#maybe i’m projecting my love for big men handling small animals

[cada4us]

animal lover carlos

[heartofsnark]

Can You Feel The Sun? (Chapter Five): Just To Want It All

Notes: As stated in last chapter notes, i have a decent chunk of chapters done so these are coming out pretty rapid fire. Otherwise, I don’t have much to say other than massive thanks to my friend who reads these over for me and has been cool with me dropping 80+ pages of fic on them in a week. because yeah...I finished another chapter of this. 

Word Count:  7885

Chapter Warnings: mentions of alcohol and cursing, if that counts as a warning in cyberpunk 2077.  

If you haven’t yet, you can read the previous chapter here!~

Lizzie’s Bar stands out brilliantly in the city; out of all the gangs, she thinks she likes The Moxes aesthetic the best. Vivid pink and bright teal. Their colors splashed across the overpass, along with a neon pink skull sign with hair and a bow. At the side of the building is a towering neon skull girl sign, full bodied with an animated kicking leg and axe held above her head, the same hot pink color.

She parks and gets out of her car, doing a quick scan of the area, searching for more Militech drones. None that she sees, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there. The credchip burns in her pocket, remembering some of the stuff T-Bug has taught her. How to crack an encrypted shard and see what’s on it, how to transfer its contents. V rifles through her bag, remembering she had a blank credchip somewhere. If Militech did anything dirty, V should be able to transfer the eddies onto a clean chip.

V makes a beeline to the front door, cement blockers and walls covered in graffiti.  More neon signs, the bars name over the door in glowing turquoise letters. Lizzie Jizzie scrawled across an outside wall; two screens on each side of the double stores, all covered in Nicola ads requesting V ‘taste the love’.  Groups of people loiter in the open outside the bar. V’s eyes are drawn to the two bouncers outside the doors.

Two women, one leans against the outside wall as she puff away on a cigarette. Short slicked back hair that starts blue and then fades to green, eyes hidden behind sunglasses and a gold septum piercing in her nose. The other one stands in front of the doors, a yellow spiked bat held over her shoulders. Long hair pulled up into space buns, purple roots and pink ends. Both of her arms are metal; black with pink and teal accents as well as spikes along the forearms.  Both women are skimpily dressed, no shame in that. The one wielding the bat has a white top with cleavage going beyond her breasts,  showing her almost plastic looking skin and the Moxes tattoo across her chest. The other shorter haired bouncer is wearing neon pink pasties beneath a teal bomber jacket.  V’s been here before, has maybe seen them in passing, both really attractive. She’s not sure there’s a Mox member who isn’t.

“Hey there, dollface!~” The bat wielder greets her with a grin, as if she could actually see V’s face.

“Interest you in a preem BD?” The smoker offers.

“What you got?” V asks to be polite, she doesn’t honestly even like brain dances. But the girls are cute, so… no harm in a little small talk.

“What don't we got? Women and men of your dreams, synaptic acting A-listers. No washed-up virtuporn boytoys or blow-up dolls here.”

“Auteur stuff - It'll grip your heart and blow your nerves right outta your body. Pure bit-based ecstasy - that’s why people come here.”

“Sure know how to sell it, don’t you?” V signs, trying not to laugh as the bouncers give her the spiel.

“Not a sales pitch, it's a warning. I'll give you one word - bespoke. Not for everyone's synapses.”

“Think you can handle it?”

“Think I can manage it,” she tells them, knowing damn well she has no intent to get any sort of virtus.

“Mmhm. Couple of things you need to know first,” she affectionately rubs her bat, “Ahem. Severe penalties for any unauthorized recording… “

“No drugs, no groping. Someone catch your eye, you do not grab 'em. You find 'em in the catalog, ask for a BD and get yourself a box.”

“No worries, not even my first time here.”

“Door's open. Have fun, Doll.”

“Welcome to Lizzie’s.”

The double doors open and V walks through a blue beaded curtain. There’s a front room, a stand where a woman with a bright pink mohawk is selling clothes, under another Nicola ad and neon letters saying ‘Fuck To Death’ behind her.

“My what a sweet face you have,” she says, her tone honeyed but its clear she hasn’t looked up from the counter, not even noticing as the masked merc walks past through another beaded curtain and double doors to the main club.

“Here in Night City~”

Music thrums as she steps in; the room is lit with strobing pink and teal lights. Couches with neon glowing lights on the underneath, some people with BD wreaths and others playing on their phones. People dancing  to the club music and  bar tucked away in the corner.  She doubts the client will be right at the start of opening, so V finds an empty stretch of couch, sitting down on black leather with a pink neon light at her feet.  V slides the Militech cred chip into her mask, it takes a moment, but she manages to crack it and get a look at the inside.

Ten thousand eddies and malware; it was meant to send all of Maelstrom’s data to another server and then fry the systems. Meaning, if V handed it over Maelstrom would get their systems fried, with her and Jackie dealing with the aftermath. V slides the blank cred chip into another slot in her mask’s edge, transfering the clean money over to it. Fucking around with tech and daemons isn’t her strong suit, but if she recalls Bug telling her that fairly simple malware like this could be reworked pretty easily. She works through the coding with her thoughts, the data and interface all on her mask. If she can get the coding right, she might be able to have it send something other than data back to the Militech servers…  Shifting and twisting what she thinks will work… if she’s done it right, instead of sending data back to Militech’s server, it should inject the same malware back into their system. If used, it would spike both Maelstrom and Militech.

She’ll call up T-Bug before they hit Maelstrom, double check she did the steps right. If Maelstrom play nice, they can pay and be done, if not...she can fuck over the gangoons, Militech, and walk away with an extra ten thousand in her pocket.  She puts the credchips in her pockets, spiked one in her left and clean one in the right.

Time to have a look around for the client. V making a beeline for the bar, bartenders always have all the info. Lizzie’s Bar in neon over the drink station, a brightly blue lit corner where a man works at making drinks, shelves of booze behind him.  She climbs onto a blue vinyl bar stool, feet no longer on the ground and unable to resist swinging them a bit. The bartender comes to her; a man with slicked back dark hair,  glowing white cybernetic eyes, and silver embellishments run across his cheeks and jaw. His shirt bright blue with a tropical design and if not for a single button above his pants, it’d be completely open. Beaded necklaces bringing even more attention to his exposed chest and stomach.

“Get you something?”

“Looking for Evelyn Parker,” she speaks the woman’s name, not wanting to waste time fingerspelling it even if the sound feels tight in her throat.

“And you are?”

“V, me and her were supposed to meet here.”

“Well, V,  it’s a pleasure. I’m Mateo.”

“Nice to meet you… any idea where she’s hanging around?”

“Club's big. Gonna have to look around. Can't do it for you-”

“It's all right, Mateo,” a feminine voice calls out and V’s eyes are drawn to a woman at the bar, “I was waiting for this one.”

There’s something about her, distinctly Mox and also not. Her hair is a short vivid blue bob with bangs cut straight across her forehead. Heavy makeup, a tight silver sequin dress with a dipping neckline, red thigh high vinyl boots, a black trench coat that pools around her knees with a pink and white feathered collar.  She holds two fingers up to the bartender and moves to the bar stool closer. There’s a clang and tink of glass; Mateo getting out a bottle of tequila and two shot glasses.  

“That won’t be necessary,” V signs before he can fill the second glass, “I don’t drink on the job.”

“Aww, what a good girl,” Evelyn coos, a smile pulling at her painted lips, “Evelyn Parker. I knew it was you as soon as you walked in.”

“And you decided to let me wander around instead of introducing yourself?”

“I wanted to get a good look at you first.”

“And?” V watches as Evelyn takes a swig of her tequila.

“Rest assured, if I didn’t like what I see, you’d know,” she takes another drink, “C'mon. Know a place we can talk where ears won't prick up to listen. We'll be in the lounge, Mateo. Anyone asks we're not here.”

Evelyn takes her black clutch purse and leaves the bar, V puts some money down for Mateo; if nothing else to compensate for his time. V hops down from the stool and follows after Evelyn, through a pair of double doors that goes into a hallway tinted red and pink, booth doors lining the way. The blue haired woman opens up a door, standing to the side as V walks in.

The booth is small, circular with a red vinyl couch around it’s curve, a table in the middle projects a hologram of a stripper who twists and dances. V sinks into the cushions, watching Evelyn stride in and light a cigarette as the door closes behind her. Everyone in the city a smoker it seems.  As Evelyn puffs on a cigarette, V is somehow just noticing the gold nail like finger caps she wears.

“Dex had a load to say about you. Called you professional, effective. And trustworthy. I hope he wasn't overselling…“

“You don’t give a shit what he says,” V retorts, not missing the tinge of disdain Evelyn’s voice. V doesn’t need anyone to blow wind up her ass.

“You have trouble accepting compliments?”

“Flattery’s beneath you.”

“Maybe Dex is beneath you,” Evelyn moves around the table, grabbing an ashtray from the table, then sitting down next to V, crossing her legs, “Have you known each other long?”

“First time working with him.”

“Hmmm, I've heard there are two kinds of fixers. Those with stable crews on long contracts and short leashes. Loyalty and predictability they value above all else. Then there's the other kind- Dex's kind.”

“Meaning?”

“Headhunters. They lay their trust elsewhere, not in people but in a thing- their intuition. They bet on potential. And if they lose that bet…It's the last mistake they ever make. I’m hoping Dex’s intuition served him well in this case.”

“Let's get to the point, why am I here, what’s this about?”

“Your target - I trust you know what it is.”

“Arasaka biochip.”

“Mmmhmm, their Relic, secure your soul technology. Arasaka's poured billions into personality transfer technology. But me - I just want the data on this one. The chip is tucked away inside Konpeki Plaza, the hotel. You ever been?”

“Fancy corp hotels? Yeah, no, way out of my price range.”

“The decor's to die for. As you'll see for yourself.’

So, V and Jackie have to bust into some fancy hotel to get the chip people are arguing about on tv. Understood, so far. But, theres a lot of risks involved in a heist of this scale. Its one thing to rip off a dropped piece of cargo or a convoy from a corp; but this kind of top notch tech?

“You know where the chip is, exactly?”

“In a suite on the top floor. The room's occupied by Yorinobu Arasaka.”

V swallows the lump in her throat, the son of Saburo Arasaka, heir to the entire fucking corp. She’s once again finding herself wondering why Dex thinks her and Jackie can handle a job of this caliber, the Arasaka’s seem downright un-fucking-touchable to a merc like her.

“He’s in NC?”

“Don't you read the screamsheets?”

“Not particularly, no.”

“Well, the media couldn't get enough of Yori coming to Night City, it was all over the headlines. He's heir apparent to the Arasaka empire - Saburo Arasaka's only surviving son.”

“So, he trying to take over while he’s in town?” V asks, trying to understand what exactly is going on.

“Only a handful of people in Night City know what the Arasakas' real plans are.”

“And you included in that?”

A smirk stretches across her face, green eyes devious; “Yorinobu is a puppet. He lost all his cards years ago when he failed to do daddy's bidding. Saburo's had Yori's balls in a vise for years. He might just turn the screw and crush them outright if he learns his son's up to no good again.”

“Someone like him is bound to have an army surrounding him, that hotel is probably a fortress by now.”

“Yorinobu keeps exactly no muscle around. Not one guard. Got rid of them a long time ago.”

“Why?”

“Surely you know what they say about Arasaka intel? Sneeze in Night City and a blossom drops from a cherry tree in Tokyo. Yorinobu was convinced his Arasaka security detail reported directly to his father.”

“If you got a spare ache up your sleeve, I’d love to see it.”

“ Now, this should make your tits perk up,” she says, putting the ashtray aside and leans forward.

“My tits are quite comfortable where they are, I assure you.”

“Cute, but more importantly, Yorinobu recently swiped the chip from an Arasaka laboratory. He's made a deal with NetWatch, aims to sell it to them. Have you spotted my ace yet or do I need to spell things out?”

“Okay, no muscle because he has daddy issues and no security on the device because he stole it from said daddy. Any idea where he’s hiding the thing?”

“Likely in a specialized container, one that mimics an organic neural environment. On the outside, it looks like an ordinary briefcase.”

“Which would be where?”

“You'll see for yourself soon enough,” she stamps out her cigarette and stands up, walking to the door, “Provided we're done gossiping about the Arasakas.”

“You know anything else about him?” V asks, wanting to see if she can mine any more useful information about the heir that could help.

“Quite a bit, actually. He studied finance and biotech in Tokyo. Hm, probably didn't have a choice in the matter, come to think of it. Saburo was grooming him to be his successor. But then Yorinobu vanished to chase his own dreams, cut himself off from the corp for years. Long story short, though the black sheep returned, the bitter taste remained. But that's only one side of him. There's another - an intelligent man who has always walked his own path and so has his own designs on the corp.”

There’s no doubt in V’s mind now that Evelyn knows Yorinobu personally, the way she talks and speaks is clearly colored by experience. Some prodigal son who ran away from his father and then came back with his tail between his legs when he couldn’t cut it alone. An odd lump in V’s throat at the thought; running away from shitty dads, being a black sheep…

“Sounds like any other corpo dick to me,” V signs, not liking the parallels her brain is starting to draw.

“Hm. Ever tried to imagine what life might be like for an emperor's son? You have everything, yet you are no one, nothing. At least as long as you remain in Saburo Arasaka's shadow. I…” she scratches almost sheepishly at her neck, her wannabe femme fatale attitude slipping for just a moment, “...sympathize. It's a vulnerability I understand well.”

