#basically neither side is explaining themselves and both basically went “ENEMY” and yeah

[nobodieshero-main]

things just came together even better i love when this happens

[neon-junkie]

Vanity is a Sin - Chpt.1

Summary: The last person you expected to fall for is that pretentious man, Javier Escuella, but maybe you're not so different from him after all?

Pairing: f!Reader x Javier Escuella

Word Count: 2709

Rating: SFW

Tags: Enemies to lovers, Slow burn, Arguments, Bickering, Denial of feelings, Reader has a lot of self-doubts.

Notes: I’ve wanted to write a Javier multi-chapter fic for aaaages, but wanted to do something different for it. So, enemies to lovers it is, my fave trope hehe, but we don’t see much of Javiers negative side, so let’s explore that :0

Next Chapter

It's another chilly day at Horseshoe Overlook. Despite your occasional shiver and constant goosebumps, you're thankful that you're still not stuck in Colter, but that still doesn't mean you can't wish to be somewhere warmer. It seems no matter how many layers you put on, you can't quite get warm, and you question how other gang members are walking around in their summer attire, especially Arthur.

You shiver again and accidentally manage to prick your finger with the needle you're using to sew somebody's patchy pants. "Fuck sake," you mutter under your breath, looking at your finger to inspect the damage. It's nothing, and you know it's nothing, but you're in a grumpy mood, so everything feels tenfold, especially the sting to your fingertip.

You sigh, looking up at the sky, questioning why whatever being that lives up there continues to rain on your parade. It's not just you that's in a bad mood, the whole camp seems off, but Dutch continues to attempt giving his many uplifting speeches whilst he poses in his tent with a cigar in hand, not lifting a finger to do even some basic camp chores.

He's doing the same now, and your eyes gaze over him as you stop staring at the sky. There he is, the man himself, the big boss, his voice cracking every so often; that always brings a smile to your face. Your eyes follow around the rest of the camp: Hosea is the only one stood listening to him. Molly's on the other side of her tent staring into her pocket mirror because for some reason, she no longer has to pull her weight. Bill is still asleep. Mary-Beth and Tilly are beside you, still sewing away. The O'Driscoll is still tied to the tree. Strauss is... doing whatever he does. And there's Javier, gussying himself up in Arthurs mirror, no surprise there.

You'll never understand how these boys get away with doing the bare minimum, whilst yourself and the other women are the only thing keeping this camp together. Everybody knows that if the women decided to up and leave in the night, the men would end up setting the camp on fire, probably attempting to cook their own dinner... no offence to Pearson. There's a fair few, such as Arthur and Hosea, who are able to survive on their own, but you've seen Arthur attempt to do tedious jobs before and just like you, he pricks his fingers every time he sews. At least Hosea has an excuse, being in his grey years, his bones not able to move as they used to, but he makes up for it in other ways.

But Javier? What does he do? Apart from prance around the camp in his designer crocodile boots, spending an hour shaving his moustache every morning... why does he even shave his moustache like that? You asked him once, and he replied "It rubs off from all the friction." Sure, Javier, because you're obviously a very wanted man.

Unfortunately, Mary-Beth and Tilly take quite a liking to him. They've confessed what you would view as sins before, saying they both have a soft spot for the man, to which you scoffed then laughed, and ended up choking from laughing too hard.

"Why are you laughing? I don't see why you two don't get along? He's real sweet and..." Mary-Beth had begun droning on, and you eventually interrupted her with a "Where do I start?"

Needless to say, neither of them agreed with any of your opinions of Javier, apart from him not pulling his weight as much as he makes out to. But oh, he plays guitar, so that means he doesn't have to do any chores because he blares out his music all hours of the night. You've told him to quit playing so you can sleep many times, seeing as your tent is right by the campfire, to which he always glares at you and plays louder. He once even had the audacity to wake Uncle up and begin shouting Ring-A-Dang-Do.

You took your revenge by waking up early and pouring water in his boots. He knew it was you the second he put them on, sighing and glaring at you, but not being confrontational for once. At least he started putting a curfew on his music after that.

You've been manifesting in your thoughts for a while now, not realizing your name is being called out. "Huh?" you almost yelp as somebody taps your shoulder.

"Are you alright?" Tilly asks. "You've been staring into the distance again, didn't even hear us callin' your name."

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking," you explain as you turn your attention to them.

"About what?" Mary-Beth questions.

"Nothing that's worth my time."

"Oh, boys?" Tilly questions, making all three of you laugh.

"Unfortunately."

"Well, Mary-Beth and I are all finished here. We're gonna make ourselves look decent and head into town, you coming?"

"Yeah. Let me finish up this, and I'll meet you by the wagon," you reply.

"Alright."

The pair excuse themselves, heading over to their tents to begin looking 'presentable', even though you would happily argue with them about that. They always look incredible, flawless yet effortless, whereas you constantly feel like a drowned rat...

You watch as they wander off, saying hello to Javier, who's still stood in front of Arthurs mirror. He's not even having a shave, he's just been stood there checking himself out for the last ten minutes, or however long it's been. Your brows furrow and you force yourself to tilt your head down, focusing on your final stretch of sewing, eventually finishing up, so you can put them back on the laundry pile and begin getting ready for your day out.

Going into town with your girl friends is always relaxing, something to get you out of camp, when you're not trailing in and out on your own accord. Yes, you know damn-well how to shoot a gun, along with all your other basic survival skills like hunting and fishing. Dutch was reluctant to take you on heists at first, calling you "another Karen, a woman who wants to get her hands dirty when she's needed here."

Dutch wasn't expecting you to put your money where your mouth is, trailing back into camp a few days later with more than enough cash to keep the camp happy. Only that was somewhat of a waste of time now you look back on it, your share being lost somewhere in Blackwater, along with the rest of the camps hard work and progress. Back to square one, yet again...

The sound of a thud startles you, looking over your shoulder to see that the final crate has been loaded into the wagon. The shop helper gives you a wave, and you beckon him over to tip him; he pours out his thanks before going back inside.

"Back to camp?" you question as you turn your focus to Mary-Beth and Tilly, who nod in agreement.

With a flick of the reigns, the three of you begin leaving Valentine, only popping into town to grab a few camp supplies and treats for yourselves. You've fancied a new outfit for a while, and you're excited to try it on later, maybe make yourself look nice so you can... sit by the campfire...

What else is there to enjoy in camp?

The path you're following leads you straight back to Horseshoe Overlook, and you warn the girls of the bump before crossing over the train tracks. A familiar figure can be seen in the distance, and as they approach, you realize it's Arthur on his new mount. He pulls up beside you as you stop the wagon, tipping his hat to the three of you.

"Where are you going?" you question.

"Just headin' into town. I didn't know you girls had just been there," Arthur explains.

"We only went to pick up supplies. What are you going for?" Tilly questions.

"Javier and Charles wanted to meet me at the Saloon, said I'd drop by this afternoon. They must already be there."

"You should get going then, you know what Javier is like," you complain, the words slipping from your mouth.

Arthur laughs at your statement. "You're right," he agrees. "But you two will learn to get along one day, you've gotta if you're gonna be in the same camp together."

"Arthur, there are plenty of camp members that don't get along. You and Micah, for instance?"

"...Yeah, you're right," Arthur hums in frustration. "Forget I said that then... Well, I best be going."

"See you later," the three of you reply.

Arthur gives another little nod and taps his spurs, heading into town, whilst you whip your reigns again and begin your return to camp. 

 By the time you arrive, it's almost sundown, and your evening is spent unloading the wagon and scoffing down your dinner. The night is free to do as you please, so just like you told yourself earlier, you get changed into your new clothes and make yourself look presentable, taking a seat at the campfire with the others and joining in on their story telling.

The evening is going well, relaxing and peaceful for once, even with Uncles banjo playing. All until the sound of heavy hooves come thudding back into camp; you turn to see a handful of the gang members returning from their night in town, only they don't seem too happy. They're huffing and grumbling, nursing what appear to be wounds, and it's easy to piece everything together and realize that they been in a bar fight.

A few of your fellow camp members get up from their seats at the campfire to go and check on them, and as much as you do care, you don't want to overcrowd them. You get up and make your way over to Pearson's wagon, picking out another bottle to drink. You're spoilt for choice, a nice selection of whiskeys and gins at your service, something different from cheap, warm beer.

You pick up a bottle and begin reading the label, checking the alcohol percentage and debating how drunk you want to get tonight. You don't overhear the sound of footsteps approaching, your mind paying no attention to sounds like that as you hear them all the time, but the sound of somebody speaking directly behind you makes you jump.

"That for me?" they ask. You peer over your shoulder to see Javier standing there, his hand rubbing his chin where a bruise is beginning to form.

"Why would this be for you?" you scoff, turning your body to face him, the bottle in your hands.

"Your poor camp member has just been in a fight, yet you won't help nurse them?" Javier questions with a laugh.

"That's your own fault, plus I ain't your mother."

You begin to walk off, but the comment Javier makes forces you to stop in your tracks. "Mary-Beth and Tilly would."

"Go and ask them then," you roll your eyes, turning to face Javier again. Who does he think you are? He begins to softly laugh and the sound makes you gag, so artificial, just like the rest of him.

"But what if I want you to help me? Surely you don't dislike me that much."

"I do, so I'd suggest you ask them."

You try and walk away yet again, and Javier mutters something under his breath. "You'll learn to like me eventually." Another scoffing sound escapes your lips as you frown at him, leaning against Pearson's table and crossing your arms, your bottle in hand.

"You know, I've never seen you wear purple before. It suits you," you smirk.

"Oh, very funny," Javier says as he raises his eyebrows. He approaches you, his strides small and slow, stopping right before you. His hand moves away from his bruise, his skin turning a deeper purple as every second passes, but your eyes are drawn to his; They're dark and blown, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, staring into yours. He's too close for your liking, you can smell the tobacco in his system with every exhale, his breathing deep, still clearly worn out from the fight.

"What's your issue with me?" Javier asks. "I mean, I've never done anything to upset you, not that I know of, but you've always had something against me."

"I've told you before," you begin as you uncross your arms, placing your bottle down on the table and resting your hands on your hips. "You don't do shit around this camp. You'll drag a sloppy score in here and there, but your vanity distracts you from doing some proper work, chores and what-not."

"Vanity?" Javier repeats the word with a laugh. "There's no harm in looking good, at least you're putting some effort in tonight. Did you buy this today?" Javier asks as he goes to tough the fabric of your blouse, but you swat his hand away.

"You're as bad as Micah," you spit at him.

"Mhmm, we both know that's a lie. For starters, I do a lot more than him around here, and you know it-"

"Please, will the pair of you quit it already?" Dutch calls out as he approaches. He must have noticed the way you two were stood so close, squaring up to each other, both too egotistical to let the other talk them down.

Dutch puts his arm out between your bodies, lightly pushing both of you away, forcing you to take a few small steps back. "I've said before that you don't have to get along, but these pathetic arguments happen far too often. Either you both drop this, or I'll have to find a way to make you get along," Dutch threatens, and you know he'll stay true to his word.

You don't bother saying anything, glaring at Javier once more before turning heel and walking away. "You forgot your drink," Javier calls out to you.

"Seems I've lost my appetite," you call back, and you overhear Dutch sigh at your comment.

Part of you feels sick, and you're unsure if that's from the adrenaline pumping in your veins, or the nerves Javier has shaken into you. Why was he stood so close? Your noses were almost touching, and you wouldn't be surprised if he kissed you just to wind you up even more. You try to keep your mind clear as you enter your enclosed tent, taking off your makeup and getting ready for bed, but you can still feel Javier's hot breaths on your skin.

You debate having a towel bath, wanting to wipe away the sin of being so close to that irritating man, but you're already in bed with no motivation to move. As you roll over, the sound of his guitar grows outside, forcing you to place your head under the pillow in an attempt to drown the music out. He's a good musician, and you're happy to admit that, but why does everything about him have to be so... him?

The perfectly coordinated outfits, the way his steel toe boots are always shining, the effortless yet pristine ponytail he always wears, the confidence and vanity in everything he says. He's like one of those flawless characters you've found in awfully written books, no weaknesses or downfalls, no ugly days, everybody loves him, yet his artificialness makes you sick.

And he knows it makes you sick, and he loves to play on it. Tonight isn't the first time he's got up close and personal with you. You know he studies your every move, watching your body language, checking to see if blush grows on your cheeks, searching for your insecurities. The comment he made earlier is still on repeat in your mind... "at least you're putting some effort in tonight." What a smug bastard. He knows how low your self-esteem is, yet you weren't expecting him to pull a Micah and make a comment like that.

But this is what he wants. He wants it to settle in your brain, to weigh you down and make you feel even worse. You just have to not let that happen, but that's easier said than done...

[dragon-grunkle]

star wars and flight rising are in the same universe and here’s why, a ted talk by stanley

in an effort to both 1. talk about my lore more often like i’ve been meaning to and 2. explain what i meant when i went off about it in the tags of my last post, i’m gonna attempt to explain my rationale for deciding star wars and flight rising can totally coexist in the same universe.

there’s a tldr at the very bottom! i do use rebels as a basis for some of this lore, since it basically just confirms concepts i was already thinking of before i even watched the show, but it IS a little spoilery sometimes.

SO. what do we know about sornieth? here’s a summary: it’s the fourth planet from its sun. it has at least one but possibly two or more moons. powerful beings of pure elemental energy sprung up in the early days of the planet’s formation. a darkness from beyond attacks the planet, and the gods build a pillar to keep it out. after this, humanoid races flourish and they learn to combine magic with technology, but eventually someone gets too arrogant and builds a big machine that blows up all of civilization. from this, the arcanist is born. he grows curious and encounters the shade, which breaks the pillar. the other gods see this and decide to go their separate ways. they create dragons.

this new society has reached a point roughly equivalent to the 1920s, and that’s as far as we’ve gotten. that’s it, that’s flight rising. no aliens mentioned, except for the shade (and possibly the forbidden portal enemies if you count those, but that’s for another time).

what about star wars? as we all know, it’s set ‘a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away’. there is a lot of history here that isn’t really relevant, so i’m just going to talk briefly about the layout of the galaxy: it isn’t named, but there are different sections to it that are, and they’re grouped according to how far away a planet is from the center of the galaxy. you have: the core worlds, the inner rim, the mid rim, the outer rim, and wild space. generally, planets are more densely populated towards the center of the galaxy and less as you go out. compare coruscant, a core world entirely covered by a city and inhabited by trillions of people, to tatooine, an outer rim planet that wookieepedia states has 200,000 inhabitants total. 

