#i gotta see that skill tree man if i can be a sniper with a long bow it'll happen

[sheyshen]

brainstorming what kinda class my rook will be and settling on dagger rogue because rana is a warrior (reaver), hawke is a mage (100% spirit healer), and lyra is a mage (knight enchanter) so need a rogue in there to mix things up. only hiccup is i might be able to be a sniper archer and. it's calling to me.

[the12thnightproject]

Twelve Lies I Told Shingen Takeda, Chapter Four: Occupational Hazards

Katsuko delivers dessert to Shingen, she receives bad news in return. Also, archery, and a blindfold. TW: Offscreen death

“Halt!”

With his mouth set in a determined line, Yuki barred my progress toward Shingen’s room. Every time I tried to go around him, he leaped to block me like a goalie defending a football net. “Where are you going with that?”

Since I was carrying a handful of messages and a basket of pastry, I thought it should be obvious. “Don’t ask a question you already know the answer to.”

Yuki looked over his shoulder and scowled in the direction of Shingen’s room. “I see he’s already trying to bypass my orders by sending you out for dessert.”

“Your orders?” When did he join the calorie cops? “Why? Is there something wrong with these?” No one in the shop had seemed to have any issue with them.

“It’s not good for him to eat that many sweets, that’s all.” Yuki reached for the basket, presumably to confiscate the contraband, but I scooted out of the way.

“Really? He looks like he’s in good shape.” Really, really good shape. My job is to stay observant, so observing that Shingen is a decent specimen is an occupational hazard – especially given all of the pec airing that he does.

At that exact moment, the Occupational Hazard stepped out of his room, and there’s no way that he could have avoided hearing my comment, so I looked him right in the eyes, and tacked on, “for his age.”

I know. That was petty of me. But I was still angry at that setting me up to be killed thing. On an intellectual level I knew his “black powder test” had been a perfectly logical strategy, but what if I had gotten that powder on my hands by accident? Would he or Chiyome have killed me anyway?

With his back to Shingen, Yuki considered blithely on. “That’s not the point. He refuses to watch-.” Yuki got a look at my face, then sighed. “He’s behind me again, isn’t he?”

I nodded, as for the second time that day, Shingen thwacked Yuki on the back of his head. He eyed the confections. “Thank you, Katsu. I think I look like I’m in good shape too. For any age. Also, your former master was correct in his assessment that you’re insubordinate.”

That could simply be the adrenaline rush of being not-dead.

On my way back to the castle I had considered his distrust of me. If I acted overly deferential, slinking around with my voice quiet and my eyes downcast, that would be more suspicious than if I were just my own, unfiltered, slightly insubordinate self. Maybe it’s a cliché, but in this case, the best defense would be a solid offense.

“Bring that inside,” Shingen motioned to the basket. “I’m dying for dessert.” At Shingen’s beckon, Yuki and I followed him back to his room, where I deposited my prize onto his writing desk (GOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLL!). Shingen immediately dug in with the attitude of a man starving in the desert. Then, he tipped the basket towards us. “Help yourselves.”

“Nah, I’m good,” Yuki said. He continued to glare at the confections as if they had caused him a great insult.

The smell of the pastry had been torturing me all the way back from the shop – I honestly can’t remember the last time I had dessert… four years ago… maybe? I gratefully took him up on the offer, picked up the closest dumpling, and took a decent bite. My blood sugar level instantly tripled. Apparently Shingen has the palate of a nine year old boy. “Oh my God,” I managed to say.

Help!

“I know, right? Yuki doesn’t know what he is missing.” He fished around the basket for another sweet bun.

Tooth decay and a diabetic coma – that’s what he’s missing.

“Yuki can live with the deprivation,” said the man in question, who was clanking around in the fire pit.

Shingen pointed out the various treats. “If you like that one, then you have to taste this – they make it with red bean paste.”

“I’m still savoring the one I have.” I took as small a bite as I could get away with. I doubted I could realistically fake an mmmm noise. I’m a great liar – but there are limits to my talent.

Yuki discreetly passed me a cup of tea. Bless you, Yuki. Eager to change the subject before Shingen could ask me for a more detailed opinion on his beloved sugar grenades, I handed over his messages and reports.

I still hadn’t worked out how I was going to manage to secretly pass along the new information from Aki. Maybe it wouldn’t be necessary? Shingen had taken the sniper prisoner, so presumably the man was in the castle dungeon. Maybe he had already confessed to the assassination plot. “Have you questioned the man who tried to rob you last night?”

Shingen glanced up from a report he was scanning. “Unfortunately not. His wound turned septic and he hasn’t regained his senses.”

“Oh.” It was a good thing that I was already sitting down – otherwise I might have collapsed. I pictured the sniper as I had last seen him, moaning because an arrow - my arrow – had impaled his hand. I looked down at my own hand, a hand that not too long ago had born the imprint of a tokin. Tentatively I wiggled my fingers, imagining how it must have felt to feel the bite of metal tearing into it. If the sniper’s wound was gangrenous, then he’d probably lose his hand, maybe even-- “Is he likely to survive?”

Shingen looked at me like he was weighing several responses, before saying, “No. I doubt he will.”

So now, in addition to being a liar, I was also a killer.

I took a deep breath and shut my eyes. I hadn’t meant to kill anyone, but that didn’t change the outcome. It suddenly felt like there were no nerves in my fingertips, but at the same time, internally I was feeling everything – shock, regret, guilt – in a swirl of emotion that roared in my ears. The sweet pastry that had fallen like a rock into my stomach threatened to reverse course.

I killed someone. Someone who was alive two days ago will not be alive tomorrow because of me.

When I re-opened my eyes, Shingen was still silently regarding me. I wondered if he had ever – well, that was a ridiculous thought. He was the leader of the Takeda clan – he had to have killed many in battle. “Does it get easier?”

Yukimura shook his head and responded first. “No. Never has.” He cleared his throat a couple of times, and gulped down his tea.

But Shingen had a different answer. “Killing? Yes. You learn to put what must done in one part of your mind, separate from the you that lives through every day, walled away from your heart. You have to, or one day you’ll no longer be able to function. But it’s still within you.” He tapped his chest. “It’s still within you.”

I understood. I was going to have to live with this. I was going to have to learn how to live with it.

Shingen sighed, and raked his hair out of his eyes. “I won’t insult you by telling you this man was a criminal and probably has harmed or killed many others. You know that. You also now know what it’s like to kill and that will weigh upon you.”

It did. I appreciated the fact that he didn’t tell me to get over it, or offer a cliched platitude like, ‘war is hell, kid.’ He was treating me like the young man he thought me to be – and I needed to respond accordingly. “Yes, sir, it does.”

His eyebrows lifted at my return to formality. “I would have respected you less if it didn’t bother you.”

“I didn’t shoot to kill him, but I knew that every time I picked up a weapon, I faced that possibility. But – I never understood what that knowledge meant. I hadn’t expected the possible to ever become a reality.” I wondered if I could have avoided this outcome. “Maybe if I had aimed at the musket and not his hand,” I said, mostly to myself. I mentally placed myself back in that tree, remembered how excited I had felt at being part of something. I’d even somewhat joked with myself about adding ghostly noises. It had almost felt like a game. Target shooting… except the targets breathed and bled.

Again that tingling in the ends of my fingertips. I scraped my hands across the tatami mat, hoping that feel of the straw would ground me. Something nudged my arm: Yuki, offering me more tea. I shook my head.

Shingen allowed me another moment to wallow, then seemed to come to a decision. He tapped his hand on his desk to get my attention. “If that was anything more than a lucky – or unlucky, depending how you look at it – shot,” Shingen said, his words challenging my dark mood, “I will swear off confections for a week.”

Wait…. What? The sudden reversal in his tone nearly gave me whiplash, shocking me out my emotional turmoil.

I couldn’t let that affront to my archery skills stand. Insult my swordplay all you want, but I’m absolutely accurate with a bow. “That arrow went right where I intended it to go. I’ve made harder shots blindfolded.”

“Get your weaponry then and meet me on the grounds as soon as you can.” He got up and headed for the door, his long legs crossing the distance in three strides.

Once he was gone, I looked at Yuki, who had been quiet through this entire conversation. “Did he just challenge me?”

“Not sure, but if you win, I’m holding him to that no-dessert-for-a-week penalty.” Yuki thumped me on the shoulder. “So, you’ve gotta win.”

***

Not a duel. It was much, much worse than that, I discovered a short while later, when I arrived to face what appeared to be at least half the residents of the castle, and a field set up with five targets in varying sizes placed further and further back.

With a dramatic bow, Shingen addressed the spectators. “Greetings my friends and” … another bow to Mai who was cuddled up with Kenshin, “Goddess.” He then gestured to me. “My newest recruit has been bragging about his prowess with a bow. And since it’s such a beautiful day outside, it seems a perfect occasion to test him on this.”

No pressure there. Thanks boss.

Yuki, who had taken the whole “no-dessert” thing to heart, was pacing out the distance to the targets. Not exactly necessary, but since he’d been getting on my nerves, bouncing around my peripheral vision like a boxer’s trainer before the title match, I told him to go for it.

“Katsuhira will demonstrate the skills of accuracy and distance.” Shingen continued, while the vassal who this morning had held the bets was already running a book on this show as well. I noted Sasuke was first in line, and hoped that this time, he was betting on me, not against.

Yuki trotted back to me and said, “forty paces for the small targets, going all the way back to 150 for the big ones in the back.” Not even 100 meters, then. The targets Aki had had me practicing on were closer to 150, so this shouldn’t be a challenge – I mean, it wasn’t like they were asking me to bullseye whomp rats from a T-16. However, I would have liked to have been warned before this whole thing started, because I was getting tired of warlords and spymasters making decisions about my life without consulting me, but…details.

“Thanks Yuki. Better go place your bet and get that no-dessert thing in writing.”

While everyone got in on the betting action, I stood there trying to shut the world out. It was easier to pretend I was back at The Mountain, staring at the targets set out in front of the pear trees and the stables that I would have to repair if I missed a shot. There wasn’t any wind today, which was one thing I wouldn’t have to worry about. There was, however, a caterpillar crawling across my toes, but having killed one life form this week, I wasn’t about to compound that by killing another, so I ignored it.

I progressively narrowed my focus until it was a straight line from me to the first target. Then, without turning my head I said to Shingen. “Ready.”

“Not so fast.”

What? What now?

With my tunnel vision destroyed, I turned to look at him. He smiled and there was a hint of mockery in that look that boded ill for me. He turned to Mai, who handed him a long strip of fabric. “You did say you could have made that shot blindfolded.”

I had said that, yes indeed. Note to self. Stay away from hyperbole when discussing your skills.

I have trained a lot blindfolded, as Aki’s got an entire Jedi Master type philosophy when it comes to archery. But this was an unfamiliar field, and I needed a warm-up. “Practice shots first, without the blindfold,” I bargained.

“Fair enough.”

I turned back to the targets and sent ten arrows in succession zipping toward the targets, trying to set muscle memory. I missed my second and seventh shots, but hit the rest. Ok. I could do this. I would prefer not to have to do this in front of an audience with less than thirty minutes warning, but… I can do this.

“Ready,” I said again, this time not moving an inch from where I was standing, keeping my mental focus trained on where I felt – no, where I knew - the targets were. The tranquil air settled my senses, keeping me detached from everything except my bow and the inner vision of the targets.

Then Shingen stepped behind me, nearly as close as a hug, his body radiating heat, to tie the blindfold around my head. His breath and voice glided into my ear asking if I could see. Then he tightened it for good measure, and… there it was, a jolt that I felt when those warm, calloused fingers accidentally brushed across my face.

Reverb.

Ok, hormones, you and I need to have a long talk about choices... and timing.

Full text of the chapter posted on Tumbr this time; this chapter, previous chapters and prologue available on AO3:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/32812042?view_full_work=true

[mae-gi-writes]

Deobi Playlist (EP 8) | The Boyz Imagine

Ep 8: In which Mae and Kevin have THE TALK, and Juyeon and Hyunjae gossip about them. 

The Boyz x Hospital Playlist inspired drabble series. 

Main characters: Kevin, Juyeon, Hyunjae and OC (Mae)

Sides: the rest of The Boyz

Genre: fluff, slice of life, BROMANCE BRUH 

EP 1 | EP 2 | EP 3 | EP 4 | EP 5 | EP 6 | EP 7 | EP 8 | EP 9 | EP 10 | EP 11

----------

Kevin's heart is racing in his chest and up his throat. Suddenly, it feels a little too hot in the room, his coat weighing down on his shoulders like wet clothing that makes him want to squirm in place. 

He knows he can't avoid this forever. But he also can't seem to look into Mae's eyes, for fear of what he might find there. 

"Kevin?"

Running a hand over his face and allowing a sigh to escape, he answers, "yes. Yes, I do."

He focuses his attention on her feet. Silence reigns over the room as he contemplates whether he should bolt out of the door. 

"You idiot."

He forces himself not to wince, preparing for the rain of rejections that will splatter his body like arrows.

And then, Mae is punching his shoulder, "you idiot. You're so stupid." 

Surprised, his eyes flutter up to her face only to see her flustered, somewhat guilty expression. Realization dawns, chest releasing its tension. 

He grabs her wrist in mid-punch to halt her actions, unconsciously pulling her closer as he does so and there's no chance of hiding his joyous surprise when the said woman averts her eyes this time as though she is embarrassed.

"I like you too," comes her mumble, "why didn't you tell me?"

"How was I supposed to tell you? I was friendzoned before I even tried."

"I didn't friendzone you."

"You kept saying how you'd never date any of us because we were like brothers to you."

"Okay fine," she pauses, "I might have said that. But that's beside the point. The point is…"

She trails off unsurely then and Kevin's heart practically skips a beat at how close they are. A little closer and his lips can touch her cheek. 

"The point is that we're both idiots running circles around each other," Kevin says. 

"Excuse me, weren't you the one hiding underneath YOUR DESK?"

"I was panicking, that doesn't count."

They trail off into another bout of silence, albeit comfortable this time. Kevin allows his thumb to stroke the underside of her wrist, relishing in its softest and not failing to catch the hint of a smile Mae tries her hardest to tuck away behind a mask of nonchalance. 

Ring ring ring!

UGH, Kevin feels like groaning out loud as he whips his phone out of his coat pocket before slamming it to his ear with barely restrained annoyance. 

Of all times, why now?

"Yes?"

"Dr. Moon! Patient Seunghee who you sent for an MRI scan is having difficulty breathing! Her blood levels are dropping rapidly and she says she's having chest pains."

"I'll be there in five. Where are you?"

"Block four Pediatrics, doctor."

"I'm coming. Try to calm her down."

He snaps his phone shut as Mae allows her hand to return to her side, "emergency?"

"Yeah. She was admitted yesterday. Seemed fine though," he mumbles, brain already speeding through his thoughts at the numerous reasons why her body is reacting this way and unconsciously striding towards the door, when he swivels back round to face Mae. 

"We need to talk."

Mae waves her fingers at him, "go. We’ll do that later.” 

He doesn't need to be told twice before dashing out of his office and down the corridor.

-------------------

"Psst. Juyeon."

Juyeon glances back at the door to see it ajar, with Mae's head peeking out from the slit. He looks back at Doctor Sangyeon talking about the medical care for one of his patients and hands his clipboard over to the other intern before quickly slipping out of the office. 

"What is it?" He asks, taking note of her flustered expression and...is she blushing?

"I told Kevin." 

His eyes grow wide, "told Kevin...what?" 

"That I knew about him liking me," she pauses, "and that I like him."

"What? Wait--" Juyeon frowns in confusion, "is this why you pulled me out?!"

"Maybe."

"Mae!"

"What?!" She can't help but stomp her foot lightly and is glad that at this time of the day, there aren't many doctors around to see the frazzled state in which she's in, "Hyunjae's in surgery and I needed to talk to someone."

"Thanks for making me sound like the last option that you have."

"Juyeon, not the time for jealousy right now."

"But, okay wait--what did he say?"

"That...he thought I had friendzoned you all and that's why he never said anything."

"He does have a point."

"I did not--when did I friendzone you?!"

"Oh come on, Mae. You totally did, remember when we were--"

"Juyeon!" Sangyeon's voice booms out from his office and the said intern tenses up in panic. 

The door slides open to reveal the said doctor looking more than a little displeased. 

"Sorry Dr. Sangyeon," Mae quickly fibs, "it's my fault. I needed some data for the reports I'm writing up and Juyeon has them."

"Well make it quick. I need him."

"Yes, doctor."

Mae waits until the door slides fully closed before quickly ushering Juyeon away, "I'll see you later."

Juyeon pauses, hand on the doorknob, "dinner?"

"Sure."

"I want steak."

"Ask your girlfriend to buy you some."

He pouts, "you're so mean."

"See you, loser."

"See you."

"Love you."

"Keep that for Kevin." 

Juyeon wastes no time in shutting the door before Mae can come and kick his ass. 

-------------------

The moment Hyunjae steps out of the surgery room to peel off his mask and let out a relieved sigh -- a sign that the surgery has gone well without any complications -- his phone starts buzzing through his pants pocket. Fishing it out and seeing Juyeon’s name flash across the screen, he pulls his face into a grimace before accepting the call. 

He presses it to his ear, “I don’t have ramen. You gotta go buy some.” 

“That’s not why I called,” Juyeon retorts at the other end of the line. 

Hyunjae rolls his eyes. He moves towards his office, nodding at the few nurses along the way, “yeah? What do you need then?” 

“Are you done with surgery?” 

“I answered the phone didn’t I?” 

“Come to the cafeteria.” 

“But I’m tired,” Hyunjae whines.

“Trust me, you’ll want to hear this.”

When Hyunjae steps into the cafeteria a few minutes later, it doesn’t take him long to spot Juyeon sitting at one of the corner tables tucked away in a corner, digging into his food with barely contained gusto. Smiling at the sight that brings back memories of his own internship days, Hyunjae quickly grabs his own tray, fills it up with food and curry (beef stew, his favourite) and goes to join the katter at his table. 

“Hello stranger, haven’t seen you around here in awhile,” the older man says while taking his seat opposite Juyeon. 

“I’ve been needing to hand in reports back to back and I have a surgery at six tonight. I’ve literally got only this time to eat,” Juyeon replies.

“Oh? With who?” 

“Jacob. His interns are taken up with the Emergency Department so Sangyeon sent me over.” 

“Damn,” Hyunjae shoves a spoonful of food into his mouth, “so? What’s so important that you couldn’t tell me over the phone?” 

As soon as the words are out of his mouth, he catches sight of the grin blossoming over Juyeon’s face and lighting his features up like a Christmas tree. 

“What?” Hyunjae asks impatiently, “What is it? Tell me!” 

“Mae dropped by to see me this morning.” 

“Uhuh.” 

“And she said--” 

“Wait wait,” Hyunjae cuts him off, “she didn’t come to see me?! Wow, that’s just rude of her--”

“You had a surgery.” 

“Oh right. Go on.” 

“So she came to me and said--” Juyeon proceeds to lower his voice, “that she and Kevin had THE TALK.” 

Hyunjae blinks, “Huh?” and then, realizing the importance of Juyeon’s words, his eyes widen, “WHAT--”

Juyeon doesn’t hesitate to shut him up by shoving some curry into his mouth, “shush!” 

“Sorry,” Hyunjae mumbles with his mouth full. He swallows it quickly with some water, reaching over to slap Juyeon’s shoulder in the process, “tell me! What talk?! What do you mean?! Do you mean--” 

“Yeah,” Juyeon shoots him a pointed look, “yeah. THE TALK. You know what I mean.” 

“And?! What did he say?! Don’t tell me he denied it!” 

“Keep your voice down!” Juyeon glances around just in case there are any eavesdroppers, “anyway, yeah they talked. And they--well, I guess they came to an agreement that they both liked each other--” “About time.” 

“Yeah. Apparently he told her that he thought he was being friendzoned.” 

“Oh yeah, wouldn’t surprise me there. Mae has some amazing friendzoning skills,” Hyunjae’s shoulder lifts into a shrug at that, causing Juyeon’s eyebrows to stitch together, “what do you mean?” 

“Let’s just say I thought Mae was pretty cute--” 

Juyeon gawks before smacking his arm, “Why didn’t you tell me?!” 

“--Before she opened her mouth,” Hyunjae finishes with a roll of his eyes, “that girl has like a sniper inside her tongue. With the amount of shit she spouts on a daily basis, I’m surprised her tongue hasn’t fallen off yet.” 

“Oh. yeah. She’s kind of rough around the edges.” 

“Not that I mind that type of girl. But it’s just Mae. I can’t see her as anything more now,” Hyunjae says with a shudder, “also, I think my mom might have dissuaded me from even thinking about dating her.” 

“But your mom loves her.” 

“Exactly my point. I don’t want her getting any in on who I can date or not. It’s my life, I can do whatever I want.” 

“No wonder you’re still single.” 

“And you’re whipped.” 

“Mae came to me first though.” 

“Because I had a surgery!” 

“Yeah whatever, loser.” 

------

Tagging: @juyeonzz​ @thesingingfae1905​

Let me know if you want to be added to the tag list! 