V is still finding herself finding uncomfortable similarities between herself and fucking Yorinobu Arasaka. Its stupid, she doesn’t know the man and he has the wealth to destroy her for pretending she does. But, a power hungry leader for a father, leaving home, terrified of being under his thumb. Only difference, well many, but most pressing is she’s managed to make it on her own...so far… at least. Not that she hasn’t had her doubts or worries.

“So, what’s next?” V asks, practically shaking her head to dispel the weirdness swimming in her brain. Black sheep or not; Yorinobu Arasaka has a silver spoon in his mouth. She’s a nomad turned Night City edgerunner; their lives couldn’t be more far removed.

“Now comes the best part,” Evelyn opens the door and turns to leave, “Follow me. Got somethin' for you. Should help you plan. Braindance from Konpeki Plaza.”

V follows Evelyn out into the hallway, “ how’s a braindance going to help?”

“Think BDs are only good for fondling virtual tits, jackin' off to in those boxes?”

“Thought that was the main selling point, yeah,” V teases back as they turn a corner in the hallway, headed towards a door.

“No. They can be a very useful tool. Good for analyzing details human perception, even boosted, doesn't grasp. Exactly what you need,” Evelyn teases as they enters a dressing room, a few Mox at the tables painting their faces with makeup and styling their hair.

“What's on the tape?” Through another door and neon lights fade to harsher, darker lighting.

“Yorinobu's suite. The glorious interior,” the walk down a short metal flight of stairs, “You'll need to locate the Relic yourself. Hope I grabbed enough detail to make that possible.”

The stop at the end of the steps, Evelyn turning to look at V with a hand on her hips. Not that V really had any more doubt about it, but she’s been given more evidence that Evelyn and Yorinobu know each other.

“You recorded it?”

“Mhm. BD rec implant. Why, you object?”

“Not particularly, who you know and what you do with them is none of my business, lets see the braindance.”

“Judy'll help. She's a Mox, too,” down another short flight of stairs, deeper into the basement, “Besides, we go back… years.”

Evelyn stops them again outside a pair of double doors, Lizzie’s is starting to feel like a little maze at this point. But more importantly, Evelyn’s paused again, stumbled over her words and showed something under her facade. V felt something was off, a Mox but somehow not, and she’s starting to think Evelyn is purposely trying to put up a front. That she’s trying, a little too hard, to come across like femme fatale or corpo. Evelyn clears her throat.

“V, this is important. Judy's always been there for me. Always helped out. I trust her. But she's a Mox, not the latest member of your crew. Try not to forget. So you'll be a good girl, tread lightly and keep that tongue on a leash.

“Oh, but it's not my tongue you need to worry about.”

“Hmm, can feel you smirking under that mask, keep it up and I’ll tie those hands down, too,” Evelyn says with a wink as they pass through the double doors into another hallway, then through one more door.

Evelyn leads her through the basement doors, a dark little room with servers, netrunning chairs and screens. In an office chair slouching with one leg on a desk is a woman; late twenties or so with olive skin. One side of her hair is shaved, the other shaggy and down to nearly her shoulder, a deep green color with bright pink ends. The woman is heavily tattooed, bright red roses nestled above her collar bones, a spider web on her right shoulder, a cartoon ghost sitting in a shell, and a large number 13 on her bicep are among the standouts. But V could spend hours describing each artwork.

“Ahem.”

“Hey, there you are…” Judy greets Evelyn, a playful almost flirty tone to her voice.

“This is V. She's here for that BD roll. And V, this is Judy - best braindance editor I know.”

“Enough already, gonna make me barf.” There’s a slight accent to Judy’s voice, not unlike Jackie’s.

“Impressive set up,” V signs, at least, she assumes it’s impressive. Tech is already a bit of a blind spot for her, especially when it comes to brain dances.

“Mhm, Analyzers, sensory sig amps, acoustic and emotive wave monitors, facial expression translators.”

“Ahem, Judy,” Evelyn stops the inked editor before she can tell V more.

“All right, all right… Compiled your BD, Ev.”

“What do you think? Will it do?”

“Still pretty raw… but yeah, oughta do.”

“Mhm. V needs to get deep inside, that's most important.”

“So, let's calibrate, tune it to her,” Judy stands up from the table and moves to the desk closer to the door, sitting down below a neon pink light, “Believe me, I've dealt with worse. Should see the dig-Jig Street porn we gotta contend with sometimes.”

Evelyn has followed behind Judy, standing behind the editor’s chair, “So we drop V inside? Let her look, let her rummage around, right?”

“How 'bout it, V? Raw braindance - ever taken a dip before?” Judy leans forward on the desk, looking at V.

“No, not at all, but I’m a quick learner,” that feels like a lie as soon as she says it, “ and need to know what I’m dealing with. So.”

“Siddown, settle in, and we'll get you goin'.”

V turns around to the chairs, either netrunning or ripperdoc chairs, she’s not sure. But, she climbs into one, settling down into it as Judy comes back out around the desk. Judy is nearby, fiddling with a brain dance wreath.

“Be easier to fit without the mask.”

“Mask has optic tech, linked to my neuroport and biomon, should work just like it does with any set of cybereyes.”

“‘Fraid of ruining the mystery?” Evelyn asks, teasing again.

“Mask is for business, lot harder to track a merc if you got no clue what they look like. You that curious, feel free to try and track me down during my off time.”

“Fine, fine,”  Judy affixes the BD wreath around V’s head, lining it up properly on the merc before walking back to the desk,  “Gotta create your sensory profile first.”

“Go for it.”

“Now, sit still, look at me. Gonna run the analysis soft should feel a slight tingling…”

V’s breath catches as it prickles across her skin, a crackling and warm sensation crawling across every nerve. From the base of her skull, down her spine, across her arms to her fingers, running down her legs to her toes. A vague pulse, a current of something.

“OK now let's set the optics and other sensory sigs. Look smack into these two screens, pretend it's an eye exam.”

The two wreath panels flash and strobe white light, building in urgency and frequency.

“Gimme two more minutes. One more sec, need to get the pain receptor limiters in… OK. All set. Need to test your profile first. Tossing in a sam-”

“We can just use my recording, there’s no point in wasting time,” Evelyn interrupts Judy.

“It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“I’m fine with just jumping to her BD,” V interjects her opinion, “better to get right to it.”

Judy sighs and rolls her eyes; “Fine, fine, what do I know.”

“Great, I’ll just need to patch Bug in.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, Who?” Judy jumps up from her desk, crossing her arms and looks at V like she just asked to summon Satan.

“Runner from my crew, security specialist. She'll tell me what to look for while we analyze. No problem, I assume?”

“Actually, it is a problem! You’re already asking me to cut fucking corners and now you want to bring someone else in?! Not what we agreed, Ev!”

“It’s not a big deal,” V signs, not sure what Judy’s sudden problem is.

“No big deal! You don't quite grasp the risks I took by lettin' you in here! What I'm risking pokin' around with this stuff!”

Judy continues to yell and V rolls her eyes, she’s a BD editor, not part of the actual crew, the client, or the fixer. If Arasaka goes after anyone it sure as shit won’t be Judy, so why is she throwing a fit.

“And you don’t seem to grasp the risk I’d be taking if me and my partner went stumbling into that hotel with no fucking clue as to what we or our runner are up against. I miss one hidden turret and I get pumped full of lead, either my runner links in or I’m gone.”

V makes a point to twist her head and look at Evelyn at the last part; Bug is the most highly trained member of their crew and Dex’s go to runner. Without her involvement and eyes on it, the job won’t be going anywhere.

“Bye then!” Judy yells out, “good riddance and don’t let the door hit you on the way out!”

“Judy, please…”

“Ev, she wants to bring a 'runner in. What part of that don't you understand?! How do I know she'll only perch in this footage, observe, not fuck with anything?!”

“Because Bug is literally involved with the heist, has a dog in this fight, and wants it to go well too,” V signs, hoping the AI voice is getting her annoyance across, Judy does level a glare at her over Evelyn’s shoulder.

“Me,” Evelyn steals Judy’s attention, “I'm your guarantee.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Help me, this one last time. I promise everything'll work out,  just like we planned.”

And it hits V, between the flirting and the soft drop in Evelyn’s voice here. The reason Judy is so worked up about this; her and Evelyn have something. Friends teetering the line into something else, girlfriends already, or maybe even more than that. V’s not sure. But there’s something distinctly not platonic to the way they interact. Maybe that’s the play on Evelyn’s. Scam Yorinobu Arasaka then run away with her porn editor girlfriend.

“Fine,” Judy shakes her head and sits back down, the anger gone, “call Bug and we’ll dive in.”

That issue taken care of V rings up T-Bug, the netrunner answering after a ring or two.

“What’s up, V?”

“Bug, listen. I got some useful footage from Konpeki Plaza. It's a braindance.”

“Konpeki? Ohhh, thought as much…” Judy looks up at Evelyn.

“Someone there with you?”

“Client and her...friend...is what I’ll settle on; that’s not what matters right now, its going to give us a layout of the room, a chance to find where the chip is, and some idea of security.”

“All right, see if I can walk you through it. Jackin’ into your tech now,” notifications alert across her mask’s interface, “Mh, you've gotta give me access. Opening port 1779… Secure protocol? Good, I'm goin' in. Should be getting my request… …now.”

“Got it. You ready?”

“Millisec. OK, connection confirmed, now some quick temp ICE and… we're clear. Ready to dance.”

“Let’s do this.”

And with that the wreath panels begin to flash and strobe in front of V’s eyes, quicker and quicker until the world goes out in white. And in the next snap of a moment, one reality becomes another. Her body is no longer her own, she’s placed in Evelyn’s mind standing outside an elevator. What feels like her body, moves to adjust a purse strap, gold capped nails.

“All right, V - eyes open. Gotta find out where Yorinobu is keepin’ the Relic. Everything is controlled by thought and intention; you can step into editor mode, access everything her cyberware picked up a signal of, can scan, rewind, fast forward. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

The doors open, exposing the hotel room, and a horror show of a man walking towards her. V can feel the spike in fear, whether from Evelyn in the moment or V’s own instinctual reaction; she isn’t sure. He’s around eight feet tall, complete metal and cyberware from his feet to his upper lip; more machine than human. Wire, hydraulics, steel; all branded with Arasaka. The flesh section of his head is sickly ashen protrusive veins, glowing red where eyes should be. As he draws closer there’s a whirr of machinery, hydraulics pistoning to give him movement. How is he alive? How is he functional?

“You look like a cut of fuckable meat. Are you?” He asks as he walks past, voice edged with something inhuman.

Evelyn reigns her fear back in, the past version of her walking deeper into the room, where a dark haired man sits at a table in front of a large screen where another blonde haired man speaks back to him.

“I said no,” the dark haired man speaks out, his voice colored by a Japanese accent and V knows it’s Yorinobu. Evelyn continues to walk closer, her heels clicking against the floor.

“They'll have my head for this…”

“Then you shall perish for a good cause.”

“But I-”

“Make yourself comfortable. I need a minute to finish,” Yorinobu tells Evelyn, sparing just a glance over his shoulder.

“Listen in on that conversation, V! Could be something important.”

She wants to watch through first, do an initial watch to look for things and then go more in depth. Two watches at least should mean she’s covered everything. Yorinobu switches the conversation to his holophone, pacing around the room. Evelyn meanwhile puts her purse down on the chair, then walks behind him, trying to keep him in range

“My father is a tired, visionless old greybeard who thinks nothing will change and he'll live forever in his tiny, frozen bubble! You will listen to this - Saburo is an addled despot utterly removed from reality, stuck in some fossilized vision of a world that no longer exists! Of a world that may never have existed! We have not seen eye to eye for the last twenty years. I am quite sure we won't now.”

Yorinobu continues to talk as Evelyn pours herself a glass full of champagne and takes a drink, the tech allowing V to taste the sweet bubbles as if they were on her own tongue. Glass in hand she takes a slow look around the room and walks back to the center of it, sitting at the table, the plush of the cushion letting her sink into it.

“Noted,” Yorinobu says into the phone as he starts to walk back to Evelyn, there’s something in his eyes, “enough.”

He hands up, putting the phone down on the table. Evelyn looks up at him and V through her eyes gets her first good look at the Arasaka heir. Dark hair with the sides shaved down close to the scalp, glasses perched on his nose. His cyberware is surprisingly minimal for a man of his wealth, two streaks of silver going up his neck to his jawline.

“Sorry, to make you wait,” he touches Evelyn’s shoulder and the woman rises, “business can be stupid.”

They’re close and V can feel his hands on her, Evelyn’s, hips. Evelyn’s hand on his shoulder.

“Mmh, it wasn't long,” Evelyn hums and it feels wholy unnatural to feel like she’s speaking with someone else's voice, “Not even long enough for me to grow bored.”

His hands start to creep and Evelyn goes to pull away, movements playful, when Yorinobu pulls her back in. Then he starts to dip his mouth.

“Fuck no!” V yells out as she pushes the thought to enter editor mode, separating her senses from Evelyn’s before she has to feel Yorinobu’s lips on Evelyn’s neck. She looks down and sees herself, though slightly digital, her bright blue nail polish and not gold jewelry. The scene around her has paused and a digital filter over them.

“Something wrong?” T-Bug asks with a slight laugh.

“Nearly had corpo droolon me,” V signs, happy to find the tech allows her translator to work in editor mode, “was going do a watch through, then a second go in editor mode, figured two look throughs would be best...then”

“Then you nearly had to lock lips with Yorinobu Arasaka.”

