two members of the Resistance. “Fuck!” The deputy shouted, letting forth a ferocious yell as she shot down three more peggies.

Jerome took care of two at the top of the gate and ran forward, followed by another woman Veronica didn’t know. ‘Just how many people have joined this Resistance already?’ She thought, surprised by the response from the people of Hope County.

The battle raged on, but Veronica pressed forward. Finally coming to a stop behind a concrete barrier in front of the security gate. She pulled her M60 and shot down two more cultists almost mechanically.

Across from her, behind another barrier, Jerome had stopped and lifted his shotgun. Before he could get off a shot- a bullet whizzed past and caught him in the shoulder. He cried out and dropped back down behind cover. His hand went to his shoulder, coming back scarlet.

“Jerome!” V yelled, looking for a safe way to run over to him.

He caught her eye and shook his head, shouting back “I’m okay!”

She hesitated before giving him a nod, and aiming forward again to shoot down another peggie. The woman who’d followed Jerome peeked up from her cover, taking out the last two cultists with her AR-C.

An eerie silence settled over the battlefield, this checkpoint officially secured. Veronica scanned the area once more but saw no one, and took the chance to catch her breath. The deputy reloaded quickly, and made her way over to Jerome who now stood in front of the structure. He was surrounded by the five remaining Resistance members; one was next to him dressing his wound.

“We need to hurry, or we have no chance-” One of them started.

Jerome cut him off quickly, affirming “They will not make it to that bunker!” He turned to Ronnie, saying “I knew it meant trouble when we couldn’t reach you after your last transmission. I’m glad the Lord pointed me in the right direction… how did you escape, Veronica?”

Her mind flashed back to the lakeshore with John, and how she had squandered an opportunity to put an end to the Valley’s suffering. She recalled his eyes, how surprised he looked. He had looked at her as though he was seeing her in a new light, almost. The thought sent a shiver down Veronica’s spine, and her wet clothes suddenly felt as though they were clinging too tight to her skin, almost suffocating her. The deputy didn’t even know where to begin to explain this to Jerome, she certainly couldn’t tell him the truth of it. “Oh, I- they left me alone with just a couple guards… I took them out and got away.” She stuttered, covering poorly.

The pastor quirked an eyebrow- he knew she was hiding something. Rather than dwell on it though, he got to the task at hand. “Listen, the cult’s moving the rest of the prisoners up the road. They’ve got one of our guys, Merle, too. Time’s wasting- grab what you can and go save them. I’ll call in some more of our people… we’re gonna need them to pull this off.”

“We have more people?” V questioned.

“Like I told you Veronica, you’ve caused quite a stir… you’re inspiring people.” Jerome replied, as though it were obvious.

The woman frowned, not thinking of herself as particularly inspiring. “I’d better get going.” She said suddenly, turning to hike up the road.

Further up the trail, corpses were strewn along the hill; both Resistance and peggies alike. Veronica stepped over one, hearing more gunfire and even explosions ahead. Rounding a corner, she was met with two women who appeared to be Resistance members. They were crouched behind a truck. “Hold up!” One of them yelled as V approached.

She crouched beside them, holding her weapon close. “What’s up?” Veronica shouted over the sound of several consecutive detonations.

“Those fuckers have a mortar! You’re gonna have to be real careful crossing that bridge!” She responded, cupping her hand around her mouth to make her words louder.

Ronnie’s head rolled back to look at the sky in vexation as she said to herself “Oh you have got to be fucking shitting me.”

Four men from the Resistance ran up behind them, one of them shouting “We gotta get him, we can’t leave Merle behind!”

The deputy sighed deeply, the sound of mortar shells going off in the background only adding to her growing migraine. She stood up, saying “Well let’s go!” and following the trail to the bridge that was facing the mortar assault.

The crew stood behind a small shack at the end of the trail, watching the unrelenting blasts. “How do we get past this, deputy?” One of them asked her.

Veronica shook her head, not seeing any good options. She turned around to see the group, all looking to her for an answer. The woman took a deep breath and looked back at the bridge, yelling to them “I think the only option… is to run like hell!” On the last word, V took off in a sprint and ran as fast as she could underneath the bridge.

Her back slammed against the concrete under the overpass, and she could hear whistling as they fired off the mortar once more. ‘Guess we’ll see how this works!’ Ronnie thought to herself and braced for impact.

The mortar shells battered the bridge with echoing explosions, making it impossible to hear anything but the roar and ringing in your ears. Fiery blasts welling up and flaming out in seconds, sending shrapnel flying.

The woman clamped her hands over her ears, screaming her stress into the explosion. The last round of detonation came and went, and all seemed well. V peered out from underneath the bridge and saw a metal storm drain ahead. Seizing her opportunity, she ran through the runoff under the bridge to the metal pipe, ducking inside just as another mortar was shot off.

The next blow came far too close, knocking her back against the wall of the drain pipe. Veronica cried out suddenly, her attention immediately coming to her left arm. From her shoulder protruded an ashen piece of shrapnel, blood welling out of the wound from the sides. “Oh fuck..” Ronnie’s words came out strained, and she touched the wound tenderly. Pain flamed through her whole arm, making her wonder how deep it was embedded. ‘I have to keep going, there’s no other options.’ She gritted her teeth, realising she didn’t have her backpack or first aid kit. She’d almost forgotten about her ordeal earlier and losing half her equipment. A trip to the general store was most definitely on the list after she got through this.

Another blast came and went, and through the smoke she could see another bridge offering her some much needed cover. In a few seconds, she ran from the storm drain to her next shelter.

From beneath the second bridge, she braved another two blasts from the mortar. Her arm protested every movement, but V knew she was almost to her target. About a hundred feet ahead of her, a long wooden bridge loomed over a small waterfall. To the side of it was a metal pole fitted with a zipline.

The sight of the latter brought Veronica a much needed smile as she thought ‘Good thing it isn’t my dominant arm that’s fucked up!’. The deputy ran full tilt, her right hand grasping the handle of the zipline and sending her careening to the other side of the river. The adrenaline was almost enough to take her mind off the pain ripping through her other limb.

Landing safely with an undignified roll meant to preserve her left arm, the deputy laughed joyously. “That right there makes it all worth it!” She said to herself, turning around to run up the hill to where Merle lay ahead.

Veronica came out of the bushes at the top of the hill to see a man tied up next to two corpses. Beyond him- a peggie was manning the mortar that had given her so much trouble. She shot him with no hesitation before springing forward to free Merle.

“Goddamn, thanks deputy! I thought I was a goner!” He shouted, getting up off the ground and running a hand through his hair. His brunet strands were styled in an unironic mullet, and matched his grease-stained hot rod flames shirt.

“No problem, you must be Merle?” Veronica assumed, eyeing him up and down.

“That I am ma’am! Oh shit, someone just sent up a flare! More peggies are comin’!” The man asserted, bending down to grab a discarded gun from one of the corpses.

A red light flew through the sky, announcing their location to every cultist in the area. Before either of them could say anything else, Merle’s radio beeped and Jerome’s voice came over it, “We’re sending a bird now, it’ll be there in two minutes... stay strong!”

Veronica took a deep breath, readying her weapon as peggies started running across the wooden bridge towards them. She shot them down once they were close enough, sweeping her aim over the gorge beneath them where more raced up the hillside. Their numbers seemed truly endless as Ronnie took out soul after soul, dropping them like flies. The seconds dragged on like minutes as they were overwhelmed with the force of John’s men.

“Merle, go man the mortar!” Veronica shouted to her companion as she took down three more cultists.

Following her instruction, the man ran to it and lifted the device, throwing in round after round and savaging the men on the other side of the bridge.

More peggies rushed across the bridge and up the hill, cornering them. Veronica shot them down one by one, yelling into the night as she fired. Suddenly, dust sprang up in a tornado and took everyone’s sight away.

The blades of a helicopter could be heard above, and Veronica continued shooting aimlessly into the cloud of dust as it lowered to them.

Merle abandoned the mortar and ran to the chopper, climbing in the back. Veronica put down one last peggie before following suit and jumping in the other side as bullets flew by.

“Man, my heart’s beating a million times a minute! Goddamn, deputy, you swung in there and saved our asses.” Merle praised, panting with exertion.

As the helicopter flew into the night, Veronica watched the pile of corpses she’d left in her wake grow further away. More peggies ran across the bridge to where they once were, shouting after them. Soon they were passing over the lake where Veronica had been held captive not even an hour earlier. “Hell of a night…” She said distantly.