[plainvanillapotato]

the 100 diaries S2 E13

quarantine diaries: june 4 2020

season 2 episode 13: “Resurrection”

those buildings in flames. that burning horse. definitely reminding me of game of thrones

yikes. but hey can you give me a hand?

remember how they have one healer? i bet they wished that they had more than one now. they better at least start an apprenticeship. oh look at abby stepping up. but still only 2 healers in a field of injured bodies. 

indra said put me down reaper. yes while were on the topic. remember how much of a struggle it was to detox lincoln in the first place...am i just supposed to assume that just quickly detoxed himself after seeing octavia??? seems kinda too convenient. woah they just double tapped indra. but she aint gonna die 

i kinda agree that these sky people are the bringers of death. i know we dont know what kind of life the grounders had pre sky people but this all takes people within a few months and i gotta same damn. when shit goes down shit goes down. 

that is deep hole. how did abby hear kane? especially with all the gunshots and other people screaming and yelling??

monty can do anything jasper. they brought back the hand shake!!!! 

there are so many baldies. i cant tell them apart from lincoln. i legit thought that he was the one that was shot.

that touching of foreheads. i know it was meant to be romantic but it really seemed forced. i honestly dont see the chemisty between octavia and lincoln.

woah jasper. woah monty. woah miller. these kids were ready to murder. red wedding who? 

honestly i didnt care about fox so im not that mad. but monty you didnt have to show jasper the video. that just assault to injury

american psycho who?

where is bellamy? its been too long since ive seen him

abby and kane... ship?

plot armor is strong with kane. no waaaaay abby. thank god i though that they super radiation blood was gonna also give them super strength. but at last not that lucky is she. 

shes said im not leaving you. i know that aint clarke. screw clarke.

BELLAMY my boy. too been too long but at least you made it. bellamy and fox....ship? this better not be a ship

he said ‘really? because im not getting that.” bellamy vibe checked mayas dad so hard. bellamy is the vibe checker of the show. he went:

i feel your anger. yes clarke send out those angry vibez

how did clarke recognize lincon in the darkness especially when there are so many bald guys? not to mention she didnt know about him returned from mount weather after delivering bellamy

ooo abby using physics but when that concrete fell back on the wound. i screamed. ooo and ofc the rubble falls on them because the writers said why the hell not. 

aaah what an ethical dilemma. “all you have to do is surrender” but surrender means death for the 47 so that means 47 for one life 

its morning already. that sniper be there all night. how much ammunition did he bring?? 

this is not the time to be drinking Octavia especially not from a random, unlabeled bottle you found on the ground. but plot armor is strong like smoke wasnt even fully covering her

ooo yikes monty. its ok monty i forgive you

karmas a bitch abby. but also how are you still alive? what was that? did someone say plot armor??

abby said it is my fault. clarke is my daughter she said. ooof. way to stay quiet abby. what a snitch. but snitches be getting stitches.

you know it kane. yeah this is learned behavior

‘like floating the man you love to save your people’-abby the same people who only a few months later released the same video that she had her husband floated for. abby you didnt save anyone. fuck you abby. 

i dont like to play god or anything but i gotta say it abby i dont really think that you deserve to survive. but good on you for questioning that 

monty said screw this. yes monty. 

of course its bellamy. but how? how did he get there? how did know the way there? like did he have mayas father whisper in his ear piece where to go??

aww i love the hugs between bellamy and jasper

jasper brought about FINN and his peace talks. yikesssss

but wait tho. this sniper is hella far from the village with forest of trees in his line of vision. who chose this vantage point because it sucks.

clarke really thought she was gonna out snipe a sniper with a pistol. 

lincoln again with the headbutt

the shot through lincolns shoulder to the guy. what a shot? but how clarke?!! like clarke only had one shooting lesson with bellamy. but i guess bellamy is a REALLY good teacher i guess. 

oooo that blood. but where did that blood come from honestly? where did the dead bodies go? am i just supposed to assume that these kids rubbed the body on the floor in that weird pattern?

how these mountain men not suspect of an inside man. like no one is suspicious of bellamy? hes too tall, too tan, too beautiful to fit in with these pasty ass vampires. but i guess the hat is just erases all that

you would think that these guys would be dead but plot armor is strong. let me be blunt. i dont care about abby or kane right now. like they dont have that many redeemable qualities but fine let abby’s healing skills save her once again

“we got two survivors” but dont yall remember when there was another girl screaming but abby was like no im not leaving you kane. basically abby let another person die. cuz i mean its not like she helped kane that much yet she stayed when she could have been helping another person. hmm

wow octavia and lincoln are the most consistent out of all the ships. octavia you surprise me. like i really thought you would have moved on by now. but why does it have to be them? they are my least favorite ship.

what a party popper abby. and with that stare between clarke and abby. i have never seen such a toxic mother daughter relationship ever in my life.

aww indra and lincoln. i love when friends reconnect.

this conversation between abby and clarke i cringed. the relationship is so strained it hurts to watch.

but abby, are you really the good guys tho? if it werent for monty and bellamy y’all could have fooled me. because you really be doing some questionable shit.

this music tho. they are trying to make it look heroic and epic but umm they're not. like maybe they were going for phoenix/rising from the ashes, vibez but they look pretty worn out and tired if you ask me

[uzumaki-rebellion]

“Wet Sugar” [Part 1 of 30]

Summary: Erik Stevens has fully embraced his new identity as Killmonger and infiltrated a mercenary group with ties to Ulysses Klaue. Invited to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands to meet for the first time, Klaue is impressed with Erik, unaware that the man before him is the son of Prince N'Jobu Udaku, a man he betrayed on a failed mission in Wakanda years ago.

Erik ingratiates himself to Klaue and is found to be a useful member of the new mercenary team the black market arms dealer and smuggler is putting together.

As a reward for hard and profitable work for him, Ulysses allows Erik to stay a summer at his stash/safe house to keep a close eye on some stolen artifacts hidden there. Erik uses that time to hatch the long term plan of using Klaue to gain access to Wakanda, however, he becomes distracted by  Klaue's housekeeper who allows Erik glimpses into a possible different life he could have if he ever let go of his plans for revenge...

For mature audiences only. NSFW. 

C.W.: Some violence in the beginning.

Please let me know what you think, share/reblog/etc. Off to get the next update up and ready!

"Bad man, nuh talk, West London me walk No bad vibes in mi yard, or yuh hear di ting back (boom) Gyally dem ah call, see the money and the car Celly ah ring off, rum-rum, haffi start, ya hear me? Mi buss ah Champ' and then they watch we, ya hear me? Mi have di liquor and di big tree, ya hear me? No commotion in my circle Potent herb and a sweet, sweet girl Take you 'round the world No-no-no bad vibes in my yard, hmm Inna my yard, inna my yard, inna my yard…"

Goldlink – "Yard"

What's past is prologue…

Ulysses Klaue had heard rumors of a large hoard of ancient gold coins worth €4 million hidden inside Assyrian-era giant winged bulls. The entire cache of five-foot statues themselves could not be transported nor disguised because of their weight and size, but some of the heads were removed and sold on the black market. Dating back 3,000 years, they were a hot commodity after the destruction of the Mosul Museum in Iraq. Klaue knew this because he had buyers salivating for a chance to procure the heads. And some of those heads had coins hidden in them. It was why he found himself standing now in front of a tall young Black man, American, with gold slugs on his two bottom canines, and a mop of neatly braided locs.

Klaue stared at the intel he had on his field computer.

"You're saying the statues we're looking for are gone already?" Klaue asked.

"ISIL already transported all that shit."

Wide-legged stance, protective ballistic body armor draped over an impressive build, his hands holding an AR-15 pointed right at Klaue's head, this man was in control of the situation. He had five other men from his team standing behind him backing him up with their weapons drawn too. Serious beefy looking men who would shoot if their leader even blinked. The red dot on Klaue's chest was a polite way of letting him know there were snipers on his ass too.

"Stand down," Klaue ordered his men behind him. A rough motley crew of six international soldiers of fortune.

"Alhusul ealaa al'ashya' alkhasat bihim," the Black man said.

Men that Klaue and his team didn't even know were behind them materialized like ghosts, snatching up their weapons and frisking them for more.

"Is this necessary?" Klaue asked as a thick-set mercenary felt on his balls and behind his back squeezing his ass.

"Gotta be thorough in this bitch."

Klaue smirked.

"May I ask who I have the pleasure of getting my nuts tweaked by?" Klaue said.

The man rolled his tongue along his bottom teeth, the gold slugs shining in the sunset. He nodded his head to his team to round Klaue's men up. Once the men were secured and a non-threat, the man lowered his weapon. His dark brown eyes were razor sharp and they regarded Klaue with calculated verve.

"Killmonger."

###

The oldest profession in the world was prostitution.

The second…killers for hire.

Of course, there were kinder more veiled names for mercenaries nowadays:

Soldiers of Fortune.

Private Military Contractors.

Professional Hired Fighters.

Dogs of War.

But Erik "Killmonger" Stevens knew what it was. Murder Incorporated—monetized madness.

The business of war was to keep a perpetual cycle of conflict all over the world so fat cats could make their coins under the guise of professional conflict management. If his mother were still alive, she would say what she always said around her women friends and his very own father…men were trash.

And she was right.

Unfortunately, she gave birth to a son who had to maneuver among the garbage so that he could fulfill his destiny. A destiny of revenge. A making right of what had been wrong for so long.

On the days that he did have downtime and could sit and do nothing at all, Erik would catch a news report or some ticker tape lede on the bottom of C-SPAN, CNN, MSNBC, or the BBC—just about any global news outlet—and catch glimpses of his final endgame. T'Chaka Udaku.

A king.

An elder statesmen.

A blood relative.

A lifelong enemy.

Erik's body would coil tight and hot when he let his mind imagine the day he would be in the presence of his Uncle. He foresaw the moment he would pull back the thick flesh of his bottom lip, the glowing blue vibram tattoo his father gave him as a child embedded deep in the skin of his inner mouth.

He ached to show the ring his father had left for him dangling around his neck, ached to taste and feed on the moment he would reveal all to King T'Chaka, unveil his birthright, and then snap the old man's neck with his bare hands, appreciating the feel of vertebrae cracking and twisting beneath his powerful calloused fingers. Or maybe he would fashion panther claws for himself and rip the man's heart out through his chest. Erik relished the thought. He would bring down—no…eradicate—he would eradicate the old House of Udaku, destroy T'Chaka's bloodline branch and take the throne of Wakanda for himself. A new sun would set on the golden city of Birnin Zana, the place of his father's birth.

Erik was his father's son, but he was also his mother's child, and Califia Stevens didn't raise no simpering punk. He was taught to be a soldier the moment he fell out of his mother's womb. The war he was going to rage was groomed by all of the things that happened in his life and all the things he was learning while biding his time in the ranks of private armies. Sitting back in the cut, gathering new skills and Intel, moving closer to finding the man he needed to get him into Wakanda: Ulysses Klaue. A man who sat at the top of his kill list for right now.

Erik sat crossed-legged overlooking a sand berm keeping watch for a particular caravan of armored S.U.V.s to traverse their path. The sun was making its way to a sluggish sunset, and his military-issue sunglasses protected his tired eyes. He hadn't slept in forty-eight hours and the job he was meant to complete was only halfway finished.

Earlier in the day, his crack team of fifteen men pulled off a bold daytime robbery of highly-sought after Assyrian gold coins. Disguised as U.N. peace-keepers dedicated to preserving artifacts, Erik was the only American on the removal team. He was tasked with masquerading as an art historian since the Canadians with them couldn't sound like authentic Londoners. The non-prescription glasses he wore and the crisp British accent he perfected allowed him to dupe a few Iraqi guards, especially with his fluency with Arabic and his thoughtful acknowledgment of Jumu'ah, the Friday prayers.

While Erik pretended to sit aside respectfully on an offered prayer rug in the midst of an isolated bunker holding the goods they sought, his phony U.N. gear a bit too tight, the guards thanked him for respecting their time in contemplation of Allah. The beneficent. The merciful. Moments later they were tied up and blind-folded left shackled together in the interior of the ravaged bunker that hid the last of the priceless winged bull statues that were hidden for their protection. Erik did let them finish their prayers though.

Time wasn't wasted, what needed to be found was found and bagged up, the heavy weight of the gold bending the backs of five men carting it out onto phony U.N. Jeeps. On the wings of hummingbirds as his great-grandmother used to say when it came to speed and efficiency. An expert strategist and obsessive pre-planner, Erik facilitated the logistics and implementation of the entire operation. They had to be gone before dusk as the heavy hitters from various political factions began to roam. The dry heat was fucking exhausting, made breathing laborious, and the lack of sleep was messing with Erik's focus. His men were ready to dip, but he had to wait, had to take the chance that the man he was scouting for would show.

"Killmonger."

Tahir, the one man Erik considered as close of a so-called friend with the work that he did, stood next to him, his AK-47 resting on his hip, his tan and black shemagh covering his neck and head. Erik glanced up, his own shemagh twisting around his neck tight. He loosened it.

"We should probably leave while it is still quiet."

"Nah. We got time." Gruff and brusque. That's how Erik kept it with the men.

Tahir placed his left hand on his hip and glanced behind him. He was always the one sent to question Erik. The rest were afraid of him, afraid of his quick temper. Afraid of the self-inflicted keloid scars that covered most of his upper body.

Erik looked past Tahir, could see the only other two Iraqis, Amit, and Wassef eyeing him from their sniper positions. He could feel the eyes of the others on him, the Greek, the Egyptian, the two Jordanians, the Russian and the three Canadians. The rest were hidden with their two Mi-17's a quarter of a mile away among the bullet-ridden wreckage of left behind helicopters from failed wars inflicted by the U.S. military.

"We have the gold. Let's go get paid and have some drinks. We can be in Lebanon in a few hours, I know some pretty girls, some nice clubs…"

"We'll wait. I need to see if this dude shows," Erik said, softening his tone with Tahir.

"You should eat something."

"Later," Erik whispered as he saw the approach of the caravan he was looking for.

###

A smart mercenary always checked out their target before any engagement. Someone on Klaue's team didn't do their homework and Erik had the man in his crosshairs. Klaue was shorter and ruddier than he thought the man would be. His reputation seemed larger than life, but the reality was a bit of a disappointment. Little dick energy all the way around. He was also slipping because Erik knew for a fact that some of his men tipped Erik's team off to the coins in the abandoned bunker. Getting past I.E.D's, insurgents, and American PMC checkpoints, Klaue's people looked pretty sorry in front of their main man being plucked by Erik.

"Listen, Killmonger. We'll just be on our way. No harm, no foul," Klaue said as he sat on the ground looking up at Erik.

No harm no foul. Yeah, right. Klaue would take any opening to put a bullet in Erik's head, and in the dome of whoever allowed this clusterfuck on his side.

"We just came for statues," Klaue said.

"With what? Three S.U.V.s? You can't even fit the head of one statue in those. Come again."

Klaue's eyes grew suspicious. Just as Erik expected.

"We have the coins," Erik said.

Klaue let his head drop down and he chuckled, his gold-rimmed teeth glinting. The snake had to come up with a plan fast.

The rat-a-tat-tat-tat sound of machine gun fire in the distance caught Erik's attention. Time was up. It was time to set the trap for this man. Erik knelt down.

Takka takka!

The gunfire was ticking closer.

"Just take the fucking coins and let us go."

An AR-15 near him and Klaue wasn't even flinching. The sweat on his forehead was just from the heat. Erik flipped his weapon behind him.

"I don't give a fuck about those coins. My boss does. But I'm here for something more valuable and it's not here." Erik kept his voice low enough so that only Klaue could hear him.

Klaue's eyes observed him with keen curiosity.

Erik dipped closer to Klaue's ear lobe, making his own men nervous. Erik's sour breath warmed Klaue's ear.

"I'm looking for vibranium," Erik said. He sat back on his haunches and tapped the man's prosthetic left arm that was bound tight. Erik wasn't taking any chances. He was well aware that the arm was a dangerous weapon. Klaue could easily wipe them out, but he was a pursuer of information, and more than illicit goods, useful intel was golden. This bitch was squirming on the hook. None of these motherfuckers around them knew what vibranium was.

"Who are you?" Klaue said, his voice sounding like it was in awe.

"The stash that was supposed to be here isn't. I don't know who got to it first, but it wasn't you or me—"

SSssss-BLAM!

The RPG came in fast and destroyed the first S.U.V. in Klaue's entourage.

Erik's men returned fire for cover as Tahir radioed for their choppers to extract them and the gold. Erik grabbed Klaue by his collar and hoisted him up to his feet. Tahir threw a yellow smoke grenade and stood in front of Erik and Klaue.

The hard whop-whop sounds of their Mi-17s surrounded them as Wassef and Amit slung their RPGs on their shoulders and returned rocket grenades to buy them time. The first chopper landed and their surly Canadian side gunner Wally G rolled the chopper door open and waved for them frantically.

"We got incoming from the north," Wally G yelled.

Erik's men quickly loaded their bounty of gold and split up to enter both choppers for the extraction.

"Move your asses!" Wally G screamed.

Erik yanked on the handcuffed and rope-bound Klaue and dragged him over to the first Mi-17 and threw him in.

"Let's go!" Erik yelled propping his AR-15 in position to help protect his side gunners on the chopper. His return fire bought Tahir more time to move.

Amit fired one last RPG to protect Klaue's men. Erik sent most over to the second chopper, and once Amit jumped aboard the first Mi-17, Erik waved his arm and their pilot Elias took off.

A sizeable enemy force swept into where they once stood. The chopper Erik was on was picking up fire from everywhere. Erik shot back from the open door and he could hear Elias bitching from the cockpit.

"Why the fuck did you have us wait?" Elias screeched.

"Just fly the fucking bird!" Erik shouted while still returning fire.

A stream of fuel ran down the inside of the chopper’s windscreen.

"Fuck!" Elias yelled, "One of my feed tanks is out!"

"Jesus Christ!" a man screamed.

Erik looked back into the rear of the chopper, two of Klaue's men had been hit, the screams of the wounded mixing in with the rapid-fire babble of Erik's men trying to figure out their next move. They were outnumbered by the men on the ground and the number of vehicles chasing after the limping Mi-17.

They were spilling volumes of fuel.

"Stop fucking shooting!" Erik cried out. All he needed was for one of their bullets to ricochet and spark the fuel vapors filling up the chopper. They could explode in mid-air.

"I gotta put her down, Killmonger!"

Erik moved to the cockpit and grabbed the radio.

"Banks! Banks! We gotta find a clear LZ. We've been hit!"

"Dammit, Killmonger!" Banks fired back with crackled intensity through the radio speaker.

Erik and the others felt the sudden drop and swoop of the chopper as Elias did his best to make a soft landing.

Night had fallen and Erik's men disembarked with Klaue's men. Through it all, Klaue was cool as a cucumber, watching Erik's every move. Tahir, eased over to Erik, his eyes watching the horizon as vehicle lights traced them in the distance.

"Too many of us, we all won't fit," Tahir grumbled.

"I'll make it work," Erik hissed, his eyes thwarted by the flash and hiss of an enemy RPG.

"Incoming!" Tahir screamed, and the grenade blew up a mere two hundred feet from them tossing dark sand into the air.

The second chopper pilot, Banks, landed and they loaded up. They were more than the number of bodies allowed based on the flight manual. Erik pulled Klaue up by his arms.

"Crunching numbers time. Who do you fuck with and who did you dirty?" Erik asked.

"Killmonger!" Banks yelled.

The enemy was getting closer.

Klaue glared at his men, his eyes going to the three that Erik already knew played him. Erik gave a cruel sneer and cut Klaue loose from the rope that bound his arms.

"See ya!" Erik said giving Tahir a head nod. The men were pushed out of the chopper.

"Klaue!" one of them screamed.

"Let's go!" Erik shouted to Banks.

The Mi-17 lifted up and Klaue's traitorous men flailed their arms begging to be taken.

Erik heard the sharp hiss and loud explosion of an RPG down below.

He already knew those men were in bloody pieces now. His eyes glanced over at Klaue who was stuffed between two of his henchmen. Erik's boys watched them like hawks, but Erik wasn't worried about them trying anything. Their lives had been saved. If Erik and his crew weren't there, they would've been killed by turncoats. Gold coins were probably the last things on their minds as the Mi-17 dipped and swooped amid rocket grenades.

The chopper headed toward a remote airstrip.

Erik stared at Tahir and grabbed at his stomach.

"Yo, I'm hungry as fuck."

###

The mid-morning American Airlines flight touched down at the Cyril E. King Airport with a soft bounce. Walking down the ramp and onto the tarmac, the wet heat engulfed Erik's face. He wore a light cream-collared linen long-sleeve shirt and loose jeans. He always kept his arms covered when he traveled, his keloid markings too much of a distraction in public. His two large bags were waiting for him at guest services. His flight from Miami had been delayed because of tropical storm weather, but for some strange reason, his luggage went out on an earlier flight.

He saw one of Klaue's men holding a handwritten sign with his name on it. Killmonger. Erik waved and carried his things to the tall Black man with the clean-shaven face and dark mocha skin.

"I'm Polk," the man said. Polk was dressed in comfortable basketball shorts, a plain white t-shirt and slip on sandals. Vacation gear.

They shared a handshake and Erik followed him out to a nice burgundy Mazda S.U.V. idling with another burly man in the driver's seat.

"That's Huntsman," Polk said helping Erik put his suitcases in the trunk.

Huntsman regarded Erik cooly, his pale white skin sunburned and overly pink in spots as Erik stepped into the back of the Mazda.

"Welcome to the team," Huntsman said and Erik picked up the Afrikaans accent in his voice.

"Thanks," Erik said.

"You hungry? We can grab something on the way to the house," Polk said as he stared back at Erik from the passenger seat.

"Nah, I'm good," Erik said.