-----

where does sornieth fit in this map? the answer is simple: wild space. this region lies beyond the outer rim, where not many bother to travel because it’s just not worth it, and it’s where i’ve placed sornieth in this scenario. wookieepedia says:

Unlike other regions of the galaxy, Wild Space existed along the entire circumference of the galactic disk and on the borderlands of the Unknown Regions. It was inhabited by sentient species but not fully charted, explored, and civilized.

star wars: rebels touches on wild space a bit: one of its main characters is a lasat, a species thought to be wiped out by the empire. lasats come from lasan, but they have a legendary ancestral homeworld called lira san. except it turns out that lira san isn’t a myth: it’s real, it’s populated, and it’s in wild space.

the fact that an entire species believed their original homeworld was a myth means we can easily set sornieth there without ever having to worry about political groups such as the republic, the empire, and the rebellion coming across the planet and mucking up our established rule of No Aliens Besides Shade (And Maybe Arcanist). it’s conveniently out of the way AND protects the lore of both continuities very well, ensuring that they don’t interfere with each other by introducing a previously-unheard-of super-powerful flying magical race to the galaxy, or having stormtroopers invade the southern icefields, or something else fucky like that.

------

now that we’ve got location covered, we have to talk about the force, magic, and the gods. i’m gonna get a little handwavey here, but it’s also, i think, the most interesting part of this whole thing, so here we go.

first off, the force. what is it? here’s how obi-wan describes it in a new hope:

It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together.

with that description in mind, i want to draw attention to one little throwaway line from the flight rising lorebook chapter 1: the first age: 

From this bedlam, the magical energies themselves began to concentrate and change. Similar particles receded into four great beings, each overwhelmingly dense with a different element. As if eager to proudly display their emergence to some unseen divinity, these beings took on the shapes of great wyrms.

that ‘unseen divinity’? yeah, that’s the force. you could even take the ‘similar particles’ bit to mean midi-chlorians, if you want to acknowledge the prequels’ interpretation of the force.

as we know, some people are stronger with the force than others. these people usually become jedi or sometimes sith, depending on whether they use the light or the dark side. but the jedi and sith aren’t the only force users out there: there are plenty of civilizations who have different names and explanations for it and how it manifests itself varies from person to person. in fact, the lasat people i mentioned earlier recognized the force as something called ‘the ashla’. so different concepts for the force exist across the galaxy, and it’s very possible that what we know as ‘elemental magic’ on sornieth is simply how dragons see different aspects of the force. as if that wasn’t enough, we also know some force users can use the force to manipulate the elements themselves, like how palpatine can use the dark side to create lightning.

so really: i don’t think it’s a stretch to say some intensely powerful creatures born of the universe itself could specialize in a specific aspect of the force and manifest entirely that way.

[billy mays voice] But Wait, There’s More! i’m gonna reference rebels again. yeah, i know. on the planet of atollon lives the bendu, a being of the force who is neither light nor dark. he’s powerful, and at one point, turns himself into a giant storm and strikes down ships with lightning to defend his planet. loth-wolves are a similar concept. they’re animals which are shown to have a deep connection to the force, but only as it relates to the planet they call home, lothal. at one point a character asks if the loth-wolves are on their side and the answer is "they're on lothal's side.” this is how i see the gods as existing in the greater star wars universe: powerful beings intrinsically linked to the planet they originate from. they’re capable of great feats on their own, but can guide others (like humans or dragons) to use the force / magic in their stead.

the gods are real inasmuch as the force is real, and act as extensions of one another. if we wanna go a step further, the deities could all be light-side users and the shade is their dark counterpart, which is a REALLY fun concept to explore.

-----

phew, that’s it. i’ve covered most of it except for how dragons get off sornieth and into the wider galaxy, which is...somewhat less essential than the stuff i talked about above, but i still want to address it, especially since we’ve established they have no outside contact and are limited to 1920s tech. to keep it brief, the easiest answer is...magic.

i don’t want to get tooooo deep into rebels stuff again, but space-time portals do exist in star wars, which is really exciting for me personally, and also a nice setup for dragons to get out into the galaxy - if they have access to them, that is; in rebels they only appear in a jedi temple, but i think it’s possible other access points exist, given that other force-societies also exist. the point is, being handwavey and saying ‘eh, portals’ is a valid excuse that doesn’t totally break either universe because they are canon to both universes. you could also go the route of magic experiments gone wrong, the deities picking off a few special individuals and sending them out, or crazy lighning-arcane tech mergers shooting dragons off into space, never to be heard from again.

there’s any number of possibilities here, ranging from crazy space wizard shenanigans to early spaceflight gone very very wrong.

-----

tldr: sornieth is located in the far reaches of the galaxy, away from major events, and has remained undiscovered. the deities are manifestations of the force channeled through the planet itself; the gods and the force are extensions of one another. sometimes dragons can get off sornieth, but not often, so dragons are rare in the wider galaxy. there is no conflict of lore that says these two things CAN’T exist in the same universe, and in fact, the lore sometimes even supports them coexisting.

or in other words: star wars and flight rising coexist because i want them to, but also because i have legitimate justification for it. i’m too powerful and nobody can stop me from making star wars dragons now.

[rainy-day-gracie]

Old Friends 9

 Part 1 of a series finale!!

Spencer Reid x Reader

I just wanna say thank you for all the love I’ve been getting :) the positivity is wonderful, so thank you and I love you !!

Please enjoy!

Chapter 9:

I groaned at the sound of the alarm clock screaming at me. “Spencer, time for work,” I said as I flopped out of bed. 

“Huh?” He flinched at me opening the drapes in my bedroom window, sunlight illuminating his sleepy eyes. 

“Get up, c’mon,” I pulled the covers off of him, and he jerked upright in his boxers. “Help me make the bed.”

There was something so entirely sweet about how domestic and loving getting ready together is. While he was brushing his teeth, I was standing there putting on makeup. When I was straightening my hair for work, he was making sure his hair fluffed in just the right way. 

I could easily see this being the rest of my life. 

“Breakfast will have to be on the run, we’re already late because you couldn’t get out of bed.” I poked him in the stomach as I passed him a breakfast bar. 

“We should just call in sick.” He spoke in the most serious tone, and I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. 

“Yeah, if both of us called in sick, I think there would be some questions.” I giggled as I grabbed my keys and left the apartment, Spencer following close behind. 

__

Morgan gave me a look as I settled down at my desk. “Did the pretty girl get some loving last night?”

I tried to ignore him as I pulled out reports I needed to finish. “Morgan, what are you on about?”

He laughed out loud and patted Spencer on the back as he passed by our desks. “Go get em’ lovebirds.”

Hotch had already talked to us about keeping everything professional in the office, but that didn’t keep the team from teasing us endlessly. Just last week Emily asked me if we’ve ever had sex at work. 

“You would think he would have a little more manners than that?” Spencer chuckled without looking up from his work. “You look beautiful, stop checking your camera.”

I sighed as I put my phone back in my pocket. “I’m actually worried about something else…” There had never been a time where I showed up to work with a hickey, and I was worried last night had broken my streak. 

Spencer smiled sheepishly, and glanced over my neck. “I don’t see any, so you’re okay.”

Garcia trotted across the catwalk in her heels. “Hello wonderful people! You have a case!”

__

“You are headed to New York City my fine friends, where there have been three murders, all women in their twenties, with cause of death being a gunshot wound to the head and a… message, written on their stomachs.”

Garcia pointed to the screen, where the crime scene photos popped up. 

“The first message read ‘mine’, the second one said ‘sin’, and the most recent read ‘whore’.” JJ explained, looking in the case file. “The words were carved into their stomach antemortem, that’s torture.”

“But the gunshot to the head is a completely different MO than torture.” Spencer looked at me, clearly confused. 

I furrowed my eyebrows. “What if the gun is just to keep them still? ‘I cut you, don’t flinch or it’s the last thing that you do.’ Psychological and physical torture means he could be a sadist.”

“The women were shown to have been killed in a week’s period, and the unsub is speeding up his timetable. Wheels up in 20.” Hotch took a phone call and left the room.

__

On the plane, Hotch explained his phone call. “The NYPD found another body three miles from where the last dump site was. Victim had the word ‘love’ carved in her stomach. The unsub seems to mostly be operating in Queens, one body was found in Brooklyn.”

Garcia made a video call with information. “My pretties, with my all-knowing powers of tech I have been able to identify all four victims. Most recent is Hallie Jones, she was a high end prostitute. $10,000 dollars a night, kind of high end. Third was Macy Johnson, she was a street prostitute, not much on her. Second victim was Fiona Lamber, she was also a street prostitute and kinda the same, not much information. First victim was actually a well known woman, Jamie Lorretta. Her father owns an oil company and she has had problems with drugs since she was a teenager.” 

Morgan gave a puzzled look. “Why change victimology from a well known woman with money to street prostitutes to a high end call girl?”

“The victimology could mean that the unsub himself comes from money and power himself.” Spencer pointed to the case files. “The gunshot to the forehead is personal, as is the cutting on the stomach. Both of these things point towards a craving for total domination, just two different kinds. The cutting represents a need for possessions, marking his property, and execution style killing shows an already confident mindset.”

“Both of which are things people in power need, ambition for possessions and major confidence,” I added. 

“The key to solving this case is Jamie Lorretta. Find out everything you can about her Garcia!” Hotch called over the video camera. Garcia nodded firmly and hung up. “Morgan, Prentiss go to the ME to examine the bodies. Rossi, JJ go to the latest dump site and see what kind of attraction the unsub may have to the area. I will go to the first dump site and see where the killer’s head was at when he first started killing. YLN, go to the station and interview the families of the victims and Reid, go with her and work up a geographic profile.”

I nodded at him and looked back down at the case file. 

What did these women do to get themselves killed?

Spencer squeezed my hand reassuringly, reading me like a book. “We’re gonna get him.”

I gave him a side smile. “We always do.”

__

Macy Johnson and Fiona Lamber’s families were distraught for sure, but it soon became clear that they didn’t know anything about the case. 

Hallie Jones’ family was one of the most composed families I’ve seen. They had sad eyes, but not once during our conversation did either of her parents shed a tear. I finally couldn’t take it anymore. 

“How are you so… stoic? I’ve interviewed many grieving families before and you two seem extremely calm considering your daughter’s body was found this morning.” I hated to be so blunt, but neither of them were showing any sign of grief over their daughter’s murder. 

The parents just looked at each other, then back at me. Mr. Jones took a deep breath. 

“Hallie… did what she did. We offered to take care of her, but she chose to have sex with men to pay the bills. After we paid for her degree, the least she could do was use it.” Anger burned in her father’s eyes, and disgust curled in my stomach. His child is dead and he was thinking about money?

“We told her God would punish her for her actions,” Mrs. Jones blurted. “She deserved what was coming to her in the end. All in all, she was probably asking for it.”

I wanted to vomit. These parents blamed their dead child for her own murder? “No one asks for this, Mrs. Jones. And right now, it looks to me like I want to catch your daughter’s killer more than you do, so either give me something that I can use, or leave.”

Both of her parents glared at me. After a moment, Mrs. Jones stormed out of the room, her husband close on her heels. 

I rolled my eyes and approached the police chief. “Where’s the Lorretta family? They were supposed to be here at noon.”

The police chief made a face. “The Lorrettas are refusing to leave their home. ‘Don’t want the attention’ of the local press. They said if the FBI wants to ask questions, you’re going to have to go to them.”

I swallowed my annoyance. “Okay, I’ll head over there. I don’t think I’ll be much use here.”

Reid raised his chin. “I’ll come with you.”

I appreciated the company. Maybe around him I won’t flip my lid with these damn parents. 

What kind of families are these?

__

The Lorrettas’ home could give Rossi’s mansion a run for its money. We pulled up in the SUV to a long paved driveway and saw gardeners working in the large front lawn. The front door was made of opaque glass and I could almost smell the entitlement. 

Spencer knocked on the door, which was opened almost immediately. A woman with obvious dyed blonde hair and botox greeted us.

“You must be from the FBI! Come in please,” she said as she basically pulled Spencer and I into the house. Not exactly the demeanor of a grieving parent.

“We’re here to ask some…” my voice trailed off as I saw the massive chandeliers and luxurious couches. Money and possessions. 

“Are you from the FBI?” A girl about 10 approached me hesitantly. She had clearly been crying, and I got on my knees to talk to her. 

“Yeah, I’m YFN and this is Spencer. We’re here to ask some questions.” I glanced over at the Mrs. Lorretta, who had suddenly abandoned her politeness. 

The girl looked to her mom, who was giving her a death glare. The girl just turned and ran up the stairs. 

“Ma'am, we’re to ask you about Jamie.” Spencer put his hands in his pockets. “Mind if we sit?”

Mrs. Lorretta picked the politeness act right back where she left off. “Yes, yes. Please sit.”

After a few minutes of awkward small talk, I went with the hard questions. “How did Jamie’s drug habits influence her? Did she have any enemies?” 

Mrs. Lorretta’s mouth tightened in a straight line, and she looked between Spencer and I. “Well… um, I’m not sure. She wasn’t really home much… she’s always been distant with us. I never heard about any enemies, but she never talked to me much anyway.”

Over her shoulder, I saw the girl peeking behind the staircase. Spencer noticed it too, and tapped me on the leg. 

“Excuse me, where’s the bathroom?” I kept my tone light and cheery. She pointed down a long hallway to my right, and I made a small motion to the girl to follow. 

Once we were out of earshot, the little girl burst into quiet tears. 

