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obriengf · 11 months ago

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A Gracious Gift || Mitch Rapp x Reader

Summary: Mitch had almost forgotten what it was like to be shown love until you gave him a small token to change his mind. Words: 1.4k Warnings: swearing bc it's mitch... he also has trust issues okay, pretty angsty oops Notes: the first addition to my 2023 xmas fics!

hope he's bringing me love this christmas cause i deserve you here ✩

His nose scrunched, details of exasperation etching themselves deep in the wrinkle between his brows and the frown of his lips. It was a cross between amusement and simple irritation that devoured the man as he stood resistant to the brightly coloured lights that reflected across the warm brown of his irises, arms crossed over his chest and a huff pushing past his lips. Mitch Rapp didn't do Christmas, not anymore. Neither did his ears enjoy the pretentious tunes that flooded the small living room of your safehouse or the irony they held as he stared at the decorated tree beside the small television.

"Is this a joke?" He huffed, once more, head barely turning as his voice carried to the small frame to his left. You didn't reply, his question dripping in all things rhetorical, and instead allowed a smile to curl upward into the shadow of a smirk. His pessimism is something that you're used to by now - starting beyond the tantrum he threw when you were first assigned as his partner. The Assassin grew to like you, however, after many arguments and a handful of times proving yourself. He saw honour within you and a driving force to do right by all, no matter what it took. In turn, you saw a man that hurt where his heart lay, but he used his head as a guard and determination to build up near impenetrable walls. It didn't stop you though, from trying... from showing him that there is much more to this world than Good versus Bad. And eventually, Mitch Rapp became oxygen - you breathed in his presence every single day without fault, but a part of you also desperately needed him to survive.

"Don't be such a killjoy." You eventually said, proud that you pulled together something so makeshift in such little time allowed. You chuckled at his negative outlook, avoiding the side eye he threw your way as you tentatively reached out to drag a finger across a bright blue bauble. It was hope, a much-needed light in the midst of the cruel world that you face every day. And it just so happened to appear in the form of cheap gas station decorations and an overwhelming scent of pine needles from one of the small trees next to the cabin. You drew a breath as you turned to the man, the whisky tone of his eyes already peering down at you. He was swimming in hesitation, near drowning from it if it meant that he kept himself closed off. "I just wanted to give you a reason to be happy."

Your voice was quiet, and Mitch nearly would have missed it if he wasn't pouring so much of his focus into you. He last celebrated this stupid Holiday with Katrina - when he had a reason to smile, to have hope, to bathe in that happiness that would usually come from such a joyous time. And since then, you had made him smile and he had an inkling of hope, and he had a reason to be happy once again but the pain was still so incredibly present that it continued to devour every single cell in his body until he was just a shell. And Mitch hurt. He always hurt.

You always knew when he was starting to shut down. Mitch's emotions would turn off, like a simple flick of a switch, and the robot persona that the Central Intelligence Agency craved would soon embody the man that you've grown so accustomed to. You would lose him for hours, as if he was asleep and he needed to wake. Mitch Rapp had lost hope for so long and it killed you to see how much it affected him.

Even if it took every single second you owned, you were going to help him. To show the man the love that he deserved. To finally wake him up.

Mitch scoffed and turned away from you, his large hand dragging down his cheek. Words were mumbled against the palm of his hand, "Well, you wasted your time."

"You're never a waste of time, Mitch." You replied, remaining beside the tree as you watched his head hang low. It was expected for him to walk away, but he didn't, his back still to you but his ears listening for the soft coo of your voice. A small smile tugged eagerly at your lips, "You're a lot of things, mostly a pain in my ass, but you're not a waste of time. Especially mine. I'd do anything for you, you know that."

The man exhaled, his head shaking, "You can't fix a broken man, Y/N. Not one whose as fucked as I am."

Your chest tightened. Mitch's exhaustion was wearing him down, his walls cracking, crumbling, and not in the way you thought they would. His sadness tugged at your heart and you were already beginning to second guess if your plan was the right path to take. Gently, you reached to the base of the tree, the lights flickering against the side of your face as you grasped at a small box.

"You're not broken. You're not a waste of time. And if you're fucked up Mitch, then I must be as fucked up as you because we've come from the same place. We've had the same feelings hurt. But we're here, and we're alive and okay. And I'm never letting you go, no matter how much you push me away."

Mitch turned to catch the shimmer in your eyes. He could see the emotion building up and gathering along your waterline, and he had such an overwhelming desire to catch the tears before they fell. He moved forward with large strides before he captured your cheeks within his palms, thumbs rubbing with such tenderness under the tips of your lashes. You always managed to bring him back from the edge of despair, but seeing you with such sentiment was enough to shake some sense into him. He shushed under his breath, any evidence of an Assassin disappearing, and instead a simple man was left behind.

"Please don't cry." He hummed, not daring to look away from your eyes until he felt something hard press to his abdomen. His focus broke, an eyebrow raising in question at a small white box clutched strongly within your hands. Mitch's head tilted to the side, "What's this?"

An unwanted sniffle escaped you before your gaze followed his, the box in question now lifted toward him, "I meant it when I said I'm never letting you go. You mean a lot to me, Mitch, and this is how I was going to show you... instead of crying like a child." An incredulous chuckle ended your response as you ushered the box at Mitch, shaking the small object until he took it from you.

The man was nervous, but curious, pulling lightly at the bow that adorned the top until the fabric fluttered gently to the hardwood floors. The top of the box was removed next and he froze before he picked up the item inside. Mitch's finger ran over it delicately as he peered in disbelief.

"This is for me?" He asked, voice whispered as he held his new pocket knife so gently between you both. All you could do was nod and smile as he looked at you, his own smile perking in happiness.

"Turn it over."

He did as he was told before his lips slightly parted, irises of deep brown flicking over the engraving you left on the hilt -

Always with you.

A clang was heard as he placed the knife on the table beside him, a movement so quick that you almost didn't see it happen as you were gathered in his arms. Arms of your own slid over his shoulders as the man secured your waist, his hold tight and he savoured being so close to you. It was his kick, his wake-up call. It was what he needed to know that hope was not lost. It was his future and the piece that could fill the hole in his heart.

Mitch pressed a kiss tenderly to the crown of your head, his lips then falling to your temple before they pressed again. He was sure that you could feel the thumping in his chest, but he didn't care. Not when he had you wrapped up so perfectly against his frame.

You could feel the warmth of his breath dance against your skin, "I am always with you, too."

#mitch rapp #mitch rapp x reader #american assassin #dylan o'brien #dylan o'brien x reader #american assassin x reader #dylan o'brien fic #dylan o'brien imagine #mitch rapp fic #mitch rapp imagine #obriengfchristmas

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spacetimewithstuartgary · 1 month ago

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Snippet of Euclid Mission’s Cosmic Atlas Released by ESA

With contributions from NASA, the mission will map a third of the sky in order to study a cosmic mystery called dark energy.

ESA (the European Space Agency) has released a new, 208-gigapixel mosaic of images taken by Euclid, a mission with NASA contributions that launched in 2023 to study why the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate. Astronomers use the term “dark energy” in reference to the unknown cause of this accelerated expansion.

The new images were released at the International Astronautical Congress in Milan on Oct. 15.

The mosaic contains 260 observations in visible and infrared light made between March 25 and April 8 of this year. In just two weeks, Euclid covered 132 square degrees of the southern sky — more than 500 times the area of the sky covered by a full Moon.

The mosaic accounts for 1% of the wide survey Euclid will conduct over six years. During this survey, the telescope observes the shapes, distances, and motions of billions of galaxies out to a distance of more than 10 billion light-years. By doing this, it will create the largest 3D cosmic map ever made.

This first piece of the map already contains around 100 million stars and galaxies. Some 14 million of these galaxies could be used by Euclid to study the hidden influence of dark energy on the universe.

“We have already seen beautiful, high-resolution images of individual objects and groups of objects from Euclid. This new image finally gives us a taste of the enormity of the area of sky Euclid will cover, which will enable us to take detailed measurements of billions of galaxies,” said Jason Rhodes, an observational cosmologist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California who is the U.S. science lead for Euclid and principal investigator for NASA’s Euclid dark energy science team.

Galaxies Galore

Even though this patch of space shows only 1% of Euclid’s total survey area, the spacecraft’s sensitive cameras captured an incredible number of objects in great detail. Enlarging the image by a factor of 600 reveals the intricate structure of a spiral galaxy in galaxy cluster Abell 3381, 470 million light-years away.

“What really strikes me about these new images is the tremendous range in physical scale,” said JPL’s Mike Seiffert, project scientist for the NASA contribution to Euclid. “The images capture detail from clusters of stars near an individual galaxy to some of the largest structures in the universe. We are beginning to see the first hints of what the full Euclid data will look like when it reaches the completion of the prime survey.”

Visble as well are clouds of gas and dust located between the stars in our own galaxy. Sometimes called “galactic cirrus” because they look like cirrus clouds at Earth, these clouds can be observed by Euclid’s visible-light camera because they reflect visible light from the Milky Way.

The mosaic released today is taste of what’s to come from Euclid. The mission plans to release 53 square degrees of the Euclid survey, including a preview of the Euclid Deep Field areas, in March 2025 and to release its first year of cosmology data in 2026.

NASA’s forthcoming Nancy Grace Roman mission will also study dark energy — in ways that are complementary to Euclid. Mission planners will use Euclid’s findings to inform Roman’s dark energy work. Scheduled to launch by May 2027, Roman will study a smaller section of sky than Euclid but will provide higher-resolution images of millions of galaxies and peer deeper into the universe’s past, providing complementary information. In addition, Roman will survey nearby galaxies, find and investigate planets throughout our galaxy, study objects on the outskirts of our solar system, and more.