Erik had to orient himself to the driving once he realized St. Thomas residents drove on the left side like the English.

"We have our own cook, so if you do get hungry later, she can whip something up for you," Polk said. Erik nodded, his eyes watching the crowd of cars jammed on the two-lane road leading away from the airport.

The scenery eventually swept past as they drove into Charlotte Amalie. Erik saw the port dock that housed the large cruise ships, floating cities on the way up into the hills.

"You ever been to the islands before?" Polk asked.

"Nah. Never found the time," Erik said still staring out of the window.

St. Thomas was not very big, only thirty-two square miles. In about twenty minutes the car was already crawling into an area of hills that elevated them. Erik noticed quite a few green and multi-colored iguanas lounging in the street and meandering on the sides of the road.

"Harmless," Polk said when he noticed Erik staring at them, "they are everywhere. Think of them as the squirrels of the island."

Erik nodded.

"We're here," Huntsman said.

The Mazda entered a guarded gate. Once it was opened and they drove through, Erik realized they were actually on a compound that had a grouping of houses. They parked in front of the main house. Polk helped Erik with his things.

"I'll walk him down to our area," Polk said.

Erik rolled his heaviest suitcase and trailed Polk as they made their way down a path blooming with colorful foliage and crawling with more iguanas. One large iguana blocked their path and Erik looked at the regal creature. It was blue and pink in the face with a mottled pink and brown body that had what looked like green plant-like growths on it. It hissed and Polk had them walk around it with a wide berth.

"Harmless, but a bit of an attitude sometimes," Polk said.

Erik chuckled and soon found himself entering a tastefully furnished house.

"You can have the room on the right. When we get full, we usually have to bunk with people, but this first week there are only eight of us here, so plenty of room and privacy.

Erik nodded.

"I'll let you get settled. Meet us at the front house around 1 p.m.? Klaue will want to see you for lunch."

Erik nodded and Polk left him alone.

The room assigned to Erik was nice and airy. He opened the window across from his bed to bring in the fresh island air. Unpacking slowly and methodically, he organized his space and was happy that he had his own bathroom.

He took a quick shower to wash away the flight and travel sweat from his body. He touched the two new keloid scars under the waterproof bandage that his cousin Marisol helped place on his lower back the month before. They were healing, slowly, the itch and scarring pain still present. Lately, he had been flying to Sao Paulo Brazil more often, and Marisol was not happy to perform the scarring ritual for him anymore, especially when his visits brought her pain because they were short-lived, often only for two or three days and then he was gone to the next assignment. She knew what the marks were for. She had one on her own side hip that he helped put there for her.

He allowed the water to run over his locs and then tilted his head back, letting the cool liquid drench his beard. He was tired and antsy at the same time. He had to be very careful in the lion's den.

"What are you doing down here?"

The melodious voice startled him, it was so close to the small frosted window he cracked open in the bathroom, and he turned to try and see who was speaking.

Erik was about to answer, but then he realized the person wasn't talking to him at all but to someone else outside.

"What I tell you 'bout coming down here? Don't look at me like that. You stay up above. Hear me now?"

The woman's island voice was sweet, lyrical almost, and had the fussy quality that reminded him of his great-grandmother when she was fussing with his mother. Whoever she was addressing didn't answer.

"Jerome! You hear me. Get yourself back up top. Now!"

Erik heard the stomping of feet.

"What are you doin' making all this noise?"

Another woman's voice joined the first.

"Jerome. His wife and alla his pickney up at the front house waiting on him. And he's down here being nosey. Get!"

"Gyal! Leave that thing alone. Him no listen to all that shrillness comin' from your mouth. Like he'll understand you—"

"They understand me. When I told him to move his ass from the driveway before that devil man ran him over, you seen how fast he move. Him know what I say. Right, Jerome?"

Erik dried off and tried to get dressed in fresh clothes fast when he heard a knock on the front door.

"Inside," the voice of the second woman greeted him kindly.

Erik pulled on a pair of black sweats and opened the front door.

An older woman with graying neat plaits stared at his chest. The scars startled her.

"Sorry," she said averting her eyes. Her hands carried clean beach towels and sunblock.

"It's cool," Erik said. His eyes swept past her looking for the person he heard moments before.

"I'm Miss Leona. I do the cooking and help take care of the property. I came down to ask if you had any food allergies."

"No, I can eat anything."

"Good," she said, her eyes focusing on his face. The graying hair didn't seem to match her youthful face and big bright white teeth.

"Just so you know, bathroom etiquette is simple. If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down. Use the bottled water for drinking, and all laundry can be done at the front house in the laundry room down below. There's a little apartment down there. Just drop the things you need to be cleaned in the laundry bag—"

"I can do my own laundry," Erik said.

Leona nodded and handed him the towels and sunblock.

"We have a pool at the middle house, and if you prefer sea water, there's a path by the pool that leads down to the private beach area. The water is very warm this season, and stays warm into the night."

Leona allowed her eyes to flit across his chest as she regarded his scars again.

"Is that…is that a condition? Do you need any creams or ointments? I can bring some—"

"I'm good. Thank you for asking."

"I don't mean to stare Mr. Killmonger. I have a nephew that has some tissue damage on his back, and it looks like that."

"No worries."

"I will leave you be then—"

"Who was the person you were talking to a minute ago? I heard someone else and she was talking to someone…Jerome?"

Leona laughed and pointed behind her.

"That was just Yani, my niece. She helps me out around here. She was just chatting with him."

Leona pointed and Erik saw the rainbow-colored iguana perched on a small tree in front of the house.

Erik smiled.

"I thought she was really talking to someone."

"Oh, she was. She and Jerome have a history together. She's known him since he was a baby. He doesn't listen to anyone but her."

"He's a big dude."

"Yes. But he won't bother you if you don't bother him. Get Yani if he does give you trouble."

"Will do. Thanks. How many houses are on the property?"

"Three. Mr. Klaue stays in the house down below. The two other houses are for his…men."

"Okay. Thanks Miss Leona."

"You're welcome. I will see you at lunch then? Mr. Klaue likes a late lunch, so I usually have things prepared by 1:30. Today will be a light sesame salad with salmon."

"Any local fish?"

"Sometimes. Mr. Klaue has me ship in things when he wants them. See you at lunch!"

Leona left him, and he was left standing in front of Jerome who watched him with wary eyes from his place in the tree.

"Don't make me call Yani on your ass," he said glaring at the iguana.

Erik finished dressing in a short-sleeved soccer shirt. He laced up a pair of New Balance sneakers and took a walk around the property.

He walked around the small pool that was only six feet deep and found the trail that led down to the beach. If Leona hadn't told him there was a path near the pool, he would never have found it. As it was, he felt secretive slipping down the hill and working his way to the sounds of open water.

"Whoa," he sighed when he finally found the entrance to a breathtaking sight. Clear water with soft sugary white sand and a beautiful view of an isolated smaller island further out in the sea. The sun beat down on him and he looked around to see if there was anyone else around. No one. It was quiet and hidden by part of a cove that had rock structures that curved away from where Erik stood. There were no other footprints or signs of any other human presence.

The water called to him.

Erik looked around again, then slipped off his shoes, pants, underwear and shirt. What a way to start his first day in paradise. He splashed into the water and it felt like he was crawling into the womb of life, the warmth cradling his tired limbs.

Paradise.

The place where he would plot against Klaue. Right in his own home.

###

Yani Galiber was always fussing with Jerome.

Ever since she rescued him from his first car accident as a baby when one of Klaue's drivers ran over his tail seven years previous. She had been fourteen and devastated, thinking her little friend would die. But then his tail grew back and she had been fussing with him ever since.

She was sent by her Aunt Leona to check the water cistern on Klaue's main house where he stayed. Sometimes an iguana would fall in and clog the waterway, and the man had been asking about water pressure. She made a point to check the roof gutters that helped collect water in case there was plant refuse or some other detritus stuck up there. When she ran into Jerome on the way back up, she noticed cuts on his skin. He must've been fighting the other male iguana that had moved into his territory. Unlike most of the iguanas around the property, Jerome was a drama queen and started trouble with other iguanas that weren't his children or mates, and sometimes he went after humans he didn't like.

After leaving her Aunt with Jerome, she headed back to the front house to grab a soda before her Aunt had her helping with lunch. She thought she may have time use her breast pump in private to fix her baby daughter Sydette's bottles for the evening when she had to go to work at her night job as a hostess at Havana Blue, a beach-front restaurant in the main part of Charlotte Amalie. Her cousin Monice would pick her up by 2:30 and drop her off at her Aunt Leona's apartment where she would spend time with Sydette before handing her over to her other cousin Twyla who would watch Sydette until Yani made it home to sleep. And depending on how busy Klaue kept her Aunt, Yani would travel back and forth to help work at the compound.

Yani cobbled together a life and set her sights on saving enough money to attend nursing school since her university plans of becoming a doctor had been derailed with the birth of her daughter. It was still a touchy subject with her parents who had allowed her to take a year off after she graduated high school to follow the crazy dream she had with her then-boyfriend Chez who was going to be the biggest rapper from St. Thomas after he was signed to a small record company in Miami.

Yani had sung background vocals for him around island clubs there and when they island hopped to Puerto Rico or Jamaica and as far as Trinidad. Chez was supposed to make it big and pay for Yani's education, but a year after graduating, Yani fell pregnant, she broke up with Chez, he lost the record contract due to a failed single not charting anywhere, and she was stuck living with her cousin and Aunt because she couldn't afford anywhere on her own and her parents didn't want the stigma in their home among her younger sisters. She was the tainted oldest child who had thrown her life away by having a baby with a SoundCloud level struggle rapper. For shame.

Her baby girl Sydette was a joy, but Yani found it difficult to nurse a baby and still try and nurse a medical career of some kind. A nurse was about as high as she could go now, and she set her sights on getting into the nursing college of her choice the following year. She just needed to get her money right to help take care of Sydette and tuition.

Klaue's compound was a way to make good money, especially when he had a lot of people there. Her Aunt Leona always made sure to pull her in to work for the under the table cash. Klaue paid well. The more men there, the more they made.

Yani and her Aunt were fully aware that Klaue was into some nefarious dealings. Even though he owned two jewelry stores, one in Charlotte Amalie, and one on St. John island, they were just legal fronts for some bad guy stuff. Leona didn't think they were drug dealers, but they did sell something illegal. Did something that required a private compound and sometimes armed guards when Klaue was gone. But as long as the money was good and they stayed out of the way when not needed, Yani had no problem working there. Her Aunt had been doing it for twelve years.

Yani took some time to slip into a bedroom in the front house with her breast pump. She filled three bottles and put them in a plastic bag inside the kitchen freezer to take home later for Sydette. Bottles made, she helped prepare lunch with her Aunt. All the houses were clean and prepped for Klaue's people, so Yani enjoyed the respite.

"What time are they eating, Auntie?"

"Mr. Klaue said around 1:30."

Yani washed her hands in the kitchen sink. She sneaked a nectarine from a bowl on the dining table.

"That's for the guests."

"They won't miss one piece of fruit."

"Where you goin'?"

"The beach—"

"Don't stay down there all day, Yani—"

"Just a quick dip. I promise."

"I'll need your help putting things out—"

"I'll be back. Quick, quick…" she said flouncing out of sight.

###

The path was a tiny sanctuary.

It felt like she was traveling into a secret garden.

Even though she grew up around water all her life, was nicknamed The Mermaid because of her love for it and knew practically every bay and cove on the island, there was something special about this small patch of land that led to this particular little private beach. Private only because the topography made it difficult for small boats to get to and tourists to walk without having to climb some terrain.

Klaue wasn't a swimmer, not all that much anyway, and his men never came down this way, so it was hers. Yaniland.

She ate the nectarine and began pulling her top off when she halted, fruit dangling between her teeth.

Someone was in her private paradise.

A man was swimming in her water.

She felt vexed until she walked closer.

He was floating naked on his back oblivious to her gawking at him full of irritation. He was spoiling her space. She pulled the fruit from her mouth.

"Hey! You out there! What are you doin' here?"

The man dunked under the crystal waters and when he came back up, he shook loose locs around the crown of his head.

Yani shielded her eyes.

"You talking to me?" he asked.

"You see anyone else here?"

"Why you so salty? You don't even know me, Ma!"

"Ma? You call me your mother? Do I look like your mother to you?"

"Relax Steve Irwin—"

"What you call me?"

"You the one talking to the iguana?"

"What iguana?"

"Earlier, up at the middle house…Jerome."

Yani scrunched up her face.

"How you know I talked to Jerome?"

"I was in the house. I'm the new guy."

"Killmonger?"

"Yeah."

"Who told you to come down here?"

"Your Aunt."

Yani sucked her teeth. It was loud enough for him to hear and he laughed at her.

"Is this your private beach?"

"No," she said folding her arms across her chest.

"Then I can swim here."

He moved in closer until the water was at his waist.

There were bumps all over his chest and waist, but none below…

Lookie.

His privates were distorted a bit from the sun's angle hitting the water, but she could see it closer. She felt her eyes fuse in her skull. She was staring at a naked man she didn't know.

"Were you planning on getting in? I can leave if you want some privacy."

"I was, but you can stay in…"

He looked down at himself then back at her.

"I'll leave—"

"Wait!"

Yani stepped back and her nectarine fell out of her hand.

"I don't want to make this weird for you. I'll leave first so you can swim or put your clothes on."

"Close your eyes. You walked all the way down here to enjoy yourself. I'll put on my stuff and let you have at it."

Yani closed her eyes and she heard the splash of water as the man left the sea.

"All good now," he said.

When she opened her eyes, he had his sweatpants on and held his shirt and shoes in his hands.

"Yani?" he asked.

"Yeah…"

She felt her voice die in her throat when she saw his bottom canines between his lips. She wasn't shy about staring at his scars. He was much taller than her.

Killmonger.

This was the man Klaue was bragging on the last two days. The man that Polk and Huntsman grumbled about at the dinner the previous night. It seemed Killmonger had favor with Klaue and those two brutes didn't like it so much. Yani had heard Huntsman call the man an ursurper. She expected to see some piggish white man with swine-like features and dragon fire spewing from his mouth. The only unsettling thing about him was the keloid scars. And only because they didn't look random at all nor accidental.

"You not hot wearing that on your head?" he asked.

Yani touched the top of her head. She still had her beanie on from earlier in the day. It had been cold that morning when she arrived. She wore a dark Naruto t-shirt and baggy orange sweats and just because he mentioned her head cover, she suddenly felt overheated wearing so much clothing on the beach. The heat was beating her down. She needed to be in the water. But she needed him to leave because she too liked to swim nude. But now that he knew about this place, she would probably have to change the times she came down. And she most definitely couldn't swim naked again while he was here. He was ruining everything.

She pulled her beanie off. Her scalp was grateful, her short buzz cut allowing the heat to toast the dyed blonde hair on her head.

"I'll go check on Jerome," he said.

Up close his voice had a playful raspy quality to it. His gold slugs peeked at her again when he smiled. He had dimples like her Sydette.

"Oh!" she said.

She wanted to grab her breasts when she felt her nipples leaking suddenly.

"What?" he asked, his face looking curious.

"I forgot something!"

She took off running back up to the front house clutching at her chest.

Leona was clearing space on the dining table for the lunch meal when Yani ran in.

"What's going on?"

"My titties are leaking."

"You're not wearing that special padded bra I bought for you? I got you four of those to help with that.

"I forgot," Yani called from the bathroom. She wiped down her nipples and stuffed tissue inside her bra to soak up anything else that decided to express itself from her tits. She couldn't wait for Sydette to be done with breastfeeding so her titty milk could dry up.

She walked out of the bathroom to find her Aunt talking to Killmonger and she felt her nipples acting up again. The tissue would have to work miracles.

Watching Killmonger converse she noticed how giddy her Aunt was acting with him. He was sweet with her, asking questions about the island, about her, what she did when she didn't work at the house. Before she knew it, lunch was ready and Killmonger was helping Leona bring the food to the table. Now he was taking over her job.

The other men arrived and Yani joined her Aunt in the kitchen to stay out of their way. Klaue sat at the head of the table with Killmonger by his side, and when she heard the new man speak again, she realized that her tits were reacting to his voice, her milk was leaking again. Only her baby could do that to her sometimes when she cried or needed something.

What the hell was this man doing to her?

She pressed her fingers against her nipples to push the tissue paper closer to her tips.

Who was he?

###

Smooth sun-kissed brown skin. Lips plump. Eyes big and bright. Eyebrows dark and thick.

Yani favored her Aunt and Erik found himself staring at her while he ate lunch with the men and Klaue.

One minute she was making him feel like he didn't belong in her space and the next he was watching her run away from him, her thick ass cheeks bouncing and making him think thoughts he had put aside. He hadn't been with a woman for about three months and quite frankly, hadn't missed the company because of all the work he had been doing. Once he hooked Klaue into his orbit, all Erik could think about was Wakanda and waiting for the perfect time to move on the East African nation.

She was young. This girl, Yani. Probably in her twenties. Mouthy. He liked that. Saw him naked and didn't give a fuck. Until he came closer to her. Then she became modest, probably for his sake and hers. A young woman like her around some treacherous men, she had to be careful.

He wasn't the only one peeping her in the kitchen at lunch. Huntsman was clocking her also. This bothered Erik. So openly wanton.

She was covered up looking like some skater punk he could see on any street corner back home, but she had some curves that strained against the sweatpants. Waist tight probably from swimming a lot. Full breasts. It was the blonde hair that made her dark eyebrows pop. Right now, those eyebrows were furrowed and she was looking right at him. Like she was still mad he had trespassed on her world. The girl who spoke affectionately to iguanas like they were human and yelled at him like he was a big lizard. Erik gave her a grin and she cut her eyes to look at her Aunt who was washing dishes.

By the time lunch was over, Yani was reaching into a refrigerator and grabbing a plastic bag and leaving the house for the day.

The rest of the day was a period of rest and acclimation.

Klaue didn't want to talk shop until the next day, and Erik was happy he could just wander the secure compound. He spotted security cameras everywhere. He learned that each house could be locked down from the inside and secured easily. Klaue called the estate "Our Lady's Manor", naming it after Leona who Klaue affectionately referred to as "My Lady" every chance he got. Leona didn't seem to mind, and she got on well with Klaue in that practiced way that Black people had when in the employ of white people. Klaue may have thought they were close, like family even by the way he fawned over her, but Leona was about her job and getting her work done as expeditiously as possible without getting in anyone's way. Friendly but distant. Smart woman. Klaue was not to be trusted. The presence of guns and ammo didn't faze her or Yani. Money was money.

Erik looked for Yani at dinner and she wasn't around for it. Gone for the rest of the night he assumed. He didn't want to ask Leona about her, afraid of making the older woman suspicious of him for asking about her young niece. He just wanted to let her know that he would be going to the beach early in the morning so that she could have her own personal beach time.

Erik slept well in his new room after smoking some decent herb that Polk gave him to tune out. When his alarm went off at five in the morning, he slipped into some light blue swim trunks and walked barefoot at dawn to the beach.

Body rested, mind clear and sharp, he felt like the wind had been punched out of him when he saw Yani in the water already.

Naked.

Water pearled down her cinnamon brown skin as if she wore diamonds in the early morning waves. Her hips flared out showcasing the beauty of her round posterior that flexed as she poured water over her head.

Once, when he was a child, Erik's mother had taken him to carnival in Sao Paulo and while standing next to his play cousin Marisol and holding his father's hand, Erik saw Yemanjá dancing on a float, the drums of Candomblé pounding in his ears, his little hips moving in time to the rhythm. He thought the woman on the float dressed in gauzy blue scarves was a real Goddess and his mother gently corrected him and explained that she was a representation. That first sensation, the tangible feeling of his heart bursting wide open to make room for the orixá of the sea had stayed with him for a long time. That woman long ago may have been a false divinity, and he could be forgiven for making the mistake with the eyes of a child. But he was a man now, and the being before him splashing in the warm sea was real and divine. Black deities were real. She was in front of him. Yemanjá. He had to be near her.

He shucked his trunks and took his time approaching her.

She dived under the water and he felt that his heart would break if she didn't come back up, wouldn't be surprised at all if she didn't return to the surface, but he needed to see her eyes, needed to make sure she was real.

He stopped short when a small wave crashed into his chest and he allowed himself to be swept with it.

Yani popped back to the surface wiping her hand over her face. She didn't jump or cry out when she saw him wading in the water, didn't try to shield her breasts or the neatly clipped bikini area of her sex, her vulva pouty and rounded, the split between her legs making his dick jump. She was a true ethereal vision and the reverence in his eyes must've stalled any thoughts she may have had of him being a weirdo coming for her.

"Killmonger," she said with no trepidation in her voice, "I see this is going to be a problem, no?"

"Erik," he whispered, trying to find his own voice, "my name is Erik."

[Part 1]

[Part 2]  [Part 3]  [Part 4]  [Part 5]  [Part 6]

Tag List:

@fonville-designs​ @soufcakmistress  @cherrystainedlipsbaby @tclaybon  @thadelightfulone @allhailqueennel @bartierbakarimobisson @cpwtwot @shookmcgookqueen @yoyolovesbucky @raysunshine78 @the-illllest @terrablaze514  @l-auteuse @amirra88 @jimizwidow @janelledarling

[thewanderingknight]

Aside the Outlaws, Ch. 3

Life with your newfound family among the Van der Linde Gang is pretty rough and tumble, but your modest skill of riding sidesaddle could benefit the gang while infiltrating a wealthy Lemoyne estate.