“Hey, what’s your name?” My voice was soft and I rubbed her shoulders. 

“Lily,” she hiccuped through her sobs. “My dad was always so mean to Jamie…”

“What do you mean?”

Lily squeezed her eyes shut. “He would always go into her room… and I could hear him hitting her. They would fight all the time. He’s why she did drugs… she needed to escape from him.”

I lowered my voice even more. “Do you know who did this to her?”

She opened her eyes and sniffled softly. “I wasn’t surprised when the police found her body. It was only a matter of time before he… and I heard screaming coming from our shed in the backyard.”

“What’s going on here?” 

Mr. Lorretta stood behind me, a smile looking like plastic on his face. 

Money, power, ambition. 

I smiled sweetly, patting Lily’s shoulder. “Oh nothing. I was looking for the bathroom and I just saw that she was upset. Your wife is answering some questions of my colleague’s, come join. I’m sure she’s being very helpful.”

In his eyes I saw an evilness that said that he would tear me to shreds given the chance. I turned away from him, beginning to walk down the long hallway back to Spencer. 

I felt him pull my gun from its holster behind me, and he wrapped a strong arm around both of mine, his other hand pressing the cold barrel against my temple. “Move.” He growled in my ear. 

Lily had taken off running, and as we moved closer, Mrs. Lorretta had taken hold of Lily in her arms. 

Mr. Lorretta hissed at Spencer, who had his gun drawn at this point. “Think about this, Agent. Don’t want the blood of two people on your hands.”

I looked at Spencer, begging him to lower his gun. Not for me, but for Lily, who was still in her mother’s firm hold, a kitchen knife pressed to her throat. 

The cold barrel of my own gun pressed into my temple, and all I wanted to do was kiss Spencer when he finally dropped his weapon. 

“Honey, they’re federal agents. We can’t kill them,” the wife reminded her husband, who seemed torn on what to do now. 

“Why did you carve ‘mine’ into your daughter’s skin?” I blurted. 

He laughed softly in my ear, and I wanted to throw up. “Because she needed to know her place before I put her out of her misery. That was the only way she would understand. Do you know your place, Agent YLN?”

“You are in complete control here, Mr. Lorretta.”

“Damn right I am.” I felt him beat the barrel of the gun against my head, and I was out cold. 

TAG LIST: @itsarayofsunshine @thesailbells @squirrellover1967 @softpeteparker @parkeroffline

[kob131]

[youtube(.)com/watch?v=y4DPZGlNP8I]

“If you’re just here to disagree with the title and shit on me or read the title and are coming here for confirmation bias, I’m sorry to say neither of those is happening.”

Well then, considering my goal here is to just have SOME kind of intellectual take: Then I shouldn’t have a problem. Especially since not only do I have a low opinion of certain cites for only having circlejerking around RWBY (looking at you Crunchyroll) and have attacked RWBY properties before (see my adamant refusal to buy Grimm Eclipse and my INTENSE dislike of the RWBY comics). So I can't be classified as a fanboy or a hater.

“*laughs at the Jaune haircut*”

MangaKamen, everyone has mocked the haircut. I’ve seen plenty of funny memes about it. This is just mildly annoying.

“*Calls the writing trash*”

Yeah I’d take that as any indication of quality except that you’ve missed the point about the show NUMEROUS times in the past, like shows with the same writing and follow FatManFalling (AKA a known liar about RWBY.) So that means nothing to me.

“I think it’s good to discuss my issues with the show.”

You already have. Numerous times. Why not just discuss it in general so people like me can get where you are coming from instead of just the issues? 

‘Well people already praise the show a lot.’

And people bash the show a lot too. That’s why it’s good to discuss BOTH sides of your view on the show.

“I still don’t like RWBY as a whole”

No shit. Why would your opinion on the show as a whole change from this one Volume? I still love the Simpsons, doesn’t mean I don’t hate the newer seasons. This isn’t shocking, this is 100% logical.

Can we please talk about the new Volume?

“Something something copyright claim.”

Let me go ahead and borrow a meme from M.K.-

GET TO THE POINT!

Seriously, I’m just here to judge your analysis. This stuff is just annoying me and making me think you might have a vendetta against the company which would affect your opinion.

“Contrivince: Robyn is dumb for going out on missions which would allow the government to shoot her or her competitors to attack her.”

... MangaKamen, if the government shoots an anti-establishment candidate, they risk an uprising while making that persona martyr. Same thing with competitors.

It’d be the equivalent of assassinating someone by strapping dynamite to your chest. Yes it might work but you’re more fucked.

Also, you’re a fan of JoJo as indicated by the Pillar Man theme you used before right? Well, how many times should a protagonist have been killed by their enemies only to just conveniently pull out a new power or something to save themselves? Like with Kakayoin Vs. Death 13. That battle is built on the contrivance that Death 13′s Stand can lock out other people’s stands in their dreams because ‘their soul is unguarded’ but it can’t do that if said Stand was also summoned before sleeping (even though Stands have never been able to manifest if their owners are not conscious.) That’s about 3 contrivances in one battle, let alone some of the more major stuff like Jotaro and DIO having the EXACT SAME Stand ability (without foreshadowing and contradicting previously stablished Stand abilities.)

See this is why I want to hear your WHOLE story. If you explained that the strengths of the show don’t do it for you (like they do with JoJo): then I’d understand. Media is based on exchanging suspension of disbelief for appeal. But without that context, your arguments just look hypocritical.

“Robyn’s image should be ruined because she is stealing from the government.”

Except that Mantle sees Atlas as corrupt and uncaring, thus justifying Robyn’s actions in their eyes. Jesus Kamen, we can observe this in real life (90% of the Democrat candidate’s platforms are built on this.) Did you just forget that about Mantle and Atlas or what?

“Why are we just staring at each other? I dunno, just to look cool? *also shows Weiss’ head bobbing up and down and her mouth moving while she’s talking.*”

*sighs*

Before you say. ‘Well this is just a joke!’-

When someone makes a joke about hating a certain group of people or a similar target: we know the joke is predicated on you thinking that group or such is bad. For a less controversial example, I can make the joke: “Lol Tommy Wiseau’s basically an alien!” Yes it is a joke but you’ll still find it funny under the pretense of insulting him. And there’s really no other way to interpret the joke in the context that its suppose to be funny.

Why did you put that there MangaKamen? You ACKNOWLEDGE that you’ll have issues from the RWBY fandom so why are you making jokes that do not work unless interpreted in a way that hurts you?

“If you’ve been keeping up with the show then you know EXACTLY where I’m gonna go with this!”

*shows off a pile of beaten up bodies*

Yeah, wanna see how you fare?

“Penny is seen as the guardian of Atlas-”

Mantle.

That distinction is VERY important.

Why?

A.) Mantle is not the same as Atlas. The people of Mantle in fact HATE Atlas a lot. It’s kind of like the Forsworn Vs. The Nords in Skyrim: They technically live in the same area but are at odds with one another.

B.) Penny was given that job by Ironwood, a native to Atlas and is often shown to not understand Mantle’s issues as well as widely disliked by Mantle.

And C.) No one in Mantle is ever shown talking positively about Penny, unlike say Robyn. No one is shown to treat Penny as their guardian. 

You’re about to imply that ‘Because Penny is established as the guardian of Atlas, no one would possibly believe that she killed people!’ but everything the show SHOWS us imply the opposite: they’d believe Ironwood used Penny to suppress them and try to kill their supposed leader.]

First step into this argument and you already made a fatal mistake.

“There’s security checking for these things!”

And your proof that Tyrian went through the security? That he didn’t simply slip into the crowd when it was filling up? Something he’s easily shown to do due to his stealth?

... None? 

Good to see your MatPat impression is still as good as ever.

“Fanaus have night vision!”

[Pyrrha: "No, I have the answer! It's night vision. Many Faunus are known to have nearly-perfect sight in the dark." (Cardin growls at the correct response)]

-Jaunedice Pt.1

Many. Not All. Many.

It took me five seconds to look this up. rwby episodes-Episodes on the RWBY wiki-Jaunedice Pt.1

I expect you to be able to do the same.

Strike 2.

“Plenty of people have thought of this factor on YouTube-”

You mean the same platform with CinemaSins and Matpat?

Yeah, not helping your case.

“No one thought to pull out their scrolls when people started screaming?!”

A cellphone flashlight can barely illuminate a dark drawer, let alone a pitch black auditorium-sized warehouse. Even then, this all took place within a couple of minutes and people are screaming. Panic tends to shut down parts of people’s brains. Even then, who is shown to have scrolls in this scene? ... No one? 

So not only would it not help with the darkness, not only would people not think about it in such a situation as they’d be more concerned with fight or flight but the poor as shit Mantle population might not even HAVE commonplace scrolls.

Strike 3. You’re done.

You’d get on the case of anyone else presenting points like these to a piece of media you like. You’ve done it numerous times with MatPat alone.

By your own standards, you’ve failed to make any sort of case.

I don’t care if it’s ‘just an opinion.’ You still need to base it off of objectivity in order to have a point. You did not. Therefore, you matter as much to me as a Game Theory fanboy does to you.

And before you get on my case and call me a RWBY fanboy: there’s a channel by the name of Th3Birdman who tackles CinemaSins videos and shows why they are wrong. As I have indicated before, I do not like CinemaSins. Therefore, I would like this channel correct?

No. This channel suffers from many of the same issues they call out in CinemaSins, Padding sin counts, sinning jokes, making annoying noises, ignoring evidence, political bias- They are just as guilty.

Same with you. My issue isn’t ‘you’re calling out something I like’- It’s ‘you’re breaking your own standards instead of abiding by them.’

Try again when you be consistent.

[gingerpeachtae]

Concentric [6]

masterlist

Words: 4.7k

Genres: fantasy!AU, angst, fluff, enemies to lovers, eventual smut (?)

Warnings: spoilers for season 7&8 of Game of Thrones

Summary: You had been ready for the end of the semester. You had been ready to spend time away from your best friend, Jimin, and finally move on from the feelings you harbored. Yet, after your friend was forced to reveal a secret, you found yourself in a new world that was chock full of magic, war, and wonder. So, here you were, basically thrown into your own fantasy novel, with your best friend on one side, and six male warriors on the other.

A/N: Here it is! I ended up finishing it later than usual but earlier than anticipated, so instead of waiting till 11:59, imma just post it now!It’s a bit on the shorter side so I sowy but it’s what ya’ll get since I basically wrote this in one day oof. thank you all for reading... engoy! 😘

You were walking alongside Jin, who was currently babbling about how difficult it was to have to cook for the members of his kiela all the time.

“You just can’t imagine the stress! And they eat like animals!”

You looked at him out of the corner of your eye as you ducked beneath a branch. “Honestly, Jin… I don’t feel that bad for you because you were the one who turned down my help, remember?.”

At your retort, the Saeni huffed then mumbled something along the lines of maybe letting you help cut the vegetables or some other tiny task from now on.

You chuckled and repeated what you had told him before, “If you ever want or need help, just let me know Papa Jin. I’d be happy to lend a hand.”

Brushing some leaves out of your face, you sent the black-haired male a smile, hoping he would understand that you genuinely just wanted to help and not try to steal his “caretaker position.”

You waited until he sent you a smile back, and then you glanced around to see how everyone else in the kiela was doing. Personally, your legs wet sore as heck, and your feet felt like they were about to fall off from all the walking and running you’d been doing, but the others seemed to be in no distress at all. Then again, they were definitely more used to this kind of hiking than you were.

You had been on the move for a couple of hours, still trekking toward the group’s destination. The only difference was that now you knew what that destination was.

I hope that makes you happy, chickpea brain.

After Jungkook had left you and Jimin alone earlier, you were finally able to sit down and have your much-needed talk with your best friend.

“I don’t have an alarm! How the hell am I supposed to do that!?”

Jimin let out an exasperated puff of air. “You literally just got punched in the face… and making sure you’re up on time to get punched again is what you’re worried about?”

“Hey, if getting punched a few more times helps me learn how to protect myself, then I’m doing it.” You sat back down on the mat and looked up into Jimin’s brown eyes. “Enough about Coco and punching, though. We need to talk.”

Leaning back on your hands, you titled your head to the side. “Why didn’t you tell me you’re a prince?”

“Wha-who-I-not-n-no!” He stammered out. “I’m not a prince, don’t be ridiculous.” He ran a hand through his apricot locks and avoided eye contact with you.

“Oh, save it, Slim Jim. I know you’re a prince, so don’t even try to lie.”

The half-Saeni let out a groan, closing his eyes and tugging at the roots of his hair. “Who told you? It was Tae, wasn’t it? That feather-brain can never keep his mouth shut.”

“Oh my gosh, it wasn’t Tae. Have some bloody faith in your brother, would you?” You rolled your eyes. “It was the bad guys from yesterday. They said something about it after they knocked your ass out.”

Your friend dropped his hands and blew out all the air in his lungs before he finally replied, “I’m… I’m not really a prince. Some people just call me that because my father was the previous king.”

“So, what? You’re an ex-prince?”

“More like a bastard.”

“Wait, so you’re like the Jon Snow of Illain?” Your eyes twinkled in excitement.

Jimin raised his eyebrows and looked down at your buzzing figure. “You know that Jon wasn’t actually a bastard, right?”

“Eh.” You waved your hand dismissively. “With how the writers treated that information in season eight, he might as well have still been one.”

“That… is a fair point.”

The conversation died down and all you could hear was the sound of the forest for what seemed like several minutes but was probably only ten seconds.

“Jimin…”

“Yeah?”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Jimin had sat down next to you and explained why knowing his heritage was dangerous, for you and him. He began his story by having you recall how his mom had stumbled into Illain (you still weren’t sure how that would happen, but hey, no point wondering about it now) and met and fell in love with his dad. What he had left out, was that his dad had been the king of Illain and was already in an arranged marriage. He didn’t love the queen and vice versa, but nevertheless, he had to keep his relationship with Jimin’s mom a secret. Both because it would have been considered taboo in addition to how it would have caused an uproar among the court officials.

