#but who could have guessed the mysterious maybe-hacker guy caught my attention

[brighteststar707]

The ssum angel route??? I will be watching the updates from this one very closely

[re-diesirae]

12. Claire

She had never felt so happy to wake up with the sunlight hitting at her face the way it did that morning. They didn't dare to leave the storage house until the first rays of light hadn't come out from the horizon. In part, because they had wanted a little more rest and in part because they didn't want to risk the chance of meeting another of those horrible creatures.

With the light, they could finally see what was inside the storage room, and after checking the contents of the boxes, they had come across some supplies that included more weapons, ammo, a first aid kit, and flashlights. The weaponry was quite old, and Claire knew they probably weren't as fancy as the ones Leon usually used, but it was better than nothing. They also found some cans of food and water that weren't yet due in the boxes. It wasn't a fancy meal, but the canned fruits provided the needed carbohydrates that their bodies required for energy. Claire had instantly felt a little more energetic after the small and humble meal, and she had to admit that compared to other times, she appreciated the locals for storing the food in that place. She would have thanked them if they hadn't turned into parasite controlled zombies, of course.

With their new gear, stock, and a full stomach, the duo had started their walk to the mysterious manor. So far, the way had been calm: only interrupted by a couple of the unfriendly locals that they defeated without problems.

Claire noticed that the closer they got to the manor, the quieter the forest became. Somehow that made her uncomfortable. The lack of sound was antinatural, and maybe it was her paranoia, but she felt observed, and she was half expecting another sudden monster to jump over them. She could tell Leon's thoughts weren't too far from her own as the man moved stealthily and alert at all times.

Nobody would think that, some years ago, this same man was a scared rookie cop trying to survive a city filled with zombies.

The thought of how much he had grown and become better drew a smile on Claire's face.

Just what are you feeling so proud about when this is all a mess?

She often felt proud of others, even if it wasn't something she was supposed to do. She was proud of her brother. Like hell, how wouldn't she? The man had saved many lives in the last few years. She was also proud of Moira; the girl had gotten over her fear of guns and trained under her father's eye. She was also proud of Natalia. She had a normal life now, making it through all the horrors of her past. Claire was very proud of Sherry. She had heard from Chris that the girl had become an agent like Leon, and even though Claire would have wished for the girl to live a quiet life, she respected her decision. Of course, she was proud of Leon's successful career as an agent.

"There it is." Leon's voice broke into her thoughts, and Claire stopped dryly, staring at the manor ahead, "It certainly gives me bad vibes..."

An unpleasant flashback ran through her head as she remembered the Ashford's Residence, but as she watched the house more carefully, she realized that the place was different. This house looked older, and the gray walls, covered by ivy and moss. More than a manor, it looked more like a castle. A quick scan around convinced them that there was no one around the area.

"Guess our friends from Neo-Umbrella didn't wait for us..." Leon whispered.

"Well, knowing their sense of hospitality, they probably left some of their pets behind to receive us, though."

"Most likely. That sounds like something terrorists would do," Leon sighed, "We'll have to take a look and find out. I think the thing jamming the sign of my phone is in there. If we can deactivate it, I can contact Hunnigan, and maybe, we can figure out something about what they were doing in here."

"All right, let's take a look. What could go wrong, right?"

A lot of things. The annoying little voice in her head muttered.

The duo made their way to the house with extreme caution. The place seemed deserted. The only evidence of people ever being in there was the mess inside: furniture was turned over or broken, papers scattered all over the floor along with other decor accessories. Claire found bloodstains in some of the walls, and she shuddered. Maybe their "friends" hadn't left after all, but something had gotten them before they arrived.

"Now, this looks ominous. Why are there so many papers in here?"

"They seem like medical records, but the papers are too dirty to read them," she said, picking some of the scattered sheets. The pages looked blurred with humidity, and some had red stains that covered half of the text.

"Knowing these guys, there's probably an electronic record somewhere. We need to find a computer." Leon replied, looking around the rooms with his gun raised, "There are signs of struggle. I guess they didn't leave on good terms…"

That if they had made it out alive.

"There's too much blood. Do you think one of their pets went through havoc?"

"Most likely, maybe it was the one that attacked us last night."

Claire picked a folder that was over a table. The yellowish surface had dried stains of blood, but she ignored it and flipped through its contents. Her face tensed as her eyes traveled over the printed letters.

"They were making a new virus, " she said with anger, "These people don't ever learn that you shouldn't mess up with nature."

"Any idea of what sort of virus that is?"

"No...this seems more like genetic blueprints," Claire replied, "RNA virus sequences and possible recombinations with other viral agents. I'm taking these. it might be useful later. I can look into it when we get back to TerraSave.."

"Didn't know you had a liking for this sort of mad scientist stuff. Didn't picture you like a science girl..."

"You know, I did finish college before I joined TerraSave," Claire laughed.

"So I heard, but I never asked what you majored in, now that I think about it."

"Oh, so you didn't check my background?" Claire replied, surprised.

"I don't do that with friends. It's easier to ask, so what did you major in?"

"Biology and life sciences. Did a specialization in virology after joining TerraSave," she replied, checking another pile of folders, "I never thought I'd get so much into viruses. You would be amazed by how many outbreaks TerraSave attends, and for worse or better, not all of them involve zombies. Going into virology sounded reasonable, logical, and useful. "

Claire's crescent interest in viruses had to lead to her choosing a virology specialization. She had thought that it would come in handy while working in TerraSave. The organization was founded as a countermeasure to terrorist attacks. However, as time went by, TerraSave began attending other cases, including viral outbreaks in affected zones and as they worked with WHO. As an active agent at the time, Claire had participated in many operatives. That made her interested in the subject. After thirteen years of working in the organization, Claire was a pretty respectable professional. She wasn't as prodigy as Saya or Rebecca, but her observations and criticisms were valuable, and she had permission to work on her own projects.

"Never pictured you like a bookworm, but it seems I was mistaken."

"Another con on my side, I guess. Relationship wise..."

"I doubt it. Nothing wrong with a smart woman. I find it much more appealing. So, does your scientific vision give you a lead to what we have here?"

"Unfortunately, nothing clear. There's a lot of things you can do with genomes and some genetic engineering. I am not a biosynthetic engineer, but this looks like design proposals? We have someone in HQ who could see through it or maybe in B.S.A.A. I want to look at the digital records; if we are lucky, there might be something left in there. What about your signal jam?"

"I think I might have found the cause. Up there in the tower, there seems to be an antenna of some 's a good lead..."

"Guess we found our next stop. Let's go. I've got the feeling that I don't want to be around when the night falls."

"Always trust a female's sixth sense."

Claire followed Leon through the house. The absence of hostiles was welcome, but at the same time made her wonder what could have happened to them. They found more papers on their way, but nothing that could give them a clue of what had taken place in that place. After a while, they finally arrived at the tower.

The room seemed to be the security command center as there were several screens and computers. Leon got himself busy as he started to work on the antenna right away. Without much else to do, Claire decided to take a look at the server and see if she could get her hands on any interesting data while Leon tried to fix his communication line.

Well, let's see what you kept in here.

Claire began typing. She wasn't a techie like Wallace, so her skills as a hacker were terrible, but to her surprise, the security around the server was much laxer than she would have imagined. Or maybe she was too used to her overestimated security system in TerraSave.

Sadly, the computers had no access to the research datalog. However, it gave Claire information about the facility, and just as expected, there was a large underground structure underneath the mansion; the security system provided a clean 3D blueprint of the facility, showing research rooms, animal essays rooms, and laboratories. Everything pinpointed on the screen.

What the hell were they researching here?

Claire checked the security protocols, which seemed typical procedures designed for facilities handling potentially pandemic agents. She was familiar to them as a few years before she had adapted to those same protocols to propose an effective plan of contention in case of bioterrorist attacks. There was nothing that could be useful to find out what she wanted, but she did find something that caught her attention.

Damn, if only Wallace were here. He could probably hack into the central system and get me that information.

"I think I got it." Leon's voice made her look away from the screen, "I have the signal back. I'll try to contact Hunningan."

"That's great news…!"

"What about you? Did you find anything?"

"No, and yes. I managed to hack into the security system, but the servers aren't linked, so I have no access to research data from here. I did get a nice blueprint of the facility, though. Just look at this, the main research area is right underneath us, which is not surprising at all. I also checked the security protocols, and from that, I can say they were doing in vivo essays. I found something alarming and unexpected."

"How come?"