At the top of the hills the deputy could clearly see John’s ‘YES’ sign lording over the valley. Her face grew flushed with anger at this reminder of her enemy, of the man who made her feel so many things. Veronica looked down and watched the forest give way to farmland, and soon she saw the steeple of Jerome’s church in the distance.

She cradled her left arm close, the pain ebbing in more and more as the adrenaline left her. As the deputy looked down, drying blood coated her arm in a red glove; she was relieved to see the wound didn’t appear to actively be bleeding anymore though.

Minutes later, the helicopter let the deputy off at the Spread Eagle, she thanked the pilot and Merle before heading under the awning. The chopper took off once more and left her alone in the moonlight. V let out a long breath, trying to digest all that had happened to her just today. “I hope every day isn’t like this, otherwise shit’s gonna be hard to top when this is all done.” She joked to herself dryly, sighing.

“At least you still have your humor.” An unexpected voice said behind her.

Veronica startled and turned to see Mary May standing in the doorway of her bar with a smile. “Man, you scared me half to death!” Ronnie chuckled.

The barkeep moved out onto the porch to join her, resting a hand on her right shoulder. “I’m glad you’re alive, deputy. Jerome got real worried after you radioed him, and convinced folks to head to John’s bunker to help you and the others. It was pretty moving.” She nodded, recalling Jerome’s words.

“He seems to have a way of doing that.” Veronica agreed, looking out into the night sky. “The stars never stop taking my breath away out here.” She murmured, wonder in her eyes.

“You doing okay? After everything, I mean.” Mary May questioned, concern clear on her features.

Veronica considered everything she’d been through in mere days. After a relatively simple life, it all seemed like too much; yet the state of shock V was proving to be in after tonight’s battle had left her feeling rather numb. “I’d probably feel better with a drink.” She murmured, hoping to keep herself from thinking of her interaction with John earlier. “Also, can you get me some gauze? I think I’ll need some help with this…” Ronnie turned, showing her friend the wound she’d sustained earlier.

Mary May nodded- her eyes widening “Oh shit, let me grab my first aid kit, cmon in!” She insisted, beckoning the deputy inside.

Hesitating a moment, her gaze lingering on the stars. As she turned to go inside, she caught another glimpse of the YES sign and couldn’t help but feel frazzled. “I can’t wait to destroy that dumbass sign.” Veronica grumbled angrily. She took her spot at the bar and sighed, her arm throbbing.

The barkeep returned with a first aid kit and pulled out a cotton ball to dab in alcohol. She set it on the bar and sighed, warning, “This is gonna hurt like a bitch. You want something to bite on?”

Ronnie thought it over, but decided against it. “Go ahead, I’ll be okay.” She asserted, taking deep breaths.

Mary May took a deep breath of her own and grabbed a pair of metal hemostats. Gently as possible, she gripped the blackened piece of shrapnel. Just upon touching it, Veronica whimpered quietly. The blonde took another breath, and with one sharp tug wrenched the jagged obstruction from Veronica’s arm.

V couldn’t help but cry out and pound her fist on the bar, causing bottles to shake in her wake. The piece of shrapnel was tossed in a bowl on the bar, and Mary May padded the wound with alcohol. Veronica winced, exclaiming “Motherfucker!!”

Her friend grabbed a pressure wrap from the first aid kit, applying it quickly to stifle the bleeding. “There, all better.” Mary May patted Veronica’s back reassuringly.

“Holy fuck where’s my drink!” The woman slumped against the counter, her arm sore.

The barkeep set a glass of whiskey next to Ronnie before grabbing her own, saying “There’s more where that came from!”

Veronica sat up to take a sip, professing “Thank god for bartenders!”

Two hours later, Veronica was too drunk to speak let alone feel. “Mary May, I dunno if I’m cut out for alla this.” She slurred, gesturing widely with her hands. The woman laid on the floor of the Spread Eagle, the world spinning above her.

Her friend popped her head over the bar and looked confused. “Whatdya mean?” Mary May asked- her words just as slurred as Ronnie’s.

“This. All this. John, Joseph… Jingleheimer-Schmidt.” V snorted as she thought of the silly rhyme, and she sang the rest loudly, “His name is my name too!” The woman sat up from the floor, swaying as though she may go right back down. After a moment Veronica continued, her tone changing drastically, “I did something… not good today.”

“Did something?” Mary May looked at her suspiciously.

“I beefed it man. I like. Made the worst choice in the history of choices. What the fuck is wrong with me!” Her head fell in her hands and V groaned loudly.

“Well are you gonna tell me whatcha did?” The barkeep asked as she stood up and walked to the end of the bar.

“...No.”

“Tell me!”

“I literally don’t think I can.”

Mary May stood above Veronica now, her hands on her hips. “If you don’t tell me, I’m gonna havta cut you off!” She threatened with a small smile.

Ronnie’s head fell to one side as she regarded her friend, and after a moment she gave her a lazy smile. “I’ll tell you… if you help me up.” She said in a sing-songy voice, reaching her arms up and making grabby hands.

“You’re the one who got on the floor dummy.” The blonde sighed as she planted her feet and helped Veronica stand.

With a groan, the deputy swayed a moment before steadying herself. She hiccupped as she mumbled, “Seemed like a good idea at the time.”

The barkeep looked at her expectantly with a quirked eyebrow- though her serious demeanor was diluted by a barely contained drunken smile.

After a moment- V held up a finger and chuckled, “You almost had me there Mary May! I, for one, think it’s time for bed.” No matter how much she imbibed, she knew telling another soul of her encounter at the lake was not an option.

Her companion regarded her skeptically before breaking out in a grin and clapping her on the shoulder. “Hey, I’ll let you slide this time… but only because of your help with the Widowmaker today!” Mary May shook a finger at her as she settled back onto a barstool.

“You’re damn right!” Ronnie joked, turning to make her way upstairs. She exchanged her goodnights and took to the steps, not quite trusting her footwork. A sense of relief washed over her as she weaseled out of telling her newest secret. ‘Gonna have to be more careful than that..’ She thought, annoyed with herself.

Much stumbling later- Ronnie was able to change and collapse into bed in what had become her home away from home. The comfy sheets enveloped her and coaxed her into sleep; quiet snores sounded from under the covers in seconds.

As soon as V’s eyes closed, she was dropped into a restless slumber. She opened her eyes in a dream, and was piqued at the sight before her.

Once more, the deputy was on the lakeshore with none other than John Seed. It was all as before- the pair of them wrestling in the silt under a half moon. Ronnie straddled the Baptist, hoping to gain the upper hand in her Bliss addled state. Her hands found the knife again and it was raised above her. As it drove down, the scene changed significantly.

Veronica no longer gripped the blade, and instead her hand cupped John’s cheek as she met his lips. The Baptist stiffened for only a moment before returning her kiss. One arm wrapped around her and his hand travelled up to tangle in her tresses.

John broke their embrace and pulled her hair, tilting her head up and exposing her neck. As he pulled her blonde locks, V let out an approving whimper. The man kissed along her exposed collarbone, stopping at the base of her neck. He traced his tongue along her jugular and could practically feel the life running through her artery. Almost unable to help himself, John bit her once; eliciting a squeak from Veronica. He quickly kissed over the spot as if in apology. Pulling back, their lips clashed once more and he savored her taste.

The blonde ground her hips against him as the heat rose between them. A quiet moan escaped John, and she could feel him growing hard against her. Taking her revenge, Ronnie bit his lower lip swiftly. When his lips parted she brushed her tongue over his bottom one and felt his meet her.

John sat up, cupping a hand under her buttocks and lifting her with him. With him sitting up, Ronnie adjusted accordingly; wrapping her legs around him. The two of them pulled back, both of them panting. There was heat in his words when the Baptist leaned forward and murmured, “I want you to blow me.”

At his words, Veronica felt things low in her body tighten and she nodded wordlessly. John wore a wolf’s grin as he settled back once more, giving her full access to him. V scooted back a bit and trailed a finger down his semi-exposed chest; her finger coming to hook on his belt. She grabbed the tail of it and pulled, unclasping the buckle and tugging the accessory from the belt loops it had been secured in.

In the front of his jeans, John was hard and ready. Ronnie rubbed a hand along his length over the fabric with a small smile. When she touched him, the man tilted his head back and let out an appreciative sigh. She liked the effect she had on him.

Her hand went for the button on his jeans, and then the zipper. He helped her tug them down, leaving his plain black briefs as the last layer. Seizing the opportunity to tease- V lowered her head and kissed him through his briefs; making a show of it. “Fuck..” John moaned and made eye contact with her. Veronica smiled mischievously at him and bit the elastic of his undergarments, pulling it up and releasing with a snap.