Shortly after Jimin’s mom found out she was pregnant, the queen discovered the relationship and… she had not been pleased. She ended up murdering Jimin’s father and tried to kill his mom as well. Luckily, she had been able to escape back to Earth with the help of a friend, who had been one of the few who knew about her.

Once the king’s guard (who didn’t exactly excel at their job, in your opinion) caught the queen and interrogated her, it was reported that she kept saying that she wanted to see Illain fall into chaos and how she needed to eradicate the “key within the bloodline.” Whatever that meant. Nobody could really make sense of her, it was like she had suddenly went batshit insane.

After the events, nobody thought much of her words, beyond them being those of a crazed person. The world grieved and then crowned a new king. Eventually, the Saeni forgot about what the previous queen had said… until five years later. Stories rose up about an anarchist who preached about unleashing pain and suffering upon all of Illain. Those who felt as though the world was against them, that life hated them, that the gods mistreated them, were captivated by his message and joined his ranks. They began terrorizing Illain in the name of an unknown person, Uzjuk, and were soon known as the draikensu, or “the dark ones.”

Over the years, the draikensu had somehow learned that the deceased king had had a child out of wedlock, and they turned their attention to finding that child. To finding him and eradicating the “key” that lived within him. Nobody knew what they meant by that, but it was clear that it was not safe for Jimin to be honest about who he was. Which was why he goes by Chim in Illain and why he didn’t tell you the full story from the beginning. Those who know of his heritage are not only in danger themselves, but they also put Jimin at risk of being exposed. The only ones who are supposed to know are Jimin’s kiela, his father’s friend (who was the new king), and now you. Though, obviously, somebody else must have figured it out because the draikensu from yesterday had known.

As for your destination, Jimin had informed you that he had been summoned to the royal palace. He didn’t know exactly why and neither did his kiela, who had been sent to retrieve him, but the king had said he was needed urgently.

What a fucking shit show.

You had gotten some answers, but in their wake, more questions had sprung up. Who the hell was Uzjuk? What was the “key” within Jimin? Why did the king need him? Do the Saeni even train their royal guard? You pondered the questions as you stepped around a big hunk of rock that was covered in moss. Yet, although more unknowns had arisen, there was one thing you definitely knew: there was no way in hell you weren’t going to learn how to fight now. It was only a matter of time before more of those draikensu fuckers came after Jimin again. You needed to be ready. You wanted to help protect him. There was only one week left of travelling before you reached the royal palace, and you didn’t know what was going to happen once you got there. Would you be able to continue training with Jungkook? Would you all turn around and go back to the tree bridge?

Ugh. More questions!

No matter the case, anything was better than nothing, so you were going to make the most of the asshat’s training in the upcoming week.

“Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Come on, little scorja! Wake your cute ass UP!”

You groaned and tried to push the weight on top of you off, but it only collapsed onto you even more and began poking your sides.

You cracked an eye open and whined, “Tae! Let me sleep!”

It was so damn early that your petals from yesterday were still in effect.

“Nu’uh! A little flower, aka you, told me yesterday that you needed to be up two hours earlier than usual to go to school.” He hoisted you up and you hung limply in his arms, making him hold your dead weight. “So, I’m your alarm clock and I say it’s time to get up!”

He emphasized his words by giving your body a hard shake. You reacted by slapping a hand over his face and then smacking him again and again in various locations on his head.

“Where’s the freaking off button?”

You continued smacking him until you heard his whimpers of how he had just wanted to help. You looked up into his pouting blue eyes and instantly succumbed to them.

Dammit. He knows how to get to me.

“Ugh, fine.”

He beamed, mood instantly shifting back to delighted. He gripped your head in his hands, squishing your cheeks and contorting your face into a forced, closed-lipped smile. “Ah! There’s that pretty, scorja smile!”

That made you genuinely laugh, and you peeled his hands away while stuck your tongue out at him. Then you pulled him into a hug, and whispered into his ear, “Thanks for waking me up, Tae.”

“You’re welcome,” he whispered back. “Oh! Here are your petals for the day.”

You took the delicate objects out of his palm and popped them into your mouth, stretching once their disorienting effects went away. You looked around and noticed that, besides Yoongi giving the two of you a glare for waking him up, the rest of the kiela was still snoozing away except for…

“Good, you’re up. Let’s go.”

You looked over your shoulder and saw Jungkook dropping down from a tree. He had a bow and quiver in his hand, and you wondered where he got it from since you hadn’t seen them before.

“I’ll see you later Tae Tae!” You parted after giving the Saeni a kiss on his cheek.

“They grow up so fast.” He wiped away nonexistent tears as he returned to his on-watch spot. “Learn lots and be safe!

You approached the burgundy-haired Saeni while chuckling. “Good morning, Coco.”

He grumbled out a “good morning, human” and started walking into the trees, leaving you to trail after him.

Jogging to catch up, you asked, “Where’d you get that bow? It’s not Tae’s and I didn’t think anyone else had one, besides Jimin of course, but his is… I don’t know where it is.” You briefly paused to admire a funky looking plant with wavy leaves before continuing. “Is that Jimin’s?”

Jungkook raised a brow at your talkative attitude, bewildered you were that peppy after just waking up. “Not Jimin’s. It’s a spare we keep in a … magic locker? I’m not completely sure how it works, but Yoongi is able to tuck things away into a space and I asked him to bring this out for you last night. It’s one of Tae’s old bows that he used during training. It’ll be easier for you to draw with.”

“Oh. Um, thanks for having him do that.”

It was another small glimpse into the thoughtful and soft side of Jungkook that often, or more like ninety-five percent of the time, disappeared around you.

After the two of you had walked far enough into the foliage to not wake up the others, Jungkook abruptly stopped, which caused you to stumble as you tried to evade running smack dab into his back.

As you regained your balance and moved around to face him, he said, “Okay, today we’re going to start by correcting your pathetic punching technique and then we’re going to do some tests with various weapons to-”

“You’re going to let-”

“Uh… I’m not finished.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

You couldn’t stop your snort. “Geez, who are you? Tyler the Creator?”

“No. I’m Jungkook the Maknae.” He said in a serious tone, lifting his chin up.

You blinked at him. “I… literally cannot stand you.”

“Perfect. We’re on the same page then, sweetheart.”

“Sweetheart? Wooow.” You smirked and placed your hands on your hips. “I’ve really gotten an upgrade on my nickname.”

“I swear to Exia, if you don’t let me finish, little human-”

“Oop. There it is.”

He growled.

“Alright, alright.” You raised your hands to signal your peace. “I’ll stop and be a good girl for you.”

Jungkook’s body froze and his pupils dilated as he stared at you. The only movement coming from his form was now the rising and falling of his chest.

You furrowed your brows. Sure, your words could’ve sounded a bit sexual, but you didn’t think you had to worry about the male in front of you thinking that way. Not with his low opinion of you. Plus, some part of you was still convinced that the boy was celibate as hell. Though, you found it odd that he wasn’t moving or taking his green eyes off of you.

“Jungkook?” You pursed your lips.

His eyes bugged out at your voice and he looked away before clearing his throat. “Ah, as I was saying, we’ll test out different weapons to see what kind of fighter you’ll be. Hence why I got the bow. You’ll also try out some throwing knives, a dagger, and a short sword.”

Anticipating your question, he quickly rolled his eyes and said, “Yes, I’m letting you use my short swords.”

“I just figured that you wouldn’t want anyone else touching your shit. Especially me. You seem a little… possessive in that way.”

He shrugged, shifting his gaze to the leaves above his head. Though you didn’t miss his hand moving to gently touch the handle of his ruby dagger.

That must be the thing he gets stingy with. I wonder what’s so special about it?

“We won’t be trying out a normal sword though, because, quite frankly, you just aren’t strong enough for that.”

You couldn’t even get mad at him for saying that since it was probably, most likely, definitely true.

Before anything else happened, Jungkook set down the spare bow and its quiver and led you through a series of static and dynamic stretches. Even though you already knew how to properly warm up your body, you were a dancer for crying out loud, you let him do his thing. Not only did you not want to piss him off, but he was also the one who offered to train you, so you were going to listen and do as he instructed… But he didn’t need to know that you were more focused on the birds’ singing and chirping than his voice while you stretched your quad.

“Alright, I want you doing that before every session, got it?”

You gave him a salute after brushing off your dirt-covered butt. “Aye, aye captain.”

He then directed you to show him how you held your hand during a punch. You did so, and he immediately sighed. He took your fist in his rough, scar-covered hands and turned it this way and that, observing and clicking his tongue in dissatisfaction.

“At least your thumb isn’t inside your fist. It’s good you know not to do that.” He prodded at the appendage. “Move it to rest below your curled fingers, between your pointer and middle fingers.”

After allowing him to adjust you as he saw fit, he also told you to squeeze your fist more, but not to the point of cutting off circulation. You listened attentively to his directions as a crisp morning breeze ruffled both of your hair. When he was pleased with your first, he nodded.

Tapping the knuckles of your ring and pinky fingers, he said, “Never lead your punch with these because it’ll break the shit out of your hand. And don’t try to make contact with this part,” he rubbed the flat part of your fingers that was between the knuckles, “always make contact with your actual knuckles, okay?”

“Okay.”

He went on to show you the proper stance as well as the best way to utilize your weight and momentum in an attack.

“Before I have you practicing actual punches on me, I want you to just practice the action to get the movement and feeling down so that you’re comfortable with it.”

With that, he told you that you were now going to start working with some weapons. Not to learn any advanced moves with them, but to simply see if you had a natural affinity for a any certain type. Your mind reeled a bit at how he wanted you to practice before punching, but was about to hand over some weapons and just… let you have at it? It seemed a wee bit backwards to you, but oh well. You were honestly more surprised with how patient and informative Jungkook had been thus far. He had yet to be condescending or snappy toward you. Instead, he gave off the impression that he was… excited. It was apparent that he really enjoyed fighting, both physically and conversationally. Even if it was just teaching a little human like yourself the basics, his voice was lighter and his eyes brighter than they usually were in your presence.

You were brought out of your head when he handed you a throwing knife, the coolness of the metal making you jump out of your thoughts. The blade was about ten inches long with cut-outs and it had a thick, sharp point. He told you that the end you hold when throwing depends on the blade, and to always hold whichever end is heavier, as it creates a more forceful throw. You hummed, and he moved on to show you how the grip the knife: pointer, middle, and ring fingers on one side, thumb on the other, and pinky finger curled at the bottom. When you finally grasped the blade correctly, he made a noise of satisfaction and eased it out of your hand. Then, he demonstrated how to move your body and follow through on the throw. He repeated the motion a couple of times and on the third he calmly released the knife and it embedded itself deep into a tree trunk a solid 25 feet away.

You whistled. “Well hot damn, Coco.”

He smirked at you and told you to go through the motion. You felt like you were transported back to when you were in little league softball, learning how to throw a ball for the first time. After several minutes of you throwing nothing and him tweaking your form, he gave you another knife identical to the previous.

Taking a deep breath and settling yourself into position, you waited for a big gust of wind to subside. Once it passed, you brought your arm back, took a small step, and threw the knife forward. Er… you had wanted the knife to go forward. You must have released prematurely, though, because it went up and to the right instead. Wincing, you held your breath as you waited for the asshat to say something about your misshap.

“Again.” He only handed you another blade.

This time, the knife went forward, but it still missed the tree by a good 10 feet.

“Again.”

Another blade. And another miss. This one to the left of the tree, since you had tried to compensate for your previous blunder.

“Well… that wasn’t as bad as Namjoon hyung, I’ll give you that. Though it still kind of sucked.” His green eyes met yours and you were shocked to see that they held no malice. “And yeah, yeah, yeah, I know ‘it’s your first time,’ but I don’t think you’ll be our new Hobi, sweetheart.”

“I… yeah, me neither.” You released a stream of light laughter as you thought about your failed attempts. “What’s next?”

“Dagger.” Jungkook reached behind him and withdrew a short, curved blade.

“What the heck,” you gasped, “I didn’t even know you had a dagger back there.” You ogled at him like he had just performed a magic trick.

He raised an eyebrow at you, mouth slightly curving upward. “That’s kind of the point, little human. It’s supposed to be hidden.”

Once your awe at his abracadabra moment faded, he asked if you had ever used a dagger before.

“No? Well, um, not before the… tent,” you said in a small voice.

“Oh, right.” He coughed awkwardly. “Uh, so anyway, you know how to use it on a surface level, yeah?”

You gestured to the end of the dagger, which was gleaming in the morning sunlight. “Stick ‘em with the pointy end.”

Come on… there was no way you couldn’t say that.

He looked at you blankly for a few moments, and you were about to tell him it was just a reference, but then he tipped his head back and yelled.

“Not that fucking line again! Chim wouldn’t stop saying it one summer and it haunts me!”

“Wait, you know Game of Thrones?”

“Is that what it’s called? I don’t know, sure. But that’s a quote from the wolf girl, right?”

You excitedly nodded and clapped your hands together rapidly, hoping you could take a short break and talk about the show.

The burgundy head moaned in defeat. “And to think I already had all the reasons to not like you, you go on and say that.” He chuckled to himself in pity.

You didn’t join him, though. The brightness of your eyes died at his words and you looking away from him.

Why are you so upset, Y/N? You knew he didn’t like you.

Well, maybe if he wasn’t so fucking back and forth between being civil and then saying something like that out of the blue, it wouldn’t be so shocking. You had also thought that maybe, just maybe, he wouldn’t dislike you anymore after the whole draikensu ordeal. Or at least, you thought that he wouldn’t be so openly vocal about it. Looks like you were wrong.

When he realized that you had gone silent, and he thought back to what he had said, his green eyes widened.

“I didn’t-I mean, I don’t…” He sighed when he saw all the playfulness gone from your y/e/c eyes when you returned your gaze to him. “Anyways, here’s how you use it.”

Eventually, you disregarded his comment and focused on the matter at hand. You knew you wouldn’t be drawn toward fighting with a dagger, especially after the other day, but you didn’t want to half-ass your way through it. After going through the dagger and the short sword, both of which you were mediocre at, Jungkook picked up the bow.

