#plus I saw catching fire today

[im-sleepdeprived]

Crazier • Pt. 2

wc: 8.8k (but totally worth it i PROMISE)

pairing: mcu!peter parker x reader

a/n: part two is here! she's a little long but i swear i've never had so much fun writing and editing a fic so i promiseeee its totally worth it !!! i love this one so much so please pleaseee let me know what you think ! i love talking to you guys (i feel the need to tell yall this is totally a PETER x reader fic you’ll understand but DONT WORRY ITS JUST FOR PLOT BRO)

warning: literally nothing, a few f-bombs, and kids going psycho (in the best way) at school

read part 1 here

The weird, auto-tuned, voice startled you and made you turn around, wiping your eyes so you could see clearly. When you saw who it was you rubbed your eyes again for good measure because there was no way. 

"Huh?" you said meekly, mentally slapping face palming for acting so dumb in front of New York's hero. 

His head tilted and his masked face shifted in what you could only guess was a grin, "I said can I walk you home? It's pretty dark and I don't really trust the streets and, trust me, I would know. Plus, your crying and being distracted is really dangerous."

"I'm not crying," you were, in fact, crying. It was obvious to both of you. Your red eyes and pink stuffy nose, despite trying to fight the tears so you could get home, only came in harder. 

"Ok well I'm just gonna ignore the fact that you're totally lying and ask again, can I walk you home?" despite there being a weird robotic tinge to his voice, you thought he sounded desperate. Plus you didn't really think he'd take a 'no' as an answer. Or if you were even allowed to give him that answer, he was a superhero after all.

So you nodded and his entire posture seemed to relax when you hadn't even realized he seemed tense. Wow, he must take his job seriously. You started walking, silently leading the way as he followed right beside you. 

"Can I ask why you're crying?" 

"You just did," you replied flatly not really meaning to sound so mean despite the tone you had used. 

You sighed, "Shit, I'm sorry Mr. Spider-Man, here you are being all nice trying to make sure I get home all right and I'm being a total ass." 

"No it's all right, you don't have to answer if you don't want to I just wanted to make sure everything was alright," his tone was soft, and somehow, despite not knowing him at all, you felt like you could trust him. 

"I broke up with my boyfriend," you whispered and you weren't really sure if he would catch it, but he did. 

"He must've been real stupid for you to do that, huh?"

You laughed. "God yes," your humor died down and your face fell, "but he was a great boyfriend, y'know, just...before he wasn't."

You passed the cafe that was near your apartment building when he asked, "What'd he do that made you snap?" 

You were silent for a minute, debating whether you should answer that or not when you finally stopped in front of your building making him pause beside you as well. 

"Well we're here," you slapped your hands together as you stood there awkwardly. 

"Yeah, yeah. Um, maybe we could chat again sometime, totally friendly, of course," he added the last part rushed, waving his hands slightly. It made you laugh genuinely this time. 

"Sure bug boy, I hang out on the roof a lot." you could actually use a friend to talk to after today. "If you're ever swinging by and you see me, you should stop to say hey."

"Really," Peter felt weird, you two had always sat on your apartment roof together, climbing up from your fire escape. And now he'd never get the chance to do it again. Not as Peter at least, but here you were inviting Spider-Man to hang out with you again. 

He decided he'd take what he could get. 

You smiled slightly and turned around to go inside when he spoke up again, "Wait how does tonight sound?" He asked, and if you didn't know any better you might even say he sounded nervous. That only made you smile more. 

"Tonight sounds great," you said., "Oh. And thanks for walking me home. I really appreciate it." You shoot him one last smile before finally turning around and getting inside. 

Despite it being dark on your way home, it wasn't that late, it was just winter. You started your homework and worked swiftly, not giving in to any of the distractions you usually did. You wanted to be completely free tonight. Maybe befriending Spider-Man would help improve your grades too. 

When the clock struck 9 p.m. and your parents went to bed, you closed your door and silently locked it before walking over to the window and pushing it open. 

You grabbed a book and headed up, deciding to read until he got there. It was freezing despite the big sweater you were wearing. After waiting five minutes and him still being a no-show, you decided to go make some tea. 

Making your way down, you made two mugs of tea as quietly as you could without waking anyone in the apartment. It didn't take long and soon enough you were carefully making your way up the fire escape again, trying your best not to spill any of the hot liquid. 

While you were focused on steadily moving so you didn't spill your drinks, you didn't notice the masked hero sitting on the ledge. 

"There you are," his voice startled you but, miraculously, the tea didn't spill, "I've been waiting for like, forever." You had a feeling he rolled his eyes. 

"Oh shut up," you handed him a mug, "I was just up here dumbass. But it got cold so I decided to make us something hot." 

He used his free hand to put a finger on his chin, tilting his head, as if in thought, "Having trouble deciding if I should be offended you called me a dumbass or flattered that you made me a cup of tea."

You laughed out loud and he felt his heart flutter, the sound a nice contrast to the yelling that had gone down between you two earlier that day. 

"Wait so I never got your name," he asked in fake interest. Obviously, he didn't need you to tell him. But you didn't know that. 

"Y/N. what's yours?" you asked innocently and it was his turn to laugh. "Ha! Nice try," he joked and you just shrugged. 

"Whatcha reading?" He pointed towards the book you had brought up with you, "Business or pleasure?"

You laughed, and grabbed the book, "Definitely pleasure. It's my favorite actually. I've read it too many times to count."

His heart fell a little. Your favorite? How did he not know that? He remembered the cover though..or maybe just the color scheme of it. The more he thought about it the more he realized he didn't really remember the book at all. God, he really couldn't blame you for ending things. 

"Can you tell me about it," he asked softly. He loved it when you went on about a topic you loved and all the facial expressions and hand motions that came with your storytelling. 

"Are you kidding? I can write a 20-page essay about this book," you scoffed lightly, "but I really don't wanna bore you so it's okay." 

"No way! I asked, so how would you bore me. Tell me about it, maybe I'll pick it up from the next bookstore I pass."

So you did. You went on and on about certain themes that stood out to you while reading, and how important some lessons were. You showed him your annotations and notes and he realized you really weren't joking about the '20-page-essay' quip. 

He loved the way you were so passionate about the subject and all the thought you'd put into this. But seeing you like this made him realize something, it'd been so long since you'd been like this with him. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't really remember the last time you'd gone on one of these little rants with him.

Some time while you were talking you'd both finished your tea (him only pulling up his mask to the tip of his nose, taking a sip, and quickly bringing it back down. he didn't wanna risk anything), setting the cups far to the side. 

He let you finish before talking, "Wow that's a lot to take in, am I the only person who's been fortunate enough to have this wisdom passed onto them?"

You laughed, "Kinda, yeah."

That shocked him a little, at least if you hadn't shared it with him he thought you might've talked about it with MJ. He might not have known much (apparently) but he knew how much you loved to talk about a book after you read it, whether you liked it or not. And the fact that this was your favorite and you'd read it multiple times and hadn't shared it with anyone was weird to him. 

"Really? How come? Are your friends not into reading," he asked, trying to be subtle. 

You just shrugged, "I don't really have friends," he made a sound of disbelief which made you chuckle before continuing, "I mean obviously I have friends in the traditional sense of the word but I'm not close enough with anyone to just speak my thoughts like that, y'know?"

He tried, he really did, but he could feel the hurt coursing through him, did you never feel comfortable enough around him? 

"Really? you seem like the kind of person who has too many friends. What about your boyfriend?" 

"ex-boyfriend," you corrected him bitterly, and it left him wondering if you felt that same pang of hurt adding those two extra letters that changed everything. 

"Right," he said quietly, "but still, did you never feel comfortable enough around him?" He knew it wasn't his place to ask you such questions, hell it wasn't his place to be talking to you at all, you had made that clear, but he couldn't help it. He couldn't just leave you alone to walk home alone, hurt, and in the dark. And now, he really wanted to know what your answer to his question would be. 

You wanted to make a joke about how he was really going at it with the questions but you didn't have it in you. So you just thought about it a little before answering, "Well of course I was comfortable with him, at one point I guess, he wasn't just my boyfriend he was my best friend. And I guess that's what really sucks the most about the breakup.

"He was the only person I shared anything with but it just got to the point where I used to try and talk about anything and he'd just blow me off. It happened a few times before I just stopped altogether, it hurt too much when it felt like he didn't care. I stopped and it was like 'If I don't say anything, I can't get hurt'. If I didn't talk then I wouldn't feel that rejection again and I always had the little part in the back of my brain that said 'Of course he cares but don't say anything,  just in case.'

"He's a busy guy, and I get that, I really do. I just never thought he'd get so busy he wouldn't care about me anymore."

You hadn't realized how close you'd come to tears until you felt yourself sniffle, "Shit, sorry," you laughed bitterly, "I didn't mean to get emotional, it's whatever now, it's over."

Peter heard his heart crack. Saying he felt terrible was an understatement. He felt horrendous that he made you feel that way, even worse that he didn't even realize that he did until you just said so. 

"God I'm so sorry," he said, his voice feeling weak and he was extra thankful for the new voice-changer he'd been using lately. "He sounds like a total jerk." He was, he definitely was. 

You force a little smile, "Oh well," you shrugged, "we'll both move on." 

But deep down, neither of you believed that. 

You had a long night. Turns out your city's hero had a lot more to him than you'd originally thought. He was extremely funny, always making little remarks about everything, and he was a great listener. Not a boring one either, he asked questions and seemed genuinely interested in what you were saying. 

It was the main thing on your mind that day that you almost forgot the problem at hand. Almost. 

Going back to school was something you were dreading. You didn't want to see Peter at all, just thinking about it was totally ruining your mood. 

You arrived and headed straight for MJ's locker. You tapped her shoulder, "Heyyyy," you said, making her narrow her eyes at you. 

"What happened," she deadpanned and you sighed. You rubbed the bridge of your nose just making her more skeptical. 

"Peter and I broke up." You said softly, not meeting her eyes. If you had, you would've seen they were filled with rage. 

"What," she asked lowly making you look up. You two were good friends but you didn't really think she'd care much, just because MJ wasn't the best at showing emotions like that. 

"Yeah, yesterday after rehearsal I broke up with him. He pushed it too far," you shrugged trying to put it off as nothing but she could see right through your charade. 

"C'mere," she slammed her locker shut and interlocked your arms together making you smile in delight. This was so unlike her and you were going to enjoy every moment. 

It was like that, your elbows locked together, you beaming and her with a dead-set look on her face as you headed for first period. You were so caught up in the joy of MJ being a little touchy-feely for once that you didn't realize she wasn't actually headed towards class but instead down the hall towards the locker of your ex.   

Luckily you caught on while you were still a few feet away, dragging her to a stop in the student-packed hall. 

"Hey, hey, hey. What do you think you're doing?" You looked at her, raising an eyebrow. 

She shrugged nonchalantly. "Going to chew out your ex-boyfriend for being a dick," she said as if it were obvious. 

You snuck a glance at him just in time to see him swerving his head opposite direction. So, he had definitely seen you. You shook your head, "Mj you can't do that, you'll scare him so bad you'll send him into cardiac arrest."

She cracked a smile at that until she looked in his direction and her face fell again, "No way. I'm gonna beat him into a pulp I swear-"

"Michelle," she tensed as you used her full name, "I'm fine. In fact, I broke up with him." Her shoulders deflated. "I'm not letting him off the hook that easily," she mumbled and you nodded, not really expecting her to. "I'm gonna give him the death stare all day long." She continued. 

"And I'm sure he'll turn to stone by the end of the day," you said reassuringly. Her face lifted a little. 

"But if he even tries to pull some stupid shit, I will not hesitate," she gave you a look that said 'this is the one thing you have no say over' and you nodded again. Anything as long as she didn't approach him and embarrass the three of you in the crowded school hallways. 

She seemed satisfied with that answer, and so you both turned around to actually get to class this time but not before you snuck another glance at Peter who, for some reason, was looking a little paler than a few seconds ago. Even a little..scared? Maybe he heard MJ's threats, you humored yourself, turning your head away from him again. But that was impossible because the halls were way too crowded for him to have overheard you both. Not to mention you were still a ways away from him. 

The rest of the day went by easier than you thought it would, with extremely minimal interactions with Peter. none, in fact, after the MJ incident (who had stuck by your side all day like your own personal bodyguard). 

Of course, it might've been because you were avoiding him. You knew his schedule well and you knew where he'd be at almost all hours of the day. Even in your shared classes, you'd charmed some other students into switching seats with you so you didn't have to sit beside him anymore.

There was no rehearsal today so you dragged MJ to get ice cream with you, despite her initial refusal. You just needed a distraction, you didn't feel like going home and drowning in your thoughts for the rest of the day so you were gonna stall as much as you could. 

You paid for your ice creams and MJ chose a booth in the back for you both to sit at. Once upon a time, you all used to come here as a group (you, MJ, Ned, and Peter) and sometimes just you and Peter alone on simple dates. The memories hurt to think about so you pushed them aside trying to only focus on the sweetness of your chocolate ice cream. 

"So why'd you do it," MJ asked bluntly. You looked at her and furrowed your brows, not knowing what she meant. 

She sighed, "Why'd you break up with him? I can see how down in the dumps you've been all day, you clearly didn't want to do it, so why did you?" She didn't ask it in a nosy manner, just simply, as if she were asking you for today's date.

You exhaled slowly, trying to buy yourself time because as much as you didn't want to answer her question, you had to. You felt as if you owed her that much with how extra kind and supportive she was acting today, despite that going against her usual personality. And plus, she was your friend so she should know. 

"You know how he was MJ, I always told you," you sighed. You look down and start picking at your nails. "He just promised that he'd be there for one of my rehearsals claiming that, since they meant so much to me, he should go to one. And even though I kept telling him no and that he probably wouldn't be able to make it, he promised,

"He promised, and he still couldn't show up. So it just made me start thinking, and if he can't keep his word with simple things like that, how can I trust him with bigger things like a relationship? All the other times he's bailed on me, no explanation, and I'd just feel so stupid and hurt after getting stood up again. And I just snapped I guess."

MJ nodded solemnly as the bell above the door rang. Just out of curiosity, you looked up from your ice cream and you immediately wished you hadn't because walking in was Peter and Ned.

"Speak of the devil," you muttered as you buried your head down, letting your hair cover your face. MJ gave you a confused look before turning around and seeing just what you were talking about. She muttered a few profanities before grabbing your hand and dragging you up by your wrist. 

As soon as you stood up two pairs of eyes landed on the both of you and before you could even think about where to run away, Ned was heading towards you with Peter right at his heels. 

You cringed and MJ stood up straighter and tensed. You put a hand on her shoulder to remind her to relax and not turn on 'kill mode' yet. 

"Hey guys," Ned said smiling big and for a second you thought maybe Peter didn't tell him about the breakup. Until you saw him send a not-so-subtle slap to the back of his shoulder but Ned ignored it. 

"Hey Ned," you said softly giving him a tight smile and avoiding Peter's eyes despite feeling them burning holes into your skin. MJ just stood stiffly. 

"Funny running into you guys here huh? Me and Pete just came here for a little treat, y'know we need a pick-me-up after that math quiz," he laughed and you forced a small chuckle. You two seemed to be the only ones trying, Peter was just staring at you the whole time and MJ was glaring at him, waiting for him to try something so she had an excuse to pounce. 

"Say, aren't you in the same class Y/N? How was the test for you," he asked, clearly trying to keep the conversation flowing but as you opened your mouth to answer, someone else did. 

"Well, this has been just great. Not," MJ said which made heat rush to your face. As uncomfortable as you were, you never wanted to be rude to them, especially Ned. He had done nothing wrong and he was only being nice. 

"But Y/N and I have plans to be elsewhere so see ya later Leeds. And Parker, you might want to blink before your eyeballs dry out, not that I'd mind," she muttered the last part but you all still heard it so you sent a slap to her arm. She just shrugged as you turned towards Ned, still avoiding even looking at Peter, "Yea it was nice to see you Ned but we do have somewhere to be so we should catch up some other time," you tried more politely. 

"Yeah, of course," he sent you another smile as MJ dragged you by your arm out the door and you waved lamely at him. You both stopped as the door closed behind you. you inhaled deeply, trying to calm your nerves. 

"Oh my fuck, that was stressful," you muttered. 

MJ gave you a sympathetic look before gesturing to follow her, "Come on, let's find somewhere else to hang out."

you followed her and looked into the window of the shop where you saw Peter and Ned hunched over whispering about something. probably about how awkward that interaction was. 

"Come on y/n, pleaseeeeeee," Lexi begged, giving you big, wide, puppy dog eyes. 

It was the next day after school and you were currently being bombarded by the whole cast and crew to play a big round of truth or dare with them. 

So they sent Lexi to convince you, knowing how close you two were. And also how stubborn she was. 

"But we have work to do," you whined pathetically. "Y/N honestly everything is done. and plus, we have one more rehearsal before opening night so if we did miss anything, which we didn't, we'll get it done that day," someone else from the crowd yelled, the rest yelling in agreement. 

They were especially laying it on you because Mrs. Lightbody was absent today, leaving you in charge alone. 

"Y/N/N, what are you even worrying about," Lexi asked, "you have everything memorized down to a 't'. Like, honestly, if any one of us had to bail last minute you could totally take over because I know you have every part of the script memorized." Everyone else was laughing in agreement and you looked down knowing it was true. 

"I mean, come on, isn't truth or dare such a 'seventh grade' kinda game," you tried for measly, knowing that what she said was true, almost everything was ready for the big day and the minor stuff left could be taken care of at the last rehearsal. 

"Well if you don't wanna play truth or dare we can always do something else," Lexi offered, giddy at the fact that you might actually agree. 

"How about a scavenger hunt," someone suggested. 

"Yeah! Me and Jack can write up a bunch of lists of tasks to do and items to gather. It'll take us less than 10 minutes," Lacy offered. 

Everyone looked around and you finally spoke up, "Sure why not," you gave in and everyone started cheering, some even whistling, "A bunch of kids running around an empty school? What could go wrong?" you told them, the whole group laughing loud. 

Everyone lounged around for a few minutes while Lacy and Jack laid out somewhere on the stage, pulling out a bunch of empty papers and started writing on them. You watched as Jack said something that made Lacy laugh, making a blush form on his cheeks. it had once been like that with me and Peter, you thought, but you tried not to let that bitter feeling seep in again. 

As if sensing your distress, Lexi came over and wrapped an arm around your shoulders, "Hey," she said softly, "maybe this'll be good for you, y'know. You work really hard and you need something to forget about that Parker kid for once. so let's go wild and run around the school a bit." you smiled, thinking about how ridiculous this whole thing really was and how Mrs. Lightbody would endlessly scold you if she ever found out. but you also couldn't help the excitement bubbling in you. this sounded like a lot of fun. 

"Yea, you're right," you agreed and you both lounged out on the stairs on the side of the stage until Jack stood up on the center stage and whistled, gathering everyone's attention. 

he waited, Lacy beside him holding a bunch of paper scraps, until everyone was close until he began, "Fellow children of theater," he started dramatically, "I hold before you midtown's very first, annual, theater games." everyone cheered and clapped. 

"You may gather into groups, as many as you like, just no more than four to a group, please. Now if you will, sort yourselves, and once your group is ready, come grab the paper that will have your tasks from Lady Lacy." He finished and motioned to Lacy who took a bow and everyone clapped once more. Man, you were gonna miss these kids once this play was over. 

you and Lexi decided that you were just going to go together but as you were getting ready to get up on stage, Brad Davis approached you two. 

"Hey," he greeted with that charming smile of his. Lexi greeted him while you waved silently beside her. 

"Mind if I join you two," he asked the both of you, but his eyes were only on you, searching for your reaction to his question. 

"Of course Brad," Lexi said, being the overly polite person she was. He nodded but he was still looking at you hopefully so you decided to answer, "Of course, you can join us," you smiled slightly. "After all, three minds are better than two. And I'm sure we'll need the extra help with whatever those two have planned for us," you motioned to the two leaders of this event, making Brad and Lexi laugh. 

The three of you made your way to Jack and Lacy to grab a list of tasks. You approached them, "Hey Lace, can we grab a sheet?"

"Of course," she said sweetly. She grabbed a paper then looked down and laughed lowly. you all looked at her confused and she just ignored you, turning to nudge Jack. He didn't help your confusion when he looked at the paper and burst out laughing. 

"What? What is it," Lexi asked, stepping forward. Lacy shook her head, "It's nothing, it's just," she laughed a little more, "me and Jack sorta wrote this one as a joke, the tasks on here are hella extreme, and frankly," she looked at you, "I don't know if you can handle it Y/N." 

You must've looked taken aback because she quickly added, "I mean no offense, honestly you're so smart that if I had to choose anyone to actually complete these I'd choose you."

"Then why don't you think I can handle it," you crossed your arms and raised an eyebrow. "Well I know you're a stickler for the rules," she started, "and these break basically all of them."

"Lemme see that," you snatched the paper out of her hand and read it. well, you started to read it, but after seeing the first two tasks, you stopped. 

You looked up to see her and Jack fighting off smiles. "I can totally get another one for you for you," she started to reach for the paper but you yanked it out of her grasp. "No, no, no. I'm doing this," you stated. 

She and Jack exchanged a look, "are you sure," he asked you weakly. You raised your head and put on a defiant look, you loved proving people wrong, "Yes." 

You walked away, Brad and Lexi close on your heels, only stopping in front of the auditorium door. 

"Can I see it," Lexi asked? You nodded, handed her the paper, and watched as she read through it. Her eyes widened every time she read something on the list, Brad reading over her shoulder. 

"Y/N, I love you but you're crazy," she said. You went to reply to her but just then, Jack was at the center of the stage again. 

"Everyone has a task card, each group will try their hardest to complete all the tasks they were given. We will meet up here in an hour and a half and the winning group will be treated properly." He looked down to set up a timer on his phone. "But there is a trick to this," he paused for dramatic effect, "there's is an obstacle my partner and I have withheld from you all,

"We are, in fact, not alone in the school. There was a teacher meeting to be held after school hours and we have a few stranglers still wandering the halls. So you must be careful not to get caught," he smirked and you feel more of that excitement rush through you. You could really use the adrenaline rush this would definitely bring. 

He looked up, holding his phone up for everyone to see, his thumb hovering over the green button that would start the timer, "Let the games commence!" he yelled as his thumb hit the button, the numbers already starting to go down quickly as kids started rushing out the doors. 

"Oh my god, we are so gonna get caught," Lexi whined, making you laugh. "Well, we aren't gonna win with that attitude, come on Lex, live a little."

"Yeah what she said," Brad laughed and stepped forward to hold the door open for the both of you. 

"Such a gentleman," you muttered as you stuck your head out to look down the halls both ways before grabbing Lexi's hand and dragging her after you. 

"Read the first one Lex," you whispered as you scouted the halls for any sign of movement. 

"'Bring back a lightbulb that is currently being used in one of the rooms in the building'," she read off the paper. 

You thought for a second, "Most of the school uses tube lights so where can we get a light bulb?"

The three of you were quiet for a second before Brad piped up, "The library has ceiling fans that use lightbulbs," he suggested, but it sounded more like a question. 

You clapped him on the shoulder, "Brad you're a genius." His face seemed to light up at your compliment. 

The three of you headed towards the library, running into a few other kids who were also trying to complete their lists. 

You quietly opened the doors and motioned for Lexi and Brad to stay behind as you made sure there were no librarians or teachers present. Once you were positive the coast was clear, you let them in and went towards the ceiling fan furthest in the back, in case anyone walked in. 

You stood up on the table but you couldn't reach, "Brad, you're tall. Get up here," you instructed and he followed. 

"I have a better idea," and before you could ask what it was, he picked you up by the waist and lifted you up to where you could easily unscrew it. 

You carefully twisted it until the light gave out and the warm glass fell into your hands. You looked down at Brad, who was still holding you, and smiled, "Thank you." 

He smiled back and let you down, both of you stepping off the table. Lexi clapped lightly, "Ok first task done," she grabbed a pen from her pocket and crossed it out. As soon as she lifted the pen from the paper you heard a door close. 

You all looked at each other panicked. You brought a finger up to your lips and quietly tiptoed your way between the shelves, leading them to the back exit. 

Everything was going smoothly until Lexi accidentally bumped into a chair making it fall to the floor, the metal making a loud noise. You all froze in your tracks as the school's librarian's voice rang out, "Hello? Who's there?"

Quickly thinking, you handed them the lightbulb and ushered both of them to the other side of the shelf as her footsteps sounded closer and closer. Once they were completely hidden from your view you pretended to browse the books on the shelf just as Ms. Smith approached you. 

"Oh Y/N, it's just you. What're doing here so late," she asked, her scratchy voice prickling your skin. 

"Um well, as you may know, I'm directing the school play that's performing this Friday," you said. She nodded for you to go on, still looking suspicious. 

"There's actually a rehearsal today and I managed to find some time to sneak away to the library to get a book," you continued, having no idea where you were going with this. 

"You came here this late just to get a book? You know the library is closed at this time of day dear, it's only open during school hours," she said, still sounding suspicious so you knew you had to bring out the big guns. 

You sighed looking down, trying your hardest to seem heartbroken, "Well you see Ms. Smith, my boyfriend broke up with me and I just really needed to get lost in a good book to forget how hurt I am," you forced your voice to crack and looked away wiping your eyes from nothing. 

"At the 'Greek Mythology' section," she questioned, and you almost faltered. But you were too committed. 

You nodded, your lip quivering, "he always used to tell me stories of the Greek myths. And the story of Orpheus and Eurydice," you let out a choked sob. "it's so romantic."

She ate. it. up. "Why yes it is, it's one of my favorites actually. Well, you take your time dear," she rubbed your shoulder as you buried your face into your hands, "and let me know if you need anything else, alright? I'll be up at the front desk."

You just sobbed harder until she left. Once you were sure she was gone, you moved your hands away from your face, which was bone dry. 

You went behind the shelf to find Brad and Lexi shuffled together. You had to hold your laughter until you exited into the halls. 

You grabbed Lexi's hands and laughed, "Did you see how she totally bought that?"

Lexi laughed with you, "You were really good Y/N, I almost bought it too! And the fake crying? Absolutely genius."

"Yea Y/N, I almost thought you were fresh out of a breakup," Brad added and you laughed again. "That part is actually true," you inform him, "everything else though, was a part of the bit. Peter doesn't know the first thing about Greek mythology let alone the story of Orpheus and Eurydice." you laugh. 

"Oh? So Parker's out of the picture," he asked and you just nodded as you read the next task on the paper, not noticing his smile. 

You were dead set on doing everything on this list

A little over an hour had passed. You and Brad were currently busy unscrewing one of the circular seats from a cafeteria table. Of course, you had no tools so you had to improvise. You found that if you bent a bobby pin just the right way, it'll do the trick. 

You kept twisting the bobby pin until you heard a clattering sound as the last screw fell off. Brad held up the seat as the three of you grinned. You were so gonna win this. 

You stood up and opened up the bag with the rest of your supplies as Brad added your new prize. You had stolen a trash bag from the janitor's closet to hold everything for you. As the three of you walked down the hallways holding the most random collection of things, you spoke up, "Lex, what's next on the list?"

She looked down and the smile that was previously on her face quickly disappeared as she seemed to pale a little. "Oh no," she muttered. 

"What? What is it," you asked as you all stopped in your tracks. 

"It's the last one," she said and you smiled, happy that you'd made it this far. 

"Ok so what's the problem," you asked, not really seeing what she was getting at. "Out of everything on this list," she started, "this is the one that will for sure get us expelled."

You and Brad exchanged a look, "Hit me with it."

"We have to steal the principal's desk chair." 

"Those little shits," you muttered, your hands clenching into fists. "So that's it right? I mean, we got everything else on here, we don't have to win. We made it further than any of us thought we would," she said but you were already shaking your head. 

"We have to win, we are going to win," you were so determined to win this stupid game and you weren't even sure why. 

Lexi looked up, closed her eyes, and brought her hands up together, "Dear god, I'm too young to die. my parents would kill me."

Brad laughed as you headed down the hall towards the principal's office. Once you reached where you could see it, you crouched, the others right beside you. 

the walls on his side of the office were glass and you could see Principal Morita sitting at his desk. You sighed and turned to face your partners, "I have a plan but it's a little crazy."

"Oh please, this whole thing has been more than a little crazy, just hit us with it Y/L/N," Lexi whispered. 

"Ok one of us will have to lure him out while the other two wait behind the door. While he's in the hallway and whoever's with him is keeping him distracted, the other two sneak into the office, roll the chair out the other door, and wait around the corner. Once we're done and completely secure, we send some sort of signal and he's free to go back in."

You were unsure, it was a little all over the place and really risky but they were both nodding at you. "Ok I can distract him, I know exactly what to talk to him about," Lexi offered and you laughed. 

You looked at Brad, "Guess it's you and me." You started crawling to the other side of the hall, careful to stay low so Morita wouldn't see you. 

"Yup," he muttered, "your regular Bonnie and Clyde." You held in a laugh as you got situated on the brick wall at the side of the office, made sure you were out of view from the door, and motioned for Lexi to go ahead. 

She took a deep breath and knocked on the door, the sound ringing out loud in the quiet hallway. It didn't take long before the door opened and was held right in between you and your school's principal. 

"Um, yes, may I help you," you heard him ask. 

"Sorry to bother you sir, but I really needed to talk to you about something," Lexi said desperately. "Ok why don't you go ahead and take a seat in my office," he offered. "NO," she cleared her throat, knowing she had said that too loud, "what is mean is, no I can't I'm kind of in a hurry." You heard her take a few steps back. "We should just speak out here."

