#i'm sorry this is probably terrible Jill

[adasknife]

ada being saved and my ramblings (I'm sorry)

I'm insane, please help me. my usually propaganda of luis and ada being once friends, re2 remake being ada's first proper mission, and wesker teaching her, like always, i don't declare myself as right so there we go.

i was numbly thinking about ada's "three big saves" in the current story. leon being shot for ada, wesker saving ada and lastly luis helping ada.

leon saving ada because of leon's unselfish way of being is so terribly fun for me. ada just wants to do her job, but when he slowly begins to help her with stuff. ada decides for him to stick around. She gave him a way out, but leon wants to be the hero of raccoon city. especially if there's is an evil guy in the center. when Leon gets shot for her, ada leaves him behind to 'finish' the job. what makes this so fun for me, ada doesn't seem to super regret having leon shot because in the end of the day, he owes her. and immediately after, ada loses a fight with annette. this saving gave her humble down.

being saved by wesker has me currently over thinking it. i remember reading a post of wesker not fully trusting ada and that's why he is babysitting her; I loved it! but with ada's losses in re2 remake, I just know he taught her. after all, he once was a leader for the STARS team, and in my simple mind- ada and jill sort of (very, very weakly) fight similar. when ada asks him if he'll back her up, he denies her- in my simple brain, it's because he did go on missions with her. after all, she did get so much better than the last time we saw her. wesker and ada have a sort of bond that developed between re2 and re4, but we never truly see it. I think this saving is just a reminder that ada will forever need help (well, at least for her)

luis's saving was just a man trying to clear his mind. despite me being they were friends before re1, sure, maybe not many people will agree with that, but ada and luis did send each other emails. a sort of bond already formed there. ada doesn't understand why luis wants to help leon and ashley. which funny enough, ada probably never understood why leon saved her years ago. but ada trusts luis. sure, she threatens him to give him the amber, but give her a break. she has been chasing the amber for two days already. her boss is calling her liability. she can't risk more time. yet after he saved her, ada let him go. in my opinion, this is the first time ada truly understood the point of saving a person.

i just think every detail in ada's life changed her for the better.

[zzoomacroom]

For the ask game: how about one each for Hob, Dream, and Death?

Oooohh, excellent ask, thanks anon!

Hob:

First impression: wow, this guy is kind of obnoxious. Cute, though.

Impression now: my sweet beloved blorbo, the love of my life, I think about him 24 hours a day

Favorite moment: 1789, just that whole scene. But especially his reaction to the drawing ("I look terrible. You look worse"), and when he breaks a teacup over that guy's head

Idea for a story: the wip I'm currently working on is about him being the last man on earth and going on a road trip with Delirium and Barnabas

Unpopular opinion: I think he probably just has an average-sized penis 🤷‍♀️

Favorite relationship: we don't see much of his canon relationships, but if we're talking non-canon then of course it’s dreamling. I also kind of like the idea of Hob/Johanna(/Dream?)

Favorite headcanon: I've posted about this before and the wonderful @delta-pavonis wrote a fic about it, but I firmly believe that in the Sandman universe, he was the inspiration for Nick Bottom. Think about it: low-born guy who always has to be the center of attention and acts like a jackass, but somehow won the queen's favor. Hob was salty because Shaxberd had Dream's attention, but Shaxberd was salty because Hob had the queen's attention.

Dream:

First impression: this dude is kind of pathetic, I desire him carnally

Impression now: my babygirl, my everything, my beautiful, ethereal, majestic, all-powerful loserboy. I love him so much 😭

Favorite moment: it's so hard to choose...in the show, I loved his battle with Lucifer and what he did to Rick Madoc (his dispassionate fury in defending Calliope was chilling). In the comics, I love all his interactions with Delirium. Also when Death throws the bread at him and it goes "bip!"

Idea for a story: um...well...don't judge me, but I have a retired!Dream mpreg fic I'm working on, which the amazing @kydrogendragon and some other lovely folks on discord (idk if they're on tumblr or i would tag them) helped me develop.

Unpopular opinion: hmm...I've seen so many opinions about him and I'm not sure which ones are considered unpopular. I think maybe he's a bit more slutty than we give him credit for, based on how he was immediately down to clown when Bast jokingly propositioned him

Favorite relationship: of his canonical relationships, I find Calliope the most interesting. For non-canon, dreamling all day every day forever. For platonic relationships: Lucienne (i just don't see them as romantic, sorry morphienne fans), Death, Delirium, Matthew

Favorite headcanon: based on recent conversations I've seen/taken part in on tumblr, I like the idea of him getting freaky with his helm (the helm stays on during sex). @tryan-a-bex wrote a great little ficlet about it

Death:

First impression: she's amazing and I love her

Impression now: she's amazing and I love her

Favorite moment: when she throws the bread at Dream. Also, not exactly canon, but in the "At Death's Door" manga by Jill Thompson I love when she teams up with Despair and Delirium and catches souls in a baseball mitt:

Idea for a story: admittedly, I don't currently have any ideas for stories with Death as a main character, but she does feature heavily in my post-apocalypse fic. I would like to see more of her days she spends as a mortal. We see some of that in "Death: The High Cost of Living," but I bet she gets up to some crazy shenanigans

Unpopular opinion: I don't think she's as perfect as a lot of people think she is. She's one of my favorite characters and I love her, but I think she's as flawed as the rest of her siblings and has her own struggles that we only get glimpses of

Favorite relationship: canonically she doesn't have any romantic relationships that readers see, but I love her relationships with her siblings, especially Dream. For ships, I kind of like the idea of her with Johanna, but I haven't explored it much

Favorite headcanon: I think she's a lesbian and nothing can dissuade me of that belief

[ms-cartoon]

Sorry I'm late with this! Holidays are fun, but hectic. So the hazbin trailer . . . .

First lemme talk about what I think about the new cast since that was the main thing I've been worrying about this entire time. I know this is just a trailer and we probably need to hear more when they talk, but I can't say I fully agree with them. Some don't seem to fit their characters' appearances at all. Like with Vox. I don't know what I expected him to sound like, but definitely nothing like what I just heard. He sounds like an overly egotistical bitter uncle. I don't really know how else to describe that.

With Angel Dust . . . eh? I guess I can learn to live with it. A personal opinion, but Blake doesn't really do a terrible job voicing Angel. The tone of voice is similar to that of Michael's. Then again, its probably a reason why I'm not totally up for it. Because Blake is just trying to sound like Kovach? Idk, I guess I'm kinda being biased about this choice of voice-overs cuz I'm used to hearing Kovach voicing Angel, which he did a VERY GOOD JOB with.

With Alastor, I know I said he didn't sound bad when I first heard him in a leak I found, but uh. . . . I'm sorry y'all. It just does NOT hit the same at all lol. I feel like I need to hear more of his voice to get in overall picture, but so far . . . .I'm just not feeling it. What's his name- Amir? He's not far off from Bosco's voice but when he voices Alastor, his voice is a bit pinched higher than Bosco. Kind of nasally if you pinched his nose. I can only hope that when Alastor has a threatening moment his voice will go just as deep as Bosco with some gruffness.