The woman grasped the band of the briefs, about to free his member when a crash sounded from outside the dream; snapping Ronnie out of her fantasy.

Waking up in the black room, Veronica sat up and looked around wildly for the source of the noise. When her eyes landed on Boomer standing next to her bed, and her toppled over M60 laying on the floor with a box of now scattered bullets; her heart rate started to slow and relief washed over her.

The cattle dog looked up at her guiltily, as if apologising for knocking her gun over. The woman sighed and shook her head with a smile, “Boomer- you just saved me from something… potentially disturbing.” She commented while patting the bed for him. The heat of the dream still clung to her skin and she knew her face was a hearty red.

The alarm clock read 3:36am, only a couple hours since she’d gone to bed though it felt like minutes. Boomer hopped up with her and settled against her legs. V settled back down and her thoughts strayed to John’s face as she’d teased him. She bit her lip and took a deep breath, wondering ‘Why does my brain hate me? I cannot be dreaming about him, like some middle-schooler with a crush.’

Ronnie tucked her unbandaged arm under the pillow and rolled over, hoping not to fall back into the same dream when her eyes closed once more. What vexed her most was knowing a deep, dark part of her hoped for the exact opposite.

Hours later, the deputy woke from a blessedly dreamless slumber. Boomer cuddled up against her side, still asleep. Sunlight filtered in through the curtained windows, dappling the mahogany flooring with specks of gold. Veronica laid there, taking in the silence; after the last few days she knew it was something to treasure.

She had only a brief reprieve before thoughts of her dream surfaced once more. John’s quiet moans, the feeling of their lips meeting, how he had held her as though she was his only salvation. A thrill ran through her and she shook her head, trying to clear the thoughts away. Ronnie buried her head in the covers with a quiet groan and attempted to focus on something else.

Her mind wandered to Joseph’s sudden appearance, and his exchange with John. Veronica recalled how John had sounded almost fearful when his brother questioned him, asking if he ‘mocked the cleansing’. ‘Then him saying ‘You have to love them’... what the hell..’ She wondered, brow furrowing. V shuddered as she thought of Joseph’s words to her, ‘You’re not here by accident… you’ve been given a gift…’. The feeling of his hands cupping her face was as real as it had been last night and she felt dirty. ‘What fucking gift. All I see are fucking burdens.’ The woman brooded bitterly.

The burden of rescuing her friends and building the Resistance grew every day, but there was no way she could abandon the allies she’d made and join Eden’s Gate. At the end of the day, she was secure in her decision to be an icon for the Resistance; though they demanded much of her- Veronica could never give up her free will and become one of Joseph’s pawns.

Almost randomly, Ronnie thought of Nancy, someone who had been a family friend for years. The woman her mom had worked with at the Sheriff’s Department, who she herself had worked with. They’d even had her over for dinner and a couple barbeques, it wasn’t much but there had been trust there. When Joseph had taken the helicopter’s headset after it crashed and he’d spoken to the seemingly worried sheriff’s dispatcher, the woman had called him ‘Father’. Veronica bit the inside of her cheek as she worried, ‘That can’t have been all he meant when he said this wasn’t by accident.’

A knock on the door startled both Veronica and Boomer, and the pair sat up quickly. “It’s open!” The deputy called, pulling up the sheets around her despite the black tank she wore. The door opened and Pastor Jerome came through, closing it behind him. He smiled gently, murmuring “Sorry if I woke you.”

The blonde shook her head- pulling her legs up to her to sit criss-cross on the bed. “You’re fine, I was already awake. Just thinking.”

Nodding, Jerome replied “After the week you’ve had, I’m sure.” He stood there silently a moment before continuing, “Listen, Veronica, I have something I need to ask of you.”

V pursed her lips before saying, “Okay. Shoot.”

“John has put out more air support the last few days, and I think we need some of our own. Nick Rye owns Rye & Sons Aviation, and I know he would be a good addition to our cause; I heard over the radio he could use some help against the cult. What do you think?” The pastor regarded her expectantly.

Veronica ran a hand over her arm as though she was cold, and displeasure was clear on her face. She sighed before responding, “Honestly, I was hoping to take a day. Or even half a day. I haven’t even gotten out of bed yet.” It was all she could do to not groan in exasperation. Inwardly she cringed at how whiny she felt she was being- but wasn’t she owed some time after yesterday?

The man looked almost disappointed in her as he commented, “There isn’t really time to take a day off, Veronica.” Before she could get too annoyed, he went on. “You’ve seen what we’re up against. They’re taking us against our will. I know you’re tired and I know you want to look for your friend, but Fall’s End was just a piece of the whole community that needs our help. Once we’re strong enough- we’ll free every last one of the cult’s prisoners, then we can all rest. You have my word.”

The familiar beginnings of anger ran hot under her skin as he brought up her lost friends, and Ronnie asked, “So I’m supposed to just forget my friends are out there and overextend myself?” Her brow furrowed as she looked at Jerome, annoyance creasing her features. It wasn’t as if she was the only member of this fledgling Resistance who could pull their weight.

He crossed his arms, answering “Of course not, but we have to focus on what’s reasonable right now-”

The deputy scoffed and cut him off, remarking “Now rescuing my friends isn’t ‘reasonable’? You know, I don’t think much would even be getting done if I wasn’t busting my ass for you guys.”

The pastor frowned and looked irked at her observation. “Don’t forget who saved your life yesterday, deputy.” His words were measured and carefully contained.

Veronica stood up from the bed, her hands on her hips. “Don’t forget who saved your life the day before yesterday, pastor.” Her tone was irate, and she tried to take a couple deep breaths to calm down. With everything that had happened in the last day, she was fried and at the end of her rope. Irritation came naturally with that perfect cocktail.

Jerome stared at her for a moment, his annoyance seemingly melting away as he suddenly said, “I hope you’ll think about what I said, Veronica. We couldn’t do this without you. Get some rest, if you truly need it.” Before she could respond, he opened the door and was gone.

The deputy found it was hard to bristle and stay mad at someone who had started acting rather reasonably, and her vexation faded into a mild annoyance as she turned to look at Boomer. “What a good way to start the day!” She said to him sarcastically.

The pup laid his head on his paws, letting out a short doggy sigh. Ronnie attempted a smile as she ruffled his floppy ears- but she felt she was falling deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole. “I guess I know what we’re doing today then. At the very least, I’m getting a goddamn shower.” She asserted and walked over to the dresser to lay out an outfit.

As she pulled open the drawer, V thanked her drunk self for having enough sense to change into pajamas and throw the clothes from yesterday’s battle into the corner. The woman quickly found jeans and rummaged through the loosely folded tee shirts. Lifting out a plain white crop top, Ronnie smirked at the text on it, ‘Trouble Maker’. “This feels appropriate.” She chuckled and tossed it next to the jeans.

With her outfit set- Veronica made her way to the shower. While she got it to the correct temperature, she unwrapped her bandage on her arm. The deep wound looked somewhat better, a scab had closed over the pink tissue inside the gash and no new blood welled from it as she tenderly touched the area.

Finally, she stepped into the steamy sauna. The warm water ran down her skin and she envisioned the last few days falling away with the droplets. “I can handle whatever life throws my way, I’m making the right decisions… everything is going to be okay.” She murmured into the stream, hoping it would prove true.

Twenty minutes later, V felt she’d sufficiently scrubbed herself of last night’s ‘Cleansing’ and turned off the water. She found a towel and stepped out, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror; she winced at the dark circles under her eyes. Before exiting, Veronica leaned over the tub and grabbed her hair, twisting it to wring the water out. She knew it was going to be unbelievably frizzy by the time it dried hours later. Veronica toweled off as much as possible and pulled her clothes on, her wet hair hanging limp and soaking through her shirt.

As she came out of the bathroom, she saw Boomer waiting for her on the bed; his tail wagging when he glimpsed her. “Hi buddy!” Ronnie said in a baby voice and pinched his cheeks. He got off the bed and followed her as she grabbed socks from the dresser and sat down next to her boots. Once V sat on the floor, Boomer swooped in and licked her face before she could raise an arm and fend him off. “Back, beast!” She laughed, pushing him away.

Veronica pulled on her black combat boots as her dog circled expectantly. When she stood, he barked at her once before waiting by the door. “Okay okay here we go!” She placated him while grabbing her backpack and gun. The M60 hung heavy and deadly around her shoulders, and V thought as she hoisted it with a grunt, ‘I am never gonna have to do arm day again!’.

The pair walked downstairs and found the bar wasn’t incredibly busy, just enough patrons to keep Mary and Casey busy. Ronnie was almost to the door when Mary May called out to her, “Hey V!”