Chapter I | Chapter II | Chapter III | Chapter IV | Chapter V

The day of the con looms closer and closer. Your family helps you stay calm as you prepare to step over the threshold as a true outlaw. 

Arthur Morgan & Reader Warnings: too many kisses! Word Count: 2,497. A big boi.  Notes at the end!

A sticky slow morning kissed your eyes awake, warm sunlight making the tent canvas glow. Your chemise was damp with sweat. Arthur groaned next to you, “it’s too goddamn hot.” You hummed your agreement, voiced hardening as you stretched out, shoulders and hips popping.

Arthur guffawed, “what was that!”

You laughed and sat up, sprawling across his chest, head tilted up. “Oh, you know all too well, mister!” His chuckle rumbled your chest. “If I’m showin’ my age it only means I’m catchin’ up to you,” you muffled into his chin.

“Serves you right, fallin fer an old bastard,” he barked a laugh, and let it slide into a sigh.

“Hmm,” you considered him for a moment, dragging your nose over his cheekbone, “I fell alright. Handsome bastard swept me off my feet. Can you blame me?”

Arthur scoffed, peeked an eye open to gaze at you from under gauzy lashes, “For someone like you, he better’ve pulled out all the stops.”

Your smile widened at his jest; you cupped his cheek with your palm and continued your sleepy roving. “Oh, yes. He knew exactly what to do. Musta been his experience comin’ from old age,” you mused, making sure he saw you return an impish stare. He rolled his eyes closed again and groaned, tightening his arm looped over your waist.

“Only cos you deserve it, darlin’.”

“And so does he,” you whispered back, placing a deliberate peck straight on his lips. His brow furrowed, but he didn’t protest.

The growing warmth lent no rush to disturb the sheets that had been kicked off feet during the night. You continued your slow sweep across his face, peppering featherlight kisses. Nose, cheek, scar, forehead, brow, covered by your lips.

“You mind this at all?” You paused between gentle pecks. Arthur remained still, one hand resting on his stomach, the other limply hanging on your hip.

“Mm, no. ‘S’nice,” he mumbled.  A small smile lifted his lips; if he hadn’t responded, you might have assumed he was still asleep.

“Jus’ checkin’. Can’t help myself sometimes.” You shyly pressed your smile to the corner of his mouth. He opened both eyes to stare at you, and you tilted your head in return. He lifted his hand to bring your forehead to his, holding it for a moment before shifting his body.

“Alright, time to get dressed, sweetheart. I’m fixin’ to take you shootin’ today.”

“Why? I know how to shoot.”

“Will you just give yer old man some peace of mind an’ accompany him today?”

“Yes, sir,” you groaned as you rolled over him to climb out of the cot, whining into his neck. He gave your ass a playful slap. You squeaked and stumbled out of the cot. You reached back to grab hold of his hand, laughing, “let’s go, you handsome bastard. Up you get.”

After a cup or two of coffee, you sat with Dutch and Hosea, hunched over notes and maps of the Pilot Plantation, and your role in the repossession of bonds that belong to a one Amos Pilot.

You were to ride up on Godiva and enter the party, mingling and riding with the other guests. Trelawney was working on providing an invitation for you. Javier, Bill, John, and Sean would be slowly riding along the road that snaked just next to the property line, keeping an eye on the party. Arthur and Micah were to stay back in the treeline across the way, with a sniper rifle for a closer view, should any problems arise. When night fell, you were to sneak into the house, locate the bonds, and carry as much as you could, signaling to the boys to follow you in and help should you need it. You would be covered on all sides, and Mr. Pilot would be none the wiser, according to Hosea.

“There’s no need for you to carry a weapon,” Dutch had said, slowly reaching his arm around your shoulders and guiding you away from his tent, “If somethin’ should happen, and people see a lady of society with a gun in her hand, well, they’ll know she ain’t workin’ alone. It’s all to protect the camp. We don’t want more people lookin’ for us, even if they don’t know it’s us they’re lookin’ for. Understand?” He gently pushed you towards Arthur’s tent and started in the opposite direction before you could voice your concern.

You blinked down at Arthur, perched on the edge of the cot, oiling his revolver.

“You hear that?” your voice pinched, pointing with your thumb over your shoulder.

“I did,” he spoke camly, arranging his piece and sliding it into the holster. “‘Bout time we get some practice in. C’mon.”

“But, Arthur--”

“I know,” he turned on his heel, searched your eyes. “Let’s get on outta here for a bit. Okay?”

You sighed, hands on your hips. “I getchu, Arthur.”

“Atta girl,” he smiled, lifting your hat off the table and tossing it your way. You grab it and press it on your head, following Arthur to the horses.

Godiva and Arthur’s mare, Britomartis, were grazing on the other side of camp by the wagon. Godiva lifted her head at your approach, ears perked forward, and lazily stepped towards you and Arthur. Her silhouette almost looked unfamiliar in the late afternoon sun. The curved leaping pommel looked too bulky compared to your old McClelland, that was now horn-down at the foot of your cot. He reached out and gave her a sturdy pat on her neck, then handed you the reins. He went to fetch Brit as you tightened Godiva’s girth. Arthur led Brit over, then wordlessly knelt down to help lift you into the saddle.

“How’s it feelin’?” He asked as he walked around to tighten his own girth and swing into the saddle.

“Like I’ve been ridin’ like this all my life, if’n I’m being honest,” you replied, adjusting the reins. Your right leg no longer stiffened when bending Godiva through turns, and you were getting better at rollbacks. You idly wondered about riding like this after the heist was over as you smoothed your cotton skirt over your legs.

Arthur jerked his head and started for the trail. You weaved through Lemoyne with Arthur, letting the wind fill your ears as you rocked with Godiva’s swelling canter and stared at the fringes of the lake you could see from the road. Arthur’s whistle caught you, and you followed him off the trail and over a gentle knoll, stopping by a crop of young oak trees.

“What’s got you?” Arthur asked, walking around to Godiva’s side.

You stared back at the road, then turned to him, brow furrowed.

Why’s Dutch sayin’ I don’t have to carry a weapon? It’s not like they’d be checkin’ me for chissakes. This ain’t Saint Denis.”

Arthur sighed, resting a hand on your knee. “I’m sure he’s got his reasons…”

“Well I’d love fer him to share. Arthur, I told him I would carry one, when I volunteered for this. I don’t get it. I’ll still be safe, right? Don’t he care?”

“I do.”

“‘Course the Van Der Linde enforcer cares!” Arthur threw you a stare. “Oh, I know you do. But what about him? Them? How many times has Dutch said he’d walk into hell itself knowin’ you’re watchin’ over him? But it ain’t him at this party, Arthur. It doesn’t feel right. What if somethin’ happens? What if I can’t protect myself?”

“I always do my best to keep them safe. You know that.” Arthur lifted his arms to help you dismount Godiva. You lifted your right leg over the pommel and reached your hands down, pressing on his shoulders. He caught you round the waist and put you down. You lifted your hat and let it rest on the leaping pommel.

“Arthur-” you started, catching him in the eyes, arms still reaching held out for each other. “I hear how Dutch speaks to you, don’t think I don’t. I know how heavy it must feel, his guard dog affection for you,” he lowered his eyes. “I hope...I will try not to be a burden to protect. I won’t let you down.”

His eyes flicked back to you. “Darlin’,” he pulled you closer, weaving his fingers at the small of your back. The edge of his hat tapped your forehead. You lifted it off his head and held it behind his back, arms loosely hanging off his shoulders. “You will never be a burden, I can promise you that. I can’t see you lettin’ me down, neither. And Dutch, well, don’t you worry ‘bout him. Someone’s gotta look after these fools. But you? You’re my girl. I’ll always protect you.”

Your chest tigthened. You leaned closer. “Say that again?”

“My girl,” he rumbled, closing the spaces between your lips. His simple declaration had you yearning for more, pressing your face as close as you could. Arthur’s muffled chuckle had you pull away, looking down and breathing out a shy laugh.

“Let’s focus first, darlin,” he said, reaching into his saddle bag and presenting you with a sawed-off shotgun, stock-first. “Yer gonna practice with this. Can’t be too careful. An’ we’re not gonna tell Dutch about it. He don’t need to know.”

“He doesn’t?” You tilted the gun down, opening the barrel and checking the ammo.

“No.”

“He doesn’t need to know as in, he won’t know this is what I’ll be hidin’ under my skirt?”

“Yes.”

“Well okay, then.” you smiled at him, grasping the polished wood, feeling its weight in your hands.

*****

At dusk, the two of you made your way back to camp. Noise and motion stirred around the fire. Arthur offered to water and grain the horses, and led Godiva towards the lake. You gave her rump an affection pat as she walked away.

“She’s a real good mare, that one.”

You turned to see Kieran walking from the scout campfire. “Oh, thanks, Kieran. She’s definitely taken a shine to you. You’re good with her.”

He keened, “oh it ain’t nothin, miss. Here,” he handed you a small bottle. “I made this tincture for Godiva. Should keep her spirits up, day of the mission.”

“Thank you, Kieran! You didn’t have to do this, you do a lot for her as it is.” You walked towards the shore and settled on a large log, and he followed. Cain trotted over and settled next to you.

“As I say, it’s really not that much. I like bein’ with the horses.” He eyed you for a moment. “Say, Miss, where’d you learn to ride like that, anyway?”

You paused a moment, gave him a half-smile. “My pa. He raised cart horses when I was a little girl. Shires, Suffolks, you name it. Even carriage horses for the families in Saint Denis and up north. That’s how he met my mother, selling carriage horses to her family. They both taught me, really.” You paused. Cain sighed as Kieran sat up straighter. “Then, everything just... fell apart. I know it’s the same with most of these folk, but... you always feel yours. The barn caught fire and--” you wavered, “I weren’t too young to not understand. I remember it all. Remember all that was left when Godiva an’ me rode up and… we could smell…” You sniffed, steadying yourself. “My folks. All them horses. The damn dog and cats. Gone.” you gently thumbed Cain’s ear.

“My uncle took me in, but that didn’t last very long. He took to drinkin’, and one morning I walked into the barn and Godiva weren’t there. Said he sold her for a case of moonshine. I tracked her down, galloped her right outta that stable, fast as I could. Nearly trampled Hosea. That’s how I ended up here. Never looked back after that. Godiva’s more family to me that my own rotten uncle ever was...And all you asked me was how I learned to ride side saddle.” You breathed out a laugh and turned away, quickly swatting away threatening tears.

Kieran shifted a little in his seat, unsure, a smile falling on his face. “Does, does Arthur know?”

“Yeah, he does. All too well.” You sighed, not knowing how many times you’ve woken him up, startled awake by nightmares. “Anyway, you seem to have a gift with horses, Kieran. I admire that, like my Pa. It’s invaluable.

“Oh, it’s nothin’, Miss.”

“Stop sayin’ that. It ain’t.”

He paused for a moment. “You can tell a lot about a man in how he keeps his horse. A horse has gotta have a lotta trust in his rider, see? It’s all about trust, ‘bout taking care of one another. If you ride ‘em hard, that’s all he’s gonna think about every time you get on. But if you tend to him, he’ll push til he’s hobblin’ into the ground, just for you. It’s trust, and loyalty, and maybe a bit of faith, too.”

You laughed, “that sounds like Dutch.”

“I guess it all connects, ma’am,” he smiled. “Guess that’s why I put up with them all bullyin’ me. Callin’ me O’Driscoll. I just get this feelin’ that’s why Mister Arthur does it. They just need time to trust, like the horses do. At least, I hope.”

“I know that’s why Arthur does it,” you reassured him, “That man’s stubborn as a mule, but he means no harm.” “Really?”

“Oh, yeah. Trust me. Don’t tell him I told you, but he’ll always prefer to bark instead of bite,” you whispered.

“O’Driscoll!” Arthur’s voice boomed from the edge of camp. “You botherin’ my lady?”

“Speak of the devil!” You cried back, getting up from your spot on the log. “No, love, I was pesterin’ him,” you stopped in front of him and placed a hand on his chest. You spoke softly, “He’s taking care of Godiva, and she takes care of me. Be kind.” He rolled his eyes and sighed but squeezed your arm before you moved around him and back towards your tent.

You stood for a time, arms wrapped around yourself as you thought back on your past. But that’s all it was now. Just the past. You heard Arthur duck into the tent, and turned to him, wrapping your arms across his waist and pressing the side of your face into his warm chest. He pulled you in close, laying a heavy hand on your head.

“Hey,” he whispered. You lifted your head to his call. His eyes searched yours.

Of everything on your mind, the only thing you could speak clearly was, “It’s silly. I just like bein’ close to you, is all.” You smiled and pushed your face into his chest, lightly squeezing him in your arms before pulling away. “Okay. I’ll see to fetchin’ some dinner.”

“Darlin’--” He started, and you turned around halfway through the tent flap. “Don’t you be embarrassed by nothin’ with me, understand?”

Your eyes met his. “I do, Arthur.”

Notes: I tend to imagine a slightly *older* reader. Late 20s, but a bit younger than Arthur. 

This chapter is definitely an exercise in having a few pieces previously written, and then writing around them to make them fit, and I am too lazy/too in love with what I had already written to alter them, lol! 

Thank you for reading! 

[cruddyborderlandstheories]

That behind closed doors vid eh? I took the time to change the angle/darkness on them for my own viewing so by comparing them to the other videos, my screengrabs might seem a little different, but that’s just bc i changed the pitch and yaw settings and adjusted the brightness.

spoilers technically bc this wasn’t released to the public by gearbox, so venture forth at your own risk. nothing story-wise, as far as i’m aware, though.

alright it took me a while to get things settled as i had to keep adjusting the saturation and stuff for different scenes but i am here and i am ready to ANALYZE

as we pop into sanctuary-III we notice a new quest which I am like 40% sure is named “Going Rogue” which... is a pretty interesting name. “Being Reguo” is what I actually see but I don’t think that’s it.

we also have a couple of guns in the vending machine

+3- Weapon Charge Speed so we know Maliwan guns have charge time so I’m glad there are perks to reduce that.

a sniper sold by Amara

more reduced charge speed + melee damage

Jakobs Assault Rifle! Bonus crit damage (hoping ARs are actually viable this time around), weapon accuracy, melee. 

I can’t read it, but I am assuming this is the rare spawn notification

this seems like a hub for the rare enemy missions! that is so awesome

2 of the rare enemies we can fight i am assuming

some more. i actually thought the far left, 2nd over was zer0

“I know it sounds impossible, but you’re going to have to stop the Unstoppable”.

In-Game friend’s list

5 tabs, one of them looks like a key, maybe there are friend codes across consoles? Idk what the first tab is named, but they have 7 friends online. I believe the bottom one (Moze) is you and the top one is the person you’ll be joining? It shows what quest you’re on under your name. And for some reason there’s an icon of claptrap at the top, that very well may be the current player’s icon (as it’s also above Moze and it says gunner in the box). You can edit your status apparently, but idk what status means. there’s also a button for View Inventory.

viewing the inventory rn

edit group button below ur icon/profile

new area

the unstoppable man goliath himself

more of the new area

1 (one) fear: The Unstoppable

he can apparently throw shit at us like Bullymongs did

F in chat for Zane

You can also shoot them out of the air

“Don’t leave empty [handed?]”

zoomer is so fucking cute

he threw the tire thing and it flew behind him instead of forwards

lmao

also i 100% just noticed this but zoomer is red instead of the normal yellowish, might be bc of a perk or maybe zoomer conforms to zane’s skin as well? could’ve sworn he was wearing the basic bitch outfit tho

moze and ib

can’t tell if this is a skin or not lmao the quality is too terrible

the quest called Sanctuary

i think that is a new skin? it looks black instead of blue but again that may be the quality of the video

oooo that’s different!!!! QUEST TO CUSTOMIZE SANCTUARY FOR THE INHABITANTS PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE 

THIS IS ALSO DIFFERENT!!!!

vs the sanctuary-iii demo below

the behind the doors demo ^

the sanctuary-iii demo v

that’s a different list on the floor!!

the mail menu/tab!!!!!!

New legendary pangolin shield gives nova, storage, and health. does more weapon damage while shields are depleted

“I said bitttttttcccchhhhhh”

Also, those fucking names are brilliant. “Amara (as Amara), CalypsoKilla86 (as Zane), Fl4k (as Moze), MC Hammerlock (as unlisted), Moze (as Moze), SkagLord9000 (as Moze), Captain_Fuzz_Lipp (Offline - picture is Rhys), and Maya (Offline - I think the picture is Maya)

Maxxed-Out Sureshot++

“Thrown weapon MIRVs into 3 projectiles”

“Are you sure? Are you sure you want to send this item? Sent mail cannot be returned.”

EDGELORD ZANE FLYNT AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

GRANDPA NEVER GREW OUT OF HIS HOT TOPIC PHASE TGSHDTJYRUKJETHYRWTEQ

Moze heads! cool top hat skull

Moze skins

spooky scary. reminds me of Zer0′s pirate skin from captain scarlett

MOZE COLORS AND IT’S REAL WE GET TO PICK OUR COLOR SCHEMES THANK YOU OMG

GEARBOX ACTUALLY LET ME BE GAY IM YELLING

Moze emotes

it looks like there is a wheel for emotes!!!

so far we see finger guns and a little heart. we also know there’s a wave and we’ve seen amara do the chicken dance.

Amara, and some of her heads

birb

her hair holy shit that’s gorgeous

is that a crimson raider helmet? that’s badass as fuck goddamn

marcuS?

oh no Amara’s a furry now

drop from the rare enemy we see in the moze gameplay, maybe?

psycho cultist mask

warfstache?

Amara skins

spooky. guessing there will be a halloween skin event?

Fl4k!

i think this is their VIP reward head

Fl4k skins that change patterns

looks like a hawaiian shirt pattern on their jacket

camo

glow?

idk but it looks awesome

looks wintery to me, idk, maybe a floral print?

Zane heads

Soldier 76 reference i am guessing? I don’t play overwatch, im talking about the gay soldier guy with the visor lmao

space dandy fucked dirk im-

there are also gun charms

amara’s arm

buttstallion’s tail iirc

claptrap charm!

... eye of the destroyer? i think? needs more teeth

i have no idea lmao

fl4k’s doggy bowl!

helios hmmm

jack’s mask D:

moxxi’s hat

psycho mask

RHYS’S MOUSTACHE LMFAO

?????

tina’s bunny

a toaster? finally i can go swimming with my guns-

gearbox logo

weapon skins:

more eden 6:

is that is that an atlas building i see? or maybe thats SUPAMAX MFG!! they said we’d find a lot of crashed ships on Eden-6 (hey shoutout to my one post that said that the ship with bugs in it was gonna be the B-Team’s crashed ship that stranded them there, I WAS SO CLOSE)

may be supamax mfg

TINA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

looks they they’ve been living in the abandoned center (Jakobs? is it actually?)

Jakobs manor in the background

“Issarians” “Sarians” I dunno but they’re lil dinosaur thingies

more jakobs manor

i like the mix of old-timey shit and holograms/neon lights

this place is fucking huge omg

there’s like a library and everything holy shit

and it all goes to shit when the CoV get in there and hang people with TVs for heads (3rd trailer)

looks like its a basement or smth

volcano?  volcano? volcano? volcano?

(also from the third trailer ^) ARE WE GONNA BLOW UP THE VOLCANO? FUCK YEAH

Jabbers! cat monkey things. they are smart and can use guns

dome - reminds me of the atlas biodome of which cassius is from

(from TFTBL ^)

but it's just empty :|

some of the abandoned ships!

definitely thinking that abandoned factory like area we see (Tina Brick and Mordy in) is SUPAMAX MFG. these ships are SUPER similar to Sanctuary-III

THAT’S SO COOL??? this is straight outta skyrim holy shit. that giant skeleton on the tree holy fuck

looks like some sort of factory area? pump/mining maybe?

omfg lmao

this looks awful lmao but they said there is a gas giant in the sky so i gotta believe them

moze standing in what looks like the main menu

“[Iron Bear] is a little bit scuffed up - she’s seen some action”

they go on to talk about stuff we’ve already seen: about Moze’s action skills (hardpoints) and her skill trees

a better look at Amara’s phasegrasp

The quest is

“Bandit Jabber Hunter Spy”

Zane and Amara running ahead

You can target your missiles to one or multiple enemies at once. that’s fuckin awesome

more of Amara’s phasegrasp

Zane’s clone in action

“Lair of the Harpy”

And that’s it so far. That’s all we got. but holy shit was it a wild ride. I’m soooooo happy we get to pick our own colors for our skin designs. Seriously. So fucking happy. 

[babybluebanshee]

Heavy Rains - Chapter 3 (TF2)

Being stranded at Teufort during a raging storm with a gaggle of homicidal mercenaries isn't Miss Pauling's idea of a relaxing vacation. The group tries to make the best of it, but when a mysterious illness starts making its way through the barracks, it's a race against time to find a cure before it's too late. And that's not even bringing the emotional baggage into things.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Sniper was bouncing his leg again. Even if Engineer hadn’t been able to see it, it was making the crate underneath him tremble slightly. The beer in the bottle next to Sniper’s foot rippled.

“You keep that up and that bottle’s gonna tip over,” Engineer said, trying to keep a smile in his voice. “Then you’re gonna have to explain to Demo why a perfectly good bottle of beer went to waste.”

“Sorry,” Sniper muttered. His bush hat dipped lower, covering his eyes. Engineer could have sworn he saw the other man flush just a little.