Keith David as Husk? Look, I luv Keith David. He's super talented and does an awesome job at voicing characters! But I wouldn't exactly choose him as the choice of voice for our grumpy kitty cat. When I heard Husk talking, his voice sounded all little too smooth. With Mick, he actually pulled off the gruff and rough grumpy drunk we'd actually expected from Husk . . . who is a grumpy drunk.

Charlie and Vaggie's voice aren't too bad. They're alright. Though I feel like Erika's voice could be a bit higher pitched like with Jill Harris.

So yeah, some of these voices are just not it for me, but I guess I have to learn to live with it now. Lord knows I could only put up with so much with what Viv has to offer.

[apprenticestanheight]

I've seen some fics of these, but I'll never turn down a coffinshipping fic where Strahm has to patch up Hoffman from when Jill uses the Reverse Bear-Trap on him. It's just sweet to me that although they hate each other, they love each other or are rather obsessed with each other, and yet Strahm would stitch up Hoffman's face... even though Hoffman put Strahm through two deadly traps 😆

Cat and Mouse- Hoffstrahm

Hi!! I am so sorry that this took as long as it did--I swear I meant to do it but stuff gets buried really quickly in my inbox and my track record with object permanence is kind of terrible, which definitely applies to requests as a lot of the time they're left to sit until I work through a backlog.

HOWEVER, this is my second coffinshipping fic and in my saw rewatch I am barely halfway into the second movie so I apologize if their characterizations are at all off, I like to think I've nailed my characterization of Hoffman but I haven't written for Strahm very much so my characterization of him might not be perfect and the same goes for how I've written their interactions.

Fic type- this is some light angst

Warnings- mentions of canon-typical saw violence, murder, and this has been edited but not very well--be wary of spelling and grammatical errors, I wrote this while tired and edited it while also tired.

Peter should probably be putting a gun to Mark Hoffmans head, if he's being honest with himself. He should be holding a gun to Marks head and demanding a confession or some kind of acknowledgement of the crimes he'd committed under the Jigsaw alias, but he's not.

He's not because Mark showed up at his house and gestured to a very gruesome looking wound on the side of his face, and when Mark wordlessly asked Peter to stitch him up, before he could think through his response, Peter was agreeing and grabbing a towel and a first aid kit with a needle and thread inside while instructing Mark to sit on the couch.

And then he was wetting the towel with antiseptic to clean the wound, telling Mark he was getting what he deserved when he flinched away or shouted with his discomfort. And then he was actively helping a serial killer.

He recalls the words that Perez had told him once, just before he'd interviewed Jill Tuck that first time.

"You should be careful," she said. "Especially with mostly unsolved cases like this one, that work ethic of yours can turn into obsession real quick. Hatred for someone might as well be able to turn into obsession with the drop of a hat, Peter, so I'd watch myself. Make sure it wasn't an obsession before I kept on with the case."

At the time, Peter had scoffed at the notion. "I'm not becoming obsessed," he'd told her, even pairing it with a smirk, like a smirk could've been convincing. "And if I am, hatred and obsession will prove to be so dangerous a line to walk that I step away anyway. I know that much--I know when to step away from my work."

But, Peter supposes he should've known that he would know when to step away from his work in all aspects except for whichever one concerned Mark Hoffman, who he felt a deep disdain for and yet wanted to know everything about all at once.

Of course the line blurred whenever Mark looked at him, had been particularly blurry as he stitched up a wound caused by one of Hoffmans so-called enemies, Jill fucking Tuck herself.

"She put a trap on me," Mark explains as Peter finishes the stitches. "That fucking bitch put a goddamned trap on me, claiming it was Johns will and all that other shit."

"I really don't want specifics, Hoffman," Peter says dryly. "You put me into two deadly fucking traps, yeah? I don't need to hear about whichever woman you've made an enemy out of, even if I hate her as much as the next person."

Mark smiles at him. Peter doesn't know if he wants to punch him square in the lips or pull him into a kiss so intense it shocks the air out of their lungs.

"You do realize what I have to do if you let me leave this house not in handcuffs, yeah?"

Peter runs his tongue over his teeth, stands up from the crouching position he'd taken while stitching up Hoffmans wound.

"I do," he says. "You're going to go kill a relatively innocent woman because she followed what I am presuming to be the will of John fuckin' Kramer, who was her murderous ex husband who willingly put innocent people to death. Yeah, I think that's easy enough to follow, Hoffman."

Mark stands, grins at Peter.

"You realize that letting me go means the chase continues?"

Peter shrugs. "You'll slow down one of these days, Hoffman. You serial killers always do. When you do get slow I'll catch you and be the one to put your ass behind bars."

Mark looks to his feet, "I really do wish this could've been different," he says.

Peter forces himself to look at the brown color he'd chosen for his curtains.

"You have fifteen seconds to be down the street and turning the corner before I start chasing you and eventually arrest your ass," he says, feeling conflicted as he speaks.

The simple truth is that Mark Hoffman is a serial killer. The simple truth is the fact that Peter should be putting him into handcuffs and bringing him to the station while he declares the Jigsaw killer caught once and for all.

But, when has their relationship ever been simple, really? Peter cannot pinpoint a moment of simplicity from it's beginning.

So, when Mark nods, bolts out the front door, Peter lets him go. He falls into the couch with a monumentally tired sigh and presses his face into the palm of his hand. A few minutes pass, and he laughs to himself.

He and Mark are in a cat and mouse scenario, and while Peter hates it, he also knows that he wouldn't have it any other way.

[dreamsofalife]

Shy doesn't let her speak another word before the flashlight connects with Joy's face, sending her tumbling to the ground. However, being rather panicked and reactive, the blow isn't as hard as it could be. Joy doesn't have the time to respond verbally, but a grasping hand manages to catch Shy's sleeve and pull her down to the ground with her; if I'm going down, you're coming with me.

"Will you listen to me for one minute?!" Joy's pinned to the ground, her thin fingers wrenching Shy's hands away from her. The way she yells isn't her normal irritated snap; it's akin to a frightened animal, wild eyed and feral. "I don't have much time, that demon seed with the fake leg is probably still after me! What kinds of people have you been hanging out with since I left?!"

She doesn't answer. The two of them struggle, rolling across the sea of darkened grass, pale moonlight the only witness to their desperate struggle. Shy strikes; once, twice, fist connecting with Joy's face more times than she can count. She's in a blind, animalistic panic that can't be reasoned away. The mind is quiet while the body and emotions rage, demanding; eliminate the threat, get rid of her, kill her, KILL HER-

But before she can reach such a terrible point, before she can do what can never be taken back, she looks down, and she sees it. That terrified face, almost blue under the glow of the moon, body heaving as tears stream down her face. She sees something truly, genuinely pitiful...and, she stands up.