“Gag, rewinding back to scan the call fully.” With a thought she watches as Evelyn and Yorinobu move in reverse, getting back to win the heir was starting the call. Once she gets where she needs to be she scans his phone and restarts it from editor mode, thankful for the sensory disconnect. She hears the man on the other end of Yorinobu’s call speak.

“Please speak with your father. He's taken a particular interest in this project, he can certainly explain the risks invol--”

“My father is a tired, visionless old greybeard who thinks nothing will change and he'll live forever in his tiny, frozen bubble!”

“I should not even be listening to such things.”

“You will listen to this - Saburo is an addled despot utterly removed from reality, stuck in some fossilized vision of a world that no longer exists! Of a world that may never have existed! We have not seen eye to eye for the last twenty years. I am quite sure we won't now.”

“Read the documentation carefully. The Relic requires specific storage conditions. You MUST provide them.”

“Noted,” Yorinobu hangs up again and V pauses the BD.

“Heard that? Relic docs gotta be around here somewhere. Look for them,” Bug confirms.

“Once we find where the chip is stored we’ll do a clean sweep of the security, okay Bug.”

“Smart thinking.”

V watches half-heartedly as Yorinobu and Evelyn interact; her range of vision and senses limited to Evelyn. She fast forwards through the two canoodling, only mildly catching Evelyn mentioning something about ‘candy’ though V assumes it’s of the nose variety. Evelyn separates away from Yorinobu for a moment and walks to a control panel, offering to lend music to the scene.

But V’s interest is piqued when she catches Evelyn rifling through Yorinobu’s messages, a few spam and scam emails. Then she pulls up an email from Clouds, a dollhouse in the city. Evelyn deletes it, V rewinds back and pauses. The email thanks Yorinobu for his patronage; hmm, heir has a taste for doll prostitutes. Something, Evelyn doesn’t want that email to be there… Its all beginning to make more sense and V’s not sure she likes it.

The merc fast forwards further through the BD, moving through to Evelyn playing awful music and going to meet Yorinobu in his bed. Where he sits with a tablet, the second the screen is clear. She pauses and scans it, bingo.

“Manual details a special temp controlled container. Relic needs to be kept real cool,” T-Bug explains through the technobabble.

“Chip’s got to be in a freezer.”

“Yep. Could damage it otherwise. OK, switch on thermal layer detection in the editor. Should be easier to spot where Yorinobu's keeping the chip.”

V switches with a thought, the world turning into temperature signatures as she searches for unnatural cold places and spots. An air conditioner pumps out cold air, but that would be a stupid place to put billion dollar tech. One malfunction and you lost it all.  She rewinds back to get more of a view, a ice bucket for champagne, a fridge?

“That’s just a regular fancy fridge, not cold enough,” Bug tells her when she spends t0o long contemplating it.

V rewinds further and an amass of blue ice cold air from behind a pillar catches her eye, It seems to come up through the floor, unlike the AC, ice bucket, or fridge she has no clear idea where this one is coming from. A secret container in the floor? Seems like a much craftier place to hide expensive stolen tech, V scans it.

“Right, grabbed the heat sig. Matches the spec in the docs,” T-Bug tells her.

“Chip has to be here, we got it.”

“Mmhmm, time to scan security.”

V switches back to the regular mode, looking for what she needs to scan. The camera system first.

“Shit, cameras packed with newtech motion sensors, heat sig activators. IFF.”

“Can you kill it?”

“With access to their subnet, but we need the Flathead bot for that.”

They continue on, with Bug commenting on each security measure they scan. Alarm with fresh firmware, Automated turrets connected to the hotels server. Yorinobu’s pistol, loaded with the safety on. V rewinds and fast forward, searching anything else that might be an issue but comes up empty handed.

“Seems like we got everything. Looks like all their security systems are linked to the hotel subnet. We need the Flathead. No other way to shut down these systems,” T-Bug sumises.

“No way around it ourselves?”

“Nope. Least I'm fresh out of ideas. Think we got everything we need.”

“Okay, but hang on the line with me after we get out of the BD, need you to look over something for me, if you don’t mind.”

“No problem.”

V exists out of the brain dance, a flash of white and the world returns. Judy and Evelyn looking at her from across a desk, T-Bug still in the call panel of her mask. Her eyes hurt, her throat feels dry, and she can feel a migraine pushing at her temples. She fucking hates brain dances.

“Get everything you need?” Judy asks, a dark raised eyebrow.

“From the BD, yeah, got to clear something with Bug while I got her on the horn,” V gets the chip she fucked with out of her pocket and slides it into the proxy reader of her mask, “got a chip I fucked around with; decrypted and tried to rewrite the virus on it, so it will spike the people who gave it to me. But I want to make sure, I didn’t fuck up.”

“Need me to grade your work, V?”

“Kind of…”

“Oh, shit, V. You fucking over Militech?” T-Bug exclaims, a little pride in her voice as she reads over the code, thankfully her voice is only audible to V through her hearing aids.

“Mmhmm.”

“And you don’t want to sign and have your translator read it, because you don’t want to risk the client knowing you’re fucking over Militech while prepping to fuck over Arasaka.”

“Mmhmm, will it work?”

“It will fry the servers of any tech it’s plugged in proper and fry the servers it’s linked to, a Militech van from the looks of it. Won’t be a dent in their bottom line, but will surely piss off some reps. That what you meant for it to do?”

“That was the plan.”

“Preem work then, but I do want to make some...edits,” T-Bug edits the chips code in front of V’s eyes, “there we go.”

“Something wrong with it?” Nerves creep up V’s throat, if she fucked up, she’d rather learn her lesson now.

“Nah, I added a bit of a personal touch for you, nothing wrong with a little style added to your hacking.”

“Appreciate the help.”

“You know I won’t always be here to check your work.”

“I know, I know, but it doesn't mean I won’t take advantage while I can. Thanks again, talk soon.”

“Later, V.” With that V hangs up the call and slots the spiked credchip back into its respective pocket. Judgement, suspicion, and resentment are radiating off of Judy.

“I'll wipe the cache and your data. You were never here.”

Judy stands up from the desk and V tries to decipher a few of the tattoos she sees, noticing more sea themed ones, like a dolphin and sharks. V flinches behind her mask as Judy removes the BD wreath, glad to be free of the contraption, but she could have taken it off herself.

“Thanks…” V signs, despite this, just trying to be polite despite their spat.

“Keep it,” Judy hands her the wreath, V getting a good look at the octopus tattooed on the woman’s hand,  “I'll put it on Ev's tab. Portable device for handling BDs. I already uploaded your calibration settings. Not as sophisticated as what we got here, but should do the trick.”

“And it keeps you outta harm's way. Clever.”

“Speaking of harms way, know what I see looking at you,” Judy pins her hands to her hips and gives V that look again, “walking, talking corpses.”

“We needed this recording, just… relax, will you?”

“Relax! If Arasaka finds out you have it, you're dead. I'm dead! If you fuck this up and Arasaka comes knocking on my door!”

“Judy, relax, that’s… not gonna happen,” Evelyn is the one trying to soothe the editors temper again.

“Evelyn, please… no shortcuts. You go that route, city'll always win. So be careful.”

“'Course I will be. Besides, we'll talk in a bit,” Evelyn looks to V,  “lets walk.”

V stashes the new BD wreath into her bag and climbs from the chair, following Evelyn out of Judy’s basement space. It’s not like V is heartless or doesn’t know anxiety; but of everyone involved, Judy has the least skin in the game. V can’t spend her time coddling someone who doesn’t have a whole hell of a lot to worry about compared to her, Jackie, or Bug.

“Well? What do you think?” Evelyn asks and V can see that hint of nerves coming back.

“You’re not worried about this coming back on you, if they start looking through everyone he’s been dealing with?”

“They'll have a long list, then. Packed full of big names. Much bigger than mine. You tell me who they check first. Corpo hotshots and cutthroats? Or a little bedroom plaything like me?”

“Well, then... “ V tries to find her words, this all seems, too good, “intel on the heir, on the place, know roughly where the chip is, and how we should get to it… Seems like a perfect plan and job.”

“Mm. Thanks. Now the punch line, please.”

“Seems too good to be true, there’s got to be a catch…”

“Cold feet? Are you looking to get out of it?”

“I want to know you’re in control here; that there’s no secrets, no catches, no surprises that turns this heist from a cakewalk into a bloodbath.”

“V. I have zero reasons to haze you. We’re in this together. Really. Trust me that I got this.”

“Okay, if you say so, what next?”

“V….” there’s nothing good in the way Evelyn pauses, words stuck to her tongue for a moment, “Do this job for me. I mean me alone. No splitting the payout with anyone else. No middlemen. No Dex.”

Of course, of fucking course, there had to be something. Evelyn’s trying to play cutthroat corpo, fucking over a fixer because she has dollar signs in her eyes. But, she’s too damn naïve to the game to know that no merc with the lead in their gun would pull that shit. Greedy mercs who screw over their fixers end up broke on the street at best and swimming  with cement shoes at worst. And a high profile one like Dex has the means to destroy her.

“Fucking knew there was a catch, you want to fuck over our fixer.”

“Dex is a middleman. And a useless one at this point.”

“You don't fuck with fixers. That's the one rule every merc in this city knows - and actually follows!”

“But if we're smart…”

“There is no smart to this, a mistake like that will cost me my reputation and without that, a merc is fucking nothing in this city. Are you serious about this?”

“Better ask yourself that question. Do you want to spend the rest of your days blasting scavs? Or become a legend overnight? Your choice.”

“He would put me in the ground, if I pulled some gonk shit like that.”

“I could give you fifty percent, V, . Eddies enough to do whatever the hell you like, without needing Dex for anything. With cred like that, you wouldn’t want for anything, you could retire.”

“It’s not about the money.”

“I thought you were a merc. I thought it was always about the money.”

“No, its not actually. He trusts me, he’s taking a leap with me. And even if he weren’t, I’m not the only person I got to worry about. Bug vouched for me too and Jackie is my partner. I fuck over my fixer, it hurts them too. I’m not going to send them down the river for a bigger cut of the pie.”

“Fine. I never asked. But V?”

“Yeah.”

“I just hope you're as good as you are naive.”

“Pff, you think I’m the naive one, here. Cute.

“If you need me, call. I'll send you my number. Now go. I need a few words with Judy.”

“Later, then.”

And with that V heads back up the stairs, tension draws tight across her shoulders. This whole damn thing with Evelyn throwing her off. The BD and everything seems clear cut, if they get the Flathead, the job might even be easy. But, wanting to fuck over their fixer. Evelyn is not the corpo or femme fatale or whatever she seems to think she is. A doll, V’s sure of that.  Evelyn must have deleted the email from Clouds because its’s connected to her and the Mox offer protection to sex workers; must be where she and Yorinobu met. Clouds even has connections to Arasaka through the Tyger Claws. And she managed to become a powerful rich man’s plaything, so now she thinks she’s smart enough to fuck over not only him but Dex too.

She’s a messy client with good intel. V doesn’t want Evelyn to get hurt. The older woman is in over her head and doesn’t know how the merc world works. She doesn’t deserve to get hurt for that, the last thing V wants is for Dex to lose his cool and hurt the woman. But, V also owes it to him to let him know Evelyn put that deal on the table. If she doesn’t, what’s to say Evelyn won’t pull this on another fixer? Or Dex gets another job aligned with her and the next merc she offers this to isn’t so loyal? She has to tell him.

V fumbles with her holo as she walks back through the club, doing some quick research on Konpeki Plaza. Finding their policy on guns. Given the stealth nature of this mission, she can assume the only way they’re getting in is to find a way to get in like regular patrons. Which means they’d be scanned for guns as soon as they get through the door. If something goes south, she doesn’t want her and Jackie left unarmed with a hoard of Arasaka soldiers on their ass.

But they can’t confiscate cyberware.

Might be time to cash in her savings for something. Her holo buzzes in her hand as Dex calls; her stomach drops. Unsure for a moment what to say to him, if she should go ahead and tell him what Evelyn tried to pull. Would he lose his temper? Drop the entire damn heist? Would he hurt her for it? It weighs on her shoulders as she pushes through a blue beaded curtain, considering her options with a finger hovering over the phone.

[internalsealpanic]

I Will be Your Tim Drake for Tonight (3) (Jason Todd/ Reader)

Summary:  Preferring to do anything but your physics project, you decide to accepts Tim’s proposal. It’s simple. He does your project, you try to figure out whether Jason Sionis is criminal. Easy, right?

masterlist

A/n: This takes place in a world where Jason is adopted by Black Mask. Inspired by Building Interest by Zoeleo.The events and characterization in this story are very heavily based on Zoeleo's Long Term Investment series. It is fantastic and I really highly recommend all of her fics.

a/n: For clarification, Reader does have psychic powers but it only lets her sense people's emotions physically. No mind-reading. Her power is more like an overactive sense of empathy which may force her to dissociate into someone else.

There will be violence and mentions of alcoholism (used as coping mechanism for physical pain) and chronic pain.  

As for the additional warning, an animal is harmed but it is barely described. I could not bring myself to actual describe it but the aftermath is described.

I also just converted this from an OC so I apologize for any grammatical mistakes.

Without further a do:

Your stomach drops.

Fuck.

Of course, Damian just had to be the one to pick up.

"Hey baby bro, could you pass the phone to dad?"

"I'm sorry who is this?"

This little shit.

"You're such a kidder! Dami, it's me, Tim. "

“Ah yes, Drake-” You can hear Tim choke in the background. “What do you want?”

“Please Dami just pass the phone to dad, I- I really need to talk to him”

“Very well,”

“Tim?” The voice sounded like Bruce’s but the intonation was all wrong. The voice changer Tim and Babs were working on seems to have made progress.