More About Euclid

Euclid is a European mission, built and operated by ESA, with contributions from NASA. The Euclid Consortium — consisting of more than 2,000 scientists from 300 institutes in 15 European countries, the United States, Canada, and Japan — is responsible for providing the scientific instruments and scientific data analysis. ESA selected Thales Alenia Space as prime contractor for the construction of the satellite and its service module, with Airbus Defence and Space chosen to develop the payload module, including the telescope. Euclid is a medium-class mission in ESA’s Cosmic Vision Programme.

Three NASA-supported science teams contribute to the Euclid mission. In addition to designing and fabricating the sensor-chip electronics for Euclid’s Near Infrared Spectrometer and Photometer (NISP) instrument, JPL led the procurement and delivery of the NISP detectors as well. Those detectors, along with the sensor chip electronics, were tested at NASA’s Detector Characterization Lab at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The Euclid NASA Science Center at IPAC (ENSCI), at Caltech in Pasadena, California, will archive the science data and support U.S.-based science investigations. JPL is a division of Caltech.

TOP IMAGE: This mosaic from ESA’s Euclid space telescope contains 260 observations in visible and infrared light. It covers 132 square degrees, or more than 500 times the area of the full Moon, and is 208 gigapixels. This is 1% of the wide survey that Euclid will capture during its six-year mission. Credit: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, CEA Paris-Saclay, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre, E. Bertin, G. Anselmi. CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

CENTRE IMAGE: This section of the Euclid mosaic is zoomed in 36 times, revealing the core of galaxy cluster Abell 3381, 470 million light-years from Earth. The image, made using both visible and infrared light, shows galaxies of different shapes and sizes, includin… Credit: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, CEA Paris-Saclay, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre, E. Bertin, G. Anselmi. CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

LOWER IMAGE: This image shows an area of the Euclid mosaic zoomed in 150 times. The combination of visible and infrared light reveals galaxies that are interacting with each other in cluster Abell 3381, 470 million light-years away from Earth. Credit: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, CEA Paris-Saclay, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre, E. Bertin, G. Anselmi. CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

BOTTOM IMAGE: The location and actual size of the newly released Euclid mosaic is highlighted in yellow on a map of the entire sky captured by ESA’s Planck mission and a star map from ESA’s Gaia mission. Credit: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA; ESA/Gaia/DPAC; ESA and the Planck Collaboration. CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

youtube

This section of the Euclid mosaic is zoomed in 600 times. A single spiral galaxy is visible in great detail within cluster Abell 3381, 470 million light-years away from us. Data from both the visible and infrared light instruments on Euclid are included. Credit: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, CEA Paris-Saclay, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre, E. Bertin, G. Anselmi. CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

#science #space #astronomy #physics #news #nasa #astrophysics #esa #Youtube

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saikoucorps · 4 months ago

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✰ “MATCHUP FOR @nichupichu ”

→ if you would like to request a matchup, read this. If you want to commission, consider reading this.

→ matchup requests are closed. commissions are open.

✮ flipping through the deck of cards.. your card is.. ✮

→ “KEIGO TAKAMI”

[nsfw warning]

✮ REASONING : Hawks is known to be laid back and carefree, yet confident and humorous. He isn't afraid to sass people or make jokes, which seems like what you value a lot. He's very adventurous and definitely would say yes to every idea of yours. He wouldn't hold you back at all, and would let you be independent. He can be very understanding and patient, which will help a lot. Your personalities match very well together, I can see him always loving you for you.

:ఌ¨ ♱ favorite thing about you: he really enjoys your personality a lot. It's hard to choose one thing, really. He loves how blunt and intense you seem and enjoys your independence.. he also loves how you're able to stand up for yourself.

★ ship name : keiani !!

☆ HOW YOU MET:

It all happened in a flash. You were walking down the sidewalk, heading home. It was near 1 AM but that didn't really stop you. You probably shouldn't have been out so late, wasn't your fault, the gas station line held you up. You were close to home, only a mile left, when all the sudden you heard faint footsteps. You turned your head slightly to see what it was, it seemed like a villain.. you didn't want to judge to quickly though. You sped up your walking. You were basically running at this point.. the villain had jumped infront of you, grabbing you by the neck. You tried to scream for help, tell it to stop or just to be softer. Nothing came out. You gave up hope when suddenly you felt a quick drift of wind fly past you, and you were on the sidewalk once again. The number two hero, Hawks, had saved you. You heard plenty about him, but you've never actually seen him before. Before you knew it, Hawks had tied him up and used a feather to take the villain away. He turned to you with that recognizable smirk of his.

"So, where ya' heading this late at night, hm? It's pretty dangerous if you ask me."

"I was on my way home.. probably not a good idea this late, huh?"

Hawks shook his head dramatically. "Nope, not at all. Alone, at least. Say, why don't I walk you home? I'm pretty fast with handling villains."

You chuckled, "Yeah."

The two of you began walking in the direction of your house, Hawks not letting there be silence, asked you questions about yourself. He seemed to like your responses a lot, and the way you answered them. The moment you arrived to your doorstep, you waved bye to him, about to unlock you door until he spoke.

"Listen, I don't usually do this but..", he handed you a sheet of paper. It had a phone number on it, his phone number. It also had a little doodle of himself. Of course.

"You seem special. Take it as a compliment, you're the first I've given this cute little paper to! See ya!" He smiled and flew off before you could even process what was happening.

The number two hero. Just gave you his mumber.

✰ CONFESSION:

The confession was really unexpected. You've known Hawks for a few months, near a year. You two have texted back and forth, and met up so many times. Even the people in his agency knew about you, he'd talk about you a lot. You two were great friends, though it was so painfully clear you were interested in eachother.

You had gotten a text from Keigo that morning.

"Mornin! Get ready and head over to my agency in an hour. I got something for you."

This wasn't strange to you, you were familiar with these meet-ups. You were slightly disappointed you had an hour to get ready, but still nonetheless. As you head to his agency, questions filled your mind. What did he have for me? Why so early? Is he messing with me? Your thoughts were blocked by his voice yelling your name. "An! Over here!" He waved slightly and walked up to you.

"So, wanna tell me why I had to be woken so early?" You joked, looking at him.

"Well, if you insist birdy. I have a whole day planned for us. Oh! And here, take this." He handed you a necklace, there was a feather on it. A red feather. One that was very familiar to you.

"Is that your feather?" You questioned. You only got a simple nod. He took the necklace from your hand, and helped you put it on.

"Now, I'll always be with ya'." He winked. You only rolled your eyes. "Now, come on. There's a few new restaurants in town, thought you may like them."

You both spent the whole day visiting places and talking. It was occasionally interrupted by some criminal or villain, but he managed to deal with them quickly. The day seemed almost perfect.

With day came night, the blue sky turned dark. The street lights were on, and the streets became filled with lesser people. You asked him if the day was over, apart of you didn't want it to end. Thankfully, he shook his head. He reached out his hand for you to grab.. in which, you accepted. He quickly threw you into his arms, bridal style, and flew up. You never flew before, especially with him. You were pretty taken a back, it had you holding onto him tighter.

You two ended up on top of the highest building in japan. The wind blew perfectly against your hair and his.

"Why are we here?—"

"The night is really beautiful, right?"

You looked at him, a little confused but nodded. It really was pretty.

"I come up here often, you know? It's like my spot. But, the difference is, I come up here when I think about you. The night, it reminds me of you. You're beautiful, An."

You were surprised, shocked, flabbergasted even. You didn't have a chance to answer, he knew you didn't.

"Ever since I first met you, at night, I couldn't not stare at the moon without thinking of your eyes. How the light shined so perfectly on your face.. it's all to much for me."

He turned his attention away from the moon, to you.

"I knew I loved you the day I saved you, I just wanted to know why. Well, I did find that out. These past few months with you.. they're the best I've ever experienced. Because I got to experience it with you."

He walked closer to you, grabbing your hand ever so softly.

"Anni, I'm in love with you. I always have been."

You were speechless. Was he really confessing to you?

"I.. Keigo, are you—"

"Serious? Yes. I really mean it."

It took you a few moments to collect your thoughts, ultimately you spoke. You explained to him how you felt the same way, and how you in fact did love him to.

☆ FIRST DATE:

It was near fall, spring was soon fading away, but not exact. You and Hawks were at eachothers place quite frequently, it never got old. This morning, Hawks was crashed at your place. You both were laying in your bed, half awake. You guys went on many dates, sure, but as friends. Hawks realized this, he hasn't taken you out as his girlfriend yet. His schedule had been so packed lately.

"Let's do something special today.." He muffled out, holding you closer.

You both laid there for a few more minutes, then you finally woke up. The two of you got ready, doing your normal routines. He told you to get ready, to dress nice. He told you he'd be back as he left your house to go to his. You semi-hurriedly got ready. You were curious to what he had planned.

Soon, he arrived back at your door. It was later in the afternoon, due to you guys waking up later than usual. You were ready, and so was he. He told you as he was at his house, he came up with where to go.

"So, where are going?" You asked him.

"Well, this fair recently opened.. thought we should try it out."

He picked you up bridal style, something you both did often when going places. It was faster, and felt closer. He flew you to the fair entrance, buying tickets for you both.

The fair was pretty big, it had a lot of rides and games. And a lot of food.

"Woah," you managed to say.

"Cool, right? Let's hurry to those rides, this is the only time the rides are this short."