Mr. Morita followed her, letting go of the door as he stepped forward but Brad grabbed the handle before it could close. He held it open for you as you crawled in and he followed behind before quietly shutting it after him. 

You two crawled up to his office careful not to be seen since this side of his office wall was made of glass. Currently, his back was to you and Brad while Lexi was facing you but was careful not to let her eyes wander and betray her. 

"Ok," you silently opened the door, "we'll need to pick it up until we round the corner because the noise of it rolling would definitely catch his attention."

"Alright I can handle that," Brad said as he grabbed the legs of the chair and stood up but you motioned for him to stop. You moved out the door and peeked your head around the wall the tiniest bit. You saw Lexi passionately going on about something and from what you could see of Morita, he looked a little uncomfortable. You made a mental to ask her later what she was going on about. Once you were sure that Mr. Morita wouldn't see you, you stuck your hand and made a 'shooing' motion. 

You weren't sure if Lexi would see it or not but she must've seen it from the corner of her eye because she moved so that she was facing the hallway you had to go down head-on, making Morita turn even more as he listened to whatever it was she was rambling about. 

Now, with his back directly towards you and the new direction you were headed, you both left the office and you silently shut the door. Brad quietly put down the chair, "Get on," he ordered. You looked at him a little confused as he tried again, "Come on, it'll be fun."

Hell, you'd already done way crazier things today than you ever thought you would. One more couldn't hurt. So you sat on the chair as he picked it up and walked down the hall. You had to hold in your laughter. 

Once he turned the corner he set you down, stuck his head out, and shot Lexi a thumbs up. Less than a minute later, she approached you guys. "Go before he sees us," she whisper-yelled. 

You were still sitting in the seat and Brad took it upon himself to push you through the halls. It was such a rush, laughing in the chair with your hair flying around you, two of your newest best friends right behind you. It was one of those moments that you knew right then and there how special it was and how much you cherish it in the years to come, all the moments from today actually. You never would've participated in something like this. Ever. It was fun to be pushed out of your comfort zone, to loosen up a bit. And it was especially fun to do it with these two.

You all arrived at the side doors of the auditorium breathless, you from laughter and Brad and Lexi from the running and laughter. 

"Oh. my. GOD. I can't believe we actually pulled that off," Lexi said, smacking her forehead, eyes wide. 

"Hell yeah, we did," you looked at Brad and grinned as you held out your hand for a high-five. "Lex," you turned towards her, "time?" 

She looked down at her watch, "Ten minutes before the deadline," she smiled. She opened the door for the three of you and you all walked inside, extremely proud of yourselves. 

The auditorium was empty, to your surprise, with only you three and Lacy and Jack working on something up on stage. You all walked up the steps, "Hey guys," you spoke up. 

They looked up a little confused hearing your voice, "Oh hey Y/N," Jack said, "done already?" you nodded casually and looked down picking at your nails, peeking up to see the shocked expressions on their faces. 

"No way," Lacy whispered, "there's no fucking way you could've done all that." She said, louder this time. 

You looked up, as if in thought, and put a hand on your chin, "Really lace?" Brad brought up the bag, he had stashed it in a hallway while you did your little office heist and the chair. "Cause I thought I just did," you smirked. 

They stood with their mouths agape while the three of you just grinned at each other. 

"Well I'm impressed," Jack said as he looked at you and your friends, "can't wait to announce the winners!"

The three of you sat on the edge of the stage while the rest of the groups piled in and handed their lists to Lacy and Jack so they could assess them. Soon enough, everyone had filed back into the auditorium and after a few minutes, Jack shooed everyone off the stage so he could make his announcement. 

Once everyone was standing below the stage, Jack walked up to the center as he had done almost 2 hours before. "Students of Midtown," he bellowed, "I come to you with news of your latest adventure. We have gone through everyone's task list and the little prizes they brought back. I'm disappointed to say that only one team completed every task given to them."

Murmurs broke through the students as they wondered which group could've finished everything in so little time. You turned toward Brad and Lexi, "Wait we finished everything so does that mean-"

"I'm pleased to announce, however, the winners of the scavenger hunt. Y/N Y/L/N, Lexi Walker, and Brad Davis, congratulations!" Applause shattered all around you while you, Brad, and Lexi were hugging and high-fiving.

"Get on up here," Lacy shouted. You three were pushed forward by the other kids. You all walked up the steps and stopped in the middle of the large stage. Lacy and Jack turned to grab something and when they were facing you again, you saw what it was and you laughed. They were holding three makeshift crowns, made of cardboard. They were colored yellow (probably with a Crayola marker) and had big colorful jewels glued on the tips. 

"Do you like em,'" Lacy asked with glee, "Me and Jack made them while everyone was out."

"I love them," you told her truthfully. The two of them approached your group and crowned you all separately as you stood in the middle with Lexi to your right and Brad to your left. 

Jack stepped back, "Ladies and gentlemen, fellow students of Midtown High, let's hear it for the first winners of our very own theater games!"

Applause and cheering roared all around you. You smiled but then remembered something. Leaning to the side towards your friend, you whispered, "Hey Lex, what were you talking about with Mr. Morita, y'know, when you had to distract him for us?" She grinned at you evilly. "I told him that all the girls' bathrooms in the building should have a handful of free menstrual products because incidents happen every day and distract us from our schoolwork."

You threw your head back laughing as she laughed along with you. "Lexi! What did he say?"

"He got so flustered I barely kept him out of his office as long as I did." She told you and you laughed even more. "I can't believe you had the confidence to actually do that," you choked out between fits of laughter. Everyone was still clapping below you. She only shrugged, "Someone had to do it. I was just fortunate to be handed the opportunity." She said it so wisely, you didn't know whether to laugh some more or solemnly nod. 

You looked down at your watch and realized rehearsal had actually ended a few minutes ago. You stepped forward, "Thank you, everyone, really. I hope you all had as much fun as I did because I had a blast," you looked back at your friends and smiled, "but, as you know, all good things have to end. It's getting late and before we all start heading home I wanted to talk to you all about something,

"The day after tomorrow is the last rehearsal for us which really sucks because I always look forward to these things. No, seriously, sometimes they're the only thing to get me through the day." Chuckles and little shouts of agreement spread around the group, "And the day after that, is the long-awaited play we've all worked so hard on. And as much as I can't wait to see how amazing everyone's going to do," you looked at Lexi, who smiled right back, "I'll miss seeing your faces every day so, please, if you see me in the hall or in class or something, don't be a stranger. And at our next rehearsal, Mrs. Lightbody will definitely be back so I expect everyone to keep their mouths shut about today. Or none of us will live to make it to opening night."

Everyone clapped with a few people yelling things like "wWe'llmiss you too Y/N" and "Don't worry, this won't be the end of us!" that last one was Jack being as dramatic as ever. You laughed, "Great, now everyone, get your asses home before I get kicked off the cast for keeping you all too late."

Everyone was running around getting their things ready and you were about to do the same when you remembered something. "Hey Lace, Jack," you called them over, "what are you gonna do with everything?"

they looked at each other and smirked before looking back at you, "oh don't worry Y/N, that's for us to worry about." he told you, setting unease in your mind. 

You chuckled stiffly, "Um, well, be careful I guess?" They laughed, "Of course we will Y/N/N." Lacy said. 

"Ok, well then I'm gonna get going now, bye!" You waved at them and they both waved back. You stepped off the stage, grabbing your bag from the corners of the steps where you'd left it. You were almost at the door when you heard your name being called. Turning around you saw Brad 

"Oh, hey Davis," you smiled. "hey Y/N. I was wondering if I could walk home with you," and if you didn't know any better, you'd think he sounded a little nervous.

You laughed, "Of course, you can Brad," you started walking out the door, "unless you're trying to kidnap me then no." you deadpanned, making him laugh. He put up both hands, "Hey, my criminal record is clean and I plan on keeping it that way."

You were outside now and the roads were wet. Apparently, it had rained while you guys were getting it crazy back at school. You fake pouted, "Ugh, that sucks. I have a thing for bad boys," you smiled up at him widely. He dramatically threw his head to the side, getting rid of the hair that had fallen on his face. "Well, I'm as bad as they come."

"Oh?" you questioned, raising a brow. He nodded and leaned in, putting a hand to cover his mouth as he whispered in your ear, "One time, I was trying to parallel park between two cars and I accidentally hit one of them so I got scared just and left."

You burst out laughing, "Oh my god, I was not expecting that. BRAD! you committed a hit and run!" You laughed some more as he just shrugged, "What can I say? I'm just that cool." You fake swooned on him, throwing a hand on your forehead, "Oh my goodness Brad Davis, take me now!"

he laughed as you pushed yourself off him, laughing along with him. It was like that for the rest of the way and you realized how funny he was. He went along with all your bits (which was always appreciated) and made some himself. The walk went by quickly and was over faster than you would've liked. 

You stopped in front of the door to your apartment building, "Well this is me." Brad stopped beside you. "Y'know," you started, "you're way cooler than I thought Davis."

He laughed, "Glad you finally figured that out. Maybe we could do this again sometime?" 

You nodded, "Yeah, I think I'd like that." He grinned, "Great." you two sat there just staring at each other for a few seconds, the only sound was water hitting the ground as it fell out of gutters, and when he looked like he was about to open his mouth and say something, a car honked and splashed the two of you, leaving the two of you soaked from the side. 

You squealed in surprise and laughed. "Holy shit! Well, my socks are ruined now." Brad laughed along and you missed the twinge of disappointment coating his features. "Well, see you tomorrow Brad!" you waved at him as you turned to walk into the building. 

As you made your way up the stairs, you couldn't help the excitement still coursing through you. Maybe Spider-Man would pay you a visit. You had a lot to share after today.

read part 3 here !!

[kyber-kisses]

It’s You

Captain Rex x Jedi!reader

Summary: you run into Rex in what could only be the most awkward moment of your life.

Warnings: none just severe fluff

A/N: I came up with this while I was in the shower so please enjoy!

Nothing could ever go easy for you could it? You swore every day it was just one thing after another of unfortunate events.

Like today for instance. You woke up twenty minutes late for a mission debrief, then afterwords all the caf in the mess hall was cold , the the mission on Sereno went sideways and you and Ahsoka had to go pull Anakins ass out of the fire, and then your beloved Delta-7 interceptor got damaged and was now currently in the hangar with its insides all over the place as the mechanics tried to fix it.

And now for some lovely reason the refreshers on the level of the Resolute where the Jedi quarters were were malfunctioning.

All you had wanted was a hot shower.

You smelled bad and your muscles ached and you were tired beyond all get out.

And so that’s how you found yourself here. in a bold spur of the moment decision you had thrown your usual hygiene items into a small pack, snuck yourself down several floors and into the empty barracks of 501sts Torrent Company. The refreshers beyond their bunks were vacant and would be for another hour.

More than enough time to wash the filth of the day of your body and be gone before anyone came back. The lingering smell of cleaning chemicals clung to your nose as you entered, the motion sensor lights flickering on as you did.

At least it was clean.

Then again why wouldn’t it be? Rex kept his brothers more organized than most. The captain of the 501st wouldn’t dare let their living spaces fall into disarray. Plus tack on the fact that Fives pulled some idiotic move about once a week that landed him with cleaning duty and bam! They were sure to have a clean area for a majority of the time.

You just had to make sure you were quick. And it wasn’t that you were afraid to be seen naked in their barracks. . . More like- how would they react if they saw their naked general in their barracks, you know?

In other words you weren’t up for the awkwardness that could come from this all.

You just had to get clean and get out before they all got back from the mess hall.

Easiest mission ever.

Choosing a random stall, you started the water before shedding the many layers of your robes, folding them neatly on the bench that ran the length of the room as you did. Steam slowly crawled up the mirrors, turning the atmosphere humid as you finally ventured under the warm spray of water.

The water came hot and ample, running in rivulets down your bare skin before disappearing down the drain. The pressure of it wrapped around your body, massaging it just right as you allows yourself to relax.

Yes. This was what you had needed. Peace and quiet and—

You were halfway through scrubbing shampoo into your scalp when the silence in the large room was broken by the sound of quickly approaching footsteps accompanied by a rather foul string of curses.

Quickly smoothing your hands over your head to press any remaining soap out of the way, you wiped the water from your eyes before peeking your head out of the curtain for your stall.

Even in your motionless stance you nearly slipped at the sight of Rex entering the room, the captain busy trying to scrub something off the collar of his blacks with a rag as he did.

You had been hoping no one would enter while you were here. . . But if it had to be someone at least it was Rex.

“I didn’t know you knew such a wide array of curse words.”

At that you had never seen the captain move so fast. He tripped slightly, hanging reaching out to catch himself on a sink as his other went to his chest.

And then it only grew more amusing when he found your eyes. Almost insanely you watched as a deep red crawled up his face.

“G-general!”

“Sorry, wasn’t my intention to scare you.”

Seeming to notice how his own cheeks had turned red, Rex spun quickly, hand going to the side of his face to act as a divider to give you privacy. “Just wasn’t expecting to see you here General. Though if it’s not too much to ask; why are you here exactly?”

“Some idiot broke a water pipe on my level, and seeing as I smell like garbage I thought I could sneak down here before I went insane.” You explained, Tilting your head slightly as you spoke. “Sorry for intruding on your space.”

“Understood. And no apology needed.” Rex shuffled awkwardly. “I’ll give you some privacy.”

But before he could venture more than a step toy stopped him. “And what happened to you?”

Turning his body slightly in your direction, Rex looked at you before looking down at his armor and blacks. “Oh ah, Fives got a little too enthusiastic with one of his stories tonight, spilled spotchka all over me.”

“Whered he get that?”

At that Rex let out light huff of amusement. “I don’t even wanna know.”

You were silent for a moment a toy watched him. Despite having seen what he was capable on the battlefield— he was adorable. One minute he could be barking commands and planning battle strategies and the next he would be the most endearing, socially awkward person you had ever met.

He made your heart melt.

“Well if you need to rinse off you’re welcome to join the party .”

At your words you watched Rexs eyes widen slightly, the pink returning to his cheeks and with that you realized how that might of sounded.

“I, I meant that in the most non-creepy way possible!” You quickly added, “and I did not mean that to sound like an invite to join me in here- i was just trying to say don’t let my presence stop you from showering yourself—“The sudden rambling made you wince and before you could say anything else stupid you pulled your head back behind the curtain.

Ok. Well that was definitely not part of your plan.

And that was a whole other level of embarrassing. Kriff you almost preferred the option of a bunch of clone troopers seeing you buck ass nude.

Cursing under your breath you turned to face the water, resisting the urge to hit your head repeatedly against the tile wall.

What the hell was that you idiot?

In that moment you wanted nothing more than to melt into the drain and disappear. Things like that didn’t normally happen. You weren’t known for stuttering or feeling embarrassed. You approached every situation head strong and with a smile.

. . But when it came to Rex? Oh boy when it came to Rex there were moments when that blonde captain turned you into a gooey puddle. He was so kind and brave and caring and a thousand other things you could only hope to be.

A few stalls down the sound of another fresher turning on made you turn your head, though the second you saw Rexs bare shoulders you turned back towards the wall.

Just focus on getting clean.

And that what you did, occupying yourself with scrubbing down every inch of your body in an attempt to keep your mind off the captain several feet away from you.

It was only when you were done that you came across your first problem; your towel was still folded on the bench. . . In the middle of the room.

Letting out a string of curses as you peaked your head out of shower you attempted to calculate the distance, because like hell were you going to scamper your naked butt out there with Rex in the room.

Maybe if you just—

Wrapping the shower curtains lightly around you and praying to the force that Rex wasn’t watching you, you leaned out of your stall, stretching out your arm as much as you could.

Kriff, still not close enough.

Letting out a huff of annoyance you leaned further out, balancing on one leg as you stretched even farther.

So close, if you could just move a little more—

The sound of Rexs shower turning off pulled you out of focus, and in a sudden rushed movement you slipped. One moment you were fine and the next your bare foot was sliding across the wet floor and you went hurtling towards the tiled floor. With fingers still gripping the curtain a series of rapid pops echoed through the room as you pulled it down with you, getting tangled in the fabric as you fell with a shout. As your body hit the floor your head made contact with the bench before you finally came to rest on the wet tile.

“General! Are you alright?” A sudden figure moved into over you, kneeling next to you with nothing but a towel around their waist.

Oh kriff. Let the force take you now.

“Rex?”

“Got a little tangled up did you?” He mused, a whisper of a grin on his face as he helped you sit up slowly.

“Not my proudest moment.” Clutching the shower curtain to your chest your free hand wandered to your temple, wincing upon the contact.

“I’ll go grab a bacta patch for that.” Rex breathed, pausing to reach behind you and the grab the towel you had tried so hard to get yourself. “This might do a little better than the shower curtain.” As he spoke a pink hue returned to his cheeks before he rose to his feet. “I’ll- I’ll be right back.”

And with that he departed the room, leaving you in a stunned silence on the still wet floor. Once his figure had disappeared you shed the curtain, moving swiftly to wrap the towel around you instead before moving yourself to the bench.

Damp hair clung to the side of your face as your fingers once more moved to the welt on your temple.

Force, that did not feel good.

“How you feeling?”

As Rex returned, you watched as he crossed the room, now in nothing but his blacks. Goodness was he pretty.

“Like I wiped out on the floor of the freshers.”

A light smile tugged on the captain lips as he knelt down in front of you, peeling the wrapper off the bacta patch. “Don’t worry I won’t tell anyone.”

At that a small laugh left you, your body staying eerily still as he applied the patch to your temple. There was a moment of silence that followed before you spoke.

“Sorry for intruding on your barracks captain. I thought I could be in and out before anyone got back from the mess.”

“Eh I don’t mind.just be glad it was me and not Fives or Jesse that walked in here-“

At that you couldn’t help but raise a playful eyebrow, watching as Rex realized how his words had sounded. “Oh?”

“I- I mean just be glad it wasn’t them because they never would have let you live it down. You know how they like to tease.” He rambled, sitting back on his heels as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Force he was gonna be the death of you.

Curling your fingers around the edge of the bench , you looked at the captain in front of you. “If I’m being honest I’m glad it was you. You make me feel safe, you respect me.”

“We all respect you General-“

“Oh I know, I know. It’s just. . . I guess I trust you the most out of everyone on this ship. I know you won’t tell anyone about this. . . Rather awkward meeting.” You admitted slowly, watching as Rexs face softened.

Another band of silence settled between you and after a moment you looked down at your feet.

“I should. . . I should probably get dressed.”

It was almost as if Rex had forgotten you were in nothing but a towel because suddenly his face went rosey and he quickly shot to his feet. “Right! Right, forgive me. I’ll Uh— I’ll go make sure no one else walks in.” Giving a rather awkward salute he turned and walked away, but not before you heard him cursing himself and his awkwardness as he punched the bridge of his nose.

With that you got dressed quickly, trading out your wet towel for a pair of sleep clothes and then draping your Jedi cloak over your shoulders.

With the rest of your belongings tucked safely in your pack, you threw it over your shoulders and head for the door, finding Rex standing guard just beyond the threshold just like he said he would.

“Thank you again, Captain.” Sending him a smile you watched as he jumped slightly, startled by how you had snuck up on him.

“Anytime General.”

“You know you don’t always have to call me that right? We are friends. You can call me by my name. I call you by yours all the time.”

Rex smiled at your words as he nodded. “I can do that.”

Somewhere beyond the barracks the two of you could hear the loud sounds of Torrent Company returning from dinner in the mess, Fives boisterous laugh echoing as they approached.

“I should get going before we are swarmed by your teasing brothers.”

“Might be for the best.”

With his arms folded neatly behind his back, Rex watched you walk away, only for you to stop and rush back to him before placing a kiss to his cheek.

“And just so you know, you’re my favorite of the bunch.” You whispered, placing another kiss to his flushed face as you did, this time lingering a moment longer. “Goodnight Rex.”

And with that you were gone, leaving the Captain do the 501st in a stunned silence as his face continued to heat up.

Force, you were going to be the death of him.

[spongeyspot]

Poly Relationship HCs (SFW +NSFW)

(John Marston x fem!reader x Abigail Marston)

(A/N): A little longer than I anticipated. Also, I'm terrible at editing things so if you see any spelling or grammar mistakes, please don't bite me. I'm just a wee baby

Content warning: fluff, small mentions of infidelity, polyamory, female reader, you/she pronouns

SFW

- The relationship itself had probably started when either John or Abigail had started to catch feelings

- It was probably Abigail considering how distant John was from her in the beginning

- Quite honestly would probably keep your relationship a secret during the very early stages.

- She saw how much you cared about her and her family, so it was only natural for her to start to fall in love. She fell in love with John pretty quickly, too, though he was a bit slower to warm up to the idea of having a family

- You, however, love Jack as if he were your own, which makes Abigail swoon even more. Plus, another parent figure to Jack (Who he also really likes) because her husband is kinda useless half the time? Jackpot!

- When she brought up adding you to their relationship, John was probably pretty okay with the idea, even a little excited, though if she told him that she had been seeing you secretly before that, he'd probably be a little pissy.

- After adding you to their family, things seemed to move a lot smoother. John warmed up to the idea a lot quicker than both of you had anticipated

- You usually act as a mediator for a lot of Abigail and John's fights, but knowing John he'd probably say some shit like "Look, even she's on my side!" and Abigail would get pissed at you too.

- Abigail LOVES to hold you by the fire. John usually has his arm around the both of you with you sitting in the middle.

- Would take turns having you sleep with them at night because their bedrolls weren't really big enough to fit one person, let alone three.

- When the gang moved to Shady Belle, things were a lot easier with lodging. John loses his mind every time he gets to cuddle the both of you at the same time. He's a sucker for physical touch, really.

- After chores are finished, the three of you are usually found sitting under a tree, Abigail cuddled into your side while you read a book, and John lays on his back beside you, his head resting on your thighs. His hat is usually covering his face, but when it isn't, you or Abigail absentmindedly play with his hair or massage his scalp.

- Abigail loves it when you spend time with Jack. It makes her heart swell to see him having so much fun.

- You tend to encourage John to spend time with him as well, which she also appreciates.

- Family game nights end with You and Jack teamed up and absolutely wrecking John at dominoes while Abigail watches

- Says something like "I let you win." with a roll of his eyes before sulking away

- Pet names!

- John calls you 'Baby', 'Darlin'', 'Dollface', and even 'Sugartits' if he wants to get slapped

- Abigail calls you 'Honey', 'Sweetie pie', 'Honey Bun', or 'Pretty Girl'.

- Both John and Abigail enjoy physical affection.

- John likes to kiss your hair and squeeze your thighs.

- Abigail loves to kiss you on the cheek and hold your hand.

-If John walks by you, he will throw out an affectionate compliment or two

- "God, you look pretty today, (Name)."

- Also probably pinches or slaps your ass on his way by

- He secretly loves it when you slap or pinch his ass too, though he'd never actually admit it.

- Abigail is a bit more sultry with it, then goes back to normal like she didn't just blatantly hit on you

- "Damn, well look at you, Pretty girl. Don't you look fine this mornin'... Coffee?"

- Also pinches and slaps your ass, but also gives it a good squeeze, and will sometimes hold her hand on your ass instead of on your hip if you stand side by side.

NSFW (MINORS DNI)

Content Warnings: oral sex (m + f recieving), mean!dom!abigail, dacryphilia if you squint, edging, masturbation, voyeurism, cucking if you squint, risky sex, brat tamer!Abigail, spanking, biting, hickeys, marking kink, Mommy kink, praise, breeding, creampies, cum eating

- John and Abigail are both switches.

- John tends to be a top when it's just the two of you, but when Abigail is also part of the fun, he's most likely on his back, letting you both use him however you please.

- His favorite is when he's laying on his back and both you and Abigail take turns sucking his cock, occasionally pulling away to kiss. It makes him rock hard. Never mind how it feels... he could cum from the sight alone... his favorite girls worshipping his cock with all their enthusiasm and love.

- Abigail is a Dom/top a lot of the time. She can also be pretty mean about it.

- Abigail edges you to the point where sometimes, you'll cry out for her, begging her to let you finish. Every time she finally lets you, you always feel like you cum so much harder than you ever had before.

- John loves to sit back and jerk off, watching the two of you in bed together.

- Abigail sometimes does the same, sitting aside whilst rubbing and fucking her pussy with her fingers as she watches John fuck you into his bedroll

- Abigail loves it when you act like a brat - She likes to leave your ass red and sore from spanking you, and often orders John to do the same when she watches.

- Abigail also probably bites you a leaves hickeys to stake her claim on you. Makes sure to put them where everyone can see.

- John does the same, but it's usually below where your clothes would cover them like your breasts, stomach, or thighs

- John LOVES biting you. He loves making you squirm

- Abigail lowkey has a Mommy kink

- Abigail likes to call you her Pillow Princess, pulling beautiful noises from you as she makes you cum multiple times in quick succession with just her hands. Sometimes even her words.

- "Look at you, sweetie pie. All pretty and spread open, just for me. Oh, I know you just came... but... How's about one more, huh? Can you do that for Mommy?"

- There have been times when it's been just the two of you, and she's shown far more vulnerability than she's used to. During those times, she's on her back, a hand covering her mouth as you work her open with your mouth and fingers.

- Please praise the hell out of her during these times. She really needs it.

- Even when Abigail is vulnerable with you, she is still in control almost 99.99% of the time.

- John and Abigail are both certified munches

-John loves when both of you are on top of him, riding both his dick and his face.

- He eats pussy like his life depends on it. Fr like it's his last meal.

- He also loves to watch you eat pussy.

- He loves to fuck you in the doggy style position while Abigail buries your face between her legs.

- John usually likes to have sex in the privacy of his tent/room, whereas Abigail likes risky sex. She likes the idea of there being a possibility you could be caught

- there have been numerous times when she's stuck her hand into the front of your skirts while you sat the the dining table during mealtimes. As far as you both knew, the other people sitting there had been oblivious.

- John knows. He always knows. He was watching the whole time.

- He was usually the one to instigate it, always letting Abigail know whenever you forwent bloomers. (he would hide them so you couldn't wear them)

-Though he'd probably never participate himself, he loves to watch you come undone on Abigail's fingers in public.

- John fantasizes about getting you pregnant too.

- He brought it up to Abigail as a joke, saying how nice it would be for Jack to have a sibling to play with.

- From that point on, John was told to cum inside you every chance he got, not stopping even after you're swollen and round with his baby.

-Abigail enjoys eating you out after John has cum inside you.

[lilacliquors]

kinktober day two: edging

pairing: soldier boy x reader

word count: 425

notes: im so tired from work but here's day two! plus i'm on my period early so that knocked me on my ass today but the show must go on, even thought it's shorter —

he’d never felt so helpless before, and he wasn’t sure how to handle it. he was at your mercy, and it took every bit of restraint he had not to pounce on you, pinning you beneath him before pounding into you mercilessly. but he had made a bet with you, and he wasn’t going to give in. 

you’d been edging him for hours now, seeing just how long he could last, and to his credit, he was doing a lot better than you had expected. because you knew who and what he was.

everyone knew soldier boy was a sex fiend, a sex pest, a pervert, you name it. but he didn’t care, he never gave a single fuck. but he was used to the instant gratification, knowing that he was going to get off when he wanted to, not when someone else made the decision for him. so when you made the challenge, betting him a free fuck in whatever position the winner wanted, that he couldn’t handle the lack of control. and now he wasn’t sure if he regretted this decision. but he was never one to back down from a challenge.

“how — oh, shit — how much longer?” he growled.

“mm, not sure. however long i feel like,” you replied, your voice laced with mock uncertainty. you had him right where you wanted him, and you knew he was getting frustrated. you could see the fire in his eyes, and you swore you saw him twitch, just eager to pounce on you. but he was determined now, he was going to see this through. he was lucky that the v gave him enhanced stamina, but he was getting antsy, and he was about to tear a hole in the sheets.

“you’ve had your fun, now fucking —” he arched slightly as you squeezed his aching cock, his breath catching in his throat. all you did was smirk and squeeze again, and he groaned quietly.

“the more you keep begging, the longer this’ll take. and if it goes on just a little bit longer, this bet is mine for the taking,” you said, and he threw his head back.

“you’re gonna regret this … when we’re done here, and i get my hands on you …”

“ah, ah, ah, be a good boy for me and take it, like a real man,” you purred, then laughed as he grabbed the nearest pillow and pressed it over his face, huffing and groaning into it as he bucked his hips.

he was in for a long night.

[personwhowrites]

FIRE

Paring: Simon “Ghost” Riley x Fm!reader (Angsty) /Slight Simon “Ghost” Riley x John “Soap” Mactavish x Fm!reader if you squint 😗

Wc: 6.4K (yikes)

Tw: Mentions of injures, death and fire 🔥😀

Synopsis: A dangerous turn to a mission with Alejandro and Rodolfo. It cost them greatly.. especially to someone..

A/n: This is the last (probably)chapter for My Lavender series! Check out Part 1 and Part 2! Really connects the relationships with lavender and the team! (lavender is the code name.)

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

You held ghost hand as you two pulled apart from each other. Your heart pounding as he gently rubbed your face with his thumb. The moonlight coming in from the window made it feel so magical. The kiss feel so great..

“Lavender..do you want this..” Ghost mumble looking at you. His eyes not leaving yours. “Tell me so I don’t go insane..”

“..Ghost..” You say softly looking at him. “..I do want this..”

Ghost gives a small chuckle and kisses your hands. His lips are gentle on your skin, so gentle it almost feels like air was kissing you. He pulls his mask down again and hugs you tightly. A hug you will remember for life.