“Hey dad, I- uh. I might have gotten kidnapped.”

Tim makes another choking noise. “Might have?”

“I was at the party. I think I had around 13 drinks. 13 ! Can you believe it? I felt like a right sailor after that, like the harbor workers, y’know? Anyway, I was taking a smoke-”

“Enough!” The large man roared, snatching the phone from you. “Send us $100 million by tomorrow or your kid’ll be shark bait!” Who says that anymore?

“Of course! Of course! I’ll have the money sometime this evening. Please don’t hurt him.”

Tim, God bless him, does not laugh. Tim’s acting needs some work but he sure does know how to act worried.

The line dies and they tie you back up to the post.

“What the hell?!”

“We have to make sure you don’t just runoff.” The large man says tightening your bonds. Truthfully, you’ve felt far worse. After all, corsets exist. However, this was still a close second.  

“Do I look like I could outrun a snail?”

“He’s got a point boss. He looks like he hasn’t even seen the sun in ages.”

This, you decide, is true for Tim. When was the last time he went out before dark? Maybe he got sunlight when he stayed over at Eddie’s place.

The large man grabs Jason by the collar and throws him to his men.

The 3 men kick and curse at him. They mock him and beat him down. They wail on him with their fists, their steel-toed shoes, and sometimes brick. Jason takes it all with a crooked grin and a sharp tongue. You watched in awe. Even on the floor, Jason looked sturdy, ferocious, and indomitable.

"They all break, sweet girl."

Jason is on a tiled floor. No, he should be on concrete. His blood is on the tile. They’re hitting him. They’re hitting him with a bat. No. They aren’t supposed to be holding a bat. They were kicking him but now they’re holding a bat. No, She’s holding a bat. There's supposed to be three of them, three men,  but their forms coalesce into her .  You can hear his ribs cracking. Next are his legs. His legs are always next. Then his arm. She'll break each bone in his arms and his hands.  He’s wheezing. His voice sounds hoarse. His voice is too hoarse. He sounds like he’s been starved and dehydrated for at least a day. They’ve only been here for an hour. That isn’t right. Oh God! Now she had a cleaver in her hands.

No!

No!

He doesn’t need to die. She can’t.

no.

No.

No!  

 The scene crescendos as the tall, dark, sinewy silhouette towering over Jason raises the butcher's knife above her head.

“Harder, daddy!”

“Son?”

The scene of the kitchen fades and the shit-eating grin on Jason melts into view which shifts from amusement to confusion then back to amusement.

You blink seeing his stupid grin far too clearly.

You let a bark of gut-busting laughter out as you strain against the rope. Your brow pinches with concern but based on the scowls you’re receiving they're more focused on the fact that you were laughing like a mad man.  

Jason looks like he’s about to laugh from the absurdity as well when the man in charge picks him up again tossing him into a chair. The other men tie him down binding his wrists and ankles.

"I've had worse." He spits out.

The phone rings again, the dial tone echoing. Jason looks like hell with his face swollen and bruises beginning to bloom on every surface but he still looked like he was 5 seconds from starting a fight.

The large man punches Jason hard in the gut knocking the air out of his lungs as the dial tone cuts off.  “Hear that, Sionis? Your little bitch is pretty soft.”

Oh God, are they serious?

“Who is this? Nevermind. You ok there, sweetheart?” Roman Sionis’ ‘concerned’ voice carries over the line.

They are.

“Nothing I can't handle, daddy.” Jason chuckles with the utmost casualness. You, on the other hand,  instantly want to disinfect your brain. Thankfully, before your mind could wander somewhere it can't return from,  the big man growls into the phone.

“Don't you recognize the voice of the man whose life you've ruined?!”

“You've gotta be more specific than that. I've ruined quite a few lives but I would like to know whose brain I need to put a bullet in.”

“IT'S ME  BRUNO HARDIN!”

“Doesn't ring any bells.” Roman deadpans almost sounding completely disinterested. “Sweetheart, you remember anyone like that?”

“Nope,” Jason replies letting the p pop. It seemed like a strange sort of triumph before it all crashes down with another swift punch to the ribs.

You stare at the strange scene torn between amusement and horror.

“Take this seriously!” Bruno roars.

"I'm taking this about as seriously as it deserves."

A part of you thought 'yeah this is ridiculous enough to warrant nonchalance' while the other part wanted to scream.  On one hand, even you found his identity anticlimactic. Doesn’t he know just how many small-time businesses Roman has ruined? He’d be lucky to get into the top 50. It’s not like he was running a pretty ethical establishment either.  On the other hand, your freaking kid is getting the shit kicked out of him. Emote damn it.

“Jason. Don’t you worry. Daddy’s going to take care of this. Your Uncle D happens to be in town. He’s on his way to pick you up. Love you, baby. See you soon.”

The line dies. Your stomach sinks further somehow. You don’t know if the nausea is due to the fact that the line died, the threat, or the number of times the word ‘daddy’ came up. Who the hell is Uncle D? How is he supposed to help? Your gaze trails to Jason who is now lowering his head to the floor seemingly tired. Maybe that last punch finally drained the fight from him.

“You're all so fucked.” Jason barks out in a fit of laughter. The men around him, jumping from the volume of his voice.  

Bruno grabs Jason by the collar and begins to shake him as if the  “Shut the fuck up you little bitch! Whoever your Uncle D is he's-”

“Deathstroke”

You feel like someone kicked you in the chest. First of all, Uncle D? Really? You guess that there are worse hills to die on. This was somehow weirder than hearing Faust and her siblings call him pops. Second of all, Fuck. You'd never gotten your asshanded to you by Deathstroke but based on how banged up the Titans looked after fighting him this wasn't gonna be pretty.  All you could hope for was that you wouldn't get caught in the crossfire. Although, the image of Deathstroke grudgingly letting a kid call him Uncle D lightens your mood a bit.  

Bruno throws Jason on the floor hard enough for his body to bounce. Like Jason earlier, Bruno is radiating murder.

Just run, you thick motherfucker.

You, being the ‘nice’ Wayne kid that you are,  try to tell him as much but sadly that was halted by shattering glass. A flurry of black, orange, and metal crash through the glass and cut through the crowd of men.  

They fire at him, panic making their faces even paler. They hit him, bullets sinking into his flesh, blood splatters but none of it fazes him. He skewers and cuts them down with ease. His swords and suit are liberally decorated with their blood when it’s all done.

He steps over Bruno’s body. From the grunt that comes out, Bruno is still alive. Dumb bastard doesn’t know how to play dead. He’ll die from blood loss anyway.

“Hey, kid-” Deathstroke greets tersely,  picking up Jason’s nearly limp body.  “We’re gonna get you home.” He slings Jason’s arm over his shoulder.

“Wait!”  

Deathstroke stops sounding slightly annoyed.

Jason turns to you, who’s still unhappily tied to a post.  “We gotta get him out.” He rasps.  

“Kid, you’re the only one I’m getting paid to rescue.”  Deathstroke helpfully informs as he carefully adjusts his hold on the struggling young man. You blow out a breath somehow more irritable than scared.  “Just cut me out. I can make my way back just fine.”

“Walk in Gotham, are you stupid?” Jason hisses. The concern bleeding through.

“Which one of us charged at their captors while they were armed?”

Jason scowls at you with a petulant twist in his lips. “Yanno what,  Leave ‘im.”

“Ok, ok, I’m sorry and yeah I’ll be fine. I know where to avoid. Just please don’t leave me with them” you plead, throwing away any pride you held as you glance at the most likely dead bodies. Deathstroke cuts you out. Your skin feels raw but you’re otherwise unharmed.

You walk out of the warehouse and Dick practically throws himself at you. “Oh thank god, they didn’t shoot you in the head.” He mumbles into your wig.  

"Why would you think they would shoot me in the head?"

Dick pulls back and frowns at you through the domino mask.  “You aren’t exactly the most pleasant-”

“ We were model hostages.” you squawk.

Jason snorts far too loudly to be helpful.

You glare at him but you weren’t about to say fuck off to him while he has one of the world’s deadliest assassins right next to him.

Deathstroke coughs.  “Well if you don’t mind we’ll be taking our leave.”

Dick holding you protectively, glares but says nothing. Maybe he does but you faint before you can hear it.

A/n: Thanks for reading!

[yoitscro]

First thought: Homestuck^2 should've just been called Beyond Canon, and more people should call it that. 

The 2 was put on for chuckles; HS trending the day it was announced with it being a sequel spoke enough about how such a thing shant be underestimated, and why Homestuck is ABSOLUTELY more than just our small twitter crowd (and the scrap of us still on tumblr). I say that because remembering the Beyond Canon part slightly reassures me about the fact that this is a fanwork that will do some weird shit, and things I don't agree with, but isn't something that I have to subscribe to enjoying all the way with how I engage with Homestuck.

Homestuck 2 is not the canon continuation. Homestuck 2: Beyond Canon, is an OFFICIAL continuation.

Not having it on such an important stool and as the only content we all are only allowed to digest should come from both people who obsessively dislike it, and people who defensively support it. If a character says they kick babies then I can say, hey that's weird, maybe not great writing, but I can pretend they don't in my content, and i dont have to send threats or call people cishet white men for it! and, it's an absolutely great thing that we were all encouraged to create our own ideas without anyone who's influenced us to do so squinting their eyes when we actually go through with it. Glad I don't have to put this story up to the expectations of being a sequel to a 11 year, worldwide IP that's shooketh the internet landscape since it's merely optional, Death of the Author persists, and ideas aren't just dominated and revolved around the perspective of a 1% in this entire fanbase.

That said.

As an OFFICIAL continuation versus a canon one, HS2 is ok. It certainly has that fanfiction vibe, and a story it wants to tell. I can't really tell what that story is since we have like, 10 sub plots rn though. There's not a real a clear indicator on where the focus of main conflict is that connects all these stories together.

I thought that the prose in replacement of Vriska's battle was jarring, but not teeerribly surprising for the format HS2 is going for. It's more so using drawings to compliment text versus Homestuck's usual of panels being side by side with visual importance, or even itself being the one compliment. It sorta feels weird tho that it brought old fans back in with art just for them to get sneered at when they get a bit upset that there won't be main staples of art known to progress the story forward. 

Also people who mock people for “having to read homestuck” knowing there’s language barriers and struggling focus from those who’ve been use to something that was never so dense, are ridiculous.

Personally this could be solved by knowing how old flashes worked, having way more artists on the team, maybe even an art director if not already, and noting that we're not asking for the next Cascade. Rome wasn't built in a day, but Rose Ride sure was, and Homestuck’s animation is absolutely not the same as a 12-24 framed 12 minute cartoon. That, or just snuff the illustrative art as a whole since it's very clear on where the focus is.

I’m sure you’re not here trying to see my opinions on how the outer workings are though, versus plot.

Uuuuh, let's see. Yiffy's still a name I don't care to use until I eventually get tired of any of my art that do not show up in tags. This is fine and not as offensive as people are saying it is. Minors who want to cosplay this character don't have to call themselves this character. Not wanting to be one letter away from accidentally entering a very NSFW space of twitter is fine. Also the lot of people call Tavros, Tavvy.

I hope Kanaya's anger at being cucked is actually seen versus being implied through fan guesses and another character having to say she was.

Roxy needs to be more of an involved character. Where are they during all this?

Jane should have a mention of her relations to HIC being a main/bad influence on her current parallels to Alternian dictatorship.

The PRE-RETCON GROUP should have a fun one-shot update for fans who like them, since they oughta be around if they fell through the ghost hole. Most of them. The sprites that aren't Jasprosesprite should also show up too, since they're around.

Aaaaaand I think we should be extra careful going into the future when it comes to the alien rebellion. It's weird that a lot of the writers are white and toy around with concepts that can be a not so great parallel to racism. Currently not great timing rn! If the characters are going to remain aracial, but with them still doing not much to reference other non-white earth cultures or getting new hair cuts that have different textures (looking at you, Rose), we shant make the species with actual biological benefits a racism commentary. the xeno joke at least had a play on words. If any writer has happened upon this then a, please don't get mad at me again haha, and b, consider having more black writers or directional assistance on your squad. You know who they are.

In the future. I casually want the ghost from the Dream Bubbles to be shown since it's a big elephant in the room to not have a single one of them in the bg despite a load of them appearing from the ghost whole. Don't gotta give them speaking lines, especially the dancestors. I personally don't know if I want that right now.

I also hope in the future that we don't get HS content that is only going to revolve around HS2, if it's optional enough to engage with without being the only option. That's why PQ could ended a bit better for me, and why I hope it's not the main thing that's keeping Hiveswap on the backburner. I don't think it's farfetched to consider that multiple HS content could come from more than just one team; to relieve work load, but to also strengthen the idea that Homestuck can be a various amount of perspectives when it comes to the ideas fans have. The most dedicated fans leading the direction of the story is not just a handful of them. If anything, at least acknowledge the massive ass fan projects going on once in awhile to showcase the different avenues.

"Hey Cro, you sure have bitched about this alot. Do you have anything good to say? Why don't you stop reading if you hate it so much!"

Not every comment needs to be golden, love. Again, some of these decisions I eck at, but ultimately they're just words on a computer that I'm not holding anyone at gun point to do, and I'm curious to see how the story handles itself going forward, since again, it's just a fanwork. Sometimes I wish to not only see where the plot goes, but to see a writer's craft in action.