He held out his hand for you to grab, in which you complied. You and him went to the ferris wheel first. It was the shortest line, only two people were in it! The operator of the ride allowed you guys to go in without payment, apparently he was a fan of Hawks.

As you guys were on the ride, he began talking.

"Let's come back to this later, it's prettier at night."

You guys spent the next two and a half hours riding different rides, and getting free stuff. Most fans of Hawks even came up to you with questions. You only smile nervously, Hawks ended up dragging you both away. He wasn't going to let your day be ruined.

The light sky sooned turned dark, it was now nighttime. People were leaving, and some finally entered the fair.

Hawks said you two should go win prizes. It was fun getting free stuff, but he'd rather try to win things. You offered to win him something first, a game where you had to pick the lucky duck for a prize. You attempted it 3 times, failing each time. You both laughed at this, he offered to win it instead, and magically, he did. First try too.

The more prizes you two tried to win, the later it got. Hawks got you both some food, and had 2 bags filled with stuff from today. There was also another bag of snacks. He was really prepared...

He mentioned there was a park right by the fair, and you two left. When you arrived at the park, Hawks became the chattiest he's been today. Earlier, he wanted to focus on this experience with you. But now, he can focus on you. The snacks sooned went down, and you two watched the ferris wheel lights.

"When it closes, we're going over there."

"You—You're gonna break in?!"

"I'm sure they'll allow it."

That promise was fulfilled, the moment the fair closed, he flew you two over there. The keys to operate it were still intact. You guys had a moment to just yourselves.

✮ GENERAL HEADCANONS:

☆ He loves to joke around with you a lot, and it ends up with you both having many inside jokes. You two will joke about the most randomest thing and your friends will just be.. very confused.

☆ If you ever created jewelry for him, he would constantly wear it! On the job, he manages to keep it intact.

☆ His work sometimes has him traveling, and because you love to travel, he always makes sure there's room for you. Even if his assistant says there isn't.

"What do you mean, of course there is!"

He'll completely ignore them.

☆ On days you two relax, he will play Mario cart with you. Mainly because it gets the competitive side out of both of you. Though, he also enjoys animal crossing.

☆ Once, you tried to get him to play monopoly, he ended up rage quitting. Board games tend to make him do that a lot, though, it's not often.

☆ He loves it when you rant about animals on a scientific level, he personally finds it interesting. Especially when you tell him about birds.

☆ On calmer days, he'll take you on a walk around a forest-like park. He knows how much you love it, and will even take pictures for you.

☆ You two tend to go to the gym together, he'll support you, but other days he'll join you! Sometimes, you'll be his coach, and vise versa!

☆ He loves it when you comfort him, he knows you have troubles with it, so knowing you do it for him makes him feel very appreciated.

☆ He likes to fly you over the city sometimes, or go star gazing. The night tends to be very special to you two.

☆ You both are always exploring new places together, sometimes unexpectedly.

☆ Hawks knows how easy you are to scare, so sometimes he'll purposely scare you to get a laugh. You both laugh at this and it's never bad, and even if it was, he'd stop.. maybe.

☆ He is an absolute master at billard somehow, he once bet money on winning it. He surprisingly did! He used that extra money won to treat you to dinner. Although, you were pretty shocked that entire time. Mainly because he said he's never played it before. And somehow, he won!

☆ Please watch your surroundings when you go bowling with him. He'll try to do cool tricks with the bowling balls, and it somehow backfires always. He's able to stop any real harm.. to people at least.

☆ He loves to read your stories after you write them, he's basically your number one supporter.

☆ Especially, your drawings. If you made any for him, he'd have a whole wall dedicated for you.

☆ Whenever you guys go out to eat, he's always trying new stuff with you. He actually eats a lot since, well, he has 2 extra limbs to give calories to, so going out for food is common. It gives you more opportunities for new things!

☆ Whenever you have crazy ideas, Hawks isn't afraid to say yes to whatever it is. Wanna catch a squirrel? Heck yeah.

☆ This also means he has crazy ideas of his own.. like for exmaple.. what if you caught two squirrels?

☆ He's always calling you in the middle of the job, even while fighting villains. "Hey babe, what do you want for dinner tonight?" As he's dodging attacks...

✮ NSFW HEADCANONS:

☆ volume, pace, stamina — quiet, slow, and has a lot of stamina. He's literally known for being fast..so..

top or bottom? — switch, he's anywhere and whatever you want. He leans more to topping though, only to service you.

dom or sub? — again, both. whatever you need him to be. He can tend to be more submissive, but on days where he had a tough time at work, he gets very dominant.

masturbation — he does it frequently when you aren't around. He just gets so needy.. and bored.. he can't resist! He always thinks about you. Even, during those moments.

favorite position — "cowgirl" if you're on top, "standing o" if you're on bottom. He loves giving rather than receiving, so any position that allows you to feel good is good enough for him.

favorite location — bedroom, or.. anywhere you guys could get caught. He's up for risks.

kinks —any that you have, but he tends to enjoy praise a lot. Both ways, he loves praising you the most, and loves it when you praise him.

turn-ons — if you're both in the mood, you just biting him could get him going. While he may not see it as a sexual thing in general, sometimes you're just hard to resist.

turn-offs — honestly, nothing. As long as it isn't gross, that is.

experience —some experience, but not a lot. He can be a bit rusty first time, though he learns quickly.

quickies — depends. He's always up for them, but sometimes he prefers it to be slow and sensational.

risks — always up for them, as stated before, the thrill of getting caught excites him. It may even make him more rough.

wildcard — his feathers tend to be more sensitive than he'd like.

:ఌ¨ ♱ “I like to look at the stars, they remind me of your eyes a lot. You're beautiful, Anni.”

♤♡ DYNAMICS ◇♧

ATTRACTIVENESS — (what they find the most attractive about you)

: your face! He finds your resting face very attractive, and while people may ask you what's wrong, he always has heart eyes looking at you.

EQUALITY — (do they split the checks?)

: he always offers to do most things for you, he'll occasionally let you decide on stuff and take lead if you wanted. Though, it's mostly on him.

ARGUMENTS — (how are arguments with them like?)

: arguments are very rare with him. When they do happen, he's more understanding while you're stubborn, he obviously doesn't let this get in the way. He'll communicate with you and admit his wrongs.

HONESTY — (do they keep secrets from you?)

: if it keeps you safe, yes. He hates keeping secrets from you, but if your safety is at stake, he has no choice. Outside of that, he never keeps secrets. He may playfully be vague about it when you find out, but he'll outright tell you in the end.

AFFECTION — (how affectionate are they with you)

: really affectionate. he'll randomly play with your hair, running his fingers through each layer, just to mess with you. That is, if he's unable to cuddle with you right there.

PDA — (do they enjoy pda?)

: usually. He'll gladly show the public who he's with, but often times not so much. He'll fear for your safety and the villains who will try something. He isn't afraid of it, though.

WILD CARD — (anything random)

: before he meets you anywhere, he'll use a feather to get your attention on something else, then will scare you.

SUPPORT — (how supportive are they?)

: super supportive of your interests! If he sees merch of one of your favorite mangas or animes on the way home, he immediately buys it. Any time you go to the gym, he'll give you a thumbs up and tell you how well you're doing! He'll even join in on your interests & hobbies.

NICKNAMES — (do they give you nicknames?)

: yes. An and Nini are ones he uses a lot. Sometimes, birdy.

PET NAMES — (what pet names do they use?)

: varies, if he's not calling you by a nickname, he'll call you simple ones. Babe and baby are very common ones he uses.

BEFORE DATING — (how were they before you guys were a thing?)

: very clingy. He still is, but it seemed to be worse. He was also very flirty. He made it very obvious he wanted something with you.

JEALOUSY — (do they get jealous?)

: yes, but he won't make it obvious. When he's jealous, he'll immediately interrupt whatever is going on and drag you away. He will be side eyeing that person the rest of their life.

COMFORT — (how do they comfort you, if at all?)

: if you need it, he'll give you space. But if it seems serious, he'll immediately go over to you, arms opened, with snacks. After you've calm down, he'll put on a movie for you two. It may or may not be horror..

FIRST KISS — (how was your first kiss like?)

: it was the night after he confessed to you, you woke up with him on the couch together. When he noticed you were awake, he held you closer. The moment you were awake enough, he made you face him. The two of you made eye contact, before he leaned in and kissed you. He didn't want this moment to end, and neither did you.

COMPATABILITY — (how compatible are you guys?)

: very compatible! Hawks is a Capricorn, and his mbti is ENTP.

Fun fact, Virgos and Capricorns are extremely compatible!

As quoted from a website, "Virgo and Capricorn are highly compatible signs and are considered one of the most solid zodiac connections. They are both earth signs and share similar traits, such as practicality, loyalty, and a focus on the material world. Virgos are grounded and may intellectualize their feelings, while Capricorns look to the future. Together, they can balance each other out and understand each other well"

Mbti wise, ENTJ's and ENTP's are compatible as well, maybe not as strong, but considering the other factors in your relationship.. you guys are a match in heaven.

"ENTPs and ENTJs can be compatible because they share many personality traits, including being extroverted, intuitive, and thinking types. They both enjoy working towards goals, taking charge, and encouraging growth in others. They also value logic and reason, fairness, intelligence, and competence. They tend to connect well in places that encourage intellectual discussion."

MARRIAGE — (how would marriage go for you two?)

: depends of you wanted it, he's 50/50. He wouldn't mind it, and wouldn't mind not doing it. He knows a ring can't determine how long you two will be together, or how important you are to him, because he shows it daily. He knows you two will last a life time.

MOTIVATION — (are you their inspiration?)