If he didn’t already know what was making Sniper so awkward, this would almost have been endearing.

They’d managed to play a few rounds of poker after getting Scout situated in the infirmary, but the atmosphere had been tense after Engineer had explained to Heavy, Demo, and Pyro what was going on. The game had been uncomfortably quiet, and they’d all played rather abysmally. Even Pyro, who usually bobbed around the table, sneaking peeks at everyone’s cards and humming nonsense songs to himself, had sat glumly at Engineer’s feet, clicking his lighter.

After a few hours, Heavy and Demo had folded, going back into the bowels of the barracks to distract themselves in other ways. Pyro disappeared into his quarters to do heaven knew what.

Engineer had managed to convince Sniper to stick around and play some rummy, though, truthfully, the other man had needed little in the way of actual convincing. And really, Engineer hadn’t felt like it’d be a good idea to leave the marksman on his own right now. Sniper moved like a zombie, and his already sparse conversational skills were practically nonexistent. They’d moved the game into the loading bay, so they could slide up the door and listen to the rain, sluicing off the overhang. Engineer hoped that maybe that would calm Sniper down a bit, but so far, it hadn’t helped much.

“You know Medic will let us know if anything changes,” Engineer offered.

“I know,” Sniper muttered again. He kept his gaze fixed firmly on his cards. “I just…”

A beat of silence, filled only by the rain.

“Just what?”

“...I shoulda checked on him sooner. Maybe he wouldn’t have gotten so bad if I’d tried to look in on him earlier.”

“Snipes, beating yourself up over this ain’t gonna help anything.”

“I know,” Sniper repeated. He finally raised his eyes to meet Engineer’s. They looked weary.

“Look, Snipes, I know you’re close to the kid, but he ain’t dying,” Engineer said. “Just take it easy. Medic figured out how to heal fatal injuries with the flip of a switch. The kid’s in good…” Engineer trailed off and rethought his words for a moment. “He’s in capable hands.” There. That was much better.

To his relief, that actually seemed to get a smile out of Sniper. “I don’t mean to be such a sad-sack,” he began.

Engineer cut him off. “You don’t gotta apologize to me. We all know the two of you are close. He’s practically your kid brother. Stands to reason you’d be concerned about him when he’s sick. Your draw, by the way.”

Sniper drew his card, arranging it among his hand. “Scout certainly seems to think of me that way,” he said. He laid down a set of three queens. “Doesn’t surprise me though, from what I gather about his brothers.”

“What about ‘em? I never heard him mention his brothers much,” Engineer said. He drew a seven of hearts. He added it to the seven set on already out, then tossed out a king of spades.

“That’s just the thing. He hardly ever talks about them, even if ya ask,” Sniper replied. He took the king off the discard pile, threw out a black two. “He’ll go on for hours about his mum, but mention his brothers to him and he gives ya a look like ya just spit on his shoes. Wants to be done talking about them as soon as he can.”

“That’s familial strain if I ever heard of it,” Engineer replied, taking the two to complete his run. “Not that I’m the expert. Ma and Pop never saw a reason to have anymore after me.”

“Consider yourself lucky,” Sniper replied. “I know what it’s like to have a shitty older brother.”

“You got a brother?” Engineer asked. He barely knew anything about Sniper’s family situation. Ironically, Sniper seemed to be just as tight-lipped about it as Scout was about his brothers. Only reason he knew the other man’s mother was alive was because she occasionally sent him stuff in the mail.

“Yep,” Sniper said simply. He took a sip of his beer, then drew. “Younger sister too. Both arseholes in their own way, but me brother was worse. Alice was usually content to ignore me, think I was embarrassing. Robby tended to be a bit more involved. Most of the kids who beat the snot out of me when I was young were his friends. Never laid a finger on me himself - he knew Mum and Dad would find out and he’d never hear the end of it - but he never even tried to stop his fuckwit friends.”

Sniper rearranged his hand a bit, then threw out a red ten. His face was totally neutral. He may as well have just described the weather.

“Damn, Snipes,” Engineer said. “That sounds rough.”

Sniper waved him off. “Nothing to be done about it now,” he said. “‘Sides, if it weren’t for him, I would never have taken to hiding in trees and chucking rocks at the tossers. In a way, he’s why me aim is so good. Now, Robby mostly sticks to stupid little barbs about work and family and such. Wants to make me feel like a failure. Make me think Mum and Dad think I’m a failure.” Sniper smiled as he took another drink of his beer. “Joke’s on him though. I ever get tired of his nonsense, I can just put one right in his bulbous forehead.”

Engineer couldn’t help but laugh. As a kid, he’d often wondered what it would be like to have siblings, someone to play and explore and tinker with. In his more lonely hours, he’d imagined it was like having a sidekick, a constant companion. Hearing this made him realize he’d probably dodged a bullet.

“I just joke, a’course,” Sniper added. “Mum made me promise I would try to stay civil with Robby as long as she was still alive. She didn’t say it had to be in the same continent though.” Sniper smirked.

Engineer chuckled again, and said, “Well, for what it’s worth, you’re a much better brother to Scout than your brother and his brothers both combined. Doubt he’d ever want to throw rocks at you, anyway.”

“It’d certainly help his aim.” Sniper grumbled, though the smile was still clear in his voice.

As the two men shared another hearty chuckle, they heard the door to the dining hall open. The smells of butter and garlic wafted towards them. It made Engineer’s mouth water, and he realized just how hungry he was. He shouldn’t have been all that surprised. No food since breakfast and a belly full of beer wasn’t exactly enough to sustain a man.

Heavy poked his head around the corner. “I make dinner,” he said as cheerily as his rumbling bass would allow.

Heavy didn’t cook for them often, but when he did, it seemed to brighten the big guy’s mood immensely. Probably brought him closer to home. The big guy also made a point not to bring his family into his work environment. But it was easy to see how the big guy positively lit up when the mercs discussed their homes, their childhoods, and especially their mothers.

“Who wins?” Heavy asked, motioning to the cards still strew out on the crates.

“Nobody, yet,” Engineer said. He stood up and stretched a bit, setting his cards where he’d been sitting. He grabbed up his beer. “But I gotta get some grub in me before I can play anymore.”

“Same, mate,” Sniper said. “I’m starving. Can’t beat your ass running on empty.”

“Last I checked, you got more cards in your hand than me. And I got more points.”

“Tides turn when you least expect ‘em, mate.”

“Pretty sure that ain’t how tides work…”

They followed behind Heavy down the hall. Mixed with the buttery garlic smell was the smell of boiled potatoes and warm bread. Engineer’s stomach gave a soft gurgle.

He saw Heavy smile appreciatively. “You fetch Spy and Miss Pauling, then we eat. I take Doktor dinner and you finish game. Then you deal Heavy back in for poker, da?”

They entered the dining hall. Pyro was already sat at the table, squirming excitedly at his place. For whatever reason, Pyro absolutely loved mealtimes. He seemed to enjoy just being around the mercs, all together, in each other’s company. Maybe he thought of them as his family. If Engineer knew hardly anything about Sniper or Heavy’s families, it was safe to say he knew bupkis about Pyro’s. He ventured to guess not even the Mann Co. administration had a hell of a lot on him.

When Pyro saw Engineer, he waved enthusiastically.

Hmm. Family. That seemed to be coming up a lot this evening.

Engineer waved back, then said to Heavy, “Hopefully, we all play a little better on full stomachs.”

“I worry for others. When I worry, I cannot concentrate,” Heavy said, pulling plates and utensils out. “Cooking a good distraction. Makes me feel better, takes thoughts away from worries.”

“Well, you ain’t gotta worry too much about Scout and Soldier,” Engineer said. “They’ll be fine once Medic figures out what’s wrong.”

“Not just Scout and Soldier,” Heavy replied. “Also for Spy. Has been in smoking room all day.”

“Ain’t like that’s anything new,” Sniper grumbled. “Disappearing is about all that spook’s good for, once his job is done.”

“He prefers privacy, same as you,” Heavy said simply.

Sniper didn’t respond outside of a snort of derision, but Engineer saw him lowering his hat back over his eyes a bit. He knew that Sniper held very little love for spies of any kind. Came with the territory when your job was to sit still, off by yourself. You were basically a sitting duck.

Most of Sniper’s vitriol was aimed at the BLU spy, but Engineer wouldn’t exactly call Sniper’s relationship with their own spy that much friendlier. He didn’t rightly recall a conversation between the two men that lasted more than a few sentences. And those few sentences ranged from cooly professional to biting, depending how either man felt at any given time.

Honestly, Engineer would rather keep it to the former end of the spectrum this evening. The day had been stressful enough.

“I think I can wrangle up Spy and Miss Pauling myself,” Engineer said quickly, heading towards the barracks. “Go ahead and make me a plate,” he called over his shoulder before he got too far away. He’d do a lot to preserve the peace, but not miss out on meals when he was hungry.

As he walked in the direction of Spy’s smoking room, Engineer let his thoughts drift to what Heavy had said about Sniper and Spy. He prefers privacy, same as you.

Engineer was sure if he ever told Spy such a thing, he’d be laughed at. But now that he thought about it, he could see where Heavy was coming from. Spy wasn’t exactly what anyone would call a social creature. He tended to keep himself closed off. Next to Pyro, he was the merc with the most mysterious past, the one no one knew anything about. Not even his accent was any help to pinpoint where he was from, what with the mix of Spanish, Italian, and Romanian thrown in along with the French.

Spy seemed to prefer things that way. He offered up nothing more than what was enough for him to skate by, under people’s radar. That was the very basis of his career, after all.

That being said, Spy was still flesh and blood. He was charming and could carry on a conversation, sure, but Engineer had always had a feeling it was difficult for him to maintain that charm constantly. There was this look he got when it was clear that he wanted to be away from someone, away from people, and it didn’t even seem to be a look of annoyance or aggravation. It was more...tiredness. Like a dispenser that was running on low, Spy needed a break, to recharge himself.

As such, Spy spent a good deal of time by himself. No one had any idea what he did during all that time, and no one really asked. Engineer didn’t think Spy would tell them even if they did.

Sniper tended to do the same. He would go out into the woods whenever they were at one of the mountain bases, and just stay out there for hours. He’d come back at dark like that was nothing unusual. To top that off, he spent most nights in his camper van, parked out back. Even Spy actually slept in the barracks.

He prefers privacy, same as you.

He thought about Sniper’s brother, whose childhood cruelty had driven a young Sniper into the trees to chuck rocks at him. It was easy to see where Sniper’s desire for privacy had come from.

And that just got him thinking about family again. So many of them had some kind of thing with their families. Sniper’s contemptuous siblings. The contention between Scout and his brothers, whatever it was. Heavy’s secrecy. Pyro and Spy and the complete lack of anything about them.

Soldier was in the same boat. No one could get a coherent story about his life before Mann Co., unless they asked him about Poland. And sometimes even if they didn’t.

Then there was Demo’s own tumultuous childhood that Engineer still couldn’t rightly figure out. Something to do with the Loch Ness Monster and an ancient Highland tradition.

It made the loneliness of his own childhood seem downright idyllic by comparison. Distant dads and few friends kind of paled in comparison to the lives his colleagues had.

Huh. Maybe in a way, they were more like family to each other than Engineer had realized. It was definitely the better alternative for some of them.

As he came upon Spy’s smoking room, he heard muted voices from within. One of them sounded feminine. Unless Spy had another girl hidden away somewhere, he guessed that was Miss Pauling. Saved him the trouble of having to find her.

He knocked gently, and it actually took a moment for the door to open. In the meantime, he heard stumbling steps, someone hitting something solid, and a French swear. Miss Pauling laughed a little, and Engineer heard her ask Spy if he was okay. Spy’s answer was slurred French. Enigneer heard a few more swears thrown in for good measure.

After a few more moments, Spy opened the door. He was pretending very hard that the scene within had not just happened, and Engineer had not just heard it. To anyone who didn’t know better, he seemed exactly the same put-together, slightly bored looking Spy as usual. He stood erect, his face impassive, an unlit cigarette between his fingers.

Too bad you could practically smell the booze on him.

“Did you want something, laborer?” Spy asked. He was making a conscious effort not to slur, each word punctuated carefully. He attempted to take a puff of his cigarette, only to realize that he hadn’t lit it yet. A frantic hand shot into Spy’s waistcoat and began fishing around. He nearly dropped his lighter when he pulled it out and flicked open the lid. The entire time, the bored expression on his face stayed firmly in place. Engineer’s gut hurt from trying not to burst into hysterical laughter.

“Just wanted to let y’all know that Heavy’s got dinner ready,” Engineer replied. It was getting harder and harder not to laugh. “‘Less of course you two’d rather stay and continue...whatever you got going on in there.”

“Oh, food!” Engineer heard Miss Pauling exclaim from inside. She, unlike Spy, made absolutely no attempt to hide how clearly inebriated she was. She wobbled to the door, holding a very expensive looking bottle in her hand. She eventually got close enough to Spy to lean on his arm heavily. Spy’s mouth twitched in a smile.

“I’m suuuuper starving,” she said, tugging the sleeve of Spy’s suit jacket, looking up at him like a child begging their parents to take them into a toy store. “Let’s go. I-I don’t even care what it is. Sniper could literally be cooking possum right now and I would not care. I jus’ need food.” She seemed to realize she was still holding on to the bottle of whatever they’d been drinking. “Oh! Can we bring the bottle? I’m bringing the bottle.” She shook it a bit.

“Weren’t you the one that said neither of us needed to drink anymore?” Spy asked, slowly slipping the bottle from Miss Pauling’s fingers. He began walking towards the dining hall, with Miss Pauling still clinging to his arm like she was his prom date. He looked as close to busting a gut as Engineer felt.

“That was past-Miss Pauling. Now-Miss Pauling wants to bring the bottle.” She made a grab for it.

“No, no, no, no more cognac for you, mon cher,” Spy said, holding the bottle just out of her reach. Engineer stepped out of the way just in time to not be beaned in the face with it.

“Merde, apologies,” Spy said, once he realized what he’d almost done. He shoved the bottle into Engineer’s arms. “Keep this from her, at all costs. Drink some of it if you like, but do not let her have another drop.”

“Joke’s on you, Frenchie,” Miss Pauling said. “If I want more, I can just exercise some of my feminine wiles and Engineer will totally just give me that bottle.”

“Really?” Spy said. “And what exactly do you have in the repertoire of feminine wiles?”

Miss Pauling opened her mouth to reply, but a look of absolute puzzlement swept across her face. For roughly thirty seconds, she walked with her mouth open, looking like she was trying for the life of her to come up with something resembling feminine wiles.

Finally, she said, “I dunno, something involving belly dancing? I mean, I don’t know how to belly dance, but it doesn’t look that hard.”

Dear lord, Engineer wished he had a camera.

-------------

Heavy didn’t like to brag, but that was probably the best chicken kiev he’d ever made. Mama would have been very proud, especially if she’d seen the way the team sopped up the sauce with the bread he’d heated in the oven.

If cooking had not made Heavy feel at ease, the friendly, comfortable atmosphere at dinner certainly would have done it. It was a welcome change of pace from the stressful afternoon, even if Heavy had to attribute it to the team’s alcohol consumption for the day (except Pyro, who was just happy to be there). Demo was obvious, and Engineer and Sniper had gone through quite a few bottles of beer during their rummy game, downing more with their dinners. Not to mention both took nips from the bottle Spy and Miss Pauling had brought with them from Spy’s smoking room.

It had been immediately obvious what they’d been up to all day, from the way they swayed as they walked into the dining hall, chuckling between themselves. Engineer looked positively tickled at the display.

Miss Pauling was far less ladylike than she had been at breakfast, wolfing down her food like a woman starved. Spy opened himself up a great deal, facing everyone, with a lazy smile on his lips, something Heavy doubted he would have done had all his faculties been about him. It wasn’t exactly the way he would have liked Spy to be dealing with things, but Heavy did not feel it was his place to judge. After all, drinking several liters of vodka was practically a winter sport back home. He would simply have to indulge a bit himself to join the fun. He did have a bottle of Abrau-Durso he’d been saving, that momma had sent him for his birthday, and he’d been craving a nice bellini.

But that could wait until Medic had been fed. Heavy opened the door to the infirmary with one hand, balancing a plate covered in tin foil in the other. He knew there was no sense in knocking. Medic wouldn’t be paying attention enough to notice.

The doctor was, indeed, hunched over his desk, completely enveloped in a thick medical textbook. The rest of his desk was covered in papers. He didn’t seem to have heard the door open or his doves cooing softly at the new person in the infirmary.

Off to the side, Heavy saw Scout and Soldier, still sleeping somewhat peacefully. He tried not to look at them for too long. The two most boisterous and energetic members of his team lying silent and still was just wrong to him. He focused on the task at hand.

He approached Medic’s desk, Medic’s muttering getting more audible. Heavy managed to pick out the words “food poisoning”, “vitamin B”, and “appendectomy”.

He gently said, “Doktor?”

Medic almost jumped directly out of his chair, clutching the arms so tightly his knuckles went white. He looked up and Heavy saw his glasses had gone askew. The were practically sliding off his nose, and it forced Medic to squint up at him.

“My apologies, Doktor,” Heavy said. “I brought you something to eat.”

Medic adjusted his glasses, and gulped a bit. “It’s quite alright, my friend. I...was a bit absorbed. I didn’t even realize it was that late.” He shoved a few papers out of the way, and found his watch. He grimaced a bit when he read the face, and quickly returned it to his pocket.

“What have you learned?” Heavy asked. He set the plate down, removing the foil and pulling out the knife and fork he’d brought in his pocket.

“Not much,” Medic responded. Heavy heard him sniff a bit as the steam from the food drifted closer to him. The tension seemed to drip out of the doctor’s shoulders. Heavy felt a swell of pride in his chest.

Medic began cutting into the chicken and continued, “Every time I think I’ve found the answer, another problem arises.”

“What sorts of problems?” Heavy pulled over a wheeled stool and sat down. He knew Medic wanted everyone to stay away from the infirmary, for quarantine, but he felt that Medic needed a sounding board. Besides, he was a strong man, with the immune system of a brick wall. No silly virus was going to hurt him.

“Soldier’s fever increased, and I had to give Scout a mild sedative. His fever was keeping him from being able to rest,” Medic said before stuffing a huge bite of chicken into his mouth. He moved some papers aside, brought more towards him, not seeming to care that the butter sauce from his fork was dripping on them. “Whatever Scout has, Soldier definitely has it too. He’s obviously not responding to an aspirin regimen either. I’m going to see what antibiotics will do. If this is a particularly violent strain of the flu, that should help. If not...I suppose I’ll try something else.”

“Medigun will not help?”

“I thought about that,” Medic replied. “But that would really only alleviate the symptoms for a short time. It was meant for more tangible injuries - broken bones, bleeding, and the sort. Bacteria and viruses are beyond its reach. Too small, you know. Unless it was purged from the body completely, the symptoms would just return.” He absent-mindedly speared a few potatoes and put them in his mouth, then set his fork aside to return to his textbook.

Heavy sighed quietly. He knew this sort of thing was bound to happen. If Medic wasn’t reminded to eat and sleep when he got like this, he just wouldn’t do them. They impeded his work, he said, took his focus away from what was important. Heavy had since stopped trying to remind him that he wouldn’t be able to focus on his work at all if he was too exhausted and hungry to do it properly. He mostly just took the direct approach these days.

“You can find solution after you eat,” Heavy said firmly. He sounded like a mother scolding their child, and under normal circumstance, Medic would have given him a petulant look, reminding him that he was older than him and had the gray hair to prove it.

Instead, Medic just muttered, “Ja, ja, I will, do not worry about me.” Almost as if to placate Heavy, he crammed another forkful of potatoes into his mouth.

Heavy set his mouth in a firm line, then placed one of his huge hands on top of Medic’s head. His fingers could almost touch under Medic’s chin. He gently turned the doctor to face him, and gazed down at him sternly. All Medic offered in return was a cheeky smile, and Heavy knew he was preparing to attempt to talk his way out of this, as he did with most things he didn’t want to do. Heavy cut him off before he’d barely opened his mouth.

“Don’t,” Heavy said. “Please eat, Doktor. I stay until food is gone. You are of use to no one if you do not take care of yourself first.”

“But I -”

“Heavy use mama’s recipe for chicken kiev. Do you want to insult Heavy’s mama?”

Medic narrowed his eyes at the obvious emotional manipulation. Heavy merely released his head and motioned back to the plate. Medic shoved aside his textbook and papers to make a space for it. He ate in defeated silence, but he did indeed clear his plate.

Heavy couldn’t help but smirk. As worried as he was for Scout and Soldier, he knew Medic would find the answers he needed. He’d keep him from running himself into the ground in the meantime.

--------------

“You might as well give up now, bush man.”

Sniper merely rearranged his cards. He didn’t meet Spy’s eye.

“I’ve played in some of the most prestigious casinos in the world. Monte Carlo. Monaco. Macau.”

Again, he held his silence.

“I have parted professional gamblers from their money more times than I can count.”

Sniper could feel Heavy, Engineer, and Miss Pauling’s eyes on him. In any other situation, that might have made him uncomfortable, more prone to mistakes. Not this time. Spy didn’t have a prayer.

“Here’s a thought,” he finally said. “How’s about you stop monologuing like a Bond villain and show us yer damn cards, eh?”

Spy gave him a Cheshire cat grin. “If you insist,” he said. He laid out his cards carefully. Three kings, plus a pair of tens. A full house.