There comes a time in our lives when we stop mythologizing things, and by extension, people; our parents stop being infallible and look to us like ordinary humans, our teachers are no longer the pantheon of Gods deciding our fate. The closet monster morphs back into the moth-eaten raincoat bought for us years in advance that we forgot existed.

For Shy, her moment was now. Standing over Joy-impossibly beautiful, perfect, cruel, capricious as her very namesake Joy-who now sat dirty, sobbing, and downright pathetic...something in her just broke.

This isn't a monster. This isn't an angel, a succubus, or something out of the tortured love stories she consumed by the pound as a teen. She's human. Flawed, wretched, and as of now, no longer able to hurt her. No more than she already had. She can't bring herself to fear something she pities so much.

"You are...so fucked up, you know that? Not just what you did last week, but like, in general?"

"What are you-"

"Shush!" Joy actually flinches at the intensity of her voice. "You're always doing that, always interrupting me! Even when we were together, you always used to interrupt! A-and you used to laugh at my poetry, and stole my perfume...you didn't talk to me for a week because you thought the waitress at Bukowski's was flirting with me! She was my second cousin, Joy!"

"Are you still mad about that?! I said I was-"

"No, you didn't!" Shy snaps back, eyes flashing. "That was the worst thing! You never apologized for anything you did, you always had to justify it or act like it never happened! You still don't ever apologize! Christ alive, look at yourself! You're here trying to justify almost killing me, to me! You only apologized for it because Daniel made you do it! Because Jill is on your heels and Nymh is hunting you down! Because the people who actually know and love me are doing something about it!"

Love...that's why she's even alive, isn't it? Lo found her and got to her in time. Alice got Daniel to buy her time to heal and keep Joy at bay for awhile until she managed to run. Jill and Nymh had been chomping at the bit trying to get revenge for her, everyone who visited her in the hospital...her room is still piled high with flowers.

She can barely register the tears pouring down her face.

"I feel sorry for you, you know. You hurt me because you felt like you had nothing left, and now...now you don't. There was a time I would have taken you back, would have just...just forgiven you for it all and thought it was okay. But I know better now. I met people who taught me how to love for real, and they're the only reason I'm still here right now. I've moved on, Joy; it's time for you to do the same. For all you like to talk about taking responsibility for your actions, you haven't done so once...so I'm giving you the choice. Own up to it. Everyone knows what you did, so own up to it and take responsibility. Stay here and get arrested, I won't press charges; I'll let the state decide what they want to do. Or, you take the coward's way out and run, but if you run...I can tell you that life will be miserable for you, if you can manage to survive that long. I'm begging you, Joy...do the right thing. For once, do the right thing."

Joy doesn't respond, not verbally at least. Her eyes lock with Shy's for a moment, pleading before she lowers her head.

She has to do the right thing. She has to give up; she can't run forever.

Once again, sirens wail like a banshee in the night, and once again, Shy finds herself unable to sleep. She's questioned briefly, and as her ex is taken away in handcuffs, she can't help but feel a deep ache in the pit of her soul.

These are scars that won't heal, but in time, they're going to fade. She's still scared, broken, and maybe even in shock, but at the very least? The nightmare is over. She's going to be just fine.

[calypso707]

Chapter eight : Save my soul.

As in the good old days, Jill and Chris teamed up again against this bastard. They'd been fighting the Tyrant for a while now and did their best to avoid his attacks, but he was powerful and very fast. They retraced their steps through the academy, trying to find an open area that would be to their advantage to fight him properly, arriving near the visitors' car park. While Chris paused for a few seconds to empty the magazine of his machine gun into the giant's head, Jill positioned herself against the wall of the archive building. Whatever they did, their bullets did nothing but slow him down.

"We've got to blow him up!" shouted Jill to Chris.

They were not properly equipped to deal with the Tyrant, Bindi or Nanan. Their mission was becoming increasingly dangerous and the situation more and more out of control. And their resources were dwindling by the minute; if they ran out of ammo, it would be their death warrant. The Tyrant leaned forward to pick up a car in his hands, lifting it with ease as if it were a simple toy. He dug his hands into the bodywork of the car, ready to hurl it at Chris. Just as Jill was about to take a step towards her partner, he grabbed a grenade from his belt, pulled the pin and threw it at the giant's feet.

The explosion was instantaneous and was followed by the blast of the vehicle he was holding, increasing the violence of the detonation tenfold. The fire had completely enveloped the monster. A wave of heat hit Jill and she covered her eyes, struggling to breathe as the air became hot. She felt a hand grasp her shoulder and Chris motioned for her to follow him: "Let's go, now!”

She nodded and followed him as he entered the archive building, breaking down the back door which had remained blocked until then. The place was completely plunged into darkness, and she could hardly see what was just a few metres away from her, but Chris managed to turn on his flashlight to look around. Familiar noises were echoing around the place. There were a few infected in the building, some wandering around, others who had been trapped or crushed by the overturned shelves and crates of archives. The place was turned upside down, as if an earthquake had caused it all. Jill had no difficulty understanding what had happened here: someone had locked the doors of the building and this Nanan had probably released its toxins to contaminate them. An unpleasant shiver ran down her spine, barbaric techniques had been used simply to take revenge for Mother Gracia's actions. So many dead...

Jill was shaking her head slightly, as if to clear her mind of the negative thoughts and traumatic memories that were gradually seeping into her head. Chris used his knife to get rid of the few infected who detected them, both avoiding using their weapons to attract others. The two agents managed to make their way to a staircase leading down to the basement to take a break, and once inside the room, Chris sealed off the entrance to prevent the infected from following them. Jill sat down on an iron crate, her hands resting on her thighs and her head bent forward. She would take a deep breath, hold it for three seconds and then exhale. She did this several times to regulate her breathing, a technique she used sometimes to calm herself.

"How are you feeling?" asked Chris as he approached her.

"I can't wait for this to be over. I wouldn't say no to a little nap." replied Jill, trying as hard as she could to hide her discomfort. This Tyrant had brought back painful memories that she thought she'd buried deep inside. Everything took her back to Raccoon City, and she had the terrible sensation of being imprisoned in a nightmare from which she would never be able to escape. But that wasn't all…

"I should have stopped you from coming, I'm sorry, it's my fault" added Chris, who sat next to her, placing his machine gun against the wall.

"No, it was my choice, I thought I was ready. I wanted to be but... Shit"

Jill could feel Chris's gaze on her but she didn't dare face him. He put his hand on her arm but she tensed at his touch. Seeing her do this, Chris turned to her, "There's something else, isn't it?"

The young woman kept her eyes down on his fingers pressed to her thighs and nodded slowly, "I tried to kill you at Kijuju, Chris. And I nearly succeeded. I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive myself..." she tilted her head back, she didn't want Chris to see that she had tears in her eyes. "Damn.. I couldn't control my body but I was conscious, I wanted to scream, to stop but I couldn't."