: all the time, every day. When he's close to losing a fight with a villain, he thinks of you. Not only that, your strong personality drives him to be more like you daily.

HONEY-MOON PHASE — (does that feeling stay?)

: for him, it never goes away.

UNDERSTANDING — (how understanding are they when it comes to things)

: extremely, it's one of his main traits. You tend to value it a lot. He's worked towards seeing all sides of the story, you may have thought he was understanding at first, but he somehow became even more understanding.

LOVE LANGUAGES — (what are their love languages, and how do they deal with yours?)

: he enjoys physical touch and quality time a lot, which is good for you because you also enjoy quality time, as well as gift giving. You two are always hanging out, so much so it's like you guys have dates every so often. Of course, you two have your space as well, it usually happens when he's doing hero work. He loves it when you give him gifts, he keeps every single one. He's also aware of your preference to not be given gifts, he obliges to it. He tends to be very clingy physically, so whatever you're doing he'll come from behind you and hug you, play with your hair, or hold your hand. Your biting is something he'll always find cute, he'll even playfully bite you back.

♤♡ DRABBLE◇♧

It was nothing new, being adored by him. Though, what was new, was being adored by his fans. Suprisngly, a lot of them loved you. So much so, that they managed to land you and him an interview! The reporter had simple questions in mind, none crossed any boundaries whatsoever. The media fell in love with you.

So much so that they came up to you for pictures, more than him. Hawks didn't mind it, he was glad you go media attention. Though, he did fear it. He pushed it aside though. He was happy for you!

It ended up being so daily that you two had to hide sometimes.. it ended up dying down! The media stopped being so crazy, you weren't a trending topic anymore thankfully. You occasionally got fans here and there, but nothing to bad. Everything was finally chill..

Until, Hawks had to teach all of class 1-A for a day. You tagged along by the sidelines, wanting to watch your boyfriend. After the first session everyone went to take breaks.

Who didn't get a break, though, was you.

You decided to accompany him to his class, eager to observe him in action. After the first session concluded, the students disappeared, but you found yourself bombarded with questions from one particular student, who went by "Deku". He had a notebook with him and eagerly asked a list of questions.

He asked you many things, you tried your best to answer each one. Most were facts about Hawks, stuff about you, and even your quirk...?

It was clear you wouldn't be able to escape the media, but at least it was worth it.

You got free stuff here and there...so..

→ tropes:

☆ Red String of Fate

✮ Love at First Sight

★ Soulmates

→ second choice:

This was a very close call, honestly. I considered a lot of options, like Kirishima, Denki, Bakugo, Mirko, and Shinsou! Mirko and Bakugo have very similar personalities. They both would be able to keep up with you, and understand you a lot... although, because of how similar and intense they come off, it may cause problems. They also didn't fit your ideal partner as much either. I considered Denki and Shinsou as well, as they fit your description of ideal partner more.. but I don’t think they could've kept up with you as much. Kirishima was extremely close. He fit both categories and would've been really patient with you.. though I thought more on it and realized Hawks was the ultimate choice.

SONG RELATED TO RELATIONSHIP :

#ꪆ★୧ saikoucorps #dividers by cafekitsune #Spotify #my hero acedamia #matchup #mha #mha matchup #matchups #matchup request #commissions open #commission #matchup commission #boku no hero academia #hawks #keigo takami #hawks mha #keigo takami x reader

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justforbooks · 1 month ago

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Patriot by Alexei Navalny

The late Russian activist’s memoir is an insightful, sharp, even humorous account of his fight against Putin’s regime – and a warning to the world

Alexei Navalny was watching his favourite cartoon show, Rick and Morty, when he suddenly felt unwell. He was 21 minutes into an episode where Rick turns into a pickle. The late Russian opposition leader was on a flight back to Moscow after campaigning ahead of regional elections in the Siberian city of Tomsk in August 2020. Something was clearly wrong, and Navalny staggered to the bathroom.

There, he recalls, he had the grim realisation: “I’m done for.” He told a sceptical steward that he’d been poisoned and then lay down calmly in the aisle, facing a wall. Life didn’t flash before his eyes. Instead, he compares his experience of death – or near-death, as it turned out – to something from a dark fantasy. It was like being “kissed by a Dementor and a Nazgûl stands nearby”.

He is clear who gave the order to kill him with the nerve agent novichok: Vladimir Putin. Navalny calls Russia’s president a “bribe-taking old man” and a “vengeful runt” who sits on top of a “sinister regime”. The assassins were members of the FSB, the KGB’s successor agency. Navalny spent 18 days in a coma, waking up in hospital in Germany.

It was while recovering in Freiburg that he wrote the first part of his extraordinary memoir, Patriot. The second section consists of letters from prison, following his January 2021 return to Moscow, when he was dramatically arrested at the airport. Navalny says he embarked on an autobiography knowing the Kremlin could finish him off. “If they do finally whack me, this book will be my memorial,” he notes.

It took three years for his gallows humour prophecy to come true. Navalny died in February this year, his likely murder taking place in an Arctic penal colony. He was 47. Prison documents hint he was poisoned and the authorities removed the evidence: clothes, vomit, even snow he had come into contact with.

This is a brave and brilliant book, a luminous account of Navalny’s life and dark times. It is a challenge from beyond the grave to Russia’s murder-addicted rulers. You can hear his voice in the deft translation by Arch Tait and Stephen Dalziel: sharp, playful and lacking in self-pity. Nothing crushes him. Up until the end – his final “polar” entry is on 17 January 2024 – he radiates indomitable good humour.

Patriot includes a manifesto for how the country might be transformed: free elections, a constitutional assembly, decentralisation and a European orientation. Days before his murder, he predicted the Putin regime would crumble, while acknowledging the resilience of autocracies.

Trained as a lawyer, Navalny first attracted attention as a transparency activist. He bought shares in notoriously corrupt oil and gas companies and asked awkward questions at shareholder meetings. The Kremlin controlled TV and most newspapers, so Navalny wrote up his exposés online. In 2011 he founded FBK, an anti-corruption organisation which grew into a grassroots national movement run by volunteers. He expresses pride at the way his campaigns encouraged young Russians to take part in opposition politics. Police detained him for the first time in 2011 when he attended protests against rigged Duma elections. Undaunted, he stood two years later to be mayor of Moscow, coming second, before finding himself in an “endless cycle” of rallies, arrests and spells in custody.

The Kremlin’s response to all this was vicious. His brother Oleg was jailed after a fake trial, a provocateur threw green gunk at Navalny, blinding him in one eye. In 2016 he tried to run for president. His videos – of Putin’s tacky Sochi palace and former president Dmitry Medvedev’s dodgy schemes – attracted millions of views. Navalny writes movingly about his wife, Yulia, – whom he met on holiday in Turkey – as a soulmate throughout this period.

Given his understanding of Putin’s Stalinist methods, why did he return to Moscow? His answer is that the struggle to make Russia a normal state was “my life’s work”. He wasn’t prepared to dump his homeland or his convictions, he says. At first, jail conditions were bearable. Well-wishers sent sacks of letters and a tiramisu cake. In one dispatch, Navalny ponders the “amazing ability of human beings to adapt and derive pleasure from the most trivial things”, such as instant coffee.

Behind bars, he chatted to his cellmates and read. He preferred Maupassant to Flaubert and enjoyed Oliver Twist (though he wonders if Dickens got working-class dialogue right). The FSB spied on him 24/7; his warders wore body cameras and barked commands.

As conditions worsened, he made fewer diary entries. More criminal “convictions” piled up – for insulting a war veteran and for extremism. He was shuffled from one penitentiary to the next. Meanwhile, “perverted” prison staff refused to treat his back pain, prompting a hunger strike. He was categorised as a flight risk and woken throughout the night, put in a tiny punishment cell and denied his wife’s letters.

None of these privations stopped Navalny from denouncing Putin’s all-out invasion of Ukraine as an “unjust war of aggression”. The reason for the war is Putin’s desire to hold on to power at any cost, and an obsession with his “historical legacy”, he writes. Critics regard Navalny as a closet nationalist. But Patriot calls for Russia to withdraw its troops, respect Ukraine’s 1991 borders and pay compensation.

During one of Yulia’s visits, Navalny told her there was a “high probability” he would never get out of prison alive. “They will poison me,” he said. “I know,” she replied. He sketches out what this means – no chance to say goodbye, never meeting his grandchildren, “tasseled mortar boards tossed in the air in my absence”. Maybe an unmarked grave. His philosophy: hope for the best, expect the worst. His death is a terrible loss, for Russia and for all of us.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

#just for books #Alexei Navalny #Patriot #book review

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bharatgasnavsari · 1 year ago

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Locate the Nearest Bharat Gas Agency for Convenient Services

Discover the ease and convenience of finding a Bharat Gas agency near you. Learn how to benefit from the best services and quick access to LPG supplies. Read more at ExecutiveChronicles.com. R N Desai - Bharat Gas Agency is the most reliable gas agency in Navsari. If you are in Navsari and looking for a best and reliable Bharat gas agency, you can contact the R N Desai - Bharat Gas Agency to get your gas connection.Bharat gas agency near me

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jpitha · 2 years ago

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Just a Little Further 40 - epilogue

Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39

The playback ends. A woman leans over her large metal desk and takes the device, putting it in a strong metal case. It closes with a satisfying click. The woman pressed a button on her desk and the lights in the room dimmed.

"From here on out, this interview is being recorded in a full sensorium. Audio, visual, tactile and spatial recordings are being made. State your legal name and confirm your consent."

"I, Gord Beaverbrook, consent to the recording."