"They have a viral repository here. It is curious because, with the T-virus, C-virus, and all those new strains that Umbrella had been spreading, most bioterrorists had dropped the use of traditional pathogenic weapons."

"By traditional you mean…?"

"Regular viral agents: influenza, Nipah Virus, chickenpox, ebola… Ring a bell? They have a bacteria stock, too. Anthrax, Tuberculosis, MRSA," she said, scrolling down the screen, " Basically Level 3 and 4 pathogens. Just what the hell were they doing here?"

" If you don't know, neither do I. Can you get the information from here?"

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I am a virologist, not a hacker. The information should have a back up in the central server, but I am not skilled enough to break through their encryption to get it. We would need a vicious hacker for that, and the only one I know is somewhere in Hughesville."

"So, in other words, if we want that data, we'll need to go down there."

"Very sharp, Kennedy."

"Well, I guess we should bring some company down there," Leon commented, pulling his mobile to his ear. "Hunnigan… I need a favor."

NOTE: if you guys want to come and chat about the fic, or just about CLEON in general. Feel free to drop by the discord and say hi! JOIN SERVER

[princesssarcastia]

a veronica mars leverage au, i guess, because what else should i be doing with my life?

*deep sigh*

So I was thinking about the mechanics of a veronica mars leverage au—as in, veronica mars characters in a leverage like set-up, because the leverage setup is the golden standard™ of like, the known universe.

you have veronica mars, mastermind; the rest of the crew being made up of wallace, mac, logan, and weevil.  and mac is obviously the hacker.

but I also think that, in this au, the roles won’t be so clear cut.  the problem is that in veronica mars, all of these characters (except mac, who is an archetype) display different skills from each of the five defined roles in the leverage universe: hitter, hacker, grifter, thief, mastermind. 

veronica is a mastermind, sure, but she also makes killer fake IDs and breaks into systems like hardison does and is a hell of a grifter.

weevil can throw down, and lift things like a thief, and even pull one over on someone in a grifter-like fashion. and as head of the PCHers he has some definitive mastermind tendencies; he knows how to plan a fight, and a con.

wallace is more of a solid dude than a member of the criminal element, but when veronica needs him, he’s played roles like a grifter and pulled off lifts like a thief.

logan has a talent for violence, but also can lie like he breathes and put on shows to convince the best of them.

really i guess they all just have a little grifter in them.

if I had to had to had to give them all definitive leverage archetypes, though, it would be veronica: mastermind, logan: hitter, Weevil: thief, wallace: grifter, and of course, mac: hacker.

veronica is the mastermind because she knows all of them best, knows what they can do; because she’s capable of putting all the moving pieces together into one perfect plan; but also because she’s a control freak with maaaajior trust issues.  there’s no way she could ever let anyone else be in charge.

logan is the hitter because he’s just got that underlying current of violence about him at all times, but also because my absolute favortie scenes of his are when he’s being protective of veronica.  not that end of season three bullshit, mind you, but like the scene in season one when he rescues her from the federal agent, or the scene in season two when he bluffs his way into and out of the irish mob’s territory with an unloaded gun to save veronica.  make him the hitter and we get breathtaking violence from him, sure.  but we also get to see logan at his best: giving a damn about the well-being of others. 

weevil is the thief because this guy is smooth.  he pulled the heist at the carnival brilliantly in s2; and he stole that pen from the Kane household in s1 successfully even though the police arrested him and catalogued everything on his person, including the pen. it’s a bit of a square peg in a round hole, but I feel like he;d have comfortable knowledge of security systems and guard rotations and police jurisdictions.

wallace is the grifter because i’ve noticed that a lot of the times he asks veronica for advice on how to do stuff, its grift-related.  “how do I seduce the fake head cheerleader?” for example.  and he pulls some short term grifts for her, like when he infiltrates the silicon mafia at SD State.  also he’s got the best innate knowledge of who people are and what they’re like.  yeah, veronica can pull people apart, but Wallace is just good with them in a way she isn’t.  and also he’s got the most emotional maturity out of any of these basket cases.

mac is the hacker because she’s god’s gift to computers, duh.

what I really want, though; what any good leverage AU is an excuse to do, is to make a found family out of these losers.  imagine if these five people all...trusted and loved each other, in addition to liking one another??  i’m drooling just thinking about it.

I also think that, ironically enough, being righteous criminals in constant close contact would work wonders for veronica and logan’s relationship, lbr.  if veronica is mastermind-ing their cons, she doesn’t have to wonder what logan—or any of her other friends, for that matter—are doing, and go a little crazy to find out.  it’s an outlet for her control-freak-trust-issues.

aaaand if logan is their hitter/muscle, it’s literally his job to protect everyone, including veronica.  violently, if necessary. 

plus, they can both work out their paranoia on things that aren’t each other—cause it’s not paranoia if they’re really out to get you.

the best episodes always involved Veronica pulling her friends into cons with her; VM the show is already only a hop-skip-and-a-jump away from leverage, anyway!  solving mysteries, sure, but also getting revenge, retrieving items, getting even...providing leverage.

like, seriously.

Veronica and Wallace effortlessly pulling a grift out of their asses when they’re caught in a sticky situation, using that emotional drift comparability in their brOTP.

Mac, getting the respect and cash she deserves for finding information and recovering hard drives and also, giving her righteous side some room to move.

Logan and Weevil sniping at each other, maybe having not-so-faux fights as distractions or part of a con— but having each other’s backs.  playing partners in macho stoicism even though we all know they’re softies sometimes.

Wallace and Mac, standing to the side as exasperated captains of the maturity and stability team while Logan and Veronica share a dumpster fire.

Veronica and Weevil doing that thing, you know, where they’re kind of flirting and kind of pulling one over on their audience and pulling each other out of messes.

Wallace, prince among men, getting to play the handsome and charming credit to his gender he is.  imagine, if you will, him pulling honey-trap cons on marks like sophie deveraux did.  i am and it’s delightful.

the worst part about canon!VM is how much they all (veronica.  largely veronica) tore one another down; betrayed people; didn’t trust them; hurt them; expected the worst and got it in self-fulfilling bullshit.  imagine if all of that went away and then write it for me pleeeaaaseee

i’ve been brainstorming and like, there’s two paths you could go.  one is a complete graft to the leverage fusion, in which they never actually went to high school together but instead are professional criminals who all grew into their own on their own and came together.  in this path, we’d come in on our anti-heroes already in the thick of it—or at least, having deep histories together that allow them to trust one another right away.

the other is like, veronica falls to the “dark side” in high school and drags them all with her, handing out black hats as she goes. perhaps in a world where Aaron Echolls gets acquitted and Duncan Kane does not have an assassin at the ready to avenge his sister outside the law, where Veronica literally can’t sleep at the thought of him out there.  a world where Logan and Weevil have that same insomnia, and Mac and Wallace care about Veronica enough to help. 

and maybe it starts out as just a way to get new evidence so a judge can declare a retrial and get Aaron convicted; but ohhh, Aaron Echolls is not a man who can leave well enough alone.  He’s a rich, powerful, attention seeking mother fucker who likes to taunt logan and veronica about what he did to lily.  so even though it’s not Duncan paying for him to get assassinated, the end result is the same: Aaron dead as a doornail, like he deserves.

Maybe it’s a fake suicide, like Veronica planned out for her criminology course, the literal perfect crime.  Maybe he gets murdered and dumped on Lamb’s doorstep with an audio recording of him confessing—edited by Mac, of course, to make sure Veronica and Logan’s parts in the charade weren’t included.

also i’d like to think that, in this world where they wear black hats to better play white knights, Veronica and Logan have just...the best-worst reputation.  Yeah, they melt around each other, but ho-ly shit they’re still lethal—especially if you put one in danger.   Maybe Logan’s got a reputation as an attack dog, and maybe Veronica’s got a reputation as holding his leash, and maybe they’ve proven they’re willing to do anything to keep each other safe.  Maybe, they made a deal, a long time ago when they started out: Veronica gets to get into anything she wants, whatever crusade is currently pushing her buttons, as long as she brings Logan along to protect her. 

their story is epic, after all.

anyway! In Conclusion, tl;dr, someone please stop me from having veronica mars feelings, and if leverage could please stop being the best found family ever, that would probably help.

[dirtyfilthy]

The Betrayal Of Chelsea Manning By The Coward Adrian Lamo

I have only participated in “cancel culture” once that I can remember. Once, over the broad course of my life, and that was when Adrian Lamo sold Chelsea Manning out to the authorities. Motherfucker has the  sheer gall to call himself a hacker, and then rats someone out — not because of his principles, but from a constant desire for pure narcissistic supply -- and all this from a position of trust no less… 

I was real angry, and I wanted to put the boot in, any way I could. There was a special circle of hell reserved for people like Adrian Lamo… and as it would turn out, he was already in it. 