Prior to handing it to you, though, he presented an arm guard. Quickly slipping it over your wrist, you grabbed the bow and one of the arrows he offered.

Much to his surprise, you already knew how to notch an arrow. You threw a smirk his way. You also vaguely remembered the basic grip and stance for archery, so you fell into what you hoped was the proper form.

Thank you, middle school archery seminar.

Ignoring your smug display, Jungkook crossed his arms and told you to draw back. Gritting your teeth slightly at the tension, you did and waited as circled and assessed you. After a while, your arms were beginning to shake from holding the position, your muscles not used to that kind of exertion.

“You need to raise your arm a little bit.”

He stepped up right behind you, bringing his chest flush to your back, in order to correct your form. As you felt his firm front pressed against you, you flashed back to when you saw him shirtless. To when his muscles were out on full display and his thick thighs were evident through his damp plants. You recalled how utterly good he had looked, half-naked and dripping water.

Shit. Y/N, snap out of it!

You shook your head like the physical action would make the thoughts fly out of your mind.

“No?” You heard Jungkook question.

“Wha-huh?”

“I asked if feels comfortable for you? The position?”

Hell yes, does it feel comfortable… AH STOP IT! HE’S TALKING ABOUT THE SHOOTING POSITION, YOU HORNY IMBECILE!

Coughing, you choked out a yes. He looked down at you in confusion for your weird reaction, but instead of inquiring about it he just hummed and stepped away.

You were almost appalled with yourself. Yeah, he was really good looking, hot even, but how could you be thinking about the asshat in that way? You know, the person who basically hated your guts? Not to mention the fact that you had a big, fat, lovey-dovey crush on your best friend… and Jungkook was most definitely not your best friend!

You seriously wondered how he could make you feel so many different things in such a short span of time. You had gone from perky, to teasing, annoyed, happy, excited, disappointed, angry, and finally hot and bothered all within two damn hours.

You were so confused by this male and his words and actions. It was truly exhausting to try to keep up with his mood swings. You dropped your arms with an irked sigh, lowering the bow and bringing some relief to your straining arms.

“Everything okay?” The Saeni asked, his voice sounding slightly concerned.

“Yeah, I’m just… my arms aren’t used to this, and they were hurting. Go ahead and make fun of me for being such a weak, little human.” You had tried to add some fire behind your last statement, but it came out with barely a flicker of heat. You were just too confused as to whether you wanted to be turned on, mad, spiteful, or ashamed.

“Whoa, hey look, I’m sorry for what I said earlier… about, you know, not liking you… it’s just-I don’t-”

“You don’t have to like me, Jungkook. I don’t need every person I come across to like me.”

“It’s not that, it’s-I don’t know-”

You whirled around to face him, and you could see that his face was heating up. Yours was too, but yours was in complete frustration.

“Well, if you don’t know, then can you figure it out for fuck’s sake? If you like me, then great, like me and be pleasant toward me. If you don’t like me, then fine, don’t like me and be a dick.” You were in his face at this point, poking his solid chest with your pointer finger. “I just need you to fucking stop with the going back and forth! I never know which Jungkook I’m going to get, and I’m constantly worried I’ll say something to set you off and I don’t know what it’ll be, and it’s so. Damn. Annoying!”

You turned back around and raised the bow, shooting at a nearby tree. Although it didn’t hit where you had aimed, the arrow still thumped into the trunk nonetheless. Jungkook gaped at you as you angrily faced him once more and shoved the bow at him.

“I want to be an archer. And I want to learn hand to hand fighting. Does that sound good with you? Alright, perfect.” You didn’t even give him a chance to reply before you began stomping your way back to camp. “Thanks for the lesson Coco, I’ll practice the punching and see you bright and early tomorrow.”

As the burgundy-haired male watched your back vanish into the trees he let out a curse and crouched down, gripping his head with both hands. He stayed that way for minutes, letting himself be enveloped by the sounds of the leaves, birds, and bugs… but it wasn’t enough to make the sound of your echoing voice disappear from inside his head. He released a loud noise of annoyance and frustration, and moved a hand to clutch the handle of the dagger strapped to his waist before whispering to the trees, “What the fuck am I doing?”

previous [5] — next [7]

[myheartrevealed]

I Will Be Here- Chapter Twenty

Jack Kline x Reader

Summary: Dr. Myla was one of the only therapists who specialized in treating the Supernatural, someone who offered an oasis to people like you. Carrying the burden of your father and being the ever-hunted Cambion, you attend her sessions however, that begins to change when you meet a fellow patient, Jack. Can unfortunate circumstances bring you two together even though all odds are against it?

~ ~ ~

Who knew one could be so happy with life?

You snuggled up against Jack, leaning against the headboard of his bed and giggling. The two of you had his laptop set up in front of you and were watching The Office. You guys had started watching it a while ago, when Jack asked what it was about and you explained what you knew, then said you had always wanted to watch it. He thought it would be fun to watch together and now you spent your days off from hunting and research cuddled together binge watching.

You were halfway through season 7 now and you were kind of sad you would be finishing the series soon, because you enjoyed the time you spent with Jack so much.

“Who do I remind you of?” he asked suddenly. “In The Office?”

You gave him a once over, squinting your eyes like you were thinking about it. “Hm. I don’t know. I think I’ll say Pam.”

His lips spread into a wide smile. “Why?”

That you did need to think about. Pam had just felt right. “I don’t know. You just… you’re kind of a dork. You’re a sweet lovable dork. And you remind me of Pam. Your smile and your eyes. You just make me think of Pam. Now then, who am I?”

He imitated your thinking face before saying, “Angela.”

You laughed out loud. “Angela? Why?”

“Because you act cold and mean, but you’re just a big fluff ball inside… And you love cats,” he added.

He pulled you closer with the hand he had around your shoulders and you wrapped both your arms around his stomach.

Who knew such happiness existed?

“Y/N?” Cas called. He was walking down the hallway and you could hear his voice getting louder. “Y/N where are you?”

“I’m here!” you called, pulling away from your boyfriend.

Cas peared inside, pausing in the doorway. “Y/N. Sorry to interrupt your binge session,” he started. “I’m afraid I’ve got some news on Michael. And it concerns you.”

~ ~ ~

The angels were going dark side. That was the news.

“Most of them are either standing with Michael or have completely dropped off the grid. But he is killing anyone who doesn’t stand with him and he’s got eyes basically all over the world… so it’s not long before he either has an army, or we go extinct.”

You shook your head, almost in disbelief. “So what you’re saying is, you’re in danger.”

He looked confused at your response. “Y/N, do you honestly believe I wasn’t in danger before this?”

“So, what does this have to do with me?” you said, attempting to change the subject.

“Well,” he started, “I got in contact with some of the angels on his side now. They’re saying that they’re worried. The reason a lot of them are standing with Michael is because there is a girl, going around claiming she’s the Antichrist. She’s saying that it’s her destiny to kill them all and she’s going to do it. They’re scared and angels don’t function well without a strong leader. That’s why they’re following Michael.”

There was a tense silence that hung in the air. You could feel everyone’s eyes on you and your brows knit themselves together. But before contemplating, you had to address the elephant in the room.

“Well, it ain’t me! I have literally spent all of my life trying to hide my identity from the world. I don’t want to fulfill this ‘prophecy’ I’m a part of, I’ve barely left the bunker since I moved in, and I don’t call myself the Antichrist.”

You realized that last bit was probably unnecessary, but you were really put off by this.

“I’m not saying it was you Y/N, but that means-”

“Since when does Michael have a new vessel, anyway?”

You were pacing the room. What was bugging you so much?

Dean shrugged. “Michael could persuade just about anyone to be his vessel. He probably found the strongest human he could and decided to use them. It doesn’t matter who his vessel is, he’s still dangerous.”

“Less dangerous,” you muttered.

You didn’t realize that you were still pacing until Sam grabbed your shoulders and set you down in the chair he was sitting in a minute ago. “Why don’t you slow down a minute Y/N. Take a deep breath.”

You raised your eyebrow. “Really Sam? You think that’ll help?”

He shrugged. “It normally helps to calm you down. You actually speak English when you’re calm.”

That was true. You had a bad habit of murmuring to yourself and not putting context around what you’re talking about when you’re nervous.

You couldn’t help but be a little happy that everyone in the bunker knew you really well at this point. It was almost like having a family again. The thought put you at ease and you were able to stop fidgeting and comprehend where your brain was trying to go.

“So, if someone is going around claiming to be the Antichrist… and it’s not me…”

“Then there are others,” Cas finished. “Others than you and Jesse.”

“So, how many?”

Sam bit the inside of his cheek. “How are we supposed to know? It’s not like there’s really a pattern between all you guys. You all don’t have fathers, because the demons possess woman to have children. But even then, the babies could be put up for adoption, or they could believe their father is someone else in the mother’s life. A boyfriend or husband…”

“There can’t be many.” Cas stated. “The only one that we could find was Jesse. Now you guys only show up on our radar when your power gets out of control, like yours did at Dr. Myla’s office. If there were a lot, I have a feeling we would have noticed some of them.

“We’re all a similar age, if that narrows it down.” Sam looked confused, so you went on. “Well, my dad said that when they thought they were going to need an army for Lucifer’s return, he went out immediately to find someone to bear his child. I assume everyone else did that too. I mean, Jesse’s only a few months older than me.”

But this wasn’t why you were on edge. There was something still there, something still crawling in the back of your mind, making you jumpy.

“Why do we need to find the others?” Dean asked. “I mean, it’s not like it matters, right? I thought we decided that this whole thing, Y/N’s destiny or whatever, didn’t matter. Aren’t we going to just-”

“But it does matter.” You figured it out. What was eating at your mind. “The angels are the enemy now. If we want to beat Michael, we need to kill them, don’t we?”

Dean opened his mouth to argue, but shut it again when he realized what you were saying.

“Y/N, you can’t be serious,” Jack said. “You really want to… to do this?”

You shrugged. “We need to beat them anyway. I say, we find those kids and build ourselves an army.”

Sam huffed. “Uh, Y/N? Building an army isn’t exactly our style. Especially one compiled of kids who are going to destroy heaven.”

“What?” you asked. “Sam this our best shot of beating Michael. He has an army and we don’t. I need to find these kids, that’s why my dad led me to Jesse. This is what Billie meant I had to survive for.”

He was also taken aback. “Y/N, since when do you trust a single thing your dad does? He wanted Lucifer to be king. And not to mention, this little prophecy of yours does not exclude Castiel, our friend. Your really going to kill him so that you can live out your ‘destiny’? Y/N, you’re better than this.”

“I would never hurt Cas. Why are you all the sudden so against my future?”

“It’s not your future Y/N! Your future is to grow up, get a job, live life. You’ve always wanted to escape the things your father did to you. Why are you so eager all the sudden to go along with his plan?”

You had never fought with Sam before. Not since the day he showed up at your house to convince you to help him. You didn’t know what his problem was, but you didn’t like it. You didn’t like fighting him.

Cas cut into your argument. “Hey, no one said anything about killing me.”

“Yeah. They better not,” Dean added.

“Because, the prophecy… it isn’t against angels. It’s against heaven. The story goes that the children will rage war against heaven. She will be the downfall of heaven, not the angels.”

“So much better,” Sam sad with a scoff.

“Sam,” Cas scolded. “Heaven right now, is Michael. So, if Y/N’s right and we can find these other kids and build an army, then she’s still technically fulfilling her prophecy.”

Sam stood up. “I can’t believe this.”

“Sam,” you tried as he walked out the door.

“No it’s fine Y/N,” he called as he walked down the hall. “Ruin your life if you want to. Fine by me.”

You stared at the door for another minute, wondering where you had gone wrong, but shook your head and brought yourself back to your senses. You can deal with that later.

“Cas I need a list of all the angels still alive. Both in Michael’s army and in hiding. If you can, try to convince some of them not to join Michael, but I hope you’re okay that anyone who tells me they’re not ‘Team Free Will’ I will kill.”

Cas nodded immediately. “Heaven hasn’t been stable in a long time. If I’m the last angel standing after this, I’ll be okay.”

You smiled at him, before pulling out your phone. You pulled up Jesse’s number and dialed it.

Jesse had gone back to California a month ago. Neither of you had gotten a vision since you had met.

“Hello?”

“Jesse. I’m so sorry to bother you, but I need your help.”

“...uh sure. What is it?”

“Your not going to like it.”

~ ~ ~

Tags: @sophiasescape @iris-suoh @random-stupid-stuffs @themaddonesblog @mahalaraewolfe @choosemyname

(If you want to be added to the tag list, just let me know!)

[constant-fandom-migrator]

Sweetwater Revenge: A Choni AU

A Riverdale AU in which the Blossoms are a very old vampire family and the serpents are vampire hunters. With a peace treaty between the Blossoms and the serpents, all seems calm. That is until the ghoulies, an insane breed of vampires, begin to push their way into town. Shocking murders rock the town, but is it vampires, or is it someone out for revenge? On the other side of things is the Lodge family, still buying up land with a different, but sinister, plan.

Choni is the main focus of the story, enemies to lovers type deal. All other characters are treated appropriately.

ao3

CHAPTER 1

Riverdale was the town with pep! At least that’s what the faded sign on the town border said. In reality, the town was far more ominous than advertised. Darkness clung to everything in sight. The people, the places and, of course, all the ill formed alliances, were all shrouded in mystery. That mystery being several hundred years in the making.

Over the years the town became divided as more people failed to see eye to eye. It was understandable, given the circumstances. While most towns grappleed only with politics and poverty, Riverdale was forced to deal with something far more sinister, death.

The sprawling Thornhill Mansion on the highest hill served as a constant reminder of the terrible truth. Etched on the rusting gates was the phrase“Radices Currere Abyssi.” It was an old Latin phrase for Roots Run Deep. Those roots were deeper than anyone but the Blossom’s knew. As the founders of the town, the Blossom family owned much of the town, including Thornhill.