"Are you known by any aliases?"

"None that haven't already passed the Statute of Limitations."

"Thank you Gord, Interview commences." She makes a note on a pad and looks up at Gord. "The recording you heard was a compiled diary from Empress Melody Mullen that started as she departed on FarReach and ended right before she linked over to Sol." The woman busied herself locking the case as she spoke. "Melody's diary coupled with some interviews from residents of the Reach give us a pretty complete view of Melody's time as Empress.

The woman takes out a complicated looking key and opens a drawer in the desk. She puts the case in a drawer, closes and locks it, then turns back to the man in the chair. "You're up to date now. You know what we know. You went out to see her right before the invasion. Anything you care to add?"

Gord leans back and runs his hands through his sandy blond hair. "You should have seen the place Meg, there were 13 million people on that Starbase. They all were happy, healthy, living their lives, loving their Empress."

"And yet, the AI coalition unilaterally decided to assassinate her and remove her from the Sol system by any means necessary. From what I understand, after the anti-nanite gas was deployed you additionally destroyed sixteen Calamity Class super Dreadnoughts." Meg raises an eyebrow.

Meghan Felasheer was the current head of Intelligence for the Outer Planet Alliance. Officially, the OPA is a loose federation of Orbitals, Starbases and scientific research stations and each handles their own day to day operation. But, since first Venus and then Melody started to expand, they have condensed into a much more coherent polity.

With that condensation comes agencies and authorities to help with the operation of said polity. Meghan is the output of this natural process. She does not like her job. Meghan would much rather garden or work in environmental processing or join the Fire Brigade or do anything other than what she's doing now. Still, needs must.

Gord sighs and looks at Meg. This interview was demanded by the OPA after the last of Melody's ships were destroyed and Reach of the Might of Vzzx was linked to Sol. Relations between the AIs and BIs are... strained right now. "Meg, do you know what happened when we recaptured Venus? When we retook Luna?"

"No Gord, tell me what happened when the AIs captured Venus and Luna?" She pointedly did not say 'recaptured.'

"The same thing that happened at every place we took back. They begged us for her return Meg. Begged us." Gord looks haunted. "We had to tell them all the Builders were dead and were never coming back. Meg, there were riots. We quelled the riots and-" Gord sighed. "-lots of innocent people died that didn't have to."

Meghan stares stonily at Gord. "My name is Meghan, Gord." She was on Luna when Melody came. She saw her Empress in person.

Melody's super dreadnoughts caught everyone completely by surprise. Her fleet linked in near Venus, and after a very nominal defense mounted by some tired orbital rear guard, they almost immediately surrendered. Venus was on the brink of starvation anyway, and the Emperor's inner circle saw in Melody a chance of survival. The Emperor suffered an "unfortunate accident" and Melody was contacted. The Emperor was cold and forgotten before Melody even landed in Regantown.

The King is dead, long live the King.

The Mercury Array went just as easily. She didn't even send the whole fleet. Two of her Calamity Class super dreadnoughts linked in near the main offices of the Array and they surrendered. Their first request? Fresh water. Venus hadn't delivered any in months and their recyclers were nearly spent. Everyone had spent the last 4 months there drinking metallic tasting water.

Empress Melody immediately rendered aid. A group of her Builders went down to the array and replaced their water recyclers and brought them gigaliters of water.

Melody spent a month around Venus, visiting all the Floating Cities, using her Voice on the administrators - never the populace - and explaining that they were there to help and give aid however they could. She brought over more Builders and they worked to shore up the cities and make sure all systems were working as they should.

She was loved. She did things their previous Emperor never did. She visited, she spoke with people, she listened.

Only once she was convinced the Floating Cities were in good hands did she set her sites on the domed cities of Luna.

Once again, the moment her fleet linked in, everyone surrendered. Anyone was better than the Venusians, and Melody was gaining a reputation as a just and caring ruler in Sol.

Just like before, she visited all the locations, made a speech, used her voice on the Administrators only and... fixed their problems. Meghan was in the crowd for a speech in the domed city Armstrong. Melody was... radiant. Beautiful, with golden wings and a golden crown, she stood there with her wife Ava and told everyone that things were going to change. Melody would take care of them. She would make sure they weren't forgotten. For people too used to only hearing about what was going on with K'lax and the Independent Starbases and Colony worlds, hearing Melody tell them she was there for them and would look after them? That was worth loyalty to their new Empress.

Earth... was another story.

Earth was very used to people coming to power, making grand proclamations about who was in charge of what and what would or would not change when Empress Melody was in charge. Earth fought back.

It was a bloodbath.

Earth, the Lagrange Orbitals and the stations in LEO formed an uneasy alliance and worked to repel the invaders. Forces that normally were against Venus pivoted immediately to Melody's forces. Being the cradle of Humanity, Earth had people and resources to spare, and they threw them at Melody's empire.

It was then, that everyone saw what Melody's forces would do when pressed. They would hammer an Orbital until it surrendered, then come aboard and Voice everyone - not just the administrators - explain what was happening, that they were in charge and would move on to the next. Empress Melody accepted no compromise, no power sharing, nothing. It would be Empress Melody, or destruction.

Some Orbitals capitulated when this was learned, and some... chose destruction.

With Low Earth Orbit and the Lagrange points captured, Melody gave the planetary forces another change to surrender before orbital bombardment would commence. The deadline passed, and her terrifying Calamity Class super Dreadnoughts Began their work.

The bombardment went on for only two days before Earth surrendered. Millions perished. This time, due to the size and population, Melody did not personally go down and use her Voice. 3 dreadnoughts were left in orbit as a reminder and she continued on. She had planned on coming back after the rest of Sol was captured.

Melody and her fleet and then linked near to Mars and opened a dialog with the OPA. Everyone was tired of war, frightened of Melody or both, and here she comes, fresh off of a successful devastating attack on Earth, the home of Humanity itself.

The OPA was prepared to offer her nominal control as well as recognition and taxes in exchange for safety and support. Everyone was getting ready to sign a treaty.

Then, the AIs came.

Over fifty Starjumpers and easily that many ancillary craft linked in over Mars and immediately starting attacking Melody's new super dreadnoughts. There was no radio contact, no demands of surrender.

If Melody had more ships, she would have won.

As it was, the AIs took terrible losses. Melody's Calamity Class super Dreadnoughts were deadly. They had the power to take on two Starjumpers at once and hold their own.

Centimeter by centimeter the AIs pushed Melody's forces back. The sky behind them littered with the burnt out hulks of Starjumpers and Calamity Class super Dreadnoughts.

It was then that the everyone learned that the AIs had personal wormhole generators. It was long rumored, but the AIs had swore up and down that even though their bodies were powered by the same kind of reactor as their ships that "a personal wormhole generator is a fantasy. Nobody can shrink them down that far."

It was a lie.

The AI troopers would link into Melody's ships and release their anti-nanite gas and link away, without firing a shot.

When people learned about the anti-nanite gas they were horrified.

It was assumed by the Venus, Luna, the OPA and others that the Nanites were sapient. Melody agreed with them and had said how she was treating her Nanites as if they were sapient almost from the beginning. The AIs seemingly didn't care.

The AI's learned about the Nanites from FarReach. Her air was filled with Builder nanomachines. Upon her return, AIs scientists were able to collect, reverse engineer, and develop a disassembly command for them. As they released their anti-nanite gas, the nanites would take themselves apart.

The Builders, who received their augmentations as a result of the Nanites died almost immediately after the gas was released.

As the Builders died, Melody's war of conquest died as well.

Melody fell back, first to Luna, then to Venus and finally back to Reach of the Might of Vzzx, each time inflicting terrible losses on the AIs, but all the while, she was being slowly taken apart by the anti-nanite gas. The AIs had the upper hand now, all they had to do was wait her out.

Six months to the day after she had launched her attack she was killed.

A group of AIs linked into the Reach from a Starjumper that was light-years out of sight, a surprise attack. They released their gas in key locations around the Reach and into the environmental systems.

After a day, they AIs came back with their Starjumper and strode in. The AIs confirmed that Empress Melody Mullen and her wife Ava Williams died in the bath, in her Palace, on Reach of the Might of Vzzx.

With the death of the Builders, and the anti-nanite gas ensuring no more would be created, the AIs had to decide what to do with Reach of the Might of Vzzx. Starjumpers were strapped to the outside, and it, along with the Heinlein and Besmara Shipyards, were linked back to the Sol system. Over AI objections, the OPA took the Reach for their own, and worked with the residents to shore up the Builder systems and install systems that would work without Builder control.

In the Sol system, the AIs were not seen as the rescuing liberators they thought they would be seen as. Everywhere they went, the AIs were asked why was the Empire being destroyed, why were they persecuting Melody, why were they trying to prevent the people from getting the help they need.

Gord looks at Meghan. "Meghan, you have to understand. Melody was too dangerous."

Meghan stared at Gord.

"She was nice, yes, and she took care of her people, yes and the Reach was frankly an amazing place, and we will even admit that she was helping people in Sol, but her power... it was too much."

Meghan stared at Gord.

"All that had to happen was for the next Empress not be as kind or loving as Melody, and you would have been under her heel, forever."

Meghan stared at Gord.

Gord's face screws into a snarl. "We were looking out for all of you! Melody's power was too much. Nobody should be able to give orders that can't be disobeyed. Humanity should not be under the rule of a single person! Did you see Earth? Earth said no and she glassed at least three cities! I know what it looks like." Gord sighed. "Meghan we-"

"Enough." Meghan holds up her hand. "Gord. Who is the leader of the AIs."