—

It wasn’t long until Soap picked up something between of you and ghost. You spent more time with him and began to be closer than ever. Even ghost himself would make any excuse to just be near you. Soap wanted to question it, but saw ghost be slightly happy made him go silent.

“Basic training today, I will be send you lavender to go see the medical side of the base.” Price says looking at everyone. “We don’t have missions for the following weekend.”

“So are we all up for the bar then?” Gaz says with a smile and looks over at you. “Or we can stay here and be with you Lav.”

“I uh.. I wouldn’t mind joining you all to the bar. It was fun the last time we went.” You say with a small smile. “Plus.. it would be nice to hang out with all of you at once.”

“Sounds great.. Lavender you head off to your side and we will meet at lunch.” Price says with a soft smile, you nod to his words and to the door. “Be careful!”

You give him a thumbs up and leave the room. Soap turns over to Ghost who seems to be upset with you leaving them. Gaz looks at Price and rubs his chin.

“You like her don’t you captain.” Gaz says with a chuckle making Ghost look over at Price. “You do!”

“No no, I see her a my daughter Gaz.” Price says shaking his head. “You all are.. my kids even though I hate to admit it.”

“And you’re like our dad Price.” Soap says walking over and patting his back. “A good father too.”

“..Jesus I don’t know how I got so attached to you idiots.” Price mumbles shaking his head. “Enough talking, we got a lot of training to catch up on before lunch.”

The boys nod and leave the room. They spot you going down the hall, Ghost can’t help it but stare at you. His heart feeling weak as you seem to disappear farther into the hallway. Soap elbows him and gives him a smirk.

“What?” Ghost says looking at Soap. “Don’t give me that look Johnny.”

“..You and Lavender that’s a sight.” Soap whispers to Ghost. “So how long?”

Ghost immediately starts walking away and the others follow along. Gaz questions Soap about his suspicious behavior with ghost. Price shakes his head as he sees the man arrugue like little kids.

—

Lunch was fast to come. Your whole schedule was slightly messed up and you ran into the cafeteria almost crashing into someone. You move past everyone in line and grab an apple then rush to the table. The men stare at you in confusion.

“You’re late how come?” Gaz says smiling while looking at your tried face.

“I.. uh got caught up with some new people.” You say shaking your head. “You guys won’t believe who I saw there.”

“Oh! I like guessing uh.. Your ex-bestie!” Soap says happily looking at you. “No no.. uh your ex! Or wait wait no no.. uh..”

“Let her speak.” Ghost says moving away from the wall. He sits down next to you, but no so close. “Who did you see?”

“A rat.” You say taking a bite out your apple. “Everyone in the room was going crazy over it. It was a big rat.”

“A rat?” Price says confused looking at you. “Like a regular rat or was it a mouse.”

“Nope definitely a rat.” You say with a smile. “It attacked two people than ran off.”

“Wait like they got bitten?” Gaz says with a laugh. “Fuck I might switch to work in the medical field if that happens again.”

“People started to scream and stuff.” You say shaking your head and placing your right hand on Ghost by accident. “Best part that our instructor was the one doing the most screaming.”

“See! I told you all that I was imagining the screaming.” Soap says grabbing your apple and taking a bite out of it. “Honestly, I wish I could of seen it all.”

“I also scream too!” You say reaching for your apple. “We had to hunt down the rat down.”

“That explains all the people with nets.” Price says shaking his head. “Did you guys catch it?”

“Nope, but we are trying tomorrow.” You say with a smile. “We think is possibly by the exit so we are focusing on that.”

Ghost stares at your hand on his. He doesn’t know how react and thought you would move it by now. He sits up straight , making you notice you’re holding his hand. You move your hand away and give an awkward smile. Price notices and stares at the two of you.

“Wait you said something about new people.” Soap says looking at you then at price. “When did we get more people?”

“I’m not sure, but I’m guessing is for the medical field.” Price says with a shrug. “Or they haven’t announced anything yet.”

“I think it’s just for the medical.” Gaz says looking at everyone. “I mean I have been seeing more medical folks enter the base than before.”

“That’s exciting isn’t it lavender?” Price says looking at you. “Wait wheres the your food?”

“Oh uh.. I need to head back soon, since the whole rat thing took all morning..” You say softly giving them a nervous smile. “I’ll be gone all day.. we are behind and the new people.. aren’t making it easier.”

“..So you won’t make it to the bar?” Soap says slightly sad. “Aw..”

“I think I might be able to.” You say with a shrug. “Depends on how long it takes all of us to get back.”

“What do you mean?” Price says raising brow.

“Long story! I have to go now!” You say getting up quickly almost falling back only for ghost to put his arm out and catch you. “Thanks..”

He sits you back and crosses his arms. He didn’t want you leaving just yet. Nor did the others.

“Y/n you do understand that you don’t actually have to go there.” Price says giving you a smug smile. “We can just go now and you ca—“

“I can’t I’m sorry.. I really am guys.” You say getting up again. “I don’t want the new people to get punished over my mistake.”

You get sat down by ghost, you then turn to the men in front of you. Jealousy spread on their face, it was obvious. The tension grows worse as someone approaches the table.

“Teddy!” Someone says seating between you and ghost. “Are your ready to head out? Our supervisor isn’t gonna be happy that we are late.”

“Teddy?” Soap says quickly, his tone sour. “..Since when?”

You give an awkward smile and look at soap. He has a sour expression now, soon the others do too. You then turn to the person in front of you.

“Conner! I uh yeah I’ll be there soon.” You say with a weak chuckle. “..So uh you better go!”

“This your team huh?” Conner says looking at the group. “Pleasure to meet teddy team.”

“You mean Lavender.” Gaz says giving conner a death stare. “..Her name is lavender.”

“Not with us! She’s a teddy.” Conner says with a chuckle then stops feeling a dark presence behind him. “..I uh better go, see you there teddy.”

Ghost watches as conner stubbles away and glares at you. Some jealousy showing before Price coughs grabbing your attention.

“Teddy? What type of name is that.” Price hiss in the most toxic tone you heard him ever say. “..Lavender?”

“..They called me that since I did something stupid. There was a bear.. a teddy bear that I held onto without noticing..” You mumble embarrassed. “..I held onto it throughout the whole search.. of the rat.”

“Why?” Soap says now annoyed. “Teddy doesn’t fit you.. lavender is way better.”

“True, they did make comments of the lavender.. smell.” You mumble looking at them. “I really better get going, I don’t want them w—“

“No..we are leaving for a mission.” Ghost says standing up. “I got word from Alejandro.”

“Come on! He tells you about the base, now only keeps contact with you?” Soaps says standing up too. “How is this fair!”

“Relax Johnny.” Ghost mumbles looking at you. “We leave in ten.”

You nod and quickly get out your seat. Then rush out the cafeteria, soon ghost following along. Gaz and Price stare at Soap.

“There is definitely something going on between the two of them.” Gaz says shaking his head. “Even a blind person can see it.”

“..If there is no one say anything until they explain.” Price says walking away. “Get your gear!”

Soap and Gaz stare at each other now. A slight silent moment, that made them soon realized they were behind.

—

The moment the plane lands down, Soap exits it. There you see the one and only Alejandro. He has a bright smile, dark black hair and what seems to be dark brown eyes. There to his side stood Rodolfo, the second in command. Before you could get off the plane Ghost held your hand and stare at you.

“..Conner that guy..” He mumbles softly looking at you. “There’s nothing..right?”

“There is nothing there Ghost..” You mumble softly and hold his hand. “I promise you.. I only.. love you.”

Ghost lets go of your hand and sighs in relief. Then walks out the plane with you, Alejandro has greeted everyone by now. Yet stops the moment he sees you, his breath was taken away.

“..Señorita..” Alejandro says with a bright smile. “You must be the famous lavender.”

“I guess I am?” You say with a chuckle and look over at the others. “So what are we here for?”

“Alejandro explain away.” Price says with a slight tired voice.

“Well, word that Valeria is back.. and your old friend Graves is alive.” Alejandro says shaking his head. “We have found.. signs that he is alive. I knew it was too easy to kill him.”

“Kill him? Valeria..?” You say confused. “Who.. what?”

“Right! We need to catch her up on everything.” Soap says shaking his head. “We should have done that on the plane instead of talking about Alejandro and Rodolfo.”

“You talked about us?” Alejandro says looking at soap. “Nothing bath I hope.”

“Nothing bad here.” Ghost says slightly pulling you to him. “We can catch her up in the car ride.”

“..So much for a no mission weekend..” You mumble looking over at the group. “Mhm..”

The car ride was something, Alejandro crapping all the information so far that has happened to the group, him and Rodolfo was something. Explosions, Prison and Betrayal. It seem so much for six men, but they manage it. When he explained who valeria was, his tone was toxic, cold and sour. You knew some information about graves, but not so much that it would surprise you. Ghost sat next you, making sure he can press his body as much as he can on yours. It somewhat distracted you from the conversation with Alejandro. Yet you still kept in mind the information, drug dealer, missiles. It was so much to take in.

The car soon stopped at another place. It seemed empty and a lonely house. Ghost got out the car you follow him along, like a lost puppy. Alejandro stretched and look over at Rodolfo, who quickly walk over. Alejandro place his arm around Rodolfo and sigh.

“I know this might be an uncomfortable place to stay low for a while.” Alejandro says with a yawn. “But I hope it will do for you all.”

“Any place works with us hermano!.” Soap says punching Alejandro in the arm gently. “Don’t it L.T?”

“Yes..” Ghost mumbles looking at the house then around.

Alejandro soon walks to the door and opens it. The others follow along, ghost remaining by your side at all times. Alejandro chuckles seeing how you all react to the house. It seem small from outside, yet it was big in the inside. Multiple rooms and a lot space. Price rubs his eyes, he was still jet lagged from the trip. Soap also yawns and leans against the wall.

“You all can take a room.” Alejandro says looking over. Rodolfo is now wrapped around his arms. “Please we will discuss more in the morning.”

“..Place looks safe enough..” You mumble looking around. “..No one else knows about this place?”

“No one else.” Rodolfo responds. “It’s a new hideout since we last saw you all.”

“Alright.. I guess we better get some rest.” Price says clapping his hands. “All of you head to bed.”

“There is two bathrooms one is down the hall and the other one is my room.” Rodolfo says with a small smile. “Someone can take my room tonight.”

“Then where will you sleep?” Gaz says before noticing Alejandro. “Never mind.. Night captain and others.”

Gaz walks away soon soap following along. Price soon heads out, leaving you, ghost, Rodolfo and Alejandro. You all stand in awkward silence, ghost leans against the wall. Alejandro coughs and holds Rodolfo close to him. You stand still and look around, the silence becoming more tense.

“So you two together?” Rodolfo finally says making you and Ghost stare at him. “..too personal?”

“Uh..” You says but stop not knowing what to say next. “Uh um..”

“Me and Rodolfo started dating after a few months since the group left.” Alejandro says with a smile and kisses Rodolfo cheek. “Isn’t that right Amor?”

“Mhm.” Rodolfo says seeing ghost stare at you. “So are you two together?”

“Yes.” Ghost says walking over to you. “..We are..”

Ghost wraps his arms around you. A slight warmth to it, Alejandro gives a chuckle.You stay still and smile as ghost moves his head to the nook of your neck. A slight relief on his side to tell someone.

“How long?” Rodolfo asks again not knowing his pushing some boundaries. “If it’s not too much trouble to ask.”

“..one month and twelve days.. fourteen hours and fifteen minutes..” Ghost mumbles pulling you closer to him. “..mhm..”

“Well we all better get some rest. I guess you two can take my room for tonight.” Rodolfo says with a chuckle. “We don’t tell a soul about you two.”

“Gracias..” you say softly as Ghost drags you away. “See you in the morning..”

Ghost heads to Rodolfo room, you wrapped around his arms. At this point he’s carrying you. Alejandro and Rodolfo watch as you two disappear into the room, then turn to each other.

“Completely opposite for each other huh.” Rodolfo says with a small chuckle.

“Yeah.. I just have a bad feeling Amor..” Alejandro says staring at the door. “..a terrible feeling..”

“Glad to know I’m not the only one..” Rodolfo whispers under his breath. “Let’s just go to bed now.”

Alejandro nods and walks to his bedroom with Rodolfo.

—

“Ghost come on lay down and sleep.” You say sitting on the edge of the bed. “Come on.”

“I’ll keep up first watch.” Ghost responds sitting across from you. “Just.. to be sure..”

“..Then I’ll stay up with you.” You say getting up from the bed. “Nothing will change my mind.”

Ghost stands up from the chair and crosses his arms. He stares at you, a long tense stare. He finally walks over and cups your face with his hands. You let out small scoff and hold his hands.

“..How about this..” he says slightly tired. “I’ll keep watch for a couple minutes if I see everything is okay I’ll sleep next to you.”

“I’ll keep watch with you then.” You respond with a smile. “You keep watch, I keep watch.”

“You’re such a brat..” He murmurs softly. “Mhm..”

“I am not! I just want to make sure you’re okay.” You respond moving away from his hands. “Now come on..”

You lay down on the bed and stare at him. Soap opens the door and enters the room surprising the both of you. Ghost backs away from the bed and stares at soap.

“I can’t sleep.” Soap says with a nervous laugh. “I seriously can’t sleep I can’t..”

You sit up form the bed and Soap gets pushed out the way by the door. There stands Gaz and Price, you stare at them and shake your head. None of them can sleep..you can’t blame them, it’s a new place and new material around them.

“Can’t sleep ether?” Soap says looking at them. “Wonder why.”

“I think it’s because we got so used to sleeping in the same room.” Price says shaking his face. “..and because I’m having some issues trusting this place.”

“Guess we all are.” Ghost says looking over at them. “..What do you all suppose we do?”

“Take watch?” Gaz says sitting down on the bed. “Others can rest and we switch every now and then.”

“I can take the first one!” You say quickly with a smile. “I’m not really tired.”

“I’ll go get the blankets and pillows form the other rooms.” Soap says leaving the room.

“Guess we shall settle down..” Gaz says with a nervous smile. “You sure that you can take the first watch?”

“Mhm!” You say getting up form the bed and walking over to the window. “I got this!”

—

You maintain watch though out the night. The others needed the rest, but you knew well enough Ghost was awake. Watching you.. making sure that his there the moment you decide to sleep. You turn over to look at him, his by the door leaning against the wall. He stares at you and sighs.

“..Still awake?” He says softly looking at you. “Get sleep I’ll keep watch.”

You walk over to him, making sure you don’t make much noise. You sit down next to him and put your head on his shoulder. He stares at you for a moment, his not used to the physical touch. Ghost looks away as you turn to face him.

“..I’ll stop sorry..” You mumble softly moving your head away. “Sorry..”

Ghost pulls your body to him and hugs you tightly. You stay still and don’t say anything, his hug tightens as he stares at the window.

“..Don’t ever leave me..” He finally murmurs in your ear. Your heart races at those words. “..Okay?”

“Ghost..” You say softly holding his hand. “..Are you okay?”

“Just say you won’t.. leave me..” He mumbles in your ear, his voice slightly weak. “..Say it..”

“I won’t.. leave you..” You say in a worried tone. “..promise..”

His grip becomes loose on your body. He stares at you and lifts his mask up. Ghost places a kiss on your neck and holds your hands. You blush to his kiss and turn your body to face him. Ghost cups your face with his hands and kisses you passionately like if it’s the last kiss. You hold his hands and kiss him back, a long lasting kiss that makes the night seem longer than usual. He breaks the kiss, then stares at you. His eyes becoming soft, you kiss his cheek and smile.

Soap who isn’t asleep watches the affection display out. Feeling some sort of jealousy, some sort of guilt for watching the two of you. Ghost looks over at Soap and gives him a blank stare. Their eyes meet, you look over and see it. Soap stare at ghost was lovely and.. painful. Soap looks over at you now, giving you the same stare. He sits up from the blankets and leans against the drawer behind him. You sigh and look away from him, knowing what the stare meant. Ghost pulls his mask down and wraps his arm around you.

“Johnny come here.” Ghost demands making you and Soap stare at each other. “Now..”

Soap quietly makes his way over to ghost and you. He stares at the two of you awkwardly and Ghost pulls him down to his other side. He wraps his arm around him and remains silent.

“Ghost.. uh you don’t have to do this..” Soap says awkwardly. “This is your moment with h—“

“Shut up she’s sleeping.” Ghost says looking at Soap. “Sleep too, I’ll be right here.”

Soap only nods and closes his eyes. It felt strange having Ghost arm around him, yet.. amazing at the same time.

—

The morning came by and you woke up in the bed. The room was empty, only the blankets remained. You sat up and rubbed your eyes. You could hear voices outside the room, laughter along with it. You got out of bed and headed out to the living room, following the voices. Soon you were outside as the men chatted about something.

“Hey! She’s up guys.” Gaz says with a smile. “Morning sleepy head!”

“Morning guys..” You say rubbing your eyes, trying to recover from the sun. “Jesus the sun is bright.”

“Mhm, well now that you’re here y/n.” Price says with a smile and pulling you over to the car. Which they’re on top has a map. “We are discussing the final hideout of Valeria.”

“I got word that some of my people found signs that Graves and Valeria could be here.” Alejandro says pointing to a church. “That church is abandoned, but there have been reports of multiple people with guns entering and leaving.”

“So we will go to the church and search it?” Soap says standing behind you making you jump. “Maybe we shouldn’t all go there. We can look at the buildings around it.”

“Agreed.. with soap. It could be a trap or something.” Gaz says rubbing his chin. “We can all split ups round the buildings and meet up in the church. All enter from different angles.”

“Seems like a good idea.” Alejandro says with a nod of approval. “We can go out in groups of two.”

“Gaz and Me, Then Alejandro with Rodolfo.” Price says then stops looking at you and the other two. “..Crap..”

“I can go alone, they won’t suspect anything about me.” You say looking at Price. “They will think I’m one of them and won’t connect me to anything with you all.”

“That’s dangerous..lavender you don’t even know the layout of the town.” Soap says shaking his head. “I can go alone and you go with Ghost.”

“I hate to be one to put this opinion on here..but Lavender is right. They won’t know she’s even with us.” Rodolfo says speaking up. “They wouldn’t think to look into her if she’s spotted.”

“Agreed with Rodolfo..” Alejandro says looking at the group. “They already know your existence, but not hers.”

“I still don’t think it’s a good idea.” Soap says looking at you. “It can be dangerous going alone.”

“We will all be close by won’t we?” Gaz says joining into the argument. “Plus we will all be connected to each other incase of an emergency.”

“Correct..” Price says slightly worried. “Lavender are you sure about this?”

“Positive! If I do need help I’ll try to go to the person closest to me.” You respond with confidence. “Trust me!”

“Right.. well I guess it’s settled, Alejandro and Rodolfo, Me and Gaz then Soap and Ghost.” Price says taking a deep breath. “Lavender will go alone..”

You give the men a smile, it was exciting going on your own. Yet scary, the feeling of just depending on yourself made your stomach sink in. Everyone already had their gear on, it was just you.

“I’ll go get my gear.” You say quickly entering the home once more.

—

You exit the car and head off quickly before the others could get out. You’re quick to search yeh areas, your pistol in hand making sure all the doors and hallways are clear. Your radio connected to the others, hearing them say clear. Nothing seem out of place, just civilians worried about the situation.

“Nothing in the first house.” Gaz says through the radio. “Anything on your guys end?”

“Negative.” Ghost says with a worried tone. “Lavender? Alejandro?”

“All clear here.” Alejandro responds with relief. “Seems like we might surprise them.”

“All clear in the first house, just civilians.” Your respond holding the radio. “I do have a problem with the signal.”

“Can you repeat the last part again Lavender?” Price says worried too. “lavender?”

“Signal sucks.” You manage to say barely hearing him. “Jesus I need new radio..”

“Something about her signal.” Soap responds in the group. “It’s also horrible on our end.”

“Head to the second place and we can meet up soon in the church.” Alejandro says through the radio. “Make sure to say when you’re in there.”

You head to the second house. You check each room and hall. You find small kids playing with toys and scream when you point your gun at them. You quickly lower it and give an awkward smile. The parents rush upstairs and scream seeing you too.

“Ah! Uh soy una persona buena!” You say looking at them. “¡Solo estoy buscando a unas personas!”

(I’m a good person!) (I’m just looking for some people.)

“Cartel! Cartel!” The woman screams at you pointing at you. “No nos mates por favor!” (Please don’t kill us!)

“No no soy una person buena!” You say again lowering your gun. “I’m here to keep you all safe.”

They calm down hearing your English then nod. Then grab their kids leaving the home with them. You stare at them, panic seem to fill their children and them. Then.. the man falls down, the woman screams loudly and you rush outside with your gun at hand. There you see some cartel people. They shot the man, their guns now pointed at the children and the woman. You couldn’t let it happen, you shot the two cartel people and ran over to the woman.

“Corran todo va a estar bien corran!” You say helping the woman up to her feet as you hear people approaching. “Corran!”

(Run everything will be okay run!)

“I heard gunfire!” Alejandro says through the radio. “Who was it?”

“It was me.” Your respond quickly watch the woman run away with the kids in her arms. “..Cartel is near..”

“Are you hurt?” Ghost says quickly through the radio. “Lavender are you hurt?”

“Negative” you say heading back into the house. “I don’t think anyone spotted me, but the cartel folks are near.”

“Copy that, we will keep an eye open.” Price says with a slight relief. “No injures?”

“None..” You report back looking around the house. “Moving onto the next house.”

“Okay, how far are you from the church?” Rodolfo speaks his tone slightly shaken. “Lavend—“

Your radio cuts out and you shake your head. The signal was horrible in the home. You move onto the next house spotting more cartel in the process. Your radio still not working you keep hidden. Your hands are shaking, fear was starting to overwhelmed you.

“Fuck Fuck..” You mumble softly as a man stops at the house you’re in with some other people. “Fuck..”

They enter the home with some people and you cover your mouth. Hearing them search and destroy things in the home made you sick. You can hear as one of them heads upstair, making their way to the room you are in. Quickly you take out your knife, preparing to sneak them. They open the door and look around, not spotting you in the darkness. You sneak up on them, covering their mouth and cutting their throat open. They fall down on the floor, making the other people they came in with go upstairs. They spot you quickly and start shooting. You close the door quickly and take out your gun. Now regretting you came alone. One of them quickly opens the door, you shoot them in the head.

Grabbing their body you use them as a shield as the last two people fire at you. Using the body you throw it at the people, making them fall backwards on the stairs. Their necks breaking on the fall, you hiss softly feeling sharp pain on your thigh.

“Fuck..” you mumble placing your hand on the wound. “Fuck Fuck..”

You hear gunfire not far from you. The others must of gotten caught up with some cartel or bad people. You shake your head and head to the bathroom you cleared not long ago. There you see some rubbing alcohol and bandages. Perfect.

“This is gonna burn like hell.”. you mumble grabbing the alcohol. “Fuck it.”

You open the bottle and bite your lower lip. You pour the bottle of alcohol on your wound and cry out. The pain becoming worse as the alcohol does its thing. You grab the bandages quickly and bandage yourself up. Your radio finally works away. All of them reporting what’s happening on their side. You hold your radio and take a deep breath.

“I’m hit, but not badly, just my thigh. Update on you guys?” You say softly closing your eyes. “Hello?”

“Jesus Christ lavender we been trying to reach you.” Soap says angry. “Why haven’t you been responding?”

“Service where I am at isn’t strong.” You respond softly. “Where are you all at?”

“We are a little behind, Cartel found us.” Price says his voice low and tired. “More keep coming on our end.”

“Same here.” Alejandro responds with a worried tone. “Where’s the injure at lavender?”

“On my thigh, I mange to find some bandages and something to clean the wound. It’s nothing bad, I can still walk.” You mumble sitting down on the toilet. “I’m heading to the final building on my end, but I’ll rest for a second.”

“Shit! More cartel on our side!” Gaz yells through the radio making all of you panic. “Fuck! Price!”

“Gaz? Price?” You say holding your radio. Only to hear dead silence again. “Damn it!”

You get up and rush downstairs. Making the pain worse yet you push on. Moving onto the next building. It was bigger now. Yet empty so far as you checked each room and hallway on the first floor. Making your way to the second floor was a pain, your injured thigh making it hell for you. Pain struck you each time you stepped up.

“Fuck..” You whispered to yourself. “Fuck Fuck..”

You cleared the second floor. Taking longer than the last two. You hear some gunfire not so far from you, yet far. You lean against the wall and grabbed your radio, smacking it onto your palm hoping it will help you. Nothing, just plain silence after a couple hits. You close your eyes and shake your head, losing some hope.

“Lav—der” you heard from the radio making you quickly smack it again. “pl—e clear, he—ing to the w—“

Silence again, your radio wasn’t wanting to help you today. You exit the building and see the church not so far away. You enter the next building, all clear and your radio being no help. You some cartel people leaving the church and stay in the building. They seem to be in a hurry to leave.

“God damn it!” You hiss under your breath. Frustration showing now as you smack the radio again. “Fucking work!”

Nothing, just plain silence. You groan and smack the radio against the wall. Finally getting some signal again.

“Cartel are on us.” Soap says, his voice breaking up on your end. “Any wor—- H-st!”

You shake your head and put the radio on the side of your belt. It’s no use for you now. There you look outside the window seeing the church fully empty. You bite your lip and make your way downstairs. You wait a couple seconds before exiting. You don’t see any of the men, or anyone in the matter. You take a deep breath and make a run to the church doors. Your radio dropping down on the entrence stairs. You enter the church aiming your gun all over the place. Just to see it empty, and barely holding up. You keep the gun up, checking each row as you pass it. Making sure no one enters the building too. Finally you make your way to the very front. There displayed a cross with Jesus on it. You sigh and lower your gun. Nothing seem to be in here, no sign of actual people living here. You start walking back to entrence, but immediately stop to the sound of something falling. You aim your gun quickly at a dark corner. Noticing some doors you quickly walk over, gun still being held up.

—

“Has someone seen lavender?” Alejandro says through the radio. “Me and Rodolfo are almost at the church.”

“Negative, her radio must of stopped working.” Gaz responds with some pain in his voice. “We heard the cartels say something about fire.”

“Fire?” Alejandro says confused. “What do you me.. The church! No one enter the church!!”

“Alejandro what’s going on?” Soap says on his end confused. “Alejandro?!”

“Fire! Fire on the church! No one enter it!” Alejandro says panicked. “Shit!”

You cover your mouth the smoke filling the air around you. You cough making your way out do the room. Then notice the fire around you, the smoke becoming more tense. You cough more and lift your shirt up to cover your mouth. The smoke becoming thick on your lungs. You try to rush to the door, but a large portion for the roof falls down by the entrence making it impossible to leave. You look around for the other exits, but the fire and smoke make it impossible to see. You hear someone on the other side of the door.

“Lavender!!” Ghost yells banging on the door. “Fuck!!”

“Shit! She doesn’t have her radio!” Soap yells holding your radio. “Lavender!!”

You cough loudly and close your eyes. The smoke making it hard for you to respond. You can hear the rest do the men arrive.

“The door! Lavender! Open the door!” Ghost pleads as Soap and him try to open the door. “Fuck! Price, Gaz! Help us here!”

“It’s blocked!” You respond finally with a following cough. “Fuck! I can’t see shit with the smoke!”

“Can you head to another exit?!” Soap yells from the other side. “Lavender! Can you head to another exit! Like a window or something?!”

“No! The whole place around me is in flames!” You yell panicked. “Fuck!”

“Lavender?!” Price yells panicked. “Lavender?!”

“God damn it!” Alejandro yells looking around. “She’s right all the exits are unable for her. Too much smoke and the whole building is coming down.”

“What do you mean coming down?!” Ghost yells in fear looking at Alejandro. “It’s gonna collapse on her?!”

“Yes.. this church is old!” Alejandro yells back shaking his head. “We can try to knock the door down or break it.”

“Cartel!” Rodolfo yells shooting at some people. “I’m low on ammunition!”

“Same here!” Gaz says helping him. “Fuck! We are dead meat out in the open like this!”

“We have to leave L.T!” Soap says looking at Ghost. “Or we all die here!”

“Fuck no! We can’t leave her behind.” Ghost says angry and scared. “We can’t!”

“Ghost! We have to go! It’s an order!” Price yells in pain as bullet passes his shoulder. “Fuck!”

“The building will collapse! It’s on fire Ghost! We can’t do anything! I don’t want to risk their lives also.” Alejandro says shaking his head and helping the others shoot at the cartel “we have to go now! We are very easy to kill like this!”

“Fuck fuck..” Ghost says in a painful tone. “Lavender! Are you there!”

No response making him fear the worse. He shakes his head in pain and looks at the others.

“Let’s go!” Ghost yells not hearing your voice. “Now!”

All the men nod and run away from the church. You fall down on the floor and cough. The smoke knocking you out cold. Ghost turns back to the Church, seeing it be in gulf in the flames. Soap pulls him away from the sight.

—

You feel someone carrying you out te fire. You slightly open your eyes seeing a woman, her hair short, but her eyes determined. She stares at you and sighs.

“Sleep kid.” The woman says in a strong tone. “Sleep.”

“Who do you have there!” A man says shaking his head. “Who’s this Valeria?”

“Girl who got caught up with the fire.” Valeria responds. “Get the car graves, she’s burned badly on her leg.”

Graves..Valeria.. the names sounding familiar. You cough and close your eyes, it hurt to move to talk.. to think. Soon everything goes back as you hear them arguing.

—

“..Ghost..” Soap says looking at him. “Ghost!”