Amongst petty vendettas like stuffing his wikipedia page with all the well referenced dirt I could dig up, along the way, and kind of by-the-by, I ended up doing a lot of research on the guy, and then, well, the picture of Lamo that emerged… 

Jesus. 

He’s been a hardcore benzo addict since his twenties. If you know what to look for you can tell in some of his interviews, slurring his words and looking very spacey.  He never really had a real job, never broke into the industry he was aways on the fringes of. It’s kinda crazy, if you search for “homeless hacker Adrian Lamo” you can still see what the mass media thought of him before he turned in Chelsea. 

He’d kind of weaselled his way into popular consciousness by being a shameless self-promoter, and then managing to get caught in that spectacular “rebellious teenage hacker” vs. “huge faceless corporation” way that tends to capture people’s imagination. 

There were whole articles about him in Wired. Multiple in fact. Here’s one of earliest from 2004 (unfortunately now behind a paywall), “New York Times vs The Homeless Hacker”. The first few lines can still give you the gist, however

A self-styled security expert and serial self-promoter, Adrian Lamo made headlines as a grayhat hacker. Then the Gray Lady came down on his head. Not long ago Adrian Lamo was exploring an abandoned gypsum processing plant in West Philadelphia with two friends, when a police cruiser drove slowly by. Lamo’s friends were high on methamphetamines…

https://www.wired.com/2004/04/hacker-5/

Even during this phase of his life, a lot of people in the scene didn’t like him. At least, there were people complaining on hacker boards about him stealing exploits and then burning them for the publicity.  In the end he got off with probation and home detention, and that was the end of blatantly hacking into shit. Any more and he would certainly end up in prison. Attitudes were changing, the authorities had stopped seeing hacking as just high-spirited teenage hijinks. and the increasingly severe penalties could land you some serious time. 

After this, he just sorted floated around. He never got job in the industry like the rest of us, and I suspect he may have been  basically unemployable for one reason or another. The next time he popped up in my news feed was in 2010 with a strange article from ex-hacker turned journalist and friend of Lamo’s,, Kevin Poulsen — “Ex-Hacker Adrian Lamo Institutionalized, Diagnosed with Asperger’s” 

The first paragraph or so reads:

Last month Adrian Lamo, a man once hunted by the FBI, did something contrary to his nature. He says he picked up a payphone outside a Northern California supermarket and called the cops.

Someone, Lamo says, had grabbed his backpack containing the prescription anti-depressants he'd been on since 2004, the year he pleaded guilty to hacking The New York Times. He wanted his medication back. But when the police arrived at the Safeway parking lot it was Lamo, not the missing backpack, that interested them. Something about his halting, monotone speech, perhaps slowed by his medication, got the officers' attention

— (https://www.wired.com/2010/05/lamo/)

The article claimed Lamo had been arrested for acting strangely and then institutionalised, basically claiming the police had arrested him because he was autistic. At the time, I didn’t really give this a second thought, “oh well, ho-hum”. As itt turned out, this was a case of the most spectacular kind of “spin” I think I’ve ever seen; the only place the article actually intersected with general consensual reality was in stating Lamo had been arrested and placed on psychiatric hold.

The real story, which is entirely far more pathetic, was that Lamo’s family had become worried about his benzo use (“prescription anti-depressants”) and had cut him off. He totally lost the plot at this point and stormed out of house. Concerned about his mental state, and with fears for his physical safety, it was actually  his own family that called the police to try and find him. 

When confronted about this fairly massive discrepancy, Lamo claimed he hadn’t exactly “lied” as such, and had simply withheld some facts due to personal privacy concerns. 

It was at this point I finally began to see the whole tattered trajectory of Lamo’s entire life — trace the greasy path of his rainbow with my fingertips, and watch as the once bright twine became  increasing gray and frayed as each thread began to curve back towards it’s inevitable impact with the earth, when, at which point, everything important would begin to totally unravel around him.

At his core, Adrian Lamo was a narcissist, and so Adrian Lamo absolutely believed in the Adrian Lamo narrative, as only a narcissist can. Near of beginning of his tale, this was easy to do. He was a wandering Daoist sage, a renegade techno-monk character in a Neal Stephenson cyberpunk novella, and anytime he wanted to see his own reflection he could simply look in any of the major newspapers.  

After his arrest and release, the rest of the world moved on. His peers all settled down to well-paid industry gigs, and you couldn’t just pop the New York Times through an open proxy any longer — well, at least: not most of time, anyway. His own sword, never the exactly the sharpest in the first place, was beginning to show some signs of a serious structural rust. 

Without the constant assurance of people telling his own story back at him, what was he exactly? What did the mirror portray to him now?  An unemployed, semi-homeless drug addict, a hacker who couldn’t hack his way out of wet paper back with pick axe, the tired punch line to any number of bad jokes...   

Of course, the many similarities to my own life were not exactly lost on me. I was basically a case of being a few near misses and unlucky hits away from sitting in his exact position. I had made the transition to an industry career successfully, but I was still a drug addict with mental heath issues.  I had gone through my own narcissistic stage when I was younger, but thankfully grew out of it, the old moons no longer pulled on my tides the way they used to. 

The essential Lamo pattern had began to emerge. Still chasing the same bright stars that had long since sunk beneath the horizon line of the ocean; Lamo would begin to feel irrelevant —  Lamo would get then his name in the media in some fashion. A momentary peace was then achieved, then came a brief period of post-orgasmic. cosmic serenity. 

But of course, the wheel of karma will not stop spinning for anyone, and so, soon enough and all-to-quickly, the entire process of personal renewal, would have to, you know…..  begin anew.

A few other case studies were observed. An unreleased, permanently unfinished documentary featuring Lamo was mysteriously leaked on the internet. Of course, Lamo himself had leaked it. And there was always appearing on various morning television shows, Good Morning America, Fox News & the like.

But then the mother of all opportunities just dropped into his lap.

Chelsea Manning needed someone to talk to. 

Chelsea knew Lamo was Bi, so he was at least in the LGBT community. Adrian was a hacker too. He’d fought against the system in his day, he was certainly someone who would “get it”, she was very sure of this.  And when she did reach out, he was indeed very sympathetic. Honestly, it seemed like he really cared. Just a genuine human being, reaching out across the vast emotional void to provide a sense of empathy to someone who really, really needed it right now.. 

He was very sympathetic when Chelsea told him all about her struggles with gender identity, and he was very sympathetic when she said she was leaking gigabytes of information to Wikileaks…. But behind his sunglasses, Lamo eyes had already morphed into a marquee LED matrix endlessly scrolling his own name. Think of the news coverage!

This was big. This was very big.

It would, in fact, turn out to be fucking huge. Of course, within in the hacker scene, and to a certain extent, even outside it, everyone just fucking loathed him now.  Eventually even the news moved on, nobody wanted any more interviews, and in the end, when everything has already been all said and done: you are ultimately left with only yourself….

… a pathetic drug addict.  Of course, I have to keep telling myself that one point of intersection does not an entire venn diagram or an actual equality make. But I can’t shake the feeling that, perhaps, maybe we weren’t really all that different.  Maybe my own betrayals have had the simple luck of being a lot less public. 

Perhaps my own sins were just as ugly, but far less ambitious. 

Adrian Lamo died alone, from a drug overdose, in a private unit in an aged care facility in Wichita, Kansas.  He was 37 years old. An autopsy showed his kidneys were already failing. 

I guess Sartre got it wrong. Hell isn’t other people, it’s being left totally alone, with nothing else around but the tedious company of your own terrible self, and of course, the fucker won’t stop talking...

So obviously there was nothing more I could do to hurt Adrian Lamo, nothing that Adrian Lamo hadn’t done already. He had long since locked himself away in a prison cell of his own making. I do wonder if maybe one too many silent 3am’s hadn’t come crawling around the clock face when he was there & awake to witness it, lying in bed & staring at the ceiling and trying not to think about things.

Like I’m doing.

Shit, I hope don’t go out that way. 