Veronica cursed silently, she’d been hoping to avoid the barkeep because of her slip up last night. She put on a happy smile and turned to face her ally. “Hey May! What’s up?”

The other woman filled a glass from the tap as she replied, “Just checking in… Jerome left in quite a hurry after talking to you.” As she set down the glass and picked up another- she met Ronnie’s eyes.

The deputy looked away and nodded with a sigh. “Yeah. Everything’s fine, I just snapped at him. I’ll stop by with an apology later, don’t worry.” She relented easily.

Mary May placed the second glass next to the first and nodded to her. “I know things are tough right now Veronica, but we care about you and this cause. We just want the best for both.” The bartender replied almost cryptically before gripping the two steins to take to her patrons.

Watching her go, Ronnie felt a twinge of guilt. ‘Well now I really can’t fuck up saving this Nick guy.’ She thought before sighing and turning to leave. She only hoped she was up to the mission at hand.

V pulled out her map she’d acquired from Dutch, looking for Rye & Sons. She was relieved to see that Nick Rye was one of the names highlighted on the map, and that his home was just down the road from Fall’s End. “I’m in the mood for a nice walk, how ‘bout you?” Veronica looked down at Boomer whose tail wagged rapidly, slapping against her leg repeatedly. “Sounds like a yes if I’ve ever heard one.” Ronnie chuckled and bent down to pet him a moment before they departed.

Standing a moment later, she nodded, “Let’s get shit done.”

The pair walked through the forest, going to their destination in a straight shot while avoiding detection from the road. While taking in the sprawling plains and farmland that lay just outside the woodland- V thought about the task ahead.

She knew she’d heard of Rye & Sons before, in fact she was almost sure her mother had taken her flight test there. Veronica envied her mother’s drive to do any and everything, the woman had decided on a whim that she wanted her pilot's license and purchased a seaplane. Ronnie’s mom had tried to teach her how to fly a few times when she was younger, but to no avail. The deputy remembered the basics but not much else. She’d have to remember to ask Nick if he’d ever trained her mother.

Thinking of her mom, the woman sighed and hoped she wasn’t worrying. ‘At least I know Olive is safe!’ Veronica thought of her feline friend, trying to find the silver lining. She hoped without hope to see her mother, and her pet just once more.

After trekking for no more than thirty minutes, Veronica spotted a hangar preceding a long dirt runway through the trees. As she approached, she noted how many Eden’s Gate helicopters she’d seen circling overhead on her walk; just as Jerome said.

In front of the hangar- three peggies sat behind their individual covers. One of them shouted something, then opened fire on the building. The blonde sprinted from the treeline, moving to crouch behind a sign that read ‘ACTIVE AIRPORT, NO TRESPASSING’.

Veronica lifted her gun that had hung loosely in front of her, and took out the cultist nearest to her before dashing closer. The deputy came to rest near a sign that pronounced this as the area for flight training.

The other two peggies shouted and ran closer to their fallen companion, but V took them both out swiftly. As she put a bullet into the second one, two Eden’s Gate trucks rumbled up the flight strip with eight more adversaries.

Springing over the fence around the hangar, Veronica ran into the structure and almost bumped straight into who she assumed must be her charge. The man wore well-worn jeans and a sleeveless flannel over a Rye & Sons tee. His medium length brown hair was shaggy around his ears, but mainly covered by a worn baseball cap. Though sunglasses covered his eyes, V could tell she’d spooked him.

Before the man could raise his AR-C to her, Ronnie raised her hands up and said “Hey hey, the name’s Veronica. I’m with save-your-ass inc., hold up with the bullets!”

Nick paused before giving her a nod, “I’m Nick Rye, good to make your acquaintance! Let’s finish these bastards off!” He reloaded his weapon and charged from behind his cover. The peggies in front of him were faced with a quick spray of bullets, knocking down one and startling the others as they ran for cover.

The deputy was quick to follow him, shooting down two more with her LMG. Boomer ran from behind her into the fray, latching onto one man’s arm and wrenching him to the ground before executing him with a swift bite to the neck. The cattle dog ran to the next nearest peggie, attempting to do the same; the man grabbed his scruff and threw him to the ground with a grunt. Boomer let out a high pitched yelp and was stunned for a moment. The cultist turned his gun on the pup, and was about to fire before a hail of bullets whizzed by, more than one penetrating his skull and spraying bits of his brain and gore upon the runway. Veronica stood a few feet behind him, and when he fell she ran to her companion and put a hand on his side.

Boomer got up and steadied himself, barking at her and letting her know he was okay. “Don’t scare me like that!” She yelled at him, worry clear on her face before she turned back to the battle.

Ronnie took cover with Nick, both of them demolishing their enemy. They took out two at a time until there were none, and the dust finally began to settle. The two of them peeked up over the sturdy wooden crates they were behind, making sure no cultists lingered. Nothing moved on the runway and they both stood, taking in one another. “You’re not too shabby with that rifle.” Veronica nodded to him with a smile.

The man returned her victory grin, commending her as well, “Right back ‘atcha, big guns! You sure are some cavalry.”

“Comes with the job I guess.” The deputy chuckled.

Nick wandered back into the hangar, remarking “I appreciate the backup and all, but I’ve got a huge problem.” In the back of the hangar there was a small corner bar, the aviator made his way to it and quickly poured himself a glass of something strong.

As he did, Veronica followed him; she raised her hand with two fingers and quirked an eyebrow at him. Nick nodded and rummaged in the askew cabinet for a second glass and poured her a drink next to his. “Well you’re in luck, because I am a problem fixer. What’s up?” Ronnie inquired as she lifted the glass to her lips. Her eyebrows raised at the strength of her drink and she savored it a moment, deciding it was some sort of bourbon.

In front of her, Nick took several swigs as he muttered, “Fuckin’ cult… now we’re trapped. Trapped! I swear I’m gonna kill that son of a bitch John Seed!” He finished off his drink in one final chug and started to pour himself another as he continued, “Did you see them take off with my plane?”

The woman shook her head, drinking a bit more.

“Well that was our ticket out of here, and I need it back! I’d go myself, but my wife’s due any second…” Nick looked at Ronnie, pleading “Without that plane, we’re fucked. My family needs your help.”

Veronica finished off her own drink and nodded, replying “I can get your plane back, but the problem may be… getting it back. I don’t really know how to fly one.” At the last part, she looked away. It was somewhat embarrassing admitting to the owner of an aviation business that she didn’t know much of aviation.

The pilot clapped her on the shoulder with a smile, saying “Oh don’t worry about that, I’ve been doin’ this my whole life. I can teach you on the fly… get it?”

While Nick chuckled at his joke, worry crossed Veronica’s features as she considered the ramifications of not being able to learn ‘on the fly’. She also worried about Nick’s remark about leaving, since she hoped to recruit him for Jerome. At the end of the day, she knew it wasn’t her right to sway him one way or another; he had to do what he felt was right for his family. Especially if it was on the verge of expanding.

Acting as bartender, the pilot poured her another generous dose of bourbon and commented “If I know the cult, they’ve taken my Carmina to John’s Ranch. It’s got the only other landingstrip big enough to land the thing!” Setting the bottle on the bar, Nick met her eyes once more and sighed as though expecting her to decline, “I know it’s a lot to ask but… I’m desperate, partner.”

At hearing the location of the plane a devious smirk replaced any worry on Ronnie’s face. Taking her whole drink in one shot, she conceded, “If I’m gonna be breaking into John’s ranch, I’m gonna need at least one more drink” And pushed the glass to him.

Nick broke out in a grin, pouring her one last drink before she set off. The deputy lifted her glass in a mock toast and took the drink as a shot once more before asking, “What’s the fastest way there?” While pulling out her map.

The man traced a finger down the blue line of the Henbane river, answering “Some of those peggies we just took care of came from here. If you go down to the dock behind the hangar, I’m sure you can commandeer a jet ski no problem, courtesy of Eden’s Gate.”

V nodded and adjusted her M60 against her chest, saying “Sounds like a plan! I’ll get your plane back. Let’s just hope it’s in one piece.” She murmured the last part, still doubting her piloting skills.

As the deputy was exiting the hangar, Nick called out “I really appreciate this, Veronica! I’ll talk to you soon!”

Turning around, Ronnie gave him a smile and a small nod, hoping to hold up her end of the bargain.

Outside, the morning sun was still shining brightly. Not a single white cloud marred the baby blue of the horizon. Veronica wandered down a small dirt path, kicking up dust with her black boots. Birds sang overhead in the trees, and the quiet rush of the river could be heard in moments.