“We look for hours.. she..” Gaz says softly standing over the ruins of the church. “..I don’t think she..”

“..She has to be alive!” Ghost snaps finally at the others. “She has to! Or at least there should be body!”

“..Ghost..you have.. to accept.. it..” Price says looking at him. “She’s gone..”

“..I’m sorry..” Alejandro says shaking his head. “I’m sorry..”

“..Ghost, she’s gone.. all we can do.. is ..” Soap says softly tears building up. “..Have her in our memory..”

“No no!” Ghost snaps, anger building up. “She’s alive! She has to be!”

“Even if she is alive! Why didn’t she come back!” Soap snaps shaking his head. “She would have come back to us! She didn’t! So she’s dead Ghost!”

The men remain silent as Ghost looks at soap. A grieving stare that send chills down his body. Ghost didn’t want to think of you being gone, not after the promise. Ghost stares at the remains of the church. He walks over to them and starts searching again, the group watches as Ghost keeps search for you.. or what remains of you.

[pandoratheprocrasticreator]

Observations on the Hollow Mind Portraits

Rebecca Rose has answered my wishes today by releasing HD versions of the portraits used in Hollow Mind. Here are some things I noticed:

They're churning butter <3 This is one of the pictures we saw more clearly, so there's not much to say here. Liddol bois <3

Another picture we've seen pretty clearly in the episode. Someone's already noticed that the rope trap Phillip sets to catch Caleb looks kind of like the one he set in Hollow Mind to catch the palisman monster. Parallels, I guess.

Here the boys are getting ready for a witch hunt. Again, we've seen this. The expression on Caleb's face seems more aggressive than Phillip. Guess he's older and therefore understands what the witch hunts mean better.

These boys only have one shirt and one set of overalls. Judging by the rip on Phillip's overalls, and the fact that they each only have one strap, I guess it's an indication of how poor they are. How did they even manage to get a house on their own? I doubt little boy Caleb could have built it himself. Must be an already vacant house or the townsfolk did chip in because they can excuse hanging innocent women but god forbid these two boys be homeless.

The brothers are older in here. They still have similar hairstyles, but their proportions definitely look less "baby." Phillip still has the same overalls, but Caleb either got new ones or got a new strap for it at least. They also got new boots. While in the previous picture of a witch hunt, the brothers were playing with sticks while the adults did all the work, here the brothers have a torch and a pitchfork and are going with the adults.

We can't see Phillip's face, but it's notable that Caleb looks both excited and malicious here. It's not either of the brother's faults that they were indoctrinated into a puritan society where witch hunts are okay. But this does indicate that Caleb wasn't as horrified by the witch hunts as fanon makes him out to be. I like that. I like the idea that the brothers both started out as bigots, a byproduct of their upbringing. The difference between Phillip and Caleb is that Caleb decided to change when given the chance. Phillip didn't.

We also saw this one pretty clearly but here's some more detail. They look even older here. Phillip no longer has the buttoned shirt, I think? And if this takes place right before the next picture, then Phillip has tied his hair into a ponytail as well in this scene. Plus, Caleb was holding a torch in the last witch hunt, but now he's holding a pitchfork. So this is probably a different hunt. Moreover, Evelyn's fire looks like it has a purple-pink hue? Maybe that's just the color palette.

And here it proves that Caleb entered the Boiling Isles through the gate in the graveyard. From what I can see, part of it was also a lake back in the 1600s, though it was definitely more flooded in Thanks To Them. While Caleb is rushing in, (which is definitely reminiscent of the scene where Luz entered the portal door) Phillip seems to be lagging behind.

If this is the first time Phillip entered the Boiling Isles, then there was definitely a timeskip between this picture and the last. His hair is longer, he looks older, he has a bag and a journal, and he's wearing a whole new outfit. This looks like part of the outfit Phillip wore in Elsewhere and Elsewhen. He isn't wearing his brother's jacket, though, but he may be holding it with the arm that isn't shown well in the picture. I guess after Caleb ran through the portal, it closed and Phillip was trapped on the human side? And somehow, he managed to go through the portal again after a timeskip. He still looks young here. But more like in his late teens than early teens like in the last few pictures.

Not sure what order these pictures should have come in, but this happened a lot later than the last pictures. Phillip's hair is already fading from brown to blond. Perhaps a side effect of palisman magic? Or maybe he's just graying weirdly.

I've seen people point out this picture as Phillip misremembering "Luzura and Dirtrude" but now that we have more detail, they...really don't look like them. They're wearing nothing remotely similar to what Luz and Lilith wore in that episode. Plus, they both have their palismen. The only similarity is that one is tall with black hair and the other is short and has brown-ish skin. But they're both obviously demons. I assume these are just some followers he's trying to brainwash.

(Also, it's funny that they had black garbage bags even in the 1600s in the Boilins Isles lol)

Phillip is going Sonic the Werehog on Caleb and his wife! I guess this means Evelyn did have brown hair. Unfortunate, because I kind of wanted the Clawthorne sisters to have inherited their red hair from Evelyn. Also, it looks like both Caleb and Evelyn were in possession of The Hair Skrungly. I wish Eda and Lilith also had it.

This one's also really commonly talked about. Nothing much to add here just Phillip being outraged that his bro is slutting it up with a hot witch I guess.

This one's also commonly talked about. What I'm unsure on is when all this happened. Phillip's beard is around the same length in the last few pictures so I assume at around the same time. But then, what? Did he see his brother with Evelyn and get mad, making the curse flare up, and after Caleb hugged it all out of him he left, only to come back later to kill Evelyn? Or did his curse flare up during the fight? I love those angsty fanarts where Caleb's trying to hug Phillip only to get stabbed. Also, why is Evelyn facing her husband, not Phillip? This is commonly thought to be Caleb trying to introduce his wife to his brother, so it would be weird for her to stand like that if that's the case.

:((((((((( But also, where are they? Are they in Caleb and Evelyn's house? Why are they in a forest later, then? Maybe I just read too many comics of this scene where Caleb died in his house. They've probably been in a forest the whole time. But now that we have more detail, Phillip is very clearly not looking at Caleb, but to the side, where Evelyn would have been standing previously. Guess it's pretty much confirmed that Phillip wasn't trying to kill Caleb, but Evelyn. Also other people have mentioned this but Caleb fighting his brother to save his wife, using the knife he used to carve his brother's mask???? :'''''''')

Again, when did this happen? Looking at it again, I feel like Phillip isn't even cursed at this point. At least, the curse isn't flaring up here. He's not goopified at all like in the show. You can even still see his sleeve. I think here, and the other picture where he looked like this, are just him looking extra demonic bc of how much he wanted to kill Evelyn. The picture where he's charging at Caleb and Evelyn looks like the background is on fire. And the couple is even positioned the same as the picture where Caleb is trying to "introduce" Evelyn to Phillip. Phillip wasn't out of control due to the curse in here, I don't think. It's lighting, plus dramatic effect that he looks like this. He found out where Caleb has been, flew into a rage and tried to kill Evelyn, and Caleb tried to hug him and calm him down, because his brother loved him anyway...

...and in return, Phillip kills him. Caleb is posed the same way as the Boiling Isles is. Looking at the reflection in the knife, Phillip also hasn't been punched in the nose by Lilith yet, either. Guess those bones we see in Phillip's lab in Elsewhere and Elsewhen really were Caleb's. And also Phillip has already long since started his descent to madness by the time he met Luz and Lilith. Kind of weird to think that they may have run into one of Caleb and Evelyn's kids running around in that episode, if they happened to travel a bit beyond Bonesborough.

We've seen this picture too but goddamn, they really did this over Caleb's dead body. Before I didn't agree with the idea that Evelyn gave Phillip his curse, because of the pictures we saw of him in black and having glowing eyes while Caleb was still around. But if All That was indeed for dramatic effect, then yeah, I believe the theory now! Evelyn Clawthorne still fucking up Phillip 350 years after the fact.

So with Flora Desplora's appearance in Elsewhere and Elsewhen, her appearance here, and her name on the book Bill the titan trapper was reading in Edge of the World, I'm certain she was meant to be more important. Again, while I'm pretty sure The Shortening was announced after Eda's Requiem was finished, with how cartoons are produced, I wouldn't be surprised if they already had work done for episodes up to Reaching Out. It would explain the Azura B-plot in Any Sport in a Storm, the Edric B-plot in Reaching out when they couldn't give Emira a B-plot elsewhere to balance it out, the implication that Warden Wrath and other EC members were suspicious about the Day of Unity, and of course, Flora Desplora's existence. They probably established all of this expecting to have more episodes to explore it. But they got shortened and had to cut some follow up episodes. But they weren't given more resources to rewrite the old episodes to not include any plot threads they couldn't follow up on.

Flora Desplora didn't need a whole backstory and relationship with Lilith, as well as a whole character design, to serve her purpose in the plot. She just needed to be someone Lilith knew in the EC, who was doing better than Lilith was, and rile her up enough to do the whole time travel thing. Lilith already has a track record of mentoring multiple EC members-to-be. They could have had a character say they're her old student and accidentally rile her up. They could have done that with Steve. But originally, I guess they wanted to set up Flora Desplora to use her later.

We already saw this picture too, of Belos mutilating his ear to look more pointed. But now that it's clearer uh...that's...that's his ear floating in the sink right there! He's a lot more blond than some other pictures, so I guess this is later into his conquest. But the green streak across his face isn't as big so I guess it isn't THAT late? Also, the mirror and sink look pretty fancy, so did he already have a castle by then?

Here he is, carving some glyph combos onto his arm. He's bleeding green here, which I guess would be from Evelyn's curse? Either that, or the color palette, or the knife is rusty and Belos got tetanus after this. We never found out if the curse or these glyphs were responsible for his goopy appearance.

He's snorting a palisman! This is still pretty early on in his journey, since his hair is still brown and his beard is shorter. In fact, it's only slightly longer than it was when Evelyn cursed him. Maybe this is when he discovers that palisman magic can help his curse?

Ah, the Golden Guard graveyard. This was the guard in Belos's first flashback in Hollow Mind, where he blew up that town. Look at that collar. This Golden Guard's staff has been shattered, and he's probably being killed by Belos's own staff, red magic and all. Funnily enough, this Guard didn't have a staff in the flashback. Guess Belos made one for him at some point.

Here's Belos's lab to make grimwalkers. Notice the ribcage in the background, probably Caleb's. I guess it's confirmed that you can use fragments of bone instead of just one whole bone, since some of the ribs are snapped. Guess Belos really did do the Biblical thing like some people said, where he used Caleb's rib to make a grimwalker. In fact, based on his outfit, this may have been one of the first grimwalkers he made. He probably ran out of rib bones by the time Hunter came around.

People speculated that this Golden Guard was Darius's predecessor, who was likely petrified in the public ceremony that Kikimora mentioned happened 30 years ago in Young Blood, Old Souls. However, this Guard's outfit is the same as the one who was with Belos in the mountains. Phillip seems to have ditched his journal by this point, so Belos definitely knew the petrification glyph. This Guard also got a staff at some point when he didn't have on in the Hollow Mind flashback.

Yo it's the guy with the really wild hair! You know, the one we saw as a hallucination in For the Future! Not much to say about him. He looks polite. Maybe HE was Darius's predecessor. He definitely has the Clawthorne genes with how his hair looks.

Portal door! I don't think I actually saw this picture when I watched Hollow Mind? Guess I just missed it. Me and most of the fandom lol.

And lastly, another golden guard. He looks like he's from Gurren Lagann lol. Maybe HE is Darius's predecessor. He's also being killed by Belos's red magic, it seems.

I think that's all the pictures? Feel free to chime in with anything that I didn't notice. These portraits kind of recontextualizes some of the fanon around the Wittebanes, I think.

[i-prefer-base-twelve]

Just finished the Juneau series and saw writing requests were open, couldn't be happier! Maybe a snow day? Something like the silence of the snow with a cup of hot cocoa...(I just love winter and am sad it's already over)

Done and done! Enjoy this bit of (cold, white) fluff. Read on AO3 (above) or inline (below). -------------

"Almost there!" Ford calls encouragingly over his shoulder, pausing to let you catch up. Seemingly unaffected by the biting cold, he stands relaxed, hands on hips, just watching the snow.

Snowshoeing is definitely something you'd never done before Ford. And it's actually great fun, he'll break trail all day if you let him, but it IS still hiking. When you'd looked outside this morning and seen it was already sticking, you'd suggested a cozy day of reading by the fire. But Ford had held up a hand and rushed to a yellowed, crumbly almanac, mumbled some math under his breath, and decreed that no, today was the perfect day for a hike. His eyes had sparkled as he said it, and you've learned you should always say yes when his eyes sparkle like that.

Ford beams at you as you somewhat breathlessly  shuffle up behind him. He's loving this, absolutely loving it. It's cute, if a little infuriating. You give him your best I'm Oregonian and therefore I, too, love the outdoors! smile in return. "See anything interesting?" You ask.

He shakes his head. "No yeti tracks or scat anywhere. And the sasquatch are all deep in hibernation by now." But he's not disappointed, and neither are you. "Which means," he adds, "we should be all clear. Come on, it's just around the corner!"

He laughs at your skeptical expression; you both know his "just around the corner" is another ten minutes. He kisses your cheek before stomping off into the snow without aid of map or compass. You shake your head and shuffle after him. The trees are taller and denser here, it's a wonder you don't get your snowshoes stuck as you wind your way through them, but you finally make it to the promised clearing. There's a pond in the middle, steaming and covering the area in an ethereal mist. A hot spring. One that, Ford assures you, it's safe to soak in.

"Here we are!" He looks at you, and you can see anxiety pinching the corners of his eyes. Even after so many months together, he's still trying to impress you.

"This is amazing," you enthuse, squeezing his arm. "It's gorgeous."

He smiles, relieved. "Shall we?"

You nod vigorously and begin the cumbersome process of stripping down. All the way down. Holy fuck, it's cold out here. The wind gusts, tearing across your naked body, and you let out a string of strangled curses as you hurry into the pool.

There's a natural shelf to sit on at the perfect height. It's the perfect temperature. It doesn't even smell like sulfur, like the other hot springs you've seen. You heave a deep, contented sigh, as your whole body relaxes.

Ford chuckles at you. He's still on land, naked as the day he was born, packing all your gear into a safe bag ("safe from what?" "Everything.") and hanging the bag from a nearby tree branch before finally lowering himself into the water beside you. He drapes his arms across the lip of the pool and sighs his own contented sigh.

For awhile, neither of you says anything. A bird calls, and you ask Ford what it is, and he gives you an answer that may or may not be right, who knows? But he certainly sounds confident. You give him a big dopey smile. "This is amazing," you repeat. "You're amazing."

He smiles bashfully, soaking up the praise like your socks have been soaking up the snow all morning.

"And you're SURE you didn't see any yeti sign?" According to the almanac, yetis could be found at this pool in fall and early winter. But this was late January, so they were almost certainly safe.

"None at all," Ford frowns. "Not even old traces. Maybe they've moved on. I wouldn't be surprised if climate change has driven them up into Washington," he says, eyes darkening for a moment before he catches himself. "But let's not dwell on that. Let's keep things positive. I'm here in a romantic haven in the middle of the woods with my love." He turns and brushes your hair behind your ear, making you shiver.

He scoots closer, leaning in to murmur in your ear. "You look like a goddess," he says, kissing your neck. You grin and close your eyes, feeling his hands, hot from the pool, graze your dry shoulders.

A loud SPLASH causes waves to wash over you. You snap your eyes open to see that you are no longer alone: a creature has creature joined you in the pool. It's... well, it's a creature. Furry, kind of like a tailless beaver? Maybe a wombat? Wombats aren't native to Oregon, but hey, this is Gravity Falls. Anyway, it's not a wombat, but whatever its taxonomy, it doesn't seem threatening. It floats placidly in the water, blinking at you slowly. You look at Ford.

"What is it?" You whisper.

He's absolutely beaming. "A happybara!" He whispers back. "I've never seen one before. They're sensitive to human emotions and don't show themselves unless our energy is--oh! Look!"

Three more of them emerge from the trees, shuffling through belly-deep snow and sliding into the pool. It's starting to get crowded.

"Should we... go?"

Ford doesn't take his eyes off them. "Are you kidding?"

The happybaras start making little chirpy sounds at each other. (Or at you? Hard to say.) You smile. "They're awfully cute."

Ford nods, then abruptly hops out of the water and retrieves the bag. He addresses the happybaras.

"I was hoping we'd meet today," he says. Can they understand him? They don't so much as look in his direction. He continues, undeterred. "So I brought a gift."

He reaches into the bag and pulls out, of all things, a grapefruit, and chucks it into the pool. Hot water splashes your face, and again and again as he throws in half a dozen more. They bob cheerfully in the water, filling the air with a peppery citrus scent. You give Ford a baffled look at he climbs back in and puts an arm around you.

"They're supposed to like them," he shrugs.

"They're not eating them."

"No, no, not to eat. They just like to have them. See?"

The creatures were nosing the citrus around and chirping. Playing, in the most sedate way possible.

You settle back against Ford, laughing. "They might be my favorites yet. This is why we really came here today, isn't it? To see them?"

He looks away, sheepish. "You know me so well. They only come here on snowy days, and with the yeti gone, the conditions were perfect. But I didn't want to disappoint you if they didn't show; they don't get along with just anyone, after all. But of course they like you! How could they not?" The anxiety creeps back into his voice, and he looks at you out of the corner of his eye. "I know it's not as romantic, sharing a hot spring with rodents. No matter how rare they are."

You gently grab his chin and turn his head so he's looking you straight in the eye. "This is delightful," you assure him. "And we can be romantic at home."

He nods firmly. "We certainly can."

A happybara chirps and nose a grapefruit your way. Ford laughs and pushes it back toward them. The wind calms, and snow drifts down in lazy, giant flakes.

You lean your head on Ford's shoulder and soak in the vibes.

[ask-a-w]

All That Remains

Summary: Leon tries to deal with his complicated feelings for a certain lady in red… Set during & shortly after RE6. Follows OG canon. Slight angst.

FF.net

AO3

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The past forty-eight hours or so had been nothing but a series of nightmares one after the other. Being in the heart of not just one, but two outbreaks across different time zones was taking a toll and Leon was running on pure adrenaline right now. Even though he was vaguely aware of the B.O.W., smoke, and unstable structure beneath him, all his thoughts were now focused on Ada’s heavy head resting on his thigh. 

The last time he felt such heft from her was back in Raccoon City when she seemingly died after being struck by the tyrant. He could remember how she went limp in his arms after the kiss and the sheer sorrow at reluctantly leaving her body behind. 

He could not go through such anguish, not again. A mere hour ago, he felt his heart plummet into his stomach when Chris told him the news of her supposed death. Helena managed to catch on when he went quiet but he swiftly deflected her concern and pressed on with the mission, as always. In this line of work, one could not grieve immediately for lost allies. Only when he was alone and off the field, he had spent many nights downing countless bottles, trying to nurse the guilt and thinking of “What Ifs?” 

When Leon saw her in the chopper laying down cover fire, there was confusion, followed by pure jubilation. He knew deep down there was something going on that was bigger than what he could comprehend. Something she alluded to back in the catacombs under Tall Oaks Cathedral. The blonde knew he could never get a straight answer with her and had long since abandoned any frustration at her riddles. The truth would be revealed, somehow. 

Upon seeing her get struck by Simmons and almost falling off the walkway, all rational thought went out the window as he jumped after her. Leon vowed that he would not lose Ada, not this time. History will not repeat itself today. Despite how resilient Ada was, the urge to look out for her never truly went away. Sometimes he wondered if his complicated feelings for this beautiful soul were to his detriment. 

“Get away from her, Leon!” A depraved voice jolted him out of his thoughts as he saw the ex-National Security Advisor point a finger at him accusingly. “You're not half the man she needs!”

Methodically, Leon readied his sniper rifle and he kept a steady aim on Simmons’ head as the older man’s flesh began to fracture in multiple places. Steam arose from his body, signalling an imminent transformation.

“Come with me, my love. We'll be together, forever!” Simmons raved once more as he turned back into what vaguely resembled a canine beast. 

Leon felt repulsed on Ada’s behalf and shot back a retort. “Not if I can help it!” With a squeeze of the trigger, he fired a bullet into the monster’s face, repeating the motion until his clip ran out. How dare this asshole treat her like some sort of plaything? 

Roughly more than half a minute had passed and Ada still had not stirred. It was worrying Leon and he was tempted to start CPR but he had a feeling Simmons would be incensed by a sight like that. Plus, he was still engaged in mid-battle and common sense dictated that he should not take his eyes off his opponent. 

There was a short reprieve as Simmons was surrounded by zombies and Leon took the opportunity to find a pulse on her neck. It was beating strongly and he relaxed just a tad. 

“Come on, wake up!” The blonde quietly urged the unconscious woman as he kept his gaze on Simmons. 

Come on…! He’s getting really pissed off. We need to get to safety. 

With one last desperate attempt, he pleaded once more, “If you're really Ada, I know you can pull through this. We both can.”

Having cleared out the undead around him, Simmons reared up on his hind legs and Leon’s eyes widened in fright at the realisation of what would come next. 

Shit!

Without hesitation, he automatically cradled her head onto his palm and wrapped an arm around her like a protective cocoon, turning his back towards the enemy to shield her from harm’s way. He gasped as spiny projectiles peppered against his vest. It was not as bad as the bullet from Raccoon. Even if it was a gunshot, Leon would still take a dozen more for her. 

At last, the blonde felt Ada stirring as she shifted her head, opening those hazel eyes and staring at him intently. No amount of words could express the utter relief he was feeling as a warmth spread through his chest. Leon took the opportunity to give her a once over for injuries. Compared to Tall Oaks, streaks of dirt and ash marred her usually pristine face. He noticed she was still in the same red & black outfit too. Briefly, he wondered how serious the situation was that she had no time to grab a change of clothes. Did it have to do with the other woman in blue that looked like her? Which one was the real one?

Ada gave him a faint smile as her gloved hand reached up to tap his as a gesture of thanks, “I was just resting my eyes.” 

He responded wryly as both got up to face Simmons, “Shouldn’t sleep on the job.”

It was back to business as both unleashed their arsenal on the massive B.O.W. 

"In case you haven't noticed, Simmons doesn't take rejection well,” Ada said between gunfire as she reloaded a clip. 

Leon took the lead to cover her while Simmons began to shrink back to his human form, "Is there some backstory I should know here?"

"Nothing worthwhile,” she replied cryptically before she ran up to a de-transformed Simmons and pummelled him repeatedly in the face. The ferocity of her punches frightened Leon a bit as he unconsciously took a step back to give her space. From all the times they had fleetingly spent together, he had never seen her this enraged before. Ada Wong was usually calm and collected, her mask almost never slipping except that one time in the Raccoon laboratory. Just what did Derek C. Simmons do to her before this?

Steam emitted from Simmons once again and Leon almost yelled a warning to Ada but she too, noticed the anomaly and quickly disengaged. Zombies poured out of the adjacent buildings, seemingly attracted to Simmons, and both took turns to take care of the undead and Simmons. It almost felt like they had returned to the sewers under Raccoon City again where they wordlessly had each other’s backs. 

Leon was emptying his pistol into the monstrosity when one of Simmons’ mutated limbs suddenly lashed out and smacked him away. The blonde felt himself tumbling off the edge and he managed to find purchase on the ledge with his dominant hand at the last second, clinging onto it for dear life. He grunted with effort as he tried to climb up with both hands. 

Leon heard Ada shouting his name in the distance and footsteps coming towards him. He was prepared to see her smirk, maybe make a witty remark, before helping him up. 

Imagine his disappointment when he saw an almost naked Simmons looming over him instead, cruelly stomping on his hand and the sudden impact made him lose his grip on the other. 

"Do you want to live?" Simmons sneered at him as Leon tried to grab the ledge with both hands once more. It was short lived as his left hand got kicked away by Simmons soon after. "Then beg! Beg for your life!” 

To drive the point home, Simmons deliberately dug his heel into Leon’s right knuckle. Thank goodness the agent wore gloves as it helped to lessen the pain. His right arm was beginning to burn and he hoped Ada had a plan because he could surely use it about now.

“I’ll pass!” Leon spat back through gritted teeth and the sound of gunshots close by made him hopeful. 

“Can’t always get what you want, Simmons!” Ada said acidly and the blonde heard a metallic shing followed by the sound of squelching flesh. 

“No! Nooo!” Was all Leon heard before he saw Simmons and Ada plunge past him. The blonde’s heart momentarily skipped a beat for the Asian woman’s safety before she fired her grappling hook. 

“Let’s call this closure,” Ada declared before dropping the man like a hot potato. “You really should have moved on, Simmons.” 

Leon quickly pulled himself up and ran across the walkway with gun in hand to track Simmons’ trajectory. He fell into a burning structure below, seemingly incinerated. The B.O.W. was no more.

He heaved a sigh of relief and caught sight of Ada in the opposite building where she was also witnessing Simmons’ demise. Her posture indicated that she was not in a huge hurry and it looked like she was choosing to savour the moment. 

A dozen thoughts raced through his mind. Every time they had crossed paths back in Raccoon, Spain, and the Eastern Slav Republic, she was there to procure a sample. If this was her agenda now, what was she stealing this time? Chris mentioned she was a member of Neo-Umbrella and “caused all of this”. 

If Ada already had a sample of the C-virus in the first place, she would not be here at all, right? What was her purpose here if she was not committing espionage? Other than dodging questions, all she had done so far was to aid them in taking down B.O.Ws. He was quite surprised when she had stayed with Leon and Helena for an extended period of time in Tall Oaks. Normally, she would make herself scarce within a minute. Her actions in the past few days did not line up with her usual modus operandi. 

“What are you?” Leon pondered out loud to himself. “Why are you helping us?” 

A ping from his cell brought him out of his thoughts and he read the message. 

[txt] Wish I could stay longer but I gotta run. I've left you a little parting gift on the roof. See you down the road, Leon.

What? 

She wanted to stay this time? That was never an option before. 

He looked up and caught a glance of Ada waving goodbye to him before turning away. 

“ADA!” Leon exclaimed her name for the umpteen time and reached out for her, watching her silhouette saunter out of sight beyond his fingertips. Try as he might to prevent himself from feeling this way, a part of him always broke at her departure.

"What are you waiting for?” Helena’s voice rang out on his earpiece. “Go after her."

His gaze flicked back and forth uncertainly, seemingly tempted by Helena’s suggestion. 

Unfortunately, it was drilled into him that the job always came first. Even when he was infected by the plaga in the rural Spanish village, he always prioritised Ashley’s safety over his own health. That’s why he became a cop all those years ago, to help those in need, even if it was slowly killing him on the inside. 

“No,” he turned around to face Helena. “We're sticking together.”

With one last glance at where Ada was, he forced his feet to run in the opposite direction. Leon had to remind himself that Ada Wong was a capable individual who was a survivor, just like him.

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

Of course Simmons was not dead. He had to continue mutating into a gargantuan housefly. Seriously, this virus was just absolutely bizarre. On top of being bone tired and ravenous, Leon was now drenched by rain. Thank goodness Ada left a RPG for them to utilise and he made quick work of dispatching Simmons for good. The blonde did not know what to make of the pink lipstick mark on the warhead though. Was it meant for him or was it her idea of a cheeky send-off for Simmons? 

Helena stood beside him as they watched Simmons' body get impaled by the obelisk in the middle of the Quad tower. The previous time they walked away, Simmons got up again. Now, both of them had the responsibility to ensure he was truly dead. They could see a pool of blood forming at the base of the obelisk and Leon was disgusted when it took the shape of the Umbrella logo. 

“That’s for my sister,” Helena said solemnly after they stared at the corpse for a couple of minutes, satisfied that the man who had tortured and tormented her would no longer be claiming any more victims. 

Expressing sympathy for his new partner, Leon carefully placed a hand on her shoulder, “Come on, let’s get to the chopper.”

Both jogged back to the helipad and when Leon opened the door, the sight of a golden circular object on the pilot’s seat greeted them. He could only stare at it blankly as a series of questions filled his mind. Was it a booby trap? Did Ada leave it behind by accident?

No, everything she did had a purpose. 

“Is that Ada’s?” Helena asked, equally bewildered.

Hesitantly, he clutched the compact and thumbed the switch, watching the lid open up to reveal some makeup. His reflection in the mirror gazed back at him and he looked a little worse for wear. Was it another joke from Ada? That he needed to look decent? 

He felt his pinkie finger get pushed up and he slid it to the side, waiting with bated breath for the hidden compartment beneath the makeup to be unveiled. A memory card was seated within and he grabbed it before handing off the makeup to Helena. She would have a use for it, right?

Inserting the card into his phone, a series of images floated on the screen, some of them featuring Simmons standing in front of tanks of B.O.Ws. He moved his phone closer to Helena and she gasped, “Leon, this is-”

“Evidence that proves Simmons’ guilt.” The frown he was wearing finally went away. He would hate to sit in an interrogation room for hours. 

“Which means it will prove your innocence.”

Leon furrowed his brows again, confused by Helena’s statement. She was still hellbent on taking all the blame and making sure he came out clean. 

He softened his features and turned towards her, “Our innocence.” 

Despite a shaky start to their alliance in Tall Oaks, Helena had proven herself trustworthy and still did the right thing in the end. He would not let someone who was blackmailed face the gallows alone. 

She merely scoffed. “I don’t need it.” 

“Helena…” His voice was still kind and he was not going to change his mind on persuading her. 

But that would have to wait as his phone began to ring. The blonde accepted the call and saw his favourite F.O.S. agent on the screen. “Good news, Leon,” Hunnigan said with a small smile on her face. “We've found a way to defeat the virus.”