Most people considered Thornhill to be a home of horrors, haunted not by ghosts, but by the living. Though, some would disagree with the word living. It didn’t really apply, at least not to the Blossoms.

The town, and more specifically the residents of Thornhill had a secret. Vampires were not only real, but they owned most of the town. They weren’t vampires in the sense that they glittered in the sun and were tentative friends with werewolves. Rather, they were the sort that had a blood cellar instead of a wine cellar, and were remarkably old. No one had an exact number, but they founded Riverdale nearly 250 years prior. They also had been rumored to be around several centuries before then.

This was a difficult concept for newcomers to grasp. As such, most of the town consisted of the original families that settled there just after Riverdale’s founding.

The main families were the Blossoms, Coopers, Andrews and Lodges. The Lodge family was the sole family to actually leave Riverdale, but like most others they returned.

Riverdale was a magnet forged by demons themselves. It didn't matter that most town’s didn't have vampires or mysterious deaths. It was a town comparable to no other, a piece of it living inside each resident. No one stayed gone, not for long.

                                                         * * *

It was an exciting day for the people of Riverdale. The high school specifically was abuzz with rumours of the new arrivals. The Lodge family, though one of the original families of Riverdale, had been in New York for nearly twenty years. It marked the longest departure of the original families.

Hermione and Hiram Lodge had a daughter, Veronica, while in New York. After some legal trouble, the disgraced family decided to return to their humble roots. That's what was exciting people the most. The older folks in town knew Hermione and Hiram, but no one knew what to expect from Veronica.

Betty, of the Cooper family, was first to break the news in the school paper. It didn't take long before all of Riverdale followed the peppy blonde’s lead, trading rumours like it was a new form of currency.

It was no secret that the Blossom family both owned and ran the small town, located on the scenic edge of Sweetwater River. However, the Lodges had made a name for themselves in New York, and a showdown was inevitable.

People already knew a lot about the Lodges. For instance, Hiram and his wife started Lodge Industries together. Carefully and over time, they wove a tangled webb of various businesses, some legitimate, some not.

It was some of their earlier businesses that finally caught up with them, landing Hiram behind bars. Though, just like with everything else, money was key. After only six months in jail, he was released. Following the advice of their many lawyers, they decided to start over in Riverdale.

It wasn’t until eight thirty a.m on a breezy Tuesday morning that the news finally felt real. With the front door to Riverdale High slammed open, in came a girl with dark black hair, a neatly pressed skirt matched with a ruffled blouse and elegant string of pearls around her neck. Veronica Lodge had arrived.

Silence engulfed the crowd of onlookers until Betty stepped up with an outstretched hand and her swinging signature ponytail.

The two could not have appeared more differently. Betty with her pink cardigan and comfortable jeans, next to Veronica and her oversized sunglasses and razor sharp high heels. Anyone who knew Betty would tell you she wasn’t afraid of anything. So with a smile, she announced, “Hello, I’m Betty. Welcome to Riverdale.”  

Veronica made a show of removing her glasses and gripping Betty’s outstretched hand. “Hello to you. As I’m sure you know, I’m Veronica Lodge.”

With a smile, Betty released her hand. “Yes, we were expecting you today. Can I take you to the office? You can pick up your schedule and locker number there.”

“Of course” She responded quickly, with an eye on something behind Betty. “Maybe along the way you could tell me about that red hunk of handsome.”

Turning, Betty saw none other than Archie Andrews. He was her best friend and nextdoor neighbour. He was sweet, and the closest thing to selfless a person could be. She didn’t much like the idea of introducing the two just yet.

On the way to the office, they ran intoto Kevin Keller, king of snappy comebacks and stating the obvious. He was a good friend of Betty’s, but as Veronica so animatedly offered to take him in as her best gay, she grew quickly weary of the newcomer.

It wasn't until after escorting her to the office that they ran into her worst fear, Cheryl Blossom.

Everybody was aware of who and what the Blossoms were, but generally didn’t speak on it. It was best to stay out of their way and, when necessary, give them what they wanted.

Cheryl’s striking red hair seemed to light her milky white skin on fire while her eyes felt as if they went through anything she chose to glance at. She moved abnormally quickly, but not enough to make obvious what she was.

What gave her away the most was the way she seemed to float rather than walk. Sure her fit actually touched the ground, but did so in a way that Cheryl appeared weightless.

Stepping to the side, in order to not be between them, Betty made quick introductions.

“Veronica, this is Cheryl. She is captain of the vixens, our decorated cheer squad.”

Cheryl chuckled menacingly, lacing her fingers together. “Oh sweet Betty, you know I’m far more than a mere cheer captain. I run this school and my family runs this town. Be warned, daughter of a sleazy conman, no one gets in my way.”

Crossing her arms, Veronica fired back, “I didn’t realize you and the rest of your blood thieving family could even venture outside during the day.”

“There is a lot you don’t know about my family, and if I were you, I would keep it that way.”

Neither looked like they were going to back down when, like a saint on a mission, Jughead Jones swooped in. Flannel shirt around his waist and pin decorated beanie cut in the shape of a crown, made him stand out in a crowd. His distracting presence was sorely needed.

“Whats up ladies?”

“No one was talking to you, hobo.” Cheryl replied coldly.

Veronica took a different route, with a sickly sweet voice and fluttering eyelashes.

“You are a welcome break from the Anne Rice novel I seem to have gotten stuck in. Hello there, I’m Veronica.”

“Charmed” Jughead said, failing to hide the sarcasm. “Betty, are we still on for Pop’s later?”

“I’ve lost interest in this sidebar.” Cheryl flipped her hair and floated away.

Betty chose to ignore them and only answer Jug, “Yeah, and how’s your dad?”

“Oh he’s fine, you know him, not even a Ghoulie can take him out.”

“That’s good Jug, I’ll see you later. I’m going to show Veronica to her first class.”

“Yes, dogooder Betty, on her first mission of the day.” Jughead gave an awkward bow and narrowly avoided Betty’s playful smack.

When they finally arrived at the classroom, Veronica boldly asked, “What’s a ghoulie?”

Betty thought for a moment, trying to figure out a short but accurate answer. “They are like the Blossoms, but much worse. Compared to them, the Blossoms are basically as human as you or I.”

Veronica nodded, but still looked confused, as she should be. Even Betty, who lived in Riverdale her whole life, couldn't fully explain or understand the ghoulies. They were vile, insane creatures that masquerades as a local gang. Of course they were not to be confused with the serpents. Sure they also wore leather and caused their fare share of chaos, but they were human and,  most, had morals.

For the moment, that was all Veronica needed to know. After all, she was new and not many people should be trusted in Riverdale.

                                                         * * *

Toni’s day was going much like any other. Wake up, go to school, cause a bit of mayhem, and end up at the south side bar, The Whyt Wyrm. Even being in the serpents had become more about going through the motions than anything else.

She had been lured into the gang because of her grandpa’s tall tales of vampires running wild and the small group of indigenous people that fought back with the only known weapon, the venom of a massasauga. Only the venom of that particular serpent could take down even the strongest vampire. For safety, a group of men began to gather regularly and used to the venom to take out any vampire preying on their tribe. They called themselves the serpents and her history began.

After the peace treaty with the Blossoms, nearly forty years prior, things quieted for the serpents. The peace treaty only covered the Blossom family, all other vampires that came near their land were still up for grabs.

Toni had never met a Blossom, mostly because the peace treaty only meant a cease fire, not that old wounds were healed or that there was even any understanding. They were still the enemy, and that was fine by her.

The ghoulies were both a whole different story and breed. While the Blossoms drank only from blood bags and willing donors, the ghoulies drained anything human. Whether it was a man, woman or child, they weren’t picky and never left an ounce of blood to spare.

The serpents managed to keep them out of Riverdale, both the north and south side up until that point. Rumours of them growing restless, however, had been confirmed when several ghoulies were spotted circling the perimeter of Riverdale.  For the moment, all the serpents could do was keep a close eye on them. Some members wanted to go after them, but most realized their dwindling numbers would not produce a victory for them.

Her days of checking on ghoulies and pouring beers were shaken up when FP, king of the serpents, announced they had been paid off for a simple job. They were asked to takeover and trash the drive in theater. It was true that the job wasn’t exactly usual for them, but it seemed simple enough and they were all low on cash. Toni figured it was as good a job as any. She could use a break from the monotony, and trouble was her favorite extra curricular.

For the north side, there was nothing better to do than a movie at the drive in and a milkshake at Pop’s. For the south side, there was nothing better to do than bother the north side. They had a funny relationship that way.

Unlike a lot of the southside, Toni didn’t hold any ill will against the people of the north side. Sure they were annoying, stuck up and had a nasty case of tunnel-vision, but they never did anything specifically against her.

So while she was happy to pester them in the name of fun, thats where Toni drew the line. She joined the serpents to protect people from the ghoulies, not deal drugs and rob the north side. The serpents had lost their way, and she wasn’t yet in a position to point that out.

Instead, like the good soldier she was, Toni marched into the drive in, large bucket of popcorn to toss and orders to bug as many people as possible.

[taeguboi]

The Very Hopeful, and I [BTS Soulmate!AU]

WATTPAD // FIC MASTERLIST // REACTIONS

PROLOGUE: MINDFUL here

PROLOGUE: YOUTHFUL

As children, we’re encouraged to keep the names on our wrists hidden from one another. This policy holds many intentions, most of which ensure education remains focused upon. It prevents major conflicts during school years of destined enemies. It allows us to be teenagers and practice at relationships so we can make the mistakes, even though we individually know the truth about who our futures lie with. So like, the girl I made out with behind the bleachers in my senior year isn’t going to be the mother of my children, but at least I learned a thing or two, I suppose. Quite importantly, this rule also stops irregular or taboo cases, or anything societally seen as ‘abnormal’ being highlighted. It stops confrontation and commotion, and I guess I appreciate that, really.

For example, wouldn’t it be disappointing if the name of your soulmate or ally was that of a celebrity’s, only to find years later that you stumble across someone else with just the same name? All those years of bragging and bathing in attention from your classmates, only to be dragged down upon the 1st reunion when you introduce your partner that looks nothing like that famous person, they just merely share the same name.

Or how about being outed instantly because the 1st name on your wrist is of the same gender as you? Kids, even teenagers, don’t always fully understand the concept of loving someone with the same… anatomy as themselves, and that’s because they haven’t learned or experienced everything life has to offer yet, and they don’t know how everything works.

I can’t say I really know of any other ‘irregular’ cases, I simply follow suit of others and focus on myself. Myself, who has a most definitely female name at the top of that short list of names engraved into my skin…

I don’t yet wish to reveal my names beyond family to be perfectly honest. Maybe I’ve just stuck to a routine that has been embedded into me for the first 18 years of my life, but it’s not for that reason alone. I want to do more in the world whilst I’m in a physical peak before I start aging and settling down with this girl whose name sits on my skin. I’m content with the people I have met so far.

I met my biggest enemy last year, when at my old job, they went out of their way to screw me over and stand in the way of me getting a promotion. Fortunately, I overcame this person and I managed to get the promotion of a lifetime, and they remain a part of my past that built me as a person… I guess that person was chosen as my enemy because had I not worked my way up the ladder, I probably would have been made redundant, put out of work, etc, etc, blah, blah, blah…

My greatest ally, just a year older than myself, I met during my school years. I have nothing but fond memories of this person. It’s a great shame that we got separated after middle school; I would have liked to experience those high school years with him, getting up to all sorts of mischief in the first few years, then maturing and growing up together… but I’m sure I will find him some day again. Afterall, he’s supposed to be my greatest ally.

In kindergarten, we both got kept behind after class because we wrote stories that followed a similar plot and since we were sat next to one another, we basically got lectured about copying other people’s work… Of course, I never looked over my shoulder that entire session, too engrossed in visualizing and bringing to life the figments of my little imagination. Incidentally, on that day, it turns out that person created a story about bird-humans that flew up to mars and found a dozen living breads, which I guess followed the same plot as my storyboard of how robot-human hybrids travelled to the moon by a magic carpet and discovered alien bunny life… In hindsight, his made more sense, you know, birds and bread.

I’ll skip to the part where I made a promise with this ally. We were probably about 13/14 years old, he in the last year of middle school, not that far away from reaching that grand unknown stage that was 18. We had taken two girls to the arcade in the spring as a sort of double-date type arrangement, and we really had fun that day. I let the girl win of course at most of the multiplayer games, it was only the polite thing to do. Though I went out of my way to beat my ally friend; we were quite competitive in that way, but never anything serious.

So we kindly walked the girls back home, (to the same place, they were close, see,) and it seemed that talking about them led to this said promise.

“Tonight was real fun, don’t ya think?” he asked me, sweeping his ebony bangs away from his eyes as rich as black coffee. For some reason, I remember he was sporting a red snapback with the words ‘bad hair day’ printed across it in blue writing. I didn’t quite understand the hat, I’ll be honest.

“Yeah, I think the girls had a good time” I agreed.

My friend, I thought, was quite the looker, truth be told. I was often flattered by other students my age for my looks, but I personally never felt I quite matched up to my older friend. I possibly just thought him to be much cooler than myself, purely because of the 1 year age difference, though. We were some of the lucky ones I think; we got by mostly at ease through those school years; girls wanted to date us, so we got the first of many chances we needed to make the mistakes with.

“So, I’m sorry if I sound like I’m being nosey, and you don’t have to answer, but… Well, man, we trust each other right?” he asked yet again. He was full of questions that night, but I didn’t mind.

“Right.”

“I know we’re supposed to hide our names, so you don’t need to tell me any more than a yes or no to my question…”

I knew exactly what he was going to ask of me, so I answered “No, the name on my wrist isn’t of hers.”