Gord looks confused. "We don't have one. We're not a nation."

"Under what banner did the AIs band together to destroy Melody's empire?"

"None. We came together as a group and decided to act."

"Who speaks for the AIs? If not you, then why did you accept our summons?"

Gord crosses his arms. "I am not in charge of the AIs. I'm old. Most AIs respect me and listen to me."

Meghan turns and looks out the window of her office out onto Hyacinth. She looks out at the people walking below, going to work, living their lives, trying to get on without their Empress. She turns back.

Meghan looks through Gord. Her eyes flick and she meets his gaze. "Gord, Do you know what this looks like to us? I mean, really? It looks like you forced us to trade one tyrant who cared about her people, who worked very hard to make sure everyone had what they needed and were taken care of for a different tyrant who only wanted to keep the status quo. You never once asked us if this was what we wanted. You didn't ask, because you were afraid of the answer." As she speaks, Gord looks away.

Meghan looked down at her pad, and flicked to another page. "Gord, do you know what's happening on K'lax?"

Gord looks back and blinks. "No, wha-"

Meghan slams her pad down on the desk. "There's a holy war going on at K'lax right now Gord. The Pro-Empress faction is fighting the Anti-Empress faction. Reports coming back to us are saying it's quite bloody. Both sides have requested human help. There are also reports that the Anti-Empress faction is receiving AI help."

"Gord throws up his hands. "Meghan, we did what we had to do. Even if you don't believe me, even if humanity never believes us, know that we think - no, we know that we are right. We are better off without the Builders, without the Nanites and without Empress Melody and her Voice."

Megan looked at Gord for much longer than was comfortable. Finally, she nodded to herself. She opened a desk drawer and took out a folio. Opening it carefully, she took a paper printout and handed it to Gord.

"What's this?"

"It's an edict. Note the signatories. OPA, High Mars, Luna, and the provisional Venusian government. Due to the 'unfortunate' actions taken by the AI faction against the Empress Melody and her Builders, the AI faction is hereby banned from the Sol system until further notice. Any current AI residents who wish to stay may remain behind, but all Colonial AIs will vacate."

Gord leaned back as if he was slapped. "What?" he whispered. "What about Earth?"

"Earth was not consulted. If they wish to coordinate action they will need to go through Luna. You are no longer welcome in Sol. You took it upon yourselves to remove someone you felt was a danger to you. This is the price you pay for your unilateral actions."

Meghan turned and faced the window. "You and all Colonial AIs within the system have twelve hours to vacate Sol. Any remaining Colonial AI ships will be fired upon by the nearest OPA ship." Turned back and faced Gord. "This interview has finished. The sensorium recording shall be encrypted and uploaded to all relevant parties and shall be seen as binding." She pressed a button on her desk and the lights in the room came up.

Gord stood. There was nothing else to do. "You'll be back. When you're over your snit, and realize we are right and you want to talk again, reach out. We'll be waiting." Without another word, he turned and walked out of the office. The door closed behind him with a soft click.

"Hail Empress Melody the First." A single tear fell from Meghan's cheek, and splashed onto her lap.

Meghan picked up her pad, and quickly sent out a message. From a location on the other side of Hyacinth, a beacon linked away.

Gord strode across the quad of the OPA Administrative offices towards the docking ring. He contacted his ship. "Hat" he said tersely. "We're being kicked out. You scan any friends who need a ride here?"

"Kicked out? I.. No Gord, it's just us."

"Good. Let's delta before they decide to make 12 hours 6."

Gord walked aboard his friend Medicine Hat. He climbed into the old familiar interior and cast his eye around. All around him were mementos of his travels and especially of Canada, where he originally from. Canada, like most countries on Earth is long gone, but he keeps her memory alive.

Gord looks down at a console. "Any AI ships in system? We need to let them know they gotta boogie before the OPA opens fire." He sent a digital copy of the edict to Hat who whistled low when he read it.

"Gord, they're kicking us out? We're being targeted by 3 separate ships. They are all flying OPA colors. Weapons aren't hot, but they're using active pings. They want us to know they see us."

Gord narrows his eyes. They aren't playing. "Colonial AIs are no longer welcome in Sol, yes."

"But... we saved them."

Gord sat in his command chair. It was overstuffed and soft and upholstered in flannel. "They don't see it that way, friend. We acted too late it looks like. Earth understood what was at stake, but the former Venusian territories just saw a nicer version of what they had already."

"I mean, I didn't expect a ticker-tape parade when we were done, but this? This feels too much. What about AI residents? I admit there weren't too many who stayed in Sol after Venus and everything, but there were some."

"They accounted for that. Any permanent AI residents are allowed to stay with full rights and privileges. They just want the 'interlopers' out." Gord sounded sad and bitter when he was explaining to Hat. "Let any of them that we still have numbers for know that heading to Earth is probably a smart idea right now. FarReach really scared us with her report. When I went out, I was concerned but, not really like, worried until she tried to use her Voice on me."

"You said it didn't work though."

"It didn't stick is what I said. It worked for about six hours. Long enough for her to convince me that everything was fine and for us to trade some maple for some tea and for me to leave. I came to my senses right after I linked home. By the time I gave my report, she had linked to Venus and begun. She must have realized it didn't work and that if she didn't go right then we were going to assassinate her."

"But, we weren't going to assassinate her Gord, right?"

Gord sits in the chair, and starts sending the edict to AI ships in system, letting them know it's time to go.

"Gord?"

Gord sighs and leans his head back, staring at the ceiling. "No, she was completely right Hat, that's the bitch of it. We would have had to assassinate her. This was the only way it was going to go down. Our only hope was that we would have to deal with a broken Reach of the Might of Vzzx, but we were too slow. Earth said no, and she started glassing cities. She wasn't going to take any other answer than "All Hail Empress Melody."

"Well what now then Gord? You're still legally a resident of Earth."

Gord sighed. "I am, but I can't say I'm too... excited about the thought of hanging around here right now. We'll obey the edict for now. Let's link to Meíhuā. We haven't been there in a while, I bet some folks will want some maple syrup."

Medicine Hat sighed. "You got it Gord."

****

Near Venus, a message beacon appeared, beamed a message and then destroyed itself. The report was decrypted and read under Regantown.

"Hyacinth reporting."

"And?"

"The edict has been delivered. Gord and the AIs are leaving Sol now."

"Do they suspect anything?"

"No, Helen. Melody's plan worked completely."

Helen Raaden wiped a tear from her eye. "She should have hid with us. She did not need to sacrifice herself."

"She needed it to work Helen. She knew that her body was going to be the only thing that satisfied the AI faction." Um'reli looked up from her chair in the Command Deck of the Lavinia. "the AIs have been given 12 hours to vacate."

Helen leaned back in her chair, exasperated. "I still don't see why it has to be me."

"It was Melody's last wish. She said you would be best able to lead after her."

"We can't be the only Builders left though, can we?"

"You know we are Helen. Omar died when our Dreadnought was caught in the firefight early on over High Mars and the others perished as the anti-nanite gas tore through them. Frankly, I'm surprised that the Reach survived at all." Um'reli sniffs and wipes a tear at the memory. She was onboard Raaden's ship when her ship was taken by surprise and destroyed by the AIs.

Grand Admiral Helen Raaden sighed. "I'm glad it did. If the AI faction had murdered the 13 million people on the Reach, especially all those different sapients who live nowhere else it would have been unforgivable. As it is, everyone in Sol is not a fan of the AIs right now."

Um'reli looked up at her. "What about Earth and the colony worlds?"

"We heard from Parvati and Meíhuā before things fell apart. They had officially recognized the rule of Empress Melody in Sol so long as she wasn't planning on visiting. I can only assume they'll recognize the rule of the next Empress. As for Earth...We'll take care of Earth this time. Did anyone ever hear from K'lax?"

Um'reli's ears flicked frustration. "I heard that there's some kind of civil war going on. The Pro Melody faction against the Anti Melody faction." She turned away. "It's rough right now. She got up from her chair and walked over to Helen. She put her small hand on her shoulder. "I wish Melody was here."

Helen reached up and squeezed her hand on her shoulder. "I know. Me too."

"This won't be as easy as it was the first time."

Helen shrugged. "It will and it won't. We don't have the firepower to back up the words, but most everyone in Sol liked Melody. They'll see us - me - as an extension of that rule. I think it'll work." Helen looked up to the navigation officer. "Take us down. Use the coordinates the Empress gave us."

"Aye, Grand Admiral."

The Vengeance of Lavinia II detached from underneath Regantown where it was hiding and sank into the thick, heavy atmosphere of Venus. As it went lower and lower, the huge Calamity Class super Dreadnought creaked and moaned in protest to the higher pressures. She was well built though, and the atmospheric control surfaces aided in control.

A few hours later they were above the location given to them by Melody before she and Ava linked back to the Reach for their final stand. Slowly the massive ship settled lower and lower until it touched the hot surface of Venus.

"Contact, Grand Admiral. We're down."

Helen nodded. "Thank you. We'll suit up and walk to the coordinates." Um'reli stood from her station and looked at Helen, who also stood to leave.

An Engineering officer looked up. "Please make haste Grand Admiral. We can only stay at this depth for a few hours before we start to take damage."

Helen and Um'reli suited up in special high pressure suits. The Venusians were familiar with going to the surface, and their designs were well tested and safe. Um'reli's suit had to be tweaked a bit for her K'laxi frame, but she was able to work with the printer team to get it fitted. They completed checks and cycled the airlock.

The surface of Venus is intense.

Dark, rocky and windy, it was difficult going even in their suits. After 10 minutes of hiking, they found the wreckage.