Coming out of the treeline- Ronnie was met with a plain dock with a small shack at the end of it. In the water beside the dock floated two off-white jet skis. “How much did these guys pay in paint jobs alone?” Chuckled the blonde as she clambered aboard the nearest one.

She revved the engine once before treading water- the front of the craft coming out of the river with the speed. Waves flew high behind her as she followed the curve of the river, and the deputy smiled at seeing Boomer running along after her on the shore.

Only a few minutes later, the pair had reached the boathouse behind the ranch. It was a long red building that was desperately in need of a paint job. The boathouse was open, and no one patrolled the long dock coming off the structure. V pulled up alongside the dock and turned off the engine, stepping onto the dock and miraculously not falling into the water as she exited the jet ski.

Her footsteps sounded hollow as she crossed the dock to the dirt path. With a sharp inhale, Veronica started up the slope with Boomer at her tail.

At the head of the trail minutes later- Ronnie stumbled into what appeared to be John’s backyard. The green grass was manicured, but looked as though it could use more water. Two short sets of steps let up a stone wall to a lifted seating area with two lounge chairs. Passing them, Veronica saw the ranch ahead.

A flagstone path led up to the side of the house, surrounded on all sides by patches of delicate yellow flowers. The ranch itself was bright cherry wood with a natural finish. The structure was two stories, and a hangar and guard tower were attached to the property. V ducked into one of the flower beds as a guard strolled past the side entrance.

The man was whistling to himself and held his gun loosely. It seemed they didn’t get much trouble up here. As the woman peeked above the blossoms, she pulled out her binoculars and took count of how many guards there were. “At least two snipers… six guards that I can see... probably more. This place is huge.” Ronnie grumbled as she put the binoculars in her backpack once more.

The guard from before made his round in front of her once more, and this time Veronica followed behind him. Surging forward, the deputy placed a hand on the top of his head and another on the side of his face and wrenched his neck upwards with a sickening crack. He instantly became limp in her arms, head lolling from his broken neck. Veronica dragged him back into the sea of flowers she’d emerged from.

V dispatched three more guards this way as they patrolled around the campus of the ranch. On the third, she needed to find a different flower bed. With a huff; she dragged him out of the way and squated there for a moment- brushing away the beads of sweat dripping down her forehead.

As she took a rest among the petals- the music that she’d been tuning out reached her ears. “... Come meet the man who reaps the land of which we walk upon! The time has come for judgement, but we ain’t done nothin’ wrong! Join us all we all can sing along… oh John! Bold and brave!” A cheery choir sounded their praises of the youngest Seed brother.

Massaging her temples, Ronnie couldn’t help a dry laugh, “Wow, someone needs an ego check.”

She attempted to block out the song once more, and got back to work. Her plan was to take out the rest of the guards on the outside of the ranch and then tackle the inside. No more peggies had wandered to the side of the structure in some time, and she knew it was time to expand her hunting grounds.

Coming around the front of the ranch while still hunkered in the garden, Veronica saw a man directly in front of the porch with a long iron pole embedded in his chest. His blood had dried crimson around the base and it looked almost melded to his body. Beyond him, a cluster of guards gossiped in hushed tones. V struggled to hear them, catching only passing phrases. “The Father isn’t happy with… Something to do with that girl… Say’s he’s compromised…” Was all she could hear.

As she craned her neck listening, another louder voice rose above them all. “Get back to work! John expects you to guard, not cluck like hens.” He said disdainfully. The new voice came from a rather imposing cultist with the Eden’s Gate symbol tattooed on his forehead.

Taking her eyes off the group she saw the first of the snipers on the balcony of the hangar. The second perched at the top of the guard tower- both of them scanning the grounds. As the group of three disbanded, V moved away and went around the side of the ranch that she’d already cleared.

She walked up a short staircase embedded into the natural rock and past a simple fire pit next to a utility shed behind the house. Coming to the end of the fence surrounding the home, the airfield lay in front of her. Veronica stared down the vast runway, taking in the sight of the mountains in the distance. It was a scene that never failed to amaze her.

Dead grass crunched underfoot as Veronica strode to the long ladder on the side of the hangar. “All this money and you can’t afford a gardener?” She mocked John pettily with a childish expression.

Finally, her boots met the rungs of the blue ladder and she pulled herself up to the shortest roof. Comprising of multiple levels, Ronnie had to pull herself up the side of the main roof of the hangar and then scramble up the railing of the guard tower. She did this as quietly as possible, avoiding making the many unladylike noises she was tempted to as she hurtled the rooftops.

Her hands grasped the hot metal of the railing, and she noticed the ironwork. Every other section had a scale wrought into the metal. She couldn’t help but be curious as to why.

Hauling herself over the rails at the back of the tower, Veronica leaned against the building a moment as she caught her breath. In a moment, she was ready and pulled her black hunting knife from its sheath. The second sniper stood ahead, watching the road beyond the ranch. V lunged forward and executed him quickly, plunging her blade hilt deep through his soft tissue as he spasmed to the ground.

Veronica pulled his body around the structure out of sight, and looked down at the guards. On the level below her lay the last sniper, and below that the final peggies patrolled. The intimidating man with the Eden’s Gate tattoo seemed to have gone inside.

Having taken out the highest lookout, Ronnie was free to pursue the second sniper. She dropped down to the roof, sneaking over to just above where the sniper was and staying as low as possible. She lurked above the man, waiting for the perfect moment. When all the other guards were turned away she leapt on the sniper, grabbing his long greasy locks and slamming his head into the concrete balcony hard and fast. The man barely made a sound before going limp, allowing her to pull him into the loft of the hangar and stash the corpse in a dark corner.

As Veronica rounded the corner to the stairs, she caught sight of Nick’s plane. The yellow seaplane looked a little worn, but had much character. The deputy smiled as she thought of the pilot teaching her mother to fly in this chartreuse beast.

Caught up with the image in her mind, V didn’t notice one of the remaining peggies wandering into the hangar. The man spotted her and startled with a shout. “Hey! The sinner is here!” He yelled to his crew outside, causing Ronnie to scramble.

She grasped her LMG and shot off quickly, missing the man at first. He shot off a few rounds in response- narrowing missing her. The blonde ducked behind the railing of the loft, looking over it and taking aim; she riddled her opponent with bullets as his companions arrived. They all took up arms and ammo flew through the air wildly. It was only luck that Veronica was not struck.

After letting loose a few sprays and only killing one of her enemies, V found herself needing to reload; the rapid fire from across the room didn’t afford her the time. Swiftly, she pulled her .44 Magnum from its holster, hammering off a few shots and catching the second to last peggie in the chest. He staggered backwards and fell to the ground with a thud as his ally came to avenge him. The final lackey sprung out and took aim. Before he could let off a shot Veronica put a single round through his skull and that was that.

Reluctantly creeping down the stairs- she brushed past the bleeding corpses and out of the hangar. There was one last guard on the premises, and she intended to take the ranch for the Resistance. The woman wandered to the front of the house, stepping around the body of the man in front.

The wide double doors stood open, and Veronica peered inside. The room was bathed in a warm glow from two candled chandeliers and dim overhead fixtures. Two of the shuttered skylights were open, letting the sunlight leak in to lazily cast its glow in two fixed squares. Shadows cast in every corner made her nervous as she crept along, looking for the final cultist. As V cleared the front doors and stepped up the ledge into the living room, she heard a creak. Just as she’d heard it, someone came crashing into her and she was knocked to the ground. The back of her head sprung off the hardwood with a thump and she collapsed on her back.

Standing tall and formidable above the deputy was the man from before, he looked down at her with an evil smile and said, “I’ve heard a lot about you, girly.”

Ronnie was too stunned to reply, and her vision swam for a moment as her head throbbed.

The peggie bent down and grabbed a fistful of her shirt, lifting her up as he bent down to meet her. Veronica was half lying down as the man hovered over her, his rancid breath reaching her as he spoke, “You know, you don’t look like much. Don’t know why everyone’s so interested in you. Maybe I should have a taste and find out?” As his last words, the man licked his lips and his gaze travelled down her body.

Skin crawling, Veronica finally gathered some strength to struggle but was held fast in his grasp. She pushed at him and found her opponent to be an unmoving mass.

With a laugh, the cultist stood up a bit straighter, backhanding the blonde and releasing his grip at the same time. “Seems like you don’t like that idea!” He mocked, standing up and stepping away from her.

Ronnie spun back to the floor, falling on her side with blood trailing from her mouth as stars swarmed her vision. She took deep breaths and tried to regain her senses as she heard the man say “I s’pose I’ll let them know you’re here then. You’re all John’s been talkin’ about.” Her sight came back slowly and she saw him reaching for his phone. He stood next to her feet, his left side facing her. Veronica took one last deep breath and mustered all her strength, kicking out high and at an angle with all she had.