Before Leon could reply, an explosion from behind caused them to flinch in surprise. He glanced back and saw a sizable fireball rise up the tower. They ought to leave now lest the structure start collapsing. 

“Copy that. We're on our way back. See you soon,” he replied Hunnigan hurriedly and gestured to Helena to enter the chopper as he ended the call. “Let's go.”

His partner complied and jumped into the pilot seat, checking the controls while Leon took the opportunity to cast another look at the burning Quad Tower. Was this Ada’s handiwork? Would she be able to make it out alive? He contemplated going back to check on her but as quick as that idea came into his mind, he knew that she would be fine. 

After all, she left the chopper for them, didn’t she? That would mean she already had her own exit plan. Whatever it was, Ada was no damsel in distress. 

Leon was not a praying man but he silently wished her well, thinking wistfully on when they would cross paths again. With that, he climbed into the chopper and shut the door. 

Helena fired up the chopper and they ascended to freedom. She glanced over at the blonde and he noticed the hardness in her eyes were now gone, replaced by sheer optimism. The evidence would definitely help them; they did not have to skulk around like fugitives any more. 

He smiled back reassuringly and drew his attention to the city below. Whatever hope he felt a second ago was swiftly replaced by ire for bioterrorism. Why did countless innocent people have to die for this? No matter how many times he asked himself this question, he could never come up with a satisfactory answer. 

The senseless carnage below was now part and parcel of what he saw on a semi-regular basis. 

His thoughts were once again interrupted by his buzzing phone containing instructions from Hunnigan to fly to the next city’s airport an hour away. He relayed that information to Helena and began to take the time to do a quick run through of Ada’s intel. 

Speaking of the mysterious woman in red, the faintest scent of her perfume lingered in the cockpit along with the odour of gunpowder and sweat. Leon could almost imagine her seated beside him, giving him a coy grin as he slowly uncovered the truth. Sometimes he wished she was more forthcoming instead of engaging in a cat and mouse game. 

The blonde started with the images first and they featured the laboratory beneath Tall Oaks Cathedral as well as Simmons inspecting some tanks with yellow humanoid husks. 

He frowned at the husk which was similar to the one he saw on Ada’s tape… Was she always a B.O.W.? She mentioned that Simmons did not take rejection well so did that imply she had been working with him? If Simmons did all this, how much did Ada have a hand in it? 

Everything he thought he knew about Ada Wong was being put into question. Chris did say she killed his men and caused the Lanshiang outbreak. Her presence in both incidents within the past few days and the fact she kept running away was becoming even more suspicious. 

If she was indeed a bioterrorist, how could he still have feelings for her? 

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

“We’re here,” Helena nudged his elbow and Leon stirred awake with his phone in hand. He looked around and found the chopper on a tarmac. 

“It’s been an hour?”

“You fell asleep shortly after you started looking at the evidence.” She said matter-of-factly. “We can review it together on the plane ride home.”

Was he so engrossed in his thoughts that he was not aware he closed his eyes for a nap? His body must have been more exhausted than he thought. 

They exited the chopper and showed their government IDs to the personnel waiting at the end of the runway with a tablet in hand. “We are waiting for more diplomatic evacuees and the plane will leave in an hour. You can wait in the lounge,” he gestured to the building behind him and tried not to show his discomfort that these two agents were reeking. 

Their departure was eventually delayed so they took the time to freshen up with showers and fabric sprays for their clothes. In a private booth in the lounge, both reviewed the evidence in depth. Some contained short reports from researchers which barely skimmed the surface of the atrocities that were committed. 

There was one referencing what was planned for Deborah and Helena’s fists were clenched the whole time while tranquil fury radiated from her. When they reached the bottom of the evidence list, the final note made both of them especially enraged. 

The assassination was successful. Make sure to set all Lepotitsa in Tall Oaks to self destruct and prepare for Operation: Bacillus Terminate.

Leon Kennedy and Helena Harper are following me to China. They were reported dead by the FOS, but the report is false. Make sure a Lepotitsa gets on their plane so that the FOS's report doesn't go to waste.

“If he weren’t already dead, I would kill him again,” the muscle in Helena’s jaw twitched as her teeth remained clenched. Leon understood her anger as he too, was still enraged at the loss of seventy thousand innocent citizens because Simmons wanted to cover up the truth of Raccoon City. 

Simmons’ notes depicted a completely different man, he was raving about keeping the world in balance and had no qualms about his cruel experiments. It was a stark departure from his affable and cool headed persona as the National Security Advisor. 

“I’m sending this to Hunnigan. She’ll have it sorted out. In the meantime, get some sleep on the plane later. You’ve been up for two days,” Leon said softly as he encrypted and relayed the evidence on a secure channel. 

An announcement was made over the PA system that they were ready to depart and Helena got up to join the line, mulling over the evidence and Leon’s advice to rest. 

The blonde watched his partner stroll off and he did another run through at the proof Ada gave… It listed Simmons’ guilt and crimes but there was no mention of her at all. It was extremely suspicious. How could she seemingly unleash a devastating outbreak and why would she help them clear their names at the same time? What were her motives here? 

He sighed inwardly as he proceeded to board the plane, taking a seat beside Helena who stared out the window, lost in thought. At least the chairs were spacious and comfortable like their flight into China. Leon hoped the journey would be uneventful though, he did not have the mental capacity to endure another global catastrophe so soon. The boarding process was taking a while and he found himself closing his eyes to doze off for just a bit…

Leon was not aware when the plane took off but he awoke with a start when the aircraft lurched from turbulence. He noticed the lights in the cabin were slightly dimmed and saw the other passengers were napping in their seats. 

“I thought you said you couldn’t sleep on planes,” Helena whispered.  

He rubbed his neck to massage the kinks out of it before replying quietly, “Guess my body decided it was a good time to power down after two days of no sleep. How long was I out?”

“Three hours or so. You were also jerking your legs in your sleep whenever the plane encountered turbulence. First time seeing you wake up because of it.” 

The blonde muttered an apology. “Did I keep you up because of that?” 

Helena shook her head, “I had a lot on my mind and was doing some thinking.”

“Let’s go to the discussion tables at the back,” Leon unbuckled his seat belt and stepped out to the aisle with his partner following him. He grabbed bananas and bottled water as they passed by the galley and took a seat at an enclosed booth for two. 

He handed half of the fruit and water to Helena and she gave him her thanks. Her eye bags were prominent and he could see she was as exhausted as him. 

“You need to get some sleep, Helena.”

She sighed and placed a palm on her forehead. “Every time I try, I just see Deborah slipping out of my grasp. I did this. All of it.”

Leon shook his head. “You were blackmailed, and we have the evidence to prove it.”

“I did lie to my fellow agents and it caused the President to be unguarded for a period of time. I’m going to own up to my mistake. Don’t try to talk me out of it!” She said fiercely as she took a sip of water. 

“… Alright. It’s also up to the disciplinary committee to decide,” Leon said softly and continued to speak, “They’ll also have to review the evidence and record our statements. You know I’ll relay everything you did and put in a good word for you.”

She finally conceded, “Fine. I doubt they’ll be lenient though.”

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

An hour before reaching their destination, Hunnigan finally acknowledged that she received the evidence. 

[txt] Take note everyone on the plane will have to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine. 

[txt] Use this time to write your post-mission report. You’ll most likely be interviewed through video call. 

[txt] Don’t be surprised if both of you are treated with suspicion upon arrival. I’ve been trying to get the evidence out to relevant parties as fast as I can. 

The last text made Leon despondent and he did not have the heart to wake Helena. She only managed to fall asleep a couple of hours ago after staying awake for most of the flight. He, on the other hand, kept drifting in and out of sleep as he was awoken by the slightest turbulence. Call it a job hazard but his senses would kick into overdrive whenever something disturbed the quaint silence. 

He decided that he would update Helena when they land. Feeling a bit peckish, he returned to the galley, only to find that the basket of food and drinks were kept in preparation for landing. The blonde sighed and walked to the lavatory to make himself somewhat presentable, smoothing down his messy locks that got mussed up during his nap. 

Even though he got a shower in the airline lounge, his clothes were still stained with soot and grime. Guess Ada’s makeup mirror from earlier was a reminder that he indeed looked like shit. It was no wonder the other passengers gave them a wide berth. As quickly as thoughts of her entered his mind, Leon stifled it. He did a good job of not going down the rabbit hole so far during the plane ride, he would not succumb to it now. 

Leon returned to his space when the captain made an announcement that they were beginning their descent. Helena shuffled in her seat before she opened her eyes, putting her chair in an upright position. 

“Slept well?” 

She shrugged and yawned, “I probably need a solid eight hours of sleep.”

“Hunnigan mentioned that everyone on this aircraft has to be quarantined. You can repay your sleep debt then.”

Helena raised an eyebrow. “Quarantine? We weren’t infected.”

“It’s standard protocol,” Leon replied reassuringly. “I’ve been through a few of them myself. Gives you plenty of time to finish the post-mission report.”

There was a groan of annoyance from her, “I hate writing reports.”

He chuckled, “That’s part of the job when you become an agent, I’m afraid.”

As the flight attendants began making their way down the aisles to ensure the cabin was prepped for landing, Leon informed Helena about the possibility of being arrested on arrival. 

If there was any surprise or disappointment, she did not show it. Instead, she decided she would gracefully accept the outcome, whatever it may be. “Okay,” was all she said as she watched the little plane model circle around the airport on the TV screen. 

“Do you want me to leave her out in my report?”

Leon turned towards Helena, having an inkling whom his partner was referring to and he was touched by her empathy. “I’ve always written about her presence whenever I’ve encountered her. They’ll find out if you omit anything. It’s… better to state the truth.”

Not that anything ever came out of it as he had yet to see Ada on any wanted lists. 

His heart clenched once more as he tried his hardest to keep her out of his mind. Under normal circumstances, he would gladly daydream about her. However… her being a bioterror suspect was gradually sending him into a tailspin. Leon had underestimated the vice-like grip she had on his emotions. 

Helena saw him being contemplative and quiet once more and chided herself for bringing up Ada. It was plain as day that Leon had a soft spot for the mysterious woman in red but he kept dodging it. 

The remainder of the flight was spent in silence and the passengers were relieved as the wheels touched down on the runway. They have successfully escaped the outbreak in Lanshiang. 

They were escorted out of the plane in groups and as the plane slowly emptied out, both Helena and Leon were instructed to stay in their seats. The government agent had a bad feeling they would be the last ones to disembark. 

Sure enough, when only the two of them were left on the plane, the flight attendants nervously made themselves scarce and they were replaced by stern-looking men and women in black suits. The group stood a distance from them and folded their hands behind them. 

“Agent Kennedy, Agent Harper, please disarm yourselves,” the guy in the lead said and Leon nodded. The blonde slowly and methodically laid out his weapons and ammunition on the tray table, not making any sudden movements. Helena followed suit and she was glad she managed to prevent her hands from trembling. 

“We have already received intel from the F.O.S. but this is just a precaution. You two were the last known people to be in contact with President Benford, after all.”

Leon hated what he was insinuating and was tempted to fire a glare at his fellow agent but knew better to keep his emotions in check. Any misdemeanours would make the investigation unfavourable for them. Leon bit his cheek and kept his head down, patting the various pockets on his vest to ensure he removed everything. 

The guy in-charge had their weapons collected before motioning at them to follow. At least they weren’t being handcuffed which was a positive sign. But why did it feel like they were undertaking a walk of shame?

Even though any semblance of Adam Benford was long gone upon turning into a zombie, Leon was still the one to pull the trigger. Technically, he did shoot the president. He felt another wave of emotion surging within him as he brooded about his old friend but the Sun shone down on his face as he stepped out of the plane, halting his thoughts. 

The blonde squinted in response and it took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust before he noticed minibuses and cars waiting outside the plane. There were no armoured trucks or armed men which was a relief. Leon made a note to thank Hunnigan for her timely intervention. 

“Please follow me, Agent Kennedy. Agent Harper, please follow my colleague,” the guy in the lead gestured to a ponytailed agent. 

Leon turned to Helena and gave her an encouraging smile. She returned the gesture and held her head high as she entered a grey car while Leon got into a black sedan. He wondered if separating them was necessary when they were heading to the same destination. 

The only thing out of the ordinary was when they were brought in via separate entrances. It was not like they were hatching a plot to escape in the first place. Guess the higher ups were still distrusting of them. 

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

This was turning out to be the hardest report Leon ever had to write. He struggled to remain impartial with regards to Benford and Ada, often finding himself hitting the backspace key whenever he tried to justify his actions in Tall Oaks. 

Usually, he would nurse a can of beer to power through the mind-numbing task but the only beverages provided during quarantine were water and caffeine. If agents wanted something else to consume, it would come out of their pockets. The blonde caved in and ordered two six-packs of Blue Moon. That should tide him over the rest of quarantine… provided he did not binge. 

His alcohol stash arrived around dinner and his spirits were lifted instantly. It felt like he had finally found water after wandering around aimlessly in the desert. With liquid courage in hand, the blonde managed to keep his report factual, listing things as they were. 

He completely lost track of time and did not realise it was a couple of hours past midnight when he was in the middle of recounting the events in Lanshiang. Leon scrubbed his face with the palm of his hand and let out a yawn, allowing the sleepiness lingering in his head to sink in. He shuffled off to the bathroom to brush his teeth before trudging back to bed, face planting on the pillow and snoozing like a log. 

An incessant ringing hours later brought him out of sleep and he let out a soft curse. There was no peace during quarantine. His hand reached out to fumble at the various objects on the bedside table before he finally found his phone. 

Seeing Hunnigan’s name on the screen gave him a sense of urgency and he bolted upright, not caring that he had bedhead. She had seen him in worse states than this. “Good morning, Hunnigan. What’s up?”

Turning a blind eye to the fact that the blonde had obviously just woken up, Ingrid pushed up the glasses that fell down her nose bridge and began to type rapidly. “Leon, are you done with your report?”

He shook his head, “Right down to business huh? Isn’t the deadline at the end of next week? Did they move it up?”

“No. The F.O.S has uncovered more evidence and it’s best you see them. It might influence the outcome of your report.”

Leon sighed, “And here I was getting a headstart for once.”

Ingrid gave him an apologetic look. “I should warn you that it involves a certain individual you’ve mentioned in the past. I recommend that you read the text files first before reviewing the photographs.” 

He furrowed his brows in confusion. “Okay…?” 

Her comment was very vague as he had listed down the names of numerous people in previous reports. Just whom was Hunnigan referring to? 

“Sending the files via email…” Ingrid made a few clicks with her mouse before punching the enter key. “How are you feeling, by the way?”

Leon shrugged, “Nothing much to do other than work, eat, and sleep.”

He was ignoring the question and it made Ingrid worried. She knew he had ordered beer yesterday too and it was something he sought comfort in whenever the situation was emotionally heavy on him. 

“I see…”

“It feels like you’re about to lecture me,” Leon said as he got out of bed and placed his phone on a desk. 

Ingrid scowled at the screen which was now giving her a view of the ceiling, “I’ve been working with you for almost a decade, Leon. Of course I care about your well being.”

Leon knew she meant well and moved back into eyeshot. “I know. I guess I’m still a little tired, that’s all.”

It was a white lie and Hunnigan could easily see through it but she decided to drop the matter. At least he wasn’t snapping at her and hanging up the call. “You should check in with Helena too, see how she’s coping with the report.”

The doorbell buzzed, signalling a meal delivery. 

“Maybe after I’m done eating. Breakfast is here. Talk to you later,” the blonde pressed the red ‘X’ to end the call and opened the door to pick up his bag of food. 

It was a breakfast burrito today and he was pleasantly surprised by the menu variety. Based on past experiences, breakfast mostly consisted of sandwiches and bagels, sometimes pancakes. This was the first time he was given a burrito and it was scrumptious. Or perhaps he was just hungry and everything tasted good. 

He opened his email and downloaded the attachment while he ate. The evidence appeared to have been sorted by Hunnigan, since it was conveniently listed in numerical order. He surmised he should start from number one. 

I've warned Adam time and time again not to go public with the details on the Raccoon City Incident…

Leon remained expressionless as he read Simmons’ plan for assassinating Adam. He had already spent enough energy being furious towards the ex-National Security Advisor and he ought to keep a level head if he wanted to finish this report. 

The next one was also about Simmons and it appeared to be written just after he and Helena confronted him in China. “The Family” was mentioned once more and Leon wondered just how dangerous this mysterious faction was. Were they the ones Ada alluded to in Tall Oaks? The people that were pulling the strings? Leon was long aware of some form of corruption within the government and he mostly kept his head down. Their goals were usually aligned, to keep the world safe from bioterrorism. He had no reason to rebel against the institution. 

But now, Leon wasn’t sure what to feel any more… He had already given up his youth to this unrelenting life, accepting things as they were, doing jobs as he was told. What was one more harsh truth? It was not like he had the power to revamp everything from inside out.

He exhaled loudly through his nose and pinched his nose bridge as he continued reading, feeling confused by Hunnigan’s cryptic statement that the evidence had someone from his past. To his knowledge, he had never referred to Simmons in his previous reports.

Derek has lost his mind to the mutation, so all that needs to happen now is for the government to kill him. What was he injected with? It seemed to be based off of the C-Virus, but I've never seen a mutation like that. It must have been something that Ada cooked up with Neo-Umbrella. If we could get a sample of it, we could do some research. I'll have to get some of our people on this.

Ada’s name caused his heart to involuntarily skip a beat. So that’s what Hunnigan meant.

Truthfully, he had grown numb to the accusations of Ada being a leader of Neo-Umbrella now. If she had already made her decision to go down this path, so be it. She was an adult, after all. It was her choice to make her bed and sleep in it. 

Derek Simmons death has been confirmed.

Neo-Umbrella will also probably not be left standing for long.

The new leader of The Family has been chosen.

We need to come together and persevere as we have in the past if we are to keep balance in the world.

Leon frowned at the statement of Neo-Umbrella apparent demise. Was Ada apprehended then? He quickly pursued the rest of the files. Other than Simmons leaving instructions for Tall Oaks’ extermination and a researcher speculating the origins of the C-virus, there were no more references of Ada. One note confirmed his hypothesis that the grotesque gas monster they encountered at the cathedral was indeed the source of the outbreak in Tall Oaks. 

The mention of the Lepotitsa emerging from a chrysalid did raise his suspicions though. Because Deborah certainly did not become one and Ada looked perfectly normal in the video he watched. Not only could this new virus turn people into zombies, it could mutate them too? This was something the T virus could not do. Like what the researcher mused in one of the previous notes, who was so vile to combine the G and T-Veronica viruses?

The last note was even more puzzling as there was no signature. 

After 10 years and 12,235 experiments, it's finally complete.

Thank you, Ms. Radames. I owe it all to you.

4/30/2009

Who was Radames? What experiment began in 1999 and was completed over four years ago? How was this evidence supposed to help him with the report at all? Even though they provided some answers, more questions were popping up in Leon’s mind. 

Finally, it was time for him to review the photographs which were satellite images. 

The first one was a tad grainy and featured a blurry figure just outside a ship. It appeared that the individual was… falling? Their hands were loosely outstretched, as if they were reaching for the stars. 

The second picture was clearer and Leon felt his stomach churn. It was Ada in a blue dress with her arms splayed out to the side. There was a dark stain fanning out on the ground beneath her. It did not take a genius to deduce that she was in an unmistakable pose of death. 

Even though he knew she was still alive, Leon could feel the room plunge into a chilly, eerie silence as he broke out into a cold sweat. The sensation of bile rose up in the back of his throat and he fought to keep his breakfast down. 

The blonde tore his eyes away and gazed out the window, focusing on the clear blue sky outside his room. 

His reaction was peculiar though. He had witnessed countless corpses, especially in Raccoon City. While the first few encounters were nerve wracking at first, he had become desensitised to death over the years. Leon was not expecting such a response to a photo of Ada. 

She was bonded to him way stronger than he cared to admit. 

When his breathing and heart rate normalised, he flipped to the next image. It was a familiar figure in red walking out of the ship. 

Oh. 

OH. 

What?!

Leon was at a loss for words as a million thoughts raced through his mind. Which one was the real Ada Wong? Was the other woman the one who was in charge of Neo-Umbrella? Why didn’t Ada tell him about this?!

Wait a minute. 

The chrysalid. The mutations of the C-virus. Could they change someone into a different individual? If the C-virus experiments started in 1999, a year after Raccoon City and Rockford Island, then Ada’s and Simmons’ reactions toward each other made sense. 

Leon could more or less deduce what happened. Simmons was one of the few who made the decision to annihilate Raccoon City while Ada was still in it. She probably did not take kindly to that and left. He wanted her back ever since, for reasons unknown. 

Not allowing his mind to stray too far, his fingers automatically opened the final series of photographs in rapid succession. They featured Ada, the one he had always known, looming over her dead “twin” before some kind of liquid spewed from the doppelganger's corpse and caused Ada to edge closer towards the ship. 

The blonde clicked next on his keyboard and drew a blank. He had reached the end of the evidence without knowing it. 

“Damn!” Leon swore under his breath as he was now feeling a swirl of emotions within him. There was relief that the woman he held a torch for was not a bioterrorist. It was followed by worry as all this time, she was managing this situation by herself and everyone was none the wiser. 

Hell, she was being hunted for a crime she did not commit. No wonder she did not have time to grab a change of clothing as she went from Tall Oaks to Lanshiang. 

Why did she leave such vital information out of the memory card though? What’s wrong with letting people know her identity was stolen? It could have cleared her name easily and Chris would not waste time chasing tail. 

Concurrently, Leon was confused about what to do with the evidence. How was it going to help his report? He already knew Simmons orchestrated the destruction of Tall Oaks. What value would this add other than easing his conscience?

The blonde reached for his phone and dialled Hunnigan. “I’ve reviewed everything. I just don’t understand why you sent it.”

Ingrid could not believe the words coming out of his mouth. How dense was he? She did a quick inhale and exhale before replying, “The investigating committee will interview you at the end of your quarantine. It would be best if you were prepared.”

“Prepared?” 

“For the questions that would be thrown your way, Leon. They are bound to ask what happened and you do not want to be caught off-guard.”

His eyebrows remained raised. “Isn’t that cheating? Are you allowed to do this?”

If she could reach through the screen, Ingrid would have strangled him. “You’re a field agent assigned under my charge. Of course it’s my responsibility to aid you in any way.”

And Helena mentioned you were worried about Ada too.

Hunnigan thought to herself but knew she could not say it out loud lest he denied his feelings even further. Through the years, she could not help but have reservations for this mysterious Ada Wong. Whenever Leon was questioned on why he did not bring her into custody, he would always retort that she was not part of his mission objective. Even though it was clear as day that she was up to something shady. 

It wasn’t until Helena confided in Ingrid on what happened in Lanshiang. His actions made sense now. The stoic Leon S. Kennedy was human, after all. Well, as long as Ada was not a threat to national security, she would close an eye for Leon’s sake. 

A small blush bloomed on Leon’s cheeks when he finally realised what she was implying. Was he really an open book? Still, he was grateful for her actions. 

“Thank you, Ingrid,” it was a rare occasion that he addressed the F.O.S. agent by her first name and she looked surprised as well before her features softened into a smile. 

“You’re welcome. I’ll await your report.” 

The call ended soon after and Leon stood up, pacing in front of the window as he contemplated on what he would do next. 

On a whim, he scrolled to the text message that Ada sent a couple of days ago and re-read it again. 

See you down the road, Leon.

He clicked her name and it brought up a number. His thumb remained hovered over it, undecided if he should make the call. 

No, he would not idle around for another chance encounter. Time for him to take the lead for a change. Pressing the big green “call” symbol, he waited with bated breath and was not surprised when it could not connect, immediately going straight to “The number you have dialled is not-”

The blonde hung up before the sentence ended. Of course Ada would use a burner phone. It was wishful thinking on his part that he thought he could contact her at a moment’s notice. He did not know when would be the next time they crossed paths. Every time he went on a mission, he silently hoped she would appear since she always popped up in places he least expected. 

There was no discernible pattern to her appearances. The past couple of encounters had a two year gap but before that, the wait was much longer. Leon was crestfallen at the thought there would be a lull period of years before he ever saw her again. 

No news would be good news, right? Even though she was a gifted woman, a small part of him would constantly fret about her well being. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. There was nothing he could do now but finish his work. 

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

On the last day of quarantine, Leon tugged at the collar of his crisp, new shirt while he waited for the video call to commence. It was a tad stiff and scratchy but he was still grateful that Hunnigan ordered and mailed him a suit to look presentable in front of the committee. This was an important interview which would determine his innocence. 

At the allotted time, he finally saw the blank screen change into one featuring six squares. Other than Hunnigan in the bottom right of the screen who was serving as his witness for today’s interview, the blonde only recognised two of the committee members, having been acquainted with them on previous occasions. 

“Good morning, Agent Kennedy. Thank you for meeting with us first thing in the morning,” a middle-aged female in the top centre of the screen greeted him cordially. Leon cast a quick glance at the name tag below her portrait. 

“Likewise, Mdm Walters. I’m sure your schedules are rather packed.”

A man by the name of Mr. Rittler, situated to the right of Walters, appeared to have ignored Leon’s salutation, “We’ve read your report which was rather informative and detailed. We would like to ask some questions.”

Leon nodded and made a gesture that he was all ears. 

“First off, we should introduce ourselves. I’m Lillian Walters.” She pointed to herself before angling her hands to her various colleagues around the room. “Joining me today are Joaquim Rittler and Lee Aeyoung. The three of us will be asking the questions. Wallace Jackson will be taking the minutes while our newest member, Bruce McGivern will be observing. You would also know Ingrid Hunnigan who will be witness to the proceedings.”

Leon wasn’t aware Bruce had moved to a new division but was happy for him nonetheless. They had spoken on and off regarding what they’ve encountered on missions and the best way to deal with B.O.Ws. Both had an understanding of the difficulties they faced in this line of work. He was glad he had an ally in the committee. 

On the bottom left of the screen, Lee began the questioning. “You started off your report by listing your encounter with an infected President Benford. May I know what made you leave your position to head towards him?” 

Leon had met her before at a work meeting and found her to be friendly and possessing fair judgement. 

“I heard other agents requesting for backup on the comms to protect the President and rushed to his aid immediately.”

He recalled how Adam invited him to the speech at Ivy University, knowing how much he had been affected by the events of the Raccoon City Incident. Leon agreed and decided to sign up for security detail for the event. Might as well kill two birds with one stone. 

Leon was making rounds in the lecture hall where Adam was due to give his speech when he heard screams echoing in the distance. This was quickly followed by frantic chatter on the comms and Leon left out the part where he listened to his fellow agents cry out in agony as they got devoured. “The campus erupted into chaos soon after.”

“And you saw Agent Harper when you arrived in the room?” Rittler asked as he laced his fingers together. Leon didn’t know why but he was feeling a dislike towards this man. 

“Yes, the President had already turned when I arrived. She was asking him to stay back.”

Rittler remained unmoved. “What was her reaction?”

Leon quirked an eyebrow, already intensifying his scorn for Rittler. “Excuse me? Could you clarify that?” He had to curb his irritation lest he let it show. “Reaction to what, exactly?” 

“What Mr. Rittler meant was how did she react to the infected President and your presence,” Walters stepped in to defuse the tension. 

“Agent Harper looked fearful when he was shambling towards her, like anyone would when they encounter a zombie for the first time,” Leon crossed his arms as he answered calmly, squeezing his biceps to stop himself from clenching his fists. “She seemed to be relieved when I showed up.”

“Alright,” Lee said gently. “And from your report, the President was already not responding to your request to stop moving.”

“Yes. He was advancing on Agent Harper and was going to attack her. I had no choice but to stop him from infecting her.”

“How did she respond to that?” Rittler spoke again. Why was he asking so many questions with regards to Helena? 

Leon stared straight into the camera. “Stunned and shocked. I did shoot the President, after all. I took no pleasure in doing that.”

Walters’ softened her gaze, “And we don’t fault you for that. We understand it was a painful decision and you acted accordingly.” She looked down at her notes before glancing up again. “We are concerned why you went along with Agent Harper’s lie to Agent Hunnigan afterwards that you had a lead in Tall Oaks cathedral.”

“The situation was urgent and there was no time to argue. It was imperative we catch the perpetrator as quickly as possible.”

Lee tilted her head slightly at Leon’s response. “Was there any point in time where Agent Harper disregarded your orders?” 

Huh, not only Rittler but Lee was enquiring about Helena too. It was beginning to feel less like an investigation about his actions and more of a grilling session of what Helena did. Leon had promised he would put in a good word for her and he would stick to it. 

“She was initially reluctant to help civilians en route to Tall Oaks Cathedral but still assisted them upon my request,” the blonde agent said coolly, making sure to enunciate his words clearly. “I later learned her sister was held hostage in the cathedral by Simmons. After her sister’s passing, she followed my lead for the rest of the way.”

“Speaking of Tall Oaks Cathedral,” Rittler uttered just as soon as Leon was done, “you mentioned in your report that you encountered Ada Wong there. Were you aware she was listed as Neo-Umbrella’s leader at that point in time?” 

Great, now Rittler was after Ada too? Leon was still trying to discern if this committee member was always this abrasive or just trying to weed out more information. He had to be careful with his reply now lest he was accused of fraternising with the “enemy”. 

Leon shook his head. “No. As included in the report, there is evidence that someone else was impersonating her.” He unfolded his arms and remained earnest, “If she was really the leader of a bioterrorist organisation, she wouldn’t have readily assisted us in the termination of Deborah & Simmons when they mutated.”