[baekhyuniebacon-blog]

Prisoner - part 2

Baekhyun x reader

<previous  next>

summary: Y/N works in a prison where Baekhyun comes to sit his 6 year imprisonment. He catches Y/N’s attention right away and it’s hard for her to keep herself away from him. Weird events make her avoid him but Baekhyun needs her help. He's the main suspect to a murder but swears he didn't do it. Will Y/N trust him and let her feelings take over?

warnings: violence, mentions of death and blood, cursing

 words: 2,2k

Masterlist

Whole night you tried to find more about Baekhyun but in the end you were left with nothing new. Every article was about police reports about him. The first shock you had about him was fading when you started to think about it. He kills for money. If someone wants to revenge on someone or if someone owes something, He gets an offer to kill them to get money in return. You couldn’t think anyone who would wish your death, so you were able to fall asleep.

You were still curious though and decided to talk to one prisoner who could know about him. Kim Jongdae, better known as Chen. He didn’t like to use his real name and tried to keep his personal information to himself. He knew literally anything, he was like the human version of google. You had been secretly bringing snacks to him and you trusted him. He was a super talented hacker. When he once logged into bank’s and police station’s databases his friend busted him and that’s why he came here.

Chen was in the 2nd floor of the prison and in the very end. The hall was long and there wouldn’t have been any problem to walk through it but as you were the only woman, everyone started to yell once you went past a cell. They called your name, if they knew it, some pick-up lines were thrown here and there too. They sounded so annoying and disgusting that you got nauseous and kept your eyes on your apron. This made you think about how Baekhyun had pleaded you yesterday, he sounded desperate like he just wanted to talk but these men, they wanted something else. Something you didn’t want to think about.

You finally reached to the end, standing in front of Chen’s cell. He was laying on his bed while staring at the ceiling and whistling. So that no one else would know why you went to talk with him, you opened the lock with your key. You had access to every place for cleaning, but you decided to use it to something else now. Checking that there were no guards in sight, you opened the door with a loud creak. Chen lifted his head because of it and saw you. “Snack time?” he asked once the door was locked again.

“Not this time” you laughed and walked to the bed, next to him. “What is it then?”. He stretched his arms and ruffled his brown, already messy, hair. You opened your phone to show him an article about Baekhyun that had a blurry security camera picture of him, but he was distinctly recognizable. “I want to know more about him” you said. Chen too your phone and went through the article while leaning his elbows to his thighs. You bit your lip in anticipation when he didn’t say anything for a moment, but you didn’t interrupt his thinking.

“Ah, Baekhyun. I don’t know much about him. How much do you know so I can try to maybe fill up at some places?” You took the phone and leaned to the wall behind you after checking the hall for guards, telling him that you only knew he was an assassin and that you knew what it meant “…and that’s pretty much it. He came here yesterday.”.

Chen nodded. “Well he’s 28 years old, A very experienced and respected among other assassins and hitmen thanks to his ability to think fast and to not get caught. This time something went wrong if he’s here, I guess. His personal life is far from my reach too because he keeps everything to himself. He is, I don’t know..”

“Mysterious?” you finish his sentence with a sigh. This meant that you were back to zero of getting information about him. Every other prisoner here, everything about them was found from the net but Baekhyun seemed to be more careful of what things he let others have. Chen saw the disappointment from your face and looked confused. He thought for a moment and then a huge grin grew to his face. “Eyy, you like him, don’t you?” he said teasingly, slightly punching you on your upper arm. He started to laugh at your widened eyes because it meant he was right. You didn’t want to admit it though. It wasn’t a crush to be exact, you were just curious about him. How can you fear a man and then next you are interested? “Shut up” You hit Chen back and got up to leave. “Wait! When are you bringing snacks?” he stopped you. “Maybe tomorrow” You smiled. He whined like always that it was unfair for him to have to wait for so long.

Luckily guards didn’t catch you and no one ever looked at the security cameras at day time, so you were out of troubles for now. At lunch you decided to avoid Baekhyun and sat in the corner the cafeteria. Normally staff ate in their own room, but you preferred sitting with the prisoners, weird huh? There they didn’t usually bother you like in the halls and your boss thought you hated being with them, so he didn’t do anything about it. Today was indeed a soup day and your stomach was growling. Two guys were fighting at the table next to you but guards didn’t do anything about it, they just enjoyed the show. They were punching each other, pulling each other’s hair and even biting. Loud talking and laughing filled the cafeteria but in a good way. There wasn’t that deafening hustle and bustle like usually.

The metal chair made an irritating sound when you dragged it against the floor to get it closer to the table. You made yourself as comfortable as you could and as you were about to but the spoonful on tasty soup into your mouth, a tuft of hair flew right into your bowl. Your spoon dropped on the tray as you closed your eyes and let out a quiet whine. The guys stopped the fighting and you eyed then with your eyes squint to little lines. “You just couldn’t stop the fight like 5 seconds earlier…” you muttered to yourself.

“Do you always talk to yourself?” A familiar voice asked as a tray was placed opposite to yours. It was Baekhyun, of course. He took a seat and smirked to you like yesterday as if it was glued to his lips. You just shrugged and pushed the soup away from your face while sticking your tongue out to it in disgust. Baekhyun watched at you while you did it and took a look of the soup and sneered. “I guess you aren’t going to eat it”

“Nope, thanks to them” you said and nodded your head towards the men. You were tired, hungry and frustrated so you just leaned to your arm and stared at Baekhyun who was now focused on spreading butter on his bread. This gave you a moment to look at his features better. He didn’t look like he was 28 more liked 22 like you. His skin looked soft, and his hair was extremely fluffy and shined in the light. You had to remind yourself that he was a criminal but totally didn’t look like he was. He was beautiful, and you couldn’t believe yourself for thinking about him like this. Before he could catch you staring at him you looked down at the tray.

“Here. Take this, your stomach sounds hungry” Baekhyun said as a bowl of soup was placed in front of your nose. He took your hair soup to him and just ate the bread. You blushed. “Is it that loud?” You asked in embarrassed. “But you should still eat, it’s yours” you said and lifted the bowl only to Baekhyun place it down. “I insist” He smiled and gave his spoon.

“Fine” you said and started to happily eat it. You truly were hungry because soon the bowl was empty. Baekhyun laughed the softest laugh you had ever heard, and it was so contagious you had to smile too. Why was he so damn adorable? You were supposed to be afraid of him god dammit. You knew you couldn’t show that you were interested or thought that he was cute. People could easily start to think you two had something between you too. That’s why you tried not to smile.

“So…you’re Y/N, right?” he asked while munching the last piece of his bread. “How do you know my name?” you asked while lifting your brow? It was a stupid question though, almost everyone knew your name here. Baekhyun pointed at the table behind him and to a black-haired man, Chanyeol. He was a calm prisoner and never had troubles, but he was kind of the creepy type. He liked you and as you didn’t give him the answer he wanted, it turned to an obsession. He literally did anything to get your attention when he had a chance. “He likes you btw” he said as he turned back to you and with the corner of your eye you could see him winking. You nodded while keeping your eyes on Chanyeol, thank god he was facing his back to you or else he would get the wrong picture if he saw you staring at him. “Wait, do you like him too?” he asked and studied your face.

“Oh, god no. More like the opposite” You said fast and turned back to him. He nodded slowly and put all the dishes back on the tray. He pursed his lips together and muttered something, but you couldn’t hear what he said. “You’re Baekhyun, right?” you asked and looked at your hands and all the cuts you had from cleaning. They were always so dry from the soap water and you didn’t have time to put cream on them. It hurt, but you were kind of used of it. “You did some research too. I see…” Baekhyun said. "Don't worry, I'm not here to kill anyone" he suddenly continued and got up from the table. “See you around, Y/N” he smirked and walked off, pouring the hair soup on the man's head whose hair tuft had flown to the bowl. You held your laugh at the man's reaction. He just stared at Baekhyun who blew a sarcastic kiss to the man and man how much that annoyed the man. He didn't go after Baekhyun as his friend stopped him and patted him on the shoulder.

You rolled your eyes at his behavior. He was just a tease and it didn't help you with the little 'crush' you had. It was probably just those where you meet a good looking guy and instantly like him, then after few days or a week you wonder why you even liked the guys. Above it all, it would probably be baneful to be together with a prisoner.

In the evening, your arms and legs were aching from so much from work. After you had cleaned the cafeteria twice and some cells that got empty. Now you still had the halls to clean. Seemed like you were over working again.

The first floor was the most empty now so it was quiet and you enjoyed it. "Hey, Y/N!" A man whisper shouted from the cell next to you. You lifted your head to see an orange haired man, leaning against the bars. "What do you want Sehun?" you sighed and continued to mob the grey floor. If something made the prison even more gloomy than it already was, was that everything was grey or the same color as brick. Only the cafeteria and the offices had white in them.