She struck home, dislocating his knee at the joint with a meaty pop. The peggie screamed high and loud, like music to Ronnie’s ears. He fell to the ground and clutched his leg, gasping from the pain as he looked at her with pure rage. “You bitch!” He howled, his voice still thin with agony.

Starting to get her footing once more, V reached for her Magnum with a grunt of exertion from her head still spinning. Not quite off the floor- she aimed it at him and sneered, “Life’s a bitch, I just work here!” She squeezed the trigger as he tried lunging for her, and his face took the brunt of the round.

The man fell to the floor, now unrecognizable. Veronica stared at his body- her breaths going from long and ragged to measured and even. As she took in his lifeless form, she felt no remorse. The adrenaline pumped its way through her system, leaving her an aching shell. Her jaw was sore where he’d beat her, and her head pounded from the collision with the hardwood flooring.

With a groan, Veronica holstered her weapon and looked around the room, finally having time to take it in. To her right was a long glass case with some Eden’s Gate memorabilia, as well as fine china and copies of the Word of Joseph. In front of her stood an extraordinary stonework fireplace that rose to the ceiling; it was preceded by a tasteful bear’s skin over a muted rug. A leather couch with red throw pillows sat on the rug before a cherry wood coffee table, and this is where the woman wandered to.

Ronnie plopped down on the sofa, sinking into the soft cushions. On the cushion next to her, a large leather book sat open. Trying to distract herself from the pain, she flipped it over- holding a finger in place of where the reader had been. The cover read “Fahrenheit 451”, causing the woman to quirk an eyebrow in surprise. She didn’t expect this to be John’s light reading. Veronica recalled reading the dystopian novel in high school, she’d always thought of herself as someone who would fight the good cause.

Setting down the novel, another article caught her eye. V reached for a note written on plain paper on the other side of the couch. She marvelled at the handwriting which she knew had to be John’s; perfect script comprised of neat loops and impressive cursive decorated the page.

“Dearest Brother Joseph,

As promised, the town of Fall’s End is now occupied. I went after the three biggest pillars of this community in Mary May, Pastor Jerome, and Nick Rye. And After marking them with their sins, a seed of doubt was planted among the residents.

I forced every one of them to question what they really believed in. Question what side they should be fighting on.

There was bloodshed, but if not for those I converted, it would have been much worse.

The ones we saved have been brought into your flock.

The ones who fought are dead. And then sinners who fled- I’ll catch them.

That’s another promise.

Your brother,

John”

Veronica set the letter where it’d been, unsure how she felt. Though she wasn’t surprised at her disgust for his forceful converting, she was almost startled at the feelings of sadness for John. It was clear how desperately he wanted his brother’s approval; and if the display at the lake was any connotation, he certainly didn’t have it. Especially after losing Fall’s End. The blonde scoffed at the thought, ‘Why the hell am I feeling bad for that nutjob? He made his bed, now he has to lay in it.’ She scolded herself silently.

Before she could go further down that train of thought, she caught sight of something she desperately needed on the coffee table. “No way.” V chuckled, leaning forward and ignoring the ache in her body.

At the end of the coffee table sat a sizable plastic bag filled more than halfway with what she was willing to bet was kush straight from Oregon. Delighted laugher bubbled out of Ronnie as she cracked open the bag and sniffed the fresh, green scent. Removing one bud from the ziplock, she twisted it in half and admired all the little crystals hanging on the leaves like dewdrops. Orange hairs grew and curled like ivy over the nug and Veronica couldn’t be happier. “Literally everything was worth it!” She exclaimed, dropping the nug back into the bag and standing suddenly despite the pain.

“Where there’s weed, there’s papers.” V asserted, setting down the bag and peeking in the end table next to the couch. No luck there, she checked the one on the other side with baited breath. Upon opening the drawer she saw an orange packet of waxy papers and snatched them up.

Tossing the papers on the table, Veronica resolved to look for a rolling tray. “Surely Nick won’t mind me taking a smoke break.” She murmured as she walked around the fireplace into the dining room. At the end of the table was a silver tray with several instruments on it. Ronnie grimaced and moved the hooks, pliers, and scissors to the table while saying, “I don’t wanna know..”

Tray in hand- the deputy made her way to the living room. Halfway there, she was stopped by a sharp ringing cutting through the air. The phone on the dining room table sounded off, ringing a few times. She set the tray down and went to stand by the simple landline. Though there was no caller ID, V could only assume this wasn’t for her. It rang only twice more before cutting off with a beep, and the caller’s voice could be heard leaving a message.

Joseph spoke from the beige phone, his voice eerily calm, “After all the atonements, all the confessions. And all that you have done for me and Eden’s Gate, it’s not enough. Is it John?” His accusation came loud and clear. In only a moment he continued, “Cast away your past. You need to open up your heart, you need to see that there is more love all around you. All the pain and suffering you spread will not help us in the long run.” The man pleaded.

Veronica thought about this, wondering what in John’s past he must do away with. Who are we without our pasts? Though she agreed with Joseph that the pain and suffering was not necessary, she found it rather paradoxical that he could be the one to ask this of his sibling.

The Father’s voice cut through her thoughts, speaking once more. “These actions will only feed the sin inside you. It will grow stronger, it will convince you to do wicked things. Things I cannot forgive you for. Those you want to scar with your intentions, they will heal. They will become carriers of your sin. They will spread that sin to others… is that what you want, brother?” Joseph almost sounded angry, as though he already knew the answer. Ronnie felt like she was missing an important piece of the puzzle.

After another intent pause, he murmured callously, “I’ve seen your death in a vision. You’re destined to be slayed by one who shares your sin, if you don’t succumb to your own sins first. It’s only a matter of when. I’ve seen you die young. I’ve seen you die old. The difference between those two outcomes is how much love you let into your heart, and whose love.” Taking a shaky sigh, he said his goodbyes, “I hope for your sake that you heed this warning. I love you, brother. I love you.”

When the phone clicked and the line went silent, Veronica released a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. Practically none of that made sense to her, but the weight of his words seemed to ring true. All she knew is that Joseph couldn’t be trusted, not even by his own brother. She could only assume John’s position in the cult was clearly in jeopardy if Joseph could tell his brother he foresaw his death in such a cold manner.

Finally making her way back to the couch, Veronica broke down some buds by hand and quickly rolled a joint. The woman was relieved to find a lighter in the bottom of her backpack, and made use of it right away.

Inhaling the sweet smoke took away all Ronnie’s worries, if only for a moment. She relaxed more with each exhale and revelled in such a lucky find. “Looks like John only smokes the good shit.” She said to herself as she neared the end of her toke, the aches and pains she’d felt no longer bothering her to such a degree.

The blonde stubbed the joint out on the rolling tray and shoved the ziplock bag into her backpack with a relaxed grin. As she packed up and stepped out of the house, the now afternoon light blinded her for a moment. Through the blinding light she saw a form advancing on her, and quickly distinguished Boomer who now ran to meet her. The pup jumped up on her, licking her hands as she greeted him with a high-pitched “Hi baby boy!” and ruffled the fur on his head. When Boomer was done getting pet, V bent down and said, “Hey, I don’t think there’s room for you in the plane. You stay here, and I’ll be back, okay?” Hoping she conveyed her point. The cattle dog cocked his head to the side before strutting into the ranch, already walking like he owned the place.

With that settled, Veronica followed the flagstone path down to the hangar, stepping into the air conditioned hush of the building. The bright yellow plane stood there the same as before, and thankfully she didn’t feel so nervous about flying it. Whether this was misplaced confidence, she couldn’t tell. Ronnie hit a glowing button on the wall, opening the garage and spilling in daylight.

Climbing into the cockpit, the deputy pulled out her radio and called to Nick, “Hey wingman, I’m ready. I think I can get her started up okay…” As she spoke she flipped a few switches then pulled a handle in the middle and shifted gears on the left. The engine sputtered to life and V eased her foot onto the accelerator. “Let’s see if I remember my Microsoft flight simulator…” She chuckled to herself and the plane rolled out of the garage.

Her heart started beating faster as she turned down the runway and started picking up speed. Veronica could feel the bird lifting off the dirt and into the air as she tilted upwards. Suddenly, she was quite grateful at all the times her mother had forced her to practice in her own plane. “Oorah, deputy! Now you need some distance, just go north for a bit. How ya doin’?” Nick called over the open line.

“Going great, not on the ground!” Ronnie called and tried to keep her voice from trembling. All her nerves returned as she thought about how she did not want to go down in a fiery wreck.