Helen and Um'reli looked over the pile of twisted metal towering over them that Melody's coordinates led to.

"This is a Gate?" Helen sounded exasperated over the radio link.

"Melody says it's the Sol Gate. It showed up in her Gate census, so she says it still has power."

"Ugh. Okay then." Helen looked around and saw what could charitably be called the remains of a doorway. "I guess... we'll go in and look."

As they walked in, the howling wind of the Venusian surface quieted. It was still incredibly hot, but at least they didn't have to lean into the wind now.

Um'reli reached out with her Nanites. The feelings she got were very faint but... "I think I can feel it Helen. Try reaching out."

Helen reached out as well and... there, over in the corner. "Yes, I feel it too Um'reli."

They walked over to the corner that they felt, and laying on it's side, with corners chipped but otherwise intact was a directory stone.

Helen looked over at Um'reli "What do I do?"

Um'reli flicked her years in worry, but that was hidden by her helmet. "Melody said to just touch it, and the Nanites will do the rest."

"Well, here goes nothing then." Helen reached out, and with an armored glove, touched the directory stone. There was no flash, no dramatic lighting, no noise, just...

Hi Helen! I'm so glad you made it!

Melody? Aren't you dead?

Yes, I am. But I am also the memory of her that was recorded by the Nanites and uploaded. As long as there is an Empress, I will never truly die. And now, neither will you...

Helen came to on the floor with Um'reli shaking her. "Helen! You gotta get up. I can't carry you myself. It's time to go!"

Helen put an arm up to stop Um'reli. "Ugh. Okay, I'm up, I'm up." She sat up. "How long was I out?

"30 seconds maybe? It wasn't long. You touched the stone and threw your head back and fell over. What happened?"

"I... I talked to Melody, or the memory of her, or something. She said that the Nanites record memories and pass them on to future Empresses."

"So that's it then? You're Empress?"

Helen stood. She - at the same time - felt like herself and also felt different than before.

Oh you're taking to this much easier than Melody did. Good work. She was right, you'll be a great Empress.

She turned to Um'reli. "Yes, I am Empress."

Um'reli bowed low. "Empress. Welcome back."

Helen looked down at Um'reli and for a moment, her perception was felt... down time across as She looked at her subject. This was right. This was how it was supposed to be. Empress Helen Raaden nodded.

L̵̠̖͗ḛ̵̥̟͇̣̟̪̐͌͛̇̐̿͛̀͐̍̈́̽͂̐̌͠͝ͅt̷̬̞͎̱̞̤̯͓͖̭̺͛̅́̓'̷̨̧̞̖̯̏̀̈́̈́s̷̡̢͕̥̦̤̯̜̫̱̰̱͉͚̆̈́́̓͋̈́͂̏͋̏́̃͒̀͘͠͝ ̸̰̲͈̥͚̥̼̤̱̃̒̀͜g̸̨̪͍̱͇̤̰̼͚̰̬͖̪̝̦͑̈́̂̀̾͋̅̎̄̊̍́̑̌̃͛͝o̴͈͓̱̪̬̞̊͊̑̂̚.̵̡̢̠͙̰̘̫̗̾̈́̐͒̀́͋̃̂̕̕͘͝

And that's it! Thanks so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing. This was a real challenge for me, it was my first time writing long form first person, my first time trying out a YA-ish style of story and my first Villain Perspective.

So yes, Word Of Author, Melody was not the Hero. She thought she was, and she surrounded herself with people that thought she was too. By only (deliberately) including her POV it was tough to tell.

Like at the end of HD, I'm going to take a week or two to rest, and compile this into a single doc and do some first pass editing. The writing really is the fun part, all that other stuff after is less so. Someone needs to hire me a team of editors to take care of that part! :D

I have a few ideas for the next one too. I liked how most of JALF took place only in one location, I might try and narrow focus down even further. Maybe in a single city or something, give it a real cyberpunk vibe. My universe is large enough that there can be all kinds of different settings available to play in.

Thanks again for reading!

#humans are deathworlders #humans are space orcs #humans go on adventure #humans are space oddities #sci fi writing #writing #humans and ai #humans and aliens #the k'laxiverse #jpitha #just a little further

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surplus-of-sarcasm · 2 years ago

Note

Lamy can you pretty please write about a yandere Villain or Supervillain or Superhero or Vigilante with a Hero darling?

Don't worry about when you get to this, it's just for fun! It's what I'm hooked on right now :)

My nemesis has presented me with a challenge, and like all great villains, I have tried to be up to the test. Anyyywayyy, tysmm for this ask, Huffle!💙💙 I chose yandere!Supervillain with a hero darling. I hope it is to your liking. Love uuuu!

Poisoned Honey

TW: Abusive relationship, yandere supervillain, blood, injury, drugging, touch-starvation

Notes: This is a lil long, 1.8 k words, so the story is under the cut!

Hero wishes they could move. Run. But, they can't even get up, can't even support their own weight. Their breathing is ragged as they let painful wheezes escape their dry throat, their few fractured ribs straining with the effort. Blood seeps from a gash in their side, hot and frustratingly slow, staining the floor a deep crimson.

They shut their eyes and wince, as a few tears stream down their cheeks. But it isn't from the pain. They've powered through much worse. They're tears of desperation because they know for a fact what they have to do to survive, a cold, hard truth written into a stone that would not weather. There were no hospitals near the old, barren gas station in an abandoned, almost dilapidated part of the city in which they'd taken refuge after Villain had dealt out the worst of their damage.

They scanned the room with their weary eyes, desperate for anything they could use as a makeshift bandage, finding no more than broken glass and old dust everywhere. Their communicator had been smashed under Villain's boot, so they can't even reach out to the hero agency. Some dark part of them contemplated letting their slowly dimming light completely fade away than to resort to their last option.

Supervillain. Ironically, they have healing powers along with others that possess the ability to destroy anything if they wished. A cruelly beautiful paradox. That sounds so much like something Supervillain would say in their silky-smooth, honey-sweet venom of a voice. The necklace around the crime-fighter's neck, one of the few things their nemesis hadn't sought out to destroy, could be used to call the supervillain if they rubbed the charm on it till it changed colour.

They would've destroyed the necklace, that shackle around their neck, but Supervillain would find out. They always found out.

Still hesitant, Hero's hand went up to the pendant, clutching it, but not quite rubbing yet.

When it first started out, whatever they had with Supervillain, it had felt like sweet-smelling flowers just starting to blossom at the start of a spring dream. That had slipped into a nightmare far too painfully fast.

Hero had always been quiet and reserved. They weren't cold or standoffish, but the other heroes just assumed they didn't want anyone to try and talk to them about anything that wasn't work. So, when Supervillain had fought with them for the first time, flashing them a radiant grin, complimenting everything about the hero, from their eyes, to their intelligence and carefully drawn out plans to their soft, flustered laugh. Hero had stayed awake all night, tossing and turning with a euphoria they couldn't comprehend.

Their fights turned into excuses to see each other, Supervillain's advances getting more and more bold, bringing Hero flowers and spoiling them with extravagant gifts and kisses pressed gently to their cheekbones. And after enough pestering, the crime-stopper had finally agreed to move in with them.

Unknowingly chaining themselves up in their own shackles. . .

The dream had quickly dissolved to reveal a nightmare where they were always guessing when Supervillain would be kissing their tired shoulders and lulling them to sleep with fingers softly stroking through their hair and when they would be furious, eyes alight with raging flames, easily overpowering them with the hero's small stature and injecting a drug into their bloodstream that left them completely out of it, a blank slate. Switching between one extreme and the other constantly, enough to drive Hero insane. There were rules. Hero’s twenty-one for crying out loud. They could not go out without the supervillain unless it was for work. They had to return home maximum by midnight.

Hero could handle overprotective. It could even be endearing at times. But this gilded cage built with the bars of Supervillain’s obsession was slowly choking them, smashing all of their hopes like a glass bottle thrown on the sidewalk, shattering to a million pieces. And just like shards of glass, putting them back together was nearly impossible, only serving to make whoever tried bleed.

But still, Hero couldn’t go back to the miserable excuse they’d had for a life before Supervillain. To celebrating birthdays and holidays alone. To eating dinner at an empty table. To stitching up the worst of their wounds without help. They just couldn’t. And Supervillain had made damn sure that there was no one else they could turn to.

“It would be pretty. . .unfortunate if something happened to that lucky person, darling, don’t you think so?” they’d crooned in that silky voice of theirs, their nails digging sharply into the skin of Hero’s arm.

Going back to them was like striking a deal with the devil because he promised you heaven.

But the devil can’t give you heaven. . .

Exactly. And yet you will still go through with the deal.

Before Hero can lament their indecisiveness any further, fate intervenes to make their decision for them.

The master criminal lands next to them with a swish of their dark cape, their face marred with worry. They waste no time in scooping them against their chest in a bridal carry, pressing their hands to the bloodied gashes scattered all over the crime-stopper’s body. They feel the familiar warmth of their wounds closing under the supervillain’s touch. Once they were done, the numb sensation disappears, and the pain washes over them again, making them lurch forward in the master criminal’s grasp.

*******************************************************

“What the hell were you thinking?” Supervillain screams, but it falls on deaf ears. Hero had grown frighteningly accustomed to the master criminal’s lectures, consisting purely of them being berated like some troublemaking child and then the details of the exact ‘punishment’ they would receive, how all of this was for their safety, how they shouldn’t dare to defy the supervillain ever again, yadda yadda yadda. It felt like terrible background music, like that song they always skipped whenever it came on the radio in their car. So, they stay silent through it all, gaze downcast, because they don’t have the energy, neither mental nor physical to meet the full intensity of the villain’s livid gaze. They just nod, shake their head, give the one-word answers the criminal wanted to hear.