Sehun the man who called you was a weird case. You wouldn't say he was crazy but something like that. He was really paranoid, about everything. "You know the new prisoner, right? Named Baekhyun" he asked. You nodded and lifted your head to look at him. "Listen..." he started and pushed his hair back and checked that no one was near. "You should stay away from him" he continued and crossed his arms to his chest. He spoke weirdly, like he was being wary about what he was saying, like Baekhyun would just jump somewhere.

"What do you mean?" you asked and took step closer to him, leaning on the mob you had in your hands. "Well he's the best assassin and them boom! He gets caught and comes here, isn't it weird?"

You furrowed your brows. "What are you talking about-". You were cut with a sound of a gunshot. You got startled and jumped slightly in surprise. The other prisoners started to gather behind their cells' bars, trying to find the source of the sound. Automatically you started to go towards the voice. Sehun tried to call your name but you didn't care.

The gunshot came from the old side where Baekhyun was and you thought it was him who got shot. Maybe he annoyed the guard and he had had enough. You hoped that it wasn’t him, you didn’t know much about him and still wanted to know more. From walking you switched to running and turned fast to the old side. You stopped when you almost stumbled on a body that was laying on the floor with a bloody hole in his forehead. But it wasn't Baekhyun, it was one of the guards. Baekhyun was in his cell, peeking his head from between the bars and the gun, that supposedly was the murder weapon, was on the floor right in front him.

I forgot to put this to queue so this comes late sorry~ I hope you like it💕

[ixhadbadxdays]

"You've Been Caught Little Frog..."; Chapter 2: You Have Talent

Here’s a part two, because y’all were asking for it. Akande isn’t as smooth as he thinks he is, and it’ll be more apparent in the next chapter. XD

Part 1/the entire fic is on my ao3.

That boy—young man—was his soulmate? He still had his spots! How could someone that young be his soulmate of all people? Akande had to be twice his age, or close to it. To add to that, he knew that DJ. He'd met with clients whose kids listened to him, knew that they were on opposing teams and that their ideals were the polar opposite.

That frog-boy was a self-proclaimed freedom fighter, for the little guy and throwing himself into his work to help his people. It was an admirable decision, and Akande can appreciate the passion behind it, but he couldn't disagree more on how to help one's people. Toughen up, make something of yourself rather than take hand-outs; nothing can be gained, and strength won't be built unless you walk through fire for it. Meanwhile, the DJ was sort of happy go lucky, an overgrown puppy with a loving cause.

It was disgusting.

How were they supposed to make it work?

In Akande's culture, soulmates were a binding contract. You either married your soulmate, or you didn't get married at all. Exceptions were made for the widowed or those that divorced because of abuse, but there wasn't any wiggle room outside of that. Lack of money to pay for the traditions wasn't usually a problem; the community would rally together to help if the couple couldn't afford their share of the wedding, but no one would speak of it.

But for Lúcio's? Akande didn't know, but maybe it would allow him to get out of this somehow. He couldn't see a stable future for them, and like hell would he throw himself into a star-crossed lovers situation. Tradition could go fuck itself.

Akande continued to tell himself this, even as he showed up at shows at various clubs and other venues, watched him at the occasional bar or pub when Lúcio was out with friends.

Which is how he found himself at a club to see another show. The music was a  too loud for his tastes, but the energy was infectious. Even if this scene was too young for him—he preferred the classier "clubs"—Akande could appreciate the adrenaline that pumped through everyone's veins, the sweat of excessive movement. So maybe it was just the music that was the problem. Not that Lúcio was bad at his job; he was a world famous DJ for a reason, but it was just the volume. From what he'd heard on various playlists that Sombra had passed his way to give him music to work out with, Akande could throw himself into the beat during his runs or in the training room.

He moved away from anyone who tried to partner up with him to dance, wanting to focus his sole attention on the young man on stage. Lúcio was beautiful, in the way he softly smiled as he lost himself in the rhythm he set for everyone on the floor. There was a faint sheen of sweat at his brow, a little dusted his shoulders, and his expression was of pure, unadulterated bliss.

That lead to thoughts that Akande didn't want to dwell on, not needing any ideas.

The DJ happened to open his eyes and beam at the crowd, eyes scanning the gyrating bodies. They stopped when they landed on Akande, and while Akande was sure that the man didn't recognize him, he still earned a wink. Well, the boy was a flirt, or maybe just playful. Maybe he'd be successful in finding someone else who wasn't his soulmate.

--

The tall man in the crowd had caught his eye. It was a wonder no one else was staring with how freakishly huge he was, a human tower. Lúcio had to admit that the man was gorgeous. Tall, stoic, intelligent eyes, and everything else that was wrapped into that tight, well-muscled body. And, even better, he was staring at Lúcio and ignoring everyone else around him. So, of course, he shot the mysterious man a wink. He swore he saw the man's lips twitch towards a smile, but Lúcio didn't have time to look into it when he had music he had to keep going.

When he was given a break to mingle or get a drink, he sought out the hulking man in the crowd earlier. For a man that tall, he was hard to find. However this didn't deter him, and he kept friendly greetings brief so he could keep going. Lúcio found him in a corner by himself, lounging on a plush couch and sipping at something snobbish, if Lúcio had to guess. He didn't drink, didn't enjoy it much and usually got soda when he went out with friends, and so he didn't have a clue as to what that was. Dark eyes flicked up to meet Lúcio's, freezing the younger man to the spot. The intensity behind them was startling and familiar. Wait a second. He knew that face and...

Before he could say anything, the man raised a finger to his lips. Not a word, the motion said. He sent a glance to the space next to him, and Lúcio got the hint, dropping down onto the plush cushion cautiously. Doomfist was here, at one of his local gigs, wanting Lúcio to sit with him, and Lúcio had winked at him earlier without realizing who it was. Now what? He was sitting next to the enemy in a crowded club without his gear on hand; Lúcio had to hope that nothing happened.

"You have talent."

The compliment and its simplicity startled a nervous laugh out of him. "Uh, thanks." He was famous for a reason; Lúcio wasn't vain, but he knew he was talented.

"I would like to hear it when it is not rattling my eardrums." There was a ghost of a smile, and Lúcio was sure he imagined it. "Sombra gifted me several playlists for my morning training, and a few of your tracks popped up."

An enemy was one of his fans then, good to know. Lúcio thought that under different circumstances, he and the hacker could easily get along with one another if how they interacted in battle were any indication. This was just more proof of that.

"Tell her I said thank you for sharing my music. I appreciate it." And he did. Lúcio offered an honest smile and set to fiddling with his hair, a nervous habit that he kept meaning to break but never had.

An awkward silence fell, the blaring music doing nothing to fill in the gaping void of conversation between them.

"I came out of curiosity." Lúcio perked up at that. His evil, terrorist soulmate was curious about him? "I refuse to be forced into any sort of partnership between us. Even willingly, it will only end poorly. Do not get your hopes up."

Ouch. It was the truth, but that didn't make it sting any less.

"I won't, but you're giving me mixed signals when you show up to my performances, compliment my work, and tell me that you're curious." He glanced over at Doomfist, smirking. He could fake confidence here. "If you don't want me getting my hopes up, then I suggest you find some other way to entertain yourself."

"Am I not allowed to enjoy the pleasures of life?" The way he said that and the purr of it was sinful to Lúcio.

"I never said you couldn't," he replied after a pause. "But to mine specifically? That doesn't seem wise for a man who doesn't want to be attached."

Smirking, Lúcio pushed himself to his feet. "Enjoy your evening, sir."

A hand caught his wrist as he started to walk away; the grip was just this side of too tight, but after the fight they'd been in before, he was grateful that it wasn't worse. He looked back to his enemy, feeling a mix of curiosity and apprehension. Was the guy about to start a fight? He was sure that even without his weaponized prosthetics, Doomfist could easily crush him.

"Do not mistake my curiosity for interest, Lúcio." Holy shit, saying his name should not have that effect on him. He released Lúcio's wrist and stood himself, offering his own smug smirk. "My name is Akande. Have a good evening."

And then he was gone, leaving a flabbergasted Lúcio behind. Akande. That was the guy's name and what was he supposed to do with that? Why would he tell Lúcio his name if he wasn't interested or something else? If nothing else, it put them on equal ground. Lúcio was a world famous artist, but he didn't know who Doomfist was until now. He'd never had a reason to research him before and was terrified to look after they'd first met. Who knew what terrible things he'd find?