Veronica kept her breath even as she gained some elevation, flying over trees and plains alike. “You’re doin’ great! Now, I need to make sure they didn’t mess with it. Let’s run some tests! Hang a sharp left at the crop circle and fly low along the river!” Nick called out.

Obeying him and taking a glance out the windows to see where the crop circle was, V answered, “I tell you I don’t know how to fly and you tell me to fly into the water?” She was only half joking.

Brushing her concerns aside, he said “You’ll be fine! It sounds like you’re a natural! Go ahead and dip that left wing. That’s the one that worries me, it’s always acting up a bit.”

As the plane dipped to the left, turning smoothly, Ronnie breathed a sigh of relief when she evened out.

“Yep, you’d have gone into a full on barrel roll if something was wrong. I guess the cult’s got some competent pilots.” Nick commented begrudgingly. It sounded as though he were eating chips on the other end of the line.

Heart almost stopping, the blonde said “Nick, can you please not say things like that.”

He chuckled, “My bad! Stay low at the river.”

V lowered the level and dipped the nose of the plane slowly, the river coming closer with every second. She started to pull up and even out, gliding smoothly a few feet above the current. She followed the curve of the river and found it easier by the second.

“And goddamn! Breaking into John’s ranch of all places and making it out in one piece! Way to show those fuckers!” Nick suddenly cheered over the line, making Ronnie smile.

“It’s my pleasure, trust me!” She assured him.

Not done with his tangent, he continued “That’s all they do around here anyways! Show up at your door and take everything you own, just like they did to me! Good thing we didn’t lose that plane, we’d have been fucked.” He muttered, going from bitter to thankful in no time flat.

Concentrating on staying level with the water, V said absentmindedly “Glad I could help.” She felt a certain sense of pride as she maneuvered the aircraft, her luck serving her well on this venture.

“You should be coming to a big fork in the river, hang right!” Were the next instructions called out.

The wing of the plane dipped right as Ronnie listened, following the river back. The trees flew past as she flew along the waves, elk could be seen running through the marshes to her left.

Nick came across the line again, sounding hesitant, “You know, I don’t know if you have any little monsters at home but... the thought of leaving mine fatherless terrifies me! And mine ain’t even born yet!” He confided in her.

“I don’t have any yet, but I understand. You want to be there, and can’t risk not being there.” The deputy called back, unsure where he was going with this.

After a moment he replied, “ If running means saving my family at the cost of losing my home, so be it! ...That’s the right move ain’t it?”

Mulling it over, V said “At the end of the day, you gotta do whatever is gonna get you to sleep at night, Rye!”

He was silent for almost a minute before saying, “Makes my goddamn blood boil that I gotta uproot from the place that my family worked so hard to put together! They worked every inch of this land with blood and sweat, and now I gotta lose it all to some man-bunned little twerp and his posse of inbreds?”

Veronica stifled a laugh at that comment as he continued, “No, fuck it, you’re right deputy! You don’t mess with the Ryes without getting a scar! You should be flying over a field right now, if you see any peggies or Bliss tankers blow them sky high!”

As she looked down at the field she spotted several of both and figured it must be a Bliss depot. Moving her hand to pull the trigger mechanism next to the middle handle, the machine gun whirred as it powered up and shot a hail of bullets at the red silo below, causing it to go up in a fiery blaze. The deputy circled the field, taking out two more silos, three Bliss tankers, and a dozen peggies with ease.

“That’s the stuff!” He hollered excitedly. When no more were in sight, he called, “If you take a smooth left that should put you on course for my airfield. See you soon, Veronica!”

After a relatively rough landing, Veronica was safely parked in front of the hangar she’d been at a couple hours ago. Nick came out of the hangar with a grin, saying “You son of a bitch… you did it, thank you!” He immediately went to the side of the craft, inspecting it. “Kim! The plane’s back!” He called to his wife.

“Yeah, I heard!” Came her reply. She didn’t sound too interested.

Nick went to the other side and held the bottom, pushing against it and getting the wheels turning. “Help me turn it will ya?” He asked, gesturing to the side closest to her.

V obliged, gripping the steel and maneuvering with him. As they steered the vehicle, Nick said “Ya know, for the first time in a long time, I finally feel like things are going my way! Those damn peggies… Kim c’mon!” He called her again.

“I hope to god they didn’t fuck with her…” He commented, sounding frazzled as he stopped turning and walked around it once more. “You know, this plane has been in my family for three generations. Can you believe that? My grandpa first got it when he got back from World War II, it was his pride and joy.”

As Veronica listened, she heard Kim behind them yell, “Nick!”

The pilot was digging in the cockpit as he rambled on, “I made some modifications over the years but-”

“Nick!!” His wife called once more, sounding urgent. Exasperated, Nick yelled back “Kim, will you just hurry up?”

Annoyed, Kim shouted “Nick the peggies are on their way!”

Pulling his head out of the plane, the man looked almost surprised. “What? Damn, those fuckers won’t give up!”

With a humorless laugh, Ronnie said, “I guess not!”

A sleek white plane flew from overhead and dropped a bomb further away from them as gunfire erupted from Nick’s house.

“Fuck!” Veronica exclaimed and held her gun at the ready, scanning the horizon for more of them.

Nick climbed into the plane and said to her, “Look, I’m better in the air but you’re a beast on the ground! I’ll hit ‘em high and you hit ‘em low, what do you say partner?”

Ronnie nodded, holding out her fist for a fistbump. “Let’s do this!”

Returning the fistbump, Nick said “Oorah! Kim’s in the house, I’m trusting you to keep her safe!” and started up the plane. “Kim, you stay inside till I get back!” He called over his shoulder and took off.

More gunfire rang through the airfield and V ran towards the house where several white trucks had pulled up. Several peggies were already running towards the home as she made her way there, and she raised her gun to shoot one. He took a few bullets and stumbled, falling to the ground. She jumped over the railing of the porch, landing securely on the deck and immediately taking up arms once more.

Veronica quickly executed two more cultists who ran towards the house, watching for the reinforcements that would surely be coming. One of them jumped the opposite railing and ran towards her. V used the butt of her gun to slam into his face and send him falling to the ground before taking care of him.

Nick flew overhead expertly, firing the machine gun rapidly and sending a few peggies flying as he strafed them. The shining yellow of the aircraft looked almost cheerful as it evened the playing field. “Veronica, they’re attacking my airfield, I need you on the ground over here!” Nick called over the radio.

“I sure am getting my steps in!” She called back jokingly as she did a quick glance to make sure no more peggies threatened the house. Ronnie ran down the porch steps and back up the road to the hangar, ducking in the side door. Through the open garage, at least four cultists hid behind cover.

Reloading quickly, the deputy squatted behind a large crate and looked over it, sending ammo flying as she saw a man switching cover. She shot him down, and then his friend whose head was lifted too high. The final two converged on her, but she took care of them in no time.

Two more off-white trucks pulled up the strip, both with a mounted gun. “Don’t get too close, I’m gonna drop a bomb on these guys!” Nick shouted to her, the radio crackling. The seaplane flew overhead, releasing deadly cargo upon the vehicles as they both fired rapidly towards the hangar. The bomb whistled through the air and fell with a thundering crack, both trucks lost in a molten blaze.

When no more cultists converged on them, Nick radioed once more, “Alright! I think we’re in the clear then! I’m comin’ down… do you think maybe you could help us with our luggage?”

“Only if you’re sure you’re leaving!” V begrudged, knowing the aviator didn’t truly want to leave.

The plane rolled down the airstrip, coming to a stop in front of the hangar once more. Nick hopped out and gave the woman a winning smile. “We make a pretty good team!” He applauded.

Ronnie returned his grin, walking by his side back to the house. “That’s for damn sure, peggies beware.” She chuckled, the heat of battle slowly ebbing away from her.

Minutes later- Nick was grabbing suitcases and setting them outside as Veronica lingered in the doorway. “Let’s go!” He said to his wife while setting down another small bag.

“No!” Kim exclaimed, her back against the wall of the living room as she watched him work.

Walking back into the house- Nick reached for another round of luggage while sighing, “Kim, you don’t understand…”

Kim threw her hands up, exasperated, “Don’t understand what? That they’re stealing our land, kidnapping our friends, and doing god knows what else?” She followed her husband as he handed Veronica a large yellow suitcase, and immediately took it from the deputy’s hands.

The blonde regarded her with some worry, as the black-haired beauty looked as though she was about to pop out of the plain white v neck she wore. Her swollen belly indicted that baby Rye would be along very shortly.