Jill finally dared to look at Chris, who hadn't taken his eyes off her for a second. He had even closed the distance between them, he moved his hand up her arm and ran it over her cheek in the most delicate way possible. He feared that if he was too brusque, he might break her. He intertwined his fingertips in her brown hair - she had dyed and cut it as soon as she left the laboratory - and slid his thumb close to the wound on her cheek, as he had done earlier: "But I'm still here, you had nothing to do with what happened, Wesker is the only responsible and he paid the price. Jill, as long as I'm by your side, I swear to protect you”

The young woman's bluish gaze remained locked on the captain's face, as if she was learning every contour of his face by heart. Did he realise what his words were doing to her? Her feelings were running wild, and her heart seemed to be breaking in her ribcage, the beats echoing in her temples. Grabbing the strap of Chris's bulletproof jacket, she leaned forward and kissed him, offering him a fiery but brief kiss. She broke it off before Chris could even react and she lowered her head as she realised what she had done, feeling ashamed because it wasn't like her to do that. She pressed her fingers against her still wet lips: "Sorry, i don't know what I was thinking..."

Chris responded by grabbing her chin to lift her head and kissing her back. At first he seemed to be holding back, but as she moved closer to him, he intensified his kiss, to which she responded with delight. She had the sensation that his presence, this kiss he was offering her, was helping her to hold on to this reality and, in the blink of an eye, all her fears vanished. Their lips parted, only to meet again, exchanging ardent, languorous kisses. His lips tasted slightly earthy and salty, but that didn't bother her in the slightest. Their lips met and parted, only to find each other again and the heat was rising inside them. The despair around them, that was coming out of this suicide mission, only accentuated the desire to fall for each other. She needed and wanted him.

They parted after a few seconds, reluctantly, to catch their breath. Jill's eyes were riveted on Chris's lips as she ran her fingers through the captain's brown hair, quietly catching her breath. They had found comfort in this apocalypse, even if it's brief. Chris, who had slipped his hands down the young woman's back during their embrace to keep her close to him, placed a kiss on her forehead "We must go and find the others".

Jill nodded in agreement but they continued to stare at each other, in silence, savouring the calm for a few seconds longer. She finally detached herself from him to stand up, Chris doing the same. She approached the window overlooking the alleyways running through the buildings, the way was clear. Jill reloaded her weapon and Chris did the same with the machine gun, and just as she was about to open the window, a huge tremor was felt above.

"What now?" asked Chris.

Then it started again, once more, and again, at a regular pace. Jill noticed that the ceiling was beginning to crack more and more, and realised that what they were hearing were blows, which were becoming increasingly deafening, the force shaking the whole building. Suddenly, the ceiling partially collapsed, debris tumbling down close to them. Looking up, Jill saw the Tyrant with his fist raised - the bastard had survived the explosion and was there to finish the job.

[elegantmadness]

Final Fantasy XVI RP

I just finished the game a couple of days ago and I'm obsessed. I need to write in this universe!

So, without further ado... have some info!

18+ writer with years of experience looking for another 18+ writer.

i don't shy away from dark or nsfw topics; not necessarily looking for nsfw/smut heavy threads by any means, but i can tell you right now i probably won't mesh well with someone who has to fade to black :c sorry.

i'll write over email, in gdocs, or via a discord server. i can't say i have much of a preference for any over the others; i'm also down for ooc over discord and the actual writing thread elsewhere. please note i DO NOT write here on tumblr.

given how recently the game came out and i finished it, i've not written for this fandom before. i certainly don't mind taking any constructive criticism if you think i've misrepresented/misconstrued a canon character.

i'm comfortable with canon/canon pairs and canon/oc ones of any genders/dynamics/orientations (m//, m/f, f//, trans + nb inclusive). if we can agree on a canon/canon pair, then i'm happy to leave it at that. if you'd like to go the canon/oc route, though, i do require us to double; like most everyone who's ever dabbled in fandom rp i won't be stuck writing the canon for the original without a little reciprocity.

i like long posts. how long is long, you ask? i like to stay at least around 3 paragraphs, though i can -- and do -- write more than that. all in all, i'm a mirror poster who enjoys fleshing out details and delving into characters' thoughts/feelings/motivations. my sweet spot is 4-6 paragraphs, but i'm more than willing to write novella/generally longer posts if you're game!

i don't do rapid-fire or one-liners or short, measly little single paragraphs. they make me sad and tend to indicate my partner's lack of interest or effort. that said, if your motivation is running dry and you need/want to stop, that's completely fine! honestly, if you ghost i won't chase after you, though i'll admit to a slight preference that you give me a chance to try and fix things up?

at the very least one post a week; i'd prefer around 3 a week, personally, but ofc irl stuff happens.

everything has to be in third person; absolutely no first or second. i default to past tense, but i'm perfectly fine with present if that's your preference!

beware spoilers below if you haven't finished the game!

you'll find the pairings i'm most interested in writing/am actively looking for as well as general ideas for plot/plot points below the cut!

so! i'm honestly not super sure about pairs, but i'm more than happy to talk them through with you? off the top of my head, i know i'd be interested in things like:

dion/joshua (it doesn't have to be in the terms of dion's perceived debt to joshua, but there's just such a nice familiarity there, especially after twinside and dion's drowning in guilt; maybe even bringing in memories of them meeting when they were younger)

hugo/benedikta (my favorite amoral duo who both just need to fuck off from dhalmekia and waloed and do whatever tf they want; also, hugo turning benedikta away from barnabas? his actual affection for her takes her by surprise; this dude doesn't actually just want to exploit and use her for his own ends? say whatttttt?)

dion/barnabas (i'm a terrible person; it's fine! :c but the whole dark v light theme? waloed v sanbreque? barnabas' whole crusade to kidnap bearers/dominants?)

benedikta/jill (mayhaps cid comes too late to save jill and benedikta absconds with her from the battlefield? i think they'd be able to relate to one another relatively well tbh, and plus i'd love to see jill a little more assertive/proactive)

cid/benedikta (purely platonic; i'd love to explore that dynamic, flesh out their background more; tbh, it'd probably be set in the background of an actual pair)

cid/barnabas (i’d loooooove the opportunity to explore their dynamic before cid up and left waloed; maybe cid even confided in barnabas at one point until barnabas’ loyalty to ultima comes out and cid feels betrayed? add benedikta into the mix and ooof. lots of drama potential, i think.)

clive/barnabas (especially in the context of clive having just lost to barnabas in a fight? won't master ultima be so pleased with you, mr warden of darkness? but then... wait. why won't you hand over mythos? clive somehow turning barnabas around? you love to see it)

clive/ultima (dark af and i'm not even sorry. but ultima...making it into clive's mind in a botched attempt to possess him? doesn't even need to be romantic or sexual, but just... a fucked up dynamic. ultima hitching a ride in the back of clive's consciousness? more than he already does?)