Lights dimmed and brightened as a cue for Lúcio to head back to the stage. He could worry about this later.

[the-han-governness-blog]

Tea Leaves Zen and MC don't work out pt1

AN: mystic messenger has me worried Zen will never have eyes for just the MC which is messed up but true.. This is an exploration into why I feel he can never be my one true end. Fic format! Part one!!

It might’ve been the excitement of seeing a face like his and getting to know the story behind it for once.

It may have been that time he held onto your wrist and pulled you to the roof, your fear of heights calmed by the lost look he gave the stars that night.

Maybe it was the time he saved you from the hacker you now see whenever you visit Luciel’s apartment; that now lost boy in soft sweaters, harmless as a fly.

Whatever your reasoning was, it was as sure as sunrise that from the moment you met Zen you loved him. There was no question about it even now, even when you were sitting here on Jumin’s couch in the middle of the night, questions you hadn’t dared ask in the chat manifesting themselves in your chest and making you want to cry out in pain.

Elizabeth the Third was a peculiar cat, and now that you knew her well enough for her to cuddle up to you, she hadn’t come down from your arms once since arriving at the lavish penthouse. You don’t really remember how you got here, did you know the address somehow?

Wait yes, you and Zen came here for a Gray station showdown with everyone else just a few months ago… Didn’t you? Was he unhappy even back then? Images of his smiling face just made you shiver now;. It was hard enough to see his face everywhere you looked on the streets, you didn’t want to think of him. -meow- -meow- Elizabeth was sitting up on her hind legs, her tiny paws swiping at the tears running down your cheeks. Honestly she could be so perceptive. Sometimes you wondered if she wasn’t some sort of psychic. She meowed again, turning away from you to jump out of your arms for the first time today, as the door to the house clicked. Jumin Han was home. You brushed aside your tears and made to get up to greet him, but before you could stand properly there was a hand on your shoulder, pushing you back down.

“Relax, I can see you’ve been crying all day, you don’t need to stand for me. You’re a guest not a maid,” the way he said your name made you breathe in sharply. There was once a man who said it sweetly too, and he wasn’t here now. He wasn’t coming back.

“I heard what happened you know. I was in a meeting with Father when one of the interns turned on the TV in the other room.” the deep monotone of his voice tightened a fraction, and you took his pause as an opening,

“I’m sorry again for coming here Jumin, I just can’t face him right now.” your voice was shaky from all the crying, and you heard more than saw him shuffle around the couch and settle himself down next to you.

“I just thought it’d be nice to be somewhere where nobody is going to ask if I’m ok. I don’t want comfort…. I just want to put it back together.”. By it you meant your heart but Jumin didn’t hear it as such and scoffed,

“don’t you dare tell me you’re getting back together with that scum, he really doesn’t deserve your consideration as it is.. You should have kicked him out.” His voice was gruffer than usual, but he reached for your hands tenderly. “don’t do that just because of him” you hadn’t noticed it, but he was tugging your hands open. You’d been digging into your palms for hours now, the crescent shaped marks were an ugly purple, the skin beginning to bleed in some areas. It was an ugly sight. You laughed a little, when Jumin pulled you up by the wrist and guided you to the kitchen.

“it doesn’t even hurt, you know?” He turned on the water in the sink, testing the temperature before placing both palms underneath the running water, It had been two long years since joining the RFA, and by now you’d seen Jumin caring for a drunk Yoosung, delivering soup to Luciel’s apartment when the twins were sick, literally chasing down an angry Zen, so it didn’t surprise you that he could be so caring now that you were a blubbering mess. Granted he’d never had cause to be so attentive to you in particular, but the rhythmic purring at your feet, in time with the hands wrapping bandages around your palms was soothing in a way you couldn’t describe. When you finally looked up at him, you realized he had said something and you hadn’t responded yet.

“Zen’s house has too many memories. He knows where Rika’s apartment is. I couldn’t keep him out if I’d tried. This was the only safe place I could think of.” he nodded, he’d guessed as much when you’d appeared on his doorstep.

“I know, that’s why I brought you here.” So that was how you got here. You remembered now, you’d gone up on the roof of your home, still in shock when you heard a voice call up to you, pleading with you to come down. You only looked down because the voice was one you’d never heard so loudly.

“Come down, miss the car is waiting!” Driver Kim had come personally to pick you up. A few guards had come into the home to help you pick out what you wanted to take. Jumin had called you, before anyone else had and said “just take what you need, you can stay with me.” you’d left the wedding photos, you’d left every dress you’d ever worn to his events, but you’d kept the ring. It was strange not wearing it. You’d removed it the moment you’d gotten here, and were still unsure what to do with it.

“ guess it’s good you guys didn’t get those matching tattoos last Christmas like Luciel suggested, right?” He was as terrible with jokes as always, and Saeran’s caustic personality hadn’t helped much. Still, you smiled and shook your head, glad for a little humor.

“that might’ve been harder to take off, laser removal is expensive.” Jumin raised a brow at that, and you could almost hear Zen scoff in the back of your mind. Of course the trust fund kid, no Director now, wouldn’t worry about price the way you and Zen had in the beginning of your relationship.

“Has he tried to call you?” Your hands fully bandaged, you had the freedom to shrug as casually as you could and said,

“He’s been calling me nonstop, if that’s what you’re asking. I blocked him after the 30th call.” He nodded, leading you to the couch again now.

“ His manager called me a few times today ;she said your couples quarrel was interfering with his acting and if I could please take you home.” Elizabeth the third leapt into your lap, her purrs drowning out some of the anxiety you were feeling at the sound of that.

“I don’t ever want to see him again, Jumin.” your voice was meant to sound strong and final, but he and Elizabeth caught the waver of uncertainty in it, and she snuggled closer to you now, still purring. Jumin reached into your lap to pet the cat and said,

“Elizabeth is right, he really doesn’t deserve such a forgiving creature.” How he knew what you were thinking was no mystery. It seemed every time Zen’s fame got bigger, there was a new co star or leading lady clinging onto his arms after rehearsal, during his label parties, of which even after the marriage you hadn’t been allowed to attend. There was always a new woman with him when he called to say he loved you and while you’d never believed a word about Echo Girl, you saw bites and kiss marks you hadn’t left before his extended trips on his collarbone. You saw the way his shift would gaze at your forehead and not into your eyes when he explained it was for a kiss scene. He’d taught you that trick when you first started dating him, after you’d told him you were too nervous to look his mother in the eye.

The fact that Zen strayed regularly wasn’t something he had ever admitted to, nor was it one any of the RFA were privy to either ;whenever Jaehee mentioned how much in love Zen looked with his partner, you could only smile when she said it must be because he loved you so much. Yoosung’s girlfriend would sound so amazed you weren’t at all jealous and you’d laugh that he was looking at you all the time so how could you be? Jumin was the only one who never asked about your relationship, and because he never asked you didn’t lie about Zen’s gaze either. You think deep down he knew what you were hiding. That loving gaze was for the whole wide world. Not just you.

His new manager wasnt very different than the rest. She told you to stay home to avoid distracting her client. She explained away overnight stays on set. She would call you when Zen was running late because he’d stayed with you too long, and she was always there to remind Zen no you couldn’t come to this premier because his leading lady didn’t have a date yet. You hated her guts, and yet there was something to be thankful for. It had been the recording she had sent you and the press that had pushed you out the door, after all.

“what is the news saying about him? "the answer was bound to be painful, but you had to know. Was he happy, was she? He stopped petting the cat, pulling back to lift your chin to meet his gaze. He looked solemn, remorseful. But Jumin Han was not a liar.

"They are over the moon that the nations top idols are teaming up together. The film they recorded will air in July, a month after their wedding so everyone can see their love unfold onscreen twice.”

“twice?” your chest was tight. It was getting hard to breathe.

“She wants to film the wedding.” you hadn’t looked down at your lap yet, and Jumin was still holding your chin when he continued. “They want the baby to be born in wedlock.”

Baby.

Living breathing child.

His child. With his eyes. With his face. With her…

It was like the world was crashing and you were falling down a deep dark hole. You grabbed Jumin’s hand still resting on your chin, so you could force it off of you, so you could open your mouth and scream but he held you fast, still speaking.

“He proposed to her an hour ago. The fans are ecstatic.” you were digging your nails into his arm now, the cat in your lap forgotten as you fought for escape.