Good Things:

The Art. Again, please have more artists. It'd help so much, especially since the main one is also double timing for VE. That said, HS2 sticks out to me because of the way the color composition is used. Aside from hair and other tiny things, I haven't seen black used a lot, which makes colors pop. It's really nice to look at. I hope we get more sharper styles of character in the future, since it builds on nostalgia and makes the trolls feel much less like they're from Repiton, but I can deal with it for the most part. I also like that one panel where the omega kids and vriska are talking in the dark room, and based on where they're standing, the text aligns. Tasty as hell.

Meat and Candy still do hold neat logic in the direction the stories go. Candy, while it could be more tasteless in some areas, is chaotic and too much of a good thing. Meat is having something a little more straightforward, though I'm not sure quite yet where it's going. I always found Candy to be the part of the epilogue that actually entertained me the most, from how much of a surreal Robot Chicken skit at 3am it felt. Sometimes the jokes slapped real nice and made me wonder, going in, how is this monkeys paw gonna play out and, hopefully, make people laugh or smirk like they got a good roast at themself?

The slightly episodic feel of each update is what I wanted from the Epilogues, so it's interesting to see that play out when it comes to switching different perspectives.

The bonus updates get points for featuring characters that a lot of us have been wanting to see for ages.

Hopefully this isn't unpopular, but I think the tension of Yiffy's introduction was nicely composed and written (ignoring some of the things I wish for Jane). It leaves you with enough want to see what'll happen next time. You could also say that despite her growling and making a lot of noise, it's not actually bad writing: I see it as the audience being forced to see her in the same perspective that Jane see's her; a dog. Upon no context we're seeing the same thing while knowing things are obviously off, and once we see this character in a new environment where their personality shines, it'll have a bigger impact her own character being humanized. So I like that.

Okay, I think that's all I got. I improv wrote most of this; hopefully I won't be taken out of context since I don’t think that HS2′s writing should ultimately be a judgement of the writers as people, nor treated as if they should hold the same unhealthy work environment that Andrew forced himself to do when writing the og comic. And I'm still like, donating to the patreon and everything, lol.

[runs away]

edit: i was going to put the cw as another positive thing for the comic...but...yeaaaah.

[thotful-writing]

Bathing/Showering with the Seed’s

I received a short list of asks on my AO3 about different situations with our favorite Seed men. These are all completely SFW, besides mentions of being naked.

Jacob:

You had spent the entire day with Jacob, running around outside, he woke you up super early that morning to go hunting. You tried to get out of it, but he literally grabbed your feet and pulled you out of the bed. It wouldn’t have been so bad had you not tripped and fell directly into a mud hole. Of course, Jacob thought it was hilarious and proceeded to laugh loudly, scaring off any animals in the area. After hunting was a bust he wanted to get some exercise, saying you’d gotten soft.

You weren’t sure how far you ran with him, but you were winded after the first 5 minutes. Jacob would turn around and taunt you as he watched you barely keeping up. He made you run the entire way back as well, by the time you got home you were covered in sweat and mud, in desperate need of a shower.

You turned the water on and stripped out of your filthy clothes while you waited for the water to heat up. The water washed over your body as the grime from the day pooled in the shower floor. You grabbed the soap and started to clean the layer of dirt from your skin.

“Move over.” Jacob said as he pulled the shower curtain open.

“No, go get your own shower.” You tried to keep him from joining you but it was no use, he pushed you forward.

“You’re getting me dirty again.” You tried to move away from him, but the shower wasn’t big enough. You were annoyed at this point, he forced you to go out when you didn’t want to and now, he was hogging the shower up with no regard for you. You crossed your arms and turned away from him, waiting for him to get done and leave.

“I know you’re not pouting.”

“Just waiting for you to leave so I can finish my shower in peace.” You still refused to look at him.

He grabbed your shoulders and pulled you back against him, leaning down to speak into your ear.

“You don’t like showering with me?” He made sure to sound as hurt as possible.

“Not when you hog the water and push me out of the way. I wanted a relaxing shower.”

Jacob was taken aback for a moment, he didn’t think about what you needed. He placed his hands on your shoulders and started to knead your muscles gently.

“What are you doing?” You turned your head to look at him.

“Helping you relax.” His hands moved down to your back, working your sore muscles as he went. He had never done anything like this before, his idea of relaxing was sleeping at night.

He stepped back and pulled you back underneath the showerhead, letting the hot water pour over you as his hands continued to work wonders on your back.

You turned around and faced him, you wrapped your hands around the back of his neck and pulled him into a kiss. With all of his rough edges he really could be sweet.

 Joseph:

Since moving into the cabin with Joseph you had to become resourceful. It was a small place with very little amenities. Your least favorite was the shower. It was a small standing shower which you had to fill a reservoir with water before you could even use it. And forget having a hot shower, it was luke warm at best, but you made do because you loved Joseph and if you could put up with a cult then you could handle just about anything.

You spent a good portion of your time working in the garden that day, the sun beating down on you, sweat pouring from your body. You finally finished and decided to take a shower. You filled a bucket from the well and began the arduous task of filling the reservoir. You went to the bathroom once it was filled and rid yourself of your clothing, you stepped into the shower and turned it on. The water that came out was not what you put in, it was almost mud. You had forgotten to clean out the reservoir before filling it, dirt must have gotten in it. You stepped out of the shower and began to cry. You weren’t one to let things get you down, but you’d been having an especially hard time lately in dealing with everything and it just piled up. Just as you were reaching your peak of sobbing Joseph walked in. He saw you and immediately ran to you.

“What’s wrong, darling?” His hands rested on your shoulders.

“I’m sorry… I’m trying, I really am. All I wanted was a shower…” You sobbed into his chest.

He looked at you covered in dirt and the shower, able to deduce what had happened. He grabbed a towel and began wiping away some of the mud from your face.

“I know you’ve been trying, this isn’t the ideal situation. How about I talk to the followers about getting us running water?”

“You would do that, for me?” You looked up at him, tears still streaming down your cheeks.

“Of course, and in the mean time we’ll go over to John’s and get you cleaned up.” He pressed a kiss to your forehead.

“Thank you.” You smiled as he pulled you into an embrace, his arms wrapping around you.

John:

Taking a bath with John was almost an all-day event. The only time he showered was if it was urgent and quick, the rest of the time he made sure you took a long and relaxing bath together. He got the water temperature just right, added all kinds of bath salts and bubble bath to the water. You both treasured this time together, with all of the work with the Project you rarely had any other time for each other, so you made this a regular activity.

Once you were in the bathroom, he took the most time in undressing you, his fingers caressing your skin as he removed each piece of clothing, as if he was unwrapping a present. You got your turn as well in undressing him, he’s not as enthusiastic about this part as you are, but he let’s you take your time. It takes you a few minutes because you make a point to kiss every scar and mark on his body, he had been through so much pain and suffering in his life, you wanted to sooth him as much as possible.

He stepped into the bath and helped you in, both of you finally settling down into the water. He pulled you back against his chest and you relaxed in his embrace.

“How was your day, dear?” He asked as you rested your head on his chest.

“Awful. Got shot at, chased by a wild boar, and I caught a field on fire.”

“Sounds hectic. At least you’re home now.” He kissed the side of your head softly.

“Mmm, my favorite place to be.” You hummed as he wrapped his arms around you. You sat like this for a while, the water starting to cool down.

“We should probably actually get clean.” He spoke softly against your ear.

“Just a few more minutes like this, please?” When you were in his arms nothing else mattered or bothered you, you’d give anything to stay in this moment forever.

“Alright, just a while longer. You sure you have to return to Fall’s End tonight? Can’t you stay?”

“I don’t know, they get pretty lost without their best Deputy.”

“So do I.” He trailed kisses from your shoulder to your neck.

“Maybe one night wouldn’t hurt.”  You smiled as his arms tightened around you.

[techouspeaks]

A Review of: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Well first establish, I never watched the old series so I’m not going to compare the two series together. With that being said, I am very aware of the He-Man series since I grew up with the 2002 series, though that doesn’t make me an expert, I do understand the lore and what that series is about.

Put it short, I’m just going to judge it as is and I’ll try to be a bit brief about it. So, I guess I should explain the complaints I and most people have with this series. First the animation. Yeah...it’s pretty bad. I mean for a Dreamworks project I actually did expect much better. Considering that a lot of Dreamworks stuff in terms of animation wise, is soo good! Like Voltron being the best but shoot, even Kulipari, Dreamworks Dragons, ect, they have really great animation and this is She-Ra! An 80s fan favorite and one that would clearly sell because at this time of age, the whole girl power is like through the roof! They could have put more time into the animation. I mean, keep the art style. Art style is fine but the over all animation and how characters move is poor. Not terrible but you can tell it’s very rushed. They put more effort into the transformation scene than the rest...

And don’t tell me poor budget or lack of time...I’ve seen personal projects done by small studios, and people doing it by themselves through their homes that done better job at animating. Yes, animation is hard and it takes time but it’s worth the effort put in and there’s no excuse of a professional team cutting slack. Shoot, even the Disney sequels have better animation than this and they’re done from the animation teams that were just starting out.

Granted, the art isn’t totally bad. I prefer this over the butter bean style that Cartoon Network, for whatever reason decides to not give up on. I will say the character designs look like human beings than beans and in some parts when the animation decides to be good, it does show. The character designs and background art is good. It’s very creative. The animation and the movements just need to be amped up more.

Don’t tell me it’s because it’s a “kids show, it doesn’t have to look good.” Here’s a good example of a kid’s show with quality

Again those are shows that are done today that clearly had more effort put into the animation. Dreamworks has done the same with other shows, they could have done so with She-Ra. Again not the art style that’s the problem. It’s just how choppy the animation is.

Another thing that I have issues with is the pacing especially in the development with the characters. All the characters develop way too fast in my opinion, at least in some moments. Some moments with certain characters are developed fine, like Glimmer’s development. Her’s I actually thought was handle rather well, others especially Catra’s was handled either forcefully or rushed. Characters aren’t given enough time to take in the moment and breath a bit. Everything is rushed.

Speaking of Catra and her relationship with Adora, that was especially rushed. When we first meet the two, I didn’t even believe they were friends. If we had gotten to know Catra and Adora from the beginning more and have Catra actually feel something other than being bitterness at Adora, I would have felt something from their relationship, which sadly I didn’t. Even when we get to the arc of learning about Catra’s past with Adora, the relationship again feels rushed and clunky. Though I will admit, the pacing does get a little better towards the climax, but we had to deal with rushed pacing through out the whole season.

I get there are 13 episodes. You know what? Voltron had that much episodes, even less than that sometimes and each character developed well pace. Yes, some seasons had to have characters have their own arcs and it took a season for some to develop but that’s just it. The team behind Voltron knew that’s what it takes sometimes to make a well paced and very well told story and characters. We at least got to know quite a bit of characters and yes, sadly some don’t get a back story, but shoot, we got more backstory on those characters than we do the princesses besides Glimmer, Adora, shoot, we dunno much about Bow even and he’s one of the main characters. He’s the main bestie of the crew! Where’s his backstory and proper development? Least we had some kind of back story about Lance, Hunk and even Coran and those are the characters sadly we didn’t get too much back story, but they were developed enough for me to care about them deeply. 

That and a lot of the story is very predicable sadly. When Shadow Weaver attacked Adora when they were vacationing, I knew exactly what was going to happen. She’s going make Adora freak out and make her friends believe they hate her because she’s destroying everything, but Adora will realize SW’s plan, stand up against her and make everything right again. Some episodes had surprisingly good moments like the episode that introduces Entrapa. That episode was pretty good, though, I again I could predict a bit of it, except for the ending.

Bitch and moan, bitch and moan, what do I at least like about the series? Well, the characters are really good. I know I said that after bitching about the development but the characters as they are, are pretty memorable and likable, though, I can tell with the boys there was some SJW interfering. 

You know masculine men aren’t all bad? Not every masculine dude is a dick. It doesn’t hurt to have at least one masculine man. Just saying but as I say this, I will admit even when with that, the boys are still rather competent. They do hold their own and have some heart to em, especially Bow, who is one of my favorite characters and I like Mermista, Entrapa though a bit too out there to be even real, maybe anyway,  I still like her character and design. Also her butler is so adorable! I wish he had more screen time!

The villains, except for Hordak are decent, I love Scorpia being one of the best. I wanted to hug her she’s so awesome. Hordak is a snooze fest. I mean there isn’t anything about him other than he has a weird baby spy for some reason, which actually makes it all the more creepy...Is that like his son or something?

Catra is okay...I mean the actress who plays her is pretty good in doing her crying scenes. She does act like a teen would when upset and trying to figure out things, but again, her development is so clunky and again, I didn’t care for what was going to happen to her and her relationship with Adora. Again, if she had shown more sympathy to her friend from the beginning, I would have shown more concern for her and cared about their friendship. As is, they don’t act like best friends. They acted more like just classmates with how rushed the development is. 

Adora herself is pretty likeable and I did want to see what happens to her. Though again, some of her development is a bit rushed. At least in say Winx Club, Bloom got more time to develop but with there being 13 episodes, I could give this a slip. 

The music is amazing though! I loved the score for this series! It reminded me of some 80s background music with the guitar and the synthesizer! That is awesome! The only thing that wasn’t so awesome was the theme song...It’s mediocre but the rest of the score was awesome. In fact, half the time I thought the score was too good for this series man! 