“I see,” Rittler furrowed his brow. “Why would there be someone impersonating her though?”

At this point, Leon could only shrug, “I’m baffled about that too.”

“Hm,” Lee rubbed her chin in thought. “It would be best if she could be brought in as a witness.”

“That’s not the focus of this interview anyway,” Hunnigan interrupted as she finally spoke for the first time after the video call started. “We are determining the verdict for Agent Kennedy today.”

Leon made a mental note to send his thanks to Hunnigan later. Ada would be difficult to locate if she did not want to be found. He would loathe to have to hunt her down…

The rest of the interview was frankly, a little boring as they continued to verify what happened. Even Rittler became marginally bearable with his clipped remarks. Occasionally the committee were in disbelief as he described the new B.O.Ws that emerged from the C-virus. Finally, after close to an hour of discussion, it was coming to an end. 

Walters looked around the table as her colleagues shook their heads, indicating they had no further questions. She began to make her closing statement, “Thank you for the discussion today, Agent Kennedy. It was very insightful. Before we end off, we want to circle back to Agent Harper again. Did she display impulsiveness or a short temper?”

Leon had to refrain from rolling his eyes as they asked the same thing for the umpteen time. He wondered if they were interviewing the correct person today. 

“She was a little impatient to get to Deborah in Tall Oaks but she never took off to do her own thing, even after losing her sister. When confronting Simmons, she still maintained her composure,” Leon replied matter-of-factly. “Agent Harper was faced with the most impossible choice with regards to Deborah but she still did the right thing in the end by owning up to her mistake and doing her utmost best to make things right. Overall, she did very well for her first biohazard encounter.”

Walters gave him a nod and a tiny smile. “Please give us ten minutes as we deliberate the final outcome.”

Leon took the opportunity to grab a drink and walk around the room to stretch his legs. Interestingly, instead of feeling butterflies in his stomach, he felt a sense of eerie calm. He would accept any decision the committee made. If he was dismissed… Well, he’ll cross the road when he got to it. 

At the eight minute mark, his laptop dinged, indicating the video call would resume. Was it a good sign they did not use the full ten minutes? Leon returned to the desk and pressed “Accept”. 

This time, it was Bruce who was in the centre of the screen. 

Walters gestured to her colleague, “We’ve come to a conclusion and we will let Mr. McGivern deliver the verdict.”

Bruce looked down at his notes before glancing up. There was the tiniest hint of a grin on the corner of his mouth. 

“Agent Kennedy, the committee has unanimously agreed that your actions at Tall Oaks and Lanshiang were executed fairly and under good judgement. No charges will be pressed against you and you are fit to resume duty after medical clearance.”

Leon felt a weight lifted off his shoulders and returned the smile, “Thank you kindly for your consideration.”

“Great. We will formally conclude this investigation. Have a good rest of the week, Agent Kennedy,” Bruce and the rest of the members bid their farewell before the call finally ended. 

The blonde let out a long drawn sigh and loosened his tie, pulling it off his neck before unbuttoning the scratchy collar of his new shirt. Everything went smoothly and he had to count his lucky stars. 

Picking up his phone, he fired off a text to Hunnigan. 

[txt] Thanks for the shirt and the save earlier in the meeting. 

There was no response after a few minutes and Leon quirked an eyebrow. Perhaps she was preoccupied with other matters. He changed into a more comfortable set of clothes and proceeded to pack up his belongings for his check out later in the afternoon. 

Hunnigan replied a few hours later with a most peculiar text. 

[txt] You’re welcome. Are you available for a call right now?

Leon sent an affirmative and his phone rang immediately. 

“Hey Hunnigan, what’s up?”

Ingrid took off her glasses and let out a long exhale. “We just finished Helena’s interview.”

His interest was piqued. “Oh? What was the outcome?”

“Same as yours.”

Before he could get a word in, Ingrid continued. “But she requested that the result be made known to her tomorrow, after she pays her respects to Deborah.”

“Huh,” Leon said in slight confusion. 

“I feel the same way. The committee has also placed the responsibility on me to deliver her the good news. I was wondering if you could help…” She said with a small smile. 

Along with Hunnigan, Leon had chipped in to fund Deborah’s grave. After what they’ve been through together, he was more than happy to assist Helena in any shape or form. The blonde listened intently to Ingrid’s plan and did not know the F.O.S. agent had a cheeky streak in her. 

“It sounds interesting but would she be on board with it?” Leon asked, wondering if he should give his colleague an almost heart attack. 

Ingrid nodded, “I’ve met her a few times before Tall Oaks. She’ll be okay with it. Plus, Helena needs to know she isn’t alone and has allies who have her back. What better to do so than with some light hearted humour?”

“Okay…” The blonde said with uncertainty. Still, he knew to trust Hunnigan’s judgement since she helped to get him out of close shaves before. She was not a person who would do things out of malice. 

“Just to let you know, the findings will not be made public. The official statement would be that a bioterrorist organisation was responsible for the outbreak.”

“So, another cover up huh?” He was not sure what to feel at this point. First Raccoon, now this. At least he should be grateful he wasn’t wrongly accused for killing the president, right? 

Ingrid glared at the screen sternly, “You know what would happen if the truth went out. They are not making Ada a priority either, by the way.”

Leon’s eyebrows shot up higher than they possibly could and judging by Hunnigan’s bemused expression, he must have looked ridiculous.

“Since the true culprit for Neo-Umbrella is dead, they are leaving it be for now,” she offered an explanation, seeing how speechless he was at that statement. 

He swallowed the lump in his throat, trying to find the words to express his gratitude to Hunnigan for telling him this. All he could utter was, “I see…”

Glancing down at her watch, Ingrid decided it was time to end the call. “You’re about to check out in an hour right? I’ll leave you to it then. The car will come by to pick you up at your apartment at ten o’clock tomorrow morning to head to the cemetery. And the new President would like to meet you two afterwards.”

“Okay, see you tomorrow. Thanks again, Ingrid, for everything.”

The corners of her mouth angled upwards and she nodded at him before hanging up. 

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

There was something about being in one’s bed that made it so tempting to sleep in at the dawn of every single day. Being home after quarantine brought Leon a sense of comfort and he just wanted to bury himself in his pillow to laze the day away. He needed a nice, long vacation by himself without any distractions. 

But his sharp mind reminded him that he had a full day of activities ahead and he reluctantly rolled out of bed to get ready. 

He was in the middle of gearing up when his phone buzzed, signalling his ride was nearby. Guess he would have to skip breakfast today. “They’re early…” the blonde grumbled to himself as he slid on his jacket, popped a piece of hard candy into his mouth, and headed out the door. 

What he was not expecting were two SUVs in the parking lot. Hunnigan and Helena were already seated in the vehicle in front and the bespectacled woman gestured to him that the second car behind was his ride. 

The government agent got into the nondescript black SUV and instead of heading off to the cemetery straightaway, they made a detour around the city towards a florist. As Helena went into the shop to pick a bouquet, Leon took the opportunity to head to the adjacent bagel store for a quick meal of iced coffee and a plain cream cheese bagel. 

He was barely done wiping his mouth with a napkin when Helena stepped out of the florist with a beautiful bouquet in hand. Tossing the scraps into the bin, he almost ran out of the store and rejoined the small convoy. 

A small grey gun case greeted him in the back seat. Hunnigan must have snuck it in when he wasn’t looking. With the plan already in motion, the cars sped off to the outskirts of town. 

Propping his elbow on the window, he kept his gaze outside and watched the scenery gradually change from a metropolitan skyline to lush greenery. His thoughts were mostly a whirl. One moment he felt exhaustion from the past fifteen years of futilely fighting bioterrorism, the next was sadness over Adam’s unnecessary death.

An orange monarch flitted amongst the flowers on the roadside and his mind pivoted to Ada, remembering the pattern of butterflies on her red dress in Spain and on the makeup compact from a couple of weeks before. He really hoped she got out of China unscathed… Now that he knew the truth, Leon wished he could rewind time to help her in greater capacity. 

Alas, there was acceptance that he would never have all the answers with regards to her and in this line of work in general. He was just another cog in a well-oiled machine that could be easily replaced. If he was lucky, he would work till the mandated retirement age. If not, he hoped he could be brought back in one piece in a wooden box for his folks. 

His thoughts transitioned back to idle nothingness as his eyes blankly panned across the sights outside the window but his brain did not register them. 

It was only when he heard a door slam did he realise they had arrived at their destination. Leon watched as Helena stepped out of the car with a bouquet of flowers in hand and made a beeline towards a gravestone. 

The blonde finally opened the gun case and stowed the firearm before getting out of the car, joining Hunnigan and the other agents as they hung back to give Helena some privacy to pay her respects. 

She surprised them all by rejoining the group within a couple of minutes. “Thank you,” Helena whispered as her eyes shone with grateful tears. 

Was this the time to conduct the plan? Leon uncrossed his arms, waiting for Hunnigan’s signal as he glanced stoically at Helena while she peered at the agents behind them.

“I’m ready,” Agent Harper said softly. Leon quickly cast a look at Hunnigan and she nodded as their eyes met.  

Reaching into his back holster, Leon took one step forward and grasped Helena’s wrist. She immediately closed her eyes sadly in anticipation for her arrest. But what she felt was the familiar weight of her picador in her hand instead of the cold steel of handcuffs. 

There was a swift look down at the gun, “What?” Helena said in utter disbelief before gazing back up to her colleagues, “But I assisted in the attack!”

Leon gave her an encouraging smile before turning over to Hunnigan who was more than happy to give an explanation. “The investigating commission have reviewed the evidence, and feel it unjust to hold you liable for Simmons' crime,” she said gently. “They will also not disclose their findings to the public.”

Helena was still perplexed as her brows remained furrowed. The committee really found her to be innocent? They were willing to let her go? How was it even possible?

“The President would have done the same,” Leon reassured her once more. 

Touched by their words, Helena relented, accepting the outcome with a nod of her head. 

“All right, shall we go join the team?” Ingrid asked as she turned to walk back to the car, satisfied that her plan was pulled off without a hitch. 

Both Helena and Leon shared a look, and judging by the small smirk on her face, it seemed Helena figured out that Ingrid and Leon deliberately pulled off this “prank” on her. She let out a small chuckle before following Ingrid.

Just as the blonde was about to trail after both ladies, he could have sworn he saw a familiar shade of crimson out of the corner of his vision. His blue-grey eyes stared off into the distance, trying to see if a certain someone was skulking around the graves. 

The culprit turned out to be a red cardinal darting around a nearby tree. 

“Leon,” Helena called out and Leon was jolted out of his thoughts. He turned, spotting a golden object hurtling towards him. On instinct, he reached out to catch it and looked at it with a puzzled expression. Speak of the devil, it was Ada’s makeup compact. 

His gaze returned to Helena as she responded cheekily, “For the next time you see her!” There was another grin from her before she sauntered away. 

Would there even be a next time? Leon didn’t dare to hope. He shook his head to snap out of his daydream and smiled lightheartedly, “Women.”

The blonde pocketed the compact and headed back to the SUV. All of them had a meeting with the President and the nature of the role left the man with a tight schedule. They could not afford to dawdle. 

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

The afternoon dragged on longer than Leon had anticipated. What was supposed to be just a private audience with the President turned into something more when he personally requested Helena and Leon to attend a press conference as one of his staff members.

If Leon had known beforehand that he would be up on the world stage, he would have made the effort to dress in more appropriate attire. However, the President insisted it was fine; he wanted to keep things casual and the presidency wasn’t going to make a down-to-earth individual develop a stickler for protocol. 

All Leon had to do was to stand still and look straight ahead. At least he did not have to mingle with bureaucrats today. Diplomacy was always a chore for him. 

When the press conference finally concluded, he was able to knock off from work and they shared a carpool back to their respective residences. Helena was in great spirits after learning she would be transferred to the DSO, given her experience after Tall Oaks and Lanshiang. Even though her superior was against the transfer previously, Leon’s testimonial managed to persuade the higher ups that she was invaluable. 

Hunnigan and Helena bid Leon farewell when they dropped him off first at his apartment complex. Upon entering his bachelor pad, he suddenly felt totally drained as he kicked off his shoes. He must be getting old if a little bout of socialising left him feeling this way. 

Trudging towards the bedroom, he shrugged off his jacket onto the bed before dumping the rest of his clothes into the hamper. He shuffled off into the bathroom and stepped under the nice, warm shower. The heat always felt good against his skin and it relaxed him. 

When the blonde was sufficiently invigorated, he dried off and wrapped a towel around his waist, returning to the bedroom to search for his phone. He was hankering for some takeout for dinner since he did not have the time to do any grocery shopping. 

Leon reached into his usual jacket pocket and found a circular object instead. He stared at Ada’s makeup compact and absentmindedly traced the pattern embedded on the surface with his thumb. 

“For the next time I see her, huh?” He murmured to himself. 

Since Helena clearly rejected the secondhand item, it would be in bad taste to attempt to give this to someone else. 

His feet carried him to a chest of drawers beside his bed and he tugged on the lowest drawer, revealing a nondescript wooden box. Carrying the box to the bed, he popped open the lid to gaze at the contents within. 

A bloodied RPD badge sealed in a ziplock bag greeted him. His old uniform had been burnt and disposed a long time ago but he managed to salvage the badge as a keepsake. Who knew his first and only day as a cop would be so memorable? Sometimes he wondered what life would be like if the Raccoon City Incident did not happen. Would he still be working in that small town or would he have gone elsewhere for work?

He set the badge aside and glanced at a small teddy bear keychain seated on top of a paper airplane with a lipstick mark. Out of habit, he fingered the frayed blue ribbon on the plush toy’s neck. The fabric had been discoloured and dulled with age but it brought him a small semblance of comfort. 

Without the Racoon City Incident, he would have never met Ada. Sure, his life might have been a lot calmer and less fraught with death at every turn but he would not have been able to experience the bond they shared on that fateful night. 

Try as he might to forget her at the bottom of a bottle, his heart always remembered her actions. Even if she was always running away or doing something questionable, she always arrived at the nick of time to save his skin. 

After all these years, he had to admit that he did feel something for her, after all. But he was unable to put a label on his emotions. He was not sure it was love. Neither was it infatuation either. Some sort of affection, definitely. 

If Ada was truly a bad guy, she would not be looking out for his well-being at each encounter. He wondered if her confession back in Raccoon City was real or she blurted it out because she thought she was dying. Leon decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. 

As someone who advocated that one should keep moving forward, why did he have a box full of souvenirs from the past? Was it a reminder of how far he had become? Or was he treasuring moments from someone he could not let go?

There was no point dwelling on what ifs though. He had to make peace that whatever fleeting moments they shared would always be temporary. It would take a miracle for it to develop into something permanent. But when push came to shove, they would unconditionally have each others’ backs even in the depths of hell. Always. 

This was the nature of their relationship. Leon Scott Kennedy had finally come to accept it. 

“Till next time, Ada,” Leon said softly with a tender smile as he carefully laid the compact underneath the paper airplane before shutting the lid and putting the box away. Whatever will be, will be.

[drkineildwicks]

Palworld 2/4/2024 – Bootleg Pokémon (affectionate)

So finally got around to playing Palworld

Hopefully I don’t get hit with the save file glitch

And yes Bootleg Pokémon (affectionate) is my world name XD

I can totally get why people get sucked into this game it’s got a great gameplay loop

Played six hours today and could totally play more but for the fact that I could feel my eyes burning

Pals are cute

I love that they help out around the base I’ve been working very hard to make sure my little dudes have all the amenities

Also I need to figure out stairs because this dip keeps getting up there on my roof and going hungry

Also the one platypus Pal’s name XD

No Fuacks were given

My main goal is to get a birb horde and as such my first capture was chikin

And then first night in I get my first Lucky, which is a Lamball:

Named the girl Baalalala XD

My second Lucky was also a Lamball, so now I have two massive sheep wandering around

Love my girl Baalalala she protects me

Don’t even have to use Fluffy Shield just duck behind her

Tempted to boost her defense so she’s even tankier

Also the monkey is a menace

Specifically my monkey is a menace boi starts fights and ends them too and I don’t think I trust it with a gun

Also I say “boi” but in reality most of my captures have ended up being female

Apparently my base has accidentally become a girls only club

But the feedback loop is nice because you want to build stuff and craft stuff so you have to go out and get items and then you have to go back to the base when you find the fast-travel points because of the encumbrance mechanic and in wandering you also have new Pals to catch (or hunt, aced a lot of Teaphants(?) for pal fluid because dangit my purple deer needed a hot tub)

And also there’s stuff to see in the distance that makes you go I want to get over there what is that

Also there’s a level cap where if you somehow manage to catch stronger Pals—or, more likely, level up the ones you have past your current level—the levels sync down to your current level

Which is nice because it gives further incentive to level up beyond unlocking new crafting recipes

Plus you level up by gathering and crafting in addition to battle so you can just wander around and level up you and your team just picking up rocks it’s like a more advanced form of Legends Arceus

Your Pals also level up when they're doing stuff around base so you're kind of encouraged to rotate your guys so they level up evenly

Also you do want to level up

There’s these mammoths roaming around, one walked clean through my base and I let it because it’s level 35 and my level when I quit for the night was 12

And as it turns out if a Pal is 5 or so levels above you it can and will hand your head to you

Still haven’t caught the llama, the Nitewing and the flower dinosaur and a bush goat all took two tries because they were level 11-17 and went oh no you don’t

Me: oh yes I do

You’re actually encouraged to keep from fainting your Pals because of the recovery system, my fire fox is currently on ice in the box and had a cooldown timer of about five minutes when I looked

So if you let them faint then you don’t have them for a while and that’s a penalty on you

Got attacked by syndicate guys

Dudes were coming for my pals and I might be hesitating on killing Pals or catching too many but you come shooting and I’ll headshot you back

As for the designs…when you’re in the thick of the game you really don’t care

Yeah sure some I saw and went “oh that’s the bootleg Raichu” or something like that but for the most part the energy has been new Pal let’s get it

Although everyone’s bawling about Cremis being the Eevee knockoff and I’ve heard no one talk about this guy:

Saw him the first night, tried to catch and failed, haven’t seen one since

Also this one forever amuses me and makes me squint because I designed a fakemon for Renegades and same vibes:

Although there’s probably a limit on what you can do with the design concept of “ice ferret”

So I’m definitely playing this some more but not tonight, it’s one of those I gotta block out a few hours for but it’s fun

“But Kineil—” Cease.  Whining about Hogwarts Legacy didn’t stop people and neither will whining about this game, it’s fun, which is what a game should be, the accusations were debunked, if you want to tell me what to do then go to my Patreon and dump a big fat paycheck on me per month

Until then, I gotta plan for when I can go pet my Pals some more

[splashofspotchka]

Hello my friend! Here is a fic delivery for you! This fic belongs to you now, so it’s up to you what you do with this. It occurred to me as I was writing this that the guns in Star Wars are laser guns, so I wanna make it clear that they’re not blasters in this fic <3 (Sorry it took so long for me to get to). I hope you enjoy!

《♡》《♡》《♡》《♡》《♡》《♡》《♡》《♡》《♡》《♡》《♡》《♡》

Hardcase couldn’t contain his excitement that morning as he prepared everything for your trip. Hardcase always brought you out to do fun stuff when he was home, just loving to share all the time he could with you doing whatever fun and unique ideas he could come up with. He always tried to keep it a surprise too, though he was so giddy he often ended up spilling to you what it was shortly before you arrived at your destination. You didn’t mind of course; you were just thrilled to spend time with him. Plus… it was kinda cute.

He always felt a little bad about never being able to properly surprise you, but it didn’t bother you, and you honestly found it more endearing that he couldn’t keep a secret from you. Today, you’d spent the ride over trying to guess where you were going. He was always a better liar than his brothers, but to you? He just couldn’t. So when you’d finally guessed the one thing he’d been meaning to do with you for a while, he crumbled, admitting with a grin, “Yeah, we’re going to do laser tag!”

You were getting all suited up now, getting into the laser-detection suits, Hardcase interrupting you every two seconds to give you a hug and pepper your cheeks with kisses. Finally, you were all suited up, and ready to head out into the laser tag arena. For the first round, you were on the same team, up against another pair of people who’d come out to the arena for a day of fun. Hardcase got out pretty quickly, but you couldn’t fault him, his delighted laughter more than making up for having to go it alone for the short few minutes it took the pair from the other team to hunt you down and take you out.

The second round, Hardcase stayed in for longer. He was no less wild this time around, but he quickly got the hang of the lasers, and your opponents were defeated quickly, no match for his exuberance. This went on for a few more rounds until the pair of you decided to 1v1 each other, since clearly together you were an unbeatable team.

You split up, entering the arena from opposite sides. While Hardcase had been giggling and laughing the entire day, there was this sudden silence, making you mildly paranoid. Where was he? Suddenly, from behind one of the pillars, you saw movement, raising your laser gun to try and hit your target. Without warning, a pair of arms wrapped around your waist from behind, making you squeal as you were spun around in circles, realizing quite quickly that Hardcase had appeared behind you, and was now peppering your cheeks with kisses as he playfully wrestled you to the ground.

He began laughing again, calling out “I got you!”

You wriggled pointlessly in his grasp, insisting, “No! You’ve gotta shoot me to win!”

He laughed brightly, spinning you in his arms to press a breathless kiss to your lips, making your head spin as he pulled you in, arms wrapping around your waist as he kissed you senseless. When he finally pulled away, you chased his lips, looking up at him with wide eyes.

You didn’t catch the mischievous twinkle in his eye till it was too late, his laser-pistol raised against the sensor on your chest. He fired and your suit beeped, letting you know you were ‘out.’ You groaned as he laughed. “Now I’ve got you!” Dramatically, you fell limp in his arms, letting out the most absurd ‘dying noises’ you could, Hardcase scooping you up bridal-style as you ‘died’ in his arms.

You could always count on Hardcase to meet your energy, and today was no different. He was always there for you, brightening your days, and you knew as you lay in his arms, pretending to bleed out, there was no one you’d rather die for.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I kinda wanted to keep this forever, but I also wanted to answer!, And I feel like the fandom needs to see this. I've ALWAYS said that I would LOVE to go play laser tag with Hardcase omg. He would make everything so much fun.

He would definitely match my energy! This was so perfect! I'm actually going to cry!!!!

Thank you so much!?!?!!?!

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

A H PROMO TIME

Logically I know we probably won't see much/any of Carlos next week because recovery is too important to just be like one scene but still I can hope lol

I mean to just see a bit of it xD maybe TK will mention it though (I swear he better)

Anyway lol

Ooh hi Judd :D

XD I don't think we saw him at all today

I'll excuse it bc. yk. obviously XD, but I miss my boy <333

Oooh a fire okay okay 👀👀😬

Dang we focusing so much on this fire I'm thinking we won't get anything else xD

Rip to my Carlos hopes lol but also what about the rest of the episode xD

OPE Marjan 👀👀?

Ooohh noo

Ahh afraid of messing it up yeah o.o

Maybe because of scrutiny be that public or peer/employers 👀?

A A A A H H H H H H H WAIT WHAT RESIGNING?????!!?!!?

HOLD UP NOW

YOU CAN'T JUST THROW THAT AT ME WHAT THE H E C K

NOOOO NO NO NO NO NO YOU CAN'T DO THIS MARJAN

I mean she can but 😭 xD

AAAHHHHHH AND SOMEBODY RIDING AWAY

A H

N O

WHAT THE HECK

xDD

That's the last of my last thoughts. Now it's time for the. . .

REVIEW

A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H

Y'AAAALLLLLLLLLLL

THIS. EPISODE. WAS SO AMAZING 😭😭😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🥰🥰❤️

Okay okay xdd I got this y'all lol.

I absolutely loved loved LOVED this episode :DDDD. Dude, the ANGST 😭😭❤️❤️❤️👀!!! The drama, the searching, the referring to people as fiance 🥰🥰 (what I just love it okay xD), even Owen's storyline!! Especially the shortness of it XDD - no offense Owen. But I mean, we definitely got way more of the other one, as we should lol. I am glad there was another plot though, just because it would feel a little weird having an entire episode pretty much just following TK around. That makes it sound casual but yk xD. Also, it gives us time to stress lol, and makes it feel like more time has passed. Basically I just think it was needed for the flow :). Plus at least if Owen had to be not being there for his son, he wasn't stealing the spotlight XD. Anyway lol, absolutely amazing episode, just, stellar 😍😍.

WGHOOO holy crap xd

Y'all I am literally unsteady of my feet

Gasping shock from the promo and everything else and also just gasping in ~drama~ and like a billion things and all the feelings at once lol. I am not okay xdd.

But seriously for quite a while while (yes that's on purpose) I was catching up on my liveblogging I was like having shortness of breath man xD I was literally losing it lol

I still am but I'm gonna work on this for a little bit and then go eat dinner and take a break lol xdd. I do want to get it all done now but my hands and my brain (from having to word so much, and I don't mean that in a grammatically correct way, I just mean words man xD) are tired lol. Like I'm not out of words quite but I just feel like taking a break lol, since I was freaking out the whole time, during the episode (and typing for most of it), and I've been catching up for the past hour lol. So that's two hours of freaking out, trying to get everything, and stressing lol xD. So, I'mma do some of this (I actually already did and came back to add that I was unsteady since I meant to lol, I decided to say it here when it happened xD), and then come back later lol. I just need to destress for a bit I think, no matter how much I'd love to finish it now while my feelings are fresh XD. I need energy for the rest of the things I have to do tonight lol. But, I will be coming back :).

Now, onto the individual parts lol.

So xD. I think I'm just gonna do like, the 126, Grace, Owen (including O'Brien), and then of course Tarlos ft. Gabriel XDD. Alright, let's get into it lol.

The 126!! My babeys 🥰🥰🥰🥰. I loved them so much :'DDD. We didn't get to see much of them, but at least we got that entire scene with TK in the beginning 🥰🥰🥰. We got to see their siblingism lol, in the teasing aspect of that xD, but we also saw them supporting TK, which was really nice :'DD. Even a splash of Nanteo, lol xD! Plus of course Nancy and TK siblingism specifically 🥰🥰🥰. Anyway, we didn't see much of them, and I do miss them, but I loved this storyline (including in the past few episodes) so I'll allow it lol <333. And continuing on, despite the fact that we didn't see them much this episode, they were amazing :DD. I love them all with my whole heart 🥰🥰🥰. Oh and Judd I miss you 😭😭😭❤️🥰 XD. Luckily he will be coming back to us next week lol <333. Anyway, in short, I love them <3333.

Grace!! We love our girl 🥰🥰. She was amazing finding all the stuff on Carlos :D. Especially considering it was illegal xD. At first at least, but I assume it was still illegal later lol. Anyway, she was awesome as always 🥰🥰. Plus her comforting TK 😭😭❤️🥰 >>>. Like, that little "I'm sorry baby" or something similar 😭🥺❤️. Ik that's something she says, "baby" I mean, but it just :'))) she loves him your honor <333. Anyway yeah, her 😭😭🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰❤️❤️😍❤️. I love her <3333.

Owen! Owennn. My mannn. SIR. ANSWER YOUR PHONE WHEN YOUR SON CALLS!!! Okay like I know he was dealing with terrorism and the FBI and everything and I get that, and genuinely it is a good excuse lol, but I'm still mad xD. Still, it'll make for angst down the line :D. Anyway, besides that lol, I did actually really enjoy Owen's storyline today :)). I mentioned to someone earlier today how I was laughing a lot last week despite it being about a kidnapping, but that I'd probably be laughing less at this one (and that it was also a kidnapping lol). And I mean, I was, but I was still laughing lol xD. Besides panicked laughing basically at myself lol. Mostly going "I'M FINE :))))" with a bit of laughing xD. But my point is lol, Owen's storyline provided some laughs XD. Bc I mean, he provides some great jokes xD. Also, while I was definitely way more exciting for the other storyline's scenes, I still enjoyed Owen's :). Like I said earlier, it was necessary for the flow.

Anyway, YESS! I'm glad O'Brien isn't actually one of them - I don't think they'll pull another twist on us, so I think it'll stay this way lol. And even though it was funny sometimes, I'm glad we're done with the under-coverness. In and out and in and out - it's just simpler now. Now, I genuinely thought (or maybe I just hoped, but I think I thought lol) that they would be suspecting O'Brien and not Owen, but then that guy kept on talking lol. And honestly, c'mon Owen, the one time you don't wanna fight? But nah xD, it was the smart thing to do lol. I'm also glad that we're (or Owen is at least) getting along a bit better with O'Brien. It's not like we (why am I saying we lol) were necessarily on bad terms, but Owen and him were finding things in common, and honestly they've kinda been through it xD. I think he'll be useful in the future :). And I really do hope they find his nephew - and that he's not the bomb maker. But I wouldn't exactly be surprised if he is, you know? I mean, maybe I will be in the heat of the moment, depending on how much it was hinted at, but still. It would suck (like :( not >:/), but it would be interesting 👀.

Anyway, I'm a bit dreading the storyline of that person targeting Owen because of Owen being the center of attention, but also, I'm excited for it :). Especially since, even if they're not directly targeted for being related (not literally in all except TK's case) to Owen, the others will be affected by it too :). I'm assuming that's where the clip we've seen in promos of Owen warning people comes from, that whole plotline coming up. But, anyway, I'm excited :). And yes, these paragraphs are kind of short, because I ain't interested in having a repeat of last week lol. Anyway, lastly, I am glad Owen answered the first time TK called, and he did resist the FBI for a minute to talk to him a bit longer :). It still sucks he had to rush off, but I'm glad he was at least there for TK a little bit <3. I'm totally (as long as I have the motivation, and who knows if I'll finish it but I will definitely try lol) writing a fic about him listening to messages TK left him and losing it (not totally). Well, let's say being distressed lol. Anyway, despite all I've said about Owen here lol, I loved him <33.