“He told the reporters he broke it off with the RFA coordinator long before he met her.” when he finally let go of you, you were gasping and sobbing, clawing at Jumin’s shoulders as you shook with rage and anger. He held you as you cried, rested your head on his shoulders until your arms gave up and curled around his neck instead.

“no no no no..” it was the only word that made sense to say. He rubbed soothing circles into your back, and whispered now,

“ he doesn’t deserve you, please… Please don’t look back"but this instead of comforting you made you cry all the harder. If the wedding was in June that meant the thing Zen wanted to call you about last week and he couldn’t get the courage to do so might’ve been divorce. It meant this wasn’t some elaborate ruse the media had schemed up; Zen had really fucked up.

The recording was one you took here and handed to Jumin when he first welcomed you to the penthouse. He was all business back then, asking about which lawyer you wanted to represent yourself and Zen. He was convinced the media was trying to hurt C&R’s reputation by slandering the face of the company with false rumors of romance, and why wouldn’t he think so?

You’d just sat there with him, used the laptop Jumin didn’t know how to turn on, and pressed play. The grunts and moans echoed in the large office space, and for the first time in all his life, Chairman Han blushed.

"Wait for it.”. You weren’t looking at the screen, you couldn’t stand to look at the position Zen had this beautiful girl in, hips thrusting to meet her own, perfect in ways you couldn’t ever be, with hair deep as night and tangled in his perfectly shaped hands.

“He likes it when you beg for it.” the woman writhing atop her husband acted on cue, asking for it begging for something only you were supposed to have a claim to.

The panting was loud and there was a pause where Zen caught his breath.

“He’ll pull out when he’s about to come, and then-” the intense moaning sharpened to a feminine cry,

“he’ll go in as deep as he can before he comes.” Jumin wasn’t looking at the video in front of him. He was looking at you, at the tears slipping down your cheeks.

“he’s not that great an actor, Jumin.” it was the first time he’d ever held you, sobbing into his arms and it hadn’t been the last since you began your stay here. It had been less than a week, but already you’d cried more than you had your entire life. You hadn’t stepped foot into the chatroom yourself, it had been Jumin who had to break the news to everybody else. Saeran had destroyed the tripter bot Luciel had made ;and replaced it with terrible headshots of the actor. Jaehee had taken her pictures and Zen dvds and locked them away. Yoosung had tried to kick his ass of all people, and he had a black eye to show for it. Seven had tried to verify the video footage as fake, but when he confirmed it was real he blocked Zen from the chats. V kicked him out of the RFA and while he was still under C&R contract, he was scheduled to be replaced by Saeran by the end of the year. The young shy man was surprisingly good with animals, and candid shots of himself with Elizabeth in V’s new art exhibit had given him some noteriety. Luciel worried, but the mint contacts and grey hair did much to disguise his looks.

Everyone was on your side, and you were grateful for their support. Still, this was too much. Did he mean to keep you there in his apartment, while raising a family with her?

“I’d never let you go back home to be that kind of wife” apparently you’d spoken aloud, and the anger in Jumin’s voice was hard to miss.

“Seven and Saeran have hacked into his accounts. Half of his assets are now being wired into a separate bank account should you want it. Jaehee drafted the divorce papers herself.Yoosung wants to buy you an attack dog ” you laughed, it was all so like them to take action like this when you were feeling down.

“I have to find somewhere to live, don’t I?”. You were still holding onto Jumin,. Worn and weary from all the crying you’d done. He was still rubbing soothing circles into your back, catching the way you were still shaking and settling you down. He huffed, your name a whisper in his baritone voice

“You’re not a burden. You could have stayed with any one of us, you know.” the people in the RFA had welcomed you with open arms, and every single one of them had offered you a place to stay including Saeran, and it had been the sweetest thing. V still felt bad about the apartment incident and had offered to lease you one of your own if you wanted, but none of them seemed right, and it wasn’t until Jumin insisted you could stay here to watch Elizabeth when he was gone that you agreed. Clever man.

“I’m glad you’re here with Elizabeth the third and I. You’re safe here.” your arms tightened around his neck, but your tears had run dry by now.

“thank you, you’re very kind.” the words came out as a whisper, but he nodded, head coming down to rest atop your own

“you haven’t touched the food the chef made you.” of course. The man who ruled with an iron fist over his employees and went without breakfast most days was about to lecture you over lunch and dinner. You laughed,

“you’re so strange.”

He laughed at this, but pressed on.

“Seven accused me of starving you when he hacked into the CCTV the other day.”

“what, he’s watching me again?” you lifted your your chin to look into Jumin’s deadpan gaze.

“you haven’t spoken to anyone except me for days, you’ve even got Saeran asking how you’re doing.” you bit your lip. It was true, and you guessed that Seven missed you in the chats too since your phone had been on airplane mode since coming here.

“Tell Seven to hack my phone so he won’t call. I’ll get on the messenger then.” you saw one of the cameras in the home twitched, and you couldn’t help but laugh.

“nevermind, he got the message”.

-meow- Elizabeth stretched on your lap lazily now, shifting over to rest in her owner’s. Jumin was still holding you, and you were enjoying the sound of his heartbeat. He made you feel calm and safe. You didn’t want to explore why exactly, but for now it was all you needed. You leaned further into his touch, nuzzling against him until your breathing slowed.

“Let’s go tuck in a princess.” you felt your body shift, carried up and eventually set down.

“It’s ok, I can sleep on the couch, Elizabeth ” you weren’t sure what he was laughing at when he pulled the covers on top of you, but you didn’t pause to think how a cat could’ve carried you to bed. You were already falling asleep when you pulled on his sleeve and said,

“Don’t go yet Elizabeth” bringing his hand up to your face, you tucked it against your hand and finally fell asleep.

It was the first time since the incident you slept through the night.

[hellyes-tommccamus]

Mutant X [TV] (2001-2004)

S01E04 “Fool For Love”

[spoilers]

Sci-fi/action

Tom McCamus plays a main role in season 1

This episode is one of my favourites. It’s about love, although more of the dark and unpleasant sides of it. And that brings great joy to my cold, cynical heart.

Adam has sent Shalimar to meet another feral New Mutant at a club, and she is bombarded by attention from admirers. With her good looks and constant smile, it’s no surprise. (In a parallel universe Shalimar and Emma run a multimillion dollar business. Just imagine if they used their abilities to win over customers and sell them practically anything.)

Eventually the New Mutant, Donna (Monique Ganderton) shows up. She’s a party girl very much of the 00s era, wearing one of those sparkly halter neck tops and choppy highlighted hair. She tells Shalimar she doesn’t want to go into the underground as she isn’t a New Mutant (where have we heard this before? Ahem last episode. Although pretending to be “normal” is a very common and relatable thing).

A guy accosts Shalimar with extremely cheesy pick up lines. She does the feral eye thing on him, which does the trick. And probably safe to use on drunk guys. Who’d believe his story, even if he admitted to being turned down?

Donna, however, is less resistant to the charms of random club guys and is helpless to resist a guy who is bragging about his big TV. But after kissing him she decides she is actually a feral and uses her powers to attack him. (I wonder if there are ferals that aren’t trained in martial arts. How would the ability manifest in an unfit person?)

Then, Mason has a stalker. Wait, did I say stalker? I meant visitor. Karen Bell (Claudia Besso) works in internal audit and reports some unauthorised research that she has discovered. I initially thought she had to take a deep breath before going into his office because she was afraid of him, but in light of later evidence, perhaps not. She can’t stop smiling when she’s talking to him. Mason tells her he knows she hacked his emails. She does the politician’s change of subject and makes it sound like that’s what led to her discovering the unauthorised research. But we know the truth.

Poor Emma wants to join in with combat training, but the boys tell her she should stick to using mind powers. Jesse suggests she has telekinesis, which shows how much attention he’s been paying to someone he lives with. She gets her own back by playing a mind trick on them.

Brennan and Jesse go to the bar to try to find Donna’s “date”. Brennan manages to get a date with a waitress with one line and a smile. Then Emma shows up and uses another unmentioned mental power. She helps a security guard remember Donna’s date’s car. Which is kinda cool but related to empathy? Nope.

When Donna doesn’t answer the buzzer, Shalimar breaks into her apartment. And it’s a really awesome, modern apartment. The sets of Mutant X really are something special. The design and lighting of Sanctuary and Genomex are really something.

Shalimar is ambushed by a man and they begin to fight. Now the fight scenes in Mutant X are generally dubious, but this one is actually approaching Matrix quality. Half way through the fight the man reveals he is a feral with his eyes, and the tone of the fight changes to more of a courtship dance. And ends with Shalimar throwing him on the bed and jumping on top of him.