Nick only sighed as Kim set the briefcase down and she went to him. “Nick, your grandfather built this place. You really wanna turn your back on that?” Once again, he didn’t reply and went to grab another bag. The woman stepped in front of him, her hands held up to stop him. She looked pleadingly into his eyes, “And what about all the times you talked about handing off the business to our daughter?” She asked.

Looking away, he murmured “Well I’ve talked about handing the business off to our son..”

“You’ve seen the ultrasound, you know it’s a girl.” Kim sounded like she was reiterating something she’d said many times.

With a shrug Nick nervously said, “That’s a fuzzy black and white TV screen, I mean those things aren’t reliable!” Looking for some support, he nodded to Veronica, who wished she was anywhere else as the couple bickered.

“Nick.” The one word was cautionary, and Kim stared at the man as he shifted uncomfortably. A moment later, he put a hand on her arm and she chuckled quietly.

He sighed, saying “I love you.” and pulling her closer.

A beaming smile plain on her features, Kim said, “Me too.”

The couple held one another for a moment with an air of content, before Nick turned towards Veronica. “Well V, looks like the Rye family is digging in.” As he spoke he walked out the open front door to retrieve the luggage he’d already set outside. “And hey, if you ever need any air support, just give me a holler. You and me, we’ll be like Butch and Sundance.” He asserted while setting the luggage back in the house.

A grateful smile was returned as V replied, “I think that’s a little before my time, but I catch your drift.”

There was a pause and Kim said, “Nick.. they both died at the end.” Which he rebuked. Shaking her head, the woman turned to Ronnie with a spark of worry in her eyes as she asked, “Please take care of him.”

Veronica smiled and nodded, saying “I’ll keep him outta trouble.”

Setting down the last bag, Nick chimed in- “Or into it!”

Striding back towards the door, V laughed, “That remains to be seen! Hey, could I trouble you for a ride back to the Seed Ranch? I think I’m gonna crash there tonight, I told Boomer I’d be back.”

Nick glanced at Kim for approval, and she nodded with a smile. “I think I can do that deputy!” He gave her a thumbs up before kissing Kim on the forehead and walking to the door.

The pair made their way back to the airfield and into the plane, Veronica squeezing into the back. “Man, these things are not made for comfort.” She complained and adjusted a few times, unable to relax into the stiff seat.

Shuddering to life, the plan rolled down the strip and quickly gained speed. Nick expertly guided the craft into the air and they were away. Trees and fields blurred beneath them as they picked up speed.

“Kim seems nice!” Veronica shouted to him over the sound of the engine.

Turning back an increment, Nick nodded “Yeah she’s a sweetheart, I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with her.” It brought a smile to V’s face to see the love these two shared, and she hoped to one day find something like it. Though, she never thought too deeply on it; part of her believed it wasn’t a possibility.

The long stretch of grass that led to the ranch was soon in sight, and Nick lined the plane up with the cones along the stretch. He landed the plane smoothly, and Ronnie could barely feel them come to a stop. “You’re a real pro! My landing was not nearly as easy.” The woman chuckled recalling the extremely bumpy touchdown she’d made today.

Nick jumped out of the plane, allowing V some room to struggle out of the back. “I’d better be decent, I’ve been doin’ it long enough!” He held out his hand to her and they shook hands firmly. “Thank you, Veronica. For everything.” The pilot gave her a small, sincere smile before climbing back into the craft.

“No problem, I’ll be seeing you soon! I’m gonna need those aerial skills of yours!” The blonde waved him off as the plane turned around and ascended once more.

Once Nick was out of sight Ronnie crossed the runway and passed the hangar, making her way to the ranch. In front, two Resistance members stood together with their guns hanging around them. They chatted casually, but hushed and straightened up as the deputy approached. “You boys got here quick!” She called to them, trying to set a casual tone.

The men nodded to her and one responded, “Yes ma’am, Jerome got word from Nick and set us on down. You’re doing a great job, deputy.” As he spoke, his friend nodded in agreeance.

At their straight stance and decorum, V felt the urge to tell them ‘At ease’, but resisted. “Well, I’m gonna crash here tonight. I’ll be upstairs, you guys can just hang.” She insisted.

They nodded bashfully and stepped around her, walking down to the front of the property as Veronica stepped inside.

For the second time that day, the blonde made her way through the ranch. She smiled at seeing Boomer curled up on the black couch, sleeping soundly. Deciding against petting and waking him, she wandered upstairs.

‘Now where’s the bedroom…’ Veronica wondered and stepped through a door on the stair landing. The door led to a balcony which granted access to two more rooms. The first appeared to be a study as she peered through the windows, and she moved onto the second room.

Stepping through the double doors, V closed and then leaned against them with a deep sigh, closing her eyes and feeling all the tension of the day leave her. “Finally alone…” She murmured, reveling in the silence.

“Not quite.” A voice startled her and she jumped, turning to the other end of the room and the source of the voice. The large bedroom was home to a stately king-sized bed sitting in the corner, and sitting on the end of the bed was John Seed.

Ronnie’s blood ran cold and her breath quicked at the sight of the last person she wanted to see. “Wh- what are you-?”

Before she could finish her question, he cut her off and met her eyes, deep emotion filling them, “Did you really think I couldn’t get back into my own ranch? That I would just take this lying down?” As he spoke he stood from the bed and stepped closer to her.

Though she wanted to run back out the door, Veronica couldn’t move and her mouth had run as dry as the Sonoran desert. Thoughts raced through her head, and she didn’t know what to do.

When she said nothing, John came closer. “Well?” He probed, a thin line of anger in that one word.

She moved away from the door, not taking her eyes off him. “I don’t know.” She replied lamely.

The brunet stared at her a moment, the anger in his eyes replaced by another emotion V couldn’t identify. It felt like hours before he asked what he truly came here to learn, “Why didn’t you kill me, deputy?”

Veronica looked at him, her brow furrowed and unease clear in her eyes as she recalled their struggle. Pursing her lips, she could think of no answer to satisfy him. She barely knew for herself why she couldn’t go through with it.

When she said nothing, he continued. “I’ve taken your friends captive, I’ve stolen from those you swear to help, I’m the enemy. Why am I still standing here now?”

The blonde could no longer meet his eyes and she looked away with a sigh, preferring to stay mute.

Without warning, the Baptist charged forward and grasped her shoulders, shaking her once and holding her in place. Surprise was clear on her features as he shouted angrily, “I asked you why, dammit!”

Answering before thinking- Veronica shouted back “I felt your fucking heart!” John looked almost stunned, all the rage draining from his face. “I felt your heart beating in your chest and I looked into your eyes and I couldn’t fucking do it. Is that what you wanted to hear you fucking creep? Are you happy now?” Her wrath boiled under her skin as she relived the moment of weakness.

Silence fell as the pair regarded one another, tension hanging heavily in the air. John’s large tattooed hands still held Ronnie’s shoulders, keeping her in place. She glared up at him with anger clear in her eyes, unsure what to do.

Closing the gap in only a second, John pulled her close and their lips met as he stole a kiss. It lasted only a second, and Veronica pulled away from him abruptly. The rage in her eyes was diminishing and uncertainty flickered there. John released her shoulders and simply looked at her, his expression unreadable.

Fully embracing her innermost desires, V threw her arms around the man’s neck and their lips clashed feverishly. John’s arms wrapped around her and the pair were a frenzy of lips and tongues.

The pair walked backwards step by step, and John’s hands wandered to the hem of her shirt. He lifted it slowly and Veronica broke their embrace to raise her arms so he could strip her. They met again with the same passion and the deputy frantically started undoing the buttons on his shift before pulling it off and discarding it carelessly.

As they kissed her hands ran over his now bare chest, wanting to feel every inch of him. John bit her lip, causing her to gasp. Veronica put her arms around his neck once more and pulled herself up, wrapping her legs around his waist. His hands assisted, lifting and gripping her roughly.

Several moments later the pair had made their way to the bed, falling into the silken sheets. Their quiet moans melded as they embraced, and V put a hand on his chest before sitting up, her legs straddling him. Halfway breathless, she asked “Is this a good idea..?” And worry crept into her gaze.

“Not at all.” John replied before capturing her lips once more. He wrapped an arm around her, holding her close as he rolled them over. Now on top of Veronica, he reached down and pulled off his belt as she fiddled with the button on her jeans.

As they threw all caution to the wind, their fates were sealed.

#finally made a banner for this lol #let me know if this is any good!#veronica rook #john seed #nick rye #kim rye #jerome jeffries #mary may fairgrave #boomer #far cry 5 #fc5 #my writing #ahfwh #...and hell followed with him

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