clive/joshua (shhhhhh. clive literally saying they've become one is just so darn platonic i can't even com pre hennnnnnd. i'd argue clive shows more emotion over joshua than anyone else in the game, and i'd be remiss in not exploring that further)

please note i have zero interest in writing clive/jill :c they're more of a brotp for me. sorry! i'd at least be willing to hear out other canon/canon pairs, but please don't be offended if i don't want to write them :c

i'd also be incredibly down for some canon/oc shenanigans, and ofc i'd happily double! gonna be super basic and ask for my partner to write clive for me tho; could absolutely be down for poly (cough with cid cough) but that's not necessary at all. also, ngl, i'd love to write a leviathan oc (for whom i already have a great deal of ideas...) i know, i know, the medicine girl is who everyone kinda suspects to be leviathan but, shhhhhhh ;o au for a reason, yeah? it's not confirmed anyway.

miscellaneous ideas

dominants v ultima (as it should have been imo; dominants protecting humanity, working together to try and save it instead of clive having to do it all basically alone)

more fallen lore? ngl, i was hit with such similarities from this game and ff12 i was half-convinced it was like, a thousand+ years post-ff12. i know it's not, but it could be interesting to bring in ff12 wrinkles into the fold? all the crysts and crystals and incorporeal beings directing humanity in the directions they want? plus AIRSHIPS. aetherfloods = jagd/myst? we don't have to go in the ff12 direction for more fallen lore, tho.

time-au a la: dominants returning to the time of the fallen/helping in the fight against ultima at dzemekys

some sort of magic that allows the dominants to retain information from previous hosts? warnings about ultima/crystals/the blight/etc?

people have compared ultima and jenova and... lbr. it would be incredibly interesting to see. ultima wants a host? too bad. jenova's cells have infected it; he can't direct it anymore. too bad every time he keeps trying jenova's still there.

these aren't all the plots i'd be interested in writing by any means, but, well. i think i've rambled on long enough. i hope i've managed to pique some interest, and if i have, feel free to reach out!

[atopearth]

Final Fantasy XVI Part 1 - A World We Want To Live In

The Eikons are very pretty! I think my favourite is the Phoenix, the colours are very nice. Shiva is very pretty too but after my brother said she's not blue enough, I can't get it out of my head lmao😂 Titan looks like Hugo lol, just a big version of him hahaha. Gotta say Clive's mother is absolutely terrible. The way she discards him so easily is horrible, and she's a traitor. I feel so sad that their father the Archduke died just like that, and it felt terrible to see Clive (I assume he's Ifrit) kill Joshua/Phoenix, that was pretty cruel to have to watch helplessly. I didn't think Jill would be Shiva, but I guess I'm mostly sad that he had to kill Tiamat to protect her, like dude Tiamat could you nottt. Cid looks good. Anyway, Clive protecting Jill, and being ready to die with her was cute. I was wondering if Cid was Ramuh so it's nice to have that confirmation. Assuming from the demo then, Benedikta is Sylph/Siren or something then?

I found it hilarious how Cid really shouted when he found his scout at Lostwing😂😂 Totally not an infiltration mission where you need to stay low hahaha. I'm not surprised that Cid and Benedikta used to be part of the same kingdom, since it seemed like Benedikta was fond of him in her own way. Cid definitely reminds me of Balthier from FFXII though but an older version that's probably more leader-ish considering all the people he picks up, whereas Balthier likes a bit more freedom imo.

My bad, so Benedikta is Garuda. I guess I was right to think that Cid and Benedikta were a thing back in the day! Wonder if she'd be willing to come to our side🤔 Anyway, guess we've got a new Eikon power to use! Too bad Benedikta? I'm not sure if I should feel sorry for her because I don't feel like I know enough about her to really be swayed a certain way especially since she followed Barnabas knowing that if she wasn't useful anymore he'd throw her away. I just wonder if Cid told her he was leaving the kingdom when he did, and whether he asked her if she wanted to go with him, because it does sound like she thinks she made the wrong choice so I guess she could have followed Cid but chose not to. I guess she's pitiful. I didn't think she'd die just like that though! And nice to see Ramuh! Although it seems like Cid gets one stop closer to death the more he uses Ramuh's powers. I wonder how Clive will react when he realises he's Ifrit?

Wow, I didn't expect to see Odin! I really love the look of Odin but who would've thought Barnabas would be the Dominant for Odin lol. As for Bahamut, Dion is cool but Bahamut not really. I hope we get to see Alexander, I still think the FFIX Alexander looked the best so it would be awesome to see what a modern rendition of him would look like. I feel bad for Clive though, he's been chasing after himself all these years thinking of revenge as the only thing to keep him going but then he realises that the one who killed his brother was actually himself. I guess Jill can be his new reason for living? But I wonder if Clive only went out of control because of that hooded guy? I'm so glad Gav didn't die because I was about to riot. The guy was so devoted to helping Clive, I would have been so annoyed if he died for it!

Omgggg the moogle is so cuteeee, full of fluff! The only negative is that it isn't voiced so we don't get to hear kupo!! Awww Clive and Jill's reunion was pretty cute, it's nice to know that she'll support him whatever happens when they go back to Rosaria. It feels like I'm cheating when I use the accessory that does combos for me haha, but it's so convenient when I'm too tired to really want to play lol. If only it told me what combos the AI is using so I can learn lol. Anyway, gotta love how this game gives you 5 gil like dudeee c'mon lol. Another gripe is what is the point of having a party in this game when you can't use them or tell them to do stuff? You don't equip stuff for them, you don't know what abilities they use, it just feels like such a lonely game. Oh and honestly, equipment in this game doesn't feel very progressive or different because all you do is get higher stats but there's no variation to make you particularly choose one weapon over the other because of other abilities or something, so it's boring.

Very interesting that I guess Bearers and Dominants all have a curse, or essentially a time limit like a crystal where they can be "used up" as they continue to use their powers, gradually turning them into stone and their body crumbling into dust, that's terrifying. I wonder if Cid is like that? He seems to be having difficulties with his body whenever he uses his powers. I feel sad for Martha and the Abbot's situation though. Martha buys Bearers who are too far gone because she can only afford those that are "useless" and the abbot due to the kindness of his heart uses the medicine Martha buys to take care of these people in their dying moments which is kind but terrible because he's basically surrounded by death with no one to support his well-being as he watches the people he cares for die one by one. Well, yep, Cid is definitely petrifying with that hand🥺 Not surprised that Anabella got far and ended up marrying the emperor but seriously, she's terrible. Lady Hanna/Murdoch's wife surviving and giving Clive his father's clothing was nice, I don't think these Bearers and everyone will live to go to Cid's place though. Going back to Phoenix Gate was nice, not that it looked anything much like what it was before. As for Clive's personal battle with himself, it was interesting and needed I guess in order for him to accept that he's Ifrit. It was sad to see Lady Hanna dead, killed by the Imperials because of Anabella, it was expected but it's sad to think about the life she lived after everything.