Sniper let out a low whistle. “Not too shabby, mate,” he muttered. “Ain’t got nothing so high here. Bleeding shame.” Good lord, he was about to piss himself in anticipation. Finally, he laid out his hand - all diamonds, two, three, four, five, and six.

He wished he could frame the face Spy made as he took in the straight flush. He would have laughed if Heavy and Engineer didn’t beat him to it, crowing like it was the funniest thing in the world. Even Miss Pauling was giggling a bit. Sniper basked in it for a moment. Nothing was quite as satisfying as making the fancy wuss eat his words.

“I do believe,” he said, “that means that the rest of this is mine.” He reached out and plucked the bottle of cognac off the table. Spy had used it as his bet, completely convinced he’d be walking it back to his smoking room after the game was over. Now the rest of it was going directly down Sniper’s gullet. There wasn’t much left, only about six ounces or so, he’d say. But at seventy-eight bucks and some change an ounce, it was gonna taste mighty good going down.

“Very impressive,” Spy said tightly, tapping some cigarette ash into an empty beer bottle at his side. Sniper could practically see a vein bulging in his neck.

Oh, sweet victory.

Spy’s frustration must have been noticeable to more than just him, because Miss Pauling giggled again and leaned against Spy playfully. “Looks like you might wanna start sleeping with your gun in your bed, Sniper. Unless you want to wake up with a knife in the back.”

“You make it sound like I don’t already do that.” Sniper took the stopper out of the cognac and took a generous swallow. Damn, that was good stuff. Spy definitely had taste. One good quality about him then.

To Sniper’s surprise, at Miss Pauling’s gentle tease, Spy seemed to relax a little. A tiny, mischievous smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Oh please, I would never be such a poor sport,” he said. “If I really wanted to kill him, I would poison the liquor. More poetic, I think.”

And then the strangest thing happened - Spy winked at Sniper. It was the most familiar thing Sniper had ever seen the other man do. An acknowledgement of his joke, as if they were friends.

The idea that Spy might consider him a friend was ludicrous to Sniper. It’s not like they ever spent any time with each other outside of the battlefield. Even when they did, they tended to keep their conversations as cool and professional and brief as possible. Because it really didn’t take much for either of them to make the entire exchange descend into a acidic argument, complete with childish name-calling.

Now that he thought of it, the time they’d spent speaking outside of Scout’s bedroom this afternoon was the longest they’d spoken to each other in weeks. They liked it that way.

After all, there couldn’t be two more different men on the planet. It wasn’t hard to tell Spy looked down on him, almost more than he did everyone else. Sniper’s accent, his mannerisms, the fact that he didn’t mind getting down and dirty - it all seemed to be offensive to Spy. He’d barely ever seen Spy with a speck of dirt on his suit after the work day was through. He went out of his way to stay clean and put together.

And yet, here Spy was giving him cheeky winks and ribbing him and not calling him filthy and a savage. It was almost unnerving.

Then again, Sniper supposed that could be blamed on the booze. A lot of the last few hours could be blamed on booze in one form or the next.

Things had started simply enough - when Heavy had returned (with a bottle of sparkling wine, refusing to tell anyone where he’d gotten it) from taking Medic his dinner, they’d started up another round of poker. Miss Pauling watched one hand, and then asked if they’d be willing to teach her to play in the next one. Of course, Engineer had leapt at the chance, a firm believer in “that more, the merrier”. Sniper was just glad that something had managed to unwind her.

They went easy on her for the first few hands, on account of her being a novice. Once it was clearly established she knew what she was doing, even in an intoxicated state, then there were no holds barred.

Then Heavy had made bellinis with his wine, using some dusty canned peaches he found in the kitchen cupboards. When they ran out of that, they passed around the cognac, Spy keeping the bottle away from Miss Pauling as often as he could, typically with a giant shit-eating grin on his face and some scolding in French.

Of course, that didn’t stop Engineer from sneaking her the bottle every now and then. Something about her “feminine wiles”. Whatever it meant, it made Engineer laugh.

By the fourth hand, Engineer had dug out the emergency bottles of scrumpy Demo kept above the refrigerator. Demo hadn’t exactly been happy about that, trying to get them to leave his stash be and drink the beer they had an abundance of, but he ended up being too out of it to put up a fight. His protests had slowly faded into gibberish as he laid his head down on the table, and soon enough he was snoring away.

Sniper tipped back the last of the cognac and let out a long, satisfied sigh. He swayed gently on his chair. “Looks like we’re gonna have to stick to good ol’ RED Shed from here on out, lads,” he slurred out. Beside him, Pyro was starting to stack the discard pile into a house. Demo still snoozed at the end of the table. Heavy and Engineer’s excitement from the poker win had vanished, and Heavy’s head was beginning to dip, the alcohol starting to finally effect the burly man. Engineer had folded his arms across the table, upon which he rested his chin.

Or perhaps they could save that RED Shed for another time. No one else looked like they had much left in them.

Spy took one last drag from his cigarette and slid the butt into the bottle he’d been using as an ashtray with a look of disgust.. “You could not pay me money to drink any of that swill,” he said. “Pity someone cheated me out of my cognac…”

Sniper stuck his tongue out at him. Childish, yeah, but so was accusing the person who’d won fair and square of cheating. Alley-skulking wanker.

“You said keep the bottle away from Miss Pauling,” Engineer mumbled.

“That was not an invitation to pilfer all of it,” Spy retorted. He pulled out his cigarette case to light another, but there weren’t any left. Sniper heard him mutter, “Putain de merde.”

Engineer was no longer listening. As soon as he’d finished speaking, he’d hidden the rest of his face in his arms and let out a tiny grunt of suffering. Sniper could hardly blame him. He wasn’t exactly a lightweight, but he had noticed the room starting to spin when he’d finished off the cognac.

Or wait...was the room spinning? Or was it just his head?

Next to him, Engineer let out a moan. Sniper swore he could actually hear the poor guy’s stomach churn.

“Oi, mate, you gonna chunder?” he asked, sliding over to Engineer’s side, reaching out to gently shake his arm. This close, he could see, indeed, Engie did look a bit green around the gills. Sniper had seen that miserable face many times in the mirror when he was in high school, young, dumb, and going too hard because he thought he was invincible. “You’re looking pretty rough, truckie. Maybe we oughta put you to bed.”

Engineer raised his head a bit, but he didn’t answer. Instead, he stared blankly ahead for a moment.

Then, without warning, he hopped up from the table and ran to the sink. Sniper managed to turn his head before Engineer began to wretch. If he didn’t know whether he was sick or not, seeing another person puke up dinner would help him figure it out.

After a solid minute of Engineer vomiting into the sink, and a few more seconds of him dry heaving, he slumped against the counter. Pyro rushed to him, soft, concerned-sounding mumbling coming from under his mask.

Sniper tried to get to his feet, go help poor Engineer out, but as soon as he got to his feet, the world spun about like a top. His stomach gave a lurch as he grabbed the table for support. He didn’t know if his feet would walk a straight enough line to actually get to the sink.

Fortunately, the noise had managed to rouse Heavy, the least drunk out of all of them. Sniper found himself grateful for Heavy’s ample girth. It meant that this much of the drink was enough to get him pleasantly buzzed at most.

He rose from his chair with a soft grunt, and lumbered over to Engineer. Sniper was actually kind of shocked to see him stumble a bit, have to take very deliberate steps to steady himself. When he finally reached the Engineer, he placed a gargantuan hand on the smaller man’s back, and said, “I take you to bed, my friend?”

Engineer merely gave a limp nod, and allowed himself to be lead away. Heavy still kept his hand firmly in the center of his charge’s back, and Pyro trailed along behind them. They all knew that Pyro wouldn’t leave Engineer’s side until he felt better.

“He’s gonna be feeling that in the morning,” Sniper said, using a long arm to brush aside some empty beer bottles. Suddenly, they didn’t look so inviting. All that retching Engineer had been doing was starting to do a number on his own stomach. He mostly wanted to lie down.

“I feel as though we all will be,” Spy replied, rising from his chair. “But I suppose we deserve it for indulging ourselves like children.”

Outside, the wind picked up, whipping the rain against the tin roof above them again. They all jumped at the sudden noise. Sniper had actually forgotten that it was raining at all while they’d been having their fun. “Passes the time in this pissy weather, at least,” he said. His words were quickly swallowed up in a yawn. He gave a look down at his watch. It was half past midnight. Pass the time, indeed.

“Think it’s about time I was dragging me arse to bed,” Sniper said. “Can’t put off the inevitable, I suppose.”

“I guessh,” Miss Pauling slurred. She attempted to stand herself, but her heel gave from under her and she very nearly fell backwards. Spy swooping in like some kind of swashbuckler was the only thing that stopped her fall. Unfortunately for him, it looked like the liquor was catching up with him too, and he swayed dangerously.

“Whoa, careful there,” Sniper said. He stopped himself from running over to help them both. He knew that he’d only stumble himself, and they’d all get acquainted with the floor in a hurry.

“Hey, hey, guys, c-can you tell the room to quit spinning,” Miss Pauling asked, her head bobbing a bit. “That’s, like...that’s really rude.”

Spy chuckled softly, pulled her arm over his shoulder, snaked his other arm around her waist, then turned to Sniper. “Would you mind helping me carry her? I think if you take one side, we should be able to stay balanced.”

“You think so?” Sniper took a tentative step, to test his legs, make sure the skinny sticks would stay standing.

“It’s worth a try, no? I’ll toss in a nightcap for incentive, if that helps. I have an excellent bourbon, back in my smoking room.”

“Really don’t think more alcohol is a good idea, mate.” Sniper finally made it over to them, and took Miss Pauling’s other arm. She was a limp noodle, quietly humming to herself. They started walking out to the hall.

“And why not? We’re already going to be miserably sick in the morning. One more drink is not going to change that.”

“Why don’t we just pickle ourselves so we’ll live to be a hundred and two?”

“Well, then how about this - it’s a shorter distance to carry Miss Pauling,” Spy said. After a moment, he added, “You realize I was kidding about poisoning you.”

“I actually did, but now that you’re bringing it up, how can I be so certain?” Sniper felt Miss Pauling fall back a little bit, and he quickly tightened his grip and pulled her up a little. “Careful,” he grumbled. “I’d rather not drop the lady who knows how to dismember a body so it fits in a hatbox.”

“Well, I’m sorry, but I only have two hands,” Spy grumbled back. “I’m not...um…”

“You ain’t what?”

“That thing...you know, the fish, the one that doesn’t actually look like a fish? I can’t remember the word in English. The one with all the arms? Arm fish? It’s arm fish, no?”

Sniper barked out a laugh. “You mean an octopus?”

“Yes, that,” Spy said. Holy Mary, was he blushing?

“You forget English words?” Sniper asked, still laughing a bit.

“Only when I’ve had too much to drink,” Spy muttered. “But English is horrendous, even when I’m sober. And I’m honestly better at it than most of you.”

“How’d figure?”

“I still debate whether half the words Demo says are words in any language, let alone English.”

“Fair enough.”

“Not to mention the butchering Engineer and Scout give it. And they live here.”

At the mention of Scout, Sniper felt a small pang of guilt in his gut. He wondered if the kid was okay. Medic hadn’t come out of the infirmary all night, and Heavy had relayed the minimal amount of news to them when he returned for their card game. It didn’t give him a lot of hope for the kid making a speedy recovery.

“Why so quiet all of a sudden?” Spy’s question dragged Sniper away from his thoughts, and he shot his head up to meet his eye. Spy was looking at him quizzically.

They were approaching the smoking room, and Sniper started thinking hard of excuses he could give to get away once they were there. He didn’t want to have a heart to heart with Spy. He’d had enough of heart to hearts. He didn’t even like Spy enough to entertain the idea. He was tired of being told things would be okay, when every hour that ticked by was giving him reason not to think so. Last thing he wanted was to hear the same thing out of the mouth of someone who thought he was better than him.

Spy reached out a hand to open the door, being careful not to loosen the grip he had around Miss Pauling’s waist. As soon as they were in and Miss Pauling was taken care off, Sniper told himself, he was begging off. He was gonna go to bed and let the sweet embrace of a drunken sleep take him until he was awoken by his rebelling stomach or an explosive headache or both. He’d take his chances with them.

The door swung open silently, wide enough for them to get through by turning sideways into the darkened room. The first thing Sniper was aware of was the strong smell of Spy’s cigarettes. They probably were going to linger in the room forever, with as many as Spy smoked. Mingling with the smell was burned cedar wood from the fireplace and the subtle aftershave he occasionally smelled on Spy when they passed each other in the hall. To his surprise, the scent combination made his eyelids feel heavier than ever.

Spy groped for a light switch on the wall, and the room was suddenly filled with soft light. “We can just prop her up in one of the chairs,” he said. “Probably safer, in case she gets sick.”

Sniper didn’t answer him, just let himself be guided over to one of the armchairs by the fireplace. He was almost home-free.

Together, they gently slid Miss Pauling down from around their shoulders, and had her sitting as comfortable as they could get her in the overstuffed armchair. Spy took a moment to gently pull the glasses from her face and set them on a side table nearby. Then he shucked his suit jacket and put it over her, like a blanket. Sniper just stared dumbly. Where was all this friendliness coming from in Spy? All this kindness? It couldn’t just be because he was drunk. There was a casualness about it all, like it was all second nature to him.

This didn’t seem like the snooty frog that Sniper tolerated on a daily basis. He was starting to wonder if that man really even existed.

Spy loosened his tie a bit, and started heading over to the sideboard. He pulled out a bottle, and two glasses. He must have seen Sniper gazing at him in confusion, because he smiled a little and said, “I promised you a nightcap, no? I pride myself on being a man of my word.”

Before Sniper could decline, say he wasn’t interested, blame exhaustion, drunkenness, anything to get the hell out of here and avoid whatever was about to happen, Spy said, “I also wanted to speak with you about something, if you wouldn’t mind humoring me.”

Piss.

“Sure,” he said dumbly. Spy was already pouring the drink. Sniper realized it wasn’t whiskey, but a dark wine. He could smell it from where he stood.

Spy walked over and handed Sniper a glass about half full. After taking a sip of his own glass, he said, “You are worried about Scout.”

Christ, he’d known it was coming. Why hadn’t he run?

Spy’s icy blue eyes were boring into him, awaiting his answer, even though something in Sniper felt Spy already knew full well what his answer would be. He awkwardly swirled the wine around in his glass.

Finally, he just muttered, “Yeah.”

“Good,” Spy said. “I am too.”

“Wait, what?”

“I’m worried about the little tick myself,” Spy said. He walked past Sniper, and, instead of taking the other armchair, he sat down on the floor, his long legs stretched out, in front of the fireplace. Despite the relaxed pose, now that Sniper was really looking at him, he could see the tension in Spy’s shoulders. The icy blue eyes darted about anxiously. Obviously, the declaration had not been something Spy had planned on telling Sniper.

Sniper walked slowly to Spy’s side, crouching down until he too sat on the floor next to him. He tried to keep his tone light, and said, “Thought you couldn’t stand the kid.”

“I find him boorish, insensitive, and irritating,” Spy said. He took another, longer drink of wine. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t like him. Does that make sense?” He looked to Sniper, his face genuine.

Sniper thought for a moment, the wheels in his head turning a bit slower than usual thanks to all this sauce. After some time, he said, “Yeah, it does. Kid’s not the easiest to be around sometimes.”

“You two are quite close.”

“He’s like me little brother. And he can be just as annoying.”

Spy merely smiled a bit.

Sniper finally took a drink of his wine. It was rich and went down smooth. He took another. Then another. Before he knew it, he took a drink and the glass had been emptied. Then, without thinking, he said, “I wish Medic would say something.”

“I know.”

“And I’m tired of being worried about it, and whenever anyone asks, all they tell me is to be patient and everything will be alright and I just need to take it easy. I don’t feel like taking it easy, I’m in a bloody panic over the little mongrel.”

“I know.”

Sniper side-eyed him, searching the other man’s face. There was nothing there. “You do know, don’t you?”

“I’m tired, bush man,” Spy said suddenly. He twisted around, setting his glass on the side table by Miss Pauling’s glasses. When he turned back around, he grabbed Sniper’s arm, and began pulling him down to the floor with him. Sniper barely had time to react before he was on his back on the soft Persian rug. Spy was snuggling into his side. Sniper could smell his aftershave. Somehow, the smell made him even sleepier when it was this close.

“You feeling alright?” Sniper asked, reaching out to set his empty glass on the fireplace hearth.

“Mm-hmm.”

“‘Cause I don’t want you to get sick or nothing,” Sniper said. He let his head sink further down, let his muscles relax. Lord, this carpet was so soft.

“I’ll be fine.” Spy’s eyes slid shut. “Trust me, if I need to vomit, I’ll let you know so you can roll away.”

“And you’re sure you don’t wanna...I dunno, talk, or something?”

“Do you?” One icy blue eye cracked open, to stare up him.

“...no.”

“Then be quiet, bush man, I’m sleeping.” The eye drifted shut again.

Sniper couldn’t help smiling a bit. He pulled his hat over his eyes, and let himself succumb to sleep, with a backstabbing nance buried in his side.

[mentallydefectivepotato-blog]

Target practice

Spy practices his aim with the ambassador and sniper walks by.

It was a warm and breezy day in tr_Karma: grass grew, sun shone, birds flew and spy was practicing his aim with the Ambassador. It was a sorry sight, as he missed most of the cardboard targets and barely managed to get some bodyshots. He, however, insisted on doing it again and again, committing the same mistakes. His teammates watched him from afar as he trained, some simply didn’t pay attention to him and continued to do what they were doing, but others, like scout, laughed at the poor Frenchman. Spy, however, didn’t notice he was being observed, otherwise, he would’ve gotten outraged.

Sniper, on the other hand, got tired of seeing him fail several times and felt disappointed by his teammate’s terrible shooting skills. He simply didn’t know how someone could be that bad. Taking pity on him, the Australian decided to offer some help, just so that spy could get some shots right. Spy, however, gave him the cold shoulder:

“Preposterous! For your information, my aim is just fine, jarman.”

“Look, mate, I just want to help you. You haven’t gotten one single headshot, and these targets are completely still. You can’t even hit these cardboard targets, let alone real people!”

But spy kept refusing the other’s aid obstinately: how dare he imply that his aim was imprecise? That cocky bastard, acting as if he was better than him. He was way superior in all aspects and didn’t need help from a filthy, uncultured bushman, right? That was what the French wanted to believe in, but, looking at the targets and seeing the depressing results of his train, it was hard to do so. He was the best at disguising and wielding knives, but maybe not at handling a revolver.

“Here, let me show you how to handle that.” the Australian said, standing behind the hopeless shooter and positioning his arms and hands correctly.

Spy flinched at the sudden contact and got flustered after feeling the warm breath of the Australian in his shoulder.

“Wait, non, what are you doing, bushman? I don’t need your help. I am a high leveled professional.” the man declared, trying to hide his embarrassment and shame.

“Shut up, spook. Now, hold still and concentrate on your target. Align your arms with your eyes so that you can get a good angle. Also, why are your hands shaking so much? You gotta concentrate, wanker!”

The shot fired managed to miss the target and hit a nearby tree. Spy had always been very confident and an expert at social interaction, but for some reason he was just too nervous at that moment. He and sniper had never been close and being by his side made him feel strange, it was very awkward. At the same time, however, the French felt a warm feeling inside him: was it love? Indeed, he had been hiding his feelings for the mercenary for quite a significant time, but couldn’t find a way to approach him.

Regardless of how he felt, spy stopped complaining and silently accepted the other’s help. An uncomfortable silence filled the atmosphere for quite some time, only being broken by the firing sounds and occasional comments and explanations made by sniper. With each shot, the Frenchman’s aim improved slightly and his hands trembled less.

Meanwhile, sniper was content to see how the slow development of the shooter’s skill. At first he had just pitied the man and decided to help him a little: It wasn’t as if he cared about or was close to him. Yet, seeing spy’s persistence made him really want to aid him and even get closer to him. The Australian had always held a strange interest on the smug backstabber, but had never had an actual chance of knowing him better.

“Well, you’re getting better, mate.” sniper praised.

“Your compliment is appreciated.” spy retorted simply, looking away to disguise his happiness.

Only then, the lanky man noticed how close he and his teammate were. He could feel the man’s warmth and smell, a mix of cologne and smoke. His face reddened at the realization and he felt that it could be his opportunity to get closer to the other and tell him about his long concealed feelings.

Suddenly, no longer being able to control himself, sniper pulled spy into a warm and loving kiss. The French, initially surprised by this unexpected action, soon melted into his lips and embraced him passionately. They were finally able to show the feelings they had had for each other for so much time.

They spent some minutes together, holding each other, touching every inch of their skin, hoping this moment would never end. Both had already dreamed of this occasion several times, and now it was really happening. After some time, the Australian released himself from the kiss and gazed at spy’s eyes, and in that exact instant they felt as if the whole world had disappeared, as if just both of them existed.

Soon, the awkward silence between them returned and, feeling uncomfortable, sniper assembled the courage to say something:

“Uh… Spook, I…”

“Excuse me, I have to go back to my training.” The Frenchman dismissed sniper in a tentative of  masking his emotions.

“Y-yeah, good luck, mate.”

Sniper had already turned around and was about to leave, when spy interrupted him:

“...Bushman?”

“Wot?”

“We should meet more often.” the French winked and threw a kiss at the Australian, catching him off-guard.