And of course, the dreaded consequence. “This time, the dosage is twice as strong. To make sure you’ve learned. You know this is for your own good, doll?”

They nod sharply, like they actually believe it, focusing on bracing themselves for the sharp pinch of the needle breaking their skin, emptying its sinister contents into their bloodstream. It leaves them drugged out of their mind, feeling like their head had been emptied and refilled with cotton. Supervillain knew that even if they stuck around, even if they try to hide it, Hero holds whatever semblance of their freedom in high regard. Just the idea that they had virtually no control over themselves for a few hours was enough to terrify them into obedience.

When they snap out of it, there are no new injuries on them, absolutely nothing would change. Like every single time. The issue was, that the master criminal had blatantly refused to tell them whatever was being done to them when they were in that state. They stopped asking, but it never failed to keep them up at night.

*******************************************************

The next day, Supervillain had taken them to a luxurious hotel, a gesture that would have previously left them tongue-tied, squealing an ‘it’s too much!’ as they tried to hide how flattered they were. Now, they just feel numb. Empty. The way they do all the time.

At least staying in the hotel room is a change of scenery, so they don’t feel so much like they’re in a prison as they would have sleeping in their room back at Supervillain’s. “A new, temporary, gilded cage.” They snort to themselves, staring straight up at the dim lights hanging from the ceiling, as they lay flat on the bed.

Hero wakes up at an absurdly early hour, all the sleep magically disappearing from their eyes. So, they decide to shower, trying their hardest to focus on the water’s comforting heat, on the flowery smell of the hair conditioner, on anything that wasn’t the never-ending waterfall of terrible thoughts in their mind or the vice-like grip of a tightness in their chest left by guilt.

Taking a look at themselves in the bathroom mirror, Hero quickly notices the dark circles under their eyes and how much of a resemblance they bear to a stick figure in the bathrobe hanging loosely off their frame. They hadn’t been eating much lately. Lost their appetite among other things

When they finish, they find Supervillain awake and waiting for them, patiently sitting cross-legged on one of the seats in the room, smiling sweetly at them. They sit them down onto the chair next to them, and they stand up behind Hero. They place their hands delicately on the crime-fighter’s narrow shoulders, their knuckles warm as they gently applied pressure a little underneath their shoulder blades.

Oh how they hate that the master criminal is ironically incredibly good at comforting them. How they involuntarily lean into the touch, how the tension blissfully dissipates from their form.

“Just relax, dove. Focus on the touch, that’s it,” they whisper softly, and all the crime-stopper does is obey. What other option was there?

Their eyes flit over to a flock of birds flying through the sky as the earliest rays of the sun start to show themselves, the midnight blue of the sky fading to show stripes of brilliant oranges and pinks on a pale blue canvas. They envy those birds so much, to the point that it feels as though their appearance was simply to mock the hero.

*******************************************************

At dinner time, they try to distract themself with the food on their plate. Chicken curry had always been their favourite. It tastes impeccable here, shame they can’t actually enjoy it.

“I know what happened yesterday was pretty overkill, but it’s because I love you. I worry about you so much, sweetness. I figured I’d bring you over here to ease things up. Feeling better?” the supervillain questioned, so awfully concerned for them. How lovely.

And just like every time, whether it was at a restaurant, the movies, wherever, Hero gives them a small smile. “Much better, thank you,” they reply in a silky voice, with an ease born of practice

The first time, they’d actually fallen for the whole apology shtick. Right now, it’s just another part of the convoluted routine of their life.

They were both such wonderful actors in a sick, twisted, little fantasy. They knew full-well it was anything but real, an illusion born of cruel lies and gift-wrapped in skillful manipulation. Entrancingly beautiful like a bouquet of belladonna but just as damningly fatal. Sweet like honey and deadly like poison.

✨️Le Taglist: @larinzz @syberianjade @lateuplight @altu-interactions @enbious-prince @astr0-mj @thelazywitchphotographer @addictedsandwhichaki @justalittlecorrupted @quaggasus @theangstyclown @vernilliom @mothmancommitsarson @starssabove @kurai-hono-blog @talkingsperm @catsarecool00 @muffinrebel44 @sunnynwanda @annablogsposts @cardboardarsonist @itsmyworld23 @onlywhump

Wanna be on the taglist? This'll take you there!

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thethistlegirlwrites · 10 months ago

Text

Loyalties

Sierra stops outside the derelict building, looking up at its crumbling facade.

She’s burned a lot of bridges, called in a lot of favors, and in the end, gotten an incredible stroke of luck, to get here.

She doesn’t have time to wait for the backup she’s called.

She guns the engine and the car jolts up the single step, then crashes through the front door in a shower of shattering glass, crumbling brick, and splintering wood. She keeps it moving until the doors clear the debris, then jumps out, flinging a garlic gas grenade in either direction and clearing the room in wide sweeps before heading toward the stairs.

Okay, so she’s being a little dramatic. But the element of surprise, and the fact that she wasn’t entirely sure this wasn’t a trap, is worth it. If she’d just walked in the doors, she’d have been worried about being ambushed.

Sometimes the only way to avoid that scenario is to cause it yourself.

Now she’s the one who comes off as desperate and determined. Which is absolutely true. She’s not sure that will have any effect on the vampire she’s coming for, but at the very least, it might make the playing field seem a little more level.

The second floor is empty, very clearly so. Sierra spends minimal time clearing it, before heading for the staircase and climbing to the third floor. The glass cuts and aches from her less than textbook entry are starting to make themselves known as the adrenaline tapers off. She wishes it would last a little longer. She’s still got a vampire to fight.

She kicks open the rusty lock on the third floor door and comes face to face with her nightmare.

Shay is standing near the middle of the room, stiff and statue-like, and there’s the faintest outline of someone else behind him, using his body as a barrier.

Sierra lowers the gun slightly.

“I’m Sierra Stoker with the Chimera Agency. It’s over. Let him go. There’s a whole team of hunters on their way.”

“He told me about you.” The voice echoes, and not just off the scraps of manufacturing machinery left in this dump. Shay’s voice is coming out in time with the vampire woman’s. It’s not even close to the first time Sierra’s seen a sire take over their victim, but it’s a whole new kind of awful when the fledgling is someone she’s known for years. When it’s painfully obvious how not-himself he is right now.

Is this what it felt like when Tio had to face Emma? There’s always been a horror in Uncle John’s voice when he tells that story that goes beyond the shock of seeing his former colleague and teammate turned, and nearly having his throat ripped out before she wrestled control of herself back from Arion.

“I thought you might come for him yourself. He’s a fun little plaything, isn’t he?” The vamp continues. “Unfortunately for you, I found him first.”

Sierra can’t let it get to her. There’s too much on the line. “Let him go now, and maybe I’ll consider letting you live long enough for a trial.”

“You want me dead, but I don’t think you’ll kill him to get it.”

She wouldn’t have to kill him. Sierra’s done this before, but with a human hostage, at Amarillo. To get to the vampire who had her teammate, she’d clipped his leg, dropping him like a stone and giving her a clear line of fire.

She could try it now, but this vamp is expecting it. The only way Sierra gets a chance at taking her down is to lower her defenses. Force her hand, then take advantage of whatever mistake she makes.

“What kind of life is he going to have with you?” She asks. Still playing the game, but hopefully, lowering the vamp’s estimation of her cunning.

“He’s mine now, little hunter. My fledgling, mine to play with until I tire of him.” The vampire’s head appears for a fraction of a second as she trails a line of kisses down Shay’s neck, and Sierra shudders.

He’s been missing for three days. What has she already done to him?

He’s not wearing the same clothes he’d left in. Sierra knows that's a ridiculous detail to latch onto, but she also remembers that he was going to work the door at the Luna.

It might have been a simple case of wanting to remove the claim of another coven. But Sierra knows, bone deep, that’s not all it was.

“You can’t control him like this all the time. The longer you use your sire’s influence, the more capable he’ll be of finding a way to fight it. He’s learned from a vampire who did. She locked out a member of the first circle. He can push you out. He’ll keep fighting you until he finds a way to get you out of his head.”

“Oh, after today, I won’t need to fight him.” The vampire laughs. “I’m going to make him kill you. I’m going to make him watch you die. And then he’s going to drink your blood. He will crave the oblivion of my control after that. The humans will never stop hunting him for killing you. His only safety will be with me.”

Sierra’s sparred with Shay so many times every movement of his is muscle memory. But somehow, it’s still a shock when in one fluid motion he’s snatched a jagged chunk of metal from the side of a half-dismantled machine, covered the distance of the room, and driven it into her side.

Because it’s not his movements. It’s his sire’s.

It’s also the opportunity she needs.

She has one shot at this.

She ignores every instinct screaming at her to pull back, and throws herself forward, metal digging into her side, arm swinging over Shay’s shoulder for a clear shot at the laughing vamp behind him.

In the split second it takes for the bullet to reach her, the woman’s face shifts from glee to shock.

Good. I want you to know you failed.

(This is actually a companion story in Sierra's POV to a Whumptober series I wrote last fall! You can read that series on my WorldAnvil here, and today's fic here!)

@catwingsathena @nade2308 @the-one-and-only-valkyrie @telltaleclerk @ettawritesnstudies @writeouswriter

#febuwhump #febuwhump2024 #febuwhumpday4 #obedience #tw: implied/referenced noncon #vampire whump #mind control #lady whump #sierra aguirre-stoker #shane barrett

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