But then a neighbour bangs on the wall and ruins the mood (and, dear reader, that neighbour is after my own heart). The man refuses to tell her his name, and indicates he is somehow involved with Donna. But Shalimar still appears to be enamoured with him. Angry neighbour wins however, she has called the police and they are here already. If only the real police were so fast and vigilant. Sigh.

Adam uses a cool program to make a 3D photofit image of the man from Shalimar’s swooning descriptions. Adam explains her feelings as a series of chemical reactions, but she’s totally smitten.

Back at Genomex, Karen is searching someone’s computer hard drive and is caught in the act (world’s least sneaky hacker?) by none other than Shalimar’s mystery guy.

Adam’s search using the magic 3D photofit somehow hits on exactly the right person. If we have this kind of technology in the future there’s absolutely no way it would be this good. You’d probably struggle to get a match even describing someone you knew well. But anyway, Shalimar is devastated to find out he works at Genomex. But Adam thinks that a research associate wouldn’t know about the GSA and what they’re doing. I find that hard to believe. How can you be involved in research and not know what it’s for? Any sufficiently clever person will work it out from the context and conversations of colleagues. Even the interns who wash the test tubes probably know. Adam probably should have told her that of course he knows what’s going on and is totally evil, because telling her he’s probably unaware gives her the idea of sneaking into Genomex to tell him. And Adam just lets her? Sure, sneak into the base of our biggest enemies to go talk to some guy you just met. Maybe he just knows better than to try to change the mind of someone in love.

Karen goes to report her findings to Mason, but she hasn’t actually found anything concrete. But Mason has every faith in her and assigns GS agents to assist her. He does his usual routine of circling and staring at her, but it’s quite clear that she would happily have him stare at her all day. He calls her by her first name, which he never does with employees. And the way he calls out good luck to her after a long pause and turning away. It’s a credit to Tom’s acting abilities that it’s unclear whether he is uncomfortably aware of her interest in him or if the interest is mutual.

Shalimar sneaks into Genomex, and seems to easily find where the object of her affections works. The man, whose name is Richard (Yannick Bisson) tells her he has developed a serum to reverse mutations in DNA. He talks about realigning the DNA codes. I’ll just be over here laughing. Again with the weird concept that New Mutants have two sets of DNA, the normal human DNA and a completely separate set of New Mutant DNA. It could be possible that all the mutated DNA is located on a single chromosome, I guess. But anyway, if we’re going with that idea, then wouldn’t the treatment need to remove or chemically switch off the New Mutant part of DNA? There are many ways to adjust the expression of DNA that doesn’t touch the original code, through epigenetics such as changes in methylation.

Shalimar is shocked by his research, but has little time to respond as Karen’s unsubtle hacking strikes again and they have to run before she can get to them.

Karen reports back to Mason. It’s really unclear why his employees report to him so frequently. Wouldn’t it have been better for her to go after Richard and try to find him? Check the CCTV or something? Either Mason is such an obsessive micromanager who wants to badly to trust someone but just can’t (understandable if we’re to believe his version of how Adam betrayed him) or are his employees just so damn scared that they check they’re doing OK every five minutes?

Mason’s anger disappears when she tells him about Richard being a New Mutant and working on a formula to reverse New Mutancy. Obviously he wants the formula. From the last episode, we know this is something that has been worked on for the last twenty years with little success. Apparently Richard kept only half of the formula on his work computer. Now I can’t see how he could have worked on such a thing in that way. He must have done significant amounts of work and testing in the lab. Wouldn’t IT be able to dig up old versions of files from the network? And couldn’t it be deduced from the equipment and chemicals Karen already knows were used in an unauthorised way?

Richard takes Shalimar back to Donna’s apartment. I understand they’re on the run, but isn’t bringing a new love interest back to an (ex? current?) girlfriend’s place kinda tacky? Shalimar doesn’t seem to mind, but she’s completely head over heels for him.

He tells her he’s been taking the serum he invented. Now that he’s tested it on others to check it works. Richard says he’s never felt comfortable and always wanted a normal life. Shalimar argues that it’s not a bad thing, it makes them special. It’s kind of a heart wrenching situation, and makes me think of the awful “cures” they had for homosexuality. A wish to be “normal” is a common one.

Brennan and Jesse have finally tracked down Donna’s date. They seem to have left Emma behind, but she catches up with them and tells them the man wasn’t lying when he said Donna attacked him. Another power to add to her list, lie detection. For some reason Brennan takes out his anger on the guy and sets off his car alarm.

A weird exchange takes place between Shalimar and Richard. She gets the impression that she will have to take the serum as well for them to be together, so she brings up the topic. And he pretty much confirms this. Abusive relationship alert. Wanting someone to change to be right for you is bad enough. But just knowing you are expected to change without being told is really sad.

The next scene contains two things that every Mutant X episode seems to need: shirtless Brennan and the lab underwear. Shalimar brings a sample of Richard’s serum to Adam. Adam’s reaction to it is very scientific: cautious but not dismissive. Unlike his decision on the Pushka from the last episode, which pretty much did the same thing. He’s very understanding and accepting of Shalimar’s consideration of using the serum. He advises her to wait before making a decision, which is wise. She has known the man for a couple of days at most.

Karen tells Mason that her friend at the medical examiner’s office told her about a body that had unidentifiable DNA. But somehow they knew that the DNA had been altered recently. When the show came out, the Human Genome Project had just been completed, so there was a sense of arrogance that we had “cracked the human DNA code”. This fails to be true even now. Sure, we understand a lot more about DNA, how it works and what certain parts of it do, but I think identifying mutated DNA is a bit difficult. All sorts of things can lead to changes in DNA. And altered recently? Do we have some kind of internal change log? Well, no.

Back at Sanctuary, Emma is practising kicking. Brennan wants to bet on whether Shalimar will take the serum. Jesse is initially not impressed but then joins in.

Mason and Karen have an oddly romantic scene over Donna’s dead body. Although she works in internal audit, Karen must also be a geneticist, as she says she matched Donna’s DNA to the code of the formula Richard was working on (yes the one they only have half of). Have I mentioned how much I like the glowing cuts between scenes? There's loads of them in this episode.

In what we now know to be a dead woman’s apartment, Richard has come to the end of his treatments. He tries again to convince Shalimar to take the serum too. He also suggests they could try to make the relationship work with her not taking the serum, but she won’t consider it. Which is odd when she says she’s in love with him and will do anything to be with him. But in the next breath she agrees to take the serum. The next morning Richard is in a lot of pain.

While walking through Genomex, Mason and Karen have a heated argument about her leading a GSA raid. You see, this kinda thing is why I find it hard to believe that the employees are unaware of what’s going on there. In the end he relents.

Adam has analysed the serum. We get a nice sciency picture onscreen of some spinning DNA and a 3D visualisation of a molecule. I believe he says he has done research into its meiotic crossover sequence. Meiotic crossover actually happens during cell division, and the serum is not living tissue. (It’s possible that after years of lectures by scientists from all parts of the world, I fail to understand Adam’s accent). The upshot is that the serum has similar consequences to the Pushka. The moral of the story: unless you’re trying to cure something deadly, don’t mess with human DNA.

Proxy Blue reports about a body that was found with altered DNA. The medical examiner’s office definitely needs to give its staff confidentiality training.

Richard is getting so sick that Shalimar tries to take him for help. But then Karen shows up with a couple of GS Agents. But Jesse, Brennan and Emma show up and dispatch them easily. Karen grabs a gun, but Emma knocks her out with the kick she had been practising.

Back at the lab in Sanctuary, Richard is dying. But he says his bone marrow can save Shalimar. Would have thought that would make her more ill, but OK. And how shocking, Adam actually wearing a lab coat in the lab! And it’s a microbiology lab coat too. I guess he’s ready to do some science that doesn’t just involve computers and lights.

Meanwhile at Genomex, Karen is begging to go back to her old job. But Mason has other plans. Stasis? Is he serious? But she’s not even a New Mutant. But that answers the question of whether he liked her. The answer is uncontrollable laughter.

Richard and Shalimar have an emotional goodbye. We don’t actually get to see Adam do any science. Shalimar seems to be fine, apart from being lying down by a pool of floating candles level sad. I do really like Shalimar though. She’s a tough, independent woman, and at the same time doesn’t shy away from showing her emotions.

So to wrap up, we see that love leads variously to death, bereavement and scientific experimentation in a state of suspended animation. Just like in real life. Be careful out there folks!