Another thing I did enjoy was the episodes that did lead up to the 13th episode. That’s when the development did start slowing down a bit and we had time to at least care about the characters a little bit more and how they feel about each other. The animation even got a bit more decent towards the end. Like where was that in the beginning? Though the climax...Yeah I will admit, was pretty weak. Compared to others including from not so big animation studios, the climax could have been a bit more original. I’ve seen this climax done hundreds of times. I even have this sort of climax in one of my written novels but I at least put it well paced. As is, it’s not the worst I’ve seen, but definitely expected a better climax for a season.

I really tried to open my mind for this series and as is, it’s not the worst by far. I can tell a lot of heart went into this. The art style is fine but the animation can be very bad at times. The characters are great and memorable, but very rushed in development and a bit too SJW appeal to some, thus making them a bit dated once the SJW fad wears off and people move onto the next trend. Some episodes towards the climax are decent but the climax I felt could have been more original, if anything throw in a few twists to make an already seen premise be a bit more fresh. The music is awesome and some designs are cool. 

As is it’s not terrible but I’m gonna have to rate She-Ra an average 5 out of 10 star rating. I do recommend you watch it to see if you like it or have kids that would like to see some nice characters and action scenes as well as rather easy to follow story. It’s by no means a bad series, I just think there are shows that did better what She Ra was trying to do. I will see what Season 2 will bring and see if it will be better than Season 1 so there’s a silver lining. I will continue to watch this series. Not great but not awful.

5 Stars

Level: Good!

[8-bitgossip]

Quotations

Ambient Conversation:

“It’s mornings like this that make you almost forget -- wait, was that a gunshot? *sighs* Nevermind.” “As much as I love this whole, “wilderness” business, can we find a road, or a car, or something? “Hurting people may never be at the top of my to-do list; but when they threaten my home, I make an exception.” “There are things that see a hell of a lot better than we can at night, let’s camp out somewhere before we’re both bear food.” “You ever think that there isn’t going to be an acceptable punishment for these assholes when we find them? They’ve ruined too many lives for there to be an equitable solution.”

When the Deputy Points a Gun at Them:

“Look. If you’re going to be a dumbass. Be it somewhere else. Not around me.” “I can break fingers just as easily as I can set them.”

Holland Valley:

“This is my home, and to see it burn and the people’s lives in ruins -- there aren’t words.” “While we’re up here, maybe I should stop by and see Kim, make sure she’s doing alright.” “Some people may see John Seed as a pretty face -- but I’d just as soon shoot him between them for all he’s done.” “You ever see that big fucking “YES” sign up on the hillside? The asshole made his “followers” make it as repentance for their sin. Fucking sick if you ask me.” “I wonder how Grace is holding up -- I know how rough these last few months have been on her, she sounded worse for wear in her last broadcast. I hope she’s alright.” “It pisses me off that my office was turned from a family practice into a triage and meatball surgery station. They won’t get away with this -- the blood of this Valley is on their hands.”

After Being Captured By John:

1st Encounter: “You’re lucky Pastor Jerome was listening into all of the Peggie radio chatter -- John doesn’t exactly have a gentle touch. I’ve patched up more than my fair share of people who escaped his flayings.” 2nd Encounter: “Well, you know Hudson’s alive. It’s not much of a consolation, but it’s a reason to put this fucker in the ground. We’re all behind you, Deputy.” John’s Death: “There hasn’t been anything so satisfying in my life as watching that fucking plane go down in fucking smoke. Thank you for giving us back the Valley, Deputy.”

Henbane River:

“Sometimes I think Sharky has the right idea -- with the Bliss at least. Burn it all fucking down.” “You’re telling me that Lindsey was out in this mess? The man’s braver than I thought -- especially because he has the survival skills of a newborn kitten.” “I made a lot of housecalls out this way -- mostly preppers who don’t trust cities or small towns or villages or any group of people really. What fun that was.” “There’s something terribly ironic about the only available stronghold in the Henbane being a jail. Don’t worry. I won’t pick any fights. Yet.” “I’ve heard rumors that Faith is having them dump her Bliss into the waters of the area -- I don’t want to think about all of the kids who would spend their summers swimming in these creeks.” “Make sure you’re careful out here -- the Bliss does stuff, most of it we can’t explain, and if it pushes you too far, we may never be able to get you back.”

After Being Captured By Faith:

1st Encounter: “As your doctor, I can’t in good faith keep recommending you to jump off large statues like that. So, if you could refrain from doing so in the future, I can sleep much better.” 2nd Encounter: “Look. I know you want to save the Marshall, be the hero and all that, but you’re putting yourself in danger, real danger, by doing this. Just… Be careful. That’s all I’m saying. Faith’s Death: “It’s such a shame that the woman who has destroyed not only people’s lives but their minds is gone. I’m really going to miss her. That’s sarcasm, it’s all sarcasm. Fuck that woman. I hope she’s burning in hell right now.”

Whitetail Mountains:

“Look, if we don’t find an ATV or car. I swear to Christ, I am going back to Fall’s End and refuse every single radio call from you ever again.” “Jacob’s the worst of the four -- takes everything from you, like Faith, but worse, because it’s like your a passenger in your own body. What kind of sick fuck does that to someone?” “I’ve heard of the Whitetail Militia -- sort of like Robin Hoods against the big bad Jacob Seed. Taking supplies, men, whatever they can from him. Gotta admit, with how on edge Jacob is, they have to be doing a good enough job.” “No. I refuse. I am not going with you to the Hurk family residence. Go find someone else. I’ve had my fill of nonsense for one life.” “If he’s willing to treat people like animals, can you imagine what those poor Judges of Jacob’s have gone through? The only monster up here is him.” “After mucking around up here, you have to admit that Jess was right. None of these people deserve a second chance -- they have zero regard for human life.”

After Being Captured By Jacob

1st Encounter: “You… You don’t look good, Deputy. Maybe you should take some time to recover? Eli and the other members of the Resistance won’t do well if you just go and die on them.” 2nd Encounter: “You’re going to kill yourself if you keep pushing like this. It’s what Jacob wants, you realize that? Push you to edge and watch what happens when you have nothing else. Don’t listen. Take care of yourself. Take care of the Resistance.” Jacob’s Death: “That fucker deserved half of the decency you gave him… It’s… The Whitetails’ have lost so much. Through all of this. And they’re going to lose even more. I can feel it.”

Intercompanion Dialog:

Nick

Nick: “Hey doc, I gotta question for ya--” Ashlee: “Shoot, Nick.” Nick: “Just how accurate are those ultrasound thingies that you guys do?” Ashlee: “Nick, you’re having a girl. It’ll be easier if you just accept it.” Nick: “Kim told you say that, didn’t she?” Ashlee: *sighs*

Grace

Ashlee: “So. Care to meet me for drinks at the Spread Eagle later?” Grace: *laughs* “You definitely have an interesting sense of timing, Kennedy.” Ashlee: “That’s not a no, And I promise I’ll buy this time.” Grace: “Well, who am I to say no to an offer like that.” Ashlee: “I’m pretty sure that the Deputy has things handled here, you want to head out?” Grace: “Absolutely. Lead the way, doc.” Ashlee: “We’re just kidding Deputy, we’ll wait ‘til you kick us out to enjoy ourselves. You’re not invited though.”

Boomer

Ashlee: “Come on, bring the stick back over here, Boomer. We can play fetch for a while.” Boomer: *bork* Ashlee: “You are the best boy, I really don’t understand what problem Sharky has with you.”

Sharky

Sharky: “Hey doc, it’s been a while. Stayin’ out of trouble I hope.” Ashlee: “*laughs* Absolutely not. You know who I hang out with.” Sharky: “Well shit, evidently I’ve been missing out on all of the parties, you’ll have to invite me next time.” Ashlee: “Nope. Not allowed. We’re destructive enough already. The last thing we need is for things to actually be on fire.” Sharky: “Aw. Come on Ash, you know I can behave. You just have to ask.” Ashlee: “*snort* Cute, Sharky. You can come next time; bring the beer, less the hands. Grace is too good of a shot.”

Adelaide:

Addy: “Oh boy, those Seed men; what I wouldn’t give to---” Ashlee: “Nope. We are not doing this. Pick a different topic, any topic.” Addy: “Well then, I heard that a while ago, you knocked boots with that cute nephew of mine.” Ashlee: “Nope! I changed my mind. We’re just gonna go on in silence.”

Billy:

Billy: “So. What do you think of that moonshine I sent down to Mary May?” Ashlee: “You’re going to kill someone with that shit. It’s what? Over 100 proof?” Billy: “Easily. You know, maybe if we sent some to the Project it’ll loosen them up.” Ashlee: “Please for the love of god. Don’t go there I’ve been scarred enough in recent months.” Billy: “Oh, come on. It can’t hurt. Plus you know, maybe it’ll help them loosen up on the whole, “no fornicating rule.”” Ashlee: “Don’t. Do not. Speak. Of. Fucking. The. Seeds.”

Peaches:

Ashlee: “You know, you’re not nearly as terrifying as I thought -- even though you’re a 120 pound killing machine.” Peaches: *cougar noises* Ashlee: “Okay. Fine. Grace You’re right. She’s pretty cute.”

Hurk:

Hurk: “So I heard you’re now datin’ Grace Armstrong.” Ashlee: “...yes?” Hurk: “Not that I have any problem with that, we are all free to love whoever we choose but--” Ashlee: “For the love of god, what is the point to all of this, Hurk?” Hurk: “Just curious -- who’s better, dudes or ladies?” Ashlee: “Nope.”

Jess:

Jess: “You’ve gotten much better at shooting since I first saw you on the range, doc.” Ashlee: “Thank you -- your pointers have been a lifesaver out here. Literally.” Jess: “I - uh, thank you so much, Doc. That really means a lot coming from you.” Ashlee: “Of course, Jess. Just. Be sure to take care of yourself out here, alright? There are people who are waiting for you to come home.”

Bridget:

Bridget: “Hey -- so you remember that last weekend before everything went to shit? We went up to the lakes up in the tops of the Whitetails? You, me, Grace and Billy got so smashed and we--” Ashlee: “Please don’t. You’re going give me a residual hangover. I still have nightmares of that weekend.” Bridget: “Okay but, drunken skinny dipping while singing Sweet Home Alabama--” Ashlee: “Yeah, yeah, alright. Maybe I do miss those nights before the Peggies went crazy. And maybe when this is all over, we can have another night like that again.” Bridget: “I’ll drink to that.” Ashlee: “Not while we’re walking around with live ammunition you’re not. I’ll end you right here, Campion.”

Cheeseburger:

Ashlee: “I hope that they’re keeping up with your diet, Cheeseburger.” Cheeseburger: *bear noises* Ashlee: “No cheeseburgers or other bad things, right? The people of Hope County need you, you’re the one thing that’s keeping us all together.”

[ihave-sinned]

Love Bait | Chapter One: ENLISTMENT

Fandom: Shingeki No Kyojin/Attack On Titan (Anime) Type: Series Pairing: Levi x OC Word Count: 5784 Category: Fanfiction (Angst and Eventual Smut)

**Note: Some scenes/dialogues were originally from the manga/anime** **A/N: Sorry for the delay and sorry for any wrong spelling or grammar in advance.Please enjoy reading :) If you haven’t read the PROLOGUE it’s  >>here<< **

“I never said that.They want me dead.But i never said i wanted to die,"

   CHAPTER ONE: ENLISTMENT

 Wall Sina | Year 847 | Mitras | 9:00 am

Placing my book on my lap,I stretched my arms out into the early morning,I always knew it would be a fine day when I couldn’t feel the temperature of the air.It’s summer.The hottest of all four seasons.I felt the gentle wind caressed my face as i opened the small window of the carriage and let my eyes wandered around my surrounding.The sun was already a friendly ball of yellow,promising more heat as the day progressed.Blue sky and white strips of cloud scattered up above,some are long strips,some are small but my favorite ones were those which has a weird formation,creating various beautiful shapes that will sometimes tickle my imagination. All in all i couldn’t have asked for a better weather.

Minutes passed by and i can no longer smell the sweet fragrance of freshly cut grass.The sound of birds chattering in the trees faded replaced with the faint sound of people talking,footsteps and the noise made by the objects being push,pull or drop can be heard inside the carriage I’m riding in.People scattered everywhere doing their own business. The once quite scenery was replaced by the noise of the lively and busy market place. My mind was fully occupied by the surrounding when I felt someone licked my hands.

"Hey,buddy,” I smiled,petting my dog’s head as he barked,his tail wagging.

He’s a gray German shepherd gift given to me by my mother on my fourteenth birthday, he’s pretty big compare to the average size of a dog,and he looks like a smaller version of wolf because of his color.I love exploring yet i am terrible at directions at the same time,so I get lost often,and Evo was trained for that.He was trained to be my guard and to be my guide.He’s always with me whenever I go outside,specially if I’m going to a place I’m not familiar with.

“Whoa!”I heard the coachman yelled.The horse halted with a neigh as i felt the carriage I’m riding in stopped.

I closed the book on my lap with a small thud before placing it beside me.I tucked a strand of my armpit length brown hair behind my ear as i stick my head out the window of the carriage,peeking outside.

“Lady,” said the girl beside me. “Please sit properly,” Her voice was soft yet stern.

My honey brown orbs met her green once as I put my head back inside the carriage.My eyes flickered with excitement,not paying attention to what she had said as i felt an electrifying feeling surge through my veins.

“Naya,are we already ‘here’? ”Naya’s lips pursed slightly,her eyebrows furrowed a bit as she stared at me,worry was visibly etched on her face.I saw small glint of fear crossed across her eyes and she let out a quite shaky sigh as if bracing herself to what will gonna happen.Her knuckles white,as she unconsciously clutched onto her long skirt before nodding.I brought my hands on top of her knuckles,giving it a gentle squeeze.