It was really sweet to see Jill and Clive hold hands and tell Cid the answer that they found after returning to Phoenix Gate and how they wanted to build a place where people could live on their own terms instead of just dying on their own terms like Cid has strived for. I guess it's interesting to think that the Mothercrystals which are considered divine to this world are the ones destroying this world and its nature by drawing all the aether or something like their life force from it. I guess that's kinda like how the Dominants work and that's why Dominants eventually succumb to petrification? Quite cute to know that Cid has a daughter that's studying somewhere else. If Gav isn't coming to Oriflamme, I honestly hope he doesn't die, I like him and Clive. I knew Moore village would be cruel but it's sad to see children treating Branded as pets you can just discard and then get a new one. I'm not sure if Clive letting the child know about how Branded also have family will affect anything since I'm sure once she goes home and tells her parents, they'll just brainwash her into thinking that guy was just crazy but yeah. I feel sorry for Tatienne, she felt like this guy was creepy and didn't seem to like him and now she's dead alongside him just because she wanted her comb back??

Sigh. I agree with Jill, the Mothercrystal was much bigger than I thought, kinda reminds me of the Crystal World in FFIX. I knew Cid would die eventually but I really didn't want it to be so soon😭 At least he died knowing that someone who believed in creating a better chance at life rather than just choosing how you want to die would be able to fulfil his wishes and dreams, I just feel sorry for his daughter and myself because I really liked him haha! Considering how similar Margrace looked to Joshua, it was natural to think that he was actually Joshua, it's just kinda sad but sweet that everything he's been doing was to protect Clive because these things want Clive to be some sort of vessel of theirs? Anyway, five years later and Jill looks exactly the same?? Couldn't they change her hair or at least her clothes lol, I mean Clive can't but she can! Anyway, Clive with a beard looks good, I always thought he looked like a boy from some angles so it's nice to see a more mature look to him now. Playing with Ramuh will be interesting, but knowing that it came from Cid will always be sad, at least Clive is now living as the new 'Cid' protecting Bearers? I wonder how Gav is doing though. Oh wow, the new Hideaway is beautiful and it is a good idea to have it only accessible via boat. It's also a very big place! I didn't even realise Clive's brand was gone lmao, I kinda liked it but very understandable that it's gone now. The story is picking up though so I'm a bit more excited about how everything will go from now on!

How ironic to have Black Shields as a version of the Shield of Rosaria to kill Bearers rather than protect them. It's sad that the abbot had to die but it was bittersweet to see how grateful the Bearers were to sacrifice the little bit they had left of their lives for him. I'm so glad Ambrosia the white Chocobo from back in the day survived and reunited with Clive. It would be great if the firebrand these people refer to is Joshua going against his mother, I think it's about time! I'm surprised Wade survived! Anyway, I'm glad we're getting more insight towards Jill's past and having her face her past, she's been very supportive towards Clive all this time, it's about time she also got that same support considering how terrible her life must have been as well. Honestly, Jill facing her past was done quite shallowly, nothing of substance was added and I didn't feel like it was as much of a breakthrough as it was for Clive accepting he's Ifrit. I mean, I didn't expect anything grand but I definitely expected more. I can't believeeee Gav ruined their moment for a kiss! It was the perfect time🥲 Guess we should blame Hugo for attacking Rosaria. It's sad to see the poor soldiers get massacred like that because most of the Imperial army is at the Crystalline Dominion so they're left with a measly amount of people. I love the look of the couerl here, might be one of my favourite renditions of it! Torgal the lightning wolf? He looks pretty cool! Not as fluffy anymore but very cool! I'm kinda disappointed that we didn't get to see the actual Titan again because I don't feel like we got see it much but oh well I guess, Hugo was such a life sponge, he just wouldn't dieee hahaha.

Honestly though, after this, I truly do love Clive and Gav's trust for each other and their interactions, the bromance is great haha! I feel like they understand each other and believe in each other and have each other's backs on a level that's well portrayed considering how much they've been through since the beginning of this game, so I really like them. For now, the game has been all right. The story isn't the most compelling but I do really like some characters and their relationships, well mainly Gav haha and it is nice to explore the world and see how people are living in it. And I'm curious and dying to see more Joshua haha!

[msookyspooky]

Hi Spooky !!! Sorry I’ve been kinda dead on the asks end (i have been keeping up with terrible trilogy and I’m loving it) but the Scream 6 trailer ?????? WHAT ????

Okay so I wasn’t as excited for it, specially because of Neve not being in it (still hoping that’s just them trying to trick us but she’s actually in the movie) but holy fucking shit the new tRAILER ????

YES !! YES !! I started screaming when watching the trailer “it’s Stu ! He survived ! It’s the cult plotline” cause I don’t fucking know where I saw this but Im SURE that one of the scrapped plots for 3 was Stu survived, went to jail and in jail found this cult like following and used them to terrorize Sidney (damn we could‘ve had it all)

The knife thing, the old ghostface mask, the literal fucking cult he has now !! All those ppl in the train (?) are probably red herrings, just ppl in their Halloween costumes, BUT OH MY GOD WHAT IF THEIR ALL IN THE CULT AND KILLING PPL ??? Actually terrifying

GF with a gun was hot (obviously) but I also lost it a little like ??? IS THAT ALLOWED ??? HE CANT HAVE A FUCKING GUN ??? Hot and also very scary (fucking delicious)

I’m now so excited for this fucking movie !! It’ll be the first Scream movie I get to see in theaters 🥺 so im really happy it’s gonna happen and I stg if I see Matthew Lillard getting unmasked— SPECIALLY if they pull some “Surprise Sidney” call back I think I’ll just cum immediately (is that too much ???? Nooo.... maybe ?? Idk you tell me skskskks)

If it’s not Stu however I think i have accidentally ruined this one for myself KSKSKSKS oh god

Star! I missed you where have you been loca? 😭💘

No valid!! I was so against it w/o Neve, I was like meh looks alright with the first trailer but the second??? I'm so sorry Neve but I gotta see it 🥲🎟

Him having a cult would be so damn amazing, never done before, scary af and SO FITTING FOR STU MACHER! AND CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE SHRINE? IMAGINE STU HAVING BILLY'S GF COSTUME IN THE MIDDLE AND OBSESSING OVER GETTING HIS KID TO DIE OR JOIN HIM

Everyone talks about Billy but Stu was by far the scariest. Jill was really the only GF imo trying to hold a candle to Billy (We can't count Roman bc he was on his own and the original technically and Mrs. Loomis as well obviously). But how many GF's have we had try to be like Stu? Mickey may have fanboyed Billy but he acted like Stu, Amber for sure, Charlie gladly took Stu's role next to Jill's Billy (Slapping himself and saying just like Billy and Stu the lil nerdling) Why? BECAUSE STU WAS THE MOVIE AND YOU AIN'T NEVER HAD A GF DUO LIKE BILLY AND STU

Stu was the og whose death wasn't clear, he was the goat and the franchise is doing such a fucking disservice to Matthew and fans by not finally showing SOMETHING to do with Stu Macher. 5 Movies and he's barely even mentioned??? No hate to Roman stans but it should have been Stu. BUUTTT Scream 6 looks infinitely better than 3 so if we get Stu in 6 being the baddest fucking GF we've ever seen AND with a cult following; I will be happy.