“Ah, shame, really. You guys seemed to get on well… maybe she’ll be your school soulmate though”

A school soulmate was more of a bogus made up concept that lead to the real soulmate thing [but admittedly, it really caught on, especially in high school years with traditions and other such occasions as prom]. Some people were fortunate enough to find someone to stay with throughout their school years and learn how to get to know and look after a person in the same way one would their true soulmate…

I say fortunate, but I can only imagine how devastating it would be, to develop feelings for someone to such a great extent, always knowing they aren’t the person you’re destined to die with. Teenagers can be very fickle too, you know; I should know. I’ve been there, done that, thought I fell in love about 6 times, cried enough to fill a river. I even heard of people who were that convinced they had found their soulmate, they’d be crying themselves to sleep at night because the name doesn’t match what’s on their wrist. There would be the hope that they’d be an irregular case [polygamy, in which the placement of names are said to follow a relay-like triangular form,] and so they’d mutually agree to reveal the names, only to find that neither one is there, and that there is no third party.

“What about yours?” I interrupted as he continued chatting about me and… I can’t say I remember her name.

“Nah… I wasn’t really feeling it to be honest anyways. I just thought it’d be nice to try the double dating thing at least once, eh?”

“Yeah…”

“I think I only asked her out because I knew your girl and she were friends, and the arcade tonight did sound fun… See, I think the name on my wrist holds a different kind of personality. I don’t think I’m destined to be with a girl who wants to be a reporter… I think mine will be more of a behind the scenes kind of girl… I’m going to meet her after we graduate, and she’ll play hard to get because she has a bit of fire to her personality, and…”

“Dude, we’re barely in our mid-teens yet” Yes, I would interrupt often, but note that my ally would try to initiate these conversations often, also.

“I know, I know, but if our partners are already destined, then why not just become fond of the idea of meeting them already?” He was extremely optimistic in my eyes, something I envied actually. He seemed to be a much happier person than I.

“I suppose I’m not like you in that aspect” I explained. “I like to live in the moment. I’m gonna do some stuff first. I’m not sure what yet, but I want to have an impact on people in the world before hiding away into that eternal romance stuff…”

“You make this whole soulmate thing sound like a drag…”

“But whatever happens, and when I do meet her, I want you to be there. You can even be best man.”

“Like there’s any other option!” he jested, then paused. He stopped in his tracks as we reached the side of the river that ran through the park en route to our houses. “You know what? I think  we should make a promise…”

“Hmm, that depends…” I replied uncertainly, glaring into the glistening water that just about managed to reflect our faces from the dull evening sky.

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad or something that benefits me more than you…”

“Fine, what is it?”

“We confirmed we’re each other’s allies, right? When we both graduate… We show each other the names.”

“Alright…” I agreed, humming with pleasant surprise, having thought the promise was just going to be another one of those ‘I’ll stop talking so much if you quit being so pessimistic’ type of pacts. I even began initiating the little pact. “I promise that I will reveal the names printed on my wrist once we have both graduated.”

“Alrighty then. And I, shall do the same.”

“You realise you’ll have to wait a year for me, right?”

“Yeah, I don’t mind.”

Next --> PROLOGUE: Hopeful

[masquad-fanfics]

Siblings - Percy Jackson

For Percy, finding out he had a sister that was as human as he was could probably be the best thing that happened to him. Now, don't get him wrong, he loved Tyson to bits, but it just wasn't the same, and since he started working for Hephaestus' Underwater Forges he barely ever saw him. But still, there was something different with his sister. The thing is, Greek mythology is incredibly confusing by itself. And having two different, but very similar mythologies, at the same time only worsened it. It'd be too long to explain how, him being son of Poseidon, while his sister was daughter of Neptune, worked, so it's just enough for us to know it is possible to happen and that's how it was.

His sister's name was Madison, although he had gotten the liking to calling her Mads. She had brunette hair and chestnut eyes, in contrast with Percy’s jet black hair and sea green eyes. But they were a lot more similar when it came to personality, both being awkward but also charming in their own way. They were only a year apart, and right from the moment they met they’d barely leave each other’s side.

But how did they meet? Well, actually he didn’t meet her at the same time as he did with the rest of the Roman demigods. It was some weeks later, in a very classic place for a son of Poseidon. The sea. Percy was strolling down the beach, not having anything to do and just enjoying the soothing marine breeze and the occasional feeling of the cool water against his skin. He reached the end, where the golden sand abruptly transformed into an exuberant forest. He decided to stay there as he waited for the sun to disappear in the horizon. Little by little, the sky began transforming into a beautiful orange, light red, and lavender watercolour, which was reflected in the vast ocean ahead of him. But suddenly, he saw something that called his attention. There was an object in the water. At first, he didn't give it much thought, it could even be a dolphin, since it was far enough to be able to swim in that depth. But it kept getting closer and closer, until he recognized it was a human. It wouldn't be that much of a surprise to see a human coming out of the sea, if it wasn't for the fact that he hadn't seen their belongings anywhere, and now that they were close enough, he was able to notice that their hair and clothes weren't soaked. Well, not their, but her, it was a girl. In that moment he didn't even think of this, but later that night he'd see how stupid he was not to realize she was one of his kind, since no regular human could be underwater without getting wet. But right then it took him by surprise. The girl seemed a bit startled too when she became aware of his presence, probably because she didn't think there'd be anyone there.

"H-hi." She greeted once she was in front of Percy and with no way of avoiding him.

"Hey." Was the only thing he said. After an awkward silence he managed to form another sentence. "How can you be, you know, dry?"

The girl giggled "It's quite a long story."

"Are you a demigod?" He suddenly blurted out. She looked at him surprised, not expecting him to know, and she simply nodded.

"I'm Percy, by the way."

"Madison." Another silence followed, this time interrupted by her. "Why do you know about demigods?" She asked as she sat beside him.

"I happen to be one." He smirked, gaining his confidence.

"Really?! You must be new then, I've never seen you on the camp."

"Neither have I." He soon became aware of the fact that there were two camps, making it a lot easier as to why they had never seen each other. "Wait, are you in Camp Jupiter?"

She laughed at his question. "Of course. Where else would I be?"

"That explains why we've never seen each other... I'm not from there, I'm from Camp Half-Blood."

"Camp Half what?" She furrowed her brows and gave him a sceptical look.

"Camp Half-Blood. It's the Greek one."

"Well, those are some big news. And what are you doing here?"

"It's quite a long story." He answered repeating the same she had told him before. She laughed, something that for some strange reason reminded him of his own laugh. "Weird." He thought, and just pushed those thoughts aside. "I was there a couple of weeks ago. In your camp. I think it's safe to say that I've now met everyone."

"You were missing the best part then." She said grinning widely. Again, there was something in the way she smiled that also reminded him of himself. He came back to reality when he noticed Madison's stare. "Uh?"

"I was asking who your godly father is. Or mother."

"Oh, it's Poseidon."

"Really?" Her eyes lighted up when she heard his words.

"Yeah."

"My father is Neptune."

"Wait, isn't that technically the same one?"

"I suppose."

"That makes us brothers then." It suddenly made sense. How there were things about them that felt so similar to him.

"But we look nothing alike."

"That must be because of our mothers." He couldn't really assimilate it. And neither could Madison. All that time they had been pretty much by themselves, but having someone just like them felt like nothing they had felt until that moment.

"I just remembered." Percy said excited. "You have another brother. Well, kind of. He's a Cyclops, but he's the best dude you'll meet. I'll have to take you to see him, he's gonna be so happy."

   ~ ~ ~

For the past days Percy stayed in Camp Jupiter. Madison was having a great time being able to show his brother around and having him meet her friends. And enemies. Not that she had many, but Percy had insisted in knowing who they were. Just in case, he said. He had no idea what he had to do when being a brother, so he took the safety path and remained being himself mostly, but his most protective side also appeared from time to time. This always made Madison laugh, finding it really funny how he'd glare at anyone she didn't particularly like whenever he walked past them.

But after another week she was eager to go with Percy to Camp Half-Blood. See how different things were in a Greek demigods camp. Percy was a bit reluctant. He was sure he could easily take care of her, but he wasn't sure if she was ready to leave the camp. After all she had never been on a mission, and the furthest she had left was in her occasional gateways in the sea. And in their case, the sea meant constant protection.

"You’re telling me I can't go when you went in your first mission being how old? 12? 13?" She had a good point in there. If he had been able to literally go down to hell and come back alive, why couldn't she go to his camp? He finally gave in, not before making a mental note not to tell her any of his adventures, at least not in such detail as he had. "But it doesn't just depend on me. You'll have to ask the ones in charge if they give you permission."

"I already did. They said it's ok as long as I go with you. And..." She run to her cabin, and in less than three minutes she was back "I already packed my things. And yours too. So we can leave right now." She said as she handed him his bag. "Are you sure you got everything?"

Madison rolled her eyes "Yes dad." She mocked. Percy lightly hit her, faking annoyance. "Let's go then."

    *time skip*

"Oh don't be like that."

"I said no, boss."

"Blackjack, are you kidding? Didn't you say you'd serve me on everything?"

"On everything necessary, yes. You don't need me for this, I can just stay. It's quite nice here actually."

"But all the dangers there are outside! Can't you at least take her?"

"No is no, boss. Plus, I promised the others I'd go with them to get some donuts. You know there's no way I'm refusing to that."

Percy sighed in exasperation. Even if he was taking Madison with him to his camp, his idea had always been for Blackjack to take them. That way, there was no chance a monster could attack them. But his dear Pegasus friend wasn't helping at all. He saw there was no way of convincing him, so he just began walking away.

"Call me when you need me, boss." Said the horse as Percy left. The boy just huffed, making both Madison and Blackjack laugh. Well, Blackjack neighed, but it could perfectly be translated for a laugh.

"He says he can't take us." Percy said, trying to ignore the fact that his own horse was laughing at him.

"I know." Percy looked at Madison stranged. "How do you-"

"I can understand horses too." She cut him. "I'm a daughter of Neptune after all."

"R-right. I sometimes forget I'm not the only one." He let out a nervous snicker, and Madison laughed again at how forgetful he was. "You can't escape the adventure now!" She grabbed one of his arms and began pulling him towards the exit of the camp, excitement radiating from her.

    ~ ~ ~

Percy had to be grateful. Throughout the whole journey they didn't come across a monster a single time. Madison was slightly disappointed because she had been hoping to fight an epic battle and be able to narrate it when she arrived, but Percy cheered her up by telling her she'd have enough battles in the future. 'If you were me you wouldn't want to go through any of that in the foreseeable future', he once said. It had taken them about two weeks to arrive to the forest that surrounded the Greek camp. Reaching to this part always saddened Percy. Even if his mother was no longer in danger, he still remembered that tragic day vividly. Madison noticed the sudden change in her brother, but decided not to ask him about it.

"So, we've basically arrived." He began, not wanting to remember that day. "Only go up this hill and you'll be able to see the camp."

Madison nodded and followed Percy. They were halfway to reach the top when a noise made them stop in their tracks. "Do you hear that?" Madison asked.

"It sounds like a... " He stopped in the middle of the sentence, analyzing the noises. He could hear the stomps of hoofs, but they didn't sound loud enough to be from a Minotaur. But the noise increased, so it could just be far. "Like a Minotaur. But I think quite a small one." He was able to recognise it coming from his right, so he turned to that side and prepared for the imminent attack. "Stay behind me. Hopefully you won't need to do anything."

Madison was about to protest when the creature appeared from the shadows. Percy would've taken his sword out if it wasn't for the fact that he instantly recognised who it was. "Grover!! Shit, you scared me! "

"That's what I was trying." He went to give him a short hug, noticing Madison standing behind Percy when he hugged him. "Mind asking, who is she?"

"Oh, this is Madison, my sister. Mads, this is Grover, my weird half goat friend."

"I'm not 'half goat', I'm a satyr. But the important thing is, since when did you have a sister?"

"Since like a, uh, three weeks ago?"

"And how did you meet?" Grover asked as they continued heading towards the entrance of the camp.

"While I was at Camp Jupiter, I was one day by the sea and saw her there."

"So she's Roman then." Percy only nodded as an answer. "Does that still make her your sister?"

"Yeah, I guess. I mean, we later on asked to be sure, and they told us it's something that can totally happen."

"And I thought we had enough with one of your kind. Anyways, welcome to Camp Half-Blood, Madison."

"Thanks." Madison smiled. "I was wondering, how are things different here?"

"Uh... Well, first off there are Greek demigods." Madison laughed at his obvious answer, making Grover blush a little. It didn't matter how long it passed, he'd always be Percy's shy and only friend while at school. "I-i can't really know if there's anything different, I've never been in a Roman camp."

"An important difference is that you don't have Mr. D running the camp." Percy added.

"Mr. D?"

"You'll soon meet him. He's an incredible guy." He answered sarcastically.

    ~ ~ ~

Madison was enjoying her time to the fullest. Mr. D had greeted her... Well, like he greeted anyone else. He had already changed her name just like he did with Percy, so they assumed he only did it with any of Poseidon's relatives.

It happened to be a special day, since they were playing Capture the Flag. Madison was nearly jumping from excitement, as Percy told her how was the game going to be, the rules they used and the best tactics to win.

The afternoon finally arrived, coming with it the start of the game. They all put on their armours and helmets with a blue or red plume, depending on the team they were in. As every year, Percy was in the blue team, and thus so was his sister. He told his tactic to the rest of his teammates: both of them would be the ones in charge of the flag. In that way, having some of the strongest ones closer to the flag would make it more difficult for the other team to get it and easier for them to protect it. They then prepared a series of strategies to get the red flag, and after a whole hour of preparations, they were ready to start.

Chiron signaled the beginning, and right then every demigod began running to their places. Percy and Madison found the perfect location to place their flag, where it was well hidden and where, at the same time, the opposite team could catch a glimpse of it without giving away their exact position.

"So the plan is" Percy began saying. "If someone comes I'll go and fight them. You stay next to the flag in case they are too many and I can't deal with all of them." Madison opened her eyes widely "Are you kidding Percy? I'm not gonna stay here without doing a thing."

"Look it's dangerous and-"

"Percy. It's a game."

"I know, but they can be very harsh and maybe they hurt you."

"I've been 16 years by myself, don't you think I can handle a Capture the Flag game?"