“Naya,Everything will be fine,so don’t be nervous,” I said giving her a reassuring smile, “Trust me,”

Naya stared at me for a moment before smiling slightly, giving me a small nod of agreement.I smiled once more before placing my book back inside my bag,clutching the handle tightly as i opened the door of the carriage.

“Let’s go then.” I said rather cheerfully as I looked at Evo and he started barking excitedly, “You too,buddy,” and that’s the only cue he needed before he jumped quickly off the carriage and began walking around while sniffing the ground.

As soon as my feet touch the ground,a man in his 50’s approached me.He’s wearing a black tuxedo and a black hat.He has a broad-shoulder,a lean posture and a tanned wrinkled skin– a sign of aging.He has this friendly smile plastered on his face as he removed his hat,exposing those gray-ish strands of his.He then bow down his head courteously before standing straight placing his hat back on his head,still smiling. Evo jumped up on him gleefully,his front paws were on the man’s waist level,tail shaking from side to side and his tongue sticking out.The old man laughed calming the overjoyed dog by petting its head.

“Uncle Rob!" I smiled back.

"Vaccines,medicines,food and clothes are all ready,Miss Elena,”

My lower lips protruded in a childish pout as i heard the way he addressed me.I hoisted my bag on my shoulder,crossing my arms over my chest,pout never leaving my mouth earning a small laugh from the old man.

“Just Elena,Uncle Rob,”

I never liked the way Naya and Uncle Rob addresses me.Firstly,because Uncle Rob,even though he’s not my Uncle by blood, he’s always been working under my family as a butler,even before i was born.And Naya is like a real sister to me. She used to call me in my real name tho,but when she heard Uncle Rob calling me Miss Elena,and ever since when she started to learn the honorifics she began calling me 'Lady’ treating me high and mighty rather than treating me as her own sister.As a real sister.And it saddens me.

“Oh! Hi,Mr.Williams,” I heard Naya spoke behind me with a lively voice as she get herself out of the carriage. Evo was now sitting quietly beside me,his tongue still sticking out.

“My,my,You two really grew so fast,huh?Last time i remember you two were just this small,” He said motioning his hands,placing them on his waistline as Naya and I giggled softly,”Oh, and about the goods,“ The old man added before he whistled. To my shock ten men suddenly came up and began unloading the carriage.I blinked few times, analyzing what’s happening.

"Did–,” I said pointing at the men carrying the goods.”Did my dad sent them here?”

"No,Grandma did.It will be hard for us to carry those boxes without them,Lady,”

‘Well,obviously’ i thought.I bet i couldn’t even carry a single box,but sending ten men was kinda over reacting.I looked at Uncle Rob for confirmation,giving him a 'for real?’ look and he nodded.

“I know but,I was expecting fewer people.Maybe three men is enough,right?”

“Well,” i heard Uncle Rob sighed “Your granny knows how dangerous for us to go in such place,so she thinks sending three men is not enough.”

I frowned but nodded.

“Anyway,Uncle,”I said as i moved my gaze from the boxes to Uncle Rob “Where is 'it’?“ I asked and he looked at me questioningly.

"Oh,that,” he said as he remember, “On your left,Miss El,”

The frown on my face subsided slowly as I felt the surge of excitement runs through my body once again.I turned my head on my left side and gulped, Silently reading the letters written on the wall right next to an arrow.

'To Underground City’

I am finally here.

Again.

 I flopped down on my bed groaning while messing my hair,feeling disappointed while I felt Evo lay beside me.I laid on my stomach while digging my face on my pillow as I clutched on it tightly.Lifting up my head a little,I look through my windows,quietly watching as the brilliant orb of amber and tangerine sunk lower and lower in the sky until it dipped down into the horizon, painting the sky in magnificent hues of fiery red and crimson illuminating my room. The colors faded from maroon to neon pink and majestic purple. An impossibly bright orange colored the world a sparkling gold as the sun descended. The sky changed from cornflower blue to a subtle purple, speckled with diamonds and adorned in one large orb of opal.

The first summer night of this year.

The dim light of the moon was the only one that serves a small light in my huge dark room.I rolled on my bed and lay on my back,staring at the white ceiling of my room in the middle of silence.The goods were properly distributed.I enjoyed this project but I’m quite disappointed at some point.So far the projects were successful except 'him’.

My first project was to help the refugees of Wall Maria.Those people who has been forced to leave their hometown and moved inside Wall Rose when the outer wall was breached by the Armored Titan and Colossal Titan two years ago.I chose Underground City for my second project not only because I saw how miserable was the life of people living in there but also,because of 'him’.That boy who saved me and Naya.

I knew that my chance to meet him again after thirteen long years was so small,I didn’t even catch his name,neither I know if I would recognized him if I see him.But i willingly took the risk.I just wanted to thank him for what he did to me and to Naya. And by 'thanking him’ I mean,I wanted to help him.I can help him out of that place if that’s what he want.I never get the chance to thank him back then because he left as soon as my parents came and found me.

’If he didn’t left maybe I could convinced my parents to adopt him too’.

How does he look like again? I couldn’t actually remember.Neither Naya can.The only thing I can remember were his eyes.Those pair of grey orbs,staring coldly.One of the most beautiful pair I have ever seen in my entire life.I sighed closing my eyes falling into a deep slumber.

 Three consecutive knocks on my door woke me up from my sleep. Evo lifted his head and opened his eyes raising his left ear as the door opened with a small squeak ,but then lay his head back on my bed comfortably,closing his eyes when he saw it was just Naya who entered my room.I opened my eyes groaning as I glanced at the wall clock.

9:45 pm.

“Lady!" Naya called out catching her breath, one hand resting on her knee and the other one holding a small lamp. I sat on my legs lazily,stretching my limbs before rubbing my eyes.I looked at myself at the mirror beside my bed,my hair,a tangled mess.My gaze moved from the mirror to Naya.

"What is it,Naya?” I tilted my head in a slight confusion as i scrutinized the girl in front of me, “Did you run?" i asked yawning.

She swallowed and nodded,trying to calm her breath.

"You seem so tired,Lady.Would you like to rest first?”

I shook my head and sat on the edge of my bed trying to fix my hair with my fingers.

“Nah,I’m fine.I just woke up,”  I said still fixing my hair. “So,what’s up with you running like that?”

“Another letter arrived," Naya said showing out a small white envelope.

I looked at it before I nodded nonchalantly.Just another letter from the medical establishments doesn’t excites me.After i attained my highest education in the field of Medicine and graduated with the highest award being the youngest person who ranked first in the over-all-ranking,since then, medical organizations started their obsession on sending me letters,offering and encouraging me to join them,however,none of those letters caught my interest.They keep sending letters and i keep on refusing.I know that they just want me for money,the name and the fame.If I joined them,the chance of being hired by the nobles as their personal doctor will get higher and that also means bigger money.And i absolutely loathed the idea.

"Guess i need to declined another letter hmm?”

I shrugged walking towards my vanity mirror to brush my hair.

“But,Lady..” Naya said with her widened eyes looking at me, “This is not 'just another letter’,” 

I stopped.Looking at Naya through my mirror.

“What is it then?” I asked,raising my right eyebrow.My eyes flickered with curiosity.

“It’s a letter from the royal family.Here," She said and I frowned,confused. Naya showed the envelope,pointing the stamp.I squinted my eyes looking at the small white envelope through my mirror. "It has a royal stamp,Lady,”

Recognizing the stamp,I gasped and spun around quickly.I walked towards Naya to check the letter myself. Naya hand it over me.The stamp was the image of the castle and the King’s initials.My eyes widened as my fingers touched the stamp.

‘But why?

I thought.I looked at Naya,and she’s already looking at me,My confused hazel brown hues met her pair of confused green once,returning my eyes on the small white envelope,i opened the letter that was addressed to me.My eyes scanned the letter.Each word was neatly written.And on the lower right,there was the King’s signature along with the royal stamp just like the stamp on the outside cover.The letter was clearly not an invitation nor an offer.It’s an order–An order from the King.Defying it means death.I can’t just decline it.As i proceed on reading,a certain line caught my attention.A small smirk crept on my face as I folded the paper neatly placing it back on the envelope,closing it.

“Pack your things,Naya,” I said walking towards my bed,“ We’re leaving.”

“Wha–..Where are we going,Lady?”

“Grandma’s,”I answered shortly as i get my luggage under my bed.

“But,Lady!The King expect you to be there before sunrise,” Her voice trembling as she speaks.”And if you refused you will be sent to–” her eyes widened as if realization hits her.  

I didn’t speak, instead I walked towards my closet and get a good amount of clothes,placing it inside my luggage.

“Lady,Don’t tell me you–” the crease forming between his eyebrows became deeper.

“Yes,” I said calmly.

She opened her mouth like she’s about to say something but it seems like she can’t find the right term,that she’s unsure what to say so she closed it again,before she bit her bottom lip.

“You know dad will never allow me to go.” I sighed,turning to her,placing my hands on either side of her shoulder. “This is the only chance i have," 

"But,” she paused searching for words,”I know that you know this is not a good idea,Elena,” 

I was quite shock when she called me in my real name.Sign that she’s angry yet worried,but she can’t stop me. I’ve waited for this opportunity for so long.I’m thankful that she always worry about me.I really am.But now,It’s the right time for us to choose our own path.

"Yes,I’m sorry,” 

I murmured as i watched her walked towards the door quietly.The sound of opening and closing of my door is the only noise can be heard,a quite click followed. Naya walked out of my room leaving me without a single word.

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

Wall Rose | Year 847 | Ehrmich District (south) | 12:00 am

Sipping my tea, I let my eyes wander in my surrounding. A wooden table in front of me and a cup of tea on the table.This house was not as fancy as the one where me and Naya live.This house is more simple yet it gives me the feeling of relaxation and comfort. I’ve missed this house.Me and Naya used to spend our vacation in this house back then, but it stopped when I became preoccupied with my studies.

I heard someone cleared their throat.Following the sound, my gaze fell on my grandmother’s face.Her suspicious eyes already boring at me.

“So,what brought you here,young women?”

“Are you not happy to see us,granny?” I said dramatically clutching my chest.

“Shut up,El.You know that’s not what i meant,”

I pouted childishly.My grandmother is stricter than my mother,while my father has always been the softest one.Basically my grandmother’s the strictest person in the family.

“Why?Is it now bad to visit you,granny?”

“No.But at midnight?Seriously El?It will only take two hours of driving for you to reached my house.And that means you didn’t really planned to visit me but you had to because something came up.” she paused sipping her coffee. “So tell me,young woman.Did something wrong happened?”

My childish pout was now replaced with a serious expression,lips pursed tightly as I turned my gaze to Naya. She’s fidgeting while looking at the unmoving liquid substance in-front of her,holding her mug tightly.I sighed. I’ve already mentioned my plan to my grandmother before as well so I know she wouldn’t be so surprised if I bring up the topic.I turned my gaze to my grandmother, my hazel brown eyes met her dark brown hues still staring at me intently,I wet my lips.

“I am leaving for Military Training,grandma,”  I said as I stared at her not blinking while biting my inner cheek.

She continue to stare at me as well with so much intensity as if she’s looking for something in my eyes.Silence.The wind blow and the cold air entered through the open window of the dinning room and slightly caressed my cheeks. Silence. Only the sound of leaves swaying with the wind can be heard. Silence. Naya looked at me then to the old woman,feeling the tension rising up.

“No," My grandma said her voice low yet firm.

I let out a sigh.I just realized I was unconsciously holding my breath while I was waiting for my grandmother’s answer.

"You can’t do anything even if you’re against it,granny.The King sent a letter earlier,ordering me to work under him as his personal doctor.They’ll send someone to fetch me tomorrow and I’ve already leave a letter of declination on one of the maid in the mansio–." I tried to explain but i was cut.

I was surprised when my grandmother slapped me hard right on my face before I can even finished what I was saying.I touched my cheeks, eyes wide opened,She never slapped me before.

"Say,” She asked her voice was shaking. “You wanna die?”

“I never said that.They want me dead.But i never said i wanted to die,granny,” I argued and she frowned.

“And what about Naya?You’ll drag her with you?” she asked slightly gritting her teeth,pointing her finger to Naya.

I was about to speak when i heard the chair squeak as Naya stood up,all our eyes on her.

"I–” she stuttered. “I’ll go too,”Naya said with such determination that almost match mine if only her voice weren’t shaking.

“Naya,no,”  I said rather calmly as I looked at Naya,creased forming between her eyebrows. “ Never,”

I turned my eyes to my grandmother as she sighed closing her eyes,while pinching the bridge of her nose,trying to calm herself

"I’m sorry,for causing you stress.” I bit my lip looking at her apologetically.“I just wanted to say goodbye to you personally at least before i leave." I paused then look at Naya who’s still standing,her fists curled tightly. “And as for Naya,I’m gonna leave her here in your house.” 

I know it will be the best for the both of them,since grandma’s not getting any younger,Naya can take care of her.Also, Naya needs someone to be with her.She can’t be alone.She hates it.

“You don’t understand,Elena." she said sniffing,"What i hate the most is..being left behind,”Naya said,tears running down her face,her voice shaking yet she spit those last two words venomously before she ran upstairs,leaving me and my grandmother in the dinning room.

My eyes widened and I froze not just because she called me in my real name for the second time this day,but because I realized something; I’ve hurt Naya. I will do the thing she hated the most.I will do the same thing those people in her past did to her.I will leave her.Will she hate me?I stand up from my seat and I was about to chase her when my grandmother stopped me on my tracks.