No it's not to much bc if I see Stu being that skilled with a shotgun and a knife pulling some marvel moves and shit? That's gonna be my porn forever. The edits of this mystery GF already have me feeling a certain way 😩❤️‍🔥😏🥵

(Give me peepaw GF I NEED IT if Michael Myers fans get a middle aged to old man to simp for so do we damn it)

[poeticandvaguelysweet]

Prompt #210 - Not Ashamed

@lunabelles : ‘holy shit! She’s on her way over here right now, she/he CANNOT see you! 

ANON: ‘who topped?’ 

from: morning after sentence starters

it’s not the morning after??? nor is it a sentence starter?? idek what happened here??? It’s also 4am??

AO3

NOT ASHAMED

‘Oh, oh, Owen!’ Claire moaned on a high note as her orgasm snapped and flared, sending shockwaves through her body. She gave him a lazy grin, cheeks split as she lowered her chest to his, their mouths meeting upon decent. With Owen’s arms wrapped around her back, Claire allowed herself to collapse onto him. ‘Why don’t we do this more?’

Owen hummed, fingers splayed across her back as he drew nonsense shapes, giving her a minute to recover before he started thrusting again with small strokes from beneath her sated body. ‘You work too much.’ He told her without hesitation, face drawn in stern lines as sweat continued to sit on his brow. Owen was too concerned about his own release to notice her small flinch.

He wasn’t wrong. Her hours were long and relentless, her job unforgiving. He had once asked her why she lived at the resort instead of employee housing, expecting her answer to be one of a higher standard. She lived in the Hilton purely because it provided closer access to the Innovation Centre and all that it held. Claire wasn’t exactly proud to admit that, but this was why Masrani hired her; dedication to her work. It did, however, interfere with their arrangement.

They were currently tangled in the sheets belonging to her bed in said resort apartment. It didn’t interfere that much but it certainly made Claire say ‘no’ on far too many occasions where her place was the only option. She didn’t want him spotted sneaking in and out of her apartment. She didn’t want to be caught fucking the Raptor handler when Claire knew she should damn well know better. Owen wasn’t jeopardising her job but in the eyes of a few, he was well below her league. That and she knew the hullabaloo it would cause when the Jurassic World staff uncovered that she and Owen were doing something about all that sexual tension.

He was just a bad habit. Nothing permanent. That was why she wanted no one to know. Because the second people found out would be when things started getting sticky.

Claire used work as an excuse not to see him. Late meetings. Early meetings. Busy schedule. All of it a means to control what was happening between them. To doctor when they did and did not see each other. But, work had also become her excuse to see him too. Bad day, stressful day, brilliant day, high achieving personal goals day or a completely slow and out of her mind kind of day. Owen was stress relief with a cocky smile and a firm hand on her hip. He made her happy for those short hours she allowed.

Claire pulled away from him, rolling off the man's chest as his cock slipped from her body, still hard. She pouted at him, playing sympathetic as wrapped her fingers around the base of him and brushed her lips against the tip. Claire didn't know what it was, but she liked giving Owen head. Never had she usually enjoyed that part of intercourse but Owen was selfless and Claire was happy to return the favour without his need to ask. The thing was, he never asked her to do it, never gripped her hair or forced her to stay on her knees. Things with them were always about what made the other comfortable. The sex was often rough and hard, pushing the air right out of her lungs as his hands left marks on her skin. But, never would he thrust his cock in her face and demand she swallow. Claire found she liked it when the option was her choice. Her idea. She loved it when Owen was completely unaware, the man never expecting it and always surprised when she settled between his legs and lent forward.

He propped himself up on his elbows, eager to watch as her gaze met his, Claire’s smile wicked before her lips spread across the width of him. She had barely begun when she scraped her teeth gently up the sides of his thick cock, Owen letting out a sound of pleasure when someone knocked on the door. She ignored them at first, but Owen could tell Claire's attention had shifted. She was still bobbing her head in his lap, her tongue swirling around him but not with the same focus. He sighed, dropping down on his back in defeat as the knocking persisted, Claire letting him go with an easy pop as she reached for her robe and moved for the door.

From her bedroom, Owen could hear Claire’s voice but not her words. Someone there kept her attention for a few minutes before her voice got closer, her words clearer. ‘I just need fifteen minutes and I’m all yours.’ She reappeared, cheeks red and eyes wild as she shut the door behind her with frantic movements. ‘Holy shit!’ Claire swore for the first time outside of sex. He had never heard her cuss in panic or anger, just sheer lust. ‘She’s gonna come down the hallway, she cannot see you!’ Claire moved for him, hissing as she grabbed his wrist in an attempt to pull Owen up.

‘I’m sorry? Who?’

‘Zara.’ She hissed, keeping her voice down low as Owen sagged worry flaring in the back of his mind that she had a partner who didn’t know about their activities. ‘Get up.’ Claire grunted, letting go of his wrist as she stood in front of him, her hands on her hips. ‘Seriously, Owen. I don’t want her to see you.’ She busied herself in picking up his clothes, throwing them at him one by one.  

‘Where the hell am I supposed to go?’ He asked, standing in front of her, butt naked and clutching his clothes to his chest as he heard Zara’s footsteps approach the door. Claire just stared at him, wide-eyed and annoyed asking him silently how on Gods sweet Earth was she supposed to have the answer to that. Her eyes trailed behind him, landing on her large closet before she stalked towards him and encouraged the man inside.

‘Claire?’ Zara knocked on the closed bedroom door. Claire hummed in acknowledgement, opening it with a smile. ‘Do you want me to go over your schedule?’ Owen listened as the other woman perched herself on the edge of the messy bed without a word before unlocking her phone and going over Claire’s meetings for the day. The closet door was left open just an inch, enough that Owen could see Claire in the en-suit brushing her hair and starting her makeup routine.

He crouched there for ten minutes, knees starting to ache as he mourned the perfectly good erection that went to waste — for him, at least Claire seemed to enjoy it before she shoved him in her closet to put her job first.

Zara was still talking, no longer sitting as she leant against the bathroom doorframe blocking his view of Claire. He had zoned her out, too busy cursing himself for getting in the damned closet, to begin with.

He liked Claire. A lot. Owen couldn’t count on both hands the number of times he had dropped something to be at her beck and call. It was a little too eager maybe, but it said a lot about how he felt for her. He was still denying it was anything more than lust buried deep in his bones. They were working on getting it out. She had taken the opportunity one too many times to push him away and this was his final straw. Owen grunted as he forced his stiff knees to move, bringing him back to his full height as he pushed the closet door open and stepped out into Claire’s bedroom.