On the next day, spy was going to put into practice what he had learned so that he could please sniper. Even though he missed some shots, he also got  headshots on the enemy pyro, spy and demoman. On the end of the day, he showed sniper his development, proudly.

“Bloody hell, spook, you’ve made quite a progress, huh. Before that, you looked like a blind old lady, now, you’ve gotten a thousand times better! I saw the headshots you got there, good job!” he kissed spy in the cheek, a little taken aback, as he still wasn’t used to their relationship.

He would soon get used to this affection, though, as they would stay together for a long, long time. Spy, on the other hand , would have “trainings” with sniper more often.Then, as time went by, their relation got stronger and stronger and they ended up revealing their relationship to their team. Some of the members accepted the fact easily, others got surprised and took a while to get used to it, but nevertheless they kept on living happily and joyfully, day by day.

[thegeminisage]

more zeldablogging! hello, future me, i hope you’re enjoying these

today: lake hyrule!

the tower is next to not-eldin bridge so maybe i should approach from there and not faron tower

but i can see farosh's bridge from here and it's juuust the right time

maybe i'll just got wait a few moments and see if he appears

AAAH THERE HE IS!!!!

and another scale :3

i wish i could get horn shards tho :/

lol i get super sad whenever i go back to the plateau even just to glide off the tower ): old man ))):

i used to think it was so tall! and now it looks so normal bc i've seen so much taller.

did NOT miss the rain while i was at death mountain

lol i can't believe these two puny lizalfos once prevented me from crossing this bridge bc it was too difficult of a fight

and FINALLY i'm across for real

and map obtained

i feel like lake hylia is about the same size here as in tp, but in tp it feels much bigger than it does here bc this world is already so huge and dwarfs even the massive divine beasts

god i can't BELIEVE i am always so low on arrows. frankly: an outrage

lol instead of going to the lake im getting the shrines i have seen from other provinces first

whoa these colums are cool

this zone is called faron woods? not even in faron province, hahaha

ooh there's a lady here talking about the horse revival fountain! i did see something about a lord horse lake or something on the map, so i guess that's it

ugh why is it ALWAYS raining

i'll admit i'm in the stage where like, i'm okay with not walking BY every tree, just maybe seeing them all, maybe even seeing them from a distant ledge or my glider

which isn't to say the world has lost its charm or im tired of exploring, exploring and crafting is basically all you do in skyrim and it pretty much never gets old, but i'm more anxious now to uncover the plot than i was before, which speaks to the game's storytelling skills, yet still feel the compulsive need to explore Everything before moving on lol

i don't typically do a lot of post-game play so i know after i kill the final boss that'll be that

ah here's the shrine maybe the rain will have stopped by the time i get out

NOOO a combat trial......!

but it says minor test of strength so that should be okay :|

ahaha got it in half a dozen hits

unfortunately i have so many great weapons i can't hold the ones i get from this thing or the one in the chest :| i need my shit to break!! i guess i need.....to fight more. ugrh.

god i have like 12 orbs now i should go trade them in lol

i keep forgetting!!

@self pls remember

jesus. it's still raining.

me: i need to fight more!

me: sees two lizalfos, groans

if i had arrows i would just take them out from afar

that's my instinct in skyrim, you know? i'm a sniper at heart, combat isn't my thing

but i have no arrows and too many weapons so i guess i gotta change it up

lol and learn to block my shields NEVER break bc i don't use them bc i don't really know how

that and i'm always fucking carrying two-handed weapons :| i want more one-handers

MAN i one-shotted both of them when it took three hits before with the same weapon...! this atk+ helmet does not fuck around im never taking it off again

the ruins in these woods are making me feel Some Kind Of Way

i hope the lost woods are in this game

i mean, they gotta be, if the master sword is sleeping somewhere in a forest

i hope it's cool when you get the sword. that's all i care about

i'm lying i hope ganon the man is in this game too but

im trying to keep my expectations reasonable

I HEAR KASS! where are you buddy i can't see you

ooh this shrine puzzle is about a forest dragon....FAROSH, MY BUDDY

lol yesterday my brother texted me like where the fuck are you getting all these hearty radishes? me: faron my dude

faron and apparently lake hylia too are absolutely thick with them

oh my god there's a lizalfos camp here and they saw me coming from MILES away how even

naturally they've ALL got shock arrows in this very marshy watery area

good thing i can one-shot them.

oooh there's a glowing goddess statue here

ah this is where i offer a farosh scale, like i offered one for naydra and need to offer one of dinaal

weeeeellll i do have 3-4 of them now so i guess so!

i'd hate to miss a shrine and have to come back

holy SHIT there's a thunderspear in here! fair trade my dude! glad i broke one of my swords at the lizalfos camp lol

ah and now this goddess statue will let me trade orbs!! YES

i got 1 heart and 2 things of stamina which means i have 2 full wheels. i can do ANYTHING

i just swam climbed ran and glided with the same burst without putting on special gear it was GREAT

YES i found the horse lake and there's a great fairy here!!!! fuck yeah!!!!!!!

HOLY FUCK THATS IS ONE CREEPY LOOKING FAIRY

awww it plays epona's song

ah and i found a stable nearby!! good

there's an obstacle course here that i can do w/ my horse for gear, which i Want, but i SUCK at it, so

omg i made friends with a dog ;w; it follows me around

i tried to feed it meat but no dice

the start screen said something cool about befriending them...i wish i remembered what exactly!

ooh there's a quest here to catch the Giant horse...im gonna try it

im riding jemma now as well :3 these places have easy access for horses and i'm not as compulsive in my investigation of Every Single Thing so thats nice

nooooo there's a lynel in the way ;_;

even IF i snuck past it to GET the horse to REGISTER it i never could

i have to fight it. i have no choice

gotta get jemma out of harm's way first

im so nervous )))):

but i put on my soldier's gear and atk helm and drank a defense elixir and gave myself extra hearts so!!!!! hopefully!!!! it'll be ok!!!!!!!

i did it!!! it actually wasn't even too bad with the elixir and the armor

this is gonna be a long boring walk...highkey tempted to go get jemma but im afraid she would get hurt. and like. i know, i can revive her. but god.

THERE IS

ANOTHER LYNEL LOL

JESUS CHRIST

god i bet this WHOLE LANE is full of them

good thing i didn't bring jemma

beat him!! Not Even That Bad

omg I FOUND THE GIANT HORSE

and it looks just like ganondorf's, which my brother spoiled for me hahaha

IM GONNA CATCH HIM

ohhh my god im so nervous. him Big

i know it takes at least two full wheels to soothe him, which i have, but i brought potions too, like i just happened to cook some up last time

GOD I DID IT but okay jfc this is only the beginning i still gotta get him aaaaall the way back to the stable ;_;

and you have to do it at the slowest speed or he'll buck you i think

oh my god oh my god

we did manage a light trot a few times but i don't wanan risk it too much

i soothe it every time it does what i ask haha and it's given me the hearts many times!! so that's a good sign

so far so good abt halfway there

OH MY GOD A FUCKING THUNDER KEESE KNOCKED ME OFF

and shocked him!! poor baby

fucking HELL he ran away

i caught up to him and thank god he let me get right back on

maybe i'll get off and feed him some apples tbh

thank god i cleared out so many of these enemies beforehand tbh

tho i noticed lol the coyotes ran away from it maybe more things do!!

oh my god so i’ve been seeing bigass skeletons on the ground but they don’t move and i thought it was decoration or w/e, rightbut i rode past one on the way to catch the horse, and rode past it AGAIN on the way back, and IT’S A FUCKING HINOX SKELETON UP WALKING AROUND fuck no i’m glad we’re up on a cluff and it can’t see useven the live ones just sleep all the time my dude what the fuck?

HAHAHA I MADE IT

we took the last third of the way at a light trot so we're making progress!

uh holy shit apparently im already at max bond?? god Damn

oooh my gosh what do i NAME him

ganondorf's horse doesn't have a canonical name...

king of something?? idk if i even have room

thief by itself seems a little underwhelming...

ooh maybe phantom? for phantom ganon

midnight is too common, something with flames or fire could be cool for the mane but

i think phantom is what we'll go with

oh my god i'm trying the obstacle course with phantom and i LOVE this horse he turns SO well

AND once he gets to top speed, which admittedly isn't fast, he can stay there forever bc unlimited stamina!!

i still can't do the obstacle course lol the horse just straight up goes around the things most of the time and i looked up like, tips online, and apparently it's really fucking buggy, so, no. i got better things to do

LMAO so im going up to lake hylia finally and i have already run over so many birds this guy can trample anything hes a Big strong Boy i love him

oh hey there's a zora out here at this island!

ohhhh my gosh dude farosh is here at the lake too !! man he is. so cool

he? she? i saw someone online refer to them as shes

theyre named after goddeses but dragons were always boys in this series

i like girls better tho so

she doesn't stay very long here

like, she leaves very quickly as opposed to down in faron where i've seen her circle many times

oh god im at the ruined village again where i saw my first blood moon... #cursed

at least it's daytime now

OMG A FIRE WIZZROBE IM GONNA GET ME A FIRE ROD YES

omg a super fire rod. a meteor rod. #nice

lol wizzrobes are easy to fight you just use the proper elemental arrow and don't let them see you. if they DO see you you die tho

now that im not pissing myself in sheer terror these ruins make me Sad jesus christ im so sad for all of hyrule

BRUH there's a stone talus here!!!!

ugh i wanted to mark the miniboss spot but im OUT OF STAMPS

guess i can't mark cooking pots after all but with the interactive map + my sheikah sensor if i ever TRULY need to find one that should be ok i guess :/

/unmarks them all, SADLY!

killed the talus without even using any special food, haha - don’t have to be afraid of them anymore! becoming less afraid of red lynels, can’t wait for the day when i’m not afraid of guardians

there's a korok seed puzzle here where you have to roll a boulder UP a hill are yu fucking kidding me

ooh maybe i could have used stasis from up there...lmao fuck

maybe i can use it from down here

i hate using stasis tho like it fucks up your weapons and i know i said i need to break some but that's just WASTEFUL

wow and it didn't do anything from down here anyway. ok i'll just come back to this :/

hey and that's all of lake hylia explored :')

tomorrow: gerudo desert!!!! me: HYPE!!!!!!!

well actually my brother's visiting so tomorrow: amiibo, but. yeah.

[allcheatscodes]

payday 2 pc

http://allcheatscodes.com/payday-2-pc/

payday 2 pc

Payday 2 cheats & more for PC (PC)

Cheats

Unlockables

Hints

Easter Eggs

Glitches

Guides

Achievements

Get the updated and latest Payday 2 cheats, unlockables, codes, hints, Easter eggs, glitches, tricks, tips, hacks, downloads, achievements, guides, FAQs, walkthroughs, and more for PC (PC). AllCheatsCodes.com has all the codes you need to win every game you play!

Use the links above or scroll down to see all the PC cheats we have available for Payday 2.

Check Xbox 360 cheats for this game

Check PlayStation 3 cheats for this game

Genre: Shooter, First-Person Shooter Developer: Overkill Publisher: 505 Games ESRB Rating: Mature Release Date: August 13, 2013

Hints

Currently we have no tips for Payday 2 yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Cheats

Currently we have no cheats or codes for Payday 2 yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Unlockables

Currently we have no unlockables for Payday 2 yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Easter eggs

Currently we have no easter eggs for Payday 2 yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Glitches

Currently we have no glitches for Payday 2 yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Guides

Currently no guide available.

Achievements

Armed and Dangerous – Reach reputation level 50.

Armed to the Teeth – Modify a weapon for the first time.

Big Deal – On day 2 of the Framing Frame job, trade 9 paintings.

Bullet Dodger – In the Street escape, complete the escape without killing any enemy snipers.

Cappuccino to go, Please – In the Cafe escape, secure all loot and escape within 30 seconds of the escape van arriving.

Career Criminal – Reach reputation level 75.

Caribbean Pirate – On day 2 of the Rat job, bring additional meth bags to the trade, but steal your payment instead.

Coming in Hot – On day 1 of the Watchdogs job, don’t let the cops shoot and destroy the escape vehicle.

Diamonds are Forever – In the Jewelry store job, steal and secure 4 bags without the escape car leaving the first time.

Doctor Fantastic – On day 2 of the Big Oil job, complete the heist with the first engine being correct.

F in Chemistry – On day 1 of the Rat job, blow up the lab.

Fish A.I. – On day 2 of the Watchdogs job, throw a loot bag into the sea, hoping fish move away as it gets near.

Fully Loaded – Own 9 weapons.

Going Places – Gain $1.000.000 in total spendable cash.

Guessing Game – On day 2 of the Firestarter job, complete the heist in stealth without hacking the computer.

Guilty of Crime – Reach reputation level 10.

How do you Like me Now? – Equip an armor for the first time.

I got it, I got It! – Catch a bag mid-air.

I Knew What I Did Was Wrong – On day 1 of the Big Oil job, enter the basement, open the ATM machines and take the loot.

I Wasn’t Even There! – On day 3 of the Framing Frame job, send the gold by zip-line without ever tripping the alarm.

I’m a Healer-Tank-Damage-Dealer – Spend 10 skill points in each skill tree.

I’m Going All-in! – In the Nightclub job, put a bag filled with money on the poker table.

King of the Hill – In the Park escape, ensure that no law enforcement enters the park before the escape van arrives.

Let’s do Th. – In the Ukranian job, complete the heist within 35 seconds.

Lord of War – On day 1 of the Firestarter job, steal all the weapons from the hangar.

Man of Iron – Equip the Improved Combined Tactical Vest.

Masked Villain – Modify a mask for the first time.

Most Wanted – Reach reputation level 100.

No one Cared who I Was. – Until I put on the mask.

No Turning Back – Complete your first job.

Painting Yourself Into a Corner – On day 1 of the Framing Frame job, steal all sold paintings without being seen.

Shoot the Glass! – In the Mallcrasher job, destroy all windows in the mall.

Short Fuse – On day 3 of the Rat job, get away with 7 bags without defusing any bombs.

Smooth Criminal – Reach reputation level 25.

Spend Money to Make Money – Spend $1.000.000 in total cash.

The First Line – On day 3 of the Firestarter job, find the rare hockey poster of the OVERKILL hockey team.

They see me Baggin’, They Hatin’ – On the Garage escape, get away with 8 bags.

Tip the Scales – In the safe house, find the hidden basement.

Weapon Collector – Own 18 weapons.

Would you Like Your Receipt? – Buy a weapon for the first time.

Yeah he’s a Gold Digger – In the Four Stores job, find a gold bar in a safe.

You Gotta Start Somewhere – Reach reputation level 5.

You Shall not Pass! – In the Overpass escape, don’t let the cops set foot on the bridge before you can escape.

[cruddyborderlandstheories]

Fl4k Fl4k Fl4k Fl4k Fl-

i didn’t die i just fell in love with that skill tree creator and have done nothing for the past few days but make skill trees and sleep for 3 hour intervals. im very excited for the gameplay on Wednesday but oh man oh me oh my i gotta catch up on a lot of posts lol

tl;dr: Fl4k is a badass. Stop misgendering them or I’ll show up at your home at 3am local time every time and then eat your spine. Bonus: Mr. Chew being an ‘Eridian skag’ is probably due to some funky mutation from eridium/slag/eridian stuff. Kinda like how Threshers have the ability to make singularities because they are native to Elpis, which is a big ol’ Eridian base (which i totally addressed in this post lol). I also gave my opinion on Fl4k’s skills in general, if you’re interested in that. Overall, a very awesome trailer! Definitely lived up to the hype.

i said it before, this trailer was one of the best ones. definitely #2 for me, Zane is still at #1 because i actually laughed during it. the music in this one is definitely the best out of all 4 tho. seems like they’re all variations of the same song, i like this one best. I need this soundtrack sooo bad.

also i know probably no one else following this blog watches one piece but like

that first footstep with the studded boot and the sound effect immediately flung me back to katakuri. god katakuri was a badass. i was so excited to see that fight animated.

mr chew spinning around is my favorite thing ever. i love that you can tell the personality of the pets just from watching the intro. 

i know fl4k is like a real badass in this trailer, but i get the feeling they’re going to end up being at least a little soft for their pets. i mean... they have stuffed animals of them ffs.

so... we’re near Sanctuary-III in this trailer? I gotta keep my eye out then. i also want to see if that one claptrap area guess i had is correct or not... this looks like an entryway for the garage so im guessing i wasn’t, but let’s seeeee

there is a raised bit up and to the left

also im wondering if this means we’re going to have to rescue ellie from the CoV.

hmmmmmmmm

hmmmmm i don’t think the signs match up.

mr chew is the goodest boy. im so glad we can pet/interact with him!! i want to know what the names of the other pets are

also, a bit off topic but

i could have sworn fl4k’s jabber was cryo/shock. it was blue, wasn’t it? i wonder if they changed it or if it’s skill upgrades change its color. i thought the upgrades just gave it better guns.

yeah it was! i guess possibly upgrading it with the guns gives it a new color scheme? maybe? this could be the gunslinger upgrade!

it looks like their jabber went through the most design changes out of all of the pets. that or this is yet another upgrade (since each pet has 3 states). maybe this is the beefcake version.

‘bitch’. i love how expressive fl4k is with just the eye. very well done.

ohhh you know what that building is in the back?

[we’re near the intro to the game!]*

and tbh i don’t think this place has the building for Ellie’s Scrap in it... i don’t see it anywhere. maybe this is the actual scrapyard and the building is on the other side?

not quite sure tbh. but at least we know this place may also be near sanc-iii, just maybe not the same area as the actual Ellie’s Scrap.

i mean... there IS a shitload of cars everywhere. i wouldn’t surprised if it’s near her garage cause it looks like a scrapyard.

but also where in the fuck are all these ‘normal’ looking cars coming from?? it’s not like we see them being used on pandora. all the ones we see in bl1/2 are clearly dilapidated and rusting. big thonk. at least the vans/busses kinda make sense.

oh yeah that is definitely the same building. [it’s the recruitment center!]*

this scene with the rakk is my favorite out of all the trailers. so fuckin cool

i do hope the jabber goes back to being blue at some point. i like the red design too, don’t get me wrong, but i much prefer the glowy blue. it’s my favorite color and you guys know i love glowing things 👀

<Huge Selection!!!> lol

cat/doggo/monkey. mr chew is my favorite pet but i love the jabber panting like a dog lol

i never knew this is where spiderant mouths were

i always assumed they were below that... f r e a k y

“he likes to chase cars”

fl4k probably took them to the scrapyard for this exact reason ngl. fl4k being a big softie to their pets confirmed

(also, notice how fl4k uses ‘he’ for mr chew. it’s almost as if they understand the concept of gender, chose their own pronouns, and your argument that they only are nonbinary only because they “don’t understand yet” is invalid! Fl4k is canonically nonbinary and uses they/them/theirs pronouns as confirmed by both SungWon Cho and their in-game skills. 

Now that you know, use they/them/theirs for Fl4k or get off my blog. Because by not doing so, you are disrespecting the devs’ wishes for this character AND the nonbinary people who find representation in them and I won’t support that. if you feel like arguing your reasons to purposefully misgender them even after knowing this, please DM me so I can block you. thanks! 

For those of you out there actually making an effort: mistakes happen, especially if Fl4k is the first NB person you’ve learned about. Just make sure to correct yourself then move on, and we’re okay. Everyone has to learn sometime and it’s better to put in the effort than not care at all. It will become second nature.)

Fl4k is such a badass, they really are way different than i expected (personality-wise), but i am not complaining. gearbox knows me better than i know myself, so i know i’m going to end up loving Fl4k anyway. ProZD did such a fantastic job, i honestly did not recognize him at first! i can tell with certain words now, but wow i am blown away. 

i hope we’re able to climb that bird’s nest lookin’ thing in the back. it would be perfect for sniping and/or placing ur clone for maximum coverage.

seriously, what a badass.

idk i feel obligated to give my opinions of Fl4k over here since they were recently released. I am digging them 100%, tho i was kinda surprised (not in a bad way) they’re not as... i guess soft as i was expecting from their character design with the plushes and the face on the backpack and the smiley face pin, but i imagine that’s different when they’re interacting with their pets. im super curious to see how this VH group’s dynamic is going to go. 

mechanically, their skills seem perfect for people who loved sniper Zer0 and in general Mordecai, with a splash of Salvador tossed in for good luck. I am a dirty melee Zer0 main and i prefered Phasewalking over Bloodwing (altho i still play mordy bc he’s best bl1 VH) so, while I am definitely going to give Fl4k a go, they’re not my main bl3 Vault Hunter, that’s reserved for Zane and his lovely ability to befuddle enemies and run around. Funnily enough, I’m not even a fan of pet classes, so Fl4k being second in my play order is pretty funny. Tho, yeah, Amara being last is also pretty weird. I guess I don’t necessarily enjoy melee, I just enjoy messing with the bad guys lol

ohh, also, I am most interested in the upgrade for mr. chew that gives him the ability to create singularities and is called ‘Eridian Skag’. 

so I’m not saying my theory that the threshers on the moon were connected to Eridians was right, I’m just saying they’re the only form of wildlife we know that has a singularity ability (outside of Mr. Chew, apparently). 

im just saying gearbox, you should hire me to write your deep lore for you cause i’d do it for free

im wondering if we’ll be seeing skags with wormhole abilities in bl3. maybe the constant exposure to slag is starting to mutate them further beyond just elemental bonuses (on badass skags). We know Maya’s phaselock has a singularity ability (so does Amara’s phasegrasp), and that is sorta ‘occurring naturally’ (you know, as natural as siren powers can get) unlike the singularity grenades we encounter which use our known technology. plus, uh, whatever happened to the destroyer’s eye in TPS that made it create a singularity/wormhole by injecting it with a fuckload of slag. that probably has something to do with this as well.

but geez i really hope mr. chew is okay with being all slag/eridium-ed up. i guess being badass elemental skags doesn’t appear to hurt them, just make them more powerful, unlike humans. maybe that has something to do with sentience, if slag/eridium/eridian stuff actually is driving bandits crazy. could explain why/if the jabber doesn’t get an element like the skag (eridian skag) and spiderant (fire) do, since they’re described as semi-sentient...

anyway.