“You sit,”

I swallowed the invisible lump on my throat and patted Evo’s head before i whispered. “Evo. Go to Naya,okay?" I said smiling at my dog and he barked on agreement.

"Good boy," I patted him one last time before he run upstairs,my eyes followed my dog’s movement until I can’t see him anymore.I sat myself on the chair as my grandmother began to speak.

“Why?” she asked in almost inaudible voice,“Why can’t you just accept the order and live peacefully inside Sina just as what your mother told you?” I bit my lip,hanging my head low “Like me and your father want you to do?”

I stayed silent as she bombarded me with questions.

“Why do you have to be so stubborn?” She said her voice weak.“If you’re just doing this to avenge your mother’s death,then stop it.You don’t have to do that,honey,”

“Avenging my mother’s death is far from my real intention,granny.I wanted to do this because i wanted to help,” my eyes started to tear up as i started to remember her, “Just like my mother did,“

I admire my mother,Most of doctors declined working under Scouting Legion because they can’t offer them high income.But she chose to work under that Legion.There’s so many excellent doctors out there but they chose to work under the royalty.Under nobles.Only a few of them have the guts to work under this Legion,when in fact they’re the one who needs us the most.

“And I wanted to help not just as a doctor,but also,as a soldier”

She stared at my eyes as if she’s reaching out for my soul.And I stared at her eyes with my pair of hazel orbs full with determination.She sighed as if it’s the sign that she gave up.

"Did your dad know about this?”

My grandma asked but I didn’t answer,instead I just hang my head low.She clicked her tongue shaking her head.

“Did you even mentioned this plan to him?”

“I did,once.But he got angry,” I pouted.

“Who wouldn’t?Be thankful your dad didn’t slapped you like i did,”

“He almost,”

And I almost forgot about the slap tho.Now that my grandma mentioned it,I touched my cheek and I felt my cheek sting a bit.But I know the training will be more painful.

“But,I’m sorry.I just..” She trailed off, “I just don’t want to lost you the way i lost your mother.”She said and turned her head to the open window, looking at the sky. “My only daughter.”

I hummed.

“I know.I’m sorry too–”

“And I want you to know that I’m still against it.I just hope you’ll never regret this." She said with a quite yet sad voice.I give her a reassuring smile,hugging her.

"Nev–”

“Save it.I want you to say that to me one day.Not now,okay?” She said detaching herself from the hug and I nodded,“Promise me,”

 I smiled,as i brought my hand on the left part of my chest. “I promise.”

 “Now go upstairs and talk to Naya.”  she said smiling sadly.

—–

I knocked on the door before I opened it.There I see Naya on her bed,hugging Evo. She’s now on her nightwear. A white long sleeve duster that goes just below her knees with some ruffles on the collar.Some of the strands of her black waist length hair were covering her face.The only source of the light is the moon that can be seen through her windows, illuminating the dark room with its dim light.The curtain slightly swaying in the breeze entering her open window.I can hear some occasional sniffs which meant she’s still awake..and crying.I walked towards her bed and I sit on the edge, her back facing me. Evo stand up and walk towards me.I patted his head whispering a 'Thank you’ before I turned to Naya.

“Naya..” I called but she stayed silent.

I started humming a song,because I know it calms her.Music calms me too.We both like music so much.I play piano and she plays guitar.We usually spend time together composing music.To be honest most of the things we know,we learned them together.

“Back then we always learn things together.But now,” I trailed off. “It’s a bit different.We need to choose our path..of what would we like to be,”

“Bring me with you then,” She speaks all of a sudden.

I looked at her with a saddened expression in my eyes and she looked at me with her pained ones.I want her to do the thing that her heart desires.Not this.This is not what she wanted.I know she’s just doing this because of me.

She get up from her bed and shook her head before she looked at me.“Why is that you can to decide for yourself and you wont let me on my own.That’s unfair,Lady,” My expression softened as I heard her statement

"I can’t," I muttered with sadness lace on my voice.

"You can.You just don’t want to," She murmured before laying on her bed once again,but now ,covering her face with her blanket.

"If you will continue to deny my request,then please kindly leave the room,Lady.There’s nothing to talk about,”

That night I let Evo to stay on Naya’s room,instead of mine.

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

|6:30 am|

Morning came so fast.Silence engulf the whole surrounding. I’m now dressed and ready to go,I’m just waiting for the carriage that will fetch me to arrive.Naya on the other hand is still on her night ware.My grandmother look at the both of us,sipping her black coffee.

“I assume you two didn’t solve your problem,”

She said breaking the silence as she noticed the black circles below my eyes as well as Naya’s eyes.No one answered.Just another silence,It pains me that I will leave like this.We heard a loud knock on the front door.I looked at Naya then to my grandmother.Grandma gave me a small nod before I rushed to the front door,opening it as I saw a man standing outside holding a white paper to which I assumed was a sketch of me.He look at the paper then he looked at me while I get my luggage and carry it.I looked at him.He’s wearing a brown jacket,and a light blue shirt underneath,a white pants with straps and a leather boots.On his jacket an embroidered logo of a green unicorn.The infamous logo of Military Police Brigade.

“I came here under the King’s mighty order.I was sent here to deliver his words.Come with us.Don’t you dare escape, for i was given lawful authority to shoot and kill you if you dare.Don’t you dare refuse, for i had take you by force if y—,”

The man stopped when I walk passed him and get out of the house before he can even finished his sentence.He then grabbed my arm harshly and clicked his tongue.

“What a rude lady,”

I heard him said and I gritted my teeth,glaring at him as I tried to free my arm off his grasp by wiggling it violently.

“I won’t escape,goddammit.”

“Just to make sure,” he said without letting go of my arm.

“You have a gun,you could just shoot me if i dare,just as what you said earlier” i snarled.

“Unafraid,eh?” he chuckled but he didn’t let go of my arm.Squeezing it tighter instead,trying to intimidate me.I hissed,pained and irritated. “Anyway,” he trailed off “You’re not gonna say goodbye to them?” he said looking at the two women standing in the doorway of the house.

I gulped.I can’t get myself turn on my back,because if i will, i don’t know, I’ll probably break down,so i shook my head.

“Really?” he sounds amused,a devious smirk plastered on his face.  “Who knows,this might be the last time you’ll be able to see them,”  

I sighed closing my eyes.I won’t let my emotions control me.I can’t let that happen so I get inside the carriage with my luggage as fast as i can and the man closed the door almost instantly after he get inside with me.I looked through the window,there I see my grandmother and my sister. Both of them held a sad expression on their faces as I waved at them and smiled gently.Gently yet sadly.

“Whoa!”

The coachman yelled and the carriage began to move as the horse starts walking.That’s when I heard a bark.I peek through the windows and I saw Evo running after the carriage.

“Wait!" I shouted.

"What?" The man beside me asked, irritated.The coachman slowed down the horse.

"Evo,i mean my dog.Can i at least take him with me?”

“Are you trying to escape using your dog?” The man said chuckling,he then turned to the coachman.“Please go on.Ignore her.”

I frowned. And the carriage starts moving again.

“No!Of course not,”

“Sure." The man beside me scoffed. I was about to say something when he speaks.

"You will shut your mouth or else i’ll shoot your dog." He said showing me his gun.

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

Training Camp| Year 847 | 8:30 am

"Move faster,dipshit,”

I accidentally dropped my luggage on the ground as the MP pushed me off the carriage. I heard him clicked his tongue. I hissed picking up my luggage.I noticed that he’s still on the carriage.I frowned at him.

“Here," He throw a paper bag on me.I caught the bag and look what’s on the inside.

"That’s your uniform," He said and I nodded as he closed the door of the carriage.

"Wait,where are you going?” 

“My job here was already done,young lady,” 

“What?” I asked confuse and the carriage starts to move. “Wait!” I shouted, but it didn’t stop.

I feel uncomfortable and nervous at the same time as I looked around me.It’s been so long since I went outside without Naya and Evo around.There’s so many people here and,most of them are so young.Most of them are refugees.I sighed walking around trying to find a place where I can changed my clothes,but to no avail.This place was just too big and too unfamiliar.I don’t know where to go,and I’m completely lost.I’m really bad at this.

"Trainees,gathered together and form 10 lines 20 rows,Now!!” I heard someone shouted and i started to panic.

“Dammit!" I hissed.

I haven’t even put my uniform on,I’m still on my goddamned casual clothes for Pete’s sake.I saw some trainees running on a certain direction,I looked at the paper bag in my hands then on the running trainees,contemplating.Should I change my clothes first? or should I follow them and fall in the line as well?

Clicking my tongue, I followed them.While running,I noticed that all trainees are now on their uniform except me.Great.Just great.When everyone’s done on choosing their place in the line,a loud voice boomed that made everyone flinched and automatically straighten their bodies.

"Straight those pants,peasants!The hundred and fourth Cadet Corps boot camp starts now!Allow me to introduced myself,” he said as he stood straight in front of us, “I’m the former Commander Keith Shadis,and you will gonna hate me.Training is gonna be a white-knuckle ride through hell.If I’ve done my job you’ll be waking up in a cold sweat from memories of this place every night for the rest of your miserable lives.Right now you’re nothing,livestock.But over the next three soul-crashing years,you’ll learn to take down your own Goliath.Remember this moment when you come face to face with him cause here’s where you will ask yourself ’Am i a fighter or am i a food?’,'Am i gonna be ground up to a pulpy human breast wing boulder sized incisors or am i gonna be that one that bite?’”

He shouted with all force with such voice that will make anyone shit their pants.He then started to walk towards the trainees,examining their faces with a glare.

“Hey,mop-top!” He called and go in front of a certain blond boy.

“Sir!”The boy answered,standing straight placing his right hand on the left side of his chest and curling up his fingers,his other hand on his back.

“What did i’ll call you,maggot?”

“I’m Armin Arlert from Shiganshina,sir!" he said flinching slightly.

"Wow,seriously?Why would your parents cursed you with such a dumb name?”

“It was my grandfather,sir!!”

And just like that the former Commandant continued insulting the new recruits.One.by.one.

“What do you call yourself?”

“I am Marco Bott,sir.From Jinae,in Wall Rose’s Southern District,sir!I came to join the Military Police and pledge myself to the King!”

He said, wanting to sound so brave and lively but I can still feel the nervousness in his voice.

'Another one who wants to join the MP huh?’ I thought.

“Well then,that makes you an idealistic fool and a rube.You want the truth?The only use the King has for your life and limbs are titan fodder." The man said moving to the next target like nothing happened.

Things just got worse when he saw a certain bald boy saluted with his left hand instead with his right,the former Commandant grabbed his head and lifted him off the ground.I didn’t expected him to be this rough with the soldiers,especially with the new recruits.

"Listen up,Connie Springer!This was one of the first things you were taught,this salute means you’re offering your heart to the King and for humanity,Is your heart on the right side,shithead?”

He said before releasing the bald boy’s head.He turned his head on the next row.On my row.A girl eating potato caught his attention and I’m near her.

Her.Another Cadet.Me.

“Hey,you there,what do you think you’re doing?" He said walking towards to the girl.The girl looked on her both sides before she took another bite of her food.

"You are officially on my shitlist,Just who the hell are you?" The man shouted angrily.

Swallowing the food on her mouth quickly, she answered,"Sasha Blouse from Dauper,in Wall Rose’s Southern District at your service,reporting for duty,sir!" She said saluting the potato still in her hand.

"Sasha Blouse huh?And what is that you’re clutching in your right hand?" The man said in his low voice.Looking at the innocent steamed potato she’s clutching in her hand with a glare.

I don’t know if am i the only one who find this situation funny,I’ve been holding back a loud laugh ever since the conversation with the potato girl started.Looking around all i see are stiffened soldiers.I can say that the former Commandant did a great job on intimidating them.

"Why?I can’t comprehend,Why would you eat that potato?”The girl started to look confused.

“Are you asking me why people eat potatoes?I’m surprised you don’t know,sir.”

Everyone’s jaw dropped and eyeing her shockingly.Silence engulfed the surrounding and she halfheartedly took a small part of the potato,sighing.

“Here,sir.Have half." She said as she holds out the small part.

That’s when I accidentally let out a loud laugh.Realizing it,I automatically lowered my head and avert my eyes on the ground covering the half of my face as I heard footsteps coming closer.My heart thumping so loud.

"Who the hell are you?And what are you laughing for?” he stopped for a moment and i got nervous, “And why you’re not wearing your goddamned uniform,cadet!?”

He shouted,his voice sent chills down my spine. I placed my hand on the left side of my chest and the other at the back.I stood straight but my head still bent down.

“I couldn’t find a place where i can changed my clothes,sir!!”

I said,eyes still on the ground and my head lowering more and more by the seconds.Then there’s silence first before he answered.

“What a dumb piece of shit.Why the hell you’re looking at the ground,shithead?Lift up your head and look at your superior!!”

I flinched as he shouted louder than before.I’m surprised he haven’t recognized me..yet.“I will asked you once again.What is your name?!” 

Knuckles-white,I slowly lift my head up,gathering all my strength I speak loud and clear.He froze,staring at me.Shock etched his face as he recognized me.

"Elena Shadis,from Mitras,the innermost Capital inside Wall Sina,Sir.” I bit my inner cheek nervously as i heard audible gasps and whispering around me.Eyes still focus in front as the man,scrutinize me in astonishment.

“E-Elena?” he stuttered.Swallowing the invisible lump in my throat,I looked at him apologetically before i speak.

“Dad.”

-CHAPTER ONE END-

                                          To Be Continued...

                                  End Of the First Chapter

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