Now. Finally :). TK and Carlos. A A A H H H H H H H H H H H!!! 😭😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🥰🥰🥰😍😍💔💔❤️❤️❤️😭😭❤️❤️🥺🥺🥺❤️❤️❤️. Okay, I'm good lol. Kind of xD. Anyway, I'll try and at least make this longer than Owen's - on principle lol -, but I don't have quite as much to say since I said a lot more about Tarlos in the moment than I did Owen lol. I'm trying to make my reviews a little shorter by not including quite so much of what I said in the liveblogs, more of my thoughts that I didn't put down (usually the more thought out ones lol), so it's a little easier for me to do them :). Motivation just be that way sometimes lol! Anyway :D. My boyyssss 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰. But also. My boyyssss 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭. XD. Anyway, I thought they were AMAZING this episode. And, just a quick note - UGH, the ACTING!!!!! SO. AMAZING. Thank you Ronen and Rafa 😭😭❤️ :) :D.

Anyway, this episode was DEFINITELY an angsty one - obviously - but it was so, so good :D. For them, I mean - it was in general but this ain't about that right now lol. Seeing all their emotions, really strong ones obviously, was just heartbreaking 😭. And, I was only just thinking about this, but they kind of paralleled each other. Obviously they're having similar feelings (like fear lol), but in different ways, because of their different sides of the equation. Plus, we haven't seen TK's anger in a while - besides the slight anger/the frustration with Iris -, and it was fuuun :DDD >:)). Anyway, just seeing how TK's emotions redirected into the anger, and Carlos's were forced to go into logical thinking. It was rough 😭. And also, that scene of Carlos seeing TK on the doorbell monitor? Wow, why don't you break my heart with a hammer already :'). Or that meat tenderizer Trudie used to smash carlos's phone :'D. Anyway XD.

TK obviously went through it this episode, but I mean. Carlos is the main focus of going through it here XD. They were both suffering and I'm totally vibing with the double angst but right now let's talk about Carlos since he was literally kidnapped, drugged, and almost killed lol. Also during the liveblog I was mostly just screaming, so I'm gonna differentiate some of my emotions here XD. Now, when Carlos was quiet (not quite submissive) or drugged it was awful, but whenever he was fighting back it was just viscerally uncomfortable. In a really good acting and such kinda way lol. Especially earlier on in the episode - by the time we was fighting Darryl at the end I was consumed even more by other things, one of which being "YES YES YES GOOOO CARLOS, SLAYYYY GO OFF, BEAT HIM!!!!" XD. But anyway, the entire time it was just so heartbreaking 😭😭❤️💔🥺. And Carlos saying that Gwyn's love passed through him because he had no idea how he could love TK that much? I just. Wow. I think he'd probably actually thought that before lol, not just coming up with it for Trudie's benefit, but even if he did, DANG. That is some powerful stuff xdd 😭😭. Also heartwrenching and heartwarming lol xD. Just emotional in general.

And now some on TK! Then a bit of Tarlos and then some less emotional plot stuff lol. Anyway, ANGRY TKKKK :DDD!! XDD But besides that, seeing the subtleties in his fear - the constant bouncing, the way he always looked like he was about to cry. Just, UGH 😭😭😭, so good. And I'm sure this experience will definitely mess him up - don't even get me started on how much this'll have traumatized Carlos - xd. Honestly if we don't get a lot of it in canon, I'm excited for the fics that explore Carlos and TK's trauma from this more :). Probably more stuff of dealing with it/having it brought or rise up than deep dives but those too lol. Even if we get a lot in canon xD. Anyway, lol. It was just heartbreaking to see TK unravelling throughout the episode; in scenes like him talking with Gabriel he's clearly trying to keep it together, but by the time we get to investigating he's really losing it. Just, UGH, so good :'DDD 😭🥰❤️😍.

Now that last scene - well, the last two actually, I'll include the ambulance/after scene lol. TK having to do chest compressions and save Carlos (well, hold onto him for a little :') ) was just 😭😭😭. And seeing Carlos try to focus on TK when he was still awake? UGH, 😭😭😭😭 so good. And AAGHHHH 😭😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️. It was such an amazing scene but MAN did it hurt xd. Especially Carlos jumping away from them when he woke up 💔💔 <33. And after that, the conversation about holding onto his life :'DDD? And how TK HAS HIS LIFE 😭😭😭😭❤️❤️🥰🥰. Y'all it's over close it down it was all worth it for this xD. They're just so adorable and in love :')). Also, YESSS THE "ARE YOU GONNA RIDE WITH YOUR BOYFRIEND?" PARALLELLLLLLL!!! WHOOOO 🥰🥰😍😍😭🥳🥳🥳🥳😭. WE DESERVE IT XDDD. I will say again that it would've been even better (than 100% amazing) if it has been fiancé this time lol. Anyway xD. Oh and yeah I loved how much they said fiancé this time :'). Anybody <33. I just love acknowledgments of people's relationships okay :'DDD. But especially Tarlos being fiancés ;'))))). Idk why winky just because :D.

Anyway, plot wise I absolutely loved Tarlos in this episode. It was super interesting and obviously VERY tense, and the kidnapping (kidnappers, backstory, reason for it, etc) was actually very interesting. Not that I necessarily expected it not to be, but I didn't really think about it much lol. Also, I don't think any of us expected TK at the door xD 😭. Anyway, I also thought Trudie seemed in character the whole time with what we knew of her - she wasn't evil, and she believed in love (especially that of a mother and a son), so she let Carlos out. But she loved her son more than anything, so she protected him from Carlos. That's just the one example but yeah I thought it was really interesting, and really good :D. Also, TK working with Gabriel this episode? Obviously >>>>. As we all expected lol xD.

Now, for a quick look at next episode and after that: I hope we'll see Carlos next episode, and hear about his recovery and all that, but I think we'll see TK mention it but not actually see Carlos. I think it would be difficult to just have in one scene - like I said earlier, it's an important thing, too much to just put in a throwaway (not throwaway but I mean not one of the main plots of the episode) scene. I just think it would feel unnatural, but I don't know that we'll get a whole storyline on it next episode. And while I would absolutely love that, it makes sense. And it's been way too long since we've truly seen the others and they deserve some screen time :D. So, yeah, I think it'll get mentioned, and then in the next episode we see Carlos in/a few episodes from now we'll see some of the aftermath of this episode. See, I wouldn't be surprised at, say, a Carlos returning to work storyline in an episode (as in the one after this next one) or two, and having to deal with/explore some of the trauma through that. I mean the plot, but Carlos also having to deal with it lol. And obviously if something like that does happen we better have amazing support from TK <3. Anyway, I just hope (I know they will :'D) they support each other and love each other (not really a hope it's a fact lol), and they'll get through this :'D. Anyway, long story short, I LOVE THEM SO MUCH YOUR HONOR 😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🥰🥰😍😍🥰🥰🥰!!! Yeah, I love them <3.

Overall, I absolutely loved this episode. I adored it :D. It was so, so amazing, and once it's been a little longer I'll probably rewatch it - I don't rewatch full episodes a lot, and usually if I watch clips it's not angsty ones, but it can be. Anyway, for example, I haven't re-watched any episode this season yet, but I think I may rewatch this one this week. If I can clam down enough lol XD. I'm still tense just thinking about it, writing this. Plus from something else I was watching, but that's besides the point lol. Anyway, obviously I loved the kidnapped plot this episode, but I really enjoyed Owen's too :). Especially since it'll apparently play into the angst we see for TK and Owen in the future :D. Which, I'm glad was directly addressed (well, seen by us lol, addressed by the show, not characters) this episode. Usually it's tiny things or things we just assume, and I imagine some of which will be brought up in that future storyline, but today we saw TK outwardly bothered by it :). Very interesting! Not confusing though, it definitely makes sense lol. Anyway! I loved seeing a bit of the 126 - the scene they were in was great lol -, though it was odd to see TK mostly doing this on his own. He wasn't, but he also wasn't interacting much with the others. This episode felt like it was literally following TK, Carlos, and Owen. Luckily for the episode Carlos didn't move much lol. . . . sorry lol XD. Anyway (also yes the period and then separate ellipse was on purpose lol), it was really cool :D. Just odd how, maybe because he wasn't at work, we didn't see any of the team's reactions to everything going on. Certainly interesting. Also, I live in FEAR of the next episode 😳👀. I think the ending of the promo there is a red herring, an in the moment kind of association - I don't think it's Marjan leaving, I think it's probably Owen or O'Brien, maybe one of the other gang members. Also I doubt Marjan will really leave, or at least not for long (if it lasts for multiple episodes I'll die <3), but I am still very much in fear :'D. TK looks way too at peace in that last shot (or one of the last shots anyway) for Marjan to be leaving though xD. But yeah, it looks super interesting and I'm excited to see that big fire, and why everything that happens happens :D. Anyway! Back to this episode lol :). Grace was also amazing, I'm interested to see where Owen's storyline is going since while it closed a chapter, it's the only storyline from this episode that's actively continuing (we're sure to see aftereffects of the other one), I'm so glad Carlos is okay :'D, and all in all I just thought it was a super great episode :DD. Very emotional 😭😭, super dramatic, and had some comedy bits xD. I LOVED it 🥰🥰🥰😍❤️❤️.

So yeah! I absolutely loved this episode. I thought it was awesome! I'm nervous for the next one! This has been my review of. . .

9-1-1: Lone Star, Season 4, Episode 4: Abandoned

It was so amazing! I'm really excited to see more of everyone next episode, though I am scared. I'll be back next week with my review of. . .

9-1-1: Lone Star, Season 4, Episode 5: Human Resources

See you then!

[side-shuffling-hyperfixations]

Eye of The Beholder

Summary: Five times Peter wished he could tell MJ she was beautiful, plus one time he did. (Raimi Spider-Man)

I.

There wasn’t a lot Peter understood about life right now. He didn’t understand why his parents hadn’t come back to pick him up yet, why Aunt May and Uncle Ben had slowly but surely been moving all of his clothes and toys and things into their spare bedroom here. They had started calling it his room now, like he didn’t have his own bedroom at home with Mama and Papa.

He didn’t understand.

(Or maybe it just felt too big and scary for him to face.)

When he saw the moving truck, he had imagined for some reason that it was the rest of his stuff being delivered to his room here. It caught him off guard when it drove past him to park in front of the house next door; maybe that was why he was completely unprepared for what came next.

Another car followed in the truck’s wake, the backdoor swinging open as soon as it was at the curb, and Peter was so startled by what emerged that his toy robots slipped through his fingers. A girl—a really, really pretty girl who had started glowing as soon as she was in the sun. Her red hair looked like it was about to catch fire, folds of her fluffy white dress spun dizzily around even whiter skin and her eyes were the exact same shade of blue as the sky today.

Was that where she came from? Had she driven down from Heaven to visit their neighborhood? She looked just like one of the porcelain cherub figurines that Mama used to display on the bookshelf!

“Aunt May!” Peter gasped, scrambling across the driveway to tug on her hand as she finished putting recyclables in the bin. “Aunt May, is that an angel?”

Following his wide-eyed gaze, May chuckled in surprise. “Oh! Well, I don’t know, sweetheart! Why don’t you go over there and ask her?”

He might have done just that if her mother and father hadn’t picked that moment to come out of the front seats. Little heart flip-flopping in his stomach, made nervous by the man’s size and the woman’s irritated expression, Peter opted to hide behind Aunt May’s leg.

~

II.

Peter would learn later, when she introduced herself in front of the first grade class, that her name was just as pretty as she was. Mary Jane. He had never known someone with two first names before; that made her even more special.

Their classmates knew it too; it was no wonder they all wanted to be her friend. Peter spent the better part of recess trying to muster his courage to ask her if she wanted him to push her on the swing but one of the other boys shoved him into the sandbox and got to her first.

After blowing grains of sand from his glasses, Peter could at least watch her have fun. She was wearing another fluffy dress, blue like her eyes. None of the other girls looked as good as she did in fluffy dresses.

The teachers must have noticed the same thing because later that year, they made her Cinderella in the school play. Sandwiched between his aunt and uncle in the audience, Peter rocked as he watched her scenes with the terrible stepsisters.

They were just playing pretend but that didn’t prevent him from feeling hot and sick when they pushed her around and called her ugly. It was unfair. It was wrong. She was pretty even when she was wearing the servant outfit one of the moms had put together with towels and garbage bags.

She wouldn’t be in rags forever. When she donned her sparkly princess costume for the ball, Peter stared for a solid five seconds—then he startled both himself and his guardians by promptly bursting into tears.

“What’s wrong, honey?” Aunt May whispered but he was too overwhelmed to answer. People in the nearby seats were peering over at him, which only made him sob harder, so Uncle Ben scooped him up and took him to the back of the theater.

When the play ended they spotted Mary Jane in the foyer. “The star of the show!” Ben noted, propping Peter on his hip so he could see. “Do you want to say hi, Petey? You can tell her she did a good job.”

It would’ve been tempting but he was too wrung out from crying to find words. Sniffling, he tucked his face into Ben’s shoulder until she left.

~

III.

This was the year Peter was going to make a change, definitely, for sure this time.

Every time the Valentine’s Day class party rolled around, Peter swore that he would tell Mary Jane he liked her—and every time it seemed to get harder and harder. In second grade he’d misplaced her card when Flash Thompson knocked the craft box out of his hands. In third grade he’d accidentally handed it to Kathryn Caine, who had made a big show of disgust about getting a valentine from “puny Peter.”

Across the classroom MJ had given him a sympathetic look and a mouthed “Just ignore her.” Hunching his shoulders, he had mumbled back, “She sucks,” and MJ rolled her eyes in a “Don’t I know it” fashion. That had loosened some of the knots in his stomach.

This year everyone else would get the generic valentines that Aunt May helped him pick at the drugstore (although Harry would get the funniest one) and Mary Jane would receive something special, hand drawn. Peter barely slept, slaving over his colored pencils. He was proudest of how he’d captured her smile, the way it made her cheeks all pink. Now what to write with it?

Roses are red, violets are—Too cliché.

Your hair is red, your eyes are blue—Well, duh.

Slumping, he gave the picture another bleary onceover. What did he like most about her? Her kindness, compassion, her bubbly cheer, her perseverance, her bold stance against bullies, her sweet, strong voice, her dancing, the shining swirls of red and gold…

He wasn’t good at verbalizing his feelings. He had to make it simple and to the point.

You are my sunshine. Be my Valentine too?

The next morning, sleep deprivation and nerves had Peter shaking in his sneakers. He had folded MJ’s drawing to the same size as the rest of the cards so it wouldn’t be too obtrusive or obvious when he slipped it into her box. Harry snickered at the pun on his valentine, which warmed Peter’s clammy cold just a little until the big moment came.

The way MJ’s face lit up was everything Peter hoped for. She was beautiful, she was radiant, she was…glancing around like she didn’t know who to thank.

He’d forgotten to sign it.

~

IV.

There were many things Peter had grown to detest about Mr. Philip Watson. Aunt May and Uncle Ben were always telling him that he should look for the good in people but as far as Peter knew, the only remotely decent thing Mr. Watson had ever done was moving his family to this neighborhood. If it weren’t for that, he never would have known Mary Jane but everything else about Philip made it difficult to be grateful, much less compassionate.

Mr. Watson seemed hell-bent on making others suffer, especially MJ. He made it as dramatic and shameful and as public as he could without lifting himself off the couch; he always made sure his voice carried beyond the confines of their house so all of the people down the block would understand how ungrateful and pathetic and stupid his daughter was growing up to be.

He was a bully. Was there no safe space for Peter and MJ to be themselves without bullies around to tear them down?

“This is what you’ve been wasting my money on, you little brat? Well, allow me to be the first man to give you an honest critique: there’s never gonna be enough makeup to salvage whatever you’ve got going on there! You’re just like your mother, all flash and no substance. You may as well wipe all that cake off your face and take it to the nearest Goodwill.” His snide laughter spilled through the nearest wall to grate on Peter’s ears. “Aww, don’t start crying now, babycakes! You’ll ruin your mascara!”

If Peter were a bully, he might march outside, find the nearest hefty rock and hurl it through Philip Watson’s window. As it was, he could only look forlornly on as MJ slammed her bedroom door and sagged into her desk chair, burying her smeared face in her hands.

This morning the other girls were peppering her with eager questions about her eyeshadow. Flash Thompson had wolf-whistled at her, Harry had clicked his tongue, and Peter, as usual, had blushed and ducked down before she noticed him staring.

There was a pebble on his windowsill. He could flick it at MJ’s window, wave her over and assure her vehemently that everyone else loved her…that he loved her.

No. He suspected what she needed for now was privacy.

~

V.

There wasn’t a lot Peter understood about life right now. He didn’t understand why his body had changed so drastically overnight. It was the worst sleep he’d had in his life and yet somehow it had kickstarted puberty in full force? Not that he was complaining! It was the first time he didn’t get painfully winded when sprinting after the bus, the first time in his life that he didn’t need to wear his glasses (the first time his tormentors wouldn’t get a chance to shatter them and cost Aunt May and Uncle Ben another fortune to replace them.)

The world felt sharper, full of more refined sensations, like he was looking at it through a cutting edge microscope—and beholding Mary Jane this close, held securely in the crook of his arm, which definitely wouldn’t have been strong enough to catch her a day ago…That was an experience.

“Hey, you have blue eyes,” she commented, slight surprise tugging at her lips. “I didn’t notice without your glasses. You just get contacts?”

The first thing that came to his mind was “Not as blue as yours,” which wasn’t even an answer to her question. The second was “Thanks,” which was also not a valid response, but give him a break. He was a little busy processing the fact that his arm was still around her waist and she was smiling at him. He couldn’t help but smile back like the love-struck idiot he was, heart fluttering in his throat.

Her face was so close that he could see every freckle dusted across her nose, the perfect crest of her brows, the little laugh lines around her eyes. She was wearing her favorite pink lipstick, Deep Rose Sheen, which made her mouth look fuller, and in lieu of any rational thoughts she was filling his head with the scent of strawberries. It wasn’t caustically over-applied or sickeningly sweet like the lotions and perfumes the other girls used, just enough to lure a guy in. If his legs hadn’t been newly toned, his knees might have been knocking.

What was her question again? She had asked him a question, right? Good grief, he couldn’t remember.

“Well,” she concluded at last, looking a little amused as she pulled away, “see you.”

Not as clearly as he saw her.

~ 

+I.

“Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?” Peter murmured, running his thumb back and forth over his wife’s face. He could feel her cheek go warm under his touch even before the soft pink blush had risen to the surface of her skin.

“Oh, I don’t know, it might have come up every once in a while. But feel free to remind me as often as you like,” she hummed, sky blue eyes half-lidded as she cracked a sleepy smile, and it was just as lovely even after he’d kissed away all of her lipstick (still that Deep Rose Sheen after all these years. She knew what they both liked.)

She didn’t need it anyway. No lipstick, smudged eyeshadow and hair mussed against the pillows and she still looked like an angel. He didn’t know how she did it or how he had come to deserve it but here she was, gracing him with her presence, loving him to pieces. If the city knew how easily their hero fell to pieces for her…but he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Beautiful one I love,” he crooned softly, an echo of the song he had asked the dinner theater to dedicate to her earlier tonight. “Beautiful one I adore…Beautiful one, my soul must sing…”

His voice wasn’t really made for music like hers; even far beyond his teen years, it still had a tendency to crack at inopportune moments, but her smile widened at the words regardless and that was enough.

“You opened my eyes to your wonders anew. You captured my heart with this love, because nothing on earth is as beautiful as you…”

[crystalelemental]

Tumblr’s still horrifically broken today, but just in case this actually posts: finished This Gym of Mine.

It’s fine.

There are some things I do like.  The fact I can get a Braixen with Quiver Dance, for instance!  That rules.  But...

I talked a lot about the issue of random encounters scaling to you, but trainer battles not?  Yeah, that...never goes away.  To compound, gym battle levels start to scale REALLY sharply, and their solution was a single trainer you can battle repeatedly in front of the gym, who has six Blissey with no damaging attacks, all holding Black Sludge.  It is a very rapid leveling system.  But it turns the game entirely into this odd back and forth between slow grinding for levels, and then rapid-fire battles.  I think I had like four consecutive days of event battles for rank boosting.  One of them happened after going to the Badlands, clearing it out, coming back to the event starting immediately.  It was supposed to happen after sleeping, so I missed all the characters.  Their dialogue showed but I never saw the people involved.  Which was great.  Then we had to deal with the leader of the riders and couldn’t do other stuff until then, then we had the champion show up, and then...it just keeps happening.

The added frustration is that, eventually?  They catch up.  By level 50-55, you’re just on-par with trainers again.  Which isn’t so bad.  Except they very clearly are EV trained, and have moves that aren’t typically learned, and you...do not.  You do not have access to basic moves.  I could never find the TM for things like Ice Beam (Jynx had to use Powder Snow), Dazzling Gleam (Braixen is now hard walled by Houndoom), or Earthquake (eat shit, Metagross).  So a lot of fights that should’ve been cleared with little issue wound up being incredibly frustrating because suddenly, Braixen is hard walled, and they have something that instantly kills it.  Which is very, very frustrating.  There were other options I could consider in the type that would cover things, but to my knowledge, Slowpoke and Exeggcute aren’t in this game.  So there goes a lot of my counterplay.

On the plus side, money stopped being a problem like...instantly.  Once I opened the commercial district and had a bit of money?  I went from 6k a day to over 11 million a day.  Money cap is 1 million.  I did this in like two days.  It explodes open, and suddenly you can afford infinite items with no issue.  Which...trivializes a lot?  It’s hard to care about the fight when it’s either getting stomped, or you’re able to just spam items infinitely.  Also this game fucking LOVES spamming Zoroark to throw you off.  When you’re unfamiliar with the team, and don’t see it there, it’s a lot more effective.  It’s completely fucking obnoxious, I kinda hate it.

Moreover, a lot of areas lack any kind of interest?  When you do have Repels, you start to realize, there’s like nothing in here.  It’s very short stuff with nothing going on.  So I don’t really know what to say about the region itself.  There’s not much there.  Story is similar; there’s too little going on in the broad scale to be entirely interesting, and they don’t have much engagement with your gym trainers like I expected.  I know, I know, fan game.  For what it is, it’s fine.  But it’s not doing much for me as a result.

I think that’s the ultimate takeaway I have.  It’s a very cool idea, that I would love to see in like...an actual official game, with a budget behind it.  Having something where you engage more with your gym trainers could make them interesting.  Having a more dynamic system of building the town that isn’t cracked open instantly for max money every day would be engaging.  Having a more dynamic region with more options and less frustration over the encounter levels being scaled would make it flow a little better.  It’s an under 10 hour endeavor, but I’m not sure I want to play it again with a different type.  It’s interesting, but not super engaging.

[pokeexehasstoppedworking]

Diamond In The Rough Ch6 Settling Down In Circhester

(Thank you to everyone for the name suggestions for the houndoom. The one most voted/commented was Cerberus so that shall now be the name for it. Don't forget to comment what other 3 pokemon you all as reader would like to catch! Can be native to Galar or not. I will pick just three others randomly.)

Well..that was that you guessed.

There really wasn't anything more to do than to just wait and see what would happen. Hopefully everything would sort itself out. In the meantime you had to figure out what the heck you were going to do until August when the school year started back up again. You knew the scholarship you got from the Chairwoman would cover all the next year's school expenses as well as you'd get free housing in the dorms and food from the cafeteria, but there was about seven more months until the next school year and you'd have to pay for room and board at the hotel until it reopened. But you were PRETTY sure you wouldn't be able to last seven months on just your savings alone. Why? Well there was a few good reasons-

1. The hotel charged sixty five dollars a night, you remembered that from the last two times you were there. There was NO WAY, you could afford that amount of money every night for seven months straight.

2. Basic food and other necessities would also cost you money. Plus you had pokemon to take care of.

3. This houndoom's food was EXPENSIVE! Seriously! This specific brand of fire type food was working to help the houndoom get better, but BOY was this brand expensive. No way you could afford to keep affording it for another seven months or however long it took for you to take care of this stuff!

Which only left one option for you. After many hours of sitting there, thinking about it and trying to decide what to do next, you only came up with one thing that would help your situation- You had to get a job. At least until the next school year started which was still seven months away, not your most ideal situation but for this hotel room and that houndoom food-...Yeah. You were going to need a job before your savings ran out. The problem was you didn't know where to get one. You tried the hotel first. No open positions. Well you just needed to expand your search for the moment. Local barber shop? Nope. Clothes store? Nah. Antique shop? Not a chance. Pokemon Center? You already know the answer to that. On your fourth day of searching you FINALLY found one. An opening at Bob's Your Uncle! It was right beside the Hero's Bath so you walked past it like every other day when you did, and in the window was a 'Help Wanted' sign as clear as day! You lit up and immediately walked right in to the small cafe letting the small door's bell go off. The entire place looked the same. Same small booths and chairs. Same old black and white pictures hung on the wall. Same portrait of the cafe's mascot 'Uncle Bob'. And the same two chefs handling the front counter-...Wait. No. Now there was only one chef and a young lady in front of the cash register. Strange but you didn't comment on that instead you walked right up to the counter where the girl smiled at you.

"Good morning! Welcome to Bob's Your Uncle! How can we help you today?", she asked nicely.

"Hey,'' you greeted back before motioning towards the window, "I'm actually here about the job opening? I saw you guys have a sign up."

At this the girl beamed in an instant. "OH! Yes we were hoping someone would notice it!" With that she turned to one of the chef's. "Hey, Bobby!" Immediately the dark blue haired man looked over at her. "We finally got someone interested in taking up the job!"

"Oh thank goodness!," his sigh of relief was immediate as well as his smile. "We've been short staffed for a while."

You blinked. "Short staffed?"

'Bobby' you guessed, nodded. "We've had a hard time for a few reasons. Since last year, Circhester has seen a boom in population, and a lot more tourists have been coming through so more people are coming into the business. Especially with the college back opening up and all the newcomers coming in it's been really busy. Two people aren't going to cut it anymore. That's why we've had to hire more help."

Ah. So that was it. "Oh..Well what kind of job are you looking for?"

"To be blunt, someone who can help man the register and clean. Maybe even wait tables," Bobby bluntly stated. "My brother and I are chefs so anything food related would be taken cared of by us." Oh. So just a front desk job kinda deal? "Do you have any experience in that sorta deal?"

"Kinda? I had a part time job in a bakery as a kid," you answered with a shrug, "I made food, cleaned, did dishes- Things like that."

Bobby lit up. "Oh good! That's good enough experience for me. When are you able to start?"

"Well I can come back tomorrow if it's a good time."

"That sounds perfect! Come back tomorrow morning and we can show you the ropes."

"Sounds good."

Well this was good. You got a job opportunity and it would be a great way to pay for everything you needed! Fast forward to the next day you left off to your new job first thing in the morning after feeding your pokemon and telling Zen to keep things handled until you returned and absolutely under NO circumstances fight! The last thing you needed was to pay for repairs on top of everything else. You arrived back at Bob's Your Uncle and was again greeted by the young lady who introduced herself as Sapphire and handed you a white apron with the cafe's logo on the front.

"Here. Put this on and I'll walk you through what we're doing today." After it was securely tied around you she guided you to behind the counter and pointed out to where a few things were. Napkins, spices, salt and pepper, extra cups- "And the beverages are in the glass bottles behind you, but any adult beverages needs only goes to those with an I.D. proving they're over twenty one. You'll be helping me waiting tables, bringing customers there food, helping me behind the counter, and cleaning up the front of the store. Bobby and Billy Bob take care of the real heavy work in the back kitchen, but I handle the register for now. We're also aloud to keep any tips we get."

"Sweet. So when do we start?"

"Now. All we do is wait for customers and do what I just explained."

Well...It was exactly like she said. Customers come in, you took their orders, gave them their food, helped Sapphire clean up, and then return home for the day around five or six. Wash rinse and repeat day after day until February ended and March began. Maybe not the most ideal option for you but it paid the bills and it gave you what you needed to help care for the houndoom. He seemed to be doing a lot better than he did just two weeks ago. On your first opportunity you had taken him to the local pokemon center to have Nurse Joy look over him, and it turned out he went from sixty two to sixty eight pounds. He gained six pounds! That was good! He was almost back to his normal weight which was good. He also seemed to be getting along just fine. He still wouldn't let you touch him, and he still glared at you and your pokemon, Silver was still keeping his distance from the houndoom and Zen was still keeping a close eye on him as if any moment ready to tackle the dog pokemon to the ground again. But he seemed..calmer. He didn't make any moves to harm you or your pokemon, and he came when he was called whenever you gave him food or water, so you guessed he trusted you a bit in that regard. About another two weeks passed uneventfully and peacefully, you still went to work and paid your dues and made sure that houndoom was getting in better shape than before. It's been nearly a month since you had him in your custody now and he didn't look that skinny anymore. In fact..during the last two weeks it seemed like he gained more weight around the waist and stomach too! Which was good. He was getting there! You again brought him to Nurse Joy by the end of the next two weeks to discover he was now at seventy four pounds! He was making great progress! You still did what Nurse Joy advised to do however until he was able to regain his full weight. In the meantime you were fine with just still doing your own thing until one day things changed for a bit. A third week went by and it was Friday afternoon, nothing really out of the ordinary other than you having your back to the cafe busy restocking some glasses and other things on the shelf before you got that weekend off, you already planned to take your pokemon out that weekend and get them some exercise and do a few more things but what you weren't expecting was a VERY familiar face walking into the cafe.