"I'm sure you can, but I'm saying that just in case... "

"I swear, you're such an stereotypical brother."

"Why you say that?"

"Cause you're always so overprotective."

"I'm not."

While the two siblings argued about this little thing some other demigods from the red team appeared. By the time they noticed their presence they were incredibly close to getting their flag. Madison was the first one to see them and she run in their direction, drawing her sword. Percy stood where he was for a moment before following his sister. Regardless of their efforts by fighting two demigods each, there was a fifth one they didn't see, who made his way towards the flag and easily took it. Percy and Madison stared dumbfounded at him, realizing how easily they had lost just because they didn't want their respective sibling getting hurt. For some reason they found that very funny and began laughing non stop, while everyone looked at them puzzled. When Grover arrived he just rolled his eyes and said "And this is why you don't have siblings together."

[survivorwesteros]

Episode 11: SO LET’S TRY THIS ONE MORE FUCKING TIME - Drew (Finale)

THE ROCK DRAW. I'M CRYING. THAT COULDN'T HAVE GONE BETTER. JORDAN, DREW AND MYSELF ARE SAFE AND IN THE MAJORITY. I HAVE AN IDOL (when Drew gives it back!!!!)!!! So Drew or I need immunity this round so the idol can be played and whew...we did that

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’M SOUNDING LIKE A BROKEN FUCKING RECORD!!!!! EVERY DAMN WEEK IT’S “Let’s get rid of Andrew, and then Jordan can go next.” 

F7: Vote out Andrew with the plan to take Luke, Steffen, and Darian through the next couple of votes, Jordan leaves at F6 Andrew saves himself Darian goes Fuck but okay, I can work with this 

F6: Vote out Andrew with the plan to get Luke and Steffen to vote out Jordan F5, see who would be bigger threat between Nic and Steffen, try to take them to finals Nic and Steffen save Andrew Nic goes FUCK 

See what I’m TRYING to do is wait to flip on Jordan until there’s a scattered enough force on the other side that they wouldn’t just unify against me in his absence. And every time I get to that point where after one more vote it’s possible, it falls apart! But it doesn’t fall apart in a catastrophic way that either ruins me or forces me to rethink EVERYTHING, oh no, that would be too easy. Instead it falls apart in such a manner that it creates one more small little hiccup that has to be cleared first. First Darian leaves, whose conflicts with Luke and Nic I was depending on to cause enough division to sneak through. So Jordan can’t go because now there’s no one else to hate. Then on the second Andrew vote, that grouped Steffen and Andrew so closely that it would be two pairs if I cut Jordan now. I don’t even think that Jordan knows that all these little things are increasing his life expectancy like that, which is highkey infuriating. 

The only two things I still had going for me was that Steffen and Andrew didn’t know how close Luke and I are, and no one knew about Luke’s idol. And a lot of plans have happened with that idol that involve playing it on one of the two of us and exposing the power couple of Drewcas in this huge Y’ALL SO DUMB manner. But then I have the moment. The revelation. What if instead of Luke playing the idol on himself when he’s not getting any votes, just for a bland “Oh lookey at what I have that  y’all didn’t know about,” it served a higher purpose. Jordan obviously wants to vote for Andrew, Steffen and Andrew want to vote for Jordan. Both sides need my vote to get majority. So what if I vote for Jordan with Steffen and Andrew. But Luke plays his idol on Jordan. Jordan stays, Andrew goes. But in Steffen’s mind? Drew sided with him and Luke/Jordan solidified themselves beyond all repair as a power duo. Steffen has an ally. There’s still a chance. And in Jordan’s mind? He goes from thinking he has majority but knowing he’s getting votes to having an idol played on him. He thinks Luke came to both him and Drew at the same time, that we formed this plan together. This is the strongest trio he’s ever been a part of, they keep saving him in a way that no one has ever done. Neither of them know what’s happening. Granted, Jordan knows a lot more than Steffen because he at least knows who’s going home tonight, but no one really understands like Luke and I do. 

Getting Luke to agree to this was a bit of a STRUGGLE because I think he had his heart set on this idea of using the idol for himself or for me, to get us to the final four no matter what, he didn’t like that it would make him vulnerable. “What if Andrew has an idol too” Well then we vote Steffen on the revote... “What if they’re lying to you and they actually vote me” Well then it’ll be 2-2-0 and Jordan and I vote Andrew out on the revote… “What if we don’t have Jordan and he tells them and flips” “What if they lie to you and vote me and they ALSO have an extra vote or a vote negator?” Well then bye tbh I can’t anticipate everything and I never said this plan was completely without risk, like you’re literally giving up immunity. But think of the benefit to your game and your FTC speech if this goes as planned!!! Like babe, I’m here for you, I’d never vote you out, but I’m also here for the moves. And if shit happens to you, then I either have a tight duo with Jordan or I vote him out for real with Steffen and Andrew, and you’re a solid jury vote for me. This plan has so many benefits for the both of us, I promise, but yeah, even in its worst case scenario, it still has a benefit for me. :))))) It should work though, I'd honestly be shocked and impressed if either Andrew or Steffen were holding onto yet another power through going to rocks, like that's insane and good for them. But realistically even my worst case scenarios have a way for things to be alright in the end. 

After two times of voting for Andrew and him staying, maybe what it will take to send him home is me NOT voting for him. SO LET’S TRY THIS ONE MORE FUCKING TIME. Let’s get rid of Andrew, and then Jordan can go next. 

Literally everything that Drew and I have talked about throughout the duration of this game has come true. We may have had to adapt plans at different points and take people out sooner than we originally thought but our plan took us all the way to the final 5. Drew has immunity and is automatically in the final 4. I have an immunity idol that I /could/ play on myself to ensure I'm in the final 4 but I love being reckless and not doing that. Up until this point, the only people that knew I had the immunity idol were Drew and myself but today we let Jordan in on that secret but we had to have Drew act like he didn't know to ensure we didn't expose how close we are to one another. Going in to tonight's tribal council Drew will voting with Steffen and Andrew against Jordan and Jordan and myself will be voting against Andrew. I'm going to pull out my immunity idol and play it on Jordan to negate the 3 votes against him and have Andrew get voted out. In the event that Steffen and Andrew are lying to Drew and are voting for me, the vote will tie and Jordan and Drew will vote Andrew out and I'll be safe so I think at this point it's pretty much a guarantee that I'm making final 4. Plans for Final 4 onward are for Drew and I to finally expose how close we've been throughout this game because the worst thing that can happen to us is a fire-making tiebreaker challenge but if we play it right that shouldn't even have to happen. If either Drew or myself win the final 4 immunity challenge then we get to choose who to take to the final 3 with us. I want to win that immunity challenge because I want to build my resume so I have something to say at final tribal council. 

I've been thinking a lot about what I would say in a final tribal council situation because I've never been there before so it would be nice to be able to put everything out on the table and explain why I made the moves that I did. I think the fact that I have kept an idol hidden for almost half of the game and then play it correctly at final 4 shows that I have a really good read on the game and know what I'm doing. I think I'm slowly coming to terms with the fact that I probably won't win this game but second place would be great. I have a huge feeling that Drew is going to win this game because of his immunity wins and also he has a way with words that I think he will use to advantage to sway the jury in his favor. I think my best bet is to be sitting next to Drew and Jordan at the final 3 because Jordan has made a lot of enemies this season and I don't think anybody would vote for him to win due to this. I think that next to Drew I could maybe get a few votes especially with these next few votes where he's going to burn bridges with both Steffen and Andrew so that could potentially work in my favor and I could get some votes. I'm 100% certain I'm NOT getting Darian's vote but is that really a shocker? I hated the guy in this game so I'm not torn up about it. I'm living by my new motto though: "When in doubt just idol 'em out!"

I honestly don’t know whats going to happen with this vote, it seems that the rocks that I sent us to last round displayed that there are obviously 2 sides left in the game and unfortunately I don’t think I’m on the strongest one, now its whether Andrew or myself will be dying tonight, but I haven’t been enlightened so it could very well be me, but who knows until the last vote is read

So basically what it is, is that Steffen went to- rocks for me and Nic died. And I feel dumb bc (i didn't tell anyone this) but i have that vote cancel that i just neglected to use, so all of this could have been avoided. Oh well i love chaos :~) 

So i guess drew is flipping? So there should be 3 votes jordan pines and then jordan and luke vote for me. Here's the thing™. Jordan won a stick at the auction. And sticks are honslee never good news. So like, he probs has an idol or some broken ass fuck shit. And then i can be idol'd out or whatever. But here's the gag ;~) I'm gonna use the canceler on jordan, and then vote luke. So! If everyone votes the way they should seemingly be voting tonight and an idol is played, then it will tie between luke and i and then theres a revote and hopefully steffen and drew keep me over luke. Bc like, idk why if drew wants to take luke out next, they would be sus of me not telling them this plan bc why the fuck would i defect to jordan pines at f4? 

So yeah I'm going ahead with another cracked ass plan that I'm not telling anyone else in hopes of saving my ass. If this backfires in anyway, then whoops i got 5th *shrugs*

DREWCAS HAS BEEN EXPOSED. I REPEAT, DREWCAS HAS BEEN EXPOSED. Steffen and Jordan know all about how close we've been in this game and they were both so SHOOK because they thought they had it figured out but WHEEEEEEEW. I think I could comfortable be making it to final 3 tonight. Steffen wants to vote Jordan and Jordan wants to vote Steffen so that leaves Drew and I in complete control of who we want in the final 3 with us. I've come to conclusion that I'm not winning this game, there is no way that I get any votes and I've to terms with it honestly. I feel like I've played a solid game but I don't think the jury will see it that way and won't vote for me because I think they're going to be bitter that I duped and beat them all.

So how did we get here, dear readers? Two weeks of straight "Jordan has to go, he should have been gone already" straight into "I'm voting out Steffen." The answer is simple. I don't have a fucking clue. I know what I told Luke as justification. In fact, let me go find that right now. 

Rattadrewy - Today 4:24 PM > I think we should go to finals with Jordan? All he has to say is that he came from being an Other and made the end, but every game move since merge, we can either match him or undermine him. We got ourselves to the end and dragged him along, letting him think the entire time that he was an equal partner. He didn't have the immunities he's been so known for, he didn't have the social game he thought he had. Rattadrewy - Today 4:24 PM > Steffen may have less to say in terms of game but he has the underdog edit and his whole alliance there and the things he does say, we don't know about yet and don't have anything to come back at them with. Rattadrewy - Today 4:25 PM > But I can lay out Jordan's entire argument right now because it's the shittier version of mine 

Is it the right call? I won't know until it's over. I already have regrets but I'll have regrets either way. This is the final three I'm going to go with and try to control and it will either work or it won't. I played a damn good game.

This is the worst I have ever felt in my entire life.

I feel this is the appropriate time to sign my death warrant but I dunno so I lost my last bae andrew and basically now Im surrounded by satan and his spawn.  Its gross, I feel alone, and everyone is up each other’s assholes while Im fighting to stay alive and I want to die.  So now what, Drew won immunity, Im out any luck and it seems that I have Drew who promised not to vote me out, but guess what, he’s voting me out with his dynamic duo Luke, OH WOW, exciting, but guess what, can I even be surprised at this point, Im up a creek without a paddle and Id rather hurl……..myself off the empire state building than stay with these assholes another day.  While all hope seemed lost, I am not going down without a fight.   

So now Im here contemplating what to do, Jordan is a no, thats not gonna happen and he can choke, so that leaves me with Luke and Drew, and at this point I didn’t know what to do, so I went to Drew, nothing, then to Luke and after crapping on his whole game, guess what I did, I flipped him hopefully.  My whole thing with Luke was telling him that since Im going to be a juror and I’m seeing his game as a follower of Jordan’s, then chances are everyone else is too, so I spent the next several hours explaining how ftc won’t change much for the jury, and right when I thought all hope was lost, Luke messaged me saying he was going to flip his vote…….did I just do that?!? so now Im waiting for the votes to be read, hoping that convincing Luke to send me out on a good note will make him freak out enough to follow through on this plan, so at best, I get sent to tiebreaker with Jordan and then I’ll take myself out or make it to ftc, so all I can do is cross my fingers and hope everything will work out….god I need to cry.

Everything is ugly. There's probably going to be a tie this vote and then on the revote I'm going to switch my vote from Jordan to Steffen because I don't want Steffen at FTC. I know that I have ZERO chance of winning which sucks because I've spent like 3 months in this game but I'd rather lose to Jordan than to Steffen because Steffen is undeserving of the win because his game sucked. So yeah. I hate everything and I'm ready to die tbh!

Wooooo I did it!!!! Who knew that the British flop would make it all the way to the final 3 because I sure as hell didn't! I think it's so pretty that I made it all the way to the end with the two people I trusted most and the fact the jury hates all three of us and has to vote one of us is lovely. I know 100% that I'm not winning this game, apparently I didn't play well enough even though I feel like I did but eh...I'm still going to try my hardest at FTC to answer questions and maybe sway some people. I personally believe Drew is going to win the game and that would be so iconic...the prettiest winner in Storybook history? Yes.

This is a PSA that I should win player of the season for my dedication @Sam @Stevie. Thanks (:

One last confessional. I made it. I'm in the finals. And now that NIC ISN'T ON JURY ANYMORE I MIGHT ACTUALLY STAND A CHANCE???? Like honestly why quit a jury? Why do that? Not that I'm complaining, mind you, if all the votes that were guaranteed for Jordan could just go ahead and quit jury, the world would be a brighter place. The hype that Sam wanted from this post isn't really here because like I knew I was here like four days ago when I won final immunity, but whatever. I think I can win but we'll see. Despite my BEST EFFORTS (read: I begged), it's a live FTC and Jordan will always be more comfortable than I am on camera/call, so I need to have my stories down and be ready to fight for it, because he will never be the one to back down from that fight. We've said for months that one day we'd be able to take a season down to the warrior battle between us and see who's better. And despite me trying to avoid that for WEEKS and failing miserably, I am excited for that to shake out. I think I have the stronger story, but I know he does too. We'll see.