‘You know what? I’m too old to be hiding in the closet until the coast is clear. I did that enough when I was in high school.’ Zara startled, but Claire, standing behind her looked at Owen like she half expected him to throw in the towel. She shrugged, trying to play nonchalant as Owen’s frustrations grew. ‘Don’t look at me like that! You’re the one who shoved me in there Claire like you’re ashamed.’

‘I am — I’m not ashamed of you, Owen Grady.’ She answered but he couldn’t hear an argument as to why not. ‘Would you put some clothes on?’ She sighed, hands raising and falling to hit her hips with a soft smack. He was still naked, Zara standing so her face was turned away, embarrassment tinting her cheeks.

He apologised as he turned back to the closet to find his jeans.

‘I’m going to leave you two alone.’ Zara announced as she hurriedly moved for the door. He thought Claire’s assistant was gone when the bedroom door squeaked, her voice sparking up again. ‘Just curious,’ she started, ‘who topped?’ Owen didn’t hesitate in pointing a finger towards Claire, too scared of Claire’s wrath to verbally answer the other woman. Zara winked at him, her smirk wide as she turned back to Claire. ‘Your first meeting isn’t until ten. I won’t expect you any earlier.’ She sang `have fun’ as she disappeared out of the apartment leaving Owen and Claire to their standoff.

‘I’m not ashamed of you.’ She told him again, eyes sincere but tired. Owen tracked her, watching Claire move from the en-suite to her bed, pulling herself onto it before sitting with her legs crossed. ‘I just, I don’t know.’ There was no excuse to pull. She honestly couldn’t look Owen in the eye and give him an answer as to why she panicked. It was just that: panic. She didn’t want anyone to know about them but she wasn’t ashamed. Claire was so used to keeping things private. Secrecy was her default. ‘I just didn’t want everyone in our business.’ That was honest. ‘I’m still trying to figure out what is going on here.’ She didn’t know if she wanted anything out of their relationship beyond sex. Hadn’t even stopped to think about Owen as a permanent fixture in her life. ‘If other people know they might push us in a direction we’re not ready for.’

Owen could reason with that. He didn’t know what he wanted or expected from Claire but if she felt like her boundaries were about to be pushed he would do anything to stop her from running away or feeling pressured. ‘Just don’t shove me in the closet again.’ He dropped beside her, bed bouncing under his weight. Claire nodded, chuckling softly as she apologised, her hand on his.

‘Why don’t you stop by my place later tonight and we’ll continue what we didn’t finish this morning?’ Owen asked, leaning into her side. ‘And you can’t say you’re busy because I heard Zara say your last meeting ended at seven, three times.’

She turned a grin to him, eyes rolling as she stood and stepped away from the bed. ‘I can do that.’  

[calypso707]

Chapter two : Strangers from the past

Her heart skipped a beat at his name and she continued to stare at the closing door for several minutes. She was finally going to see Chris again, after all this time. And yet, deep inside, she felt uneasy. They had been through so much together, she still wondered how they had managed to survive this long. A violent flash came back to her mind followed by a terrible headache. She saw herself fighting against Chris, she had no control over her body, she had to get rid of him, at all costs. The headache persisted, she felt as if her skull was going to implode, as if it was cracking, the pain was so intense. She took a few steps backwards to sit back down on the bed, her hand pressed against her forehead.

"Is everything okay, Jill ?" a doctor asked through a microphone in the room.

"Yes, I'm fine, it's just..." she struggled to open her eyes, the room suddenly feeling too bright.

"Headache again ? Do you need something ?"

"No, that’s okay, It'll pass, don't worry."

After a moment that seemed to last forever, the pain began to fade, slowly. The memories of the last events, of past missions, kept coming back to her mind, and more and more violently. When she was held in Africa and to control her, Wesker had to bend her to his will. During the first injections, she managed to resist the virus, but it didn't last long. She ran her hand over her chest, over the scars left by the device he had placed on her that allowed for the continuous injection of the Uroboros virus. He had used her antibodies to perfect it and had succeeded. Wesker wanted to use Jill as a weapon against Chris and he almost succeeded, as a revenge. She could feel the rage rising inside her, they had fought side by side and it had turned out that he only wanted one thing: domination over the human race. She pinched the bridge of her nose for a few seconds before rising slowly to go to the sink.

She ran the cold water and rinsed her face several times before looking at herself in the mirror. Her hair had grown after three years in captivity, and as soon as she got out of this hole she would cut and dye it. She reached for the cotton towel on the edge of the sink to blot her face and there, in the reflection, she saw him. Chris was standing behind the door of the cell, exchanging words with the doctors, probably asking about the situation and the results of the tests that had been carried out on the young woman.

She turned towards the door as he finally approached it, they looked at each other for a long moment, her fingers clutching the towel. She took a deep breath and took three steps forward.

"How are you feeling, Jill ?" Chris asked her, he sounded genuinely concerned.

"Probably vitamin D deficient, I miss the sunlight but other than that I'm fine” She thought she saw a slight smile form on the soldier's lips as he turned to one of the researchers.

"I'm coming in," he said.

"Wait, you can't come in like that, you need to-"

"That's not necessary," he said, opening the door. He didn't listen to the researchers who were trying to explain the situation to him and he entered the room, closing the door behind him.

Jill stared at him as he seemed to examine her from head to toe, probably checking that she was okay, that she had no injuries. But she felt more uncomfortable than anything else, she was dressed only in a gown. He went to sit on the chair by the table while Jill went back onto the dingy mattress.

"I wish i had come earlier"

"That's fine, i'm busy too !" she said, amused. But the soldier didn't react, he was juste staring at her.

"Sorry, I still can't believe it's you," Chris said.

"And yet..."

He rested his elbows on his thighs and clasped his hands together, he seemed to be searching for his words and as Jill was about to talk, he went ahead of her.

"November 29, 2006" he said. Seeing that Jill was looking at him uncomprehendingly, he continued "That's the date you were declared dead. You protected me."

A heavy silence settled in the room. She remembered it more clearly now, their mission in Oswell E. Spencer's mansion, Wesker was about to strike a fatal blow at Chris and she stopped him.

"And if I had to do it again, I would" she looked at him, she meant it. Chris was finally looking at her, what monstrosities had he seen in those three years ? His face, his eyes were scarred by the horrors he had seen and she felt a deep sorrow. This is the life they have chosen to lead but..

"I thought you were dead, all those years.”

"I wish I had been," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "Chris, everything that's happened is not your fault. You couldn't have known, but I'm fine, I'm here. Thanks to you. I owe you my life and more.”

"I still wanted to apologize. If I'd known you were alive, I would have come sooner, I swear."

She looked at him for a long time, his words were like a balm on her heart. Chris had always been there, he was a great partner. He had stayed in Kijuju for the sole purpose of saving her. She was grateful for it and she also knew that her heart was driven by another feeling.