Fl4k is cool. Definitely a neat trailer- my second favorite for sure- and the skill tree drop blew me away because i was not expecting it. im expecting a lot of Fl4k mains in the first few weeks of gameplay because they look like a lot of fun!

EDIT: i was wrong, in the newest IGN vid, it turns out we ARE near the recruitment center, because that IS the recruitment center

they gave them little orange flags! good to know!!

[allcheatscodes]

payday 2 crimewave edition pc

http://allcheatscodes.com/payday-2-crimewave-edition-pc/

payday 2 crimewave edition pc

Payday 2: Crimewave Edition cheats & more for PC (PC)

Cheats

Unlockables

Hints

Easter Eggs

Glitches

Guides

Achievements

Get the updated and latest Payday 2: Crimewave Edition cheats, unlockables, codes, hints, Easter eggs, glitches, tricks, tips, hacks, downloads, achievements, guides, FAQs, walkthroughs, and more for PC (PC). AllCheatsCodes.com has all the codes you need to win every game you play!

Use the links above or scroll down to see all the PC cheats we have available for Payday 2: Crimewave Edition.

Check Xbox 360 cheats for this game

Check PlayStation 3 cheats for this game

Check Xbox One cheats for this game

Check PlayStation 4 cheats for this game

Genre: Shooter, First-Person Shooter Developer: Overkill Publisher: 505 Games ESRB Rating: Mature Release Date: June 16, 2015

Hints

Currently we have no tips for Payday 2: Crimewave Edition yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Cheats

Currently we have no cheats or codes for Payday 2: Crimewave Edition yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Unlockables

Currently we have no unlockables for Payday 2: Crimewave Edition yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Easter eggs

Currently we have no easter eggs for Payday 2: Crimewave Edition yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Glitches

Currently we have no glitches for Payday 2: Crimewave Edition yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Guides

Currently we have no guides or FAQs for Payday 2: Crimewave Edition yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Achievements

Achievement List

Armed and Dangerous – Reach reputation level 50. – 40

Armed to the Teeth – Modify a weapon for the first time. – 10

Big Deal – On day 2 of the Framing Frame job, trade 9 paintings. – 20

Bullet Dodger – In the Street escape, complete the escape without killing any enemy snipers. – 40

Cappuccino to go, Please – In the Cafe escape, secure all loot and escape within 30 seconds of the escape van arriving. – 20

Career Criminal – Reach reputation level 75. – 20

Caribbean Pirate – On day 2 of the Rat job, bring additional meth bags to the trade, but steal your payment instead. – 30

Coming in Hot – On day 1 of the Watchdogs job, don’t let the cops shoot and destroy the escape vehicle. – 10

Diamonds are Forever – In the Jewelry store job, steal and secure 4 bags without the escape car leaving the first time. – 20

Doctor Fantastic – On day 2 of the Big Oil job, complete the heist with the first engine being correct. – 30

F in Chemistry – On day 1 of the Rat job, blow up the lab. – 10

Fish A.I. – On day 2 of the Watchdogs job, throw a loot bag into the sea, hoping fish move away as it gets near. – 10

Fully Loaded – Own 9 weapons. – 10

Going Places – Gain $1.000.000 in total spendable cash. – 50

Guessing Game – On day 2 of the Firestarter job, complete the heist in stealth without hacking the computer. – 40

Guilty of Crime – Reach reputation level 10. – 20

How do you Like me Now? – Equip an armor for the first time. – 10

I got it, I got It! – Catch a bag mid-air. – 30

I Knew What I Did Was Wrong – On day 1 of the Big Oil job, enter the basement, open the ATM machines and take the loot. – 10

I Wasn’t Even There! – On day 3 of the Framing Frame job, send the gold by zip-line without ever tripping the alarm. – 40

I’m a Healer-Tank-Damage-Dealer – Spend 10 skill points in each skill tree. – 20

I’m Going All-in! – In the Nightclub job, put a bag filled with money on the poker table. – 10

King of the Hill – In the Park escape, ensure that no law enforcement enters the park before the escape van arrives. – 30

Let’s do Th. – In the Ukranian job, complete the heist within 35 seconds. – 30

Lord of War – On day 1 of the Firestarter job, steal all the weapons from the hangar. – 30

Man of Iron – Equip the Improved Combined Tactical Vest. – 40

Masked Villain – Modify a mask for the first time. – 10

Most Wanted – Reach reputation level 100. – 50

No one Cared who I Was. – Until I put on the mask. – 10

No Turning Back – Complete your first job. – 10

Painting Yourself Into a Corner – On day 1 of the Framing Frame job, steal all sold paintings without being seen. – 40

Shoot the Glass! – In the Mallcrasher job, destroy all windows in the mall. – 10

Short Fuse – On day 3 of the Rat job, get away with 7 bags without defusing any bombs. – 20

Smooth Criminal – Reach reputation level 25. – 20

Spend Money to Make Money – Spend $1.000.000 in total cash. – 50

The First Line – On day 3 of the Firestarter job, find the rare hockey poster of the OVERKILL hockey team. – 30

They see me Baggin’, They Hatin’ – On the Garage escape, get away with 8 bags. – 20

Tip the Scales – In the safe house, find the hidden basement. – 10

Weapon Collector – Own 18 weapons. – 20

Would you Like Your Receipt? – Buy a weapon for the first time. – 10

Yeah he’s a Gold Digger – In the Four Stores job, find a gold bar in a safe. – 20

You Gotta Start Somewhere – Reach reputation level 5. – 10

You Shall not Pass! – In the Overpass escape, don’t let the cops set foot on the bridge before you can escape. – 30

[allcheatscodes]

payday 2 crimewave edition xbox 360

http://allcheatscodes.com/payday-2-crimewave-edition-xbox-360/

payday 2 crimewave edition xbox 360

Payday 2: Crimewave Edition cheats & more for Xbox 360 (X360)

Cheats

Unlockables

Hints

Easter Eggs

Glitches

Guides

Achievements

Get the updated and latest Payday 2: Crimewave Edition cheats, unlockables, codes, hints, Easter eggs, glitches, tricks, tips, hacks, downloads, achievements, guides, FAQs, walkthroughs, and more for Xbox 360 (X360). AllCheatsCodes.com has all the codes you need to win every game you play!

Use the links above or scroll down to see all the Xbox 360 cheats we have available for Payday 2: Crimewave Edition.

Check PC cheats for this game

Check PlayStation 3 cheats for this game

Check Xbox One cheats for this game

Check PlayStation 4 cheats for this game

Genre: Shooter, First-Person Shooter

Developer: Overkill

Publisher: 505 Games

ESRB Rating: Mature

Release Date: June 16, 2015

Hints

Currently we have no tips for Payday 2: Crimewave Edition yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Cheats

Currently we have no cheats or codes for Payday 2: Crimewave Edition yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Unlockables

Currently we have no unlockables for Payday 2: Crimewave Edition yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Easter eggs

Currently we have no easter eggs for Payday 2: Crimewave Edition yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Glitches

Currently we have no glitches for Payday 2: Crimewave Edition yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Guides

Currently we have no guides or FAQs for Payday 2: Crimewave Edition yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Achievements

Achievement List

Armed and Dangerous – Reach reputation level 50. – 40

Armed to the Teeth – Modify a weapon for the first time. – 10

Big Deal – On day 2 of the Framing Frame job, trade 9 paintings. – 20

Bullet Dodger – In the Street escape, complete the escape without killing any enemy snipers. – 40

Cappuccino to go, Please – In the Cafe escape, secure all loot and escape within 30 seconds of the escape van arriving. – 20

Career Criminal – Reach reputation level 75. – 20

Caribbean Pirate – On day 2 of the Rat job, bring additional meth bags to the trade, but steal your payment instead. – 30

Coming in Hot – On day 1 of the Watchdogs job, don’t let the cops shoot and destroy the escape vehicle. – 10

Diamonds are Forever – In the Jewelry store job, steal and secure 4 bags without the escape car leaving the first time. – 20

Doctor Fantastic – On day 2 of the Big Oil job, complete the heist with the first engine being correct. – 30

F in Chemistry – On day 1 of the Rat job, blow up the lab. – 10

Fish A.I. – On day 2 of the Watchdogs job, throw a loot bag into the sea, hoping fish move away as it gets near. – 10

Fully Loaded – Own 9 weapons. – 10

Going Places – Gain $1.000.000 in total spendable cash. – 50

Guessing Game – On day 2 of the Firestarter job, complete the heist in stealth without hacking the computer. – 40

Guilty of Crime – Reach reputation level 10. – 20

How do you Like me Now? – Equip an armor for the first time. – 10

I got it, I got It! – Catch a bag mid-air. – 30

I Knew What I Did Was Wrong – On day 1 of the Big Oil job, enter the basement, open the ATM machines and take the loot. – 10

I Wasn’t Even There! – On day 3 of the Framing Frame job, send the gold by zip-line without ever tripping the alarm. – 40

I’m a Healer-Tank-Damage-Dealer – Spend 10 skill points in each skill tree. – 20

I’m Going All-in! – In the Nightclub job, put a bag filled with money on the poker table. – 10

King of the Hill – In the Park escape, ensure that no law enforcement enters the park before the escape van arrives. – 30

Let’s do Th. – In the Ukranian job, complete the heist within 35 seconds. – 30

Lord of War – On day 1 of the Firestarter job, steal all the weapons from the hangar. – 30

Man of Iron – Equip the Improved Combined Tactical Vest. – 40

Masked Villain – Modify a mask for the first time. – 10

Most Wanted – Reach reputation level 100. – 50

No one Cared who I Was. – Until I put on the mask. – 10

No Turning Back – Complete your first job. – 10

Painting Yourself Into a Corner – On day 1 of the Framing Frame job, steal all sold paintings without being seen. – 40

Shoot the Glass! – In the Mallcrasher job, destroy all windows in the mall. – 10

Short Fuse – On day 3 of the Rat job, get away with 7 bags without defusing any bombs. – 20

Smooth Criminal – Reach reputation level 25. – 20

Spend Money to Make Money – Spend $1.000.000 in total cash. – 50

The First Line – On day 3 of the Firestarter job, find the rare hockey poster of the OVERKILL hockey team. – 30

They see me Baggin’, They Hatin’ – On the Garage escape, get away with 8 bags. – 20

Tip the Scales – In the safe house, find the hidden basement. – 10

Weapon Collector – Own 18 weapons. – 20

Would you Like Your Receipt? – Buy a weapon for the first time. – 10

Yeah he’s a Gold Digger – In the Four Stores job, find a gold bar in a safe. – 20

You Gotta Start Somewhere – Reach reputation level 5. – 10

You Shall not Pass! – In the Overpass escape, don’t let the cops set foot on the bridge before you can escape. – 30

[allcheatscodes]

payday 2 xbox 360

http://allcheatscodes.com/payday-2-xbox-360/

payday 2 xbox 360

Payday 2 cheats & more for Xbox 360 (X360)

Cheats

Unlockables

Hints

Easter Eggs

Glitches

Guides

Achievements

Get the updated and latest Payday 2 cheats, unlockables, codes, hints, Easter eggs, glitches, tricks, tips, hacks, downloads, achievements, guides, FAQs, walkthroughs, and more for Xbox 360 (X360). AllCheatsCodes.com has all the codes you need to win every game you play!

Use the links above or scroll down to see all the Xbox 360 cheats we have available for Payday 2.

Check PC cheats for this game

Check PlayStation 3 cheats for this game

Genre: Shooter, First-Person Shooter

Developer: Overkill

Publisher: 505 Games

ESRB Rating: Mature

Release Date: August 13, 2013

Hints

Currently we have no tips for Payday 2 yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Cheats

Currently we have no cheats or codes for Payday 2 yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Unlockables

Currently we have no unlockables for Payday 2 yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Easter eggs

Currently we have no easter eggs for Payday 2 yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Glitches

Currently we have no glitches for Payday 2 yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Guides

Currently no guide available.

Achievements

Achievement List

Armed and Dangerous – Reach reputation level 50. – 40

Armed to the Teeth – Modify a weapon for the first time. – 10

Big Deal – On day 2 of the Framing Frame job, trade 9 paintings. – 20

Bullet Dodger – In the Street escape, complete the escape without killing any enemy snipers. – 40

Cappuccino to go, Please – In the Cafe escape, secure all loot and escape within 30 seconds of the escape van arriving. – 20

Career Criminal – Reach reputation level 75. – 20

Caribbean Pirate – On day 2 of the Rat job, bring additional meth bags to the trade, but steal your payment instead. – 30

Coming in Hot – On day 1 of the Watchdogs job, don’t let the cops shoot and destroy the escape vehicle. – 10

Diamonds are Forever – In the Jewelry store job, steal and secure 4 bags without the escape car leaving the first time. – 20

Doctor Fantastic – On day 2 of the Big Oil job, complete the heist with the first engine being correct. – 30

F in Chemistry – On day 1 of the Rat job, blow up the lab. – 10

Fish A.I. – On day 2 of the Watchdogs job, throw a loot bag into the sea, hoping fish move away as it gets near. – 10

Fully Loaded – Own 9 weapons. – 10

Going Places – Gain $1.000.000 in total spendable cash. – 50

Guessing Game – On day 2 of the Firestarter job, complete the heist in stealth without hacking the computer. – 40

Guilty of Crime – Reach reputation level 10. – 20

How do you Like me Now? – Equip an armor for the first time. – 10

I got it, I got It! – Catch a bag mid-air. – 30

I Knew What I Did Was Wrong – On day 1 of the Big Oil job, enter the basement, open the ATM machines and take the loot. – 10

I Wasn’t Even There! – On day 3 of the Framing Frame job, send the gold by zip-line without ever tripping the alarm. – 40

I’m a Healer-Tank-Damage-Dealer – Spend 10 skill points in each skill tree. – 20

I’m Going All-in! – In the Nightclub job, put a bag filled with money on the poker table. – 10

King of the Hill – In the Park escape, ensure that no law enforcement enters the park before the escape van arrives. – 30

Let’s do Th. – In the Ukranian job, complete the heist within 35 seconds. – 30

Lord of War – On day 1 of the Firestarter job, steal all the weapons from the hangar. – 30

Man of Iron – Equip the Improved Combined Tactical Vest. – 40

Masked Villain – Modify a mask for the first time. – 10

Most Wanted – Reach reputation level 100. – 50

No one Cared who I Was. – Until I put on the mask. – 10

No Turning Back – Complete your first job. – 10

Painting Yourself Into a Corner – On day 1 of the Framing Frame job, steal all sold paintings without being seen. – 40

Shoot the Glass! – In the Mallcrasher job, destroy all windows in the mall. – 10

Short Fuse – On day 3 of the Rat job, get away with 7 bags without defusing any bombs. – 20

Smooth Criminal – Reach reputation level 25. – 20

Spend Money to Make Money – Spend $1.000.000 in total cash. – 50

The First Line – On day 3 of the Firestarter job, find the rare hockey poster of the OVERKILL hockey team. – 30

They see me Baggin’, They Hatin’ – On the Garage escape, get away with 8 bags. – 20

Tip the Scales – In the safe house, find the hidden basement. – 10

Weapon Collector – Own 18 weapons. – 20

Would you Like Your Receipt? – Buy a weapon for the first time. – 10

Yeah he’s a Gold Digger – In the Four Stores job, find a gold bar in a safe. – 20

You Gotta Start Somewhere – Reach reputation level 5. – 10

You Shall not Pass! – In the Overpass escape, don’t let the cops set foot on the bridge before you can escape. – 30

[allcheatscodes]

payday 2 crimewave edition ps3

http://allcheatscodes.com/payday-2-crimewave-edition-ps3/

payday 2 crimewave edition ps3

Payday 2: Crimewave Edition cheats & more for PlayStation 3 (PS3)

Cheats

Unlockables

Hints

Easter Eggs

Glitches

Guides

Trophies

Get the updated and latest Payday 2: Crimewave Edition cheats, unlockables, codes, hints, Easter eggs, glitches, tricks, tips, hacks, downloads, trophies, guides, FAQs, walkthroughs, and more for PlayStation 3 (PS3). AllCheatsCodes.com has all the codes you need to win every game you play!

Use the links above or scroll down to see all the PlayStation 3 cheats we have available for Payday 2: Crimewave Edition.

Check PC cheats for this game

Check Xbox 360 cheats for this game

Check Xbox One cheats for this game

Check PlayStation 4 cheats for this game

Genre: Shooter, First-Person Shooter Developer: Overkill Publisher: 505 Games ESRB Rating: Mature Release Date: June 16, 2015

Hints

Currently we have no tips for Payday 2: Crimewave Edition yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Cheats

Currently we have no cheats or codes for Payday 2: Crimewave Edition yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Unlockables

Currently we have no unlockables for Payday 2: Crimewave Edition yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Easter eggs

Currently we have no easter eggs for Payday 2: Crimewave Edition yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Glitches

Currently we have no glitches for Payday 2: Crimewave Edition yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Guides

Currently we have no guides or FAQs for Payday 2: Crimewave Edition yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Trophies

Trophy List

Armed and Dangerous – Reach reputation level 50. – Bronze

Armed to the Teeth – Modify a weapon for the first time. – Bronze

Big Deal – On day 2 of the Framing Frame job, trade 9 paintings. – Bronze

Bullet Dodger – In the Street escape, complete the escape without killing any enemy snipers. – Bronze

Cappuccino to go, Please – In the Cafe escape, secure all loot and escape within 30 seconds of the escape van arriving. – Silver

Career Criminal – Reach reputation level 75. – Bronze

Caribbean Pirate – On day 2 of the Rat job, bring additional meth bags to the trade, but steal your payment instead. – Silver

Coming in Hot – On day 1 of the Watchdogs job, don’t let the cops shoot and destroy the escape vehicle. – Bronze

Completely OVERKILL – Complete everything. OVERKILL salutes you! – Platinum

Diamonds are Forever – In the Jewelry store job, steal and secure 4 bags without the escape car leaving the first time. – Bronze

Doctor Fantastic – On day 2 of the Big Oil job, complete the heist with the first engine being correct. – Silver

F in Chemistry – On day 1 of the Rat job, blow up the lab. – Bronze

Fish A.I. – On day 2 of the Watchdogs job, throw a loot bag into the sea, hoping fish move away as it gets near. – Bronze

Fully Loaded – Own 9 weapons. – Bronze

Going Places – Gain $1.000.000 in total spendable cash. – Bronze

Guessing Game – On day 2 of the Firestarter job, complete the heist in stealth without hacking the computer. – Gold

Guilty of Crime – Reach reputation level 10. – Bronze

How do you Like me Now? – Equip an armor for the first time. – Bronze

I got it, I got It! – Catch a bag mid-air. – Silver

I Knew What I Did Was Wrong – On day 1 of the Big Oil job, enter the basement, open the ATM machines and take the loot. – Bronze

I Wasn’t Even There! – On day 3 of the Framing Frame job, send the gold by zip-line without ever tripping the alarm. – Gold

I’m a Healer-Tank-Damage-Dealer – Spend 10 skill points in each skill tree. – Bronze

I’m Going All-in! – In the Nightclub job, put a bag filled with money on the poker table. – Bronze

King of the Hill – In the Park escape, ensure that no law enforcement enters the park before the escape van arrives. – Bronze

Let’s do Th. – In the Ukranian job, complete the heist within 35 seconds. – Gold

Lord of War – On day 1 of the Firestarter job, steal all the weapons from the hangar. – Bronze

Man of Iron – Equip the Improved Combined Tactical Vest. – Bronze

Masked Villain – Modify a mask for the first time. – Bronze

Most Wanted – Reach reputation level 100. – Bronze

No one Cared who I Was. – Until I put on the mask. – Bronze

No Turning Back – Complete your first job. – Bronze

Painting Yourself Into a Corner – On day 1 of the Framing Frame job, steal all sold paintings without being seen. – Silver

Shoot the Glass! – In the Mallcrasher job, destroy all windows in the mall. – Bronze

Short Fuse – On day 3 of the Rat job, get away with 7 bags without defusing any bombs. – Bronze

Smooth Criminal – Reach reputation level 25. – Bronze

Spend Money to Make Money – Spend $1.000.000 in total cash. – Bronze

The First Line – On day 3 of the Firestarter job, find the rare hockey poster of the OVERKILL hockey team. – Silver

They see me Baggin’, They Hatin’ – On the Garage escape, get away with 8 bags. – Gold

Tip the Scales – In the safe house, find the hidden basement. – Bronze

Weapon Collector – Own 18 weapons. – Bronze

Would you Like Your Receipt? – Buy a weapon for the first time. – Bronze

Yeah he’s a Gold Digger – In the Four Stores job, find a gold bar in a safe. – Bronze

You Gotta Start Somewhere – Reach reputation level 5. – Bronze

You Shall not Pass! – In the Overpass escape, don’t let the cops set foot on the bridge before you can escape. – Silver