"Hey You! I was expectin' your cute face back sometime! Been a while since I last saw ya!," you heard Sapphire's voice greet someone familiar. Must've been one of the regulars. "Ya'll here for the usual?"

"*sigh* Yeah. It's been a pretty busy time for me lately. And..no. I wanna place a large order? My Ma asked me to pick up some fast food for dinner tonight."

"Oh! She just called in a little while ago! The chefs are workin' as we speak. Why don't you sit down and have a drink while you wait? I can put the charge on your tab."

"That sounds great! Uh..Hey how long until they get done?"

"I can run to the back and check for ya. Go ahead and have a seat. Ok?"

"Sure. Thanks!"

You paid no attention to Sapphire as she went through the door leading into the kitchen and just continued to stock the shelf with instant noodle cups for anyone wanting a quick instant noodle curry. You still had your back to the man who came in and heard him after a moment slowly walk over and take a seat in the stool seat behind you.

"Uh hey. Can I have a mug of ginger ale on ice?"

That's when you turned to look at him, and nearly dropped the instant noodle cup in your hands when you saw none other than Gordie sitting there arms leaning against the counter. The blonde gym leader also seemed shocked to see you because he froze and you saw the way his blue eyes widened in shock behind his sunglasses as you both just stared at one another. Ten seconds of silence passed between you two before you finally broke it by asking-

"Gordie!?"

"Y-Y/n!?," he sputtered practically dazed, "I-..You-..I mean-...W-Wot are you doin' here?!''

"I'm..working?" You held up the instant ramen cup as proof of that. "I had to get a job if I want to be able to afford the hotel and everything else I need. What are you doing here?"

"I-I-I-...*AHEM*" In an attempt to regain some composure, he turned away and reached a hand to fiddle with his glasses. "I-I'm here to pick up an order my Ma called in. My lil brothers wouldn't stop pesterin' her for take out tonight."

"Oh. That's really nice of you. ...Did you still want that drink?"

"Um..Yeah. I'd like that. Thanks."

He sat there and watched as you grabbed a glass mug, waiting patiently before a mug of ginger soda and ice was placed down in front of him. "Here you go!"

"Thanks!" He smiled softly and took it from you with a sigh. "Been a while since I had this. A-Anyways, how have you been?" He questioned raising a brow and head tilting at you in interest. "Been a while since I've seen you around town too."

"I've been good. Got a job, paying the bills, taking care of my babies-...Y'know how it goes."

"Oh! Since you brought that up-" He took a moment to just take a gulp of that drink, ice tinking against the glass before he placed it back down, the glass making a 'thud' noise against the wooden countertop. "Ah...As I was sayin'. I looked into that matter of yours concerning the pokemon ya found."

You stopped staring at him. He got info concerning the houndoom? "I-..Yeah. And what did you find out?"

"Well I ran it past someone I knew who works in laws-," he explained pointing a finger from the hand holding the mug at you, "-and by Galarian law, any lost or abandoned pokemon still bound to a pokeball is free game for anyone unless the original owner claims it within a month's time with proof of ownership. Then the pokemon by default either goes to the one who found it or into the rotomi system to be eventually reclaimed or released into the wild."

You...blinked for a moment. "I-...R-Really?"

He nodded. "Has this..'roommate' of yours tried at all to come get 'em?"

He hummed as you shook your head no. "No. Not at all. I don't even know where she went." You had no idea whether or not Emerald had come back at all or not since you last saw her to look for her houndoom, but if she did..wouldn't she have found you by now? A lot of people already stared at you for openly walking around with two non-native pokemon. You were sure if she just asked around, she'd have found you. "I haven't seen her since school let out months ago."

Gordie hummed again seeming to think a moment..before sighing. "Well then, since it's already been months, by law that houndoom's yours now unless you surrender it to the Pokemon Center or gave it away." He finished that sentence by taking another deep gulp of his drink.

"Mine? I didn't think Cerberus would be abandoned like this-"

Thud- He gave you a puzzled look from behind those glasses. "...Cerberus? Who's that?"

"Wha- Oh. That's what I call him." he rose his brow more. "The houndoom."

Now this caught him by surprise because Gordie's face gained an expression like you'd grown another head. "You named it?"

"It's a him actually. And no I didn't 'name' him exactly. I just gave him a nickname since I got tired of calling him 'Houndoom' all the time...But I guess now it is his name if he's stuck with me."

"You name your pokemon?", Gordie asked more to himself than you but you rose a brow back.

"Yes. I named all my pokemon...Why do you ask? Is it weird to you?"

In an instant he held up his free hand. "W-Wha- N-NO! I-I ain't findin' it weird! I-I just-...I don't know many people who d-do that. It makes you look...c-compassionate."

Now it was your turn to be surprised as you blinked at him. "...Compassionate?"

He nodded and all of a sudden his face seemed a bit pinker as his eyes looked to the side. "Y-Yeah..I don't know of m-many people who name their pokemon unless they're real attached to 'em. A-And they care about them enough to give 'em a name in the first place, like-..They see 'em more than just tools ta battle with..With how you're takin' care of the poor hound- Uh..'Cerberus'. I can help know a person's character better with those lil facts."

Again you remained silent and Gordie feeling awkward used the silence to continue drinking his ginger ale as an excuse to keep busy. But he thought you were...Compassionate? He judged you as so based on one little detail you shared?

"That's...awfully nice of you to say so," you settled on after getting your thoughts together, "But how could you deduce that about me? We barely know one another."

"Hm?" He finally glanced at you and blinked, taking a moment to process what you said- "Oh. Well I just listen to what you have to say." He shrugged leaning back against the countertop. "When you're around so many people who wanna talk to ya, and being a big brother, you pick up on a person's words and their meanings pretty quickly."

"Really? Can you always tell what someone's personality is by just talking with them?"

"A bit-...But not all the time and I obviously don't know someone's full person unless I spend time with them a whole lot or knew them a long time. But a lot of the time I can at least get a good feel for why they're talking to me. Whether it be cuz they're a fan or looking for attention..." His eyes narrowed. "Or something more selfish...*sigh* It's sorta like a gut feeling? Sixth sense? Whatever you wanna call it, I get after hearing people talk to me. ..Sorry. I must sound crazy."

"No. I don't think you do. I guess everyone has a sixth sense about things. That just makes you really unique!''

He was about to open his mouth to thank you when the door the kitchen opened back up and Sapphire came back out. "Ok. They're almost done but it'll be another ten minute til it's done." She paused blinking at the sight of you two before smiling. "I see you met our newest worker. Y/n's just joined us for around three weeks now!"

"Yeah! We know each other actually!," you happily said smiling and looking back to him. "Which reminds me, your mom said she'd call some other gym leaders. How'd that go?"

"Oh. Well Piers honestly doesn't know a whole bunch about houndooms, but Kabu originally coming from Hoenn knows a bit more about other regional fire types than anyone. He said if you're unable to handle it, he'd gladly take it in and train it up."

"Oh..Actually I haven't made up my mind about that yet. But I will let you know if it ever comes to that. I have to finish restocking the shelves now, but it was really good seeing you again! Say hello to your mother for me."

"Uh..Y-Yeah. I'll do that for ya."

Ten minutes passed. You finished restocking the shelves, Sapphire brought out Gordie's food, and Gordie finished his pint before paying and giving a small hand salute before taking his food and walking out the door, bell jingling as he departed. You smiled and waved after him but paused when Sapphire held up a twenty dollar bill to your face making you blink.

"..Oh. Is that from him paying for the drink?"

"No. He says this is your tip."

Your mind blanked for a moment. "...What!? No way!"

"Yes way. He asked me to hand it to you after he paid. You two must be real good pals, eh?"

You slowly took the twenty from here, "I-...I guess so, b-b-but I wasn't expecting THIS!!" You stared at the twenty in your hands in amazement. Before shaking your head. No. Gordie was obviously very well off being not only a gym leader but a very popular one, he could probably afford to spare a big tip when he wanted. "It was nice of him tho. I bet he always does this."

"Well..yeah he does leave a generous tip whenever he eats here, but that's the first time I've ever seen him give out that big o' a bill! He must really like you then!"

"More like probably feels sorry for me." Or he gave this to you by accident which wouldn't be too far a stretch, but you were grateful to him either way. Again, Gordie was a really nice guy.

It went like this for the rest of March and the first few days of April. Gordie would sometimes come in and stop for a drink or something to eat, smiling and making small talk with you and sometimes Sapphire while you worked and left tips that ranged anywhere between ten to twenty dollars each. Which was-...Strange, but you weren't complaining or ungrateful in the slightest. It just seemed strange as Sapphire and the chefs didn't seem to get the same amount in tips, the most you saw them each get was ten dollars in one go, which again was a pretty good tip. Other things were working out in your favor too. You managed to call Sonia that weekend and asked her to send you a couple copies of her two books and the research she did on the discoveries of the true heroes of Galar, you managed to save up some money, and when checking back in with Nurse Joy, you found Cerberus had gained back his weight fully and was making his way back to being stronger, and you had planned on getting a few things you needed for your school project next year. Thanks to Emerald talking (complaining loudly and annoyedly-) in detail about most of the projects all second year Standard Course students had to do. If you did some of the hard projects earlier then you'd be able to just turn it in without having to worry about stressing over it later with deadlines looming over your head. At the moment you were just in Circhester's local grocery store just going through and picking up a few items on your list.

"Goose?" Zen tilted his head at your form, his arms full of items you had him and Silver help you carry. And he sniffed at the array of objects and gave a grunt sound when you placed a couple of microave TV dinners in his arms adding to what he was already carrying, making Silver chirp.

"Sorry, Sil. But you'd just try to eat everything I handed you." Silver scowled with another noise. "Hey! Last time we were here, you drank two bottles of milk and then I had to get more plus pay for the ones you drank! So you can just carry the non edible stuff!" Silver still frowned but you were distracted by a muffled bark and you turned around noticing Cerberus had somehow gotten ahold of a decently sized bag of the specialized fire type food you had to buy him. He sat there proudly tail wagging and a bag of food so big it halfway dragged on the ground by his feet. How did he-...Oh yeah. Pokemon. They were pretty strong. Duh! "Uh...*sigh* Good boy, Cerby." You rewarded with a tired smile and sigh. "That's a big bag of dog-..Uh. Food. That should last us for a while." Never mind it was WAY bigger than the bags you usually get. "All we need is Silver and Zen's foods and we can leave-"

"*BARK!!*"

The bag of food was dropped with a thud sound and you watched him paddle off with a sigh, leaning down to pick up the bag. Guess you were buying a bigger bag this time around to avoid hurting Cerberus's feelings, he had just been warming up to you after all after he noticed you weren't going to treat him badly- THUMP!! Both you and your other two pokemon looked up as a thump sound followed by a dragging sound was heard and you found out the reason why when an equally big bag of water type pokemon food was dragged over to you by Cerberus and then dropped it in front of you. It was the kind you usually got for Silver.

"I- You-...*sigh* Thank you, Cerb. But I can-"

"BARK!!"

You only watched deadpanned as he did it yet again and watched as he dragged the expensive normal type food bag (Zen needed it being a none native pokemon too-) over to you and dropped it on top of the first two bags with another thump. You deadpanned stared at the three very expensive food bags before looking up at Cerberus who panted and wagged his pointed tail happily.

"...Zen. Hand Silver the basket. I'm gonna need your help carrying these back."

Whelp. Thanks how it went. You had Silver (drag-) carry the groceries, with Zen carrying the other half plus one of the giant bags, while you struggled to carry the other two bags with you. It must've looked funny to anyone else watching a woman stumble down the street with heavy bags blocking half her view being followed by three pokemon, two carrying groceries, and two being none native Galarian pokemon as well. Well it wasn't funny to you who couldn't tell if you were heading back to the hospital or not because the bags blocked half your view while your noodle arms struggled to hold onto the weight of the giant bags. Each step feeling as if you would lose your grip on them any moment- Until you did. One of the bags leaned too far to the left and you gave a yell as you slipped from the weight. Both giant bags tumbling to the ground with a loud sound and you faceplanted right on top of them with a loud thud. Snowflakes were thrown up from the collapse and there you laid stunned for a long moment-...Until Cerberus nudged your head with a paw in question. You groaned and looked up with a frown on your face, shaking the stray snow from your head before staring at the bags on the ground. Great. At least none of the bags busted open.

"Great. At this rate it'll take me until tomorrow morning to get home." You looked about ready to start lifting those bags again when a tall shadow fell over you making you blink, and then you looked up-

"Y/n?" A man in a coat lifted his sunglasses and you saw a head of blonde hair poke out from under his hood.

"Gordie!?," you asked back equally surprised. "...What are you doing here?"

"I was on my way to my Ma's for Friday dinner and I saw your lot." He then kneeled down to one knee eye level with you. "You 'lright? Ya fell with a splat on those things."

"*sigh* Yeah. I'm fine." You waved him off. "Just not used to carrying something this heavy. It'll take me til tomorrow morning to get all of this back to the hotel."

Gordie didn't say anything for a moment before he just held out his hand to you and you blinked for a moment, before registering that he was offering to help you up, so slowly you took his hand and with one strong pull you were on your feet wobbling a bit but didn't fall over before he let go of your hand as you went to dust yourself off. You opened your mouth to thank him, but paused when he kneeled back down and you stared stunned when he picked UP your giant food bags with ease and with a grunt, easily lifted them up, one on his shoulder and the other held under his arm with ease with a smile on his face.

"Right. Which hotel room should I drop these o' at?"

You stared faw dropped for a moment before shaking your head. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait a minute. You can't just carry those for me!"

"Well considerin' ya can't carry 'em, I'll have to help ya as my duty as gym leader." With a smile he then turned and began walking towards the hotel and you naturally followed him.

"Hey wait! What about dinner with your family?"

"Their house ain't that far away and I can afford to be late one time. No worries!"

"Yeah but-...UGH! At least slow down!" He chuckled and you frowned. "It's NOT funny!"

Well Gordie did NOT listen to you. In fact he just carried on all the way to the hotel making everyone stare at his chuckling form followed by your red face and three pokemon, but he only continued not putting the bags down until you showed him to your room but stopped him at the door.

"Ok. You can put them down here."

"Are ya sure?"

"Y-Yeah. I can have Zen bring them in from here. It's not a problem."

"Hm...Well if you're sure." He took a moment to place down the bags against the wall. "There ya go. That atta tide you over."

"Thanks for the help! You've been a real big help lately actually."

"Uh.." He coughed and turned away cheeks tinting a light pink. "W-W-Well i-it's my duty as gym leader. Y'know? A-And I'd feel bad just leavin' a friend like that when you needed a hand!"

You smiled. "Well it was still really nice of you to do so. Guess I was lucky a strong and handsome man was around to save me," you joked with a chuckle but Gordie gawked at you for a moment before you turned towards the door. "Well I better get inside and put everything away. Thanks again for the help! Tell your Mom I said hi!" You opened the door-

"WAIT!!" You jumped from the sudden yell and blinked at Gordie who held out a hand....before he coughed and looked away again. "I-I mean-...I-I'm hostin' a party for Circhester's Foundation Day next Wednesday...I'd be really cool i-if you'd come. I m-mean-...You're gonna be in Circhester for a while right? Haha! It'd b-be a good way f-for you to meet some of the people who l-live here-"

"That sounds great, but I can't. I have to work that day. I'm sorry."

"Huh?...Oh. Yeah. R-Right. *ahem* That's cool! I c-can dig it! I-If you change your mind however-..You're free to come without a doubt! Ya can't miss it since it'll be in the town square."

"I'll think about it. Shouldn't be hard to spot you anyways. You'll the tall, strong, and hansdome center piece of it all!," you again joked with a chuckle not noticing how frozen and red he had gotten. "Well I'll see you later. Thanks again for the help! You're a life saver!"

You then disappeared into your hotel room followed by your pokemon, and the door soon after closed with Gordie just standing there for a long moment...before he gulped feeling like a melting snowman under the heat his red face put out.

[markwatkinsreviews]

MATCH REPORT: READING (0) 1 NORTHAMPTON TOWN (0) 0

EFL ONE : Saturday 29 March, 2024 : 3pm kick-off

Royally windy, so more blow football than decent passing on grass which made for a strange "play" in three Acts, these Acts "merrily" repeated every 15 mins or so till curtain-close: up-in-the-air, boring, and exciting.

Indeed, Shakespeare (from nearby Stratford-Upon-Avon) would "verily" be rubbing his bearded chin trying to work out Northampton's tactics, although I suspect Town had more of the chances and also the majority of the possession (that's when some of their players weren't play-acting, or time-wasting). After making runs into space behind, Reading's crossing lacked quality, to begin with, but eventually the home side introduced much more accuracy from the wings.

Especially fist-half, Northampton Town lacked clear purpose and certain confidence in front of goal, even with a 10/10 GK-ing performance from Castro Pereira, who made 4 goal saving saves in the space of just 10 mins from around the 30min to 40 min mark.

After the break, Ben Fox kept showing for The Cobblers, but despite Northampton's huffing and puffing to blow the SCLS down, an inspired tactical sub made by Ruben Selles saw Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan jink, fire and curl the blue & white hoops into a 1-0 lead on the 65th minute, a lead once obtained, they never looked like losing thanks to Sam Smith doing his best to make things happen through sheer physicality, in a match that, second-half, Reading were mostly playing on the break, against the wind.

I have to say, the officiating was poor and inconsistent despite only one yellow-card apiece; at least three times ref Thomas Parsons & team missing the whole of the ball going out of play and so allowing moves to continue on plus giving several knock-on decisions the wrong way for corners and free-kicks. The consistency was at least ref made both teams suffer, equally. However, today the win was Reading's, thanks to that one brilliant, goal-scoring, play.

Reading: Pereira, Mola, Elliot (Ehibhatiomhan 58’), Knibbs, Savage, Smith, Azeez (Mukairu 89’), Dorsett (Abrefa 74’), Bindon, Mbengue, Wing © Subs not used: Button, Holmes, Wareham, Craig.

Northampton Town: Moulden, McGowan (McWilliams 65’), Sowerby (Springett 74’), Guthrie, Sherring, Hoskins Bowie (81’), Fox, Appere (Simpson 75’), Pinnock, Monthe (Koiki 81’), Leonard. Subs not used: Burge, Dyche.

RDG MOTM = Castro Pereira - fine flying saves, good kicking, safe catching.

NORTHAMPTON TOWN MOTM = Ben Fox - tried hard at all times.

Attendance: 15,451

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 7/10

Mark Watkins, 30.3.24

[owlbearclaws]

So I'm writing a short story.

I'd love for people to give it a read and see what they think. It's been a dream of mine to write a book. Feel free to leave me your thoughts in my inbox.

TW: death, child death, funerals, bombings, depression

The Hell We Create

Prologue -- Three Years Ago 

The drumming of hooves and the scraping of wooden wheels kept the dark thoughts at bay. It was also raining heavily, I might add. Thunder cracked loudly in the distance, then over our heads, making my chest vibrate. It fit the mood to the tee. There was a funeral taking place. Not just any funeral--my mother, my brother, and my baby sister. Technically three funerals but the Priests thought it were better for the public to see just one sad day. I beg to differ. The country should see three sad days that were my family’s dead bodies marched through the Town Square. They should see the bodies too, see how they were bruised and beaten. I can still remember two days ago sitting and identifying my family in the morgue underneath the Church. 

I stood there in the mud and the dead grass at the gravesites already, accompanied by only immediate family. I stood a distance aways, near the brown and grey of the stones zig zagging along the street at the base of the cemetery. I didn’t want to be bothered by hearing how sorry people were for me, how it would get better with time. No. I didn’t want to hear that. I wanted this town to catch on fire. I wanted the earth to swallow me and everyone in this continent into the abyss. I wanted the sweetest feeling of them all when it comes to this sort of thing. Vengeance. Or retribution. I had always tried to keep a kernel of hope in my head at all times. For my brother, for my sister. 

My thoughts cleared as I saw the three carriages cresting the hill to the cemetery. I took a deep breath and forced it out in a huff. I wore a piece of black lace fabric that covered my whole face. It was attached to an atrocious and hideous hat that my brother found in the dump behind a posh tavern a couple blocks from our cottage. Happy birthday sis. I heard his voice clear as a sunny day, bright and full of happiness on the evening of my twenty-fifth summer this year. My throat closed for the hundredth time today.  

 The aunt on my mother’s side had gotten my long wavy black hair braided to one side before we left home. The pants I wore were a tight pair of black leather breeches; the overcoat I wore was buttoned just so there was a flap settling between and against my thighs.  I brushed my hands down my black corset, the slightly ruffled undershirt a beige color I absolutely hated scratched at my collarbone. All hand-me-downs, like I gave a shit. But to wear a little bit of white at a funeral meant purity to be brought over into the next life for the deceased. All bullshit, I thought vehemently.  

The sounds of neighing brought me out of the jog in my head, having jumped a little as the first of the carriages stopped in front of me on the cobblestone road leading from the Town Square. The first one was especially small. Too small. My eyes burned and a pit formed in my stomach. The next two caskets in the next carriages were normal sized.  

“Focus, you can do this.” I whispered to myself, an obvious quiver in my words. The hell I could. I broke apart when I first saw their bodies. I began walking to the three open holes in the ground. One of them, again...too small. 

My baby sister, Rhodie. Dear Gods... She had five winters behind her. Five. I couldn’t describe the words and the rage that engulfed me that day, at the state of absolute gore and horror her tiny body was. The udder violence I had wanted to invoke upon the people who’d done this, plus the whole world, was catching my breath to this very moment. I might not breathe again. 

My older brother, Tyrus. His head was caved in on his left side, the one side where his only “good” eye remained, fused with his skull. I believe he would say this weather would be perfect for our funerals. They had given me his right prosthetic eye at the morgue. It was beautiful, I had always thought so. Where the whites of the eye normally were, a stunning shade of blue marble shone brightly, as the pupil were a vivid yellow. Odd combination, I told him many times. But I always got the same answer; a lopsided chuckle and, “but I love marble, plus blue and yellow are my favorite colors.” Although we were not royal—we weren’t hurting that bad, though there were moments we all felt ashamed of. But Tyrus had high hopes for our family. Father had always pushed those ideas away, either by flinging a wooden bowl or something made of clay at my brother’s head—I glance down at his prosthetic eye being held on for dear life in the palm of my hand--or shouting at him to not give your sister petty thoughts for later in life. My father was to blame for a lot of things. Mainly everything that happened to us. He was after all the next in line to the throne, we were just his bastard family that he was required to check up on every week. 

My mother, Ingwyn. We didn’t have the best relationship, but it was there, nonetheless. She had cared for me, loved me to her best abilities. I think. But I was well aware I was not the favorite, also well aware of her mental instabilities. My brother almost always got whatever he wanted; my baby sister hadn’t understood, didn’t get the time to understand anything really. But her cries at night with colic were evidence enough that my mother told me she will just sweat it out or cry it out and she'll be fine. I was always there for her. Not my mother. Never my mother with Rhodie. 

The sounds of chanting and praying followed shortly after the horses stopped and huffed restlessly, blowing a thick fog out into the rainy air. Priests, clerics, and all kinds of clergy men were singing in a low baritone melody, if it could be called that. It sounded more like they were about to summon a demon. The clergy women stood behind me, around ten at least had followed the Priests and the rest here. Their robes were white and yellow. Pure and light. The clergy women wore black and white. Death and life. The main Priest had what looked to be twenty scarves wrapped around his head, the same colors as they wore, same as the main clergy woman who stood at my other side a few feet away. Their presence was supposed to be reassuring to most people in this country, but it was far from the feeling or thought where I was concerned. Then I heard the thumping, loud. A line of military men filed about to take six to a carriage. Well, two for one carriage. I gritted my teeth. Hard. How dare they. How dare the royal family send out these people who were more or less responsible for my family’s deaths. I almost combusted right then and there; I might have if it hadn’t been raining. The military uniform consisted of the same colors; black tunics with yellow or orange embroidering their lining or pockets, along with black pairs of matching pants and black rain combat boots. They wore their fucking armor, the cowards. The shin guards were nothing fancy, just metal plates overlapping one another and indents here and there, having belts around the whole calf to buckle to their boots to ensure they don’t slip. The thigh guards were practically the same things, but intricate lines of details wove up and around and disappears near the groin area. The chest plates were impressive though; it looked like they were part dragon. The shoulder pieces came out and spiked up instead of lowering to protect their shoulders. The helmets had horns adjacent to a dragon’s as well. I never understood their armor, there were weak spots everywhere. 

One of the military officers, maybe the captain of the outfit, planted the country flag at each grave that had our nation’s crest sewn into them; a dragon spiraling along a sword, but the sword came out of the dragon’s mouth from the underside of its chin and split through its head. I shuddered, never understood that either. Dragons had gone extinct eons ago. Wyverns however... 

“Don’t worry, Wenlyth, this shouldn’t take very long,” I jolted out of whatever was going on in my head as a somber feminine voice came from beside me, my reflects already taunt with tension and being on my guard, but I remained still. But I sighed through my nose as I slowly turned my head to my best friend, Neril, who stood there. She looked as beautiful as ever with her burgundy hair tightly wound in a bun high upon her head, her black dress cinched in around her curves. I would be lying to say that I haven’t been jealous of Nel from time to time. She was shorter than I was, but not by much. I was always a tall girl, standing at five feet and nine inches, but she was always there to kick at the bullies in school who made fun of me for it, still down to this day from time to time—I still welcomed it gladly. The white she wore was a pearl bracelet my brother had given her as a gift on their fifth-year wedding anniversary. My eyes started to mist over; my vision instantly blurry. Nel noticed and she laced her arm through mine, giving it a squeeze. I gave her a half-assed smile that would never have fooled her and turned to watch the men take the caskets out of the carriages. 

The military was now beginning to lower my mother’s coffin first, almost dropping her as a rope slipped from one of the soldiers’ hands that was slick with the rain, the head of the coffin slamming into the dirt. A laugh almost bubbled up in me, feeling a bit on the manic side now. I focused on the low chanting of the clergy men and women, promising paradise and glory to those dead before them, but I wasn’t listening for that. Oh no. I was going to fall apart any second now. 

They lowered my brother’s coffin, trying to be more careful this time around. All went smoothly as the dirt made a squelching noise as the weight sank into the wet earth. Lightning cracked overhead, nearly making me jump out of my skin. I can’t do this...  

Rhodie was next. The two officers lowered her tiny coffin into the hole, the weight didn’t even sink. I finally let out the sob I felt like I'd been holding back since the day I was at the morgue. As I did, lightning cracked again, but it didn’t bother me. Hell, I barely heard it over the wail that came out of me. My knees finally gave out and I fell sideways into Nel, who caught me with ease. She wrapped her arms around me tightly, clutching me to her as hard as she could. It wasn’t enough. It just wasn’t enough.  

After a few minutes of weeping, I had finally heard the Priest clear his throat and asked in that raspy old, aged voice of his, “Wenlyth, would you care to say something or pass something along with your family?” His voice was gentle, so I finally stood up and walked over to the open graves.  

I couldn’t say anything. There was nothing to say, but maybe later when I wrote in my journal. I’d write them letters; we didn’t have the time or the luxury of nice weather to stand here and listen to me ramble. So, I pulled out the three white roses I had stored in my hat, and I went by each coffin. First my mother, I threw the rose onto her coffin. She didn’t get to have what I had to give to my siblings. Next was Tyrus, I kneeled in front of the hole and placed the rose on the lettering of his name carved into the wood. I pulled my hand back and pressed a kiss to my lips, then placed it on top of his name. In the afterlife, my brother, I will see you again. I will be with you and Rhodie sooner than you think. 

Finally, Rhodie. I gasped a sob back down my throat as I kneeled on both knees in front of her grave. It was barely as long as my leg. The tears fell as I placed the rose softly on her name and gave her the same kiss, but it lasted a little bit longer, as I had closed my eyes and remembered her shining smile and beautiful blue eyes giggling up at me. The memory faded as I opened my eyes and whispered, “In the afterlife, my baby girl. I shall meet you there.”  

Rising from where I knelt, I started walking back to Nel. But I paused my stride, and something made me turn to look back at the graves. I bunched up my eyebrows as I surveyed the landscape, but I heard a hissing sound. Then I heard a loud boom in the distance, the ground quaking beneath me, as I jerked my head toward the sound. A mushroom cloud had already formed above the general vicinity as the royal palace. I thought it looked strange, yet pretty, as green was swirling through the smoke like a twister forming. Old Magic. 

“Bombs!” a military officer screamed; the uniformed cowards scattered. Turning back to where I heard the hissing noise, I started panicking. I shut down all of my other senses to focus on it. Then something happened that I would not wish on my worst enemy: all three coffins exploded as it rained broken, chipped, and splintered wood all around us. One huge piece came whistling passed my head. But it wasn’t all at the same time, it was one by one, leaving my sister last. The shock wave had me flying back several feet, my whole body colliding painfully with a carriage that held one of my family members, having rocked it off wheels from the cobblestone some odd inches. Whiplash caused my head to fly back and hit my head on the doorknob. There were definitely cracking sounds as searing pain laced through my whole being, especially in my spine. I heard ringing in my ears, darkness surrounded my vision. I looked up, and the last thing I saw was my brother’s head rolling towards me to stop in front of my feet, a plume of black and green smoke blurred in the distance where their graves now lay cratered.  

My vision finally went black, my body turning jelly-like as I passed out.